Henin raring to go after troubles ease

By Paul Newman in DubaiTuesday, 26 February 2008
Defeats and injuries barely figured in Justine Henin's vocabulary last year, but this week's Dubai Championships will give the world No 1 a chance to rebuild both her confidence and her fitness following her quarter-final drubbing by Maria Sharapova at last month's Australian Open.
Henin, who has a bye in the first round, admitted yesterday that she should not have played in Melbourne after the recurrence of a knee injury. After her defeat to Sharapova, which ended a 33-match winning run dating back to Wimbledon in July, Henin was forced to rest following a cortisone injection in her right knee.
"There were a lot of factors involved in what happened in Australia," Henin said. "Sharapova was certainly the better player on the day, but I probably didn't have enough time in December to come down after everything that happened in 2007. I was quite tired and I shouldn't have played in Australia because of my knee. It was a big mistake because it took me a few weeks to recover. I was feeling the injury a bit when I left for Australia, but you always think that it's going to be better. Now my knee is much better after the injection and I can play without pain, but I had to stop for three weeks."
The 25-year-old Belgian has played once since Melbourne and had double reason to celebrate. Not only did she win in her first tour appearance in her home country for five years, but it also marked the final phase in her reconciliation with her family. The Antwerp final was the first occasion on which she has been watched by her father since she cut herself off from her relatives – for reasons never explained publicly – several years ago.
Ana Ivanovic, the world No 2 due to play her first match tomorrow, said she may withdraw after suffering a foot injury last week.
Elena Dementieva, the No 8 seed, was the most significant winner in yesterday's opening contests, beating Patty Schnyder in straight sets.

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In Our Talons: The Bowerbirds

Bowerbirds were born of the natural surroundings in the rural Carolinas and with song titles like "Bur Oak," "Hooves," "In Our Talons" and "Olive Hearts," the trio wears their organic sound on their (album) sleeves. "A lot of the songs feel more like praise songs to me," frontman Phil Moore says. "Praising what is still wild in and around us."Serving as a sort of field guide of contemporary folk, Bowerbirds' 2007 album "Hymns for a Dark Horse" is a collection of raw recordings complete with breaths, sticks clicking on drum edges and the sounds of fingers sliding over frets left in the mix. Utilizing a bass drum, tamborine and mallet as the only traditional percussive elements, multi-instrumentalists Mark Paulson and Beth Tacular build their structures instead around Moore's meandering vocals, breezy guitar lines and poetic verse like "There's a rusty prick in the tall grass/Where the barbed wire waits/ for a blind horse in a gallop and its sealed and sudden fate/There is hate in the grip of our human hands" (from "Human Hands"). The tunes are further accented with deftly restrained accordion, piano, violin, vocoder and upright bass.Following the 'Birds January signing to the Austin, TX based label Dead Oceans, the release of an expanded version of "Hymns" is planned for later this year. As the Bowerbirds got ready to set off on tour Feb. 23 with labelmates Phosphorescent and a quartet of South By Southwest performances, Moore took time out to discuss the band's history and future.

UCI backs Contador for TDF

Madrid - The International Cycling Union (ICU) will do all it can to ensure that defending Tour de France winner Alberto Contador of Spain will take part in this year's edition of the cycle race, its president said on Wednesday in a newspaper interview.
The tour's organisers, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), ruled on February 13 that Contador's Astana team would be barred from competing in this year's race as a result of doping scandals over the past two years.
"We will do everything that is possible to ensure that Contador takes part in the Tour. It would be a tragedy if Contador could not defend his title," ICU president Pat McQuaid of Ireland told El Pais.
"It's unjust and unjustifiable. Its a decision taken by people who don't understand this sport," he added.
Tour organisers said they had decided to prevent Astana from competing in any of their races because of "the damage caused by this team to the Tour de France and cycling in general, as much in 2006 as 2007".
The Luxembourg-registered Kazakh team were forced to withdraw from the 2007 Tour de France and were snubbed by the Spanish Vuelta in September after a string of doping scandals.
The team's former leader Alexandre Vinokourov was fired after testing positive for a blood transfusion during the Tour, while riders Andrej Kashechkin and Matthias Kessler also failed doping tests.
Since their drug-tainted 2007 season, Astana have undergone a makeover, and promised to clean up their act.
A new team of riders, including Contador and Leipheimer, have come on board along with their manager, Johan Bruyneel, from the now defunct Discovery Channel team.
Bruyneel helped Lance Armstrong to seven consecutive Tour wins, and led Contador to his first yellow jersey last year.
Contador joined Astana in a two-year deal in October.
Astana have also been left out of a list of 21 teams due to compete in this year's Giro d'Italia.

