MILAN, Italy - David Beckham left his hotel on crutches and headed to the airport Monday morning to catch a flight to Finland for surgery on his torn left Achilles’ tendon.

The former England captain was injured in the closing minutes of AC Milan’s 1-0 win over Chievo Verona on Sunday.

With his hopes of becoming the first English player to appear in four World Cups shattered and his future in international soccer in doubt, Beckham was slated for surgery either later Monday or Tuesday morning with specialist surgeon Dr. Sakari Orava.

Beckham has been staying at the Principe di Savoia hotel during his second loan stint with Milan and he exited on crutches Monday, getting into a car with his father for the trip.

Wearing jeans, a white shirt and a hat, Beckham got into the front seat with a bit of difficulty and his father got into the back seat. Beckham’s luggage was loaded into a separate car and it was unclear where Beckham will go for rehab immediately after surgery.

Beckham did not respond to questions, never making eye contact with assembled media.

On Sunday, a person familiar with the injury told The Associated Press that “he will miss the World Cup for sure.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made. The person said it was likely the 34-year-old midfielder will play again.

England coach Fabio Capello agreed.

“We have to wait for the results of the scan, but it looks like he is out of the World Cup,” Capello said. “David is a great professional and has worked very hard to be ready for the World Cup, so missing it will be a big blow.”

Orava told Finnish broadcaster YLE on Monday that it’s not realistic to expect Beckham to be ready just three months after surgery but added that such “miraculous” recoveries have happened before.

Orava said “there’s a little glimmer of hope still alive here.”

With only a few minutes remaining in Sunday’s game and the score 0-0, Beckham was by himself in the center circle when he trapped a pass with his left foot, took an awkward step back, then stepped forward and started hopping on his right foot with an expression of pain on his face. He reached a hand down to his left heel, then stood up and gestured as if breaking a twig in half in a gesture to show the AC Milan bench he knew the tendon was broken.

Visibly in pain and in tears, Beckham went to the sideline for medical attention, leaving Milan a man short because all three substitutes had been used.

Club physician Jean Pierre Meersseman told Italy’s Sky TV that Beckham will fly to Finland, where he will be treated by specialist surgeon Dr. Sakari Orava.

While Beckham has not been a starter for England in recent matches, he was likely to make the World Cup roster as a reserve and looked forward to the high-profile June 12 matchup against the United States — and Los Angeles Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan. Although no longer a top player, Beckham was still prized for his free kicks and crosses, especially when England needed second-half goals.

And for many, he was the most-known soccer player in the world, a fashion icon with a celebrity wife, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham. A 2002 movie was even named after him, “Bend it Like Beckham.”

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star was on his second loan stint to AC Milan from the Galaxy as he tried to boost his chances of making Capello’s 23-man World Cup roster. With no chance to play in the World Cup, his international career is likely over after 17 goals and 115 appearances, second in English history behind only goalkeeper Peter Shilton’s 125 matches from 1970-90.

Beckham was England’s captain from November 2000 through the 2006 World Cup.

It was yet another blow for Major League Soccer, already facing the threat of a players’ strike ahead of the season opener on March

25. Beckham is the league’s highest-paid player with a $32.5 million, five-year contract — and its biggest draw.

“We just received the information about David’s unfortunate injury,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said. “We wish him a speedy recovery.”

Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said it was too early to tell exactly how long Beckham, who was due to join Los Angeles after the World Cup, will be out. Arena didn’t want to discuss the impact the injury would have on the season. He wouldn’t blame the injury on the loan.

“Players get hurt whether they’re on loan or not,” he said. “Injuries are unfortunately part of the game.”

Source (article):MSNBC

Source (picture): THEEXAMINER.COM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Tiger Woods is back at home after a week of family counseling in Arizona and is trying to get into a routine that includes golf and fitness, a person with knowledge of his schedule said Tuesday.

Woods returned to his home near Orlando on Saturday and has been hitting balls on the range at Isleworth, not far from where he ran his SUV into a tree in a middle-of-the-night accident on Nov. 27 that set off revelations of his extramarital affairs.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because only Woods is authorized to release information about his schedule, said there is still no timetable for golf’s No. 1 player to return to competition.

Woods was photographed hitting golf balls at Isleworth on Feb. 18, the day before he ended nearly three months of silence by speaking to a small group of associates in a 13 1/2-minute statement that was televised around the world. Those photos of Woods were arranged to counter the paparazzi trying to follow his every move since Thanksgiving.

Woods has not practiced in earnest since winning the Australian Masters in Melbourne on Nov. 15 for his 82nd victory worldwide.

