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LONDON: New evidence emerged on Thursday shedding further light on the McLaren ‘Liegate’ scandal with the publication of the first account of what took place at the fateful second stewards hearing in Sepang.

A report on autosport.com revealed to what extent Lewis Hamilton and former sporting director Dave Ryan stuck to their initial story that Jarno Trulli had taken it upon himself to overtake the McLaren in Australia.

The pair refused to back down from that stance despite being presented with radio conversations and media interviews suggesting they were lying about deliberately letting Trulli through in the closing stages in Melbourne.

In an interview with autosport, an unnamed FIA source related what had occurred at the meeting in Sepang.

He said: “First of all, Lewis heard the radio exchange. It appeared that the strategy was to be extremely vague and not be very direct with the answers. Then the interview where he said, ‘I was told to let him through’ was played.

“At that point they both got very uncomfortable, but still denied that’s what had actually happened.

“It was a bit surreal, this situation where you had the radio evidence and the interview, and they were putting a completely different interpretation on what the words actually meant. But the words were very, very clear.”

FIA race director Charlie Whiting revealed that world champion Hamilton denied more than once in the original hearing in Australia that he had let Trulli pass him.

Whiting said: “When asked very clearly, ‘Did you consciously let him past, did you pull over to let him past’, he (Hamilton) said, ‘No’.

“The question was asked more than once. He was adamant that he hadn’t slowed down and hadn’t let Trulli past.”

The pair’s behaviour at the stewards meeting in Melbourne and again in Malaysia has prompted the FIA to summon McLaren to a hearing in Paris on April 29. — AFP

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MANCHESTER, England: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson defended owner Malcolm Glazer on Friday, a day after the club reported a debt nearing US$1 billion.

Glazer restructured payments of the loan to buy the club two years ago, which took $66.9 million annually out of United’s profits, according to the 2007-08 financial report revealed Thursday.

But Ferguson said Glazer, who took over Manchester United in 2005 and also owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has always backed him on player signings in the transfer market.

“Their support has never changed,” Ferguson said Friday.

“I do not know what these figures tell you. There has always been debt since Malcolm Glazer took over the club. Most buyouts are like that. But there is no change as far as I am concerned.”

While United’s profits after winning the Premier League and Champions League rose to 80.5 million pounds ($118.3 million; euro89.3 million) in the fiscal year ending June 2008, the overall debt is 649.4 million pounds ($954.6 million; euro720.8 million).

According to Forbes magazine this week, United is worth $1.87 billion to be the world’s most valuable football club. - AP

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With one last birdie to cap off what he called one of the best rounds he ever played, Kenny Perry shot a 5-under 67 on a blustery Friday at the Masters to share the halfway lead with Chad Campbell.

Perry thought he had a storybook ending to his career when he helped the Americans to a Ryder Cup victory on his native Kentucky soil last year and shared an emotional embrace with his father.

But that triumphant ride toward retirement is taking a stunning detour down Magnolia Lane, and the 48-year-old could be golf’s oldest major champion if he pulls this off.
Chad Campbell watches his shot out of a bunker on the the seventh hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta on Friday. - AP

“I’ve had a great career, and I’d be very satisfied if it ended today,” Perry said.

“The Ryder Cup, I can’t express to y’all how much that meant to me. That was the ultimate of anything I have ever, ever been a part of or accomplished, be it any of my 13 wins.

“But Dad has always said, ‘You need to win that green jacket.’ He always calls me and tells me.”

Augusta National was tougher than the opening round, but even with tougher pins and gusts that swirled through Amen Corner and lasted deep into the afternoon, the fireworks were just as endless.

Campbell got off to another solid start and finished with a 25-foot birdie for a 70, sharing the lead with Perry at 9-under 135.

They had a one-shot lead over former U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera, who had a 68.

Anthony Kim set a tournament record with 11 birdies on his way to a 65 - 10 shots better than his first round - to get into contention in his Master debut.

Phil Mickelson was on the verge of missing the cut until he played his last seven holes in 5 under for a 68.

