Beckham for Milan

Italian club AC Milan have confirmed that former England captain David Beckham will join the club on loan during the January transferwindow. . Beckham, who plays for LA Galaxy, will join the seven-time European champions during the off-season break.Milan seem to have taken over from Real Madrid in opting for a policy of signing many players in recent seasons, except that whereas the Spanish champions signed the likes of Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Beckham when they were playing their very best. In the last two years Milan have signed Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Andrei Shevchenko and now Beckham, but all four players seem to be far from their best. Ronaldo seemed to be overweight and unfit during his brief and unsuccessful stint with AC Milan.

Golden ball favourites

Manchester United's ace winger Cristiano Ronaldo and FC Barcelona's forward Lionel messi are the most likely conntenders to win this year’s Golden Ball, awarded to Europe’s top player. Ronaldo finished second to AC Milan midfielder Kaka last year, while Messi was third. Kaka was again among the 30 nominees but looking at his performance there is slim chance he will win.The Portugese winger had scored 42 goals in all competitions to help United win the Premier League title and the Champions League last season.

Raman appointed as CEO

The Governing Council of the twenty20 Champions League which is to be held from the 3rd of December to the 10th have appointed Sundar Raman as the Chief Executive Officer and Dhiraj Malhotra as the Tournament Director. Sundar Raman is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and has been working on Champions League ever since the IPL concluded. He will take on this responsibility in addition to his role with IPL. Dhiraj Malhotra, an ex-army officer, was also the Tournament Director for IPL and has been with the International Cricket Council for the last three years. He has worked on the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007 as well as the World Cup in the West Indies held earlier.He has also worked on various Champions Trophies and Under 19 World Cups.

Ganguly,Tendulkar awarded

Sachin Tendulkar, who during the recently concluded Mohali test match against Australiabroke Brian Lara's record to become the highest run-getter in Test cricket and Sourav Ganguly, the fourth Indian batsman to cross the 7000-run mark, werefelicitated during the prize distribution ceremony of the test match. Retired Punjab Governor General,SF Rodrigues presented a trophy to Tendulkar while the secretary of theBCCI,Niranjan Shah, handed another trophy to Ganguly after India won the second Test by 320 runs at the PCA ground.

Dcput on sale

Just a month after Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Rajasthan Royals decided to go public, owners of the struggling Deccan Charges team - Deccan Chronicle Holdings and M Group - have decided to put the franchisee on sale.The DC Holdings board of directors over the past one week has met, deliberated and decided to disinvest either fully or partly the stake in the franchisee. The enterprise value of Deccan Charges is $200m which includes the franchisee fee of $107m to the IPL. The Deccan Chargers have had issues with their team combination and the support staff and had unceremoniously replaced VVS Laxman with Adam Gilchrist as the captain.

Pujara-New kid on the block?

From what I have heard,triple tons don't happen everyday, but Cheteshwar Pujara seems to have made a habit of it now. The elegant Saurashtra right-hander scored his second consecutive triple century in the West Zone leg of the National U-22 tournament on Monday which has brought the limelight on him. While against Mumbai, Pujara batted for 539 minutes and played 379 balls, against Maharashtra, he had scored 386 off 696 minutes. However, Debu Mitra, the Saurashtra coach who has groomed Pujara for the past four seasons, feels that much like Dravid, it's Pujara's defence which makes him such a good player. The chairman of the national selection committee, K Srikkanth, too, pointed out that they are following Pujara with a lot of interest.Pujarawas the Man-of-the-Series in the 2006 U-19 World Cup.

Kenyon in Goa

Peter Kenyon,the chief executive officer of English side-chealseaKenyon arrived in Goa and was received by AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco whobelieved that the visit would hopefully help cement a relationship with the English Premier League giants. Colaco also said that there's no agenda involved but talks will be held on the overall development of the game in the country. The world's highest paid CEO's visit is aimed at understanding Indian football and to develop the relationship between Chelsea and the AIFF. Senior national team coach Bob Houghton, who cut short his visit to Kolkata to be in Goa for the meeting, met Kenyon along with AIFF officials and those from the Bharti Group to chart out a comprehensive development programme. Chelsea were the first major team to sign an agreement with the Asian Football Confederation as official football development partner of AFC's Vision China project.

