Iran’s World Volleyball Ranking Up

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Serbia led the way with 213 points followed by Argentina and Spain with 202 and 170 points respectively.
Brazil also swapped places with Russia to move up one spot into fourth.
Also in volleyball, the first session of national team trainings held in Tehran. referring to this the head coach of the team, Julio Velasco expressed his satisfaction about the trainings and said that his squad needs time to be fully prepared.
According to ISNA, the Argentinean said, “In this round of the trainings we have U-23 players along with the senior squad. We will separate them on March 26 to have youth and senior team.”
One of Velasco’s main goals was shaping a young squad. Asked about calling up young players he said, “I am looking for good players. We want to show a good performance in the World League competition.”
The FIVB Volleyball World League is an international men’s volleyball competition. Created in 1990, it is the longest and richest of all the international events organized by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). The tournament is annual.

Referees Get Cracking for Girls’ U-14s

Referees are getting all set for the inaugural U-14 Girls’ Regional Championship for South and Central Asia held in the capital city of Sri Lanka.
Eleven women’s referees started their five-day preparatory course on Thursday before the six-nation competition, which used to be an educational festival, happens from March 5 to 10, Afc.com wrote.
M. Muhiseen Ariff, the FIFA Refereeing Development Officer for the South and Central region and Chairman of the Referees Committee of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL), graced the course opening as the chief guest, saying:
“Refereeing is an integral part of the game and the proponents need to be updated on the latest Laws of the Game. We’d like to thank the AFC for all the support given to host the AFC U-14 Girls’ Regional Championship 2013 for the South and Central region and Referee Preparatory Course for the fourth time.
He further stated the objective of the AFC in preparing the referees before the start of the championship, which is to ensure that the referees will be able to apply the Laws of the Game efficiently.
“You are very lucky to have an experienced and knowledgeable AFC Referee Instructor, Niu Hujiun from China, who took charge of Women’s World Cup matches and many women’s tournaments conducted by FIFA/AFC,” he said.
“And to have one of the senior AFC Referee Instructors, Masoud Enayat from Iran, is an added bonus to increase your knowledge and please make use of this golden opportunity to learn.
“I wish you the best of luck in the course and the Championship. On behalf of the President of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka, I’d like to thank the AFC for its generous contribution to the future of Asian referees.”
Niu also gave her comments, “I am very happy to be here again for the fourth time and I have seen many faces before who attended the previous (festival) matches and urge all the participants to work hard to achieve success.
“I’d like to thank the Football Federation of Sri Lanka for all the hospitalities rendered and look forward to a successful course.”
FFSL Director of Referees A.M. Yapa is coordinating the course assisted by Ranjith Muhandiram and S.H.C.K. Jayaratna.
The women’s referees attending the course are Chakma Jaya, Akter Salma (Bangladesh), Nasrollahi Sara, Qorbani Mahsa, Mahnaz Zokaee (Iran), Jana Monika, Gurusamy Runadevi (India), H.W.W. Piyadarsheni, H.M.M. Madushnika, S.K.D.N.N.S. Karunaratna and Loshini Karunaratna (Sri Lanka).
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran and Tajikistan are the participating countries in the South and Central championship.

Marussia Appoint Jules Bianchi

Marussia have announced that Jules Bianchi will race in 2013 instead of Luiz Razia following the termination of the Brazilian’s contract.
With Razia’s sponsors failing to deliver the funds that secured his appointment just a month ago as a replacement for Timo Glock, the Brazilian has been dropped without ever racing for the team - or indeed in F1, Sky Sport reported.
“A sponsor let him down,” confirmed Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz. “Marussia had to move very quickly and they have done that. Bianchi has some sponsorship from France and Italy, but he is also linked to Ferrari and I think that’s an interesting sidebar to this story.
“Cosworth [Marussia’s current engine suppliers] are an independent company and have said they can’t make the investment that is required for the new engine regulations that are coming to Formula 1 next year. So Marussia are looking for engines, Bianchi is linked to Ferrari, and so, in many ways, Razia not coming up with a big cheque might be the best thing that has ever happened to Marussia.
“From what looked like a very serious situation, they’ve ended up with a pretty good deal: someone who is young, who is quick, and someone who has a bit of money and supported by Ferrari who might give Marussia an engine next year.” For Bianchi, a graduate from the Scuderia’s Driver Academy, the sudden appointment caps a remarkable 48 hours in which he was first overlooked in favor of Adrian Sutil by Force India before being offered his first foray into the pinnacle of motorsport.

Platini: Qatar Must Hold Tournament in Winter

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar must be held in winter in order to protect players and fans from searing desert heat, UEFA head Michel Platini has said.
The finals were awarded to Qatar by world governing body FIFA in 2010 and are due to be held in the summer months when the temperature can reach more than 40 degrees Celsius, Reuters reported.
In December and January the average is a far less intense 17 degrees.
Platini voted for Qatar to be awarded the world’s top tournament and was also in favor of Russia being awarded the event in 2018.
“I am in favor of Qatar under two conditions,” the UEFA president told Bild newspaper. “Because of the heat the World Cup will need to be held in the winter. With over 40 degrees (Celsius) playing football is impossible and for the fans it would also be unbearable.
“Also, the neighboring emirates must be included so that the World Cup is staged throughout the entire region,” he added.
Saudi Arabia shares a border with Qatar while the United Arab Emirates is also very near, as is Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait.
Qatar’s winning bid caused a major stir in world football with critics arguing it would be impossible to freeze domestic leagues to stage a World Cup in December or January.
They also questioned the choice of a tiny state that lacked the necessary existing infrastructure and enthusiasm to stage such an event.
“I was the only one who prior to the vote had said how he will vote. Both countries (Russia and Qatar) have never staged a World Cup,” Platini said.