News of him getting back into a routine is sure to begin speculation when he might return to the PGA Tour. Woods announced on Dec. 4 that he was taking an “indefinite break” to try to salvage his marriage.

“I do plan to return to golf one day, I just don’t know when that day will be,” Woods said Feb. 19 in his statement at Sawgrass. “I don’t rule out that it will be this year.”

Woods said he was leaving the next day for more therapy, without saying what kind. The person who spoke to The Associated Press said he went to Arizona for a week of family and marriage counseling with his wife, Elin.

Woods said at Sawgrass of his infidelity, “As Elin pointed out to me, my real apology to her will not come in the form of words; it will come from my behavior over time. We have a lot to discuss; however, what we say to each other will remain between the two of us.”

Woods is not likely to play next week in the World Golf Championship at Doral, where he has won three times.

His next possibility on the PGA Tour is the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, where he is the defending champion and a six-time winner. The Masters, which Woods has played every year since 1995, would follow. Augusta National officials have not indicated whether they expect Woods to compete.

“When he does come back, I hope it’s in the Masters, and I hope he’s in great form,” Masters champion Angel Cabrera said Tuesday on a conference call.

The fallout from Woods’ sex scandal has been immense. He already has had three sponsors drop him - Accenture, AT&T and, most recently, Gatorade - while other companies like Gillette have suspended promotions of Woods while he takes his break from golf.

When he does return, he will have a different logo on his golf bag, replacing AT&T, if he can find a deal.

Source (article): MSNBC

Source (picture): KVOA

VANCOUVER (AP) — All that pressure, all those expectations. Kim Yu-na could feel the weight on her dainty shoulders.

The “Queen” took it all on and delivered royally.

A gold medal.

A world record.

A women’s figure skating performance that likely will be remembered as one of the best of all time.

The South Korean soared to the Olympic gold medal Thursday night, scoring 228.56 points and shattering her previous world record by more than 18 points. It is South Korea’s first medal at the Winter Olympics in a sport other than speedskating, and it’s sure to set off wild celebrations from Seoul to Pyongchang.

Even Kim seemed to be dazzled by the show she put on, gasping when she saw the monstrous score. Coach Brian Orser gave a Rocky-like victory pump, shaking his clasped fists over each shoulder.

“I still can’t believe it,” Kim said. “I waited a long time for the Olympics, and it feels like a large weight has been lifted off.”

The 19-year-old grinned as she hopped up to the top spot on the podium, tugging at the bottom of her dress. When the gold medal was slipped over her head, she kissed both sides and held it up. Her lip quivered when the South Korean anthem began, and then came the tears.

She made a beeline for someone holding the South Korean flag as she set off on her victory lap, and carried it triumphantly as fans serenaded her with cheers and applause.

“Truly I still can’t believe that I did what I wanted to do at the Olympics,” she said.

Longtime rival Mao Asada of Japan won the silver medal, but it was no contest — even with Asada landing both her triple axels, one in combination with a double toe loop. Asada was more than 23 points behind Kim, a margin so big Kim could have done nothing but figure 8s for the last half of her program and still finished in front.

In fact, Kim’s score was so off the charts, it would have put her ninth in the men’s competition — even though they skate 30 seconds longer and do an extra jump.

“It’s one of those programs that, when it’s done like that, when it’s perfection …” Orser said, his voice trailing off.

Joannie Rochette, skating four days after the sudden death of her mother, won the bronze, giving Canada its first women’s medal since Liz Manley’s silver in 1988.

“I had to be out there as Joannie the athlete and not the person,” she said. “It’s not easy at some points. There’s always some moments when emotions take over. But I really tried to be strong to make my mother proud and my father, who was in the stands.”

The Americans, meanwhile, are going home without at least one medal for only the second time since 1952. The other time was 1964, three years after a plane crash wiped out the entire U.S. team on its way to the world championships.

But there is hope on the horizon with 16-year-old Mirai Nagasu finishing fourth. U.S. champion Rachael Flatt dropped two spots from the short program and was seventh.

Kim came in bearing almost incomprehensible pressure. Not only was the reigning world champ the biggest favorite since Katarina Witt in 1988 _ she’s lost just one competition during the last two seasons _ she carried the weight of an entire nation. Maybe her sport, too.

The most popular athlete in South Korea, she’s been dubbed “Queen Yu-na” — check out the sparkly crowns that twinkle in her ears — and she needs bodyguards whenever she returns home from her training base in Toronto. Anything she does creates a frenzy, and even a simple practice draws a rinkful of photographers.