Shanghai test for Kim,Camilo

US PGA Tour young guns Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas recently joined an already world class line-up for next month's HSBC Champions in Shanghai.Both surged into the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time in September thanks to impressive results during the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup play-off series. Kim,finished third at the Tour Championship and the BMW Championship and in between set the tone for the US Ryder Cup victory with his inspirational partnership with golfing sensation Phil Mickelson. He is ranked eighth in the world, having started the year in 75th place.

Making a come-back

Just about four months after his epic US Open victory, Tiger Woods returned to Torrey Pines without a limp, and without his Golf clubs.He had been ut of action since beating Rocco Mediate in a 19-hole playoff for his 14th career major.Showing no signs of his season-ending knee surgery a week after the US Open, Woods wore a green caddie's bib inscribed with Abel's name as he guided him around the back nine of the South Course, where he has won six times in the Buick Invitational and once in a US Open he called his best ever. Playing with torn ligaments in his left knee and a double stress fracture in his leg, Woods made a 12-foot birdie on the final hole to force an 18-hole playoff, made a 4-foot birdie on the 18th in the playoff to stay alive and finally won with a par.

I think the Beijing effect courtesy Sushil Kumar was evident in wrestling at the third Commonwealth Youth Games at Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex wit

I think the Beijing effect courtesy Sushil Kumar was evident in wrestling at the third Commonwealth Youth Games at Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex withthe Indian grapplers claiming all the three golds which were up for grabs. Amit Kumar dominated the men's 50-kg category in which he defeated Steven Takahashi in the final two rounds to nil (7-3, 7-0) . Jitendra Kumar Hariprasad won the second gold for India in wrestling in the 54kg category when he pinned down Naatele Shilimela of Namibia, also two rounds to nil in the final. Mohammad Mushtaq of Pakistan picked up the bronze. Rahul Aware completed the clean sweep for India by bagging the gold in the 58 kg category. Canada's Ducan Mossat won the silver while Nigerian Wilson Apkbmo took the bronze.

Serbian training

From what I know,the Indian table tennis team has had frequent training stints in Europe, but for the first time the paddlers will be training in Serbia. A 12-member team will be leaving shortly for a 10-day stint followed by the Pro Tour Serbian Open (October 22-26) in Belgrade. What is encouraging to note about this stint is that unlike in the past when only six to eight players travelled abroad for training and tournaments, this time the pool is of 12. It’s learnt that the Table Tennis Federation of India(TTFI) wanted the paddlers to train in Europe, but somebody in the TTFI suggested that they should try out a new destination this time as it would save time.

India at the championship

National Snooker champions Pankaj Advani and Manan Chandra will be representing the country in the men's section of the IBSF World Snooker Championship which is to be held at Wels, Austria from 27Th october to 8thNovember. In the second selection trial by the Billiards and Snooker Federation, Advani most certainly continued with his fine form and topped the overall rankings. Manan Chandra finished third but based on combined points from two rounds of the selection trials, he edged out Alok Kumar who finished second and made it to the Indian team. .

National-level swimmer dies

In a tragic turn of event, a national-level swimmer, Shampa Das, died of a stroke while competing in the 10-km long distance invitational swimming championship in the the Hoogly river.23-year-old Shampa had completed nine kilometres when she developed spasms that seized her and she became senseless.A veteran of more than 18 national championships in backstroke and freestyle events, Shampa was representing Bally Swimming Centre, Howrah in the meet which had the participation of about 30 swimmers.

Defamation suit dropped

Former Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe dropped a defamation suit against one of five French defendants over reports of an irregular doping test result in 2006. According to an article in a French sports newspaper, Thorpe gave a urine sample in May 2006 which showed abnormal levels of testosterone and a luteinising hormone, both of which are on the list of banned drugs. Thorpe, five-times Olympic gold medallist and one of the greatest swimmers of all time, is trying to seek compensation for damage to his reputation. He retired from the sport in November 2006 and was cleared of doping by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.

