Soccer-Zambia cancel friendly to rest before Nations Cup defence

Jan 11 (Reuters) - African Nations Cup holders Zambia have cancelled plans for a last friendly before the tournament starts next week in order to rest.
Zambia, who have had a steady diet of warm-up games in preparation for the defence of their title, called off a friendly with Namibia in Nelspruit on Tuesday.
"They have cited a strenuous schedule as the reason for the cancellation," Namibia Football Association president John Muinjo told reporters on Friday.
"Their coach wants the final week before the Nations Cup to be used as a winding down period."
Zambia have lost to both Tanzania and Angola and drawn with Morocco in three friendlies over the last three weeks. They play Norway at home in Ndola on Saturday.

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Soccer-West Ham fill boots with Wellington signing

LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - West Ham United further swelled their attacking options on Friday by signing Brazilian striker Wellington Paulista on a six-month loan deal from Cruzeiro.
The mid-table Premier League side said in a statement that the 29-year-old holds a European Union passport and therefore does not require a work permit.
"I think I can do my best here and I am coming to England to prove to everyone that I am one of the best strikers in Brazil and to get better and better," the former Botafogo forward said.
"I am strong, I am a fighter and I can score with both feet. I run a lot on the pitch and I can play as either a first or second striker."
Wellington, who has netted 39 goals in 110 Brazilian Serie A and Copa Libertadores matches for Cruzeiro but has never played for his country, joins Marouane Chamakh and Joe Cole as attacking recruits at West Ham during the January transfer window.
Morocco striker Chamakh joined on loan after falling down the pecking order at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger while Cole returned to his boyhood club after a difficult spell at Liverpool.

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UPDATE 2-Soccer-Crowd favourite Sahin back at Dortmund on loan

* Sahin played in Dortmund from 2000-2011
* Turkey international had spells at Real Madrid, Liverpool (Updates with more details, quotes, Schmelzer contract extension)
BERLIN, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Playmaker and crowd favourite Nuri Sahin returned to Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund on a loan deal after unsuccessful spells at Real Madrid and Liverpool over the past 18 months.
Dortmund said in a hastily arranged news conference with the Turkish international that Sahin, who earlier passed a medical in the city, had signed a 1-1/2 season loan deal until 2014.
"I am happy to be home again. My contact with the club officials, players and coaches never stopped in the past year and a half. I hope I can quickly help the team," the 24-year-old told reporters.
German-born Sahin, who left Dortmund for Real in 2011 after helping them win the Bundesliga title, failed to earn a starting spot in Spain before joining Liverpool in August 2012 on loan.
Sahin, whose contract at Real runs to 2017, holds the records for the youngest player to appear in a Bundesliga game and the youngest to score a goal in Germany's top division.
It is unclear whether Dortmund have an option to buy him after 2014 although sports director Michael Zorc said the club was in a strong position.
"We have taken precautions and have the steering wheel in our own hands," Zorc told reporters.
The hugely gifted Turkey midfielder played for more than a decade at Dortmund, going through the youth ranks, before leaving in 2011. He had played 135 Bundesliga games for the club, scoring 13 goals.
"We had said during the title celebrations in 2011 that Nuri Sahin will always remain a special player for us and that the door would always be open if he had a deep wish to play for the BVB again," said beaming Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke.
"He expressed this wish to us a few days ago and we responded," he said.
There was more good news for Dortmund on Friday with Germany defender Marcel Schmelzer signing a three-year contract extension that will keep him at the Ruhr valley club until 2017.
Team mates Sven Bender and Neven Subotic extended their deals earlier this week.
Dortmund stand third in the Bundesliga, 12 points behind leaders Bayern Munich, and are through to the Champions League last 16 where they face Shakhtar Donetsk with Sahin eligible to play. They also take on Bayern in the German Cup next month. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Ken Ferris)

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NHL owners to vote on contract Wednesday

