The New Nation - Internet Edition

Federer beats Murray for 5th US Open title

AP, New York

Back at his best, back at the top of tennis, Federer easily beat Britain's Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 Monday to win his fifth consecutive U.S. Open championship and 13th major title overall.

"I felt like I was invincible for a while again," Federer said. Federer is the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win this tournament five consecutive times. He also moved within one major championship of tying Pete Sampras' record 14 majors.

"One thing's for sure," said Federer, the only man in tennis history to win five consecutive titles at two of the Grand Slam tournaments, "I'm not going to stop at 13. That would be terrible."

Federer struggled living up to his unbeatable form this season. He lost in the semifinals at the Australian Open, and to nemesis Rafael Nadal of Spain in the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon, putting on the verge of his first year since 2002 without a major title. Plus, his record 4 1/2-year reign at No. 1 ended when

Nadal surpassed him last month.

"I had a couple of tough Grand Slams this year t so to take this one home is incredible," Federer said after stretching his U.S. Open winning streak to 34 matches. "It means the world to me."

The sixth-seeded Murray upset Nadal in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows to reach his first Grand Slam final, and Federer had no trouble this time - even though he had lost two of his previous three matches against the Scottish player.

"I came up against, in my opinion, the best player ever to play the game," said Murray, who was trying to give Britain its first men's major champion in 72 years. "He definitely set the record straight today."

Murray, 21, won the U.S. Open junior trophy in 2004, when Federer claimed his first U.S. Open title. "I'm not as nervous any more, like in my first final," Federer said during a prematch TV interview.

Perhaps he was trying to plant doubt in Murray's head. The youngster was standing around the corner, waiting to walk out onto the court.

Federer was Murray's age when he played in his first Grand Slam final, back in 2003 at Wimbledon. Except Federer won that match against Mark Philippoussis, and has kept winning major championship matches against everyone except Nadal. Federer is 2-4 against the Spaniard in major finals, 11-0 against anyone else.

Federer accumulated a 36-16 advantage in winners and won the point on 31 of 44 trips to the net. His volleying might have been helped by his work winning a gold medal in doubles at the Beijing Olympics, a result he credited with boosting his confidence.

"Seeing him play like that made me very, very happy for him," said Federer's part-time coach, Jose Higueras, "because he's a great champion and he's gone through some rough times."

Murray - whose ATP ranking rises to No. 4 - stood about 10 feet (3 meters) behind the baseline to return serves, exactly the way he did against Nadal in their two-day, rain-interrupted semifinal. And Murray displayed flashes of the defense he used against Nadal, including one pretty flick of a lob by Federer with his back to the net.

But Federer, who might have benefited from an extra day to rest because his semifinal wasn't affected by Tropical Storm Hanna, was simply too much for Murray.

Not quitting, I'm good enough for two more years: Ganguly

PTI, London

Not alien to comebacks, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly insists he is in no mood to call it quits, for he believes he has another couple of year's cricket left in him. Selectors snubbed Ganguly, ignoring him while picking the Rest of India squad for the Irani Trophy, thus putting a question mark over his fate. The left-hander, however, made it clear that he is not throwing in the towel.

The former captain seemed to have come to terms with his ODI exclusion but insisted he was in no mood to hang up his boots as far as Test and Twenty20 cricket are concerned. "I would like to think I have a couple of years left," Ganguly said when asked if he would miss cricket once he quits the game. "But I won't say I'll miss touring. I'll miss the cricket we play - the satisfaction you get from scoring a century or from winning a Test," the left-hander told 'The Sun' today. Asked if he missed not being part of the one-day squad anymore, Ganguly, here on a promotional campaign, said, "At the present moment I'm playing Test cricket and Twenty20 in the Indian Premier League. "I miss the one-day game but the older players understand we won't be playing in the 2011 World Cup. So now it is time for the young players to get match experience," said the former captain who made a stunning comeback to the Indian side after being dropped following his soured relation with the then coach Greg Chappell.

