Kobe scores 28, Lakers surge past Knicks in 4th
After the Lakers roared away from the Knicks in the fourth quarter without even a point from Kobe Bryant, he put his long-standing friendly rivalry with Carmelo Anthony in perspective.
"I enjoy going against Melo, because I always win," Bryant said with a grin.
Although Bryant was exaggerating about his head-to-head advantage over Anthony, he's absolutely right about Los Angeles' rivalry with New York over the past half-decade.
Bryant scored 28 points in yet another dynamic performance against the Knicks, and the Lakers relied on stiff defense to roll to their ninth straight victory over New York, 99-82 Thursday night.
Pau Gasol had 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Lakers, who have won two straight after a 0-2 start to the compressed season.
The Lakers have dominated this rivalry between the signature teams from the nation's two largest cities in recent years, winning every meeting since February 2007 with Bryant averaging more than 34 points per game in the first eight.
They easily took care of New York down the stretch, opening the fourth quarter with a 17-3 run to take a 22-point lead - and Bryant didn't even need to score, contributing three assists as Los Angeles finished strong.
"We did a great job," Bryant said. "It's tough to hold down an offensive team like the Knicks. We're doing what we're supposed to do."
Steve Blake scored 11 points and hit two big 3-pointers while the Lakers dominated the fourth quarter, forcing the Knicks to miss nine of their first 10 shots while committing seven turnovers.
Anthony scored 27 points in his first showdown with Bryant since joining the Knicks, and Amare Stoudemire had 15 points on 4-for-17 shooting as New York again struggled down the stretch in the middle stop of a three-game West Coast road trip. For the second straight night, the Knicks showed none of the late-game poise they exhibited in a gritty Christmas win over Boston.
"The Lakers are good, and we're awful," New York coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We didn't play well. We can't make shots. We started off really well. I thought the pace was good, the rhythm was good, and then it just went downhill from there."
Tyson Chandler had 13 points and 11 rebounds in his hometown for the Knicks, whose nine-game skid against the Lakers is their longest current stretch against any opponent.
"Everything is just difficult for us right now," Chandler said. "We've just got to make things easier than they've been."
The Knicks' frustration showed in technical fouls for each of their Big Three, who incessantly argued calls despite New York's 41-22 free throw advantage.
"This game is about acting, and right now we're reacting," Anthony said. "We just need to get out there and play ball. ... We're good. Not too much to worry about three games into the season. We will get better."
Josh McRoberts scored 10 points for the Lakers, who made 23 of their 32 shots before halftime for their highest shooting percentage in one half in nearly 13 years. New York pulled within eight points heading into the fourth quarter, but then committed five turnovers in the next 2 1/2 minutes as reserves Blake and Matt Barnes led the Lakers' runaway.
Although Bryant is playing with a torn ligament in his right wrist that requires a brace whenever he isn't playing, the 13-time All-Star's latest injury is doing little to slow him. He has scored at least 25 points in each of the Lakers' games so far, and he shredded the Knicks' spotty defense.
"Kobe be lying. Kobe ain't hurt," Anthony said with a laugh. "I know him."
The Lakers were the only team to begin the season with three games in three nights, losing the first two before routing Utah on Tuesday for new coach Mike Brown's first victory. Although the Lakers struggled early, they've been downright dominant on defense in the past three games at home, showing they're already picking up the finer points of Brown's defense-based system.
The Lakers, who held the Knicks to 31.3 percent shooting, will get even better on defense with center Andrew Bynum wrapping up his season-opening four-game suspension for his misbehavior in last spring's playoff finale. He'll be in the lineup for the Denver Nuggets ' visit to Staples Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Lakers returned from their first day off with a sharp first half, taking a 16-point lead in the second quarter with crisp offensive execution that frequently left behind the Knicks. Anthony scored 18 points in the half with six field goals - the same number managed by all of his teammates combined.
Bryant scored 13 points in the third quarter, even banking in a long 3-pointer while getting fouled on a four-point play late in the period, but the Knicks trimmed Los Angeles' lead to 80-72 heading into the fourth.
SI
Rafael Nadal plans to rest after Australian Open
World number two Rafael Nadal plans to take several weeks off after the Australian Open to properly recover from a nagging shoulder injury.
Nadal suffered the injury before the ATP World Tour Finals in November and said he was still "not 100 percent".
He said: "I had a problem before London with my shoulder and I had to stop for about 10 days before the (ATP) finals."
The 25-year-old Spaniard added: "It felt better again but resurfaced, I couldn't practice."
