Soccer: Beckham confronts fan in LA

CARSON, Calif. (AP)—Boos rained down and fans sent negative messages with their homemade signs. Things sure got ugly when David Beckham came back to town.

Beckham downplayed the rough reception in his first home game with the Los Angeles Galaxy, a 2-2 tie with AC Milan in which his corner kick set up his team’s second goal, although his halftime confrontation with a fan indicated otherwise Sunday night.

“I’m not disappointed. It doesn’t affect me,” he said. “You can’t be liked by everyone.”

Anti-Beckham sentiment ran high as the English star returned after missing half of the Major League Soccer season while on a five-month loan to the Italian club. He was the target of frequent booing and derisive banners held up in a corner of the stadium, where one of the team’s fan groups sits.

The signs all had messages directed at Beckham. “Go home fraud” read one, with a red slash through his No. 23 jersey number. Another said, “23: Repent,” while another read, “Hey Becks, Here Before You, Here After You, Here Despite You.” Another read, “Is evil something u are…or something u do.”

NBA: Taylor Griffin faces off older brother

LAS VEGAS (AP)—Phoenix Suns forward Taylor Griffin walked to the free-throw line Sunday night during an NBA Summer League game against the Los Angeles Clippers and was greeted with some spirited trash talk from a group of nearby Clippers fans.

His younger brother, Clippers’ top pick Blake Griffin, stood a few feet away on the rebounding block and cracked a smile.

The brothers, teammates the past two years at Oklahoma and for most of their childhood growing up in Edmond, Okla., got their first taste of competing against each other professionally in Phoenix’s 87-70 victory.

“For me, it was just another game,” Blake Griffin said. “Of course I wanted him to do well, but this is a business and I’m more concerned with winning.”

Just two minutes into their initial game as opponents and with the assistance to the help of a group of about 20 vocal Clippers’ fans, it was obvious the Griffins are no longer teammates.

Taylor Griffin made both foul shots, then Blake Griffin, like he did at Oklahoma and during the weeklong summer league, did the job on the court.

“I didn’t pay much attention to that,” Blake Griffin said of friendly trash talk toward his brother. “And it didn’t bother him. He made both the foul shots.”

Blake Griffin, who before the game was announced as the event’s Most Outstanding Player, got the best of his brother with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Taylor Griffin, a second-round selection of the Suns, had four points and six rebounds.

They rarely guarded each other with Phoenix converting Taylor Griffin into a small forward and Blake Griffin playing inside at power forward. Blake Griffin averaged 20 points and 10 points in five summer games.

The brothers exchanged hugs on the court following the game. Blake Griffin is hoping to enjoy a long NBA career while Taylor Griffin is fighting for a spot on the Suns’ roster.

“It was fun getting to play against him,” Blake Griffin said.

Armstrong slams foe's tactics

BESANCON – Lance Armstrong joined a string of riders to question the racing tactics of American outfit Garmin on Saturday's 14th stage of the Tour de France.

The 199-kilometer stage ended with victory for Russian Sergei Ivanov, of Katusha, and Italian Rinaldo Nocentini, of AG2R, keeping the yellow jersey by a handful of seconds.

But ahead of three key stages in the Alps, what was going on elsewhere was arguably more exciting.

Nocentini looked set to lose his yellow jersey to George Hincapie as the American raced ahead as part of a 12-man breakaway from which Ivanov emerged alone 11km from home to go on and win.

With AG2R struggling to close the gap at the front of the chasing bunch, the French outfit were forced to call on help.

And Garmin, big rivals of Hincapie's Columbia team, seemed only too happy to oblige.

They appeared at the front of the chasing bunch with 10km to ride, allowing AG2R some respite before the French outfit went on to defend the jersey by a slim margin of five seconds.

Hincapie is now second in the overall standings, but with little chance of winning the American veteran lost out on the prestige of becoming race leader, albeit briefly, for the first time since 2006.

Having helped Armstrong to win all seven of his yellow jerseys, the former Tour de France champion was among those to hit out at Garmin's tactics.

"Sounds like there's quite a bit of confusion over this one... No one, and I mean no one, wanted George in yellow more than me," said Armstrong, whose Astana team, sitting back in the bunch, effectively allowed Hincapie to race into the virtual lead.

“Our team rode a moderate tempo to put him in the jersey by at least two minutes. AG2R said they would not defend then they started to ride.”

"Until 10km to go he was solidly in yellow until Garmin put on the gas and made sure it didn't happen."

Ahead of three days of climbing spread over the next four days -- Monday is a rest day -- Garmin's team leader Christian Vande Velde is likely to be short of allies in the Alps, where the yellow jersey is likely to be decided.

With Armstrong in fourth overall at 8secs and his teammate Alberto Contador, the 2007 champion, third at 6 Astana appear in command of the race.

Team manager Johan Bruyneel admitted that having Hincapie in the lead would have left them ideally placed. With no jersey to defend, they could save energy by simply following the wheels of Hincapie's Columbia team.

