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Hosseini Will Carry Iran’s Flag
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Homa Hosseini (l) will carry IranÕs flag in the 2008 Olympic Games.
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Homa Hosseini, the female Iranian rower will carry Iran’s national flag at the 2008 Olympic Games. According to ISNA, Hosseini won Iran’s first Olympic berth in rowing three months ago.
Executive board of Iran National Olympics Committee in Tehran chose Hosseini from amongst 52 Iranian athletes in 12 fields participating for the 2008 Olympics. Before that many believed Hercules Hossein Rezazadeh or Hadi Saei, two Iranian athletes who won gold for Iran in the Olympics carry the flag.
The 19-year-old is participating at U-23 rowing championship in Germany. She said in an interview with the agency, “I was so excited when I heard the news. For me it is a pleasure to carry our flag. I cannot express my feelings right now.“
Previously, Lida Fariman, in shooting with air rifle gained the Olympics berth and carried Iran flag in 1996 Atlanta games.
“I don’t think I deserve to carry the flag because it makes me more responsible for my country. But I am sure this will help me show my best performance at the games. I hope I can be a good representative for Iran’s sport,“ Hosseini added.
Meanwhile, in the final day of U-23 rowing championship in Germany, Mohsen Shadi from Iran snatched silver. According to Mehr News Agency this is the first time in history that an Iranian rower has grabbed an international medal. In the final round of the competition, Irish rower ranked first and Shadi by clocking 7:30:29 stood second. Shadi told the Agency, “The competition was tough. I think from now on I have to concentrate on the Olympics and show my best performance there. I hope I can get a medal at the Olympics.“
The 2008 Summer Olympics will be held in Beijing on August 8-24 and followed by the Summer Paralympics on September 6-17. A total of 10,500 athletes are expected to compete in the 302 events in 28 sports.
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Penalties Pin Down Iran
France survived an improbable comeback to beat Iran on penalties and stay alive in the beach soccer competition. Jean-Marie Aubry saved the Asians’ second penalty to earn Eric Cantona’s the shootout victory, which followed a 6-6 draw at Marseille, France and moved them level on two points with Senegal, three behind Group A leaders Uruguay with one match to play, FIFA said.
Iran stunned home fans by taking the lead through Ali Naderi on six minutes, but France responded quickly and, largely due to Jeremy Basquaise’s brilliance, the score came to 5-1 within 90 seconds of the first restart. Farshad Falahatzadeh’s charges pulled two goals back before the second half was out, and another two in the third leveled the scores.
Naderi volleyed Iran ahead straight from the kick-off of extra time, but Basquaise’s fourth goal of the game took it on to penalties, where France won 2-1.
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Kaka Not for Sale
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Kaka
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AC Milan on Saturday dismissed reports that their Brazilian star Kaka is set to move to Premier League side Chelsea on a world-record transfer worth 80 million pounds.
The Italian club signed his international teammate Ronaldinho on Wednesday despite reported financial difficulties, and Kaka’s personal assistant Diogo Kotscho claimed all parties involved now want the deal to go through.
“Real Madrid offered 90 million euros last summer and Milan did not even think about the bid,“ Kotscho told The Guardian.
“This time is different. This is the first time we feel that a deal will definitely happen.
Because of the situation Milan is in at the moment, the deal is good for all parties involved.“
“The move would represent a significant increase in Kaka’s salary, on top of the 10 percent transfer fee that goes straight to the player anyway some 15 million euros. Chelsea is the club to be at right now. They are building a team to win everything.“
But AC Milan said in a statement on Saturday: “Regarding the comments, Milan director of communications Vittorio Mentana reiterates that Kaka is absolutely not for sale.“
If he moved the FIFA World Player of the Year would be reunited with manager Luiz Felipe Scolari who handed him a Brazil debut in 2002 and then included him in the squad that went on to win the World Cup that year.
Kaka, 26, is under contract with Milan until 2012.
