Alpe D Huez

The French finally got a stage win as Pierre Rolland was a surprise winner on a truly magnificent stage of the Tour. Contador attacked constantly throughout the day but ultimately failed in his quest for victory.
After a ding-dong battle all day, it’s as-you-were with Cadel Evans and the Schleck brothers in terms of time, but Andy is now in the yellow jersey.
Here’s how it happened: A 14-man breakaway formed almost immediately as the short 109.5km stage got underway. But as soon as the race hit the slopes of the first climb of the day with just 15km gone, Alberto Contador put in a devastating attack.
It was an amazing move from Contador who struggled yesterday but wasn’t going to go down without a fight today. Only Andy Schleck, Thomas Voeckler and Cadel Evans were capable of staying on his wheel as everybody else was dropped including Frank Schleck and Ivan Basso.
A few kilometres further up the climb, Contador attacked once more. This time, Schleck caught on to the Spaniard’s wheel, but Voeckler cracked and began to go backwards. Just as Contador accelerated for the second time, Evans suffered a mechanical problem. He dismounted twice before receiving a new bike and he quickly found himself back in thepelotonwith Frank Schleck and Basso.
They really were incredible scenes to see so early in the stage. Usually this sort of action is reserved for the final climb of the day but Contador completely tore up the script.
The lead of Contador and Andy Schleck over the others never exceeded two minutes. Behind, Voeckler, Basso and Frank Schleck all took turns dangling off the rear before clawing their way back.
But by the time the race reached the foot of the fabled 14km climb up Alpe d’Huez, amazingly after all that, the front of the race had all come back together as the Evans group caught Contador and Andy Schleck. And shortly afterward, Voeckler’s group also made the juncture.
But not long into the final climb, the yellow jersey of Thomas Voeckler was dropped once more. With 12km to go, Contador was on the attack again. Andy Schleck tried to follow but ultimately had to settle into his own rhythm as the triple Tour winner forged on ahead alone.
Separately, Pierre Rolland and Samuel Sanchez jumped from the main group which splintered to bits over the next 10km. The Schlecks and Evans were busy marking each other as they remained about a minute behind Contador.
Rolland and Sanchez managed to bridge to Contador and with 2km to go, Rolland attacked. The two Spaniards looked at one another, each encouraging the other to chase him down. As it turned out, neither chased and Rolland won the stage. Finally, the French have won a stage in this year’s Tour de France.

The Big Winner: Cadel Evans. Although Andy Schleck has now taken over the yellow jersey and Frank Schleck sits in second place behind him, Evans remains just 57 seconds away from winning the Tour de France.
With the time trial still to come, Evans is still the big favourite to become the first Australian to win the Tour.
The Big Losers: The Schlecks. A tad harsh on them perhaps because they didn’t lose any time on Evans, and Andy is now in the race lead. But their inferior ability in time trials means one of them really needed to attack again today to gain time over Evans.
Andy Schleck tried by following Contador early on in the stage but, unlike yesterday, it was a move that ultimately didn’t work. The younger Schleck will have to produce an unbeliveable ride in the time trial tomorrow in order to defend the yellow jersey and win the Tour.
What about the Irish? Nicolas Roche suffered today as a result of his attacking exploits on yesterday’s stage. He was dropped almost immediately on the first climb of the day and he continued to struggle at the back of the race all day.
He finished over 25 minutes behind Rolland in 99th place in a massive group containing all the sprinters in the race. He is now in 26th place overall.
So what happens tomorrow then? The only individual time trial in the race. It is a 42.5km test around the city of Grenoble. Since the test against the clock was introduced to the Tour in 1934, this year has the least amount of individual time trial kilometres ever.
Cadel Evans is superior in this discipline to both of the Schlecks. Over this distance, Evans could be expected to beat them by around two minutes. He is 57 seconds behind Andy and just four seconds behind Frank, therefore he should win the Tour.
However, the same was said in 2008 when Evans reached the final time trial with a 1’34″ deficit to make up on Carlos Sastre. Evans had a bad day only taking back 29 seconds and Sastre won the Tour.
But a little older and a little wiser, it would take a brave man to bet against Evans stealing the yellow jersey the day before we reach Paris.

India England Live Score

52nd over: England 132-2 (Trott 62, Pietersen 23) Pietersen whips a single away square. Sharma bowls from very wide on the crease, angling the ball in at the right-hander. He's not as fast as I imagined he would be, nor as I'm sure he used to be back in the days when he was giving Ricky Ponting the hurry-up. But the bounce he gets means that on the right pitch he could be a real handful. But I'm not sure this surface suits him all that much. "I appreciate that you boys are having a Trott love-in but the optimism here is medium to low (presumably because Bristol is freezing without any sign of the Lord's sunshine)," harrumphs Lori McConnachie. "And I am sure you're going to JINX it. Please be careful with your admiration."

51st over: England 131-2 (Trott 62, Pietersen 22) The first runs of the day are driven through extra cover. They came from Kumar's third ball, a gentle away-swinger which Trott biffed for four. "Come the end of a nuclear winter, Trott will still be there, batting," says Gary Weightman. Indeed he will, with only the cockroaches for company. Just imagine what he and Cook could do in a timeless Test. "Now that you lot are talking up Trott and the man-love you've all got for him, what are the odds on Ishant Sharma getting him to out first ball?" says Arvind Ramanan, two minutes too late. "Do you English ever take the jinx effect seriously?"

50th over: England 127-2 (Trott 58, Pietersen 22) "Let's play!" says Billy Bowden, and Ishant Sharma, lustrous lock blowing in the breeze, runs in and delivers the first ball of the day. It's wide outside off-stump, and Pietersen walks across to meet it. It hits him on the pads and Sharma clears his throat with an early LBW appeal. Billy curls his lip and shakes his head. It was well outside the line. The next two balls are similar, if a little straighter. The news is that Zaheer will not bowl today, but India are saying nothing about his chances in the match beyond that. "Are other readers as intrigued as I am by the prospect of a Timeless Test in the proposed 2013 World Test cup final?" asks Don Wilson, seemingly oblivious to the fact I wrote 1,000 words on this very topic earlier in the week. "I've heard all the stories about the 1939 match in Durban and must admit that I've always wanted to witness one for myself. If it were to go for 9 or 10 days that would be some marathon OBO."

My mind really changed about Trott during the world cup in India, when he took a stupid amount of flack because he wasn't hitting any sixes, even though he kept scoring run-a-ball fifties. Then, one night in Chennai, the British Deputy High Commissioner held a party for the Queen's birthday. They had to get permission to hold it early, because the weather gets so unfeasibly sticky as the summer wears on. They invited all the press and all the players. No surprise the hacks were out in force, tucking in to the Pimms and pies that were, bizarrely, laid on as part of the buffet. But Trott was the only player who turned up. On his own. The man has an open mind and good manners. And his reward was that he got to see a long speech from a tipsy Graham Gooch - who, to this day, is by far and away the most popular English cricketer in India - who got to make a request for a song from the Beatles cover band who were providing the entertainment. Inspired by England's recent success against the West Indies in the final group match, Gooch picked Imagine.

My, my, my my good mood must be infectious. Or is it just that the sun is out and it's Friday? Either way, here's Luciano Howard: "Agree totally on Jon Trott When he first arrived at the back-end of (one of our many recent) glorious Ashes victories he did not look anything special." [really? how hard to impress are you?] "Wrong. He's immensely special, just not spectacular. I trust in this line-up each and every time they bat now. With Cookie & Trott I am confident we'll always get a score. The other bats may be easier on the eye (Bell), more bombastic (KP), but Cookie, and more so Trott, are the names I expect to see each and every time I check the scoreboard. Trott is the man who glues together this batting line-up nowadays, I think. Without him (Cook being an opener and therefore often likely to fall early) we would fail more often. Its the nature of the beast."

Yorkies Bah. "Top of the morning to you," says Damien Sefton. "What is your early opinion on Broad over Bresnan? I for one support decision. A neat 19 at the end of the first innings and 2 for 18 really turned things around."

The word is that Zaheer is not going to be bowling today. Try to keep the smile off your face, all you England fans. "ZK or no ZK, it looks a lovely day to bat," chirrups a chirpy Gary Naylor. "Did MS Dhoni get it right at the toss yesterday? England's previous first innings scores at Lord's read 335/7dec, 486, 446, 505, 425, 377, 593/8dec. Giving the strongest England top seven I can recall first go, seems a tad optimistic." Ah, but in those conditions he would have been damned if he had done anything else.