Insisting that he was not playing the game for any financial reasons, Ganguly said age was not an issue with him and he would continue playing both the Test and Twenty20 versions of the game. "With so much money involved in the I.P.L. you still have to live up to the expectations. It doesn't matter what age you are - you have to perform. "So I will finish both I.P.L. and Test cricket at the same - at this stage of my career I am not playing for financial gain, it's all about the performance." he said. "You want to finish with reputation in tact, not with people questioning your ability," he added. Dwelling on I.P.L., Ganguly envisaged an international league and said, "I.P.L. is like a movie show - three hours of big names and even teams owned by movie stars.

My team is owned by Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan! "But I fear the I.C.C. will interfere with the I.P.L. and try and control it more. With so much cricket involved, the future could be an international league." Ganguly-led Kolkata Knight Riders could not make it to the semifinals of the inaugural I.P.L. and Ganguly blamed it on missing a number of key players due to their national duty. "There is pressure on my team to do well in the I.P.L. next year, because last year we did not get the results we wanted. "But that in part was down to players coming and going for international duty," he said.

Ganguly also shared his view on Sri Lanka's mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis and said, "He is a very accurate bowler and at the other end we had Muttiah Muralitharan. It is too early to say how Mendis will do in the long term compared to Murali, but there is no question he will be a big player for them." Asked to choose the highlights of his illustrious career, Ganguly said, "There are so many: Reaching the World Cup final in 2003, beating Pakistan in Pakistan. Doing well in Australia as captain in 2003 and beating them in India in 2001. "Winning the Test series in England last year was very special," he added. On personal memories, he said, "For me it is about the team - cricket is a team sport. A hundred in a defeat is not as good as a 70 in a victory."

Harmison gets $1m Stanford chance

BBC Online

Durham fast bowler Steve Harmison has been included in England's 15-man squad for the $20m (£11.5m) Stanford Super Series in the Caribbean.

Harmison, 29, came out of one-day international retirement for the recent win over South Africa, while Matt Prior and Samit Patel retain their places.

England play a Twenty-20 game against the Stanford Super Stars on 1 November with $1m per winning player available.

The same squad will contest the one-day series in India this winter.

Winning players will earn £500,000 each from the Stanford Twenty20 game in Antigua, with another £1m split between the rest of the squad and coaches.

The remaining £3.5m will be divided between the ECB and the West Indies Cricket Board.

The deal with Stanford is for five years, with a $20m match being held annually in November. The upcoming match is to be played at his own Stanford Cricket Ground in St John's, Antigua.

Lancashire all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, a veteran of 129 international ODIs, believes England are close to ending their wait to secure a first major one-day international trophy.

"We've got all bases covered and when you've got Luke Wright coming in to bat at number eight that's a strong line-up," he said.

"Everything is there but it's been there in the past so it's more about a mindset or a confidence thing, which I'm sure this side will get from Kevin.

"One of the big things he has passed on to the side so far is confidence. He's a confident lad and I think that's started to rub off on to quite a few of the players.

"When you see the way he goes about his business, especially towards his own game, and no matter how good a player you are you can still watch and learn from that."

The Stanford selectors, led by cricket legend Sir Viv Richards, have named a 17-man squad for the game which includes Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shiv Chanderpaul.

As part of the Super Series, England will take on domestic cricket's Twenty20 Cup winners Middlesex on 26 October, and Caribbean Twenty20 champions Trinidad and Tobago two days later, before the lucrative 1 November showdown with the Stanford Super Stars.

England's 15-man one-day squad for Stanford Super Series and India ODI series: Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire) capt, James Anderson (Lancashire) Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Alastair Cook (Essex), Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire) Stephen Harmison (Durham), Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire), Matt Prior (Sussex) Owais Shah (Middlesex), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Luke Wright (Sussex).