But he was irritated by the club’s refusal to let him play for Brazil in the Olympics, followed by their agreement to let Ronaldinho go to Beijing.
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Real Insists on Ronaldo Move
Real Madrid will continue to try to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, Spanish media reported Saturday one day after Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson said the Portuguese winger was staying put.
“I can say he’ll be a Manchester United player next season. That’s our stance. He won’t be sold,“ Ferguson told a news conference in South Africa Friday where the side is on a preseason tour, Reuters reported.
The statement made the front pages of Spanish sports dailies AS and Marca which both remained skeptical and indicated that the transfer saga was not yet over.
Ferguson will hold talks again with Ronaldo at the end of July and at that point the 23-year-old player will re-state his desire to quit Manchester, where he is under contract until 2012, to join the Spanish champions, Marca said.
Ronaldo’s transfer has entered its “final stages“ and it could take place at the beginning of August even if it is complicated, added the newspaper which has insisted the player is joining Real over the past few months.
Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon meanwhile is convinced that Ferguson’s statements are a “maneuver“ intended to make Ronaldo’s price rise, daily newspaper El Mundo reported.
Real is reportedly willing to pay 85 million euros ($118 million) to sign Ronaldo, the Premiership’s top scorer last season, and has already secured a 70-million-euro bank loan to carry out the operation.
Ronaldo, who has persistently spoken of how it would be a “dream“ for him to play for Real, scored an impressive 42 goals last term as United won both the Premier League and Champions League.
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Beckham
Praises Gullit
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David Beckham
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David Beckham has praised his Los Angeles Galaxy boss, Ruud Gullit, for transforming the Major League Soccer club on and off the field.
The former Dutch footballing great who has managed Chelsea, Newcastle and Feyenoord since 1996 took over as Galaxy coach last November following the sacking of Frank Yallop at the end of the 2007 season. He has since turned the squad from league championship also-rans to title contenders in a matter of months.
The Galaxy maintained their course for the playoffs in October by snatching a 2-2 draw at the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night with a 92nd-minute equalizer from Landon Donovan.
Speaking at Giants Stadium after the game, Beckham paid tribute to Gullit’s galvanizing effect on the Galaxy, Ticker said.
“Well, it wasn’t my decision to bring Ruud here but, obviously, I was asked about it and to have an experienced coach like Ruud here can only be good for the club and good for the players,“ Beckham said. “Everybody knows how amazing he was as a player and I know how good he was as a manager as well from speaking to a lot of players that he managed.
“So to have someone with the coach’s experience here is very important for our team and for the club as well because it’s not just on the field that he’s changed things. He’s changed things off the field as well through his experience of managing big clubs.“
Beckham also spoke to Gullit’s ability to change the losing culture of the team.
“Things are changing in our club, gradually, and it’s step-by-step but it’s about getting consistency and I’ve spoken about it all season,“ Beckham said.
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Door Open
Spain’s new coach Vicente del Bosque insisted Sunday that the door is not closed on out-of-favor international Raul. The 30-year-old Real Madrid striker, the leading all-time scorer for the national side with 44 goals, was sidelined under previous coach Luis Aragones.
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Cyclists on Top
In the Chinese International Cycling Tour, Tabriz Petrochemical stands on top.
According to Mehr News Agency, in the last round of the event, some 120 cyclists in 20 laps were participating. In overall standings Iranian cyclist Ahad Kazemi with 30 points in mountain category stood first, while Hossein Askari and Qader Mizbani both from Iran stood second and third, respectively. Also in team overall standings Tabriz team clocking 92:36:18 ranks first. Poland and the Netherlands stood second and third, respectively.
Qader Mizbani, Hossein Askari, Hossein Nateqi, Ahad Kazemi, Hossein Jahanbanian, Vahid Ghaffari and Reza Baqeri are Iranian cyclists attending the event.
Dallas Mavericks Down Iran
The Rocky Mountain Revue started on Saturday with a cultural exchange. The Dallas Mavericks and the Iranian national team exchanged gifts at half court to begin the game.