You may have noticed that the sun is peaking out from behind the clouds and the sky is mottled blue and white. It looks a beautiful day to bat and I, for one, am expecting to fall ever-so-slightly more in love with Jonathan Trott over the course of the next seven hours. My man-crush on Trott has taken a while to brew up. For a long time, in fact, I couldn't stand him. Not because he was a boring batsman to watch, but because he was so inelegant. The comparison people made with Alastair Cook and Rahul Dravid always seemed invalid to me. Cook and Dravid are capable of playing beautiful shots. In fact Dravid's forward defensive can be a thing of wonder and perfection. But Trott is a shuffling, creaking nudger of a batsman, without a single stroke worthy of the name. But over recent weeks I've warmed to him. And now, when I think about the prospect of how, in the next few weeks, he could single-handedly infuriate a nation of a billion people. Well that brings a smile to my face. He may be a bastard. But he's our bastard. And his average in four Tests at Lord's? a mere 141.

While I'm doing links, sit up and pay attention to this one. The Wisden Almanack, now under the editorship of our esteemed old mucker Lawrence Booth, has just launched a new quarterly magazine. The first issue is all about India v England and features articles from our own Mike Selvey and Barney Ronay. You can download it here, and you'll be doing a good thing for the cause of quality sportswriting if you do.

So what did everyone else make of it? Lord 'Mike' Selvey reckoned that "England enjoyed the better of the first day", while Vic Marks sums up Praveen Kumar like this: "Kumar's shirt was hanging out like a man who had sharpened his skills in the Lancashire League, perhaps at Colne, where he might bowl at one end throughout the entire innings. Kumar trundled in on his gentle, energy-saving run-up and swung the ball cleverly in both directions at around 80mph. It might have been Abid Ali, Madan Lal or Roger Binny in years gone by."

Morning everyone. That was a slow start to the series. It felt a little like one of those moments when you're forced to slow down and appreciate the quality of the wrapping paper rather as you tear it off to see your present. It was a slow reveal, in which we learned that India's attack is rather better suited to English conditions than we may have imagined, and that - and there's no doubt that Duncan Fletcher has had a hand in this - their plans to the each of the English batsmen are immaculately thought out. The flip side was that their fielding was woeful. Either they are still warming up, or they're a bunch of old crocks. And now they're worrying about Zaheer Khan's fitness as well. There were rumours last night that it was just a bad case of cramp, but if it's anything worse than that England are never going to have a better opportunity to win a match in this series than they will over the next four days.

Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan has been ruled out of action from Friday's place from latest reports emerging from the Lord's.

India's premier pacer left the field with a hamstring strain, earlier believed to be cramps, while bowling his 14th over on Thursday. He came into the tour having bowled just 69 overs in the calendar year.

The visitors will have only Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma to go to for pace and seam options on a day that is expected to continue to assist movement despite the cloud cover clearing over London.

NFL Lockout

NFL owners were poised to approve a new labor deal with players Thursday, but a new, largely procedural set of issues emerged between the two sides that threatened to delay a resumption of league operations.
The league and players — who are in broad agreement on the major components of a new labor deal — are divided over how long it would take the players to re-form their union. Those differences produced contrasting ideas on how a new collective bargaining agreement should be ratified and when the sport should reopen for business.
The players’ representatives believe the two sides should settle the players’ antitrust lawsuit against the owners and that the league, at that point, should lift the lockout, allow free agency to begin and teams to report to their training camps. Both sides had been pointing to a timetable that would have players reporting to camps next week.
But the players say they would need up to two weeks to re-form their union, which they dissolved after the NFL owners locked them out in March, and only at that point could they and the league apply the finishing touches to a new labor accord, according to one person familiar with the players’ deliberations.
But according to that person and others familiar with the situation, the NFL has a far different view. League officials have said they will lift the lockout only when there is a signed and official collective bargaining agreement. In the league’s view, the players could re-unionize almost instantaneously and the settlement of the antitrust lawsuit, the re-formation of the union and the ratification of a new labor deal could come at once.
It was not immediately clear if a resolution of that disagreement would be worked out by the two sides and, if so, what the compromise would be.
The new complications arose even as it appeared the league and players were in fundamental agreement over the basic terms of a new labor deal, and were increasingly confident they could work out a settlement of the antitrust case as soon as Thursday.
The proposed collective bargaining agreement would be for 10 years and would give the players just less than half the sport’s revenue, about 46.5 to 48 percent, under a salary cap system. It would set the salary cap for the upcoming season at approximately $120 million per team for players’ salaries, not counting an additional $21 million per club for players’ benefits. It would require each team to spend 90 percent or more of the annual salary cap in cash, and it would include a rookie pay system to curb the amount of guaranteed money in rookies’ contracts.
The deal would keep the regular season at 16 games per team, shelving the 18-game season proposed by the league, and would reduce offseason workouts for players and limit hitting in some practices. It would restore the requirement for players with expired contracts to be eligible for unrestricted free agency to four seasons of NFL experience, down from the six seasons required last year in a season without a salary cap.
Owners said they were prepared to approve that deal during Thursday’s meeting at a hotel near the Atlanta airport.

“I expect the great majority to support the work the league has done,” Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank said before the meeting began.
The new labor deal would have to be ratified by at least 24 of the 32 owners. There were tentative plans in place for the free agent market to open next week if the deal is approved by both sides this week.
“I think all the teams are ready to go to work,” Blank said. “I’m in favor of getting this deal done so it’s a win-win situation for ownership, for the players and most importantly for the fans.”
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said before the meeting: “We’re just optimistic and we’ll try to do our part today. There are a lot of moving parts but I think everything is moving in the right direction…. This isn’t about lawsuits. It’s about getting a 10-year agreement.”
The deal also would have to be ratified by a majority of the close to 2,000 NFL players.
When player representatives met Wednesday in downtown D.C., they authorized the players’ ruling executive committee and DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, to finish the collective bargaining agreement with the league.
According to the union, certain elements of the labor deal, including drug-testing issues and pension matters, can be completed only after the players re-form their union. So while the players’ side was leaving open the possibility of the lawsuit being settled as soon as Thursday and the players voting to re-form the union, it did not believe an immediate vote of the all the players to approve a new labor deal could be taken.
There were reports in recent days that the settlement of the lawsuit was being held up by the players’ side seeking the restoration of $320 million in lost benefits from the uncapped season, and asking for financial payments or free agency concessions for certain players who were among the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Nancy Cleeland, a spokeswoman for the National Labor Relations Board, wrote in an e-mail Thursday that “an employer can lawfully recognize a union once that union demonstrates that a majority of the employees in the unit want that union to represent them in collective bargaining matters.”
That can take place, Cleeland said, through a vote by the employees supervised by the NLRB. The NFL also could agree to recognize the union without an NLRB election “based on some showing of support, such as cards signed by a majority of players,” she said. “We would not have to be involved, just as we were not involved when the players decided they no longer wanted to be represented by the league.”
Cleeland also wrote: “As far as the amount of time it would take for this voluntary recognition agreement to take place, that is a matter between the parties. There is no minimal time period. The voluntary recognition process is outside the NLRB process and there are no deadlines or timelines.”

NBA 2K12

If one legendary basketball superstar on the cover of your video game is great, what about three?
2K Sports announced Thursday that the cover art of their upcoming NBA simulation game, "NBA 2K12," will feature not just the return of Michael Jordan but also covers featuring 1980s greats Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Each athlete will be shown separately on three distinct covers of the video game packaging.
The artwork of each athlete was created for 2K Sports by artist Adam Larson. Larson's sports work has been highlighted in a cover of ESPN Magazine, featured in art galleries and won numerous awards.
Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports, said after the huge success of Jordan on the cover for "NBA 2K11," the company signed His Airness to a multiyear partnership. But he said the company wanted to give fans more than just a repeat.
"We are constantly focused on breaking the mold, not falling into any sort of pattern," he said. "We wanted to make a big statement and a big departure and continue to evolve and grow this franchise, which has been such a great level of success for us."

Argent said the three covers for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions will be shipped in equal numbers to each retail location in the U.S. He said all other platform versions and non-U.S. locations will only get the Jordan cover.
"The idea was to keep doing things bigger and better and continue to shake things up."
Argent said he thought the multicover approach was a first in the sports video game genre and extends the strong legacy established by "NBA 2K11." Last year's game sold more than 5 million units worldwide and won 14 Sports Game of the Year honors.
He said they weren't ready to release gameplay details at this time, but the philosophy and success of the Jordan Challenge in "NBA 2K11" would be continued and expanded in the new version.

