Chelsea to kick off title defence at home to West Brom

Champions Chelsea will kick off their title defence at home to promoted West Bromwich Albion on August 14, the Premier League announced on Thursday.In other headline clashes of the opening day fixtures, Newcastle United will mark their return to the top flight with a mouth-watering trip to Old Trafford against runners-up Manchester United.Blackpool's opening Premier League fixture will be at home to Wigan Athletic before trips south to Arsenal and Fulham. They will also play at Manchester United on the final day of their first season in the top flight since 1971.

Arsenal, third last season, kick off their campaign with a tough starter against Liverpool at Anfield while Tottenham Hotspur host Manchester City, the side they pipped for the final Champions League qualifying position last term.Newcastle's match at Old Trafford is a re-run of the start of the 2008/09 season, at the end of which the Magpies were relegated and United went on to win the title.

The two clubs drew 1-1 on that occasion. Last season's top two will have to wait until Dec. 18 for their first encounter, with United travelling to Stamford Bridge. Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea will then visit Old Trafford on May 7, two weeks before the end of the season.Avram Grant's first league game as West Ham United manager, after leaving relegated Portsmouth, will be at Aston Villa.

Switzerland beats Spain

World Cup favourites Spain crashed to a shock 1-0 defeat to unfancied Switzerland in their opening game of the tournament on Wednesday.A rock solid defence and a tremendous goalkeeping effort from Diego Benaglio saw the Swiss take the lead in the 51st minute through Gelson Fernandes and sustain wave after wave of pressure to hold on for the win in the Group H clash.

The victory was Switzerland's first-ever over Spain in 19 games dating back 85 years.
Fernandes' scrambled goal was exactly the type pundits said the Swiss might score against a Spanish team whose slick passing game failed to convert territory and overwhelming possessional advantage into anything concrete.A long, straight goalkick was picked up by striker Eren Derdiyok, whose path was blocked by an onrushing Iker Casillas.In the melee, the ball squirted into the path of defender Gerard Pique who fell as he twisted trying to clear the ball, and the Cape Verde-born Fernandes was left with the easiest of tap-ins.

Derdiyok could have made it two for the Swiss but saw his prod with the outside of his foot rebound off the post in the 74th minute.Spain will be left kicking themselves after dominating much of open play, while Vicente Del Bosque's selection policy will be questioned after the positive impact of strikers Jesus Navas and Fernando Torres off the bench.But the Spanish, fielding the backbone of the side that won Euro 2008, did have their chances.In the first tame 45 minutes, Pique's shot was parried by Benaglio, and David Villa made a real hash of a cross rather than shooting.

Benaglio, who saw key Fulham defender Philippe Senderos limp off with an ankle injury after half an hour, was tested more as Spain pressed in the second-half after going behind to Fernandes' goal.In short succession, Villa was thwarted by a diving Benaglio, Andres Iniesta saw a curling effort miss the posts by a metre, and Torres twisted and fired high and wide.Alonso then saw a 30-yard bullet of a strike come back off the woodwork with Benaglio well beaten. Navas had a shot well saved by the Swiss keeper and went narrowly wide shortly after.But the Swiss, often playing with nine of their 10 outfield players behind the ball, held on for the historic win and gave themselves hope of progressing to the second round, as they did four years ago in Germany.

Will yuvraj exit Kings XI after IPL3???

Kings XI Punjab's 'icon' Yuvraj Singh could be up for grabs in this year's auction for IPL 4. IPL sources say one of the two new franchisees has already expressed interest in bidding for him if he becomes available. Several of the existing franchisees are also said to be interested in acquiring his services.On Sunday, Yuvraj himself didn't rule out the possibility of leaving Kings XI. He told Times Now he would take a final call after considering the new rules for IPL 4. This non-committal attitude is in sharp contrast to someone like Shane Warne, who has declared that he would love to stay on with Rajasthan Royals if he gets a hefty pay hike.

TOI had first reported on April 2 that Yuvraj was not keen to play for Kings XI even before IPL 3 began. But as an icon player, he had to complete his three-year contract.As of now, IPL rules state that a team can try to retain four Indians and three foreigners. They will be put up for auction only if they are not satisfied with the offer made by their existing employers. However, new teams are demanding a level playing field and asking for all players to be put up for auction again. The IPL governing council will take a decision on the issue after IPL 3 concludes.

