Australia coach Graham Arnold

BANGKOK, Thailand, July 15--Australia coach Graham Arnold has refuted claims there is unrest in the camp and insists everyone is focused on their crunch AFC Asian Cup Group A game with Thailand on Monday night.
As reported by AFC, after accusing a number of players of ’not really wanting to be here’ following the 3-1 defeat to Iraq on Friday, there were reports of division within the Socceroos squad.
But, following spirited showings in the training on Saturday and Sunday morning, Arnold insists everyone is pulling in the same direction as Australia look for the win they need to have a chance of qualifying for the knock-out stages.
“The boys are in a good mood,“ he said. “They trained well yesterday and the atmosphere was great and they trained well this morning.
“Some players said they need to take responsibility for their own performances and I’ve spoken to them behind closed doors about it and the players have accepted it.
“We are in a position where have to win the game tomorrow night. Everyone’s pride is hurting in the whole team as well as my own.
“There is a lot of frustration around but there is also a lot of positivism. We are very capable of going a lot further in this tournament and that starts tomorrow night.“
The group is wide open with any two of Australia, Thailand, Oman and Iraq capable of progressing to the next stage. And after poor displays against Oman and then Iraq, Arnold is expecting much improvement from his players tomorrow night.
“In the first game we were poor; we were probably good for 20 minutes, if that. In the second game we were good for 60 minutes but gave away a silly goal in the first half butt we are growing,“ he added. “We talked before about the players had had only two games in six weeks, now they have had three and I expect a much more positive performance tomorrow night. They are a wonderful group of boys and at the end of the day they have a lot of talent and I am sure you will see that tomorrow night.“
Arnold will be forced to make at least one change to the line-up with Lucas Neill suspended following his dismissal on Friday.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, July 15--Iran coach Amir Qalenoei has expressed astonishment at his enforced absence from the bench for Team Melli’s crucial AFC Asian Cup 2007 match against China on Sunday, but insists that he will not be missed, reported PA Sport.
The former Eteghlal boss received a one match ban after he was sent to the stands during Iran’s opening 2-1 defeat of Uzbekistan for throwing a water bottle at an official.
Whilst continuing to strenuously deny the charge and questioning why Qatar coach Dzemaludin Musovic was not punished for a similar brush with the authorities, Ghalenoei was at pains to point out that he has the utmost faith in the rest of Iran’s backroom staff ahead of a game that looks set to decide who will finish at the top of Group C.
“My problem here has not been resolved so I will be suspended for the China game. Having said that though, I am amazed that the coach of Qatar has not been similarly punished after what he did against Japan,“ the 43-year-old said.
“My decision was a very unfair one because it was a mistake by referee. I threw the water bottle after a mistake by one of my players and not at an official. Even when they had made their decision, I went to the stands very quietly. I am amazed that they are suspending me.
“I have a great belief in my staff though. It is not going to make a big difference if I am not there,“ he added.
Last Wednesday’s come from behind win against the Uzbeks gave Iran the perfect start in a competition they have already won on three occasions. Nevertheless, Ghalenoei knows his charges will face a stiff challenge from a China side who opened their account with a 5-1 thrashing of Malaysia.
“The game we have already had was very difficult, but we got the three points and we are going into the China match very motivated. I believe our team is going to get better and better as the tournament progresses. Having said that, China are a very good side. They are well organized defensively and their defenders support the attack well.
“I also believe they play at a faster pace than they used to. I really do think that we are going to have a tough time but China do also have their weaknesses.“
Qalenoei was however confident that whoever represents Iran would perform to the best ofÊtheir ability in the face of what is certain to be a concerted Chinese team effort.
“The system I choose to play is based purely on the ability of my players to perform in their positions and the players who are playing offensively must be able to defend.
“I am not focusing on one or two Chinese players because I prefer to look at the threat their whole team has, I am definitely not setting up my team to only counter one or two of their players.“

Linus Gerdemann of Germany cycles in the mountains during the seventh stage of the 94th Tour de France cycling race between Bourg-en-Bresse and Le Grand-Bornand, July 14.

PARIS, July 15--German Linus Gerdemann took the yellow jersey of the Tour de France from Fabian Cancellara by winning the first mountain stage of this year’s race.
According to AFP, the Tour novice was in a 15-man break for much of the 197.5km stage from Bourg-en-Bresse to Le Grand-Bornand. But the T-Mobile man went it alone over the Col de la Colombiere, finishing 40 seconds clear of Inigo Landaluze.
Injured race favorites Alexandre Vinokourov and Andreas Kloeden finished in a group 3’38“ behind. Fellow big names Cadel Evans, Alejandro Valverde and Levi Leipheimer were in the same group.
Kloeden, sixth in the overall standings, is now the best placed of the top contenders for the overall victory, despite struggling with a hairline fracture to his tailbone.
Vinokourov, who suffered deep cuts to his knees on Thursday, said after the stage: “It was a bit better than yesterday. I still suffered a lot. It was important to get past the first pass. It’s almost a victory for me. I hope it will be better tomorrow. I wanted to stay with the favorites. Then, we’ll see.“
Swiss Cancellara, who gave a wave to the television camera as he was dropped from the group on the early stages of the final climb, was 148th on the stage, a massive 22’47“ behind the winner.
Your thoughts on stage seven
He had signaled his surrender of the yellow jersey earlier in the stage, working alongside his CSC team-mates rather than resting in their slipstream. Cancellara first dropped behind the pace on the opening climb of the day, over the Cote de Corlier, while a number of riders went off the front, finally forming a 15-man bunch.
Gerdemann, 24, and Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Fofonov moved clear of the breakaway group as the gradient grew.
And, with 20km left, Gerdemann--whose biggest career win before this was a stage of the Tour of Switzerland--went it alone. Spaniards Landaluze--now second in the general classification at 1’24“--and David de la Fuente gave chase in vain.
Of the five Britons in the race, Charly Wegelius stayed with the leaders for much of the stage, finishing just behind them.
David Millar dropped to 53rd overall, more than seven minutes in arrears, describing the stage as hard and hot. Sunday’s eighth stage ends in a summit finish in Tignes after 165 km and three category-one climbs.
And, after a performance he described as “a dream come true“, Gerdemann expects to be back in the ranks for that stage.
“Today was my day, but tomorrow I’ll work for my team leader, Michael Rogers,“ he said. “I am delighted with my performance and to win the first mountain stage of this year’s Tour feels incredible.“
Veteran Australian Rogers is currently 4’03“ behind his young team-mate in the general classification.