Portishead Relaunching At Coachella

Out in the California desert, the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival is fast becoming an oasis for high-profile reunions.The Jesus and Mary Chain, the Pixies, Rage Against the Machine, Gang of Four and Bauhaus are just a handful of the acts who've come back to life at the Indio, Calif.-based event in recent years.The trend will continue this year when two of Britain's most important '90s alternative bands, Portishead and the Verve, make their respective U.S. returns for the first time in nearly a decade.Securing the services of both groups, says Paul Tollett, principal of Los Angeles-based Goldenvoice, which organizes Coachella, has brought serious pulling power. "The fans like them," he says, "but also they attract other bands to the bill and give a serious feel to the show." Portishead should be nearing peak shape for Coachella, which will serve as a launch pad for "Third," its first studio album in more than a decade. "They've been asking us for quite a few years," Portishead's Adrian Utley says of Coachella. "It seems like a good place to play, being out in the desert, and it was started by what seems to be some pretty cool people."

Gatfield is confident "Third" hits the stellar notes of earlier works."It's a really strong record and it's adventurous," he says. "Beth [Gibbons'] voice is as powerful as ever. The uptempo tracks are never going to be drum'n'bass, but they do hit 120 BPMs in some places."Adds Utley, "[It] sounds nothing like 'Dummy' or 'Portishead,' but it's definitely its older brother or sister. It's the same mindset we've always had, only further down the road."Admitting the band's creative process can be "very slow," with some tracks from "Third" percolating for four years, Utley says the members have drawn upon an eclectic mix for musical inspiration, including recordings by Can, the Silver Apples, Joy Division, early Human League and "weird doom metal band" Ohm.New tracks were first given an airing last December at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Minehead, England, which the band curated. Wider U.K. and European audiences will get a taste during a spring tour."There was never no Portishead," notes Utley. "It was just we'd had enough, and we didn't have any ideas. We all got on with various different things, but we worked on each others' projects. There was always a Portishead. We have ongoing business, obviously, to deal with -- permissions and compilations and film requests, even if we're not doing anything at all."
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McGrady leads Rockets to 10th win in a row

HOUSTON (Reuters) - The Houston Rockets surged to their 10th consecutive win on Thursday, beating the Miami Heat 112-100 behind Tracy McGrady's 23 points and 10 assists.
Yao Ming added 21 points as all five Houston starters finished in double figures.
"It feels great," Yao told reporters.

A 10 game winning streak. When I walk out of this building tonight, I think I will feel very fresh."
Dwyane Wade had 33 points and 11 assists but could not keep the Heat from losing their 10th successive game.
A 41-point first quarter gave the Rockets a 15-point lead which Miami could not catch.
McGrady had 14 points in the quarter with Rafer Alston adding 11 as Houston shot a torrid 81 percent from the floor.
Alston finished with 16 points and 11 assists, Luis Scola had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Shane Battier grabbed 12 points for Houston.
Rookie reserve Carl Landry also played a big role, scoring 19 points, 11 of them in the fourth quarter.
"We have confidence in him," McGrady told reporters.
"He's a guy that somehow, some way can read defenses. We know where he's going to be. He's not afraid. He finishes well, has great hands and he plays hard."
Shawn Marion added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat.
* Manu Ginobili's jumper with six seconds left closed out a 44-point performance and helped the San Antonio Spurs beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 100-99.
* Brandon Roy had 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 92-88 home win over the Seattle SuperSonics.
(Writing by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina, editing by Martin Petty and Peter Rutherford

