Sports

LONDON - Heavy snow and freezing temperatures wreaked havoc with the Premier League on Saturday, all but wiping out the fixture list and putting the title race on ice. Arsenal were denied the chance to regain top spot after their match against Stoke at the Emirates was one of four matches to be called off just hours before kick-off as blizzards blanketed Britain.
In the only two games to take place, Sunderland moved up to sixth place as Danny Welbeck's first-half header clinched

MADRID - Jose Mourinho on Saturday rated 2010 as "the best year of my career" after guiding his former club Inter Milan to the Italian league, Cup and Champions League titles.
"If I had to give 2010 a mark from 1 to 10 it would be an 11," the ever modest Portuguese coach told a press conference here. "I won everything with Inter. And then with Real Madrid every possibility is still available. The championship is open, we are still in the (Spanish) Cup, and the Champions

SPORTS THIS WEEK - There are currently two Test series of major significance being played in the Southern Hemisphere. England and Australia are playing off for the Ashes urn while India and South Africa vie for the top position in the Test cricket rankings. England are coming of a dream Test victory in the second Test where they demolished Australia in a manner more akin to what Australia has been doing to them in the recent past.
England looked like world beaters all the way

LAHORE - Former Pakistan Test captain Rashid Latif feels bad for the three suspended players - Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif. Latif, who blew the whistle on the match-fixing menace in international cricket, said the ICC had dragged its feet on reaching a decision on the case.
"The ICC has put these players through a lot of mental torture. Perhaps they don't realise the sort of tension and pressure the players go through when confronted with such a situation," PTI

LAHORE - Junior tennis star Iman Qureshi went down fighting in the final of the Asian Junior tennis championship at Doha. Iman Qureshi fought gallantly after going down 6-3 in the first set and gave a tough time to her rival from the host countryin the second set, eventually losing 7-6.
Despite having crowd support, Olla Murad of Qatar was having trouble meeting the challenges posed by Iman. By reaching the singles and doubles final, Iman has now moved up to the top five in Asian

LAHORE - The Lahore Polo Club is holding an exhibition polo match to raise funds for the flood effected people of Pakistan.
An official of the LPC said: "Polo for Pakistan is a proposed charitable foundation being established by the Lahore Polo Club with a prime focus on the restoration of shattered lives whenever and whenever needed through collection of funds and proceeds; each and every penny collected from our sponsors will be used for the rightful cause."
The charity

PERTH: Australia face an uphill battle to regain the Ashes after another top order collapse on the first day of the crucial third Test at the WACA in Perth on Thursday.
England, who will retain the Ashes with victory in the match, won an important toss and reduced the hosts to 69-5 after sending them in to bat on a greenish pitch, before Australia's tail wagged to take them to a modestly competitive total of 268.
In reply, England edged safely to 29-0 at stumps, with

LAHORE: Pakistan's runaway wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider, who flew to London in the middle of the series against South Africa last month, is still waiting for a decision on his asylum case in the United Kingdom.
Haider had fled Abu Dhabi claiming he received death threats from alleged bookies. Haider had also threatened to expose those involved in match-fixing on his Facebook page but since then had gone underground.
Many had thought this was because he was granted asylum

LAHORE: Discarded leg-spinner Danish Kaneria said Thursday he was confident that he would be selected in the national team again. Kaneria was summoned for a meeting by the Pakistan Cricket Board's integrity committee on Thursday regarding the decision of his inclusion in the team. "It was a fruitful meeting and whatever the board has asked, I am providing them with those details.
Now it is just a case of waiting for the decision," Kaneria said. The spinner, who with his 261

LAHORE: Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram feels the national side's preparations
for the 2011 World Cup are not on the right track and it is high time the selectors picked the preliminary squad to give enough time to the players to gel as a unit.
Akram's statement echoed the views of Shahid Afridi and Waqar Younis who have stated that Pakistan needs to step up its preparations for the World Cup starting February 19.
"It is good they (Afridi and Younis) have spoken

PERTH: Towering England seamer Chris Tremlett was pleased to belie his 'gentle giant' reputation with a fiery three-wicket haul that took the wind out of Australian sails on day one of the third Ashes test on Thursday.
Previously dismissed as timid, branded "a bit soft" by his former Hampshire captain Shane Warne and ignored by selectors for more than three years, the 6 foot 7 inch Tremlett was recalled to the side following an injury to Stuart Broad.
He seized the

PERTH: England turned the screws on Australia's embattled leadership on Thursday with Ricky Ponting's dismal run of form in the Ashes continuing on the opening day of the third Test in Perth.
The Australian captain and his deputy Michael Clarke both fell cheaply as England's pace attack capitalised on a grassy pitch to have the home side floundering at 36-4 before they fought back to 268 all-out.
Ponting, who had said on Wednesday it was time for him to lead the way with the

PERTH: Australian spin maestro Shane Warne believes Australia have made a mistake in overlooking Michael Beer for the third Ashes Test in Perth and instead electing to field a four-man pace attack, with the slow bowling duties left to all-rounder Steve Smith.
Warne wrote on his Twitter account: "Very, very surprised Australia playing five quicks and Smith ... No Beer is a big surprise," wrote Warne on his Twitter account.
"Three quicks, Watson, Smith and Beer gives Ricky

DUBAI: The Chinese women's swimming team powered their way to the first world record of the FINA World Short Course Championships here on Wednesday. Chen Qian, Tang Yi, Liu Jing and Zhu Qianwei surged to victory in the 4x200m freestyle relay in a time of 7:35.94 to cut a massive three seconds off the previous mark set by the Netherlands at the last edition in Manchester two years ago.
Australia claimed silver in 7:37.57 and France the bronze in 7:38.33, meaning not only that the

CENTURION: South Africa's fast bowlers made up for lost time as they ripped through the Indian batting line-up on a rain-shortened first day of the first Test at SuperSport Park on Thursday.
Morne Morkel took four wickets and Dale Steyn three as India crashed to 136 for nine after being sent in on a green, damp pitch. Only Sachin Tendulkar, who made an elegant 36 off 34 balls, looked at ease as Steyn and Morkel confirmed their credentials as the world's most lethal new ball pair

LAHORE: Pakistan, led by Sana Mehmood, snatched semi-final spot when they put up a fine display to overwhelm Afghanistan 3-0 in their second Group B match of the first SAFF Women Football Championship at Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh on Thursday.
Pakistan will now face either India or Bangladesh in the semi finals.
The Afghan side, captained by Khalida Popal, failed to put up much resistance conceding three goals, one of them scored by Women Wing chairperson Robina Irfan's

LAHORE: Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has challenged the claim of PCB chairman Ijaz Butt that China didn't have enough cricket facilities to host international matches or the Asia Cup in 2012.
In a statement on Thursday, Rashid said he was surprised to read Butt's statement after his return from Bangladesh where he attended the Asian Cricket Council meeting that awarded the Asia Cup to Bangladesh.
Rashid categorically said that the facilities at the cricket stadium in