Djokovic, Nadal arrange title clash; Sharapova meets Li in finals
Fitzgerald Cecilio – AHN Sports Reporter Rome, Italy (AHN Sports) – World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and second-seeded Rafael Nadal lived up to their billing in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The top-seeded Djokovic defeated third seed Roger Federer, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) while Nadal beat sixth-seeded David Ferrer, 7-6 (8-6), 6-0 Saturday to arrange their finals showdown. Nadal and Djokovic split their two meetings this year. Djokovic defeated Nadal in the Australian Open finals while the Spaniard defeated the world No. 1 in Monte Carlo recently. “Rome for me is an important tournament and I am here for the seventh time and I couldn’t have imagined this a few years ago,” Nadal said. Nadal is eyeing a sixth Italian Open title. He lifted the trophies from 2005-2007 and 2009-2010 before being dethroned by Djokovic in the 2011 final. Nadal struggled with his rhythm in the first set, committing 20 unforced errors, 15 of them backhands. “The first set was unbelievable, how David set the match with amazing rhythm and aggression,” said Nadal. “His movements were unbelievably good and so I did the best possible for me. The thing that I tried to do was to maintain the score close.” On the women’s side, defending champion Maria Sharapova advanced to the finals after beating rising German star Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 6-4. The Russian will face China’s Li Na, who advanced to the finals without breaking a sweat after Serena Williams withdrew with a lower back injury. “Coming back to a place where you have accomplished so much, and to be in a position to regain that success, makes me very happy,” Sharapova said. She will be gunning for a second straight WTA title of the year, after winning in Stuttgart recently. “It was a tough match today and I’m looking forward to another tough one tomorrow,” added Sharapova, who has an impressive 25-16 career record in WTA finals. Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
Toliver, Parker carry Sparks to win vs. Storm in WNBA opener
AHN Sports Staff Seattle, WA, United States (AHN Sports) – Kristi Toliver scored 25 points off the bench and Candace Parker added 11 and the Los Angeles Sparks overcame a 21-point hole to defeat the Seattle Storm, 72-66, in Friday’s 2012 season opener at Key Arena. Toliver shot 9-for-16 from the field, including 5-for-8 from the three-point range, to lead the Sparks’ comeback in the second half. Toliver racked up 10 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Sparks pulled off a massive 30-10 run in the period. Trailing since the start of the game, the Sparks tasted their first lead on a nifty reverse by Toliver with 1:38 remaining on the clock and eventually sealed the game on shot by Parker in traffic with 28 second left. Veteran center Ann Wauters scored a team-high 17 points while the 31-year-old Sue Bird continued to defy her advanced age by recording 15 points, 6 boards, and 6 dimes in 23 minutes of action. Bolstered by a huge second half, the Sparks shot .400 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free-throw line. Their defense also forced the Storm to commit 22 turnovers, most of them in their decisive fourth quarter rally. Three-time WNBA MVP and Settle’s star forward Lauren Jackson is expected to miss the first half of the WNBA season as she prepares with the Australian women’s basketball team for the upcoming London Olympics. Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
White Sox edge Cubs, spoil Kerry Wood’s final game
Fitzgerald Cecilio – AHN Sports Reporter Chicago, IL, United States (AHN Sports) – Powered by homers from Gordon Beckham and Paul Konerko, the Chicago White Sox spoiled what could be the final game for pitcher Kerry Wood Friday as they defeated the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 in interleague play. Konerko gave the Sox an early lead after a two-run homer in the first inning while Beckham homered in the 8th to give the White Sox their second straight win. Matt Thornton (2-3) got the win in relief of Phil Humber for the White Sox while Addison Reed recorded his fourth save in as many tries after a scoreless ninth. Cubs’ starter Jeff Samardzija (4-2) got the loss. Humber allowed five hits and the two runs in 6 1-3 innings and is now 0-2 with three no-decisions since pitching a perfect game against Seattle on April 21. With their fourth straight loss, the Cubs failed to give a fitting send-off to Wood, who, before the game, was expected to retire after one more appearance with the team that drafted him 4th overall in the 1995 Draft. That final moment happened after Wood came in relief for Samardzija in the eighth inning, where he struck out the only batter he faced in Dayan Viciedo to the cheers of the crowd. Wood was greeted at the top of the dugout steps by his son, Justin, who gave him a hug. Wood tipped his cap to the fans, hugged his teammates in the dugout and made one more curtain call. “It’s the most difficult thing you ever have to deal with. Everybody has to do it. It’s a time in your life where you make that decision,” Cubs manager Dale Sveum told mlb.com. Sveum failed to personally witness Wood’s final moment on the mound as he was ejected in the fifth inning for arguing a call at second base with umpire Marty Foster, who was covering second on the play. Wood has an 86-75 record with a 3.67 ERA in 445 games, including 178 starts. A two-time All-Star, he ranks third on the Cubs in strikeouts behind Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins and Carlos Zambrano. Wood is the only pitcher in Cubs history to reach the postseason with the team four times (1998, 2003, ’07 and ’08). He was the fastest pitcher to reach 1,000 strikeouts in both games (134) and innings pitched (853). In his