But he too was surprised that Garmin worked to make sure Hincapie went home empty handed.

"I didn't think AG2R were going to manage it because they were fading towards the end of the stage," said Bruyneel.

"Then when I saw Garmin come through I couldn't quite believe it. It seems it's gotten personal and that's a shame."

Columbia team manager Rolf Aldag said he was mystified by Garmin's decision to help prevent Hincapie's day of glory.

"It was other teams who came to the front with 10km to go to [help AG2R] chase, specifically Garmin. But that's bike racing, we have to live with it.

"I really don't know who made the call, if it was made, to chase George down. But everything comes back in life."

Source: http://sports.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20090719-216165/Armstrong-slams-foes-tactics

UAAP: Ateneo takes solo lead against UST

MMANILA, Philippines - Ateneo rolled past University of Santo Tomas Tigers in a 93-77 blowout victory that secured the defending champion Eagles the solo UAAP lead.

Emman Monfort unloaded 18 points from three-point range to finish with a career-high 20 markers Sunday at the PhilSports Arena.

The Tigers fell to second place at 2-1.

ATENEO 93--Monfort 20, Salamat 14, Buenafe 14, Al-Hussaini 13, Salva 8,
Tiongson 7, Long 7, Bacalo 4, Golla 2, De Chavez 2, Chua 2, Sumalinog 0,
Reyes 0, Gonzaga 0, Burke 0, Austria 0.

UST 77--Maliksi 20, Ababou 17, Mirza 13, Teng 6, Bautista 6, Afuang 5,
Mariano 4, Green 2, Fortuna 2, Camus 2, Ungria 0, Felix 0, Cam 0.
Quarters: 30-21, 52-35, 68-49, 93-77

UAAP: UE defeats NU 73-59

MANILA, Philippines -- The University of the East Red Warriors drubbed the National University Bulldogs, 73-59, in the opening game of Sunday's twinbill at the UAAP basketball tournament.

UE now has a 2-1 record, with its loss coming from the Ateneo Blue Eagles last Thursday.

The second game will be a battle of two undefeated teams -- the Blue Eagles and the University of Sto. Tomas Growling Tigers.

Soccer: Beckham to make home debut against AC Milan

CARSON, Calif. (AP)—Seven weeks after wearing AC Milan’s jersey, David Beckham is ready to compete against the perennial Italian power with the MLS’ Los Angeles Galaxy.

Beckham and the Galaxy will play AC Milan on Sunday night in an exhibition, Beckham’s first home game since returning from Italy on July 10.

“I’m looking forward to it but it’s going to be funny,” Beckham said about playing against recent teammates. “You’re always going to come up against teams you’ve played with and against in the past. It won’t be too strange.”

Despite losing stars Kaka to Real Madrid and Paolo Maldini to retirement, AC Milan still has Ronaldinho, Alexandre Pato and Andrea Pirlo.

“We’ll be competitive, that’s for sure,” Galaxy forward Landon Donovan said. “For a lot of our guys, this is a very good opportunity. We don’t want to stand around like cones and get embarrassed.”

One of AC Milan’s newest acquisitions is defender Oguchi Onyewu, who started for the United States in last month’s FIFA Confederations Cup and in the 2006 World Cup.

Onyewu signed with Milan on July 7 but is expected to play later this week, as AC Milan competes in the World Soccer Challenge.

Beckham played in his first MLS game this year Thursday night against New York in East Rutherford, N.J. During the Galaxy’s 3-1 victory, fans booed Beckham every time he touched the ball.

How does the midfielder expect to be received at home?

“We’ll have to wait and see,” Beckham said. “It’s great for myself to be back playing in front of the fans that we’ve got. They’ve always been amazing to me since I’ve been here. I hope it continues.”

Beckham, who played 70 minutes against New York, said he wants to increase that total Sunday night.

“Coming back after a while of not playing, it’s easy to get an injury,” Beckham said. “It’s important that I work hard and don’t put myself in any silly positions.”

The match was part of the last-minute agreement between the Galaxy, Major League Soccer and AC Milan to extend Beckham’s loan to the end of the Serie A season in May. Originally, Beckham had to return to the Galaxy in March.

MLB: Sabathia beats Verlander, Yankees top Tigers 2-1

NEW YORK (AP)—Justin Verlander(notes) followed the trajectory of the ball and watched helplessly as Alex Rodriguez’s(notes) opposite-field fly settled softly into the second row of right-field seats.

All of a sudden, after six dominant innings, Verlander was losing.

Welcome to the new Yankee Stadium.

CC Sabathia(notes) beat Verlander in a prime pitching matchup that lived up to its billing, and Rodriguez’s pop-fly homer sent the New York Yankees to a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.

“It’s very frustrating,” Verlander said. “It’s very disappointing to throw the ball as well as I did and come away with a loss.”

