Newcastle United, Portsmouth &Glasgow Rangers raided

Three top-level football clubs were at the centre of a police probe into alleged corruption tonight.
Search warrants were executed at the home grounds of clubs Newcastle United, Portsmouth and Glasgow Rangers.
The investigation is being led by detectives from City of London Police's specialist economic crime unit.
Officers also raided the homes of two individuals, but their identity or location is not yet known.
Various authorities have been probing claims of bungs and bribes at the heart of football for several years.
Lord Stevens is leading an ongoing inquiry by his company Quest into several hundred Premier League transfers.
But City of London Police said their inquiry, targeting "corruption in football and its impact on owners and shareholders'', is independent of any other.
Last month officers arrested a 61-year-old man in Manchester on suspicion of money laundering.
Newcastle issued a statement denying that ``the club itself'' is the target of the police investigation.
A spokesman said: ``If the investigation by the City of London Police, or the ongoing internal review of operations by the club's new owners, show that the club has been the victim of any criminal activity, the club will take appropriate action.''
Spokesmen for Rangers and Portsmouth confirmed staff co-operated with police during their search.
A City of London Police spokeswoman said: ``We can confirm that search warrants were served at three football clubs and the homes of two individuals in connection with corruption in football and its impact on owners and shareholders.
"This investigation is a totally independent inquiry. It has not been influenced or informed by the Quest inquiry in any way.
"As this is a live investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.''

Gooch backs ageing Indian stars

Gooch backs ageing Indian stars
July 15, 2007
"He's still standing still, watching the ball and has the ability to counterattack," says Graham Gooch of Sachin Tendulkar

Graham Gooch, the former England captain who played his last Test at the age of 42, has urged India's experienced middle-order batsmen to convert the final phase of their careers into a "golden one", and said they still had four or five years left in them. Having watched the Indians' tour game against England Lions at Chelmsford, Gooch gushed about Sachin Tendulkar's 171 on the second day and felt there was nothing to suggest that his powers were on the decline.
Gooch scored more than half his Test runs, including 12 hundreds, after he passed the age of 35, and was the top-scorer in the 1990 and 1991 seasons. "I think the likes of Sachin, [Rahul] Dravid, [Sourav] Ganguly are all 34-35 and for me that was the golden period of my cricket," he told Cricinfo at the County Ground in Chelmsford. "My batting got better in those four or five years, so there's no reason why they can't go on."
Tendulkar has occasionally spoken of the demands that age imposes and even changed his game accordingly. While he used to attack more often in the early part of his career, he's off late preferred the more compact style, accumulating more often than blazing away. He spoke about this after his classy innings yesterday and indicated that his body dictated the way he approached an innings.
Gooch echoed the sentiment. "It [carrying on despite the growing years] depends on your desire, your fitness ... and if you haven't got the desire you aren't going to be able to remain fit. You need to work that much harder, naturally you're deteriorating and you're concentration and general sharpness disappears. There's no reason why they can't carry on for 4-5 years."
However, he was quick to point out that Tendulkar still possesses all the attributes. "He's still standing still, watching the ball and has the ability to counterattack. I didn't see anything yesterday to suggest his powers are on the decline. It's how much you want to keep going, whether you've got aspirations still. He'll hope he's got one last flurry over here to entertain people in this country. If he and the rest of the batsmen can put up 500-plus in their matches they're definitely going to stand a chance."
India's senior-most cricketer, though, isn't a middle-order batsman but a legspinner who will be expected to carry the attack. Gooch, who faced a bespectacled 20-year-old Anil Kumble on the 1990 tour, believes he can pull it off. "He played the second Test at Old Trafford in 1990 [when Tendulkar got his first Test hundred] and what I liked about him was his desire to take wickets. I faced Derek Underwood early in my career and they were similar with regard to the pace they bowled with. Underwood wasn't a big spinner of the ball but relied on accuracy. Same with Kumble.
"He'll get bounce on English pitches and that's what he mainly relies on for those catches at silly point and bat-pad. He's not a big turner like conventional spinners but his record stands the test of time. The pitches in England don't deteriorate as much these days and are tough for spinners but he doesn't rely too much on a pitch that spins square, it's the bounce that gets him wickets usually."