Figure skating is also counting on her to bring back the sass and star power that has traditionally made the women the must-see event of the Olympics. Think of some of the greatest Winter Olympians ever and Dorothy, Peggy and Michelle — no last names needed for die-hard fans — immediately come to mind. But the sport has lost some serious luster since Michelle Kwan stopped skating.

Kim seemed to shrug off any jitters earlier this week, saying after the short program that it felt like any other competition. But it was clear Thursday that it meant so much more _ for her and Orser, a two-time Olympic silver medalist who was devastated when he lost to Brian Boitano at the 1988 Calgary Games.

“It’s more gratifying,” Orser said. “(But) it’s definitely her medal. She’s a champion.”

There were simply no visible flaws in Kim’s performance, from her skating to her expressions to that lovely cobalt blue dress. While other skaters slow down as they approach their jumps to steady themselves, she hurtles into them at full speed yet touches down with feathery lightness. Her connecting steps are like art on ice, and her edges show not even the slightest hint of a harsh scrape. Her spins were centered so perfectly the tracings looked as if they were made with a protractor, and she must be quadruple-jointed to pull off all those positions in her combination spins.

What really makes her transcendent, though, is her performance skills. She breathed life into Gershwin’s “Concerto in F,” moving across the ice like notes on a score. As the music lifted the first time, she put one hand on the small of her back and gave a flirty little smile that set shutters clicking throughout the building.

When she finished, you could almost see the pressure fall away as Kim bent over and cried. So many stuffed toys and flowers littered the ice the full complement of sweepers had to be deployed _ not once, but twice.

“It’s not any time to hold back. It’s not a time to be conservative or cautious. Be Olympic,” Orser said. “We’ve talked about that, coming here. You’ve got to be Olympic. You’ve got to be a competitor. Yes, you’re beautiful. Yes, the programs are beautiful. Beautiful lines. Great presentation and choreography.

“But you’ve got to be Olympic and you’ve got to be fierce. And she was.”

It almost wasn’t fair that Asada, skating next, had to try and one-up that.

She couldn’t. Not even close.

“Because there was so much noise from the crowd, I was not able to hear her score,” Asada said. “But judging from the loud reaction, I knew she must have had a great performance.”

Asada, who has swapped titles with Kim since their junior days, is one of the few women who even tries a points-packing triple axel, and she did two on this night. But she melted down later, stumbling on the footwork into her triple toe and forcing her to cut it to a single. She did only four clean triple jumps, two fewer than Kim, and did not do either a triple lutz or a triple toe.

Asada looked stone-faced as she waited for her marks. She didn’t even crack a smile when she got her silver medal.

“The triple axel I landed I’m happy with,” Asada said, “but I’m not satisfied with the rest of my performance today.”

For Rochette, the medal is a culmination of “a lifelong project with my mom.” Therese Rochette, 55, had a massive heart attack just hours after arriving in Vancouver to watch her daughter skate, and Rochette has been the picture of courage this week.

Supported by her father, Normand, and longtime coach Manon Perron, Rochette decided to go ahead and compete. Her performance Thursday wasn’t perfect; she two-footed and stepped out of a triple flip, and had shaky landings on a couple of other jumps. But she made up for those errors with an emotional and expressive portrayal of “Samson and Delilah.”

When she finished, Rochette blew a kiss skyward.

Source (article): MSNBC

Source(pictures): CLEVELANDPEOPLE, GIRLSPIC.BLOGBUS, CLEVELAND

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo of China won their elusive prize in the pairs competition at the Vancouver Olympics Monday, coming out of retirement to add a gold medal to their two previous bronzes.

It wasn’t the best skate of their career, but it was good enough for gold — and that was all that mattered.

Their score of 216.57 points was more than three points ahead of teammates Pang Qing and Tong Jian. When Shen and Zhao finished their routine, Zhao knelt to the ice, burying his face in his hands while his wife patted his back. He pumped his fist several times while she beamed, her grin so bright it could light up the entire arena.

“It’s been so many years,” Zhao said, “to finally get this gold today is so exciting.”

Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany — in second place after the short program — dropped to the bronze medal after a flawed free skate.
“I think everyone knows we’re a little disappointed,” Szolkowy said. “Our performance tonight was not the one we wanted to show.”

It is the first time since 1960 that a Russian or Soviet couple is not atop the Olympic podium, ending one of the longest winning streaks in sports. Even more surprisingly, the Russians are leaving empty-handed, with no medals of any color in the event.

Shen and Zhao, bronze medalists at the last two Olympic Games, retired in 2007. They got married, and lived the easy life of retirees, doing shows and appearances. But something was lacking — that gold medal.