BERLIN, July 15--MotoGP championship leader Casey Stoner will start Sunday’s German Grand Prix from pole position, wrote Reuters.
Honda duo Dani Pedrosa and Marco Melandri will start from second and third, with Valentino Rossi in sixth.
Randy De Puniet led for much of the session before beaten by the top three, and in his desperation to improve his time he crashed, but escaped injury.
This is Stoner’s second pole of the season, having also been fastest in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix. But no race has been won by a pole-sitter so far this season.

British lightweight boxer Amir Khan (foreground) climbed off the canvas to keep his unbeaten record intact and win the Commonwealth lightweight title at the end of eight rounds on July 14.

LONDON, July 15--Amir Khan was made to work hard before beating Scotland’s Willie Limond to win the Commonwealth lightweight title, BBC wrote.
Khan had looked in control early on in their fight at London’s O2 Arena but Limond rocked the 20-year-old in the sixth round, knocking him to the floor. The Bolton fighter recovered and dug deep to force his opponent to take a count in the next round.
Khan dominated after that and Limond was forced to retire after the eighth round with nose and jaw injuries. The Athens silver medalist came into the fight with nine knockouts from his 12 pro fights but this was by far his toughest test.
He played a patient game early on and seemed to have a narrow advantage over his more experienced opponent. Although he picked off Limond with a series of jabs in the second round, the 28-year-old Scot kept Khan on his toes, especially in round five when a right hand connected cleanly.
But the fight sparked into life in the sixth round when Limond seized the upper hand and landed Khan with a volley of punches which sent him sprawling. Somehow Khan struggled through the remainder of the round and the knock-down seemed to spark him into action.
The seventh round was far more one-sided as Khan backed Limond against the ropes with more hurtful combinations and the champion went down himself. By the eighth, Limond was on trouble but the Scot refused to give in and had to be withdrawn by his corner, handing Khan the toughest victory of his career.
“The timing just wasn’t there,“ Khan admitted afterwards. “I was over-anxious and wanted to commit myself too much. I was running inside, made a mistake and got caught with the right hand. It could have changed the fight but it didn’t-- it shows I’ve got a good chin. I just had to compose myself.
“Good fighters go down, come back up and knock the other person down and I did that. I wanted that title more than Willie did.“

ROME, July 15--French long jumper Salim Sdiri has been released from a Rome hospital after being speared by a javelin in an horrific accident at the Golden League meeting in the Italian capital on Saturday night.
According to CNN, Sdiri was standing in the long jump warm-up area when he was struck in the torso by a javelin thrown by Tero Pitkamaki of Finland.
Pitkamaki, who had won the three previous rounds of the Golden League, slipped at the end of his run up, sending the implement off at an angle for about 80 meters.
When he saw what had happened, Pitkamaki held his head in his hands in shock. Despite the horrific images of the accident, Sdiri’s wound was not as serious as first feared with the javelin piercing only three centimeters into his body.
Doctors released him after inserting five stitches--three external and two internal--and ruling out possible complications.
Sdiri, a bronze medalist at the 2007 European indoor championships, was in fourth place in his competition at the time of the accident. He was rushed to the Gemelli hospital in Rome, but discharged after further examination.

Artest and Jackson were each suspended by the NBA on Saturday for the first seven games of next season because of their most recent legal problems.

NEW YORK, July 15--Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson are in trouble with the NBA again. The central figures in the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills were each suspended without pay by the league on Saturday for the first seven games of next season because of their most recent legal problems.
And their history of headaches was likely the reason they were slapped with stronger penalties than other players who have been suspended in recent years for getting in trouble with the law.
“Both were serious offenses and each are repeat violators of NBA rules,“ spokesman Tim Frank told AP.
The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement calls for a minimum 10-game suspension when a player is convicted of or pleads no contest to a violent felony. While the league felt these crimes fell short of that, it came down hard on both players--who are already used to hearing from the league office.
Artest and Jackson were Pacers’ teammates in November 2004 when they were involved in a brawl with fans during a game against the Detroit Pistons. Artest was suspended for 73 games and the playoffs--the NBA’s harshest punishment for a fight Ñ and Jackson was suspended for 30 games.
Artest pleaded no contest in May to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge stemming from a March 5 dispute with his wife, the latest in a string of off-court problems.
Placer County Superior Court Judge Francis Kearney sentenced Artest to 100 hours of community service and a 10-day work project through the county sheriff’s department. The Sacramento Kings forward also was fined $600 and ordered to get extensive counseling.
Artest was in Africa on a humanitarian mission at the time his penalty was announced. He is with union director Billy Hunter taking part in the players association’s “Feeding One Million“ campaign in Kenya and could be unaware of his suspension.