David in LA

David in LA

David Beckham is set to collect even more air miles after the Los Angeles Galaxy's owners revealed they are planning to send the team on lucrative tours to boost revenue.
Beckham is facing plenty of travel time already following his England recall, with the midfield star looking at near 11,000-mile round trips between his new home in Los Angeles and London to report for international duty as Steve McClaren's team bid to reach the European Championship finals.
The Galaxy have already lined up a friendly in Australia at the end of the Major League Soccer season in late November and Tim Leiweke, chief executive and president of the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) - who own the Galaxy - revealed other money-spinning games are being lined up for England and Asia next year.
Referring to reports Real Madrid were being offered six million US dollars (£3million) a game to play exhibition matches in Asia, Leiweke told reporters at the Home Depot Center: "I think the greatest opportunity for the Galaxy is touring and doing international matches.
"I don't think it is six million dollars a game but I think it could be a pretty good percentage of that.
"And if you can do six games a year, that can add a significant amount of value to the team and its revenue."
The Galaxy will play Sydney FC at the 83,500-seat Telstra Stadium on November 27 and Leiweke added: "We have the Australian dates locked
"We have a couple of dates in the US that we're going to do and we're mindful of giving David some rest so we're trying to be a little focused on making sure we don't overload the schedule this year.
"We're still focused on training in Asia and doing games there next year at the beginning of the season and I think it's more than likely we're going to take a trip over to 'Jolly Old' [England] and do a game or two over there next year as well."
Leiweke claimed his emphasis on lucrative friendlies stemmed in part from the inability to expand the Home Depot Center beyond its current 27,000 capacity without entering into a complex and time-consuming planning process.
He reiterated his ambition to catapult the Galaxy into the top tier of world club football during the period of Beckham's time at the club.
"I've already stated that we'd like to be considered one of the top clubs in the world and that means there's that mystical 100million dollar (£50million) revenue stream that we want to try and get into that classification," he said.
"I think that would designate us as one of the more significant and relevant clubs in the world.
"From a competitive standpoint, I think we're going to go through a bit of a learning curve.
"You can't expect that we're going to beat Chelsea or Chivas Guadalajara right off the bat. We're not quite at that level but we'd like to get to that level in the next four or five years.
"But I've always felt the biggest, most important thing that David can do above and beyond the exposure, the media coverage, the sponsorships, the dollars, the ticket sales - can David ultimately prove to a lot of other players around the world that it's okay to come and play in this league, that the quality of play, our facilities and in particular, the fan support for soccer in this country is there.
"If that happens then David has left a legacy that is probably more in impact and standing than Pele did with the North American Soccer League.
"But I think we're going to have to work hard to get to the next level. The 100million mark is not just thrown out there without understanding the consequences.
"As well as we're doing this year, we have to double our revenue and that's going to be a challenge because, as I've explained, it's not probably going to be driven by the gate here because of the restrictions from an attendance standpoint."
The AEG chief executive explained television viewing figures for Saturday's sold-out Chelsea friendly, when Beckham is due to make his Galaxy debut, would have a big bearing on how much clout the club would have when it came to re-negotiating broadcast rights contracts.
He said: "If David has the impact we think he's going to have and our ratings do what we think they're going to do then there is a good re-negotiation coming in the future for some of our packages.
"Some of our packages expire in four years, some in eight years, so clearly there's some upside there."

Heinze, and the war for him

GIANTS GO TO WAR OVER HEINZE

Liverpool are ready to meet Manchester United's £6million asking price for Gabriel Heinze, but the Premiership champions are determined to prevent the Argentine full-back joining their bitter rivals.

Under new FIFA legislation, Heinze can buy out the last two years of his United contract, leaving the Red Devils powerless to prevent him moving to Anfield. And according to The People, Liverpool are ready to test that ruling.

United are already involved in a bitter transfer wrangle for Heinze's countryman Carlos Tevez, and this new row could escalate to similar heights.

Heinze, currently in Venezuela preparing for the Copa America final, has slipped down the pecking order at Old Trafford and Sir Alex Ferguson will not stand in his way if he wants to leave.

However, Ferguson and other senior United figures would rather see him move abroad than become the first player to make the move from Old Trafford to Anfield in over 40 years.

The paper claims Heinze is keen on a move to Liverpool, but would rather go with United's blessing.

I could not stop Henry: Arsene Wenger

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has admitted he could not stop Thierry Henry swapping north London for Barcelona as "he wanted to leave".

Henry joined the Spanish giants for £16million last month after eight years with the Gunners and Wenger admits it was firmly the player's decision.

"Of course you don't want to lose a world-class player without having thought about it," he told the News of the World. "At the end of the day, it was his decision.

"He wanted to leave. You don't make a decision like that in a minute. You check to see if the player is really completely sure of what he wants to do.

"But Thierry Henry's decision is down to him. It's not my decision. He wanted to make the move.

"He's nearly 30. Maybe he didn't have the patience anymore to let the young team develop. You can understand that. It was a tough decision."

Muralitharan the magic man.

Pls read reviews from ex-cricketers and modern day cricketers about Muttiah Muralitharan on the Occassion of his 7ooth wicket

Chaminda Vaas
Murali is one of the best bowlers in cricket arena. After 500 he aimed to reach 600 and once he was there he eyed the 700-mark. This guy just wants to continue playing and taking wickets - he loves to take wickets. When he doesn't get wickets, which is rare, he is very frustrated. I have been his bowling partner for more than a decade now and it has been a pleasure to bowl from the other end. He wants you to tie from one side because that makes it easy for him to buy wickets. The other thing about Murali is he never stops from learning: even if batsmen are trying their best to study him he himself has improved in the years to come up with new balls and variations, he never gives up. He is very hungry and at the same time he wants to set a good example for others. Nobody can match him. I would like to see him play for at least three to four more years and help produce young spinners in Sri Lanka.
Barry Richards
It is a wonderful achievement. No one questions his ability, he is a genius. He might be one of the last spinning geniuses in the today's totally-batsman dominated cricket. I must admit I had my doubts about his action in the early stages of his career but everybody now accepts genuine talent.
Harbhajan Singh
He is a great role model for all of us. He has been there for many years and always been a match-winner. He has taken Sri Lankan cricket to big heights, without him they wouldn't be where they are today. He is a champion spinner - his consistency of taking wickets, the way the creates the pressure by bowling good balls is just amazing. He is so hungry for wickets and that despite taking so many wickets and he wants to do it again and again. On the cricket ground he is a such a big presence and he leaves an effect on you. With his variations he can surely reach the 1000-wicket mark if he continues to play for at least a few more years. People feel he buys his wickets easily but he makes it look easy even if it is not so easy. In my intereactions with him he has always asked me keep motivating myself and keep playing and keep enjoying the game. After the retirment of Warne and McGrath we need heroes in the game and guys like Murali and Kumble are players we to look upto.