They returned this season and despite being 31 and 36, ancient in pairs skating, dominated everywhere they skated. And the Olympic competition was no different.

“So many years have been devoted to this dream,” Zhao said.
Skating last, and knowing the couples who could steal their gold had made errors, they performed with the passion that has become their new trademark. The interpretation to “Adagio in G Minor” was mesmerizing, with their choreography perfectly in tune to their music.

“To get the figure skating gold and silver has been a hope for so long,” Shen said. “Now it’s been realized.”

Shen and Zhao did have one mistake, and it was shocking — she slipped down his back during one of their lifts, a move that is normally automatic for them. The crowd gasped, and a look of exasperation crossed her face.
But they recovered immediately, and finished the program with a beautiful carry lift that circled half of the ice.

Shen and Zhao have long been pushed by their Chinese teammates, and Monday was no different. While Savchenko and Szolkowy and Russia’s Yuko Kavaguti and Aleksandr Smirnov stumbled, Pang and Tong soared.

Pang and Tong won the world title in 2006, but have since struggled to recapture that brilliance. The pair picked the right place to do it, winning the free skate in Vancouver to jump from fourth after the short program to the silver medal.

They have stunning athleticism and tricks that defy gravity and comprehension. Their throw jumps were, by far, the best of the night, her skate blades carving the ice on the landings with the precision of a surgeon’s knife.

But like Shen and Zhao, what’s most impressive is how the quality of Pang and Tong’s performance has grown. Their interpretation of “Impossible Dream” could play on any Broadway stage, and the flamenco portion of their program was sizzling.

“Every moment is perfection,” Tong said.

They beamed for the last 30 seconds of their program, even through a difficult lift. When they finished, he bowed down and kissed the ice as she skated around him, disbelief and joy crossing her face.

Savchenko and Szolkowy, winners of the last two world titles, were just .70 points behind Shen and Zhao after the short program, a margin so small the Germans could have changed the standings with just one element.

Szolkowy, who has a long history of botching their jumps, had to fight to save their opening triple toe loop-double toe sequence. But he had no chance on their side-by-side double axels, drawing a gasp from the crowd as he fell to the ice, taking their gold medal chances along with him.

They were also noticeably out-of-sync on their combination spin; he came to an upright position while she was still turning, crouched low to the ice.

“It’s the Winter Olympic Games, one long program in four years — of course you want to skate clean. And you have to skate clean if you want the gold medal,” Szolkowy said. “This one chance we had, and maybe it’s too much.”

Any chance Kavaguti and Smirnov had of keeping that Russian winning streak going ended when she bailed out on their throw quadruple salchow and turned it into a triple. Not a good one, either, since she skidded and twisted across the ice on the landing.

Despite their low finishes — the best U.S. couple has always finished seventh or better — the inexperienced Americans showed promise. If they can improve their singles elements, they have a real shot at climbing the international ranks, maybe even as high as the medals podium in 2014.

Evora and Ladwig’s signature carry lift alone is worth the price of admission. With her hands outstretched, he supports her one-handed for most of the lift. When he does finally use his second hand, it’s only because he’s picked up one foot and is skating backward. Try doing that on flat ground, let alone on a sheet of unforgiving ice.

But they need to clean up those side-by-side jumps and spins. Evora two-footed the first jump in their triple toe-double toe combo and he doubled it. She also turned out of the landing on their double axels. Denney and Barrett’s side-by-side triple toes were downgraded to doubles, and each erred on their double axel sequence.

“It’s an inspiration for me to see these Olympic champions, and what it takes is a lifetime of work and sacrifices,” Evora said. “So we know there is still hope for us in the future.”

Source (article): MSNBC

Source (picture): CHINESELOOP, SPORTS.STV.TV

PASADENA, Calif. - The houndstooth hat is a memory — the Snake, Joe Willie and Bart Starr replaced by guys named Julio, Javier and Mount Cody.

Alabama football, though, is alive and well, thanks to a defense that would have made the Bear smile.

That defense knocked Texas quarterback Colt McCoy out of the BCS title game early Thursday night, then made a big play to save the win late and restore glory to Bear Bryant’s football factory with a 37-21 victory for the Crimson Tide’s first national title since 1992.

The Tide was the unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press poll.

“We back,” said Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, the offensive MVP.

Hanging onto a three-point lead and with momentum on the other side, linebacker Eryk Anders preserved the victory, forcing a fumble on his blindside sack of Texas backup quarterback Garrett Gilbert with 3:02 left.