Kobe Bryant

As the NBA lockout enters its fourth week on Friday and with no end in sight, theKobe Bryant-to-Turkey rumors continue to heat up.
But Bryant's asking price - reportedly $1 million per month - could be a deal-breaker for Besiktas, the same team that has a one-year contract in place with the Nets' Deron Williams in the event that the lockout extends into the NBA regular season.
Ergin Ataman, the Besiktas' coach, said that Bryant's reps have contacted the team, but that the club would need a sponsor to pay for Bryant's contract.
"Our board will evaluate that," Ataman told the Associated Press.
Currently touring China, Bryant said he would consider playing in China or Turkey if the lockout is still in place when the season starts on Nov. 1.
Bryant's deal with the Lakers calls for him to average nearly $28 million per season over the next three seasons, so he's going to command top dollar overseas. Williams' contract with the Turkish team is said to be for $350,000 per month.
If the lockout causes games to be cancelled and Bryant makes his way to Turkey, he would be the biggest NBA superstar to head overseas. Along with Williams, Orlando'sDwight Howard has also said that he also would interested in going overseas to play during an extended lockout.

But before anyone thinks they're definitely going to see NBA stars playing overseas, there are significant legal hurdles to overcome. Players must first gain approval from FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, which has close ties to the NBA. FIBA has the authority to reject the deals.
Bryant could also just be lending his name to the union effort to put some pressure on owners to make a deal. The Lakers' superstar turns 33 next month and is coming off surgery in May to help treat an arthritic joint in his right knee. Although all European teams would love to have his services, he stands to make more money in China, where he enjoys the greatest popularity of any NBA player now that Yao Ming has retired.
Since owners imposed the lockout on July 1, owners and players have not had a fullscale negotiating session, with the union saying that the two sides are $7 billion apart on a long-term deal.
On Friday, staff members of the two sides will meet for the first time since June 30 in what is not considered a bargaining session since commissioner David Stern and the head of the Players Association, Billy Hunter, are not scheduled to attend.

Fantasy Football

Have you ever watched a paranormal show on television? You know, the ones where investigative teams often times brings in a psychic medium to get a "sense" of what might have happened in the past to stir spirits at a present location? Well, sometimes in the realm of fantasy football, we too can learn from the past in an effort to predict what will happen in the here and now. These prognostications don't require a famous psychic like Nostradamus, either. Instead, we can use trends and simple common sense to build a compelling argument for our predictions.
In 2009, Chris Johnson broke Marshall Faulk's single-season record for scrimmage yards and finished with a ridiculous 342.90 fantasy points. Whether you use plain common sense, trends or the law of averages, CJ2K had little to no chance to duplicate those totals in 2010. Coincidently, he finished with "just" 228.90 points. Now let's go back a few more years to 2007, when Randy Moss posted an NFL-record 23 touchdown catches and found the end zone on every 4.2 catches. That's a ridiculous pace and one that wasn't likely to occur again. As expected, Moss scored a touchdown once for every 6.3 times he caught the football over the next two years as a member of the New England Patriots.So, if we can play the role of psychic medium by looking at the past, what can we learn for 2011?
Here's a look at 10 statistical nuggets that fantasy owners should keep in mind on draft day.
Michael Vick's 28 fantasy PPG average:
In the 11 games where he played the majority of the Eagles' offensive snaps, Vick's point-per-game average was unbelievable. Aside from the historic six-score beat down he laid on the Redskins, the versatile quarterback lived in the 20-30 point range from a fantasy perspective. By comparison, Tom Brady averaged 23.5 points in 2007 -- the season he threw for 4,806 yards and scored 52 total touchdowns. Here's another thing to keep in mind before you take Vick in the first round. Not only did he average just 14.1 fantasy points in the final 46 regular-season starts as a member of the Falcons, but his style of playing makes Vick more prone to injuries.
Drew Brees' career-worst 22 interceptions: Brees wasn't a bust last season, finishing sixth in fantasy points among quarterbacks on the strength of his 4,620 yards and 33 scoring strikes. However, the fact that he threw 22 interceptions (-44 fantasy points) did hurt his overall numbers in standard scoring systems. Part of the reason Brees committed so many turnovers was the injured MCL he played with for a good portion of the year. He also finished with a career-high 658 pass attempts, which was a result of the team's injury-riddled backfield. But with Mark Ingram now in the mix and Brees back at 100 percent, the superstar quarterback should produce better numbers this season than in 2010.
Arian Foster's 326 total fantasy points: The reigning king of fantasy football Foster came out of nowhere to produce 326 points on the strength of his 2,210 scrimmage yards and 18 total touchdowns in 2010. But if we've learned anything in fantasy land over the years, it's that producing 300-plus fantasy points in consecutive seasons as a running back is difficult -- unless your name is Marshall Faulk or LaDainian Tomlinson. Foster is a talented running back to be certain, but I'm not putting him on that level at this point. Also remember that the last runner to hit the 300-plus point mark in a single season, Chris Johnson (2009), scored 114 fewer fantasy points the following year.
Peyton Hillis' 233.92 total fantasy points: I was bullish on Hillis as a sleeper last season, but even I was surprised at the level of success he found as the Browns featured back. Looking ahead to 2011, Hillis is almost destined to see fewer carries with Montario Hardesty back in the mix. The Browns are also expected to add another runner once player movement starts, so the 331 touches Hillis saw last season will see an imminent dent. And for those of you who are superstitious, it doesn't help his value to be on the cover of Madden '12. So while he put up numbers like an elite fantasy back in 2010, I wouldn't draft Hillis as more than a No. 2 option heading into this season.

Larry Fitzgerald's six touchdown catches: From 2007-2009, Fitzgerald scored a combined 35 touchdowns and averaged one score for every 8.3 receptions. Last season, with the terrible trio of Derek Anderson, John Skelton andMax Hallunder center, the talented wideout found the end zone just six times and scored every 15th catch. Assuming the Cardinals go out and trade for Kevin Kolb or acquire a veteran like Donovan McNabb or Matt Hasselbeck, Fitzgerald's production and fantasy stock will rise back to that of an elite wideout. In fact, I plan to move him up to No. 4 behind Andre Johnson, Roddy White and Calvin Johnson once the Cards do secure a major upgrade at quarterback.
Dwayne Bowe's 15 touchdown catches: Bowe is coming off a breakout season that saw he record career bests across the board while also finishing second in fantasy points among wide receivers. But when we look inside the numbers, we find a touchdown streak that will be almost impossible to duplicate. From Week 6 to Week 12, Bowe scored 13 of his total touchdowns -- that made up for a ridiculous 87 percent of his total end-zone visits, and it's not something that's likely to happen again. Also keep in mind that the Chiefs selected standout wideout Jonathan Baldwin in April, Tony Moeakishould see more targets, and lastly, Charlie Weis is no longer calling the offensive shots.
Brandon Lloyd's 209 total fantasy points: When we tell owners that Lloyd came out of nowhere to lead all wide receivers in points last season, we mean nowhere. In fact, the veteran put up 32 percent of his career catches, 38 percent of his career yards and 42 percent of his career touchdowns in 2010. A huge part of his production came from two factors. First, the Broncos threw the football more than most teams under former coach Josh McDaniels, Second, Lloyd was the fourth-most targeted wideout in the entire league. With John Fox now at the helm, the team's reliance on the run will rise while passing attempts plummet -- likely, much like Lloyd's numbers and value.
Mike Williams' 11 touchdown catches:
Despite all the talk surrounding Ryan Mathews, Jahvid Best and C.J. Spiller, it was Williams, a wide receiver, who scored the most fantasy points among rookies last season. The question now is will he endure the dreaded sophomore slump? That remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain -- the Syracuse product has very little chance to score 11 times and record a touchdown every 5.9 receptions again. As we mentioned earlier, even a stud like Fitzgerald only averaged a score for every 8.3 catches during a three-year stretch where he found the end zone 35 times. As a result, it's wide to temper expectations for the Bucs wideout.
Sidney Rice's overall fantasy value: Clearly, Rice will be one of the most coveted wide receivers on the free-agent market once player movement is allowed. But is he a lock to make a major impact? in 2011? Remember, Rice has had knee issues in the past and also missed most of the 2010 campaign while recovering from hip surgery. While he does possesses a ton of upside, Rice has only had one truly productive fantasy season at the NFL level -- that came in 2009 with Brett Favreunder center. In 20 career games in which Favre wasn't with the Vikings or didn't play the majority of the team's snaps, Rice has averaged 2.9 receptions for 37 yards. Those are awful numbers.
Jason Witten's nine touchdown catches: No one can argue that Witten is one of the elite tight ends in fantasy football, but he's almost certain to see his touchdown numbers drop in 2011. In his four previous seasons, he averaged just over three scores a year. So what was the reason for his sudden increase? The answer is Tony Romo's absence. While the two do have a nice rapport, Romo takes more chances downfield than the two quarterbacks who replaced him, Jon Kitna and Stephen McGee. In fact, Witten averaged almost two more catches and half a touchdown more per game without Romo. Look for Miles Austin, not Witten, to benefit most from Romo's return to the offense.

