Ireland scrap South Africa plan

Ireland have shelved plans to play South Africa at a neutral “non-traditional” venue in November after running out of time.

Jankovic knocked out of Pan Pacific Open

JELENA Jankovic's hopes of regaining her world No. 1 spot this week ended on when she crashed out of the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament to Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarter-finals.

Jankovic edged out in Tokyo

JELENA Jankovic's hopes of regaining her world No. 1 spot this week ended on when she crashed out of the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament to Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarter-finals.

France name strong Cup team

FRENCH hopes of a first-up Hopman Cup tennis triumph have been given a massive boost following confirmation that Alize Cornet will team up with Gilles Simon to represent the country.

Australia appoints coach Mantilla

TENNIS Australia has hired Felix Mantilla and acquired a Barcelona-based training facility to fasttrack the learning and development of clay-court skills among Australian players.

Sao Paulo fest gets auds involved

Film News: Populist event pulls in Paulistas -- Having survived Brazil's deep political change and several economical crises, as well as the local film industry's temporary collapse, Sao Paulo Intl. Film Fest celebrates its 32nd anniversary this October as one of the major cultural events in South America's largest city.

Bob Bryan out of Davis Cup semi

TOP-ranked US doubles tennis player Bob Bryan will miss this weekend's Davis Cup semi-final against Spain in Madrid due to a shoulder injury and was replaced by Mardy Fish.

'Ninja 2' to shoot in South Korea

Film News: 'Beverly Hills' sequel to be distribbed by Sony -- "Beverly Hills Ninja 2, " a sequel to the 1997 action comedy, will lense in South Korea starting next month, making it the first mainstream Hollywood pic to do so.

Koreans harvest 'Divine' box office

Film News: Pic stays on top for a second week -- "The Divine Weapon" topped South Korea's box office for the second consecutive week despite a battery of new releases.

Klose wary of cosmopolitan Steaua

Striker Miroslav Klose believes FC Bayern München must be wary of a blend of South American and European football when they return to the UEFA Champions League after a year's absence at FC Steaua Bucureşti.

Serena Williams Set To Serve Up Memoir In 2009

A memoir by Serena Williams will be released in 2009 by Grand Central
Publishing, which beat out a handful of other publishers bidding for
the life story of the No. 1 ranked women's tennis player.

Idol winner injured in bar brawl

EMBATTLED former Australian Idol winner Casey Donovan has taken another hit after allegedly being punched in the face by a man at a bar in New South Wales.

NJIT talk by South Bronx leader to focus on sustainability of Newark

(New Jersey Institute of Technology) Miquela Craytor, executive director of Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx), will speak Oct. 1, 2008, at NJIT about how green technology can meet the growing climate crisis and also benefit the nation’ s distressed urban centers.

Mac Snr wants top ATP job

JOHN McEnroe Sr, father of the most volatile tennis champion of the modern era, wants to run the men's game.

Simon retains Bucharest title

GILLES Simon retained the BCR Open Romania title in Bucharest, defeating Carlos Moya 6-3 6-4 in the final to boost his chances of contesting the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai.

Bucs pounce on mistakes by Falcons rookie Ryan

Falcons rookie Matt Ryan was intercepted twice in the first half
Sunday and Tampa Bay's Brian Griese turned the miscues into a touchdown
and field goal that helped the Buccaneers beat their NFC South rivals 24-9.

National ranking major issue for overrated Bulldogs

South Carolina refuses to go down quietly, but No. 2 Georgia manages to hold on for a 14-7 victory. The problem for the Bulldogs isn't fundamentals; it's where they're ranked, and Gregg Doyel says it's fixable.

Dawgs squeak one out

No. 2 Georgia and Knowshon Moreno made sure South Carolina didn't ruin a second straight shot at a championship season. Moreno's sliding 4-yard touchdown run in the third quarter lifted the Bulldogs to a 14-7 victory over the Gamecocks on Saturday.

Georgia thwarts South Carolina rally to avoid upset repeat

No. 2 Georgia and Knowshon Moreno made sure South Carolina didn't ruin a second straight shot at a championship season. Moreno's sliding 4-yard touchdown run in the third quarter lifted the Bulldogs to a 14-7 victory over the Gamecocks on Saturday.

Davydenko cleared in corruption probe

RUSSIAN tennis player Nikolay Davydenko has been cleared by the ATP of suspicion of corruption.

South Florida rallies, upsets Kansas with last-second field goal

Freshman Maikon Bonani kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired Friday night, giving No. 19 South Florida a 37-34 victory over No. 13 Kansas.

Du Toit Wins 4th Gold At Paralympics

Natalie Du Toit of South Africa won her fourth gold medal in swimming
at the Beijing Paralympics, taking the 400-meter freestyle on Friday in
a world-record time for her disability group.

Davydenko Cleared By ATP In Tennis Gambling Probe

Russian tennis star Nikolay Davydenko was cleared by the ATP on Friday
after a yearlong investigation into suspicious betting patterns on a
match he lost to a low-ranked opponent.

ER tussles with U. S. distributor

Business News: U.K. company claims unpaid fees -- Struggling U.K. tyke specialist Entertainment Rights, whose properties include “Postman Pat” and “The Lone Ranger, ” is taking legal action against its primary U.S. DVD distributor, Genius Products, over alleged unpaid fees.

Berlusconi immunity threatened

Business News: Opposition wants to strip away protection -- Silvio Berlusconi’s year has had a somewhat inauspicious start. Momentum is gathering behind an opposition move to lift the immunity from prosecution that shields the Italo media mogul and premier from his legal woes.

Banijay returns El Terrat to sender

Business News: Buenafuente buys back company -- In a surprise about-face, Gaul's Banijay Entertainment has sold Spanish production company El Terrat back to its original owner, prexy Andreu Buenafuente, just three months after announcing its purchase.

Obama urges for digital switch delay

Business News: Officials concerned that people are unprepared -- Don't flip the switch just yet -- that's what the incoming Obama administration urged Congress on Thursday regarding the long-planned Feb. 17 transition to all-digital broadcasting.

Blu-Ray warms tech expo

Business News: Sony pushes online products in Vegas -- Blu-ray sales could triple or even quintuple in 2009.

Jermaine Dupri out at Island Records

Business News: Rapper-producer-mogul exits music unit -- Jermaine Dupri is out as president of Island Records Urban Music division, a unit he ran for almost two years.

First Look ups Marie O'Reilly-Thein

Business News: Exec will manage retail and rental accounts -- First Look Studios has upped Marie O'Reilly-Thein to senior veep of sales for home entertainment.

Sides more vocal in SAG strike talks

Business News: Meeting next week to decide referendum's fate -- The sides in SAG's strike authorization vote battle are becoming more vocal in advance of the guild's emergency national board meeting next week to determine the fate of the proposed referendum.

Blu-Ray warms tech expo

Film News: Sony pushes online products in Vegas -- Blu-ray sales could triple or even quintuple in 2009.

Fashion kicks off with Golden Globes

Film News: For TV divas, the red carpet is their big moment -- It's fashion kickoff time. First up: the Golden Globes, next the Academy Awards. While the Oscars is as intense as the Super Bowl, the more relaxed Globes pits the smallscreen against the bigscreen: On one team we have the TV clotheshorses; on the other, their big sisters, the movie stars.