Sabathia (9-6) tossed seven shutout innings, working out of trouble all afternoon for his eighth victory in 11 decisions. Mariano Rivera(notes) got three quick outs for a save and Derek Jeter(notes) made an outstanding defensive play in the ninth.“The game had a feeling that one mistake, one pitch, one swing was going to be the difference,” Rodriguez said.

Melky Cabrera(notes) legged out an infield single to drive in the second run against Verlander (10-5), who took a three-hit shutout into the seventh before running into some tough luck.

Rodriguez led off with a high fly toward Yankee Stadium’s short right-field porch. Verlander watched it the whole way, then smiled in disbelief after the ball carried over the fence.

“If it went out by 10 rows, all right. But just scraping the back of the wall is frustrating. I’d rather a guy hit it 10 miles,” Verlander said. “I didn’t think he hit it very well, but it had the right trajectory and he hit it to the right part of the field.”

It was Rodriguez’s 571st home run, two behind Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew for ninth place.

“He’s throwing 98 (mph),” Rodriguez said about Verlander, coming off his second trip to the All-Star game. “I think he supplied a lot of the power.”

Robinson Cano(notes) singled with two outs and went to third on Nick Swisher’s(notes) soft double inside the left-field line. Cabrera hit a slow roller to shortstop, with Swisher doing all he could to distract Adam Everett(notes) as he crossed over to third.

“Very smart baseball,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Everett’s throw appeared to beat Cabrera by the slimmest margin, but he was called safe by first base umpire Jeff Nelson(notes). Cabrera clapped his hands as Cano scored, putting New York ahead 2-0.

Marcus Thames(notes) homered in the eighth off Alfredo Aceves(notes), who struck out two to set up Rivera for his 507th career save and 25th in 26 chances this season.

Jeter made a signature jump throw from deep in the shortstop hole to get Brandon Inge(notes) for the second out of the ninth.

“That was an incredible play,” Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira(notes) said. “He made such a strong throw. It was perfect.”

The Yankees, who have won 15 of 20, are 40-22 since Rodriguez came off the disabled list May 8—the best record in the majors. New York also improved to 18-5 against AL Central teams.

The first-place Tigers fell to 4-12 against the AL East.

“Hopefully, sweep them tomorrow,” Sabathia said.

Verlander beat Sabathia on April 27, pitching seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts and no walks to start his seven-game winning streak.

This time, the right-hander yielded only two hits through his first 5 2-3 innings—singles by Jeter in the first and fourth.

“That’s as good as we’ve seen him. He was throwing every pitch for strikes. He’s added a slider to his repertoire,” Rodriguez said. “You just hope for a mistake. These guys, it’s hard to score three or four runs against guys like CC and Verlander. We knew one or two runs would win the game.”

A gritty Sabathia allowed five hits and three walks but stranded seven runners. Pitching like the $161 million ace the Yankees were counting on when they signed him, the big lefty also induced a pair of double-play grounders.

With runners at second and third in the sixth, Sabathia retired Ryan Raburn(notes) on a shallow fly and Inge on a soft looper.

“We had CC on the ropes a couple of times,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “We just couldn’t capitalize. Most people talk about guys who have high on-base percentages, but I’d rather take the guy who will drive them in.”

NOTES: David Cone threw out the first pitch on the 10th anniversary of his perfect game against the Montreal Expos at old Yankee Stadium. His catcher in that game was the same one as Saturday: Girardi. … New York reliever Damaso Marte(notes) (left shoulder inflammation) pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts in his second rehab appearance for the Gulf Coast League Yankees.

NAAS: SSC-Cavite, CEU subdue foes

MANILA, Philippines – Defending champion San Sebastian College-Recoletos Cavite launched its title bid impressively even as Centro Escolar survived a scare to down University of Manila, 81-79, in Saturday’s opening twinbill of the National Athletic Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities men’s basketball tournament.

Holdovers Junjun Gracilla and Kris Lucernas combined for 35 points as the SSC Baycats blasted Lyceum of Subic Bay, 82-68, to kick off the league’s ninth season at the jam-packed Cuneta Astrodome.

SSC-R Cavite coach Egay Macaraya said he hoped the win would inspire the Baycats, who will attempt to become the first team to score back-to-back titles since UM dominated the first six tournaments of the league.

The Scorpions blew a 10-point 74-64 advantage in the final three minutes before holding off the Hawks, who rallied behind veteran Reyner Sadsad and rookies Aldwin Ferrer and Jayson Ibay.

Over at the Pasay Sports Complex, last year’s runner-up STI trounced St. Clare, 80-69.

The Astrodome scores:
First Game
SSC-R CAVITE 82—Gracilla 18, Lucernas 17, Escobal 15, Filio 9, Alcasabas 8, Basa 8, Antipuesto 4, Reyes 2, Pono 1, Pasagui 0, Atangan 0, Acain 0.
LSB 68—Collado 16, Baydo 12, Velasco 11, Bote 8, Bilog 8, Ellano 3, Valencia 3, Carey 2, Espineli 2, Ignacio 0, Fuentebello 0, Carter 0, Postardo 0.
Quarters: 14-17, 42-24, 62-58, 82-68.