Marcell Jansen

Liverpool has a mixed history with German full-backs. On one hand, you have Markus Babbel who, despite suffering numerous injuries during his time at Anfield, was consistently excellent in the 2000-01 treble-winning season and scored in the UEFA Cup Final win over Alves. On the other, you have Christian Ziege, who arrived from Middlesbrough under a cloud of acrimony and, although unlucky to have knees made of glass, never came close to showing the form for which we the club bought him.
So it was with a mix of trepidation and delight that I read Liverpool are closing in on Marcell Jansen, the Germany and Hamburg left-back / left winger to fill the position that has become a bit of a curse since John Arne Riise was bombed out following high-profile mistakes under Rafael Benitez.
Capped 35 times by Die Mannschaft scoring three goals, the tall (6′3″) Jansen is vastly experienced for his age, having been present at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups (playing understudy to the excellent Lahm), Euro 2008 and also spending a season in the Circus ring of Bayern Munich. Despite spending most of last season in an advanced position for Hamburg where he utilises his long stride and pin-point crossing to good effect, Jansen has scored all of his three goals for Germany from left-back and, on the 20 or so occasions I have seen him play, combines the best abilities of Liverpool’s former German full-backs.

There has been a lot of talk about Dalglish focusing on functional players who can fit into a system and give the team balance rather than taking chances on tricky wingers with exotic surnames, and Jansen fits this bill perfectly. Adept anywhere on the left-side and also up front, he is typically German in that he is powerful, technically adroit and has an engine that could’ve rolled off the line at the Bavarian Motor Works.

He may not be Brazilian or send shivers down the spine of opposing fans, but the one time Barcelona target ticks several boxes for Liverpool and would prove good business at £8 million

The signings of Downing, Adam and, to a lesser extent Henderson, show that Kenny is prepared to take no huge gambles as he attempts to ensure Liverpool to hit the ground running on August 13 against Sunderland. He is well aware that eyebrows have been raised regarding the fees paid for British players, realises that the denizens of Fleet Street will be sharpening their pencils if the team fails to gel and that is why he has bought players to whom the Premier League holds no surprises. The Bundesliga might be a fraction slower that the Premier League, but Jansen has all of the attributes to make the position his own.
If Jansen does sign, and he seems a more likely signing that Aly Cissokho, Liverpool will have three front-line players who are left-footed. To fans increasingly frustrated over the last few years of play funneling inwards down that flank – six months of Riera apart – this will be welcome news. To successfully challenge United, Chelsea and City, especially away from home, the balance of the side is massively important. With Jansen, Downing and Adam in the side, what is guaranteed is that Liverpool will be able to stretch the play and use the full width of the pitch to provide openings for Carroll and Suarez up front. What Liverpool have lacked in recent years, even with the Dalglish revival is genuine width and an ability to really hurt teams on the flanks. The addition of Carroll only intensifies the need for players who can cross consistently from the left in a manner that Johnson, Kuyt, and now Henderson can from the right.
Fond of a header as shown with his equalising goal in the World Cup third place play off match last year, Jansen also takes an excellent free-kick and is incredibly dangerous arriving late in and around the box to hit the dropping ball first time. He may not be Brazilian or send shivers down the spine of opposing fans, but the one time Barcelona target ticks several boxes for Liverpool and would prove good business at £8 million.

India England Test Series 2011

Sachin

Time has come for the most eagerly awaited series of all and it’s the Lord’s which will treat the millions of cricket fans all over the world with absolute thrill and excitement. India and England, the two most celebrated sides of world cricket at present will be the contestants of the 2000^th Test match.

India are the World Champions in the 50 over format and also are the number 1 Test side in the world. In the last decade India’s ascend to the top has been great and since 1996 their tour to England has been fruitful. The Natwest series final of 2002 launched the story of the “New India” under Sourav Ganguly which has been taken to new heights by the charismatic Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

India toured England in 2007 and registered a 1-0 series win after 21 years despite the lucky escape at Lord’s. And since then India have climbed to the top. In the past India were known to be poor travelers but time has changed and they are strong contenders on foreign soil. Their batsmen bat with style and aggression, their bowlers hunt for the batsmen and as a whole the team generates electrifying atmosphere to script simmering contests.

The Indian team is bolstered by the likes of Tendulkar, Gambhir, Dhoni, Dravid, Laxman, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer with plenty of promising cricketers being groomed under them. The absence of Sehwag is thought to be felt but the team has such quality players that the gap of Viru might not be felt. The rise of Praveen Kumar in the West Indies is a huge bonus for India as his gentle but venomous medium pace will be deadly in the seaming English conditions. At the other end the tall lanky Isant Sharma will provide the perfect foil for Zaheer while Amit Mishra might be the ideal person to aid the fast men rather than the offspinner Harbhajan Singh as history suggests of English weakness against legspinners.

Batting is perhaps not a worry for India but in the warm up game against Somerset the Indian batsmen struggled except Raina along with the bowlers but practice matches never gives the true picture. Great performers perform on the biggest stage. And the stage is set for the number 1 team to exhibit the cricket which cricket lovers love to watch.

England, at the other hand are upbeat and confident. After victory in both the Test and ODI series against Sri lanka the Ashes winning English team under Andrew Strauss is aiming to go for the kill against the well balanced Indian side. They have some well composed players in their side. Alastair Cook is perhaps in the form of his life as he is making his bat talk and Jonathan Trott’s Kallis like batting is proving handy for the opposition in course of time. In the middle-order Ian Bell has been stupendous and these days he is an innings grafter who resuscitate the tattered innings with astute authority.

Andrew Strauss has been found wanting against left-arm seamers but against India in the warm-up match that ghost has been found lost as he scored a hundred against Zaheer’s pace. Eoin Morgan is almost like the Rock n Roll music simply irresistible when on song and if KP gets on mood then Indian bowlers are to face a tough task. The wicket-keeper Prior gives solidity in the lower order while the bottom half too contribute with guts when needed.

James Anderson seem to have got back his rhythm and Tim Bresnan and Broad are there to partner him as the wily Graeme Swann is licking his fingers to have a go at the Indian batsmen who are well known to murder the spinners. Time for Swann to prove his worth against the world’s best batting lineup.

Both the teams play a four match Test series. And the Test match at Lord’s will be the 2000^th Test match. And the cricket fans all over the world are eagerly waiting for the 100^th 100 of the little master Sachin Tendulkar. But above all these milestones the most important thing is that Test cricket is still widely celebrated.

Both he teams have the quality players and the positive attitude to bring the best cricket of the day. It is expected that Test cricket will get a new dimension through both the teams.

India to start as favourites but England are going to sit idle. A cracking series is expected.
Schedule
1st Test: England v India at Lord's
Jul 21-25, 2011 (11:00 local | 10:00 GMT | 16:00 BDT)
2nd Test: England v India at Nottingham
Jul 29-Aug 2, 2011 (11:00 local | 10:00 GMT | 16:00 BDT)
3rd Test: England v India at Birmingham
Aug 10-14, 2011 (11:00 local | 10:00 GMT | 16:00 BDT)
4th Test: England v India at The Oval
Aug 18-22, 2011 (11:00 local | 10:00 GMT | 16:00 BDT)

Fantasy Premier League

This will be the seventh season we've run this competition and for the last two seasons, due to a fantastic response, we've been able to pay out £500 in prize money.
As in previous years we are playing the official Premier League game and they launched their game for the new season just yesterday with a new look.

This is your chance to be a football manager, to select a squad of 15 players with a budget of £100 million and then manage it through a 38 game season.
We charge just £10 per entry (£10.60 if you pay via Paypal to cover their costs) and £5 will be added to the prize fund for each entry with the remainder going to the Clarets Mad Youth Foundation. If there are enough entries it will again allow us to pay out prizes to the top three at the end of the season as well as having manager of the month prizes.

