Formula One: Fernando Alonso prevails in Ferrari debut

March 15, 2010

SAKHIR, Bahrain — Ferrari’s decision to give up on last season and begin looking ahead paid off when Fernando Alonso led the Italian team to a 1-2 finish at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.The two-time world champion from Spain passed teammate Felipe Massa at the second corner after the start and then overtook pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel on the 34th lap for a lead he would never relinquish.

Paul Gilham/Getty ImagesFernando Alonso made a splash in his Ferrari debut, winning the race in Bahrain to lead his team to a 1-2 finish with Felipe Massa.

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Formula One: Fernando Alonso prevails in Ferrari debut

March 15, 2010

Paul Gilham/Getty ImagesFernando Alonso made a splash in his Ferrari debut, winning the race in Bahrain to lead his team to a 1-2 finish with Felipe Massa.

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Manny Pacquiao overwhelms Joshua Clottey, wins unanimous decision

March 14, 2010

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ESPNews Highlight Of The Night

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ESPNews Highlight Of The Night

ESPNews Highlight Of The Night

Manny Pacquaio wins in unanimous decision over Joshua Clottey in 12 rounds

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Pacquiao On His Win Over Clottey

Pacquiao On His Win Over Clottey

Manny Pacquiao wins his 12th straight bout.
Pacquiao Wins On Unanimous Decision

Pacquiao Wins On Unanimous Decision

John Scully on Manny Pacquiao’s unanimous decision win in 12 rounds over Joshua Clottey

ARLINGTON, Texas — Fighting on the star, Manny Pacquiao showed once again why he is such a star.With the biggest fight crowd in the U.S. in 17 years cheering him on at Cowboys Stadium, Pacquiao dominated a strangely passive Joshua Clottey from the opening bell Saturday night to retain his welterweight title and cement his status as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.The fight wasn’t close, and it was never in doubt. It was so one-sided that even those in the cheap seats among the crowd of 50,994 could tell without looking at the giant video screens over the ring that Pacquiao was in total command.

Rafael: Show And Prove

Round after round, Manny Pacquiao, the greatest fighter in the world, proved he’s truly one of the best, Dan Rafael writes. Story

One ringside judge gave Pacquiao every round, while the two others gave him all but one. The Associated Press scored it a shutout for the Filipino sensation.It wasn’t as flashy as his knockout of Ricky Hatton or as savage as the beating he gave Oscar De La Hoya, but there was no doubt Pacquiao was in command the entire way against a fighter who kept his gloves up high in front of his face and chose to engage him only in spurts. Clottey’s strategy worked to keep him upright, but he was never competitive in the biggest fight of his career.”He’s a very tough opponent,” Pacquiao said. “He was looking for a big shot.”Pacquiao was supposed to have been fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. instead of Clottey, but the megafight fell apart over a dispute over blood testing. He took out any frustrations over losing the biggest fight of his career by beating up Clottey on the biggest stage of his career.”I want that fight, the world wants that fight, but it’s up to him,” Pacquiao said. “I’m ready to fight any time.”That time won’t come soon. Mayweather is fighting Shane Mosley on May 1, and the earliest the two could get together would be in the fall and only if Mayweather backs off his demands for blood testing.

Pac-ing Them In

Saturday was a big night in Big D. The 50,994 in attendance marked the third-largest indoor crowd for a U.S. boxing event.

Fight	Attendance	Venue
Ali-Spinks II	63,350	Louisiana Superdome
Whitaker- Chavez	59,995	Alamodome
Pacquiao- Clottey	50,994	Cowboys Stadium

The fight this night was more of an event than a real competition, bringing in the biggest crowd in the U.S. for a fight since Julio Cesar Chavez fought Pernell Whitaker at the Alamodome in 1993. It paid off handsomely for Pacquiao, though, who earned at least $12 million and built on the reputation he has gained as one of the greatest fighters of his time.Promoters not only sold out the 45,000 seats available for the bout, but added thousands more standing room only “party passes” for fans who could get a glimpse of the action and see every drop of sweat on the huge overhead screens.”It’s one of the most incredible stories not just in boxing but anywhere,” promoter Bob Arum said. “Fourteen years ago he was sleeping in a cardboard shack in the Philippines and tonight he puts 51,000 people in this palace in Dallas.”The tone of the fight was set early, with Pacquiao advancing against his taller opponent and throwing punches with both hands from all angles. It was the same style that gave him spectacular wins in his last three fights and, though Clottey was clearly the bigger fighter, he fought back only sparingly.”Everything’s working now,” trainer Freddie Roach told Pacquiao after the third round. “It’s easy.”It was easy, too, much to the delight of the crowd and much to the delight of an entire country back in Pacquiao’s homeland. There, traffic came to a halt and huge numbers of Filipinos, including army troops and allied American soldiers, jammed theatres in shopping malls and military camps nationwide to root for Pacquiao. In what has now become a familiar scene, Filipinos repeatedly yelled his name and threw punches in the air after the country’s boxing hero was declared the winner.

