Stoner takes emotional final pole for Ducati at Valencia

Casey Stoner will start his final race as a Ducati rider from the front of the MotoGP grid tomorrow after a typically determined ride in the Valencia sunshine this afternoon. Stoner struggled to find a set-up he was entirely comfortable with throughout the 45-minute qualifying session but he took 0.8 seconds off his best time to break the 1'32 barrier on his 14th lap and he followed up with two more efforts in the 1'31 bracket on a short but sweet final run, sealing his 25th and final pole position for the Italian factory.

Nicky Hayden also enjoyed a positive afternoon, qualifying inside the front two rows for the fourth successive race. The American shaved a full second off his best effort from free practice and is confident he could have gone even faster but for a front end slide that cost him time and confidence on his first flying lap, although his pace was still good enough for fifth on the grid.

CASEY STONER (Ducati Team) 1st – 1'31.799
“This morning we were struggling a little bit with the front because you have to spend a lot of time at this circuit with the bike leaned over so this afternoon we tried a lot of different things without really finding the right feeling. When I went out on a soft tyre I didn't think I'd be able to beat Jorge (Lorenzo) or Marco (Simoncelli) but it gave me the confidence I needed to go much faster and I set a lap time I was very happy with. I actually made a couple of mistakes on my last two laps otherwise I think I could have improved it but the important thing is that I was able to give Ducati another pole position before I sign off. There are a couple of sections where we need to improve for tomorrow but other sections that remind me of Phillip Island in the way I can attack them so overall I am comfortable and confident. It will be an emotional day I'm sure tomorrow but for now my job is to focus on the race and achieving the best result possible.”

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati Team) 5th – 1'32.422
“The middle of the second row isn't a disaster. The track seemed to really come in this afternoon and immediately on hard tyres we were a lot faster than we've been all weekend. We made a couple of little changes this afternoon and straight away I made up the couple of tenths I've been lacking so far. When we put the first soft tyre in I got straight into the 1'32s and with the second one in the first split I had a moment with the front and that's not the way you want to start your first flying lap. It cost me a little confidence and maybe a place on the front row because even though I managed a 1'32.4 I wasn't able to find those last couple of tenths. Each tenth makes a big difference around here so we have to claw for every one we can get. Tomorrow ain't going to be cake, I know that, but I want to finish the year with a strong result and I'm looking forward to it.”

Circuit Record: Casey Stoner (Ducati - 2008), 1’32.582 – 155.732 Km/h
Best Pole: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha - 2006), 1’31.002 – 158.436 Km/h

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Iran beats South Korea 1-0 in friendly

Masoud Shojaei's first-half goal Tuesday gave Iran a 1-0 victory against South Korea in a friendly.

The Osasuna striker scored in the 35t minute from the edge of the area after receiving a pass from Pejman Nouri following a mistake by South Korea defender Lee Young-pyo.

South Korea was playing its second game since reaching the second round of the World Cup, and went close to scoring through Park Ji-sung, Park Chu-young and Lee Chung-yong. The Koreans put the visitors under pressure for most of the match as both teams continue preparations for the 2011 Asian Cup in January.

The victory marks a successful return to Seoul for Iran coach Afshin Ghotbi, a former assistant with South Korea.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com
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Turkey’s Sahin Will Be at Home in Qualifier

Berlin - He may have been born and raised in Germany, but Turkey midfielder Nuri Sahin says he will have no problem wearing the red shirt on Friday and taking on the country of his birth in Berlin in a Euro 2012 qualifier.

Around 30,000 Turkey fans are expected at Olympic Stadium for the Group A clash.

With 1.66 million Turks and 700,000 Germans of Turkish origin currently living in Germany, the qualifier between the group’s top two sides will almost have the air of a home match for Guus Hiddink-coached Turkey.

Having played for Turkey since 2005, Sahin had no problem choosing to play for the country of his ancestors and says it was a matter of personal choice.

“The German national football team has set the example, they are a multicultural team and the whole country cheers when Mesut Ozil scores,” he said.

In the wake of the labor shortage caused by World War II, Germany recruited guest workers from overseas and a flood of immigrants from Turkey means the country still has a strong Turkish community today.

Just like Real Madrid’s Ozil, one of the stars of the World Cup, Sahin was born in Germany to Turkish parents.

“Although I am a Turk, I am also more than a little German. This is a very special game for me,” Sahin said.

The German Football Federation is working hard to make sure few other German-born players slip through the net to play for other countries.

With an estimated 200,000 footballers in Germany eligible to play for Turkey, the federation is doing what it can to keep hold of homegrown talent.

“It is our aim to integrate those players with a migration background into our talent development scheme,” the federation’s sport director, Matthias Sammer, told the magazine Kicker. (Ryland James)

Agence France-Presse

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Bali Women’s Tourney Trims Roster to Eight