Lords Cricket Ground

Believe it or not !  The world’s greatest batsman Sachin Tendulkar is yet to score a 50 at the Lord’s cricket ground.   The super star   has played at least in four tests at Lord’s and not managed a decent score at the ground compared to  his high scoring rate.  His scores at the Mecca of cricket so far have been 10 & 27 in 1990, 31 in 1996, 16 & 12 in 2002 and 37 & 16 in 2007.  Unbelievable but true.  In fact, the aggregate is 149 in seven innings for an average of 21.28 bringing him a strike of 42.32 at Lord’s ground.  This is despite his 4 centuries in England at other grounds earlier.
Most of the spectators at the first Test at Lord’s starting on Thursday July 21 will be there to watch Tendulkar to score not 50 but a perfect 100 runs which will also bring him 100 centuries in international cricket.  This will also mean that Tendulkar will be recording his first ever test century at Lord’s.   The spectators will be witness to a great record of sorts if Tendulkar manages that elusive century at a ground where every cricketer wishes to play.  Another record is that this will be the 100th test between England and India and the 2000th test match on the international level.  So much for cricket history !
When he knocks that century in England on the current tour, he will also become the record holder for most centuries by an Indian batsman against England in England.  Both Dilip Vengsarkar and Sachin Tendulkar have scored four hundreds each in England so far.

Tendulkar has managed to attract plenty of attention for various reasons including his down to earth habits and image as a calm and well behaved cricketer.  Earlier in the month,  he was at the cricket academy in England where his young son Arjun was getting trained.  When the proud father went to the academy to watch and  coach his son, he also gave some valuable tips to the other trainees at the academy without any hesitation.
Tendulkar is understood to be venturing into a cricket related business and is actively marketing his new found ideas in England.  He has been holidaying with his family in England when the Indian team was on tour to the West Indies.  He even attended the Wimbledon Tennis Championships as a special invitee and met tennis super star Roger Federer during the matches along with his wife Anjali in tow.  In fact, he has an apartment in the nearby area of Lord’s and he has been practicing at the nets even before the Indian team arrived in the country.
But everything will go to the side when the Mumbai man pads and sets his foot on the hallowed soil of Lord’s as the Indians start their batting.  Whether he agrees or not, Tendulkar will be more than anxious to notch up that century of centuries which will etch his name in gold at  Lord’s and make him a member of that special club.  Far lesser known batsmen than Tendulkar have scored a ton at Lord’s and unless rain plays spoilsport there is every reason to believe that we are going to see a smashing century from the evergreen cricketer.

India vs England

India vs England

India vs England 1st test match has been delayed due to bad weather. According to reports, the pitch has been covered with covers and the match will start when the umpires inspect the pitch. The next inspection is slated for 10:50 am (local time).

There were light showers earlier this morning. Though these were very light, they dampened not just the pitch but spirit as well.

Indian team is looking forward to a great match as Sachin may make yet another history by hitting the 100th century of his career. Besides playing at the Lords was itself such a great thing and merely the thought of playing on this historic ground gives a high to people.

Indian team would like to win the series to consolidate its position as the number one test side in the world and continue at the top spot. But to be true it is easier said than done and the composition of the team doesn’t really look so great to think that the team can win the series against England in their own backyards.

Meanwhile the hosts are dreaming to win the series by a margin of at least two Tests to wrest the No. 1 ranking from India. It's a goal they have been pursuing with determination. Though the world cricket body says India is the top team, right now composition wise this doesn’t seem such a right claim. With their very well balanced side English team is the best right now. We need to wait a couple of weeks more to know it exactly as to who is better side.

Ind vs Eng

Sachin

The historic first Test of a high-profile four-match Test series between India and England has been delayed due to bad weather at the Lord's cricket ground in London on Thursday.

A slight drizzle a couple of hours before the scheduled start of play followed by dark sky overhead caused the delay.

The conditions are expected to get better as the day progresses.

The fickle English weather, however, could play spoilsport as rain is predicted on all the five days of the match which has generated a lot of interest.

Strong contenders India and England go into a high-voltage Test series with the spotlight on Sachin Tendulkar who aims to achieve an incredible milestone of 100 international centuries in a match which has historic significance.

The series opener happens to be the 100th Test between the two sides and also the 2000th in the history of the game.

The historic venue could also become a witness to Sachin Tendulkar's 100th international century in his 22nd year in Test cricket as the champion batsman is just a ton away from achieving the feat.

But leaving aside all the historical importance associated with the Test, the four-match series is also touted as a fight between two best teams of the world for Test cricket's top position.

While India would be desperate to do whatever it takes to hold on to its numero uno Test status, a series win by a two game margin will see England topple Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men from the pinnacle.

But against a formidable side like England, who have been unbeaten in the last five series at home, it won't be easy for the Indians, who did very little to impress in the drawn practice match against Somerset at Taunton.

Dhoni, who has yet to lose any of his 10 Test series since he became permanent captain - India have won seven and drawn three under the wicketkeeper-batsman, said a new attitude had helped the team abroad.

Teams (from):

India: MS Dhoni(capt & wicketkeeper), G Gambhir, R Dravid, Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, P Kumar, VVS Laxman, A Mishra, A Mukund, MM Patel, SK Raina, WP Saha†, V Sehwag, I Sharma,S Sreesanth, SR Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh

England: AJ Strauss (capt), AN Cook, JM Anderson, IR Bell, TT Bresnan, SCJ Broad, EJG Morgan, KP Pietersen, MJ Prior (wicketkeeper), GP Swann, CT Tremlett, IJL Trott

Heat Exhaustion

Heat Exhaustion

Roy Halladay made his first start since the all-star break Monday night, but he was Roy Halladay in name only.

The Phillies ace, a physical specimen who usually needs to be ripped from the mound with a tow hook, left Monday night’s game with head athletic trainer Scott Sheridan at his side without recording an out in the fifth inning.

Official cause of the early exit: The heat.

“He was hot and dizzy,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “You could tell in that third inning. He was kind of gasping for air. He was really sweating.”

Halladay suffered his first defeat in two months in the 6-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs in the claustrophobic confines of Wrigley Field. But afterward, the final outcome hardly seemed important. Most of the postgame attention centered around Halladay’s condition.

The 34-year-old pitcher was seen by a Cubs team physician after coming out of the game. Phillies spokesman Greg Casterioto reported that Halladay was given a clean bill of health and was alert. Halladay did not emerge from the trainer’s room to speak with reporters, but he did send word through Casterioto that he “absolutely” intends to make his next start on Sunday.

Halladay entered the game having gone six or more innings in 63 straight road starts, but it was clear pretty early in this one that he was going to have trouble keeping that streak alive. The game-time temperature was 91 degrees and the humidity was oppressive. Even Miami resident Raul Ibanez said the humidity was remarkable. Jimmy Rollins compared it to “one of those old days at the Vet.”

The heat got to Halladay as he labored through a 31-pitch third inning. Twice he backed off the mound and hunched over his knees as he tried to take a breather. Once he went into a full crouch. Second baseman Chase Utley called time out to tie his shoes in an obvious attempt to buy Halladay some time.

In the dugout after the third inning, Halladay wiped down with a wet towel. When he returned to the mound for the fourth inning, he did so minus his red-sleeved undershirt. He allowed one hit in that inning, but got through it without a problem. After that inning, pitching coach Rich Dubee consulted Halladay.

“He said he was somewhat lightheaded, but he wanted to go on,” Dubee said. “He was having a tough time focusing and seeing the signs.”

Halladay allowed a leadoff single to Starlin Castro in the bottom of the fifth and was removed from the game. In all, he allowed seven hits, including a homer, and three runs in four-plus innings.

“He’s better now,” Dubee said after the game. “The people here took good care of him. They got some fluids in him and he’s doing much better.”

Dubee did not know if Halladay had an intravenous treatment. Manuel said Halladay had no problems before the game.

This wasn’t the first time Halladay has pitched in extreme heat. He pitched in Washington where the heat index was 100 degrees on May 30. He drank Pedialyte to stay hydrated between innings and at one point needed to change his entire uniform between innings because it was drenched with sweat.

The Phillies are 2-2 after the all-star break. Cole Hamels and Halladay, both all-stars, have the losses. In two starts, they have allowed 10 runs and 15 hits in 8 1/3 innings.

Another all-star, Cliff Lee, pitches Tuesday night.

Uh-oh.