Sergio Garcia shot a 67, the first time he has broken par at the Masters in five years.

There were a record 17 eagles in the second round, breaking by two the mark set in 1997.

Tiger Woods couldn’t join this parade of birdies and eagles for the second straight day.

All three of his birdies were followed by bogeys, and his 72 left him seven shots behind.

Woods has never won a major when trailing by more than six shots after 36 holes.

“It was just tough all round,” said Woods, who headed straight for the practice range.

Maybe for him, but not for the 25 players who managed to break par.

It was tough on Gary Player, Fuzzy Zoeller and Greg Norman for other reasons.

Player completed his remarkable career at the Masters by competing for the 52nd and final time.

The 73-year-old South African, who won three green jackets, knelt before reaching the 18th green and clasped his hands to thank the gallery.

Zoeller also is calling it quits after a Masters career remembered for winning the first sudden-death playoff in 1979, and for his racially insensitive comments after Woods won in 1997.

The return of the Shark lasted only two days. Norman shot 40 on the back nine for a 77 to miss the cut by two shots in what likely will be his last time playing the Masters, 22 years without ever getting upstairs to the champions’ locker room.

Is there room up there for a 48-year-old from Kentucky?

“Everything is a bonus now, it really is,” Perry said.

“I’m just going through each and every day enjoying life a little bit. I think I can win. I’m not going out there very casually. I’m burning inside, wanting to kick everybody’s butt.”

Jack Nicklaus was 46 when he became the oldest Masters champion in 1986.

The oldest to win any major was Julius Boros, who was 48 when he won the 1968 U.S. PGA Championship. Perry is about four months older.

Despite his paltry record at the Masters - five missed cuts in eight appearances - a victory would not be all that surprising.

Perry won this year in Phoenix and was No. 11 in the world ranking.

He has a new driver that makes him feel as though he will hit every fairway, a 64-degree sand wedge that has helped take the edge off the scary chips around the green, and he is putting better than ever.

No wonder he made it through Friday without a single bogey.

“That was probably one of the greatest rounds I’ve ever played,” Perry said.

“I just didn’t have any nerves. I was so comfortable out there today. I don’t know how to explain it. But it was just easy.”

It was easy enough for Todd Hamilton, the former British Open champion who has had only two top 10s since his victory at Royal Troon five years ago.

In his final year of eligibility at the Masters, he had a 70 and was in fourth place at 6-under 138.

Kim was in the group at 4-under 140 that included Garcia and Jim Furyk (74), while Mickelson’s late rally put him in a tie for 11th at 141 along with Geoff Ogilvy (70), Steve Stricker (69) and 46-year-old Vijay Singh (70).

“I haven’t been making 11 birdies in two days, so to make 11 in one day is pretty special,” said the 23-year-old Kim, regarded as the next American star in golf.

“And obviously, to do it at Augusta is amazing. Hopefully, I can build off that, and if I keep the putter hot, I like my chances here.”

Padraig Harrington’s hopes of a third straight major took a dive with a 73, leaving him seven shots behind.

Not only was he crushed by seeing four putts spin around the lip, the Irishman was assessed a one-shot penalty on the 15th hole when a gust moved his ball after he had grounded his putter.

“Here at Augusta, it is not a big deal to be seven behind,” Harrington said.

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PETALING JAYA: Kelantan have set an ambitious goal to win their first major silverware next season.
The Kelantan FA (Kafa) president, Tan Sri Annuar Musa, said that the time had come for them to stand up and be counted among the elite teams.
“We have almost everything in place €” in administration, finance, players, team management and the fan support €” to get the job done,” he said.
Welcome: (Left) Butler being welcomed by Annuar after the signing ceremony at his home in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, Tuesday. The four players who also signed their contracts yesterday are (third from left) Md Daudsu Jamaluddin, Md Khalid Jamlus, Azlan Ahmad and Md Norfarhan Mohd.

