Two teams that have shown the promise but failed to deliver on big occasions come face to face when Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore clash in their opening match of the Indian Premier League here on Thursday.The Mumbai Indians are the big-spending side and have the Champions League Twenty20 Trophy to show for all the money shelled out on acquiring star players. Besides, Mumbai have also been runners-up once and semifinalists twice in the previous IPL seasons.With Ricky Ponting as captain this time, Mumbai would be hoping to lay their hands on the IPL trophy for the first time.In the batting department, Ambati Rayudu and Rohit Sharma would be looking to continue from where he left in the previous IPL where they amassed 333 and 433 runs respectively.Senior batsman Sachin Tendulkar would open with either Dwayne Smith or James...

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Yu Darvish saw the ball skip between his shins, dashing his chance at perfection. Immediately, several Texas Rangers came to the mound to console him. "I think my teammates were more disappointed than I was," he said through a translator. Darvish was one out from a perfect game when Marwin Gonzalez grounded a clean single through the pitcher's legs, and Texas beat the Houston Astros 7-0 on Tuesday night. The celebrated right-hander from Japan struck out a career-high 14 and was in complete control before Gonzalez smacked the first pitch up the middle. Darvish was unable to get his glove down in time, and the ball skittered into center field well beyond a desperate dive by shortstop Elvis Andrus. At that moment, one thought went through Darvish's mind. "I can now go back to the dugout," he deadpanned. "Even if I got the complete game...

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

The Chicago White Sox were absolutely outstanding Monday against the Kansas City Royals. Are there any takeaways from the Opening Day victory for the White Sox, though?Matter of fact, there are.Three things stood out after digesting the White Sox' 1-0 victory over the Royals.Chris Sale is Worth Every PennyChris Sale, who recently signed a five-year/$32.5 million contract extension, was lights out on Monday for the White Sox.He limited the vaunted Royals offense to seven hits and no earned runs over 7.2 innings. And make no mistake about it, the Royals can hit—especially Sox pitching.Last year, they finished with a mighty .279/.336/.410 slash line against the South Siders. Addison Reed had an ERA over 13.00 and Sale lost three of his eight games against the Royals in 2012. Ouch.Monday was different. White Sox manager Robin Ventura noted during...

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

The 2013 MLB season is set to kick off tonight with a Texas-sized showdown between the Rangers and Houston Astros. The Rangers will be welcoming Houston to the AL West and it will be our first chance to see how the Astros young talent will stack up in the division. Houston has continuously found themselves at the bottom of their division standings in the past, so they will be looking to get the season off on the right foot.While the season gets started with a single game tonight, there is an action-packed schedule tomorrow that features twelve games beginning at 1:00 pm ET. You can look over the complete Opening Day schedule here.Here is the information you need to make sure you can catch tonight’s action:Start Time: Sunday, March 31, at 8 p.m. ETVenue: Minute Maid Park, HoustonTV Infor: E...

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Two of the biggest heavyweights in world football will clash this week in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals as Juventus take on Bayern Munich in Germany.The German giants have been one of the most dominant teams this season—running away with the Bundesliga title courtesy of their explosive attack and phenomenal defense—and playing at home, will seemingly be a very tough team to beat.However, Juventus are the reigning Italian champions and appear likely to repeat that feat in 2013 courtesy of their strength in midfield and consistency.They'll be a tough opponent for any team to beat, and will certainly push the German powerhouse here. Whether they'll have the cohesion and discipline required to break down Bayern Munich still remains to be seen, but it will certainly be a thrilling matchup nonetheless.Read on for a full preview of this...

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

The Red Warriors are going into the match with good form as they recently beat Malaysian Super League leaders ATM 3-2 in Paroi.Bojan Hodak has already informed the public that both Dimitri Petratos and Dickson Nwakaemi will play in this match as they require their services to stop the V-League Champions. Kelantan will once again rely on their influential skipper Badhri Radzi to contain the visitor's midfield.Khairul Fahmi Che Mat is set to continue in goal, he was one of the best players in the first half against ATM, while Norfarhan may also be rewarded with a start after scoring the winning goal against ATM.For SHB Da Nang FC, their two important players Huynh Quoc Anh and Pham Nguyen will not be travelling to Malaysia as both of them will be rested after playing through a congested fixture list.Other than that, all their other senior...

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Most soccer fans have made Barcelona the clear favorites to advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League at the expense of Paris Saint-Germain over the two legs.However, the current La Liga leaders may not have it all their own way when they meet for the first time at Parc des Princes on Tuesday night.Team NewsParis Saint-GermainPSG have not lost a European game at home for six years. They also have a coach in Carlo Ancelotti who has won the competition both as a player and a manager.They will also have talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic available for selection after the Swedish international's two-match suspension was reduced upon appeal.FC BarcelonaBarcelona have been given a boost ahead of the trip to the French capital as Jordi Alba and Xavi are available.The pair, who had been struggling with hamstring strains suffered on international...

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Saigon Xuan Thanh decide lower Selangor to go forward in the AFC CupTran Tien Dai said coach Saigon Xuan Thanh goal is victory over Selangor (Malaysia) in the first leg match AFC Cup third-way 3/4 on the Unified field.After two legs round AFC Cup Saigon Xuan Thanh top of Group H with a victory, a draw. Master coach Tran Tien University have the opportunity to reinforce the top and widen the gap with the second team East Bengal win the last team Selangor table on the field the dimensional Unified 3/4."Selangor is a strong team, many times won the championship in Malaysia. During their squad is very dangerous striker Francis Doe., Though, with home advantage Our goal is nothing more than 3 point. Xuan Thanh wins to reinforce the target to the next round, and peace of mind in the V-League, ", Coach Tran Tien Dai said.According to...

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•