All of this has made Dubee less of a fan of the All-Star Game.

“Roy is the last guy you’d expect this to happen to, but that tells you what Mother Nature can do,” Dubee said. “It was awful hot. I’m not making excuses, but guys go to the All-Star Game and they come back a little drawn. I know you need the All-Star Game, but it’s a busy three days. You fly out there a couple of time zones away, there are banquets – that first week back, guys don’t always respond.”

The Phillies had won 10 straight starts with Halladay on the mound.

This one got away early as Halladay allowed a homer to Aramis Ramirez in the first inning. He allowed two more runs in the third inning. Rollins’ solo homer off Rodrigo Lopez was the only offense the Phillies could muster. They were outhit, 12-5. Utley, Ryan Howard and Ibanez, the Phils’ 3-4-5 hitters, were 0 for 11.

“They outplayed us,” Manuel said. “They outhit us and outplayed us. Lopez did a good job. Give him credit.”

The forecast is for more intense heat Tuesday and Wednesday in Chicago.

“We’ve got to play,” Manuel said. “I’m not concerned. What the hell? They aren’t going to call the game for the heat. I’ve seen it 125, 130 degrees. We’ve got to play.”

Caroline Wozniacki

Perhaps the reason behind Rory McIlroy’s distracted British Open performance was not the weather, but the Wozniacki.
The 22-year-old U.S. Open winner may have a new woman in his life, after splitting with long-time girlfriend Holly Sweeney before playing at St. George’s last weekend, according to his management team.
“Rory McIlroy’s long-term relationship with Holly Sweeney came to an amicable end before the British Open,” an International Sports Management spokesman (ISM) said.

But after his disappointing showing on Sunday, reports surfaced that he might have a new shoulder to cry on — Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. Yahoo! Sports Busted Racquet blog has photos of the couple together at dinner, and later sharing a kiss. The original photos were taken down after the U.K. blogger who posted them on Twitter thought it might be a bit rude to splash other people’s private business on the Internet.
Where did it all go wrong for McIlroy and Sweeney? That’s a job for those gossip blogs, and not Posted Sports. We also won’t put together a Twitter timeline of their “flirtatious moments.” But if McIlroy ends up with 50+ mistresses and cries an apology on national television, we will keep you posted.

Triple H

The goal at the beginning of the show was to find a new WWE Champion to replace CM Punk, who departed the company Sunday with the title. By the end of the night, the tournament final was put on hold for other business between Vince McMahon and John Cena. McMahon was about to fire Cena when Triple H returned to make a shocking announcement that will change WWE forever. Should be a good one!
And we are LIVE! from Green Bay, Wisc. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler are our hosts. This show is presented in WWEHD (TV-PG, V)
Vince McMahon is out to start the show. He says as of right now, the name of the WWE Champion (CM Punk) will no longer be said in this company and tonight, there will be an eight-man tournament to determine the new WWE Champion and that will begin right now.
Match #1 - WWE Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match - The Miz (Cleveland, Ohio) vs. Alex Riley (Washington, DC)
Riley works over Miz's injured knee, which was hurt last night at Money in the Bank. He applies a half crab but Miz is able to push his way out and that sends Riley to the floor. They exchange in the ring when Riley catches Miz with a knee to the back of the head. Now Riley fires up and hits a spinebuster for two. He goes for the implant DDT but Miz escapes. Miz catches him with a back elbow and comes off the second rope but falls short.
Riley grabs him and locks in a Texas Cloverleaf but Miz crawls to the ropes. Miz tries to buy some time but Riley takes him down. Riley is all over Miz here. But then out of nowhere, Miz catches him with the Skull-Crushing Finale and that's it.
Winner via pinfall: The Miz
Match #2 - WWE Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match - R-Truth (Charlotte, NC) vs. Jack Swagger (Perry, Okla.)
Swagger with a Vader Bomb for two. Truth hits the big side kick but Swagger kicks out at two. He goes for the scissors kick but Swagger locks in the ankle lock. Truth rolls through and locks in a pinning combination and the referee counts three right as Swagger kicks out, but it's too little, too late. This one is over.
Winner via pinfall: R-Truth
Match #3 - WWE Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match - Alberto Del Rio (San Luis Potosi, Mexico) vs. Kofi Kingston (Ghana, West Africa)
Kingston with the jumping corner punches and then a big uppercut for two. Del Rio ends up going to the outside and Kingston comes flying in with a suicide dive. Well done. Kingston sends Del Rio in but Del Rio catches him with a kick coming back in for two. Now Del Rio goes to work on the back of the head. Del Rio goes for a move in the corner but crashes and burns and Kingston goes to work.
He goes for the Boom Drop but Del Rio rolls out of the way. Kingston goes after him but Del Rio takes advantage of his eagerness and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. He goes for the cross-armbreaker but Kingston counters and rolls him up for the pin.
Winner via pinfall: Kofi Kingston
Match #4 - WWE Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match - Rey Mysterio (San Diego, Calif.) vs. Dolph Ziggler (Hollywood, Calif.)
Ziggler drops Mysterio on the outside in the early-going and takes over from there. He goes to work on the left leg but Mysterio kicks his way out of it. Both men going for quick pinfalls. Ziggler goes for his jumping elbow but misses. He goes for a corner splash but Mysterio moves and hits a kick to the head for two.
Ziggler goes for the sleeper, but Mysterio runs Ziggler into the middle turnbuckle. Head-scissors connects for Mysterio and he goes for the 619 for Ziggler moves and grabs Rey for a throw for two. Mysterio, though, connects and sets Mysterio up for the 619 and hits it. He follows with a splash from the top and that's it.
Winner via pinfall: Rey Mysterio
Match #5 - Kelly Kelly, Kaitlyn, AJ, Natalya, Eve Torres, Beth Phoenix & Gail Kim vs. Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Maryse, Melina, Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes & Tamina
It all breaks down into a brawl about 20 seconds into the match leaving Phoenix and Mendes in the ring where Phoenix quickly dispatches of her with the Glam Slam and that's it. About 45 seconds total.
Winners via pinfall: Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly, Kaitlyn, AJ, Natalya, Eve Torres & Gail Kim
Match #6 - WWE Championship Tournament Semifinal Match - Kofi Kingston (Ghana, West Africa) vs. The Miz (Cleveland, Ohio)

Miz crotches Kingston on the top rope and pulls him down for a two count, but Kingston comes back with kicks to the bad knee. Kingston comes in with a slingshot elbow drop for two and then follows up with a dropkick to Miz's knee. Kingston to the top and hits the big high cross but Miz rolls it through for two. Kingston grabs Miz's leg and hits a kneebuster.
He goes for the Trouble in Paradise but Miz rolls to the apron and then wrings Kingston's neck. He comes back and goes for the Skull-Crushing Finale but Kingston rolls through for two. Kingston goes for another splash but Miz moves and catches him on the rebound with the Skull-Crushing Finale and that's it.
Winner via pinfall: The Miz
Match #7 - WWE Championship Tournament Semifinal Match - Rey Mysterio (San Diego, Calif.) vs. R-Truth (Charlotte, NC)
Big clothesline connects for Truth for two. Truth goes to work with a headlock but Mysterio gets out and sends Truth flying to the floor with an armdrag. Now it's Mysterio who comes flying in with a suicide dive that takes Truth out.
Mysterio with a rollup for two but Truth puts him down with a kick for two. Truth pounds away and then hits Mysterio with the Lie Detector but Mysterio kicks out at two. Mysterio with a drop-toe hold into the second rope. He comes off for a 619 but Truth drills him with a forearm that stops him in his tracks for two. Front suplex connects for Truth for two. Truth charges into the corner but Mysterio moves. Mysterio with a big springboard splash for two. Tons of action here.
Suplex stunner connects for Truth but Mysterio gets his hand on the bottom rope. Mysterio onto the apron. Truth comes at him but Mysterio fights him off and puts him into position and hits the 619. He follows with the splash and that's it.
Winner via pinfall: Rey Mysterio
As Mysterio is being officially introduced for the tournament final, Mr. McMahon's music hits and he makes his way to the ring.
McMahon says he's got something bigger to deal with than the WWE Championship match, so he's postponing it until next week. He has to deal with John Cena. He says he wants to thank him for his contributions to WWE but has to make some difficult decisions. He says sometimes you have to set an example in business. He says this isn't about his personal ego, but he does what's right for the fans from a business perspective. He says as much as he would not like to do this, he wants to get it over with. Cena's music hits.
Cena grabs the mic and says he's not going to need a seven-second delay or show his genitalia. He says he's not going to go through the things McMahon made Shawn Michaels go through when it came to Montreal. He said he didn't want to be saddled with screwing CM Punk for the rest of his career. He says he wasn't going to be McMahon's patsy. He says he isn't going to play along with that crap because McMahon would've made the WWE Championship meaningless.
Cena says McMahon has about eight months to find another opponent for The Rock at WrestleMania 28. He says meanwhile, he gets to walk out with his pride and dignity. He says before McMahon does his spiel, he loves the WWE and feels he belongs here and if McMahon makes him walk tonight, he'll just walk right onto someone else's television show and keep doing this, BROTHER. He says he gets accused of doing a lot of things but one thing he'll not do is kiss McMahon's ass. Right as McMahon is about to fire Cena, who comes out but Triple H.
Triple H said he got here as quick as he could and that there was a Board of Directors meeting this morning. He is speaking in hushed tones. He says the board is concerned about the current situation and sent him to talk to McMahon. He asks to go talk about it in the back. McMahon denies that. Triple H says the board is concerned about McMahon's extremely questionable decisions as of late. He says the board has asked him to come here and let McMahon know the board has filed an injunction against him with a vote of no confidence, and he notes the family agrees.
Triple H says the board has appointed someone to take over the day-to-day operations of WWE and he can't believe he's going to say this, but it's him. He says McMahon isn't going to fire Cena and he isn't going to be doing anything else. He notes he learned from McMahon that this is business. And he is here to inform McMahon that he is relieved of his duties. Crowd chants the goodbye song as both Triple H and McMahon cry. Triple H says "I love you pop and I'm sorry."
He throws his mic down and heads up the ramp, leaving McMahon alone in the ring. The crowd is now cheering him. The show goes off the air with McMahon crying and the crowd chanting "Thank You Vince."