With 10 weeks left before the season kicks off, Kelantan now have 18 players in their ranks. On Monday, they completed a deal with Englishman Peter Butler as chief coach and added four new players to the team. Their new signings were former internationals Khalid Jamlus and Azlan Ahmad from Perak and national players Mohd Daudsu Jamaluddin from Johor FC and Mohd Norfarhan Mohd from Terengganu.
The 42-year-old Butler is no stranger to Malaysian football. The former West Ham midfielder was with Sabah for two seasons from 2003.
With Kelantan, he will also oversee the Under-20 back-up squad and Kafa Academy for players between 13 and 14-year-old.
Annuar added that they were not being over ambitious.
“We don’t have a rich football culture like Selangor, Perak or Kedah. In fact, we have never won any major titles from the mainstream competitions in Malaysian football. The only success we have enjoyed were from the Sultan’s Gold Cup and age-group competitions,” he said.

“It’s okay for us to have this big dream now. It makes us work much harder in chasing it.”

Annuar said that Kelantan would continue to take advantage of their strong home fan support, which saw them chalk up a 100% win record at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Baru last season.

“We sold tickets at RM5, the lowest in the country last season but still ended up with a profit. We collected about RM1.7mil from our home matches. It was far better than the 2006 season when the collection was less than RM100,000,” he said.

“With the profit we made, we even paid up part of the the debts left behind by the previous management.

“We did the right thing because we wanted the crowd. Kafa has an ambition to bring about positive results and I am sure the fans will give us their full support.”

Last season, Kelantan had two coaches. Former national coach Norizan Bakar quit after the Premier League campaign in which Kelantan finished third behind Kuala Muda Naza and KL Plus in the 13-team competition to missed out on promotion to the Super League.

Frenchman Regis Laguesse took over for the Malaysia Cup competition.

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Fernando Alonso is realistic about his chances of another victory in Japan this week after his upset win in Singapore, but he remains confident Renault will again be on the pace.
Breakthrough: Renault’s Fernando Alonso celebrating after winning the Singapore Grand Prix on Sept 28. — AP

The two-time world champion made the most of a Ferrari blunder and the saftey car being deployed on the Singapore street circuit last month to win the race after starting 15th on the grid.
The breakthrough was unexpected for a team that had struggled over the previous few months, and Alonso knows it will be tough to match Ferrari and McLaren on the Fuji Speedway on Sunday.

“It’s true that a street circuit is always unusual and your level of performance depends on the competitiveness of your car, the set-up and your ability to take risks,” he said.

“We worked hard to develop some new parts for Singapore, but also for the final three races of the season, so I think that we can be on the pace in Fuji.

“We will give our maximum to try and make that the case and to benefit from the free practice sessions on Friday as much as possible,” Alonso said.

“We must remain focussed and try to repeat our level of performance from Singapore to fight at the front.

“However, I remain realistic as it will be difficult to race the Ferraris and McLarens. But we will give our maximum to score as many points as possible because the fight for fourth in the championship remains very close.”

His victory in Singapore was the Spaniard’s first in a year and his 20th career title. €” AFP

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PARIS: Leading German cyclist Stefan Schumacher, a double stage winner on this year’s Tour de France, has tested positive for doping, his Gerolsteiner team confirmed on Monday.
Schumacher was the second rider to test positive on Monday after Leonardo Piepoli, who won the race’s 10th stage.
Gerolsteiner team boss Hans-Michael Holczer revealed the news about Schumacher to German sports agency SID, confirming earlier reports on the website of sports newspaper L’Equipe.
Down and out: Picture taken on Aug 13 showing German Stefan Schumacher looking on after placing only 13th during the road cycling individual time trial event during the Beijing Olympic Games. Schumacher, a double stage winner at this year’s Tour de France, has tested positive for EPO. — AFP
L’Equipe claimed Schumacher had tested positive for a new generation of the banned blood booster EPO called CERA (Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator) though Gerolsteiner did not mention any substance.
Holczer told SID: “The director of the Tour, Christian Prudhomme, has confirmed it and I have no doubt that it (Schumacher’s positive test) is true.”
Holczer, who said legal action would be taken against Schumacher, added: “We have been fooled by this man.”
Schumacher himself told SID: “This is the first time I have heard of all this. All I can say is that I have not undertaken doping. This is nonsense.”
France’s national anti-doping agency (AFLD) confirmed CONI’s announcement.
The German recently left the Gerolsteiner team to sign with Belgian outfit Quick Step.
Three riders from this year’s Tour de France have now tested positive for CERA; Italian Ricardo Ricco, Piepoli and Schumacher. Schumacher has found himself in a second drugs scandal inside a year.
He was allowed to race at the Tour despite testing positive for amphetamines, only he was not banned because the test was carried out by police while he was driving. €” AFP