Roy and Portland get past Seattle

Portland, OR (Sports Network) - Brandon Roy had 19 points, a career-high 14 rebounds and five assists and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 92-88 win over the Seattle SuperSonics at the Rose Garden.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 18, pulled down 12 boards and blocked five shots, while Travis Outlaw added 19 off the bench. Portland shot just 38.2 percent from the floor and only 69 percent from the line, but hit its free throws down the stretch to pick up just its second win in the last eight games.
Kevin Durant led Seattle with 20 points and six rebounds, while Earl Watson went for 15 and nine assists. The Sonics have dropped three of four on the heels of a stretch during which they won four of five.
Down as many as 14 in the second half, Seattle suddenly found itself within three with under two minutes remaining after a Jeff Green putback made it 87-84. Roy airballed a jumper at the other end and Luke Ridnour corralled the rebound, giving the Sonics a chance to cut it to one or tie.
But Damien Wilkins misfired on a three, and Outlaw drew a foul at the other end that led to two free throws and an 89-84 Blazers advantage with 39.9 seconds left.
Nick Collison's tip-in again made it a one-possession game, but Collison negated that bucket by losing track of Aldridge on a pick and roll. Jarrett Jack hit Aldridge underneath, and a scrambling Collison had to foul with 12.3 ticks on the clock.
Aldridge hit one-of-two at the line, and Jack sealed it by canning a pair inside the seven-second mark, sealing the much-needed win for Portland.
Jack finished with 15 points and six assists, and the Blazers committed just eight turnovers as a team.
"We'll take it," said Blazers head coach Nate McMillan. "We did some good things out there. We wanted to get to the free-throw line and be aggressive and tonight we did. It's always good to get a 'w' and build off of that. I think another factor in our win tonight was that we made some plays down the stretch this time."
Green and Collison had 13 apiece for the Sonics, who made just 38.8 percent of their field-goal attempts. Ridnour finished his night with 10 points.
Seattle led 25-23 after one quarter, but Portland moved ahead 32-28 on an Outlaw bank shot with a little over eight minutes to go before the half. Ridnour tied the game at 34 with back-to-back threes, but Portland closed the half on a 17-7 burst for a 51-41 lead at the break.
The Blazers lead was as many as 14 during the third, but Seattle closed to within 65-60 on a Durant three with 3:20 to go. The rookie then got himself in the open court and finished to trim the margin to three with under a minute remaining, and Portland's lead was just 70-67 going to the fourth.
Seattle briefly took the lead on a pair of free throws from Green with 9:21 to go, making it 74-73. But Jack answered with a three, and Portland was back on top, 85-79, by the six-minute mark.
Game Notes
Seattle was involved in an 11-player, three-team trade earlier Thursday, acquiring Ira Newble and Donyell Marshall from Cleveland in addition to Adrian Griffin and a 2009 second-round draft pick from the Bulls; In exchange Seattle sent guards Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West to the Cavs. This happened one day after the Sonics sent forward/center Kurt Thomas to San Antonio for Brent Barry and Francisco Elson...Portland made a more subtle move, acquiring guard Von Wafer from Denver in exchange for rookie Taurean Green...Seattle center Robert Swift left early in the second quarter with what was reported as a sprained right knee, and did not return; he has already missed 41 games this season...Portland had a season-high 11 blocked shots as a team.

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Coldplay Mixing Next Studio Album

Coldplay is putting the finishing touches on its fourth studio album, an as-yet-untitled project set for an early summer release via Capitol. A summer tour of North America and Europe will follow.The band began working on the record in November of 2006 at their studio in North London, taking a break in March of last year to tour South American for the first time. Producers are Brian Eno, Markus Dravs and the band."We're just about finished," band manager Dave Holmes tells Billboard.com. "They're in the final mixing. They'll start mastering, and away we go." Typically light on hyperbole, Holmes is enthusiastic about the new project. "I think it's their best album," he says. "They've really delivered. It's a fantastic record. They've really put the work in."Holmes says the album "definitely takes them in some different directions. I'm not a music critic, but it's certainly a progression, with some really great songwriting."The much-publicized upheaval at EMI, including restructuring, high-profile departures and unsubstantiated rumors that the band might depart its longtime label home, had little impact on the recording or the setup of its release. "When all that was going on we were over here in [in London] in the studio, so we kind of steered clear of all that," Holmes says. "We've got a great plan in place."

Touring plans are still in the works, but Holmes says the band is working on something "special," with several ideas in development. The band is working for the first time with respected lighting director/set designer Paul Normandale on ideas, "and if we can pull this off it's going to be quite different. We're going to try something a little different in the arena space."Holmes adds, "The guys are really eager to get back on the road. They're really looking forward to touring and getting back out there."

Linkin Park Rocks Apple Store At Secret Show

Linkin Park rocked a crowd of contest winners and industry personnel just after midnight Thursday (Feb. 21) at the Apple Store in New York's Soho neighborhood, in what served as an intimate warm-up for a show tonight at the city's Madison Square Garden.The set was recorded and filmed for what is expected to be a March release on Apple's iTunes Music Store, sources say.Linkin Park took the stage to the concise "Wake" before tearing into "Given Up," from its latest album, "Minutes to Midnight." The group also played "Shadow of the Day," "My December" (with just frontman Chester Bennington's vocals and Mike Shinoda's keyboard), "In Pieces" and "Bleed It Out.""This is the best show in an Apple store we've ever played," Bennington joked with the crowd. After the set, group members stuck around to sign autographs for the devotees.Apple has hosted concerts at its New York store on several occasions, including performances by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, Kaki King, the New Pornographers and Simian Mobile Disco. But Linkin Park is by far the most recognizable act to appear here to date.