Second Game
CEU 81—Magno 17, Zapata 10, Clauren 10, Marquez 9, Banas 9, Flores 7, Lobaton 6, Garcia 6, Yambot 2, Dy 2, Manlutac 2, Ascayan 1.
UM 79—Matubang 21, Ibay 14, Manuel 9, Sadsad 8, Viernes 8, Angeles 6, Ferrer 5, Delostrinos 4, Rabalo 2, Patricio 2, Jacob 0, Basan 0, Tamayo 0.
Quarters: 14-19, 38-36, 61-46, 81-79

Tennis: Kim Clijsters eyeing full-fledged comeback

Kim Clijsters is married and a mom these days. Now she hopes to again become a year-round professional tennis player.

The former top-ranked woman is ending a two-year retirement this summer, revving up with appearances in the World TeamTennis Pro League next week, followed by a three-tournament test run. After returning to the U.S. Open for the first time since winning it in 2005, Clijsters will decide if a full-fledged return to the tour next season is feasible.

“I’ve been training like a professional, with my mindset to coming back as a full professional. I’m just going to see after the U.S. Open how the whole trip went and just see which things I have to adjust,” Clijsters said Friday. “Because it’s a new experience for me, as well, traveling with a family and just being back on tour and everything. It’s going to be completely different than it has been when I was on tour for 10 or 12 years in the past.”The 26-year-old Belgian left the sport in May 2007 to start a family. She married American Brian Lynch that year, and their daughter, Jada, was born in February 2008.

Clijsters called what she’s doing now “starting back all over. I hardly played for two years.”

She reached No. 1 in the singles and doubles rankings in August 2003, and won 34 career singles titles overall, including her Grand Slam championship at Flushing Meadows. She also was the runner-up at four major tournaments.

Clijsters was given wild cards to enter WTA tournaments at Mason, Ohio, and Toronto, followed by the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 31.

“We should only be so lucky that she would come back on a permanent basis,” U.S. Open tournament director Jim Curley said. “Regardless of where we are—and where people think we are—as a sport, when the opportunity presents itself for a former Grand Slam singles champion and popular fan favorite to come back after retiring, that can only have a positive impact.”

Before those three events, Clijsters is making her return to competition with World TeamTennis.

She will play matches at St. Louis on Tuesday and Philadelphia on Wednesday.

“It’s great for the sport that Kim is back,” World TeamTennis founder Billie Jean King said. “Kim has a great game and personality for WTT, so our fans are the real winners here.”

Clijsters is looking forward to making her WTT debut with the St. Louis Aces.

“You want to have that tension again, and the official type of matches. Although it’s not the same as a normal tournament, the atmosphere, I think, is there—and the tension and the pressure and the nerves and everything,” Clijsters said.

She’s been in New Jersey, staying with Lynch’s family while getting ready for her return, so these initial trips aren’t as daunting as they might be if Clijsters were in Belgium.

The past several months of preparation have been enjoyable. Still, she can’t wait to compete.

“I like practicing,” Clijsters said, “but I like playing matches better.”

And she’ll have an important new fan tagging along. How much of Clijsters’ matches that fan actually will see is another matter.

“I don’t know how much Jada will be able to sit in the stands,” Mom said, “but she’ll definitely come.”

Tennis: Soderling, Monaco reach Swedish Open final

BASTAD, Sweden (AP)—Second-seeded Robin Soderling beat fellow Swede Andreas Vinciguerra 6-1, 7-6 (6) Saturday to set up a meeting with Juan Monaco in the Swedish Open final.

Monaco, an unseeded Argentine, routed two-time defending champion Tommy Robredo 6-0, 6-2 in the other semifinal on the slow clay.

Soderling, this year’s surprise French Open finalist, saved a set point in the second-set tiebreaker when trailing 6-5. He won it when Vinciguerra netted a forehand return.

Vinciguerra, a wild-card entry ranked No. 460, broke Soderling’s serve only once to level at 3-3 in the second set.

The 12th-ranked Soderling reached his first final at Bastad.

“It’s going to be fun,” he said. “This is a tournament in which I really want to do well. I played well in the opening set. When I broke him early in the second I relaxed too much on the court and he came back.”

Vinciguerra said he would support Soderling in Sunday’s final.

“Robin played incredible, I hope he wins the final,” Vinciguerra said.

Soderling will try to become the first Swedish winner of the tournament since 2000, when his coach, Magnus Norman, won the title.

Monaco broke the third-seeded Robredo three times in the opening set and raced to a quick 5-1 lead in the second after securing two more breaks of the Spaniard’s serve.

“I think it was my best match of the year,” Monaco said. “I played the important points very well and I didn’t give him a chance to get into a rhythm.”

Monaco is the first Argentine to reach the Swedish Open final since Mariano Zabaleta, who won back-to back titles in 2003-04.

Robredo is 23-7 in Bastad after playing the tournament for nine straight years.