Ingram scored three plays later to give the top-ranked Tide (14-0) breathing room, then Trent Richardson added a late touchdown to make it look like a blowout it really wasn’t.

McCoy, injured on the Texas offense’s fifth play, watched most of it from the sideline with an injured throwing shoulder.“I would have given anything to be out there, because it would have been different,” he said.

It wasn’t, though, and Nick Saban, in just his third year at Tuscaloosa, helped Alabama earn its eighth title since the polls began in the 1930s, and its seventh AP title.

Tide quarterback Greg McElroy took a knee to end the game, popped up to his feet, raised the ball high in one hand and hugged a teammate. The celebration on the floor of the Rose Bowl — not normally the Tide’s territory — was on.

“It feels good going down in history,” Terrence Cody said. “It’s hard to do, but we won.”

It was a tough game dominated by big-play defense.

Marcell Dareus will join Ingram, Cody, receiver Julio Jones, defensive back Javier Arenas and the rest in Crimson Tide lore after knocking McCoy down and out, 4:06 into the game.

“I just heard a thump when I hit him,” Dareus said. “I did lay it down pretty hard. I didn’t try to, but it felt great.”

A bit later, Dareus picked off Gilbert’s shovel pass and returned it 28 yards for a TD and a 24-6 lead late in the second quarter.

But this game was far from over.

“It was like we’d won the game at halftime,” Saban said. “But you can’t accept being average. You’re playing a team in the national championship game that knows how to win.”

The second half turned out to be anything but a laugher with Gilbert in the game — a highly recruited freshman who was Texas’ “quarterback of the future” but had thrown only 26 college passes coming into this game.

He threw two touchdown passes to All-American Jordan Shipley to trim the deficit to 24-21 with 6:15 left, and after an Alabama punt, he had the ball at the 7-yard line, 93 yards away from one of the most improbable comeback stories in the history of the game.

But after an Alabama holding penalty moved the ball to the 17, Gilbert dropped back to pass and got rocked by Anders, a senior who plays in the shadow of Cody and fellow All-American Rolando McClain. The ball went flying and Courtney Upshaw recovered.

Three plays later, Ingram surged into the end zone from the 1 for a 10-point lead. A few minutes later, after Gilbert’s third interception of the night, Richardson scored his second touchdown to make it 37-21.

Ingram finished with 116 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and Richardson had 109 yards and two scores as Alabama beat Texas for the first time in nine meetings between two of college football’s most successful teams. It also was the fourth straight national title for the Southeastern Conference.

Before Ingram brought the first Heisman back to Alabama, the Tide used to point to all its championships and say those were better than winning Heismans (Remember, Auburn?).

Now, Alabama has both.

“I don’t think anybody in the country worked harder than us,” Ingram said. “We played a great game today.”

Dareus finished with one tackle, one interception and one touchdown, but all were game-changers.

Seeking its second national title in five years, second-ranked Texas (13-1) got to the game on the back of McCoy, its All-America quarterback, who often looked like a one-man show in leading the Longhorns to 13 straight wins.

After the injury, McCoy was asking to go back in to finish his last college game. His dad, interviewed on ABC, said the injury wasn’t that bad.

But Texas coach Mack Brown decided to err on the side of caution, and McCoy spent the second half wearing a headset on the sideline, trying to encourage his teammates.

The Longhorns defense, ranked third in the country in yards allowed, kept things close while Gilbert got his feet underneath him.

And, boy, did he.

He led the Longhorns on a five-play, 59-yard drive to make it 24-13, then 60 yards for the second score, and suddenly, the Tide was falling apart, not rolling. The 2-point conversion made it 24-21.

“It’s a hard learning curve but he learned fast,” Brown said. “At one point, I thought he was going to win the ballgame.”

The Tide, however, hung on and Saban became the first coach since the polls began in 1936 to win national titles with two schools. He won the 2003 BCS championship with LSU.

The program was grounded, of course, in the hardscrabble work-ethic brought to Tuscaloosa in the 1960s by The Bear, who roamed the sideline in his houndstooth hat and painted the quintessential portrait of a football coach in those days.

His legacy still permeates almost everything at Alabama. But it was Saban, who took over a program decimated by scandals, bad decisions and NCAA troubles over the past decade, who convinced the Tide faithful they had to let go of the past if they were ever going to enjoy the present.

It took him just three short years, and now ’Bama is back.

“Everybody has made a great team and that’s why this team is good,” Saban said. “It’s not just because of me. I’m proud of the team and proud of the way they played today and I’m really proud of the state of Alabama.”

Source (article): MSNBC

Source (picture): AMESPHOTOS