Lanka face a daunting task against Australia

MELBOURNE, February 21: Faced with the stiff task of winning at least two more matches to secure a place in the cricket tri-series final, Sri Lanka will need a spark of inspiration when they take on Australia in a crucial game here on Friday. Languishing at the bottom of the point table, Sri Lanka just cannot afford yet another defeat on Friday and as outlined by their captain Mahela Jayawardene, every match is a semi-final for the islanders, who have been lacklustre in the tournament so far. Despite their fierce on-field rivalry with the world champions, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his team-mates would love to see Australia win on Friday, an outcome that would ease India's passage to the final of the tournament. As of now, the hosts lead the table with 17 points from five matches, while India is a distant second with 12 from six games. The Lankans languish at the bottom with six points from five games and they need to win two of their remaining three games to reach the final. The Jayawardene-led side has not lived up to the expectation with both the batsmen and bowlers failing to make much of an impact in the series so far. The batting order looked brittle and the attack, despite having the likes of Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan, lacked teeth. Even their reputation as one of the better fielding side took a beating and Jayawardene did not hide his disappointment after Tuesday's defeat against India. "We were 20 runs short in our total. In the fielding, we gave at least 15 extra runs and in bowling, we bowled too short and wide at times." "We were not very consistent with our line and length and bowled a bit short and wide. Our fielding was not up to scratch," he said. Not that the batsmen did any better. Apart from Kumar Sangakkara, none looked game for a fight. Veteran Sanath Jayasuriya's trademark fireworks have been brief, while others, including the captain himself, too have failed to do justice to their reputation. In such a situation, Jayawardene reckons he and Sangakkara would have to shoulder extra load. "Kumar and I have decided that we would look to bat majority of overs if we get a bad start. In the last few innings, I did not support him," he said. While it's difficult to derive any positive out of the whole situation, Jayawardene refuses to give up. "We cannot afford to lose. Every game is a semi-final for us from now on. We made a few mistakes at the start of the tournament but we are now getting into it. We will keep fighting and show the fighting spirit that we lately have been showing," he said. Australia, on the other hand, have no such worries. Sitting pretty on the points tally and virtually assured of a place in the final, Ricky Ponting's men would be under less pressure on Friday. For the hosts, retiring hero Adam Gilchrist has been in good nick and his exploit has been able to mask the failure of his opening partner Matthew Hayden. Michael Clarke has been rock solid in the middle, while the lower order batsmen too seemed keen to make a statement with the willow. Even more satisfying has been the performance of the Australian bowlers, who seem capable of defending any total, however, meagre it may look. In their previous match against India, they had just 209 runs to defend and still the bowlers chalked out a 50-run victory against a batting order that runs deep and commands worldwide respect. It was a superlative show, considering the fact that the Australian attack was sans its spearhead Brett Lee in the match and still the hosts not only mowed down India's much-vaunted batting order but also bagged an extra bonus point from the low-scoring outing. Squads (From): Australia: Ricky Ponting (c), Adam Gilchrist, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hogg, James Hopes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds, Ashley Noffke, Adam Voges. Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (c), Kumar Sangakkara, Ishara Amerasinghe, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dilruwan Perera, Chamara Silva, Upul Tharanga, Chaminda Vaas, Chanaka Welegedara

Juninho - No Ronaldo Obsession

Lyon's Juninho Pernambucano insists his teammates will not become obsessed with the threat posed by Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of their Champions League clash with Manchester United.
The Portuguese winger has undoubtedly been Sir Alex Ferguson's star performer so far this season, scoring an astonishing 27 goals.
But Juninho is sure the French Ligue 1 leaders will not consume themselves in the sole menace of 23-year-old in the last-16 tie, insisting United have players all over the pitch that can hurt them.
"The dream match has almost arrived and we need to play our best game," he told skysports.com.
"Against a team like United, it is necessary to pay perfectly.
"The Lyon squad is calm. I believe the pressure is on United to progress to the quarter-finals.
"United are a super team with players of enormous names but our chances are alive. Nobody should discard a Lyon surprise.
"Cristiano is the main threat but their other players are important. We will not become obsessed with the Portuguese."
However, Sidney Govou has revealed that Alain Perrin's side have been working on a number of systems to assist in nullifying Ronaldo's quality.
"Cristiano Ronaldo is the key player but we have prepared some systems in order to restrict his threat," he explained.
"The Portuguese is the main threat and without him, United are different."