NBA: Wade invites Odom in Miami

By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Sports Writer

Dwyane Wade spent much of his rookie season picking Lamar Odom’s(notes) brain on all aspects of the NBA game, everything from playing tips to travel advice.

He hopes those chats start again soon.

The Miami Heat, who traded Odom to the Los Angeles Lakers five years ago in the trade that brought Shaquille O’Neal(notes) to South Florida, have made the free agent forward an offer to return and help Wade once again. The team has not revealed terms of the offer, although it’s believed to be a five-year package that could be worth around $35 million.

“I want Lamar to do what’s best for him and his family because we love him as family, but on the other hand, we want him back home, to come home,” Wade said Friday in a telephone interview. “His house is still there. It’d be exciting to see what happens.”

Odom averaged 17.1 points—the second-highest average of his career—in 80 games with the Heat during the 2003-04 season. He’s spent the past five years with the Lakers, who pulled their contract offer to Odom earlier this week, a move that doesn’t necessarily mean the two sides won’t resume talking. Odom, 29, was a significant contributor to the Lakers’ championship run this year.

The Heat went 42-40 that season with Odom, winning 17 of their final 21 regular-season games and earning the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference. That summer, Miami traded Caron Butler(notes), Brian Grant and Odom to the Lakers for O’Neal, who helped Wade and the Heat win a championship two years later.

Wade, who has asked the Heat to make some roster upgrades with hopes of getting back to the championship level, said he doesn’t need to call Odom to lobby for his return.

“Lamar already knows how I feel,” Wade said. “I really don’t know how to feel. He’s really taken time to deal with it, sit back. It’s a very important decision in his life. It could be about where he ends his career.”

The Heat have also been linked to a potential trade involving Utah forward Carlos Boozer(notes), another close friend of Wade and his teammate from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Friday that Miami “has not entered talks … but is monitoring” the Boozer situation.

Over his 10-year career, the versatile 6-foot-10 Odom has averaged 15.1 points and 8.8 rebounds.

“Lamar and I always had a great relationship,” Wade said. “He’s always been the guy, one of the guys, that I thought really helped me as a young player.”

Boxing: Mosley to go down to 140 to entice Pacman

By Salven Lagumbay
FORMER pound-for-pound king and current WBA welterweight king Sugar Shane Mosley has once again put superstar Manny Pacquiao on a defensive, this time challenging the Pinoy boxing icon to a fight at a weight right into the latter's alley.

Mosley, in an announcement to the media yesterday, said he is willing to move down to 140 lbs, Pacquiao's comfort zone, just to entice the latter to a fight following reports that the planned Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight hangs in the balance due to weight issues.

Cotto is reportedly willing to fight Pacquiao at 145 lbs, while the latter insists the fight be held at 143 lbs.

Mosley, in a move that surprised many, says he can take on Pacquiao at 140 and win his belt as well as reclaim the pound-for-pound title.

“I believe I can make the weight so let's do it! There should be no 143, 141 or 142 or all this other stuff. I'm going to 140 and fighting at his weight,” Mosley told Fighthype.com in an interview.

Mosley also believes that even at 145 lbs, Cotto will find it very difficult to make weight, so a Pacquiao-Cotto fight at 143 lbs is definitely not going to take place.

Aside from agreeing to fight Pacquiao at 140 lbs, Mosley also indicated he would be willing to give Pacquiao a bigger share of the purse, 60-40 in Pacquiao's favor.

“He's the champion so he's going to get more and I've got no problem with that. Let's just get this on,” added Mosley.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao's LA-based friend Jeff de Guzman has advised Pacquiao to take up the Mosley challenge instead of fighting Cotto.

“Aba, harap-harapan na niyang hinamon si Manny ah. Dapat pagbigyan na nga,” De Guzman stated, adding that a fight against Mosley will be more meaningful than a fight against Cotto.

“Mosley will be fighting for his legacy as well, and he has stated he has never won a belt at the 140-lb class, so Manny might as well fight him,” said De Guzman.

“That will be a really good fight,” added De Guzman.

UAAP: FEU whips DLSU

MANILA, Philippines – The kind of dominance expected from Far Eastern was in full show Saturday as the Tamaraws whipped the De La Salle Archers, 65-51, in the UAAP men’s basketball competition at the Araneta Coliseum.

A fiery start by veterans Mark Barroca, JR Cawaling, and Reil Cervantes pushed the pre-season favorites Tamaraws to double-digit leads early before they coasted to their first win in two matches.

“The adjustment was more on mental; lumaki agad ang ulo [they got too cocky early],” said coach Glenn Capacio after the Tamaraws rebounded from a 63-59 setback against defending champion Ateneo.

“We emphasized on ball movement. The team [that lost against Ateneo] wasn’t us.”

Barroca, a member of the national developmental team, shot a game-high 15 points, while rookie guard RR Garcia added 12 markers.