Interestingly, Kings XI Punjab's co-owner Ness Wadia has gone on record as saying that the concept of icon player has not suited all teams - an obvious dig at Yuvraj, who has struggled in this year's edition of the tournament.Meanwhile, franchisees are undeterred by Yuvraj's poor form this year. "If a cricketer like Yuvraj is in the auction, every team will go for him. He has gone through a bad phase but that doesn't devalue his stature as a cricketer," an IPL team official told TOI.

Yuvraj himself has shown signs of getting back into his stride in recent matches. "I am well aware of my game and I know what I have to do to get back in the grove... I agree that my form has not been great, but it can get better. I am coming out of a very serious wrist injury. I had to go through a lot of training sessions.

Sania will marry Shoab Malik...

She's India's tennis ace. He's a high-profile Pakistani cricketer. And they're all set to get married in Hyderabad early next month.Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik are planning a small, private ceremony in Hyderabad, but their match will inevitably generate huge interest in their respective countries.The couple will be based in Dubai, though Sania will continue to play tennis and represent India, while Shoaib will turn out for Pakistan. The alliance has been blessed by both families.

"This is the biggest day of my life. I have been in the media glare for too long, and would appreciate a little privacy at this very personal moment," Sania, 23, told TOI.

Shoaib, 28, has pledged Sania his support: "I fully understand what it takes to be an international sportsperson. I'll support Sania in her career as long as she wishes to play.""Representing India at the 2012 Olympics is very important for her, and I will be the proudest husband if she can win a medal for her country," he said.

Ronaldo wants to maintan its Winning momentun

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo declared that los Merengues must beat Barcelona and win all of the rest of their games to claim the league title after they defeated Atletico Madrid 3-2 at the Bernabeu.Three goals in 15 second half minutes completed a rapid comeback for Madrid having trailed 1-0 at the break and although Diego Forlan converted a penalty, Madrid went on to win more comfortably than the score line suggested.

"We played very well and created many chances. We played with a great character and I'm happy," Ronaldo said afterwards, according to AS."With the attitude we have we can beat anybody, but we can't afford to go behind, if we score first it is hard to beat us."Many people think it [the Barcelona tie] will be key, but let's see, we have to beat Barcelona and win the rest of our games. You have to be consistent, because we have an obligation to do well at home."

BCCI announces 15 member Indian team for T20 world cup

Karnataka pacer R Vinay Kumar was, on Friday, rewarded for his consistent domestic performance as he was named in India's 15-member squad for Twenty20 World Cup starting in the West Indies next month.The 26-year-old Vinay Kumar, who has been impressive in the ongoing IPL, was the only new face in the squad to be led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Barring Vinay's inclusion and the recall of Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner Chawla, there were no major surprises in the squad announced by the BCCI secretary N Srinivasan after a selection panel meeting.Pacers Ishant Sharma, S Sreesanth and RP Singh, who were in the provisional 30-member list, failed to figure in the squad while spinners Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra also missed the bus.Delhi batsman Virat Kohli, who was in the ODI squad against South Africa last month, was also left out of the squad for the event to be held in the Caribbean from April 30 to May 16."We have selected the best team for the Twenty20 World Cup. We are happy with the performance of every member of the team. They have shown consistency," chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth said after picking the squad.

"The Twenty20 World Cup is still one month away and we hope that this team will do well in the event," he said.

Srikkanth also said as of now there is no worry. "Everyone is hundred per cent fit and all the fitness certificates have been submitted to the Board. All the members are fit and fine," he said.

Ashish Nehra, who has not played a single match in the ongoing IPL because of a rib cage injury, has been included in the squad with the selectors expecting the gangling paceman to be fully fit for the mega event.Vinay has forced his way into the team on the back of his consistent performance in domestic cricket, claiming 46 wickets in the Ranji Trophy. He has so far captured 202 wickets in 54 first class matches with eight for 32 his best figures.

IPL franchises will recover their money: Modi

Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi did not expect today's bidding to generate an amount so staggering but he assured the franchise owners that there is no reason why they cannot make profit.

Sahara (USD 370 million) and Rendezvous (USD 333.33 million) paid a total of USD 703 million - nearly Rs 3,235 crore - to bag the Pune and Kochi franchises respectively and the amount is bigger than the collective worth of Rs 2,840 of the original eight franchises.