According to NBA.com, Iran’s Hamed Ehadadi put the first 4 points on the board. Coach Mario Elie was forced to call a time out when Iran pushed the score to 6-0, which drove the early arriving, majority, pro-Iran crowd wild. The Iranian team maintained the lead 20-18 to finish the quarter.
The crowd was quieted during the second quarter as the Mavericks began a balanced defensive and offensive attack. Dallas charged ahead for the lead at 31-25 with six and a half minutes remaining. The difference between NBA and international rules proved to be a bit of a challenge for the Iranian team. The Mavericks’ Aaron Miles came alive to score 12 points leading his team’s attack to finish the half with an 11 point lead. Teammate Gerald Green contributed 10 points as well. Ehadadi finished the half leading his team with 13 points. He also had 2 blocked shots, 1 assist and 9 rebounds.
The second half began with chants, drums, flags flying; but despite the efforts of the Iranian supporters, they were not able to push their team to the lead. Dallas became relentless on offense with impressive assists from several players. Darryl Watkins, JaJuan Smith and Aaron Miles all snagged some steals for the Mavs during the third quarter.
Deco Asks Drogba to Stay
New Chelsea signing Deco has pleaded with striker Didier Drogba to stay at Stamford Bridge next season.
Drogba, 30, has been linked with possible transfers to Spain and Italy, BBC reported.
Deco said: “I don’t know if he’ll stay. I did speak to him and I told him I’d love him to stay and I’d love to play with him, he is a fantastic player.“
“I just hope he can stay with us because he is one of the best forwards in the world and to win the Champions League you need players like Drogba.“
Playmaker Deco, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona in a deal reported to be worth about £8m, would not be surprised if Drogba was tempted away from Stamford Bridge.
“Obviously, at this time many, many clubs are looking to buy a forward and it’s difficult for most teams and Drogba is one of he best centre forwards in the world,“ said Deco.
“All the big clubs will want a player like him.“
New Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari claimed at his official unveiling that Drogba was still “200% in his plans“ for the squad.
A decision on Drogba’s future is expected before the end of July.
German GP Pole for Hamilton
Briton Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday’s German Grand Prix from pole position after delivering a dominating performance in qualifying on Saturday.
The 21-year-old Englishman, in his McLaren Mercedes-Benz, grabbed his third prime starting place of the season and the ninth of his career with a well-timed and controlled piece of qualifying driving, AFP reported.
He wound up fastest in the final session with a best time of one minute and 15.666 seconds and will start the race ahead of Brazilian Felipe Massa in a Ferrari on the front row.
Defending drivers world champion Kimi Raikkonen of Finland ended up in the sixth place for Ferrari after another troubled session.
Hamilton’s McLaren teammate Finn Heikki Kovalainen wound up third ahead of Italian Jarno Trulli in a Toyota, two times world champion Spaniard Fernando Alsono in a Renault and Raikkonen.
Pole Robert Kubica was seventh for BMW Sauber and Australian Mark Webber eighth for the Red Bull.
The first mini-session in the qualifying hour saw the elimination of the two Force India cars driven by Italian Giancarlo Fisichella and German Adrian Sutil, Brazilian veteran Rubens Barrichello in his Honda, compatriot Nelson Piquet in a Renault and
Japanese Kazuki Nakajima in a Williams.
In dry, but cloudy and changeable-looking conditions, the two Ferraris were fast, but in the second session it was their main rival Hamilton in his McLaren who set the pace ahead of Massa.
This session was packed with desperate late action and ended with the loss of German Timo Glock in a Toyota, Briton Jenson Button in his Honda, Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais, in a Toro Rosso, German Nick Heidfeld in his BMW Sauber and German-born Nico Rosberg of Williams.
Three German drivers out meant only 21-year-old Sebastian Vettel made it into the pole-position shootout in the final session and made it count with ninth place on the grid ahead of Briton David Coulthard in the second Red Bull.
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