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BANGALORE: If statistics and experience alone won cricket matches, world champions Australia would be regarded as no-hopers in the Test series against India starting tomorrow.

At least 12 in the 15-man touring squad have a combined tally of only 130 Tests between them, the same number that India captain Anil Kumble has played and 20 fewer than batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar.

Captain Ricky Ponting, veteran opener Matthew Hayden, and middle-order batsmen Michael Clarke and Simon Katich are the only ones who have experienced a Test match atmosphere in India before.

And the spin options are bare following the retirements of the legendary Shane Warne and his understudy Stuart MacGill, with no one to exploit wickets that traditionally favour slow bowlers.

On paper, the series would appear a cakewalk for the Indians. In real terms, however, it leaves an enthralling contest on offer for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between two evenly-matched teams.

”This is the best chance for us to pull it off,” said Kumble, determined to overturn the 2-1 defeat at home in 2004 and an identical loss Down Under earlier this year.

”We want to win this one badly. Good for us that the Aussies consider themselves the underdogs. We have to exploit their relative inexperience in our own conditions.”

The tussle between India’s battle-hardened batting veterans and Australia’s pace firepower will provide the backdrop for one of the most eagerly-awaited four-Test series in recent times.

Tendulkar, 35, who needs only 77 more runs to overtake Brian Lara as Test cricket’s leading scorer, heads the charge of the senior brigade that includes Rahul Dravid, 35, Sourav Ganguly, 36, and Venkatsai Laxman, 33.

Much would, however, depend on pugnacious match-winner Virender Sehwag, India’s lone triple-centurion in Tests who has achieved the feat twice in the last four years. €” AFP

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MONZA (Italy): World champion Kimi Raikkonen said he was not yet thinking about helping Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa despite his own title ambitions looking all but over following Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix.

With four races left this season, the fourth-placed Finn is 21 points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton after trailing in ninth at a soggy Monza.

Brazilian Massa, who finished sixth and a place ahead of McLaren’s Hamilton, is now just a point behind the Briton overall.

“I don’t know, we will see what happens,” Raikkonen told reporters when asked if he would now concentrate on aiding Massa’s title charge.

Keep it up: Toro Rosso team manager Gerhard Berger congratulating Sebastian Vettel on the podium at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on Sunday.-Reuters

“I’m not really interested in thinking what we are going to do in the next races.”

The Iceman, who signed a new deal with Ferrari until 2010 during the week, snatched last year’s title by a point and refused to give up this time.

“It is not good but we’ll keep trying and hoping to do better in the next races.

“It hasn’t been so easy lately,” he said, blaming the failure of his tyres on the wet Monza track for his disappointing showing.

“The car was good when the tyres started to work but in the beginning there was not much grip.

“If we could get the tyres working straight away it would be a big help,” Raikkonen said.

Massa agreed that Ferrari’s tyres did not assist them, especially when other drivers profited from being on a one-stop strategy.

“It’s been a hard race. Definitely it could have gone better at the end.

“I started sixth and I was fourth after the first pit stop. It was difficult to choose strategy before the race.

“We chose a strategy that was not too aggressive because of the rain,” Massa said.

“We have seen every time it rains and there are difficult conditions McLaren have been stronger. Today if they have been stronger and we have finished ahead then it’s been a good race.”