Jakarta - The “Road to Bali” just grew narrower for the world’s top women players after organizers decided to reduce the number of players at this year’s Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions.
Kevin Livesey, the tournament’s director, said the decision to cut down the roster from 12 players to eight — the same number as in the Doha championships a week before Bali — was made upon the request of the Women’s Tennis Association.
The association will announce the season’s rankings on Oct. 25, and six of the highest-ranked players who will not compete at the WTA Tour Championship in Doha will be eligible to compete at the Bali International Convention Center in Nusa Dua from Nov. 4-7.
The six players, along with two wild cards, must also have won an International Series event to qualify for the $600,000 extravaganza.
“The reason is that by the end of the year, lots of players are carrying injuries and feeling tired, so fewer players are available to play in Bali,” Livesey said on Tuesday.
“We want to get the right players playing in the right tournaments,” he said. Livesey said he was not worried that the tournament would fail to attract audiences, despite reducing the number of players.
Organizers are banking on wild cards Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia to draw a crowd.
Ivanovic will be back after her 2006 debut, while Hantuchova will mark her fourth time at the Bali competition.
In 2008, Ivanovic won her first Grand Slam at the French Open and ascended to the world No. 1 spot, although she had been struggling with a persistent knee injury since 2007.
Hantuchova has fond memories of the resort island after reaching the final of the Wismilak International in 2007 and the semifinal the following year.
The event promises to be more exciting since the round-robin format used last year has been replaced by a straight knockout.
Top players such as Li Na, Maria Sharapova and defending champion Aravane Rezai are among those who have qualified to compete in Bali.
But the remaining three International Series tournaments in Linz, Osaka and Luxembourg this month could still produce new qualifiers. (Ami Afriatni)
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Nadal advances to Japan Open 2nd round

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal downed Colombian Santiago Giraldo 6-4, 6-4 to reach the second round of the Japan Open on Tuesday.
Nadal, coming off a surprise loss in the semifinals of the Thailand Open on Saturday, had to work hard for the victory in his Japan debut.
"I started a few games love-30," said Nadal. "He played well. He was very aggressive. My serve was the worst it has been in the last 10 or 11 games and I was a little more tired than usual and not focused on every point."
In the Thailand Open, Nadal lost to fellow Spaniard and eventual champion Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
Nadal next faces Canadian qualifier Milos Raonic in the second round. Raonic beat France's Florent Serra 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
"I lost against him in doubles in Toronto," Nadal said. "He can play very well from the baseline and has a good serve so I have to be aggressive against him."
Second-seeded Andy Roddick downed Japanese wild card Tatsuma Ito 6-4, 6-3 to open his first tournament since the U.S. Open.
Roddick dominated Ito with a powerful serve and topped the match in Ariake Colosseum with his eighth ace.
"It felt like a match coming off a long layoff," Roddick said. "There were some good things, some inconsistent things. Since New York, I've been trying to get in physical shape and I've been able to do that."
Roddick will next face the winner between Frenchmen Jeremy Chardy and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
Elsewhere, Serbian Viktor Troicki defeated Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-2.
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Liverpool owners try to block bids, dump officials

Liverpool's crisis escalated Tuesday after the debt-ridden club's American owners opposed two new takeover bids and attempted to remove two senior board members.

Co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. won't accept either bid because they would not earn a significant profit. The bidders are only willing to pay about 300 million pounds ($477 million). The club's debt has grown to 285 million pounds and is due to be repaid by Oct. 15.

One offer is from New England Sports Venture - the owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball team - with the other from an Asian investor, a person familiar with the situation said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the names of the bidders aren't being publicly discussed. Red Sox president Larry Lucchino declined comment on whether his team was involved in a bid.

Before a meeting Tuesday to discuss the offers, the owners unsuccessfully tried to remove managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre from the board and install one of Hicks' sons and a financial controller from his company.

Purslow, Ayre and chairman Martin Broughton want to pursue negotiations with the bids and are now considering legal action against Hicks and Gillett.

"The board of directors have received two excellent financial offers to buy the club that would repay all its long-term debt," the statement said. "A board meeting was called today to review these bids and approve a sale. Shortly prior to the meeting, the owners - Tom Hicks and George Gillett - sought to remove managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre from the board, seeking to replace them with Mack Hicks and Lori Kay McCutcheon.

"This matter is now subject to legal review and a further announcement will be made in due course. Martin Broughton, Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre continue to explore every possible route to achieving a sale of the club at the earliest opportunity."

The turmoil comes after Liverpool lost to unheralded Blackpool on Sunday to confirm the club's worst start to a league season since 1953. Liverpool hasn't won in five matches in all competitions and will remain in the relegation zone for at least two weeks. The team was also recently knocked out of the League Cup by Northampton, a club struggling in the fourth tier of English football.

A group of Liverpool celebrities has appeared on a video playing on the Internet pleading with Hicks and Gillett to leave the club.

Hicks and Gillett were forced to put the club up for sale in April after struggling to meet the repayments resulting from their 2007 leveraged takeover. Hicks wants to sell for about 600 million pounds, a figure that has forced several investors to end their interest.

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Indonesia drops naturalized players for Uruguay match

The Football Association of Indonesia has dropped three naturalized players from its team lineup for an international friendly against World Cup semifinalist Uruguay on Friday.

Secretary general of the soccer body, Nugraha Besoes, said Wednesday both Indonesia and Uruguay would risk losing FIFA points if Jhony Rudolf van Beukering, Tobias Waisapy and Rafael Guillermo Edwardo Maitimo were played in the match at Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.

“We have paid a lot for this match and do not want to lose points,” Nugraha said as quoted by kompas.com.

The world soccer body FIFA has warned Indonesia against fielding the three footballers who play in the Dutch second division league and the Australian league as they do not hold Indonesian passports.

The three have joined the training session with the national team.

“We hope them to maintain their spirit to don the national colors. The most important thing is they have felt the climate of our national soccer,” Nugraha said.

Uruguay is bringing in its team that finished fourth in the World Cup in South Africa in summer.

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