Heat Win 13th Straight, Top Grizzlies

For a while, it looked as though a pair of long streaks were in jeopardy. That is, until LeBron James finally got going--at the perfect time.
Dwyane Wade scored 22 points and set up James for a critical 3-pointer in the final half-minute, and the Heat extended their winning streak to 13 games by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 98-91 on Friday, AP wrote.
‘’I thought this was one of our better wins of the season,’’ Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ‘’It was tough. We had to work for everything. We had to find a different way to win, deal with frustration ... and then make some plays down the stretch.’’
On a night when he shot just 4 for 14, James finished two rebounds shy of a triple-double, with 18 points and 10 assists. Shane Battier scored 14, Chris Bosh added 13 and Ray Allen had 10 for Miami, which snapped Memphis’ eight-game winning streak.
‘’He’s the best player in the world,’’ Bosh said. ‘’But we have the best supporting cast.’’
Down the stretch, James--who had 14 points, four rebounds and four assists in the fourth quarter alone--was simply too much. After managing only four points in the first three quarters, James still wound up reaching double digits for the 475th straight regular-season game.
‘’He made the big shot and that’s all that matters,’’ said Memphis’ Marc Gasol, who led all scorers with 24.
Gasol tied the game with a pair of free throws with 2:44 left, before the Heat scored the next five. Bosh had a three-point play, and Wade took off in transition for a slam that put Miami up 90-85.

Juve Battle to Napoli Draw

Juventus took an important step towards retaining the Serie A title with a battling 1-1 draw at the Stadio San Paolo of nearest rivals Napoli Friday.
Negotiating the testing away fixture with honors even left Juve six points clear of Napoli at the top with just 11 games remaining.
The league leaders had to put an ugly pre-match incident behind them, with Italian news agency ANSA reporting that a window in their team bus was broken by a missile as they traveled to the ground, CNN wrote.
Nobody was injured in acts described on Italy’s Sky TV by Juve general director Guiseppe Marotta as “deplorable and with little to do with sport.”
The game itself started at a frantic pace with the visitors taking the lead after just 10 minutes as Giorgio Chiellini headed home.
He had been recalled to the starting line-up and connected with an Andrea Pirlo left wing cross to score.

FIFA Praises Lebanon For Match Fixing Response

FIFA has praised Lebanon for taking action against match fixing and has requested more details about the sanctions it recently imposed on players and officials, world soccer’s governing body has said.
The Lebanese Football Association handed out various penalties to 24 players, including life bans for defender Ramez Dayoub and forward Mahmoud El-Ali, following allegations that international and regional games were rigged, Reuters wrote.
The two-month investigation involving over 60 witnesses was led by the general secretary of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), Fadi Zreiqat, who said international and club games were targeted by fixers.
FIFA told Reuters via email it had asked for details of the matter from the country’s federation.
“A letter has been sent to the Lebanese FA, commending them for the action taken against match fixing and asking them to provide FIFA with the decisions taken against the players and officials, as well as with the information required by ... the FIFA Disciplinary Code in order to submit the decisions to the chairman of the disciplinary committee for a potential extension of the sanctions,” FIFA said.

Ferguson Expects Ferdinand Deal

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson expects central defender Rio Ferdinand will sign a contract extension at Old Trafford.
The 34-year-old joined United for a then-British record £30m from Leeds in 2002 but his current deal expires at the end of this season, BBC wrote.
However, when asked if Ferdinand would be signing a new contract, Ferguson said: “That is a strong possibility.”
Midfielder Ryan Giggs, 39, agreed a new deal at Old Trafford earlier this week.
And Ferguson is keen to keep another of his more experienced players, who has been rumored to be joining teams in the United States and China.
“I think he has had a great season,” said the Scot.
“He has managed himself the right way and we have contributed to that in the preparation we give him.
“He doesn’t play every game in the same way that Ryan doesn’t play every game.

Nadal, Ferrer to Meet in Final

Rafael Nadal beat fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in straight sets to reach the final of the Mexican Open.
Nadal, who has only recently returned from a seven-month injury lay-off, will face defending champion and top seed David Ferrer of Spain in the final, BBC wrote.
The 11-time Grand Slam champion was runner-up at the Chile Open before winning the Brazil Open two weeks ago.
He was ruthless against Almagro, who dropped serve just twice in the match, to wrap up a 7-5 6-4 win.
Nadal will now go in search of his 38th clay-court title against his compatriot Ferrer, who has won 19 consecutive matches in the Acapulco event and is looking for his third title of the year.
Nadal said: “It’s a very, very happy moment for me to be in another final, three in a row now since coming back. It’s something I couldn’t think of before the start of the season because I really didn’t feel very well with my knee.
“This week has been very emotional for me. I’m starting to feel freedom to run for almost every ball, so that’s the best possible news for me and I’m enjoying the tennis.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s final against Ferrer, who recently overtook him to become the world number four, Nadal added: “It is going to be probably the toughest match that you can expect today on clay, because he’s amazing and one of the players of the moment.
“I will try my best but I know after seven months it’s going to be very difficult to win.”
Ferrer was made to work hard for his place in the final by Italian Fabio Fognini - his 6-3 6-7 (5) 6-1 victory coming in two hours and 23 minutes.
The 30-year-old Spaniard saved three break points in the opening game of the third set before powering to victory.

Tougher Sanctions

FIFA’s new anti-racism chief says soccer has failed to support abused players and needs tougher sanctions.