WWE Raw Results

WWE RAW opens up with the normal intro video. We go right to the arena and out comes Vince McMahon to a mixed reaction from the Green Bay crowd. Vince has John Laurinaitis with him and they make their way to the ring.The crowd chants for CM Punk as we see the WWE roster backstage watching on a TV. Vince says you will never hear him say that man's name again. He says that man is the biggest ingrate in WWE history. Vince says that man walked out on all of the fans, the locker room and anyone who has ever been in the ring. Vince says that man is an egotistical, selfish turd. Vince says nobody is bigger than WWE - Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Bret Hart, Steve Austin, nobody. Vince puts over WWE as a company and says it cannot be stopped. Vince says we will crown a new WWE Champion tonight.
An eight-man tournament is announced. Dolph Ziggler vs. Rey Mysterio, R-Truth vs. Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio and Alex Riley vs. The Miz is announced by Vince. Vince points out that John Cena is not in the tournament. The crowd boo's Cena's name. Vince says he will boo Cena too because he let him down. Vince warned Cena before the match that there would be severe consequences if he lost to Punk. Vince says after consulting with Laurinaitis, there will be severe consequences tonight. Vince says tonight will be a night we always remember. No Chance starts back up as Vince and Laurinaitis, who is sporting a shiner, leave the ring.
- Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler talk about Cena and tonight's WWE Title tournament that will crown a new champion.
WWE Title Tournament Match: The Miz vs. Alex Riley
We go to the ring for tonight's opener as The Miz makes his way out, limping to the ring. We go to commercial.
Back from the break and out comes Alex Riley. The bell rings and here we go. Riley goes for Miz's injured leg early on but can't get it. Miz rolls Riley up for a quick pin attempt. Riley rams Miz back in the corner but it's broken up. Riley finally takes Miz's leg out and goes to work on it. Riley pulls Miz's leg and slams it into the ringpost twice. Riley comes back in and applies a half Boston crab.
Riley kicks Miz in the head and drops him for a close 2 count. Riley charges in the corner but Miz moves and he hits the ringpost. Miz with a 2 count. Miz mounts Riley now and hits him with a series of right hands. The referee pulls Miz off. Miz applies a headlock but Riley fights out and slams Miz back on his head. Riley takes Miz down with forearms and hits a spinebuster for 2. They go back and forth on holds. Riley runs into a big boot in the corner. Miz goes to the second rope but lands wrong and Riley catches him in a Sharpshooter. Miz makes it to the ropes and breaks the hold.
More back and forth action and it doesn't look like they're on the same page timing wise. Riley gets tangled up with the referee and Miz hits Skull Crushing Finale for the win and to advance in the tournament.
Winner: The Miz
- We see R-Truth walking and talking to himself backstage as we go back to commercial.
- Back from the break and we get a promo video for John Morrison.
WWE Title Tournament Match: R-Truth vs. Jack Swagger
We go to the ring and out comes R-Truth, followed by his opponent Jack Swagger.
The bell rings and they lock up. They break apart and lock up again. Swagger with a side headlock. Truth dazes Swagger with a big right hand and rolls him up for a 2 count. They lock up again and go to the corner. Swagger with shoulder thrusts. Swagger slams Truth and covers him for 2. Swagger uses the ropes on Truth and side slams him for another 2 count. Swagger continues the offense and beats Truth back down.
Swagger whips Truth hard into the corner and he goes down again. Swagger goes for the big second rope splash out of the corner and nails it for yet another pin attempt. Truth fights out of a hold but Swagger scoops him on his shoulders. Truth counters, ducks a clothesline and hits a heel kick on Swagger for a 2 count. Truth with a big right hand. Truth misses a scissors kick. Swagger trips him and goes for the ankle lock. Truth rolls out of it and covers Swagger for the win and to advance in the tournament.
Winner: R-Truth
- We get hype for Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio, which is up next. Back to commercial.
WWE Title Tournament Match: Alberto Del Rio vs. Kofi Kingston
Back from the break and RAW Money in the Bank winner Alberto Del Rio comes driving into the arena for the next tournament match. Del Rio enters the ring with his briefcase and says his name is, his name is... Mr. Money in the Bank Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio talks about winning last night and then trying to cash in on CM Punk. Del Rio says Punk ran away like a chicken. Del Rio says all of this happened because John Cena couldn't do his job. Del Rio says he hopes Cena gets fired because WWE needs a new leader - a better one and a stronger one, he says. Del Rio reminds us that it's his destiny to become WWE Champion. Del Rio's music hits again and out comes Ricardo Rodriguez, returning from injury. Ricardo speaks in Spanish about Del Rio and does his normal introduction. Back to commercial.
Back from the break and out comes Kofi Kingston. The bell rings and they lock up. Del Rio takes it to the corner and kicks Kofi in the gut. Del Rio kicks Kofi in the back of the head and goes for a 2 count. Kofi fights back with right hands and dropkicks Del Rio for a pin attempt. Del Rio comes back with a kick and knees. Del Rio drops Kofi with a shoulder and ducks some kicks. Kofi with a flying elbow for a 2 count.
Kofi with right hands and a big uppercut on Del Rio for another pin attempt. Del Rio jumps at Kofi but flies out to the floor. Kofi dives through the ropes, landing on Del Rio and the floor outside of the ring. Kofi brings it back in the ring but Del Rio kicks him in the head for another pin attempt. Del Rio stomps on Kofi's head now and covers for yet another pin attempt. Del Rio with a headlock now. Del Rio with more offense and another pin attempt. Del Rio drops a big elbow and gets yet another 2 count. Del Rio goes back to the headlock now.
Del Rio charges with a dropkick in the corner but Kofi moves and he lands on his head. Kofi makes a comeback now and dropkicks Del Rio, then takes him down with a big forearm. Del Rio catches Kofi with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a 2 count. Del Rio goes for the armbar but Kofi rolls him up for the pin and the win, advancing in the tournament.
Winner: Kofi Kingston
- It will now be Kofi vs. The Miz and R-Truth vs. the winner of Rey Mysterio and Dolph Ziggler. We see Mysterio heading to the ring as we go back to commercial.
- Back from the break and we get replays of Kofi vs. Del Rio. Josh Matthews is backstage with Kofi for an interview. He talks about coming up short at Money in the Bank but says tonight is a new opportunity. Kofi says we just saw him take the first step at becoming the new WWE Champion. One down, two to go he says and walks off.
WWE Title Tournament Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler
We go to the ring and out comes Rey Mysterio to a nice reaction from the crowd. Out next comes the WWE United States Champion Dolph Ziggler with Vickie Guerrero.
The bell rings and Ziggler beats Rey down and goes to work. Ziggler runs into a boot in the corner and Rey takes him down. Rey ducks a clothesline but gets kicked. Ziggler launches Rey out of the ring but he lands on his feet. Ziggler comes out and blocks Rey, then drops him face first on the floor. Ziggler brings it back in the ring for a 2 count. Ziggler with an elbow and another 2 count. Ziggler goes to work on Rey's leg now with an odd hold.
They trade pin attempts. Dolph takes back control and drops Rey again for a 2 count. More pin attempts by Ziggler as Vickie yells at ringside. Dolph misses an elbow drop and a splash in the corner. Rey kicks him in the head and covers for 2. Rey with a senton from the top but Ziggler stops him running the ropes. Ziggler kicks Rey's leg out and hits a form of a cutter for 2. They go back and forth. Dolph goes for the sleeper hold but Rey throws him into the turnbuckles. Rey kicks Dolph and goes for a hurricanrana but Dolph catches him. Rey counters the block and goes for 619. Dolph ducks 619 and slams Rey for 2.
Ziggler stomps away now. Rey counters a move and finally hits 619. Rey goes up top and hits the big splash for the pin and the win, advancing in the tournament.

