Ling hangs up the boots

Geelong's premiership captain Cameron Ling has announced his retirement from the AFL, just days after leading the Cats to a third flag in five years.

The 30-year-old Ling kicked the final goal of Geelong's 38-point win over Collingwood in the AFL grand final on Saturday, seen as the perfect finish to his 246-game career.

Joel Selwood is the favourite to take over the Geelong captaincy and lead the next generation of Cats under premiership coach Chris Scott.

Ling, a Geelong native, was drafted by the Cats in 1999 and went on to become one of the competition's best taggers, renown for his tireless workrate and physicality in shutting down the AFL's best midfielders.

Fellow veterans Cam Mooney and Darren Milburn, who both missed selection for the grand final, are also expected to confirm their departures from the club.

Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-05/ling-hangs-up-the-boots/3299960

Aussie Ricciardo prepares for Nurburgring

Daniel Ricciardo is out to tick the second box in his fledgling Formula One career in Germany this weekend.

The young West Australian successfully negotiated his maiden grand prix for Hispania Racing in England earlier this month and is now moving on to the second goal.

For the 22-year-old, on loan to Hispania from Red Bull, that means closing the gap on the field.

Ricciardo drove cautiously and kept out of trouble as he trundled home last at Silverstone and now aims higher.

He has to try to get a better handle on the tricky Pirelli tyres, which stablemate Mark Webber has also struggled with this year.

"I have learnt that there is a lot more to the tyres and managing them than I thought. For now this is one of the main things I need to learn quickly about," said Ricciardo, confident he will feel comfortable at the historic Nurburgring layout, where he has competed in lesser categories.

"I know the track reasonably well even if my worst souvenir was in 2008 when I raced in F3 Euro Series and I stalled on the start of the second race (of the weekend)," he said.

"But in the first race I finished sixth in the points.

"Recently, I drove there last month in the World Series by Renault. I had a great race there with Robert Wickens in dramatically changing weather conditions.

"I didn't win the battle, but it was still a great race because I enjoy the track so much."

The conditions might be a help for Ricciardo, with bad weather forecast for Sunday's German GP.

Source http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/aussie-ricciardo-prepares-for-nurburgring-20110722-1hsjo.html

Queensland's Darren Lockyer targets triumphant State of Origin finale

QUEENSLAND great Darren Lockyer will aim to steal a line off 'the King' in his State of Origin farewell tonight.

A packed Suncorp Stadium, in Brisbane, is set to send off one of the Maroons' greatest servants, while NSW is out to play party poopers as they seek to capture a first series since 2005.

The home side is heavily favoured to win on its home turf, but Suncorp Stadium hasn't been a happy hunting ground when it comes to Origin deciders.

Queensland haven't won a decider at 'The Cauldron'' since 1991, the game which proved to be Wally Lewis Origin farewell.

Since then there have been three deciders at spiritual home of Queensland rugby league, with NSW winning two of them and the other in 1999 ending in a draw.

Lockyer will be out to ensure a winning send-off in his 36th game.

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NSW coach Ricky Stuart hopes to spoil the party, even if he says Lockyer deserves a triumphant farewell.

"He deserves a big send-off. That's the sort of person you stand and applaud in regards to what he has done for the game,'' Stuart said.

Stuart has done his best throughout the build-up to the pivotal clash to remove the 'Lockyer factor' from his players' thoughts.

This Blues camp has been about his side, with the team locked away from the prying eyes of the media and general public to ensure his players retain their focus.

From naming a 20-man squad to failing to reveal the make-up of his final 17 to a secret training session on match eve, Stuart has gone to great lengths to shield his squad.

And all while attempting to convince them there is no pressure on them heading into tonight's blockbuster.

"We're not expected to win this and there's no pressure on us about winning,'' Stuart said.

"We just need to play a good game of football to try and be in the competition.

"They've got the best players in the world which is why they should win the match.''

Source http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/queenslands-darren-lockyer-targets-triumphant-state-of-origin-finale/story-e6frg7mf-1226089028435

Carissa Moore wins Beachley Classic

Hawaii's Carissa Moore jumped to the top of the world surfing rankings when she scored her second win of the year in the Beachley Classic.

Moore, 18, has made the final of all four events this year, claiming victories on Gold Coast and at Dee Why.

The Hawaiian defeated 2004 world champion Sofia Mulanovich in the final after coming into the tournament ranked No.2 behind Australia's Sally Fitzgibbons.

Fitzgibbons dropped to second on the world ratings after she was beaten in the semi-finals by Mulanovich.

'Thanks to all the girls for surfing so well this week and pushing me so hard,' Moore said.

'This is a great event and thanks to Layne (Beachley) for being such an inspiration and organising such a great event.'

Fitzgibbons had a nerve-wracking wait at the end of her semi with Mulanovich's last wave of 6.53 calculated well after the final hooter to get the Peruvian home to a 14.03 to 13.6 win.