Pistorius wins dramatic 100m gold

BBC Online

South Africa's Oscar Pistorius won the first of what he hopes will be three Paralympic golds in dramatic fashion.

Defending T44 100m champion Marlon Shirley of the USA fell as Pistorius came through to win in 11.18 seconds.

"I've got the 200m and 400m coming up - my strongest events," said Pistorius, nicknamed "Blade Runner" because of his two prosthetic legs.

Ben Rushgrove and Libby Clegg won 100m silver medals for Great Britain during the morning session at the Bird's Nest.

Wheelchair athlete Dave Weir won his 400m semi-final in torrential rain but is worried a cold might hit his bid for five gold medals - all four track events and the marathon.

"I'm a bit tired," he said. "I've tried my best and the doctors are looking after me but we'll see.

"I don't think I've ever raced in rain like that before - it was a bit annoying but I got through and that's the main thing."

Pistorius won a court battle to compete at last month's Olympics but failed to qualify and now has his sights set on the London 2012 Games.

He had hoped to run under 11 seconds in the 100m final but suffered a very slow start in wet conditions and only just got past American Jerome Singleton on the line.

"I hate running on a wet track but it all came together," he said.

Pistorius is next in action in the 200m on Saturday, with the 400m final on Tuesday.

Earlier, Clegg chased powerful Ukrainian Oxana Boturchuk to claim silver in 12.51 in the final of the 100m event for visually impaired athletes.

"The Ukrainian athlete is wicked fast," said Clegg. "Hopefully she'll be in London 2012 and we can have a rematch."

Rushgrove, who has cerebral palsy, recovered from a sluggish start to come in behind Ukraine's Roman Pavlyk.

He injured his foot recently and was delighted with a personal best as Pavlyk broke the Paralympic record.

"It felt awesome," he said. "The Ukraine athlete beat me at the 2006 World Champs, but I didn't think he would run that fast.

"Without the doctors and physio here, and at Bath, I wouldn't have made it. They kept me in one piece after my foot injury. They were a fantastic team."

Cardiff's Tracey Hinton bounced back from her disappointment at not qualifying for the T11 100m A final to finish second in the B event, securing sixth place overall.

Nathan Stephens finished eighth in the shot put with a throw of 12.57m, while Kate Arnold finished ninth in her heat of the T46 100m.

Stephens, who has the discus and javelin to come, said: "I am pleased to make the final eight. It was a great competition as the world record was broken three times."

BCB Academy faces Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI in the 1st 4-day match today

UNB, Dhaka

Visiting GP-BCB National Cricket Academy team faces Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI in the first four-day match at Dambulla in Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Earlier on Sunday, the two-day warm up match between the touring side and Sri Lanka Academy team ended in a draw.

Both the teams were dismissed for little over 200 in their first innings, but no decisive result was produced as Sri Lanka led by 130 runs with seven wickets remaining in the second innings when the match ended.

The visitors will play the 2nd four-day match on Sept 16-19 at Premadasa Stadium.

Of the three one-day matches, the BCB Academy team will play the first one on Sept. 21 at Premadasa Stadium, the 2nd on Sept. 23 at SSC ground and the 3rd and last one on Sept. 25 at NCC ground against their Sri Lankan counterparts.

BCB-GP National Cricket Academy team: Nayeem Islam (Captain), Marshall Ayub (Vice Captain), Shamsur Rahman, Imrul Kayes, Forhad Hossain, Mahbubul Karim, Nasir Hossain, Suhrawardy Shuvo, Arafat Sunny, Sajidul Islam, Delwar Hossain, Mahbubul Alam (Robin), Rubel Hossain, Ziaur Rahman and Ashiqul Islam Rajib.

Div II Football : Matuail beat Friends Social

Sports Reprter

Ismail's all-important goal powered Matuail Udayan Sangsad to earn a lone-goal victory over Friends Social Welfare Organisation in the day's lone match of the Second Division Football League at the Kamalapur Bir Sreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mohammad Mostafa Stadium on Tuesday.