Russians in the dock

Twice the world 1,500 metres champion Tatyana Tomashova was one of seven Russian female atheletes to receive a two-year doping ban for manipulating drug samples, the Russian athletics federation (RAF). Along with Tomashova, world indoor 1,500 metres champion Yelena Soboleva, distance runners Yuliya Fomenko and Svetlana Cherkasova, European discus champion Darya Pishchalnikova, former hammer world record holder Gulfia Khanafeyeva and former world 5,000 metres champion Olga Yegorova were banned

Former champion sentenced

Former US track star Tim Montgomery, also an Olympic gold medalist now banned from the sport, was to five years in prison on heroin charges. Montgomery, once known as the fastest man alive, was sentenced for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 100 grams of heroi. He had pleaded guilty to the charges in July. Montgomery won an Olympic gold medal in 2000 as a member of the US 4x100-meter relay team. Two years later, he set a 100-meter world record of 9.78 seconds but that was later erased from the record books after the US anti-doping agency found out that he had been receiving steroids. He was barred from competition in 2005. Last May, Montgomery was sentenced to 46 months in prison for a check fraud. That case also ensnared his former girlfriend, sprinter Marion Jones, who was also sentenced to six months in prison for misleading investigators about the check fraud scheme and lying about her steroid dose.

Argentine playmaker injured

NBA team,San Antonio player,Manu Ginobili of Argentina will undergo a surgery on his left ankle after aggravating an injuryduring the olympics. Ginobili suffered the injury during the National Basketball Association playoffs but rehabilitated the ankle and was declared fit to play in the Olympics, where he injured the same ankle.An examination conducted on his left ankle showed additional damage to the ankle.for the South American playmaker's return, Ginobili is going to be sidelined for six to eight weeks, which could mean he will miss the start of the upcoming NBA season. Ginobiliwas named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year, an award for the top player off the bench. His keen desire to play in the Olympics might have hampered his NBA return however.

New WSF president

N Ramachandran's hard work for squash has been rewarded with him being given a promotion which has made him the new president of the World Squash Federation.He takes over from legend Jahangir Khan. N. Ramachandran is the current Secretary General of the Squash Rackets Federation of india(SRFI) and President of the Asian Squash Federation. Ramachandran becomes the first Indian to be a President of a Federation which features in major events such as the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. Chris Stahl, of England, the other nominee for the post of President withdrew as he thought Ramachandran was the man best suited for the job, particularly in this crucial period where squash is making a bid to be part of the Olympics.He has also been a pioneer figure of the Indian Traithlon Federation.Ironically enough,under his reign India has reached the highest ranking in the world. Indian youngsters are exposed to the latest training methods and in state-of-the-art conditions.

Indian challenge over

Unfortunately,India's campaign in the World Open squash tournament did not go beyond the first round with national champion Saurav Ghosal losing to Shahier Razik of Canada. Ghosal, as I've written before,was the lone Indian in the main draw.He put up a stiff resistance in the first two games before gradually fizzling out-which was expected as Razik chalked out a 12-10, 12-10, 11-4 win in 56 minutes. With Ghosal's defeat, the Indian challenge ended in the elite event where none of his compatriots could even reach the main draw.

Ghosal wins ornano title

India's numero uno squash player Saurav Ghosal achieved a career-high world ranking of 39th Which is commendable and has made India proud, He rose six places following his ornano open win.The reigning national champion, who clinched his maiden PSA title outside the country with the Ornano triumph, continues to be the highest-ranked Indian in that category and list. After the Ornano title, he did very well to qualify for the main draw of the prestigious International de France de Squash which is held in Paris, where he eventually lost third seeded,Thierry Lincou in the first round. He will next be in action at the World Open at the end of this month where he is the only Indian to have made the main draw. Ritwik Bhattacharya is the only other Indian in the top-100 of the rankings, rising to 57th .In the women's rankings, Joshna Chinappa climbed up a spot to 38th position. She is followed by Dipika Pallikal, who went up by three notches to the 54th spot.