IMF walks away from the kingdom
Mbabane, Swaziland (IRIN) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has withdrawn its advisory team from Swaziland, saying it is unable to support the government’s proposed financial reform program. The IMF was assisting the government in implementing the Fiscal Adjustment Roadmap (FAR), to right-size the budget, where government spending currently exceeds its revenue. “Government has yet to propose a credible reform program that could be supported by a new IMF staff monitored program… the budget allocates an increasing share of resources to some sectors at the expense of education and health,” Joannes Mongardini, head of the IMF team in Swaziland, told a recent press conference. Swaziland’s severe financial woes began after the global slowdown in 2008, when revenue from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) plummeted. The union – comprising Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland – applies a common set of tariffs and disproportionately distributes the revenue to member states. The spending habits of King Mswati III – sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch – and the royal household are routinely splashed across newspapers, from the overseas shopping trips of his 13 wives to a “birthday present” for the king this year of a multimillion-dollar private jet. The South African daily newspaper, The Star, reported on 17 May that one of Mswati’s wives had run up a bill of US$65,000 at a luxury Johannesburg hotel during her month-long stay. About two-thirds of Swaziland’s 1.1 million population live in chronic poverty in a food insecure country that also has the world’s highest HIV/AIDS prevalence, with one in four people aged 15-49 infected. “Government is now further away from feeding its people, providing medical aid, meeting educational needs and supporting children and the elderly with grants. This means international aid will be required to avoid a humanitarian crisis,” Janice Sibandze, a community health activist in the commercial city of Manzini, told IRIN. Grants for many of the elderly have not been paid this year, shortages of medicines have been reported in hospitals, and the government is struggling to meet its constitutional obligations to provide primary education to all children. Hundreds of mobile classrooms purchased two years ago were reportedly at risk of becoming unusable due to lack of maintenance. More donor dependent “Despite government mismanagement of the economy, people still need to eat, children still need to be educated, the sick still need to be treated. Swaziland will depend more than ever on the international donor community – the world needs to be …
J.Lo named 2012 most powerful celebrity
Paula David – Fourth Estate Cooperative Reporter London, United Kingdom (4E) – American Idol judge Jennifer Lopez has bagged the top spot in Forbes Magazine’s 2011 Celebrity 100 list. Lopez’ “state-of-the-art celebrity success story” helped her land on number 1, beating Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga and Justin Beiber. Forbes credits Lopez’ accomplishments the past year which include her $20 million salary from Idol, endorsement deals including L’Oreal and Gillette, top-selling fragrance and clothing lines, her much-publicized split with Marc Anthony, and her multitude of fans and followers in social media sites. To date, the “Dance Again” singer has around 6.6 million followers of Twitter and 12 million fans on Facebook. Among the top 10 in this year’s Forbes Celebrity 100 are: 1) Jennifer Lopez 2) Oprah Winfrey 3) Justin Bieber 4) Rihanna 5) Lady GaGa 6) Britney Spears 7) Kim Kardashian 
Katy Perry 9) Tom Cruise 10) Steven Spielberg This year’s Celebrity 100 List is based on a famous personality’s money (earnings, net worth) and fame (visibility in all forms of media such as print, television, radio, online, and social media sites particularly Twitter and Facebook) between May 1, 2011 and May 1, 2012. Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
Taylor Swift donates $4 million to Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Paula David – Fourth Estate Cooperative Reporter Nashville, TN, United States (4E) – Star singer Taylor Swift will donate $4 million to help finance the construction of a new education center at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, CMT reports today. The new facility, which will be formally launched in 2014, will have two floors with three classrooms and a state of the art children’s exhibit gallery to be built on over 7,500 square feet of space. This is part of the Museum’s plan to expand its facilities from 140,000 square feet to 350,00 square feet. The new building will be named the Taylor Swift Education Center, in honor of her substantial contribution. By far, Swift’s donation is the biggest contribution made by an individual since the Hall was established in 1967. Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