Cervantes posted a double-double of 11 points and 13 boards for the Tamaraws, who led by as many as 20 points, 61-41, in the second half.

The Archers – fielding a rookie-laden lineup after finishing second last season – dropped to 0-2 for their worst start in 23 years.

Earlier, Adamson took advantage of the University of the Philippines’ sloppy plays in the closing seconds to post its first triumph, 72-68.

The Falcons turned three straight Maroons turnovers into a crucial 5-0 spurt in the last 16 seconds to pull ahead after trailing at 69-68.

“The reason for that is our defense,” said Adamson coach Leo Austria. “I thought we were going to lose, but because of the constant reminder to be positive, they did not give up.”

Jan Colina registered a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Falcons, who joined the Tamaraws and idle University of the East and National University at 1-1.

Leo Canuday scored an undergoal stab with 16.4 seconds remaining to lift the Falcons up, 69-68, following a Lester Alvarez steal off UP’s Arvin Braganza.

Another Braganza turnover paved the way for a free throw by Adamson guard Jerick Cañada that cushioned the Falcons’ lead, 70-68, with 5.8 seconds left.

The Maroons, who dropped to 0-2, still had a chance to tie or win the game, but another miscue allowed Adamson rookie Eric Camson to score a buzzer-beating jumper for the final tally.

The Tamaraws held a 36-24 advantage at halftime built on a sizzling 51.7 percent shooting clip from a 26-16 lead in the first 15 minutes of play.

The Archers, who were held to their lowest point production in a 65-46 blowout loss to UE last week, continued to struggle with a 23 percent shooting mark.

For the second straight game, no La Salle player scored in double figures.

In juniors action, John Cani fired 19 points, while Christian Canicula added 14 markers and 17 boards to lead UE past FEU, 70-62, for its second straight triumph at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Baby Tamaraws dropped to 1-1 like the Adamson Baby Falcons, who leaned on Irvin Mendoza’s 17 points and 10 rebounds in dumping the winless UP Junior Maroons, 96-64.

Meanwhile, defending champion Ateneo and University of Santo Tomas dispute the solo lead in varsity action at 4 p.m. Sunday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.

NU and UE try to recover from recent losses in the first game at 2 p.m.

The scores:
First Game
ADAMSON 72—Colina 14, Cañada 11, Camson 11, Alvarez 9, Canuday 8, Nuyles 6, Galinato 6, Santos 5, Cabrera 2, Margallo 0, Lozada 0, Basilio 0.
UP 68—Co 17, Sison 12, Ma. Reyes 9, Gomez 8, Padilla 6, Mi. Reyes 5, Maniego 4, Lopez 2, Braganza 2, Astorga 2, Juruena 1, Marfori 0, De Asis 0.
Quarters: 20-20, 30-37, 50-54, 72-68

Second Game
FEU 65—Barroca 15, Garcia 12, Cervantes 11, Cawaling 10, Ramos 8, Noundou 4, Tanuan 2, Caluag 2, Manalo 1, Vinluan 0, Sanga 0, Knuttel 0, Exciminiano 0..
LA SALLE 51—Mangahas 8, Malabes 7, Marata 6, Barua 6, Bringas 5, Tolentino 4, Bagatsing 4, Atkins 4, Ferdinand 3, Webb 2, Villanueva 2, Mendoza 0, Co 0, Banal 0.
Quarters: 14-12, 36-24, 51-37, 65-51

Boxing: Who will preserve the Pacquiao legacy

By Recah Trinidad

THERE’S A NEW PROPOSAL FOR MANNY Pacquiao’s next big fight.

Certain quarters suggest that they skip the WBO welterweight title and stake a new crown instead.

First things first: Miguel Cotto at 143 pounds could be no better than a scarecrow.

The next question is: What does Pacquiao achieve if he crushes a slow, hollow foe?

* * *

The Pacman, naturally, rakes in the millions.

But, at the same time, an ugly possibility looms.

Pacquiao could also end up with a new title.

The Pacman could be boxing’s new Drain-Your-Pounds king.

* * *

Before you start suspecting, that was an original title imported by Dong Secuya’s philboxing.com from the United States.

Writing from Indianapolis, fight expert Dennis Guillermo warned of a gory possibility.

Guillermo, better known as dSource at the Indianapolis Fight Sports Examiner, sent Pacquiao diehards screaming in disgust when he warned that the Pacman could slide silly from his pound-for-pound throne if he ends up crushing a dried-up Cotto.

* * *

It was not clear if the warning was directed to somebody in particular.

But this should draw the attention of the great Freddie Roach, three-time Trainer of the Year.

Guillermo, in a sense, has been telling Roach that beating Cotto at 143 lb would be an empty victory.

It won’t amount to anything truly significant.

* * *

Of course, Roach will always scrape the bottom, do his best (and worst), in order to ensure a Pacman triumph.

But it might help if Roach also shares a few insights from dSource, who says that:

1) Cotto has already shown in the past he could not force his body to lose any more weight, so beating him because he is dehydrated nullifies the glory of victory.