Injury list increases

English side,Arsenal have defensive problems for their Champions League match against Fenerbahce to worry about as central defender Kolo Toure has been declared unfit with a minor shoulder injury.Toure joins fellow central defender William Gallas who is out with a hamstring injury and right back Bacary Sagna who isout with a knee injury on the unavailable list for their Group G match in Istanbul . On a Better note,the Gunners forward ,Nicklas Bendtner and defender Johan Djourou are both fit for the outing. They both missed their teams recent Premier League win over Everton. Bendtner has recovered from an ankle injury while defender Djourou has been given the all-clear after suffering a major concussion during while representing Switzerland.

Training camp for I-league coaches

Finally,in an effort to bring in some professionalism into Indian football, the Asian Football Confederation has invited 10 I-League club managersto its general manager seminar which is to be held at Kuala Lumpur on the 28th and the 29th of October. The Asian body has long been keen to upgrade football administration in India and, particularly the 'showpiece' I-League, which kicked off this season with the motto of becoming 'a complete professional event'. But it was only after AFC adopted a tough stand that the clubs began fulfilling some of the AFC's pro-league criteria,which include that a club has to have proper commercial and legal entities before it can be allowed to participate in the AFC Champions league.The presence of Paul Barbar, executive director of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, definately added something. Barbar, who had visited India last month and even had talks with AIFF on a possible development programme, will talk on how to manage a pro club. Besides the Englishman, the AFC pro-league deputy chairman Tokuaki Suzuki will explain the objectives and activities of AFC professional league project and how a general manager should function. The AFC hopes to raise the level of general managers in Asia and then aims to increase the professionalism of the personnel who are managing the clubs in AFC Champions League scheduled for next year. Besides India, representatives from Australia, China, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, UAE,Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Tevez deal

Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson expects his side to tie up a permanent deal for Carlos Tevez despite interest from Real Madrid.The Argentine moved to Old Trafford on a two-year loan deal which expires at the end of the season and the European champions' first option is a permanent transfer. But I think and as reports suggest United would want to renegotiate the 30 million pounds fee being demanded by MRI, the company who own the rights to Tevez, while there have also been rumours that the Argentine forward is concerned about his lack of playing time this season

Stadium ban postponed

Breaking news just coming in, UEFA have postponed a two-match stadium ban imposed against the Atletico madrid, meaning Liverpool's Champion's League match can be played in the Spanish capital. UEFA had earlier ordered Atletico to play their next two European matches at a stadium at least 300 from Madrid as punishment for crowd disturbances and racist insults against Marseille players during a Champions League match on October 1.

England recovering..

England forward,Wayne Rooney has set England a target of winning all of their remaining World Cup qualifiers after his double-delight helped Fabio Capello's squad toa 3-1 win over Belarus and a four-out-of-four start to the campaign to reach South Africa 2010. Starngely enough,Capello appears to have the knack of getting the best out of Rooney, who has now scored five goals in his last three internationals under Capello, and the striker joined his team-mates in underlining the extent to which the new manager has transformed a squad that dismally failed to reach Euro 2008. One of the keys to England's revival has been the way Capello has been able to transform a player of Rooneys caliber, who failed to score a single competitive goal for his country between 2004 and 2007 into one of the most in-form Forwards in world football today. On the other hand,Beckham who also made a come-back under the Italian appeared late in to the game as a substitute winning himself his107th cap for England, leaving him only third in the record books behind legends Peter Shilton (125) and Bobby Moore (108).

Gerrards England future

England and Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard admitted that he is worried about his future in the England team.England will be playing Belarus on Wednesday in a crucial World Cup qualifier with a huge question mark over the midfield partnership of Gerrard and Chealsea midfielder Frank Lampard. The Coach of the England team,Fabio Capello is expected to stick with the both of them atleast for now, although Gerrard may be shunted out to the left-hand side.Gerrard is likely to keep his place because Capello will want his experience in the absence of Ace defenders John Terry and Ashley Cole.