Australia's other main hope Stephanie Gilmore, the reigning world and Beachley champion, jumped one place in the rankings to four after she was a beaten semi-finalist.

Gilmore fell to Moore after opening up her semi with a 9.6 but her next best wave was a 6.4 while Moore had two solid scores of 8.33 and 8.17 to give her a 16.5 to 16 victory in difficult three-foot waves.

The Gold Coast surfer admits she lost concentration after her big early score.

'I felt like I was surfing really good, it just came down to wave selection in that heat,' Gilmore said.

'I think I got a little too relaxed when I got a really high score. I just let my guard down.'

Source http://www.skynews.com.au/sport/article.aspx?id=609538&vId=2382262

Jo Edwards win third World Cup title

New Zealand lawn bowler Jo Edwards has landed her third World Cup success after claiming the final of the women's singles at Warilla, New South Wales today.

Edwards, the world No 1 and reigning World Cup champion, downed world No 3 Alison Merrien 9-4 7-7 to avenge a fourth round defeat by the Guernsey bowler.

The triumph gave Edwards, who bowls out of the Burnside club in Christchurch, her third successive World Cup title.

Source http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/4911407/Jo-Edwards-win-third-World-Cup-title

Green expects tough fight against Tarver

Danny Green is expecting the toughest fight of his career after announcing he'll defend his IBO cruiserweight world title against American Antonio Tarver.

Green will fight the former multiple light heavyweight world champion at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on July 20.

The West Australian declared he was totally over the appendix problem which required surgery in a Perth hospital back in January.
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"My health is fantastic, I'm feeling in good condition," Green told a media conference on Wednesday.

"I lost 13 kgs. To be honest, when I was lying in hospital, I didn't think that I would be able to fight again, which was obviously fairly scary for me.

"I've recovered well and put most of my weight back on and I'm in the process to go into a training camp in about four or five weeks to get ready for the toughest test of my career.

"Antonio Tarver is a monster of a bloke and his credentials are impeccable."

Tarver, 42, (28-6) is dropping down after one fight in the heavyweight division.

Both Tarver and 38-year-old Green (31-3) have knocked out former multiple-division world title winner Roy Jones jr.

Tarver wasn't worried about Green's impressive knockout record and planned to arrive at least two weeks before the bout to ensure he's fully acclimatised and ready.

"I've faced punches before, they have to land in order to be effective so I'm not worried about that," Tarver said from the United States.

"I know Danny Green is going to bring his attitude, his aggression. He's a proud fighter, so am I. So this fight makes to be a great fight."

Source http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/green-expects-tough-fight-against-tarver-20110406-1d3pj.html

Sehwag's knee problems keep India on tenterhooks

Opener Virender Sehwag's knee injury will keep India on tenterhooks as the co-hosts aim to end Australia's World Cup domination with a quarter-final victory on Thursday.

Sehwag missed India's last Group B match against West Indies on Sunday following an allergic reaction to an injection on his right knee but more than one billion home fans will want him to show up against Australia as he has the ability to blunt their formidable pace attack.

However, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni could not announce him fit for what is a repeat of the 2003 final.

"On Viru (Sehwag) we are taking a call late in the evening or tomorrow morning before the start of the game," Dhoni told reporters on Wednesday.

Australia's aura of World Cup invincibility was punctured by Pakistan when they beat the four-times champions on Saturday, ending a 34-match unbeaten run.

However, while that defeat did not have much riding on it since it was a round-robin match, a loss on Thursday will mean Australia will not feature in a World Cup final for the first time since 1992.

Determined to avoid suffering that fate, Ricky Ponting will let loose his battery of pacemen, who will literally aim high at the Indian batsmen's body.

In Australia's last match at the same venue, the pacemen -- Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson -- crushed Zimbabwe by 91 runs with the trio claiming seven of the 10 wickets.

At the same time, Ponting's men can expect the co-hosts to spin a web around their batsmen with a combination of their frontline and part-timer tweakers.

"No doubt we rely on our fast bowlers to take the wickets and India are probably the exact opposite of that," Ponting, seeking a hat-trick of World Cup titles as captain, told reporters.

"We could be facing 30 overs of spin bowling and they will probably... face 30 overs of fast bowling."

Thursday's quarter-final, in all likelihood will be the last World Cup appearance for either Ponting or Sachin Tendulkar -- the two most prolific run-scorers in international cricket.

While the 36-year old Ponting is battling a slump in form, the Indian batting maestro, 37, has been in a rich vein of form with already two centuries in the tournament.

The partisan crowd at the 48,000-strong Sardar Patel Stadium will throng the stands with two wishes -- Tendulkar gets to his 100th ton in international cricket and India set up a semi-final clash with Pakistan in Mohali.

"It is a big advantage. You have 30,000-40,000 people coming on to the ground to cheer for you. If they are cheering for you then it definitely makes a difference," Dhoni said.

Source http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/sports/sehwag%60s-knee-problems-keep-india-tenterhooks_531574.html