2) It takes away from the accomplishment if Pacquiao doesn’t fight the real Cotto but a compromised version of the WBO welterweight champion.

3) If they should fight at 143 lb, the WBO crown should not be staked, because it’s not the real champion Pacquiao would be fighting.

* * *

Cotto at 143 lb could be a warrior with only one good arm, or worse.

He could be weaker, useless than a hornless bull.

“Cotto at 147 would be perfect, but Cotto at 145 or 144, which he says he could swing, would be enough to keep the fight legit,” Guillermo stresses.

Now, nobody is trying to tell Roach there’s somebody out there who could handle Pacquiao more perfectly.

* * *

But there’s also this question about legacy.

Continues Guillermo: “Pacquiao’s mystique is that of the underdog that took on all challenges. Pacquiao is about taking the biggest, most dangerous opponents.”

Now, dSource is at a loss.

“Why would Pacquiao want to taint that image now?” wonders the concerned expert.

http://sports.inquirer.net/sport/boxing/view/20090714-215327/Who-will-preserve-the-Pacquiao-legacy

Golf: Tiger Woods out early in the British Open

By Mark Sugden
Agence France-Presse

TURNBERRY — Tiger Woods crashed out of the British Open at the halfway stage after a second round 74 here on Friday.

An error-strewn display left the world number one on a two-round total of 145, five over par, one stroke above the cut mark and ten adrift of leaders Tom Watson and Steve Marino.

It was only the second time since he turned professional that Woods has missed the cut in a major tournament, the only precedent being the US Open in 2006 which he contested shortly after the death of his father, Earl.

There had been no hint of what was about to unfold as he followed six straight pars with a birdie at the long 7th hole to move to even par for the tournament -- a position from which he expected to mount a challenge to win.

But his round fell apart with a disastrous run of holes around the turn, with double bogeys on both the 10th and 13th ultimately proving fatal to his chances.

"There is no doubt I'm frustrated because I was playing well," Woods said afterwards. "After seven holes I was right there in the championship.

"I thought if I could post level par for the round I would probably be in the top ten. But I didn't do that. I went the other way.

"I had a few really poor holes in a row. I hit a few bad shots. It just seemed to be problem after problem and I kept compounding it.

"It is very disappointing. I just did not play certain holes well enough."

Woods has won three tournaments since coming back from an eight-month lay-off for reconstructive surgery on his left knee.

But he has not been able to add to his haul of 14 majors after finishing tied for 6th in both The Masters and the US Open.

"I have just not played well enough in the majors this year," he said. "In all the majors I've won I've played cleanly in all four rounds and I just haven't done it this year.

"I was on the range yesterday and I felt good. I was hitting it well. But unfortunately it was not to be today."

After bogeys on both the 8th and 9th, Woods sent his drive at the 10th flying into the long grass. With the help of dozens of spectators two balls were found but neither was the one they were looking and he was forced to mark his card with a double bogey six.

The situation was not totally desperate at that stage with the American then only four over -- right on the projected cut mark.

But a bogey on the 12th, where his drive ended in a fairway bunker, was followed by a second double bogey on the 13th.

The best golfer on the planet watched in disbelief as his chip failed to make it up the slope on the back edge of the green and rolled all the way back down. Woods then hit a poor approach putt and was unable to hole out from 15 feet.

A good approach to the 16th set up a 25-foot birdie putt which Woods holed to give himself a fighting chance of survival.

At the 17th, he had a lucky break when his second shot took a kindly bounce over the huge bunker at the front left of the green, the ball coming to rest just off the back edge, from where he was able to get up and down to get back to five over.

That meant a birdie at the last would enable him to squeeze into the last two rounds but a slightly over-hit approach meant he had to play a good chip to salvage a par that was just not good enough.

Tennis: Injured Verdasco out in Swedish Open

Fernando Verdasco limped out of the Catella Swedish Open quarter-finals but Tommy Robredo made it safely through.

Verdasco, the world number nine, pulled a calf muscle in the first game of his match against Juan Monaco and although he attempted to soldier on, the Spaniard was 1-6 1-3 down when he called it a day after 55 minutes.

"I had real pain when serving, especially since the injury was in my my right leg," said Verdasco.

"It was not easy for me - I tried to continue playing but when I saw that I had no chance to win I retired before injuring myself further."

Monaco will now face Robredo, who claimed the title in Bastad last year and in 2006.

The third seed needed 77 minutes to see off Georgia's Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-4 6-0 and is on course for a third claycourt title of 2009.

In the other half of the draw, French Open finalist Robin Soderling thrilled his home crowd by edging a tight match against another Spaniard, Nicolas Almagro.

The world number 12 was given a tough workout but crucially claimed three breaks to one to win 7-5 6-3.

PBA: Beermen bags Fiesta Cup

MANILA, Philippines - Laced with superstars in every position after a never-ending buildup over the years, San Miguel Beer finally achieved what it was built to do.