“

I want that fight, the world wants that fight, but it’s up to him. I’m ready to fight any time.

”
– Manny Pacquiao, on fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Unlike most of Pacquiao’s fights, this one lacked suspense from the opening seconds of the fight, when Clottey assumed the peek-a-boo position he would remain in except for brief spurts the entire bout.”He has speed, I lost the fight,” Clottey said. “He’s fast, that’s why I was taking my time.”Arum said he wasn’t disappointed in the effort put out by Clottey, who was guaranteed to make at least $1.25 million.”What was he supposed to do? If he played offense he’d get knocked out,” Arum said. “I can’t blame the kid for trying to wear him down.”Clottey seemed content to hold his hands high in a peek-a-boo style through much of the early rounds, trying to pick off Pacquiao’s punches and perhaps rally late. But he gave away round after round, despite landing some clean punches on the rare occasions when he would throw a combination.”You gotta take a chance,” Clottey’s trainer, Lenny DeJesus, implored him after the sixth round. “You’re in a fight and you gotta start taking chances.”Clottey didn’t, though, and his prize was that he was the first fighter in Pacquiao’s last six fights to make it to the final bell. The only suspense when it came time to announce the decision was whether the three ringside judges would give Clottey any of the rounds.Pacquiao threw three times as many punches as Clottey, an average of 100 a round, and landed as many power shots as Clottey threw. Final punch stats showed Pacquiao landing 246 of 1,231 punches to 108 of 399 for Clottey.Clottey had gotten the fight off a good performance in his last bout against Miguel Cotto, but he was clearly more concerned with surviving the all-out assault that Pacquiao is noted for than winning the fight.”Joshua Clottey had the power to knock him out but was reluctant to punch,” DeJesus said. “We clearly got beat. I don’t think he won a round.”Roach agreed, saying he saw nothing in Clottey to win.”He had a good defense, but defense isn’t enough to win a fight,” Roach said.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

ESPN360: Hit for Haiti charity event

ESPN360

Roger Federer and Pete Sampras played Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi in one doubles match Friday night, while Steffi Graf and Lindsay Davenport took on Justine Henin and Martina Navratilova. Watch replay

With racket in hand, he awkwardly pinched and rolled his shirt-tail inward in another apparent ribbing of Agassi.”Say something, say it,” Sampras then declared to Agassi, hands in the air, asking for a comeback.”I’m waiting, I want to impersonate you,” Agassi replied.”OK, go ahead,” Sampras said.Agassi pulled out the fabric of his empty sweatpants pockets.”I don’t have any money,” Agassi said, using his left hand to continue rifling through that pocket. “No, wait, I’ve got a dollar!”In a biography released late last year, Agassi told a story in which a valet confirmed to him that Sampras had tipped him a dollar after they had eaten at the same restaurant, an establishment that was said to be in Indian Wells.”It’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt, huh?” Agassi said.Sampras then bounced a ball as he appeared to begin to serve.But Agassi interrupted.”Look at him, he can’t help himself,” Agassi said.”This guy,” Sampras chided in return.Meanwhile, the two greats of the current era, Federer and Nadal, continued to wait out the awkward moment.”This rivalry is intense, man,” Federer said. “I mean, Rafa, start. Do something.”Sampras then resumed play.But instead of hitting to the return court where Nadal awaited his serve, Sampras darted a shot right at Agassi, who was able to dodge the ball.”It’s all right, it’s all right,” Agassi said.”That’s the way you want to play it?” Sampras jokingly said.”You know what, it’s better than being a valet driver and you pulling up,” Agassi said.Sampras couldn’t hide his look of surprise this time.”Let’s talk about our baggage,” Sampras said. “Here we go. I’m a bad tipper. I’m sorry, Barack Obama.”Play picked up again, and Nadal’s crosscourt, backhand return kept the game alive.”Wow,” Sampras said, continuing the verbal jousting with Agassi. “You got personal. You got personal with me.”"Nah, nah nah” Agassi said. “Everybody knows that already.” Sampras and Federer went on to beat Nadal and Agassi 8-6.In the women’s match, Martina Navratilova and Justine Henin beat Steffi Graf and Lindsay Davenport, 8-6.The $1 million fundraiser that also featured singer Tony Bennett was a sellout at the 16,100-seat Tennis Garden.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