NEW YORK (AP) — NHL owners will vote Wednesday on the tentative labor agreement reached with the players' union.
If a majority approves, as expected, the NHL will move one step closer toward the official end of the long lockout that began Sept. 16.
As of Tuesday afternoon, a memorandum of understanding of the deal hadn't been completed, so the union has yet to schedule a vote for its more than 700 members. A majority of players also must approve the deal for hockey to return to the ice.
"We continue to document the agreement," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press in an email Tuesday.
If there are no snags, ratification could be finished by Saturday and training camps can open Sunday if approval is reached on both sides. A 48-game regular season would then be expected to begin on Jan. 19.
"(We) don't need a signed document to complete ratification process," Daly wrote, "but we do need a signed agreement to open camps. The goal is to get that done by Saturday so that we can open camps on Sunday."
The NHL has yet to release a new schedule. The regular season was supposed to begin on Oct. 11.
The deal was reached Sunday on the 113th day of the lockout and seemingly saved the season that was delayed for three months and cut nearly in half. It took a 16-hour final bargaining session in a New York hotel for the agreement to finally be completed at about 5 a.m.
The lockout led to the cancellation of at least 480 games. That brings the total of lost regular-season games to a minimum 2,178 during three lockouts under Commissioner Gary Bettman.
The damage is significant. Perhaps $1 billion in revenue could be lost this season, given about 40 percent of the regular-season schedule won't be played. Players will also lose a large part of their salaries, not to mention time lost in their careers.
Hockey's first labor dispute was an 11-day strike in 1992 that led to the postponement of 30 games. Bettman became the commissioner in February 1993. He presided over a 103-day lockout in 1994-95 that ended with a deal on Jan. 11, then a 301-day lockout in 2004-05 that made the NHL the only major North American professional sports league to lose an entire season. The NHL obtained a salary cap in the agreement that followed that dispute and now wanted more gains.
The NHL's revenue of $3.3 billion last season lagged well behind the NFL ($9 billion), Major League Baseball ($7.5 billion) and the NBA ($5 billion), and the deal will lower the hockey players' percentage from 57 to 50 — owners originally had proposed 46 percent.
This was the third lockout among the major U.S. sports in a period of just more than a year. A four-month NFL lockout ended in July 2011 with the loss of only one exhibition game, and an NBA lockout caused each team's schedule to be cut from 82 games to 66 last season.

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NHL owners, players move closer to votes

NEW YORK (AP) — All that is left of the NHL lockout are a pair of votes by owners and players.
If both sides approve the tentative deal reached over the weekend — as expected — training camps will be open by Sunday.
The league's board of governors will meet on Wednesday in New York, and the 30 club owners will vote on the agreement that was reached in the early morning hours of Sunday after a 16-hour negotiating session.
If a majority approves, the NHL will move one step closer toward the official end of the lockout that began Sept. 16.
The league and the players' association were still working on one more key piece of business on Tuesday night that must be settled before hockey is truly back.
"We are trying to finalize a summary document, and we are very close on that," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press in an email. "That will be turned into a (memorandum of understanding) with more detailed language that won't be signed until this coming weekend."
The union was waiting for that initial document before it scheduled a vote for its more than 700 members. A majority of players also must approve the deal before the lockout can end.
If there are no snags, ratification could be finished by Saturday and training camps could open Sunday. A 48-game regular season would then be expected to begin on Jan. 19.
"(We) don't need a signed document to complete ratification process," Daly wrote, "but we do need a signed agreement to open camps. The goal is to get that done by Saturday so that we can open camps on Sunday."
The NHL has yet to release a new schedule. The regular season was supposed to begin on Oct. 11.
The deal was reached Sunday, the 113th day of the lockout, and seemingly saved a season that was delayed for three months and cut nearly in half. It took a marathon final bargaining session in a New York hotel for the agreement to finally be completed at about 5 a.m.
The lockout led to the cancellation of at least 480 games, depending on the length of the upcoming season. That brings the total of lost regular-season games to a minimum of 2,178 during three lockouts under Commissioner Gary Bettman.
The damage is significant. Perhaps $1 billion in revenue could be lost this season, given about 40 percent of the regular-season schedule won't be played. Players also will lose a large part of their salaries, not to mention time from their careers.
Hockey's first labor dispute was an 11-day strike in 1992 that led to the postponement of 30 games. Bettman became the commissioner in February 1993. He presided over a 103-day lockout in 1994-95 that ended with a deal on Jan. 11, then a 301-day lockout in 2004-05 that made the NHL the only major North American professional sports league to lose an entire season. The NHL obtained a salary cap in the agreement that followed that dispute and now wanted more gains.
The NHL's revenue of $3.3 billion last season lagged well behind the NFL ($9 billion), Major League Baseball ($7.5 billion) and the NBA ($5 billion), and the deal will lower the hockey players' percentage from 57 to 50 — owners originally had proposed 46 percent.
This was the third lockout among the major U.S. sports in a period of just more than a year. A four-month NFL lockout ended in July 2011 with the loss of only one exhibition game, and an NBA lockout caused each team's schedule to be cut from 82 games to 66 last season.

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Bruins on ice at BU as they wait for NHL season

BOSTON (AP) — Boston Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg drove by the TD Garden on Tuesday morning on his way to Boston University, where a handful of his teammates have been skating to keep in shape while waiting for the NHL season to start.
"I got a really good feeling imagining going out on the ice and getting excited about being able to play again," he said. "I'm so excited to be here."
After spending much of the NHL lockout playing in his native Germany, Seidenberg flew back to Boston on Monday after hearing that NHL players and owners had reached agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement that would end the lockout after almost four months. The NHL players association must still vote to ratify the deal; both sides are hoping to officially open training camps later this week to prepare for a 48- or 50-game season that would start Jan. 19.
"Every day I was sitting on my computer, looking at the news, looking at the rumors," Seidenberg said. "I was hoping for something to happen."
Seidenberg joined about a dozen NHL players on the ice in a practice run by former BU star Mike Grier. Among the Bruins taking part on Tuesday in the two-hour workout were goaltender Tuukka Rask, defenseman Johnny Boychuk, and forwards Shawn Thornton and Brad Marchand.
Lucic said he opted not to sign with a foreign team, choosing instead to recover from the last two, long seasons.
Now, he said, he knows he has some catching up to do.
"It was rest that I feel I needed," he said. "I've built up a lot of nagging injuries that I've been trying to take care of. Hopefully, I'll feel better this season."
The Bruins, who won the Stanley Cup in 2011, lost in the first round to Washington last season.