Throwing the full weight of their offensive armada at Barangay Ginebra and adding tough defense in between, the Beermen ended a four-year title drought last night by winning the Motolite PBA Fiesta Cup after a clinical 90-79 Game 7 dismantling of the Gin Kings in front of 20,541 screaming souls at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Beermen jumped out of the gates hard, zoomed to several 17-point leads in the third quarter before emphatically weathering numerous Ginebra rallies in the fourth to jack up their all-time high collection of championships to 18.

Jonas Villanueva, a few nights after being named the season’s Most Improved Player, bagged the PBA Press Corps’ Fern-C Finals MVP plum after norming 11 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists, edging out the rejuvenated Danny Ildefonso in the balloting.

The two teamed up in the play that ended all Ginebra hopes late in the fourth, as Villanueva fed Ildefonso in a fastbreak play that gave San Miguel an 83-72 cushion, going into the last 2:21.

After a hot first half where they took a 10-point lead, the Beermen shifted to high gear in the third, taking a couple of 17-point leads, the last at the 4:24 mark, as Dondon Hontiveros skipped into the lane and tossed in an awkward shot that gave San Miguel a 63-46 advantage.

True to its never-say-die spirit, Ginebra found an unlikely hero in Chico Laneta, who beat the third-quarter buzzer with a gutsy drive and then added another twinner early in the fourth off an aggressive move to push the Kings to within 70-62, with 10:46 to play.

But Jay Washington ended a four-minute drought with a slam dunk and the Beermen simply fended off several Kings rallies from that point on.

The last of those Ginebra rallies came late in the fourth, when the Kings held the Beermen scoreless for over three minutes, a dry spell ended by the Villanueva-Ildefonso connection.

The Kings trailed after the first quarter for the first time in the series, not being able to start in the same fiery style that they did in the first six games. Even David Noel failed to buy a point in that span.

Frosty start

Contributing to that frosty start was the ejection of Sunday Salvacion with 64 seconds remaining in the first period. He was called for a Flagrant Foul 2 infraction after hitting Freeman with a wayward elbow in the face.

San Miguel also took care of the ball better in the first two periods, committing just eight turnovers compared to the Kings’ 14.

Helterbrand, despite being hobbled by an aching left hamstring, still had seven points in the first period and eight in the second as the Kings, who trailed by as many as 13 points after the first eight minutes, stayed within striking distance going to the second half.

The newly crowned MVP took eight attempts from the field, hitting all six two-point tries and making a triple in 17 minutes, while Noel was 0-of-3 from trifectaville and just 2-of-4 from two-point range.

Although Freeman was called for a first foul with less than two minutes gone, the Best Import winner was able to stay away from his second until the first minute of the third quarter.

He translated a long first-half stint into 13 points and nine rebounds to give San Miguel a huge energy boost.

The scores:
SAN MIGUEL 90—Freeman 29, Villanueva 15, Pingris 12, Ildefonso 10, Cortez 9, Pennisi 8, Washington 5, Hontiveros 2, Racela 0, Pena 0.

GINEBRA 79—Helterbrand 25, Menk 12, Tubid 10, Reavis 9, NOel 8, Lanete 6, Wilson 5, Baguio 4, Mamaril 0, Salvacion 0.
Quarters: 25-15, 45-37, 70-60, 90-79

Formula 1: Webber and Vettel to get equal treatment

Following his German Grand Prix success, Mark Webber is closer than ever to Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel, both in terms of performance and world championship points. Webber is third in the standings on 45.5 to second-placed Vettel’s 47.

But while championship leader Jenson Button may hope to gain from the Red Bull duo taking points off each other, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner insists the team won’t favour one driver unless a clear title favourite emerges.

“We will continue to support both drivers equally,” Horner told Red Bull’s official website. “There’s only a point and a half between them, so obviously they are both in contention for the drivers’ championship. There’s a long way to go to catch up with Jenson Button.

“If and when we reach a point where there is a significant gap, or it becomes mathematically impossible for one of them to challenge for the championship, then they are both team players and one of them will play a supporting role should it be required. Our intention is to see both of them catch the lead Brawn as quickly as possible."

Indeed, rather than worrying about how evenly matched his drivers are, Horner is proud of what he considers to be the best pairing on the current Formula One grid, especially now that Webber appears to have bounced back from the broken leg he sustained during a pre-season cycling accident.

“Our drivers are both at the top of their game at different stages in their career and they are pushing one another very hard,” he concluded. “I think we’ve got the best driver line-up in F1 at the moment. I think it’s only now we are seeing Mark at the level of fitness he was at prior to his injury and his recent results show he is absolutely on the form of his life.

“Sebastian is undoubtedly a star in the making. He shows remarkable maturity, given his lack of experience. He is a prodigious talent who will continue to get better. The best is yet to come from him. Both men are being treated with total fairness within the team and are supplied with identical equipment."

Webber and Vettel will be back in action for the team at next weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, which will take place at Budapest’s Hungaroring from July 24-26.