[+] Enlarge

AP Photo/Steven SenneTerry Francona said Daisuke Matsuzaka’s neck stiffness had nothing do to with the back issue that delayed him earlier this spring.Saturday morning, Matsuzaka was warming up for his first round of batting practice and had thrown five pitches in the bullpen when he shut it down. Red Sox publicist Pam Ganley then announced that Matsuzaka was a no-go because of a stiff neck.”I did not throw live BP today due to stiffness in my neck,” said Matsuzaka, in a written statement left with a team spokesman. “As for my schedule going forward, I’m going to see how I feel tomorrow, meet with the coaching staff, and decide at that point.”Matsuzaka returned to the Sox clubhouse and went into the training room for treatment. He left several hours later without speaking to reporters.”He talked to [pitching coach] John Farrell and decided to shut it down,” Francona said. “We’re going day to day on it. He got it worked on, we’ll wait until he shows up tomorrow. When he feels good we’ll repeat what we were going to do today.”I don’t know if that will be tomorrow or the next day or the next day.”Matsuzaka had come to camp in the best condition since he signed with the Red Sox prior to the 2007 season, spending five weeks working out at the Athletes Performance Institute in Arizona. The Red Sox had asked him to show up in better shape after a disastrous 2009 in which he made just a dozen starts, won four games and was sent back to Florida to essentially repeat spring training with a fatigued shoulder.The Red Sox were pleased with the results, but after reporting early to Florida, Matsuzaka suffered his first setback six days before the official reporting date, falling behind the other starting pitchers in camp.Now comes another setback, and while the Red Sox again insist it’s minor in nature, there is little chance of Matsuzaka throwing the 25 innings in exhibition play the Sox generally like to have their starters throw, with the season opener scheduled for April 4.There is also a possibility that Matsuzaka will have to return to Boston to attend to a family matter, which could further disrupt his preparation.

Francona said the neck issue was not related to Matsuzaka’s previous back problems, and said Matsuzaka had not experienced it previously.”I don’t think it’s anything but a stiff neck,” Francona said. “I don’t know that we need to be conservative as long as he’s OK, so we’ll see when it goes away.”It’s a reasonable expectation that when camp breaks here on April 1, the Red Sox will leave Matsuzaka behind. That would provide a temporary solution to how the Sox intend to fit six starters into five slots. The team still has five healthy starters — Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz and Tim Wakefield.Buchholz, who threw three scoreless innings in Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in City of Palms Park, was asked if knowing that Matsuzaka was hurt alleviated any anxiety he might have felt about the 6-into-5 quandary.”That’s the least of my worries right now,” he said. “I want to be on the team for the duration of the whole season. Two-and-a-half months wasn’t going to mean that much if something happens where I don’t do my job and end up in the same spot as I did last year.”I’m going to keep working regardless of how many slots there are in the line right now.”Gordon Edes covers the Red Sox for ESPNBoston.com. Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(4) Duke 77

(28-5, 13-3 ACC)

Watch Highlights
Passport
Watch Replay

Coverage: ESPN

1:30 PM ET, March 13, 2010Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC

		1	2	T
	MIA	35	39	74
#4	DUKE	32	45	77

(3) Nebraska 70

(30-1, 16-0 Big 12)

Passport

1:00 PM ET, March 13, 2010

		1	2	T
#11	TA&M	39	41	80
#3	NEB	28	42	70

BakerThe Seahawks lost the sweepstakes for former Pats tight end Benjamin Watson to the Cleveland Browns on Friday.Baker will sign a two-year, $4.75 million deal that includes $2.75 million in the first year with the Seahawks, according to a league source.Seattle was anxious to upgrade its tight ends. Now that it has, New England doesn’t have a proven one on its roster.Adam Schefter is ESPN’s NFL Insider.

(21) UTEP 73

(26-6, 15-1 C-USA)

Passport

Coverage: CBS

11:30 AM ET, March 13, 2010Bank of Oklahoma Center, Tulsa, OK

		1	2	T
	HOU	38	43	81
#21	UTEP	43	30	73

Formula One: Fernando Alonso prevails in Ferrari debut

Formula One: Fernando Alonso prevails in Ferrari debut

Manny Pacquiao overwhelms Joshua Clottey, wins unanimous decision

VIDEO PLAYLIST

ESPNews Highlight Of The Night

Pacquiao On His Win Over Clottey

Pacquiao Wins On Unanimous Decision

Rafael: Show And Prove

Pac-ing Them In

Pete Sampras-Andre Agassi charity banter takes weird turn

ESPN360: Hit for Haiti charity event

Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka stops bullpen session due to stiff neck

No. 4 Duke corrals Miami with help from Singler

(4) Duke 77

New York Jets, New York Giants to flip a coin to decide who will open new Meadowlands Stadium

Texas A&M ends Nebraska’s unbeaten streak

(3) Nebraska 70

Seattle Seahawks agree to deal with ex-New England Patriots TE Chris Baker

Houston tops UTEP for 1st NCAA bid in 18 years

(21) UTEP 73

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