After a goalless first half Ismail struck the match-decider in the 47th minute of the game.

Today's matches :

Police AC vs BG Press S&RC

Bangladesh Boys Club vs Karwan Bazar Progoti Sangha

Venue : Kamalapur Bir Sreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mohammad Mostafa Stadium.

East End Club vs Uttar Baridhara Club

Dhanmondi Club vs Little Friends Club

Venue : Banani Bangladesh Army Stadium.

Vaughan keeps yearlong contract with England

AP, London

Former captain Michael Vaughan was among 12 players awarded yearlong England contracts Tuesday, while the 15-man squad for the lucrative, winner-takes-all Stanford Super Series was also announced.

Vaughan had been struggling for runs when he resigned as test captain on Aug. 3 after the third test defeat that guaranteed South Africa's first series win in England since 1965.

Citycell 2nd B. League logo unveil ceremony today

UNB, Dhaka

Unveil of the logo the Citycell 2nd B. League will be held in a gala ceremony at Hotel Purbani followed by iftar today (Wednesday).

The league match will begin on Sepember 13 when holders Dhaka Abahani take on Rahamatganj MFS at 3-30pm at Bangabandhu National Stadium.

The fixture of the entire league will be released at the logo unveiling function, League officials said.

Eleven-team will take part in the mega league. The participating teams are -- Dhaka Abahani, Dhaka Mohammedan, Muktijoddha Sangsad, Brothers Union, Sheikh Russell KC, Khulna Abahanai, Chittagong Abahani, Chittagong Mohammedan, Rahmatganj MFS, Farashganj SC and Arambagh KS.

Trust Bank National Taekwondo Championship begins today

UNB, Dhaka

The Trust Bank 8th National Senior and Junior Taekwondo Championship begins today (Wednesday) at the National Sports Council (NSC) gymnasium here.

Agriculture and Water Resources Adviser Dr CS Karim will inaugurate the three-day meet.

Some 550 competitors, including 250 women, from 27 different districts, clubs and universities are expected to compete in the meet, organized by Bangladesh Taekwondo Federation.

A total of 32 weight categories-eight each for men, women, boys and girls - have been included in the championship.

Out of total budget of Tk 4.5 lakh, meet sponsor Trust Bank will provide Tk .5 lakh.

Court adjourns Akhtar appeal against ban

AF, Lahore

Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar's appeal against an 18-month ban was adjourned Tuesday to allow the Lahore court judge to attend the swearing in of Pakistan's new president.

"The honorable judge Zahid Hussain had to go to Islamabad to attend the ceremony of Asif Ali Zardari's swearing in as president of Pakistan on Tuesday," Pakistan Cricket Board lawyer Tafazzul Rizvi said. "Therefore, the proceedings of the case were not held on Tuesday."

The new date for the hearing will be finalized within a week or so, Rizvi said.

Akhtar was fined and handed a five-year ban in April by a PCB tribunal for a disciplinary breach after he criticized the Pakistan selectors.

The Lahore court suspended Akhtar's ban on July 4, but did not give any ruling against the financial penalty of 7 million Pakistan rupees (US$91,620) which was also imposed by an appellate tribunal of the PCB.

Akhtar will take the field for Surrey against Hampshire in the English County Championship at The Oval on Tuesday. It will be right-arm paceman's first competitive game since he played a test match against India in December, after which he was sidelined with a back problem.

Last year, the PCB fined Akhtar 3.4 million Pakistani rupees (US$44,460), ordered him to undergo psychiatric counseling and imposed a 13-match international ban for hitting fellow bowler Mohammad Asif with a bat before the Twenty20 world championship in South Africa.

He tested positive for steroids in 2006 in an out-of-competition test before the Champions Trophy in India, but had his two-year ban overturned by an appeals committee.

In 46 test matches, Akhtar has taken 178 wickets at an average of 25.69 and 219 wickets at 23.2 in 138 limited-overs internationals.