Esteqlal Cruises on Top

Popular club Esteqlal dominated its top place in the Iran’s Premier League (IPL) with 5 goal-victory over Sepasi in Shiraz.
The capital-based club started the game with full strength to get the whole points of the away game.
Throughout the first half, the two teams showed the same level of football. In the 40 minutes of the game, captain Javad Nekounam scored the opener from the penalty spot.
Nine minutes later Farzad Hatami doubled Blues goals he later doubled his tally in the 71st minute of the match.
Five minutes in the hour mark, Siavash Akbarpour were on target for Amir Qalenoei’s side.
Just a minute into the injury time, Arash Borhani scored Blues fifth.
Thanks to the away victory, Esteqlal has collected 52 points so far while Sepasi with 33 points is 10th in the 18-team league table.
In the other game of the day Malavan finished 2-2 with Foulad. Saipa overpowered Paykan 2-1.

Gremio Suffer Shock Defeat in Libertadores

Former Libertadores Cup champions Gremio suffered a shock 2-1 home defeat against Chilean champions Huachipato in their Group Eight debut.
Huachipato, playing in the competition for only the second time and the first time since 1975, went ahead when Federico Falcone was left unmarked in the penalty area to fire home in the 16th minute of Thursday’s game, Reuters reported.
Gremio, the 1995 champions led by former Real Madrid and Brazil coach Vanderley Luxemburgo who has yet to win the Libertadores, fell further behind five minutes into the second half when Braian Rodriguez scored with a header.
Hernan Barcos pulled one back with a penalty four minutes later, scoring on his debut following his move from Palmeiras.
Argentine side Arsenal, making their debut in the tournament, finished with nine men as they lost 2-1 at Bolivian champions The Strongest at 3,600 meters above sea level in La Paz.
Alejandro Chumacero gave the hosts an early lead with a shot from outside the area but Arsenal appeared to be on top after Dario Benedetto leveled with a free kick three minutes after halftime.
However, it all went wrong after Damian Perez was sent off for a second bookable offence and substitute Emilio Zelaya was given a straight red card for a tackle from behind after only six minutes on the field.
Luis Perez took advantage by netting the winner seven minutes from time in the Group Three match.
Newell’s Old Boys beat Olimpia 3-1 in a clash of former Paraguay coaches Gerardo Martino, of Newell’s, and Ever Almeida in Group Seven, while a Patrick Vieira goal gave Palmeiras a 2-1 win over Peru’s Sporting Cristal in Group Two.
Palmeiras are in the Brazilian second division but qualified by winning the Copa Brasil knockout tournament.

Camier, Suzuki on Top at Phillip Island

FIXI Crescent Suzuki racer Leon Camier topped the timesheets and broke a record in testing at Phillip Island in Australia on Friday.
Camier’s ‘unofficial’ best lap-time of 1:31.2 was half a second under the record, and demonstrated his fine form at the circuit, Eurosport reported.
The rider produced his scintillating time during the morning session using race tires, and then followed it up with an equally impressive race simulation - the only competitor to complete such a run.
He continued to push hard until he was involved in a high-speed crash on the final corner of his last lap of the day.
Camier escaped unscathed, which was more than could be said for his FIXI Crescent Suzuki, which suffered considerable damage.
“The day started off really well and we got down to some good times,” Camier said. “The bike felt really comfortable, we improved it a little bit chassis wise and the electronics are slowly getting better.
“We also did a race run, I was not really pushing it, but just trying to be comfortable and the keep the lap-times consistent.
“We can still improve the race pace and I think I can do a bit of that through my riding. At the end of the day we had a massive crash when I was pushing for a really fast lap - I just got caught out by the wind.”
Meanwhile, Jules Cluzel was absent from testing on Friday following a big crash in yesterday’s testing, which led to him being admitted to hospital in Melbourne for a small operation to repair damage to his left elbow.
The procedure was a successful one, and Cluzel is set to rejoin the team and to return for the two-day test starting on Monday.

Williams Does Not See Bottas as a Rookie

Valtteri Bottas is effectively not a rookie driver heading into his debut season racing in Formula 1, according to Williams chief race engineer Xevi Pujolar.
The Finn drove Bruno Senna’s Williams in 15 Friday practice sessions last year and has been on the team’s books since 2010, meaning that despite his inexperience, he has the air of a more experienced driver.
This is reflected both in his pace and the quality of feedback that he gives to the team, according to Pujolar.
“Because he has been with us for a long time and because he has done a few Friday sessions, we know him well,” Pujolar told AUTOSPORT.
“We don’t feel like he is a rookie. His feedback is good as well.”
Pujolar believes that the combination of Bottas and Pastor Maldonado means they will push each other on to greater heights during the season.
The Spaniard was Maldonado’s race engineer in 2011-12 before his promotion and he’s also hopeful that the two car crews will push each other during the season.
“Pastor improved a lot towards the end of last year and Bottas, when we was in the car, showed he had good performance,” he said.
“If he performs this way, it will be good to have both pushing each other, and the two car crews so that there can be a competition in the team all the time that we are working together.”
Last week’s Jerez test, during which Williams ran last year’s FW34, was Pujolar’s first active duty as chief race engineer.
He believes that the experience gained there will be invaluable heading into the season. Both race engineers have also changed, with Andrew Murdoch promoted from data engineer on Maldonado’s car and Jonathan Eddolls making the same move on the sister car.
“The test was very important because I’m in a new role and a few other people in the team have a new role as well,” said Pujolar.

