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Proposal to Host Asian Basketball Cup
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File photo shows Iranian players receive their gold medals at an award ceremony after winning against Lebanon at the Asian menÕs basketball championship in Tokushima August 2007.
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Iran has informed the Asia Basketball Federation that it is ready to host the next basketball competitions in Asia.
In a letter, the Basketball Federation of Iran offered to host the Asian 2009 cup, ISNA reported.
China and Jordan have already submitted their applications to host the competitions which are prelude to the 2010 international basketball games for which 3 Asian teams should qualify.
Iran’s good results in 2007 which won a place for the team in the Olympic Games in Beijing this year should help Iran to host the competition.
In an unrelated story Iranian women basketball players finished fourth in the West Asian Women’s Basketball Championship held in Aleppo, Syria, MNA reported.
The team was beaten by Syria B team 78-70 in the third-fourth place on Friday.
Lebanon beat Syria A in the final game and claimed the championship. Syria A and B, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine participated in this five-day tournament.
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Federer Seeking Season’s First Title
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Roger Federer
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Roger Federer aims for his first title of the season, facing Nikolay Davydenko in the final of the Estoril Open.
According to AP, the top-ranked Federer rallied to defeat Denis Gremelmayr 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 Saturday in the semifinal. It’s been eight years since Federer needed five tournaments to get a shot at his first trophy of season.
“I definitely feel more comfortable. The moving, the sliding, just the way I see the game today is much better,“ Federer said. “It gives me one extra shot of winning the tournament. It’s my first final of the year, so I’m actually very happy.“
Federer’s previous best result in 2008 had been a semifinal loss to eventual champion Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in January. He was slowed by mononucleosis early in the season.
Davydenko, the 2003 champion, defeated Florent Serra of France 6-2, 6-2 in the other semifinal match.
The fourth-ranked Davydenko is 0-11 against Federer.
“I know tomorrow will be a tough match, but I don’t want to think about it,“ said Davydenko, who won his 11th straight match. “It’s really good to be in a final on a clay court.“
Gremelmayr broke Federer in the first game, and another break in the seventh put the German on course to win the first set. But Federer recovered to break the 104th-ranked player four times in the match, cruising in the third set.
Federer, who is working with new coach Jose Higueras for the first time at Estoril, came to the net often in the opening set with mixed results. Gremelmayr used a strong serve, power shots from the baseline and precision drops at the net to win the first set in a half an hour.
“I struggled early on to keep the ball in play,“ Federer said. “I didn’t serve very well and he definitely surprised me how he was able to pull off so many winners off the backhand side.“
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Luca Scores As Bayern Chase 3 Titles
Luca Toni has won the hearts of Bayern Munich fans with eight goals in the last four matches, an amazing 10-day tear leading his team to the German Cup, the UEFA Cup semifinals and on the brink of the Bundesliga title.
However the towering Italy striker, who wants to win two more titles with Bayern within the next month, admitted on Saturday he has a special place in his heart for Berlin, Reuters reported.
After he helped Italy beat France in the same stadium nearly two years ago to win the World Cup, Toni lifted the German Cup at the Olympiastadion on Saturday after leading Bayern with another dazzling two-goal performance.
“Yes it’s special for me and I had the good fortune to play here for the World Cup with Italy,“ Toni told German television after scoring both goals in Bayern’s 2-1 extra-time win over Borussia Dortmund in Saturday’s German Cup final.
“It’s incredible here,“ he said, noting he had the same locker for both matches in the German capital city, which is 600 km (400 miles) north of Munich.
“It’s always good to win titles. We won the German Cup and now we want to win the Bundesliga championship and then get the triple with the UEFA Cup. I really wanted to lift this German Cup. It’s my first national cup.“
If Bayern can complete their recovery from last season’s dismal fourth place league finish with a record three titles this season, it will be Toni who deserves much of the credit.
With 35 goals in 41 matches in all competitions, Toni has been a veritable goal-machine for Bayern, a remarkably reliable goal scorer who has never come close to a scoring slump.
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Chelsea Eye Gerrard
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Steven Gerrard
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Chelsea will make a third attempt to sign Steven Gerrard from Liverpool if, as expected, Frank Lampard leaves at the end of the season.
Jose Mourinho, Chelsea’s former manager, was twice out of luck when he tried to buy the Liverpool captain. However, fortune may well smile on his successor, Avram Grant, whose title hopes were raised yesterday when leaders Manchester United could only draw 1-1 at Blackburn thanks to a late goal from Carlos Tevez, Times reported.
Chelsea is three points behind United, who visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Gerrard almost joined Chelsea in June 2004 for £20m, and again 12 months later, for £32m, after the Anfield captain reacted to the interest by submitting a transfer request. He changed his mind only after his family received death threats and a fan burned his replica shirt live on Sky TV.