The Brazilian dodged questions about whether Raikkonen should now be helping his bid for the title. - Reuters

Tags: Ferrari, Raikkonen
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KUALA LUMPUR: Simon Santoso will be the first of an array of Indonesian players out to scalp defending champion and top seed Lee Chong Wei in the Japan Open which begins tomorrow in Tokyo.

Simon showed his determination to take his game to a greater height by nailing his first career Open title in Taiwan on Sunday with a 21-18, 13-21, 21-10 win over Malaysian veteran Mohd Roslin Hashim.

Since making his international debut, Simon has choked in three major events — finishing as the runners-up in the Swiss Open last year and in the Singapore and Indonesian Opens this year.

The breakthrough in Taipei should whet his appetite for more honours. And Olympic silver medallist and world number one Chong Wei may not find the going easy if the duo cross path in the quarter-finals of the Japan Open, which is the seventh leg of the Super Series.

On a high: Simon Santoso will be boosted by his Taiwan Open win when he meets Lee Chong Wei in the first round of the Japan Open tomorrow.- AFP

Besides Simon, the other Indonesians in Chong Wei’s half of the draw are Taufik Hidayat and Tommy Sugiarto.

The other half of the draw has another prominent Indonesian player in second seed Sony Dwi Kuncoro and also Denmark’s Peter Gade-Christensen, Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana and three Malaysian former internationals — Nusa Mahsuri’s Roslin vand the KLRC Bhd duo of Lee Tsuen Seng and Sairul Amar Ayob.

China have opted not to send their best men’s singles players and they will bank on the likes of Chen Yu, Lu Yi and Gong Weijie while South Korea are looking at Hong Ji-hoon to create vupsets.

Roslin, however, does not think that Simon could continue his good run in the Japan Open. Of the three top Indonesians — Sony, Taufik and Simon — Roslin, said that Chong Wei should have the easiest path against Simon.

“I gave my best against Simon (in the Taiwan Open). But he had a relatively easier semi-final match compared to mine. And that made all the difference,” said Roslin in a telephone interview from Taipei yesterday.

Roslin defeated a gutsy Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam while Simon cruised past Holland’s Eric Pang.

“After having assessed the current form, Chong Wei should win against Simon,” added Roslin, who is likely to play against Boonsak in the second round.

It will be much tougher for anyone to beat Taufik or Sony, who are determined to put behind their disappointment at the Beijing Olympics last month in the Japan Open.

Taufik, who was recovering from dengue fever, was beaten by Malaysian Wong Choong Hann in the first round while Sony lost to Chong Wei in the quarter-finals. Besides the Indonesians, there is unlikely anyone else can prevent Chong Wei from winning the title for the second consecutive time.

Tags: Chong Wei, simon
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West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul was named as the 2008 International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricketer of the Year at an awards ceremony here yesterday.
The 34-year-old left-hander, a mainstay of his side’s batting for over a decade, was chosen ahead of his three fellow nominees — Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene, South Africa skipper Graeme Smith and Proteas fast bowler Dale Steyn.
Head of the class: West Indies batman Shivnarive Chanderpaul was named as the 2008 ICC Cricketer of the Year at an awards ceremony in Dubai on Wednesday. - AFP

During the voting period, the gritty Guyanese played eight Test matches, scoring 819 runs at an average of 91.00, including three centuries and six fifties, all of which were against the top seven teams in the world.

”I am honoured to be given this prestigious award tonight and I am very thankful to God for blessing me with the talent that I have,” Chanderpaul said upon receiving his award.

There was a consolation for Steyn when the paceman was named Test player of the year.

India’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named as the one-day player of the year, while his team-mate Yuvraj Singh won the inaugural international Twenty20 performance of the year award after striking six sixes off an over from England quick Stuart Broad during last year’s World Twenty20 in South Africa.

Sri Lanka’s ‘mystery’ spinner Ajantha Mendis was chosen as the emerging player of the year while England captain Charlotte Edwards was named as the women’s player of the year.

Australia’s Simon Taufel, the only man ever to win his award, was named as umpire of the year for the fifth time in a row. — AFP

Tags: Chanderpaul, Cricket
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