IPL bites

Mis-fits and bloopers: VVS Laxman playing Twenty20, and Bangalore opening with Rahul Dravid and Wasim Jaffer when confronted with a target of 223. Enough said. Venugopal Rao, opening for Hyderabad, has looked like a fish out of water, as has Darren Lehmann running around on the field. Lehmann fluffing a dolly at mid-off, off a Yuvraj Singh leading edge, was surely the clumsiest so far.

Ground watch: Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium produced a near-perfect contest. Zaheer and Co. gained lift early on - to the extent that Dominic Thornely needed 15 stitches after being struck on the face - the batsmen prospered and the spinners thrived as the game went on. Chennai came close but the dewy outfield made it extremely difficult for the bowlers. Jaipur was up there as well, offering help for batsmen and bowlers.

Lampard's mother dies in hospital

The mother of Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has died, it was confirmed this afternoon. Pat Lampard, 58, had been admitted to hospital 10 days ago with pneumonia.England international Lampard, 29, had missed the recent Barclays Premier League games against Wigan and Everton, but resumed training ahead of the Champions League tie on Tuesday after his mother had showed signs of positive improvement - only for her condition to deteriorate. A spokesman for the Chelsea player confirmed to the Press Association this afternoon Mrs Lampard had passed away.

Messi plays down rivalry with Ronaldo

Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has dismissed talk of a duel between himself and fellow superstar Cristiano Ronaldo when Manchester United arrive at the Nou Camp. The sides clash in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final with Barca looking to claim European glory after falling 10 points behind Real Madrid in La Liga's title race. Argentina forward Messi will be vital to the Catalan side's chances of success, but he said: 'More than a duel between me and Ronaldo, this is a game between two big teams and will be a very interesting match.

'I try to do the best I can for my team, but who is better (he or Ronaldo) is something for the people who watch football to decide.' Messi also admitted he was looking forward to playing against international team-mate Carlos Tevez. 'It is always great to play against another team-mate and a friend. With the quality he has, he is very important for his team,' he said. Messi, who missed Barcelona's Champions League success in 2006 through injury, insists his team can beat United.

Euro 2008 refs to tackle dissent and violent play

Referees at Euro 2008 will come down hard on players who use excessive force or show dissent if they follow instructions they were given on Thursday. The 12 referees who will officiate at the June tournament in Austria and Switzerland were handed a six-point list of instructions at the end of a four-day workshop at their Euro 2008 base near Zurich. The instructions, compiled by European soccer's governing body UEFA, order referees to 'act firmly (red card) against challenges involving excessive force...including the illegal use of arms and elbows.' UEFA said that players would also be expected to respect officials' decisions. 'Referees can accept a spontaneous expression of frustration from players,' the instructions state, 'but will firmly sanction players who show dissent to the referees by word or action.' The referees have also been instructed to control holding or pushing in the penalty area prior to corners and free kicks and to punish 'simulation intended to deceive the referee' with yellow cards.

Rangers vs. Devils Game 2

The New Jersey Devils were once again caught short against the New York Rangers although this time it was a closer game and they lost only 1-2. Jaromir Jagr and Sean Avery scored 23 seconds apart in the third period, and Lundqvist made 26 saves in beating the Devils yet again in the Friday night victory in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The victory was the Rangers' ninth in 10 games against New Jersey this season, and it gave New York a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series that will shift across the river for Game 3 on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.

Dhoni's wicket was most important, says Steyn

Dale Steyn, the South African speedster and top wicket taker for the visiting side in this series said that Mahendra Singh Dhoni's wicket was the most priced one because it was the one which provided a crucial breakthrough for his team. According to him, it was that wicket which prevented the Indians from gaining a big lead on the penultimate day of the first test between the two sides in Chennai. Steyn said that it was a very big wicket as Dhoni had the capacity to take the match away from anybody. The match finally ended in a draw.

Cristiano Ronaldo

The wonder kid from Portugal has grown into a full blooded aggressive footballer. He seems to be at the top of his game currently and everything he shoots goal wards seems to go in like the mishit against Bolton. His admiration grows day by day amongst Manchester United fans and also the experts. He has scored an amazing 35 goals this season. This beats the best record for a United winger held by the Man U legend George Best. Best had 33 goals in one season and Ronaldo crossed that landmark with an outstanding free kick. It was fitting that a goal of that quality was scored to cross Best’s mark.
If he goes on like this he could well beat the highest goals scored in a season for Man U by Denis Law. Law scored an amazing 46 goals in a season. He still has eleven games to play if Man U makes it to the finals of the Champions league and he has a good chance to beat that record. If he does do that there will be no doubt that he is currently the best player in the world.

Top players should play in Indian premier league, says Warne

One of World's best leg-spinner Shane Warne said that the International Cricket Council (ICC) should make sure that the top cricket players who signed for the Indian premier league should play in the revolutionary tewnty20 cricket which starts from April 18th. He said that including IPL in the international cricket calender would make it more colourful and competitive at the same time. Shane warne is the captain of the Preity Zinta owned Jaipur team, The Rajastan Royals.