raised eyebrows by suprise leaders

Nobody is admitting as much now, but more than a few eyebrows are raised over the standings at the end of the third round in the I-League.Suprisingly enough,there is an unusual pattern to the initial rounds with lesser-known teams perched at the top while the bigwigs cut a sorry figure. At the end of the third round, Goan side,Sporting Clube de Goa have emerged the unlikely leaders in the pack, winning all three of their matches but against opposition who are struggling to find their feet in the league though.. In a league as complicated, and difficult, as this one,the better-placed teams have always had starting problems. But, once they get into the groove and the depth of other squads are tested, nothing can stop them. Take last year for example. Viva Kerala started in blazing style, the newly-promoted south Indian side, the only representative from that part of the country, picked up seven points in their first three matches but in the end could not even save relegation. Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting, the top two teams in Kolkata judging by Kolkata Football League standings - are a far cry from their pre-season form with several players either looking jaded or recovering from niggling injuries. Bengal tooare on the same boat with national stars Sunil Chhetri and Surkumar Singh not available while Mahindra United coach Derrick Pereira is at his wits end trying to motivate a worn out side that takes pride in its seven National players.Mumbai FC and Air India, placed second and fourth respectively, are fresher for the I-League challenge while Goan teams, except perhaps for Vasco Sports Club, are better prepared having played a succession of friendlies in pre-season from teams across the border.

Defence the main worry?

ever since the Indian football league began, no winner has had a start as bad as Mahindra United this year.Three losses and an away game with JCT loom for them. That makes the team's task that much more difficult. It could also well be the turning point. That's what coach Derrick Pereira would be hoping when they play the Punjab side in Ludhiana.But for a team that recently won the Durand Cup it is suprising that their performance has dipped so alarmingly. In their opening tie against Churchill Brothers in the I-league their midfield failed and the team conceded two early goals. Against United SC, their defence was in tatters and against Mumbai FC, their strike force was found inadequate as well as their defence looked out of sorts. The form of Chidi Edeh is a worry as he recently just won the golden boot in the Durand Cup, which has perhaps been the biggest factor,but mainly it has been the defence.The answer lies in about 20 heads that have so far played for Mahindra and the one head that is trying to pull his hair out, coach Derrick Pereira. After their third loss, Pereira said he was happy with the performance, not with result. The problem probably lies somewhere in the defence, getting the right men for the right position. Sushant Matthew, who came in as substitute in the United SC game, started as right back against Mumbai FC and did well. Justine Stephen, who had a great Durand Cup, started against Mumbai FC and has justified Pereira's faith. Pereira has probably got the right combination in defence.

England before Capello

England defender, Rio Ferdinand said the national Football team set-up was like a circus until the arrival of Italian Fabio Capello as manager in January this year. The Manchester United defender, who will captain his country against Belarus in a World Cup qualifier in Minsk as stand-in for the injured John Terry, also thinks the players became obsessed by their celebrity lifestyles.Ferdinand's claims focused mainly on the 2006 World Cup, when manager Sven-Goran Eriksson allowed the WAGs to stay near the team hotel in the German spa town of Baden-Baden. England lost in a shootout to Portugal at the quarter-final stage in Germany following a goalless draw.

Capello worried

The Coach of the England football team,Fabio Capello must rejig his defence as England head to Belarus for a World Cup qualifier with John Terry and Ashley Cole bothout of action. A second away win to follow last month's mauling of Croatia in their own backyard would give England a maximum of 12 points from four games and maintain clear blue water between them and their Group VI rivals.Belarus will also be missing playmaker Alexander Hleb, who has been battling an ankle injury, which has hampered his adaptation to life in his new side,Barcelona.He moved from Arsenal earlier this year.

Ballack injury woes

England and Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard admitted that he is worried about his future in the England team.England will be playing Belarus on Wednesday in a crucial World Cup qualifier with a huge question mark over the midfield partnership of Gerrard and Chealsea midfielder Frank Lampard. The Coach of the England team,Fabio Capello is expected to stick with the both of them atleast for now, although Gerrard may be shunted out to the left-hand side.Gerrard is likely to keep his place because Capello will want his experience in the absence of Ace defenders John Terry and Ashley Cole.

Atletico handed two match home ban after crowd trouble

The UEFA have ordered spanish club, Atletico Madrid to play their next two Champions League home matches 300 kilometres outsideMadrid following some awful crowd trouble earlier this month against French side Marseille. Accoring to sources in the European soccer's governing body,the punishment could be extended to a third home match should there be any kind of further trouble at the club within a five-year probationary period.