Winner: Rey Mysterio
- We see Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis talking backstage before another commercial.
Kelly Kelly, Kaitlyn, AJ Lee, Eve Torres, Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim & Natalya vs. Melina, Maryse, Tamina, Rosa Mendes & The Bella Twins
Back from the break and out comes WWE Divas Champion Kelly Kelly with her partners Kaitlyn, AJ Lee, Eve, Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim and Natalya. Out next is Melina, Maryse, Alicia Fox, Tamina, Rosa Mendes, Brie Bella and Nikki Bella.
Beth and Rosa start the match off going at it. Beth slingshot suplexes Rosa for a 2 count. The Bellas break the pin which brings in Natalya and Gail to take them out. All the Divas start brawling at ringside, not even 3 minutes into the match. Beth and Rosa are in the ring still. Beth hits the Glam Slam for the quick win.
Winners: Kelly Kelly, Kaitlyn, AJ Lee, Eve Torres, Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim & Natalya
- Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz is up next as we go to commercial.
WWE Title Tournament Match: Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz
Back from the break and out comes Kofi Kingston for the next tournament match. Out next comes The Miz. The bell rings and they go at it. Kofi goes right for Miz's leg but Miz fights him off. Kofi rolls Miz up early for a 2 count and applies a headlock. Miz fights out but Kofi hits a crossbody for another pin attempt. Kofi dropkicks Miz and covers again.
Miz makes a comeback and grounds Kofi with a headlock. Kofi goes back to Miz's knee. Kofi goes for a dropkick but flies out of the ring. Kofi comes right back and takes out Miz's leg. Kofi leaps into the ring with an elbow drop and another 2 count. Kofi dropkicks Miz's leg again and kicks him in the back for yet another pin attempt. Kofi misses a splash in the corner but manages to kick Miz in the head. Kofi with a big crossbody from the top but Miz rolls through and gets a 2 count. Kofi takes out the knee again and goes back to work. Miz fights back and goes for Skull Crushing Finale but Kofi counters and rolls him up for 2. Miz dumps Kofi's face into the turnbuckle and this time nails the Skull Crushing Finale for the win, advancing in the tournament.
Winner: The Miz
- Scott Stanford is backstage with R-Truth. Truth says he deserves to be WWE Champion more than anyone in the tournament. The conspiracy kept him from the Money in the Bank briefcase but it won't stop him from beating little Rey Rey tonight. Truth says the title is going to get got tonight, and that's the truth. Back to commercial.
- We get a promo video for WWE Tough Enough winner Andy Levine, showing the rough neighborhood that he grew up in.
WWE Title Tournament Match: Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth
We come back to Rey Mysterio making his entrance. The winner of this match will face The Miz in the finals. Out next comes R-Truth.
The bell rings and Truth knocks Rey down with right hands. Quick pin attempt by Truth. Truth beats on Rey with right hands in the corner and then whips him hard into the opposite corner. 2 count for Truth. Truth suplexes Mysterio and covers for another attempt. Rey tries to make a comeback but Truth clotheslines him and tries for another pin.
Truth continues with the offense and pin attempts. Truth with a body scissors now. Rey finally comes back and counters, arm dragging Truth through the ropes and out to the floor. Rey dives through the ropes and takes Truth out on the floor as we go back to commercial.
Back from the break and Truth has Rey on the mat, hitting him with forearm shots. During the break, Truth knocked Rey off the top but then got hit by a moonsault. Rey fights out of the hold now but Truth stops him. Rey rolls Truth up for 2. Truth comes back with a kick to the face and another pin attempt. Truth mounts Rey with right hands and goes for yet another pin attempt. Lots of pin attempts on tonight's show. Rey ducks a clothesline but gets hit with the flying forearm. Truth with another 2. Truth uses the ropes to choke Rey now. Rey fights back with kicks and drops Truth for 619. Truth stops it and knocks Rey down with a big forearm for 2.
Truth drops Rey on his face now but can't get the pin. Truth charges in the corner but Rey drop toe holds him into the turnbuckles. Rey with kicks now. Truth hits him with a knee and chops. Rey springboards and hits a crossbody for 2. Truth stops Rey again but misses a scissors kick. Rey counters a roll up and kicks Truth in the face for 2. Truth comes back with more offense and another near fall. Rey finally drops Truth for 619 and nails it. Rey goes up top and hits the big splash for the pin, the win and the spot in the finals.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
- Rey celebrates in the ring as we go back to break.
WWE Title Match: The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio
Back from the break and Vince McMahon interrupts introductions for the main event. Vince says they are running out of time tonight and what he has to do is more important. Vince is postponing the WWE Title match until next week. Vince talks about John Cena and thanks him for his contributions. Vince says this is all about business and he's doing what's best for business.
Vince says he makes decisions for the long term and says he doesn't want to have to do this. The crowd chants for CM Punk. Vince says let's get this over with. John Cena's music hits to a mixed reaction, mostly boo's. Out comes Cena to the ring.
Cena says he won't go through the same stuff that Vince McMahon made Shawn Michaels go through. Cena talks about how it was always "HBK screwed Bret" and that he had to carry that with him through his career. Cena says he didn't want to be the guy who screwed CM Punk. Cena tells Punk, if he's watching, that they had a helluva match last night. Cena says Vince wanted the match thrown out last night and he doesn't do business like that. Cena reminds Vince that he has 8 months to find another opponent for The Rock at WrestleMania 28. Cena says he gets to leave with his pride and dignity.
Cena says he truly loves WWE and believes that he belongs here. Cena says if Vince makes him walk tonight, he will walk right onto someone else's TV show and keep doing this, brother, ala Hulk Hogan. Cena says that is no threat, it's a promise. Cena says he won't kiss Vince's ass and goes to walk off. Vince stops him and says Cena won't deny him what he's about to do. Vince says he doesn't want to do this but.... Triple H's music hits and out he comes to a massive pop.
Triple H hits the ring in a suit and says some things in private to Vince. Vince gets a microphone and introduces Triple H as one of the all-time greats and his son-in-law. The crowd pops. Triple H says he got here as fast as he could and says there was a board of directors meeting this morning. Triple H says he received a call this morning to fly back to headquarters for the meeting. The Board asked Triple H to come talk to Vince because they're concerned about the current situation.
Triple H asks Vince if they can talk about this in the back. He says the board is more concerned about Vince. He says it's a given that Vince created WWE but the board is concerned about Vince's decisions as of late. The board has filed an injunction against Vince with a vote of no confidence, Triple H reveals. Triple H says the McMahon family agrees with the injunction. On top of that, the board has appointed someone to takeover the day to day operations of WWE. That person is Triple H. The crowd pops at this news and Vince looks like yeah right.
Triple H says Vince isn't going to fire John Cena and he's not going to be doing anything else. Triple H says Vince taught him since day one that nobody is bigger than this business, nobody. Triple H says this is just business and can't believe he's saying this. Triple H is here to inform Vince that he is relieved of his duties. The crowd cheers.
Vince starts crying as the crowd sings goodbye to him. Triple H looks like he might get emotional also as he keeps his head down. Triple H says he's trying to do what's right for the business and tells Vince to look at him. Triple H says, I love you pop and I'm sorry. Triple H drop the mic and exits the ring while Vince cries his eyes out. The crowd finally claps for Vince as he just stands there in the ring. RAW goes off the air with "Thank you Vince" chants from the crowd as he is still crying.