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Tennis-Sharapova looks back on banner year

BRISBANE, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Maria Sharapova said 2012 had been the most memorable year of her career after her victory at the French Open and carrying Russia's flag at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics.
"A lot of things came together," she said in Brisbane on Monday. "It was the grand slam that was going to take a little bit longer than the others for me.
"I knew that physically I needed a few extra years to get stronger to move more efficiently on that surface," she said of her win on the French clay.
"The Olympic experience was one that I'll never forget because it was my first time being an Olympian. I was the first Russian female athlete to carry the flag for my country, so it was very emotional. It was such an incredible experience."
Sharapova, competing in this week's Brisbane International tournament, said there was more depth in women's tennis than at any stage of her 12-year career.
"It's much more physical than it has been," she said.
"Maybe five years ago you go into a tournament and you would treat the first couple of rounds as, you know, not as a warm-up, but you don't have to go into the first round thinking, okay, this is where I really have to play my best tennis.
"Now it's certainly much different because you can be facing an opponent that's had good results, beaten top players, hasn't been consistent enough but is a really tough, tough player.
"The inconsistency obviously shows that their ranking is not high enough, therefore you're facing them in the first few rounds.
"It is a much stronger sport. And also with technology and racquets and improvements of all the things we have. There are so many things in tennis that in other sports you don't consider: the balls, the racquets, the strings. That changes yearly."
World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who will defend her Australian Open title in Melbourne, labelled this the toughest era in the history of the women's game.
"I truly believe women's tennis is the highest competition right now," she said. "We have a lot of girls who any given day can win a title and beat each other.
"That's very exciting for the public to see and it's exciting for us, the players.
"It gives an extra motivation to know that I have to work hard because if I don't, there is somebody that's going to take my spot. For me personally, I have a lot of excitement for women's competition because I know that I always have to be there.

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Tennis-Early Auckland exits for Zheng, Kuznetsova

Dec 31 (Reuters) - Defending champion Zheng Jie and former world number two Svetlana Kuznetsova were knocked out of the Auckland Classic in the first round on Monday.
Zheng raced to a 3-0 lead before losing 13 of the next 16 games to go down 7-5 6-1 to American Jamie Hampton.
The Chinese fourth seed followed in the footsteps of Hungarian Greta Arn, who crashed out in the first round last year after winning the previous edition.
Kuznetsova, returning from a knee injury, lost 6-7(5) 6-2 7-5 to unseeded Dutch player Kiki Bertens.
The Russian, twice a grand slam winner, prevailed in a tense tie-break to win the first set, then took an extended break for a foot injury after losing the second before Bertens won the deciding set.

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Tennis-No magic answer for Stosur's problem on home courts

BRISBANE, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Former U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur conceded there was no magic solution to her problems on home courts after a shock loss to Sofia Arvidsson in the opening round of the Brisbane International on Monday.
The world number nine, who has failed to match expectations in Australian tournaments, lost 7-6 7-5 to the Swede five weeks after ankle surgery and only a fortnight before the Australian Open.
"Just really disappointed again, leaving Brisbane so early," Stosur told reporters. "I think it was some good tennis and some pretty average tennis at times."
Stosur said the surgery and the subsequent shortage of training had not played a part in her defeat.
"I wasn't going into the match thinking 'Oh my God, I haven't done this or that'," she said.
"I gave myself every opportunity to try and play as well as I could but for sure, I have not practised enough.
"I guess going into the match you want to think that that's going to be enough, but I think tonight it probably showed that it certainly wasn't enough.
"I have a fair bit of work to do ahead of me. You could put it down to being a bit rusty and it's the first match."
Saturation media coverage and public expectation is again accompanying Stosur's attempt to add the Australian Open to the U.S. Open title she secured by upsetting Serena Williams in 2011.
"I don't know how much of that really played into it," she said. "I've said it before, it's great playing out on a court where you've got the crowd behind you and trying to cheer you on and all that."
Stosur's last tournament before the Australian Open starts in Sydney on Sunday.
"I know that panicking doesn't help anyone get a good result or feel better," she said. "There is no magic dust that's going to make anything go away or fix it overnight or anything. I'm not the first player to have their home grand slam and not perform.
""There has been a few Australian and French players, you name it. It's a tough thing.
"Again, would I rather have a grand slam in my country than not? I would.
"All you can do is try and play your best. I know that people believe in me and what I'm trying to do are the right things. You just really want to perform right here, right now. That's what I'm going to keep trying to do.

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