"I was indeed a little bit surprised by the amount. Honestly speaking, I thought the winning bid would be USD 300-320 million. So it was USD 40-50 million higher than my expectation. The bidders must have done their numbers well," Modi said.

He, however, assured that the franchisees can make enough money out of the league.

"We are just two-year-old and every team that has been run well must be making profit. If not, they are probably marginally short of making profit," he told CNN-IBN channel.

Buttressing his case, Modi said, "Sports is one of the leading businesses of the world today. English Premier League, NFL, NBA, Spanish League, Bundesliga - these capture the imagination of the youth and the people. Build a strong base and your future is defined

Sania Mirza's engagement called off

Sania Mirza hasn't had the best of starts to the 2010 season - on and off court. A broken service game is one thing,but a broken engagement and a broken heart,is quite another.Earlier in the week, the 23-year-old's father Imran, who coaches Sania and manages her career, called off his daughter's engagement to Mohammed Sohrab Mirza. Sania was formally engaged to the fellow Hyderabadi and longtime friend, now studying business in the United Kingdom, at a luxury hotel near her home last July.
The Indian star categorically refused to get into the why and what of the matter, but confirmed her engagement was off. "We were friends for half a decade, but found ourselves incompatible during our engagement period.

I wish Sohrab the best in life," she said.Even before the two got engaged, questions were doing the rounds about whether Mohammed could cope with the demands of being life-partner to a widely-traveled, hugely-popular athlete. Sania, who has been struggling with the differences for the last couple of months, hasn't taken the break-up well as her results on court show. However, she's doing what she always does at a time of crisis - surround herself with family and friends.As it stands, Sania will have to turn her focus to the courts, and in time might find comfort there. She flies out to Kuala Lumpur late on Friday, where she leads India's challenge in the Fed Cup Asia Oceania Group II competition, starting February 2.

Pak players should have been picked up for IPL-3: SRK

As a perceived snub to Pakistani players by the Indian Premier League spark a spat between neighbouring countries, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, an IPL franchisee himself, believes they should have been picked."I truly believe they (Pakistan players) should have been chosen," Khan, co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), said.Khan, however, said that since "some issues" were involved the matter could have been handled by the IPL "respectfully".No Pakistani player was bought by the eight Indian clubs during an auction on Tuesday for the third edition of the glitzy IPL despite the Pakistan team being the reigning world champions in the Twenty20 format of the cricket tournament.Rooting for the Pakistani players, Khan said they are the best T20 players in the world. "They are the champions, they are wonderful but somewhere down the line there is an issue and we can't deny it," he told a news channel.

Khan said it was humiliating to him as a KKR owner that no one bid for the Pakistani players despite them being put up for auction."We are known to invite everyone. We should have. If there were any issues, they should have been put on board earlier. Everything can happen respectfully," he said."Everyday we blame Pakistan, everyday Pakistan blames us. It is an issue," Khan, who had five players from Pakistan playing for KKR in IPL's first edition, said.Khan felt that the youth should circumvent all that is said about India and Pakistan by the politicians and say, "It (Pakistan) is a great neighbour to have. We are great neighbours, They are good neighbours. Let us love each other.""Let me be honest. My family is from Pakistan, my father was born there and his family is from there," he said.

All IPL teams agreed to shun Pak players

What was suspected after Tuesday’s auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is now confirmed - there was indeed a consensus among the team franchisees that none of them would bid for the Pakistani players.Underlying this consensus were ambiguous signals from officialdom. Union sports minister MS Gill went on record on Wednesday insisting that neither his ministry nor the government had in any way nudged IPL teams to treat Pakistani players as untouchables. However, sources in the Indian cricket board (BCCI) gave TOI details of what transpired in the run-up to the auction, which suggest a more nuanced reality.

According to the sources, the BCCI initially told the franchisees that they could bid for Pakistani players and treat them just like cricketers from any other part of the world. Around the middle of December, the board also assured the teams that it would chip in with help for visas and other diplomatic clearances from the government.However, when team owners asked the board "what guarantee will the franchisees have?", the board spoke to some government officials in the last week of December and reverted with the message that the government - understandably - couldn’t give "any guarantee". The prospects of possible terror attacks clearly contributed to this message.Hence the IPL teams ignored the Pakistan players in auction as there was "no guarantee" from the government that these players would get visas and other clearances.