Now Grant will try to make it third time lucky, if he survives in the job beyond the end of the season and, as seems likely, Lampard leaves to take on a fresh challenge.
Grant, whose Chelsea side meet Liverpool at Anfield in the Champions League semifinal first leg on Tuesday, said: “Gerrard is a great player and a great person. For me, he is the player of the year in England, and maybe in Europe, because of the influence he has on the team. I like him very much as a player and I know him. He is a nice guy and an example to others. He plays against me, but he’s still my favorite player.“
Grant added that he greatly admired the England midfielder’s versatility, pointing to his success in a new role, playing off Fernando Torres, Liverpool’s main striker. He said: “I’m not surprised; he has the quality to play in any position. In the one he is in now he probably feels more free.“
Reminded that Mourinho had tried to sign him twice, Grant said: “If you can bring him to me, I will be happy.“
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Torch in Malaysia
The Olympic flame arrived in Malaysia on Sunday ahead of a relay in which it will be guarded by 1,000 police watching for protests against China’s Tibet crackdown and human rights record.
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Iran Likely to Play Galaxy
Iran’s Football Federation (IFF) is waiting for the official invitation from the US Soccer Federation to hold a friendly against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Los Angeles Galaxy requested Iran’s national football team to come to the US but has yet to send the invitation, chair of the IFF’s foreign relations committee said.
“We will surely play Galaxy if we receive an official invitation from the US soccer federation,“ Hassan Ghaffari told MNA.
English international midfielder David Beckham is also a member of Los Angeles Galaxy. The two teams have been scheduled to play in June 2008.
Iran and the US had played in the 1998 World Cup in France, in which Iran defeated their rival 2-1.
Iran Wrestlers Win 3 Olympic Berths
Iranian freestyle wrestlers have won three more 2008 Olympic berths at the international wrestling competitions held in Switzerland.
Iran’s national wrestler, Morad Mohammadi, beat Bulgarian wrestler Ganzorik on Saturday to take the bronze medal in the 60 kg category, Alalam reported.
Another Iranian wrestler, Mehdi Taghavi, won the gold medal after defeating Bulgarian wrestler Serafim Barzakov 1-0, 0-1, 4-2 in the 66 kg category on Friday evening.
Taghavi had earlier secured the Olympic berth when he entered the semifinal stage on Thursday morning.
Abbas Dabaghi also beat Marcel Ewald from Germany in the 55 kg category and won the bronze medal to earn an Olympic berth.
So far, Iran has won six Olympic berths in freestyle wrestling for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
International competitions for wrestling began Friday in Martigny, Switzerland. Iranians have so far won six Olympic berths in freestyle wrestling for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Calzaghe Beats Hopkins
Joe Calzaghe recovered from a first-round knockdown to win a split decision victory over American Bernard Hopkins to take the Ring light-heavyweight championship at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
In a disappointing, scrappy encounter, 36-year-old Calzaghe had to dig deep to maintain his unbeaten run in his first fight on US soil, Telegraph newspaper reported.
The undisputed super-middleweight champion made a nightmare start in front of his thousands of traveling fans as he was dumped to the canvas from the first right hand thrown by Hopkins.
The Welshman was quickly back on his feet to receive the mandatory eight count from referee Joe Cortez but his propensity to ship right hands was alarming and he caught another big right which cut the bridge of his nose.
Hopkins stayed on top for the early rounds but Calzaghe seemed to be slowly getting to grips with his rival by the fourth, making him miss with rights and landing a couple of flush lefts in the frantic exchanges.
Approaching the halfway mark, Calzaghe scored a super straight left through the middle as the 43-year-old Hopkins began to blow, but Hopkins was still a real danger, landing a nice left hook.
McGrane Celebrates China Victory
Ireland’s Damien McGrane has clinched his first European Tour title by winning the China Open by nine strokes on Sunday.
McGrane had taken a three-stroke lead into the final round and carded a one-over 73 to finish the tournament with a 10-under total of 278, BBC reported.
English pair Simon Griffiths and Oliver Wilson shared second place with Michael Lorenzo-Vera of France.
Graeme McDowell was tied in fifth, one shot behind them on level par.
Players had to cope with driving rain on the final day at the CBD International Golf Club in Beijing.
With the rest of the players seeing their scorecard littered with bogeys, McGrane kept his cool to produce an impressive round which included two birdies and three bogeys.
The 37-year-old Irish man’s victory had looked certain as early as when he had reached the turn with a four-stroke lead.
Playing partner Wilson from Mansfield endured a torrid day on the wet course and carded nine bogeys in a round of 79. Griffiths had a 74 and Lorenzo-Vera a 79.
New Zealander Mark Brown carded a costly triple bogey on the 18th to throw away a potential second place finish and returned to the clubhouse tied for third.
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