Federer Breezes Into Rotterdam Quarters

Roger Federer is on course for a second successive World Tennis Tournament title after he defeated Dutch wild card Thiemo de Bakker 6-3 6-4 in just over an hour in Rotterdam.
The Swiss 17-time grand slam winner has lost just five times in his eight appearances at the tournament and never looked in any trouble against his 24-year-old opponent, CNN wrote.
Federer will now play Julien Benneteau in the quarterfinals on Friday as he goes in search of his 77th career title.
“I’m happy. Things are obviously pretty quick indoors,” Federer said in a court side interview. “Thiemo can serve well and he is very talented, so it is a good victory for me.”
The man Federer beat in last year’s final, Juan Martin Del Potro, from Argentina, is on course to meet his nemesis again after disposing of Latvian Ernests Gulbis 7-6 6-3.
The Argentinean fired 12 aces past his opponent as he goes in search of his 14th Tour title. He will now play Jarkko Nieminen in the last eight after the Finn beat German qualifier Matthias Bachinger 6-3 5-7 6-3.
Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis eased past Frenchman Richard Gasquet, the fourth seed, with a 6-4 6-4 win.
Elsewhere, the International Tennis Federation announced Thursday that Barbora Strycova has been handed a backdated six-month ban after testing positive for a banned stimulant.
The 26-year-old gave a positive test for sibutramine on October 16 at the Luxembourg Open as a result of taking weight-loss supplement ACAI Berry Thin but denied she had any intention to enhance her performance.
The ITF said it “did not dispute” Strycova’s account and backdated her ban, meaning the Czech player will be able to compete again from April 16 onwards.

Froome Outwits Contador in Oman

Team Sky’s Chris Froome recorded a sensational victory in stage five of the Tour of Oman.
The British rider beat multiple Grand Tour winner Alberto Contador to the line in the penultimate stage of the race.
A 10-man escape group attacked early and led by 3:30 with 43km remaining of the 144km test from Al-Alam Palace to Housing in Boshar, Eurosport reported.
But the stage exploded on the first of the three climbs of Boushar Alamrat due to the fierce pace made by Team Sky defending the leader’s jersey.
On the penultimate climb, Team Saxo-Tinkoff’s Contador suddenly jumped out of the saddle in a vicious move and only Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) was able to respond while Froome kept his cool behind his team-mates.
There was a re-groupement after the descent but Spaniard Contador launched another attack on the final ascent of the 355m climb but Froome and Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) bridged the gap to form an elite leading trio 12 kilometers from the finish.
They came under the Flamme Rouge together and 2012 Tour de France runner-up Froome had the burst of speed at the finish to win the stage and move 27 seconds clear of Contador on GC going into Saturday’s final stage.
Cadel Evans drops to third overall, 39 seconds behind, after finishing eighth with Rodriguez third on GC at 50 seconds.

Mancini Dismisses Sack Claims

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has dismissed claims his job could be on the line this weekend by saying his critics “don’t understand football”.
It has been suggested that the 48-year-old Italian could be sacked if his side are knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship side Leeds on Sunday, Sky Sport wrote.
The odds are stacked against City retaining the Premier League title they won in dramatic fashion last May, with Manchester United currently 12 points clear of Mancini’s men with 12 games remaining.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup tie at the Etihad Stadium, Mancini said, “We started our project three years ago. In three years we are always on the top--we fight for the title, we have won three trophies, we have the chance to win more this year.
“All the people who talk about this don’t understand football.
“If Manchester City should sack me, the other 20 teams in the Premier League should be without a manager.”
Mancini, who succeeded Mark Hughes in December 2009, ended City’s 35-year trophy drought by guiding them to FA Cup success in 2011 and followed that a year later by overseeing the club’s first title win in 44 years.
Last weekend’s 3-1 loss at struggling Southampton has brought renewed speculation over Mancini’s position with former City player Danny Mills suggesting the Italian’s position is perilous.
When told he had been criticized by “former City players”, Mancini responded by saying they were “probably the players that won a lot of trophies in the history”.

Clippers Rout Lakers

The Los Angeles Clippers have no banners on the walls or in the rafters at Staples Center. They would need decades to measure up to the Lakers’ history.
And they don’t care. The past is easy to overlook in Hollywood. The present belongs to Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and the Clippers, who are running Staples Center with style this season, AP wrote.
Paul had 24 points and 13 assists, Griffin scored 18 of his 22 points in a spectacular first quarter and the Clippers cemented their supremacy in Los Angeles with a 125-101 victory over the Lakers on Thursday night.
Chauncey Billups hit five 3-pointers while scoring 21 points for the Clippers, who never trailed as they roared into the All-Star break by clinching the season series in their city rivalry for the first time in 20 years. The Clippers have won the Staples Center co-tenants’ first three games of the season, with Los Angeles’ longtime underdogs burying the 16-time champions in this latest meeting under a wave of 16 3-pointers.
‘’It’s great. It’s important to get these wins, but we’re not really just concerned about just them,’’ said Griffin, who outscored the Lakers by himself in the opening quarter. ‘’I mean, it’s good to be 3-0 against them, but we still have to play them another time, and we still have to play a lot of other teams. This isn’t one of those seasons where it’s going to come down to either us or them. There’s a lot of other teams that are good in the West.’’
Caron Butler had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Clippers, who lead Golden State by seven games atop the Pacific Division standings.
The win was their fourth straight in an impressive five-night stretch heading into what could be a memorable All-Star game for Los Angeles’ teams, which are contributing four of the West’s five starters this weekend in Houston.
The Clippers hadn’t won this series in a season since taking three of five from the Lakers in 1992-93 - but on April 7, they’ll go for the franchise’s first season sweep of the Lakers since 1975. In a possible sign of how far the Lakers have fallen this season, Paul wouldn’t even recognize the Clippers’ city dominance without qualifying it.

Premeditated Murder

South African Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius wept in court as prosecutors said they would pursue a “premeditated murder” charge over the death of his girlfriend.