Devils edge Rangers, even Eastern finals series at 1-1
Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor New York, NY, United States (AHN Sports) – After being shut out in the series opener, the Devils’ offense awoke with David Clarkson scoring the eventual winner in the third period, and New Jersey held on to beat the New York Rangers 3-2 in Game 2 Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. It evened the Eastern Conference Finals at 1-1. After getting blanked in the opener Monday, 2-0, the rejuvenated Devils got Rangers’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist busy in Game 2 with 27 shots on goal and came away with three goals for the win. New Jersey drew first blood as it notched its elusive first goal of the series when Devils star Ilya Kovalchuk beat the Rangers’ All-Star goalie high-glove side on the power play in the opening stanza. On Wednesday, the Devils got down 2-1 before fourth-liners Ryan Carter and Clarkson got past Lundqvist by connecting on a pair of deflections, and New Jersey outplayed the Rangers in the pivotal third frame. At the 2:31 mark of the third period, Clarkson scored a tip-in goal off Adam Henrique’s shot from the right point that shattered a 2-2 deadlock. Clarkson, who is having a strong playoff run, has scored three goals in this postseason. All of those goals were game winners. The Devils’ 28-year-old forward also has six assists and a plus-minus rating of plus-6 through 14 games in the playoffs. Martin Brodeur, who turned aside all eight Rangers shots in the final 20 minutes after Clarkson’s tip-in, finished with 23 saves. Marc Staal and Chris Kreider had power play goals for the Rangers, who received a 24-save effort Lundqvist. The Devils, who are in the conference finals for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2003, improved to 5-4 on the road in the postseason. Game 3 is set for Saturday at Prudential Center as this series switches to Newark for the next two contests. Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
Flip flops can be a "summer bummer"
Diane Alter – Fourth Estate Cooperative Reporter New York City, NY, United States (4E) – Flip flops are synonymous with summer. It is hard to refute the lighthearted, happy-go-lucky feeling of setting your feet free when putting the boots and sensible shoes of winter away and airing out the toes with a pair of the myriad flip flops that being appearing in stores by early spring and linger past late fall. But many people have flipped on wearing their flops, and studies confirm that these innocent-looking sandals can be nothing short of treacherous. A 2010 University of Louisiana study reported that the common behavior of curling toes to grab the flip flop when walking causes the muscles in the front of a person’s shins to work harder, putting strain on limbs, ligaments and muscles not otherwise present when walking barefoot, in sneakers or in shoes. Another problem associated with flip flops, especially the flat ones with no heels or arch support, is that they can make a wearer flat-footed even if they are not, because without proper arch support, feet turn inward. And without proper heel support, feet slip and slide in flip flops, making legs work overtime to simply keep the shoes in place. Still another predicament linked to wearing flip flops are that most are too flimsy and cause a wearer to walk with a shorter stride, once again stressing the legs and feet. So what is a diehard flip flop fanatic to do? Foot care experts recommend wearing flip flops with a good heal and arch support, and made of materials that bend—but not too much. Flip flops should not be worn for activities that can be hazardous to the toes such as hiking. In addition, flip flops should not been worn for long walks, when sneakers are the more sensible choice. The American Podiatric Medical Association provides a list of flip flops that get the respected group’s seal of approval at: http://www.apma.org/MainMenu/RecommendedProducts/SealofAcceptance/Seal-Flip-Flops.aspx Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
Mets, Citi Field to host 2013 MLB All-Star Game
AHN Sports Staff Chicago, IL, United States (AHN Sports) – The New York Mets and Citi Field will be hosting the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig announced Thursday. For the first time since 2008, New York will once again host the Midsummer Classic and it will be the Mets turn to host one of the greatest events in North American sports. “It’s great for the city,” All-Star Third Baseman David Wright told ESPN Thursday. “It’ll be a chance for the world to see the stadium, see the new place and show it off a little bit.” The Citi Field was expected to host the Midsummer Classic but the announcement was on hold until the negotiations of several important details (booking, police and park department, permits) was finished. The Mets will be hosting the Midsummer Classic for the second time in franchise history. The first time the Mets staged the All-Star game at the Shea Stadium in 1964. Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Windham Media Network. 
|