The Spaniard only decided on Monday to defend his title at the World Tennis Championships - a two-day exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi.
Nadal will play the winner of a match between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and David Ferrer in the semi-finals on Friday.
He is hopeful his shoulder will hold up enough for him to win both the Abu Dhabi tournament for a third successive year, and next week's Qatar Open in Doha.
The Australian Open gets under way on 16 January, and Nadal says he wants to use February to rest and practice.
Warner got FIFA W/Cup rights for US$1
EX-FIFA vice-president Jack Warner says that in 1998 he was awarded the World Cup television rights for Trinidad and Tobago by FIFA for a mere US$1.
Warner made this revelation in a press release yesterday and noted that the rights were awarded following a “brutal campaign” for FIFA presidency in which Blatter emerged victorious with the critical support of Warner.
The ex-CONCACAF boss revealed that he was also the recipient of the television rights for the 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 editions of football’s biggest showpiece.
Warner, who resigned from FIFA earlier this year during a FIFA investigation of a controversial meeting among CFU officials in Trinidad, believes that the sale of the rights for the 2002 and 2006 World Cup was “no doubt in appreciation of the work he did (with bin Hammam) for his (Blatter’s) re-election.”
He argued, however, that following the withdrawal of his support for Blatter’s bid for presidency at the 2011 FIFA elections, they withdrew the television rights for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and revoked the rights for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
He noted that the Caribbean FIFA Development Office in Trinidad was also closed and alleges that Trinidadian FIFA Referee Development Officers were also dismissed.
“In 2011, in exchange for my support (and by extension the support of the CFU and the CONCACAF) in the FIFA presidential election, the FIFA again offered me the sale of the World Cup Rights for 2018 and 2022 as a ‘gift’ at a nominal fee.
“The FIFA also agreed to pay for the re-grassing of the Marvin Lee Stadium at the Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence and as well as to grant two-five (sic) hundred thousand US dollar Goal Projects as a gift to the CONCACAF to do with as we wished.
“Notwithstanding the inducements offered, I...refused to endorse Sepp Blatter for the 2011 FIFA presidential election and the rest is now history,” Warner declared. According to Warner, FIFA, who usually sell World Cup television rights directly to broadcasters, or sub-contracts companies to negotiate sales, usurped the third party route in 2002 and sold it directly to him.
“Having won the 2002 election for the FIFA presidency, president Blatter, sold me, not the CFU, the World Cup TV Rights for 2002 and 2006,” he revealed. The 2010 and 2014 World Cups were sold to Warner but this time through the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) which Warner was also president of.
Warner states that the sales were all used to develop football throughout the Caribbean.
The 68-year-old, who promised a “tsunami” to hit FIFA following his resignation from the world governing body earlier this year says he will reveal next week why he did not support Blatter’s bid for re-election and also comment on the Normalising Committee appointed by FIFA to govern CFU affairs in the interim.
Samuels stars for Cavaliers
Jamaican international Samardo Samuels scored a team high 17 off the bench as Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons 105-89 in the NBA on Wednesday night.
Rookie Kyrie Irving also had 14 points and seven assists while Ramon Session scored 16 points to help Cleveland spoil Detroit's first home opener with new owner Tom Gores.
Detroit's Ben Gordon had 25 points and rookie reserve Brandon Knight scored 23.
In Charlotte, Dwyane Wade hit a bank shot over Gerald Henderson with 2.9 seconds left to lift the unbeaten Miami Heat to a 96-95 victory over the pesky Charlotte Bobcats.
After Henderson hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to put the Bobcats up by one with 12 seconds left, the Heat called time and had Wade bring the ball up. He drove to the left side and banked the shot over Henderson, then turned to Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton seated courtside and imitated Newton's Superman touchdown celebration by pretending to rip open his shirt.
LeBron James scored 35 points and Chris Bosh chipped in with 25.
Other results: Thunder 98 Grizzles 95; Spurs 115 Clippers 90; Hornets 97 Celtics 78;
Nuggets 117 Jazz 100; Warriors 92 Knicks 78; 76ers 103 Suns 83; Hawks 101 Wizards 83; Pacers 90 Raptors 85.
Bravo, Pollard for Bangladesh Premier League
All-rounders Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo are the two West Indians whose names have been identified with the start of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 (BPLT 20) next year.
ESPN-Cricinfo said Pollard and Bravo, have been named among at least 25 foreign players who have made themselves available for the tournament, scheduled to start on February 9 with the fnal to be played on February 29.
The Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies pair would be heading into the tournament fresh from the Caribbean Twenty20 Championship which concludes on January 22.
“The main thing is the Bangladesh players have to be available,” Arun Lal, the former Indian opener and consultant to Game on Sports, the tournament organisers, told the website.
The 20-day tournament will feature six teams that will play each other twice each in a round-robin format over 33 matches to be held in Chittagong and Dhaka.
Teams will be allowed to field five foreign players in their final 11s, as opposed to four in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with former Australia stars Adam Gilchrist and Mathew Hayden, Pakistani Kamran Akmal and England fast bowler James Anderson reportedly among the imported players for the tournament.
As in the first season of the IPL, each team will have an icon player.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board announced that Tamim Iqbal will be the icon player for Chittagong, Mohammad Ashraful for Dhaka, Alok Kapali for Sylhet, Shahriar Nafees for Barisal, Mushfiqur Rahim for Rajshahi and Shakib Al Hasan for Khulna.
Lal said there may be a problem getting Indian players to participate due to a scheduling clash with their domestic 50 overs-a-side competition, but he expected they could still come aboard for part of the season.
The organisers are also hoping that the winner of the BPLT 20 will be given a place in the Champions League Twenty20 next year. (CMC)
Recession 'to return' to Europe, say economists
The vast majority of leading economists polled by the BBC believe recession will return to Europe next year.
One fifth said the eurozone would not exist in its current 17-member form, while the majority put the possibility of a eurozone break-up at 30%-40%.
The poll also found that most economists expect UK interest rates to remain at 0.5% throughout next year.
It was conducted among 34 UK and European economists who regularly advise the Bank of England.
Of the 27 who responded, 25 forecast recession for Europe next year.
Closer union
Growth in Europe has slowed in recent months as the eurozone debt crisis has forced governments to rein in spending and has undermined confidence in global financial markets.
The eurozone economy grew by 0.2% between July and September, while the 27 economies of the European Union grew collectively by 0.3%.
Politicians have attempted to resolve the crisis, including an agreement to forge closer ties between EU members, but markets have yet to be convinced the measures they have taken are sufficient.
The longer the debt crisis rumbles on, the more likely Europe will return to recession, economists believe.
Growth in the UK during the third quarter was 0.6%. However, growth in the previous three months was flat.
The CBI business group said that 2012 could be the beginning of a more prosperous future if the "pain" of deficit reduction passed quickly.
In his New Year message, the CBI's John Cridland said the eurozone crisis posed a "significant threat" to the British economy, because 40% of UK exports were sold there.
Mr Cridland added that the faltering recovery and the continuing debt crisis were stark reminders of the need to rebalance Britain's economy away from household and government debt.
Euro remains near its low for 2011
The euro is near its low for the year following a tumultuous 12 months in which its existence has been questioned.
But Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he was confident that the currency union would survive.
"I think we will be far enough along in the next 12 months that we will have banished the dangers of contagion and stabilised the eurozone."
The euro was at $1.2916, a day after reaching a 15-month low of $1.2858.
Germany, the eurozone's largest economy, has been instrumental in organising bailouts of its neighbours, without which the monetary union might have fallen apart already.
Asked whether he could rule out the 17-nation eurozone breaking up, Mr Schaeuble said: "According to everything that I know at the moment, yes."
"Of course, the European Union cannot force anyone to stay in if they don't want to belong any more," he added. "But no such development can seen at the moment."
The euro has dropped 3.4% against the US dollar this year, and 2.2% versus the British pound.
Debt yields
In recent months, the yields on Italian and Spanish debt has risen as investors have worried about their ability to pay back their debts.
On Thursday, the Italian government sold 10-year bonds at interest rates as high as 6.98% - just a touch below a level considered unsustainable in the long run.
Italy has 161bn euros in debt repayments due between February and April 2012, all of which it will have to finance through new borrowing.
On Friday, the final trading day of 2011, Italian 10-year debt was trading at 6.96% - up from 4.8% at the end of 2010.
By contrast, on Friday Germany's 10-year debt yielded 1.8% and the UK's borrowing cost was about 1.95%.
Bailouts
Last year, the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund bailed out Greece and the Irish Republic, which were struggling to borrow in the financial markets and pay their debts.
This year, it agreed to bail out Portugal - and Greece for a second time.
In September, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague called the euro a "burning building with no exits".
But in November, eurozone leaders agreed a rescue plan that included boosting the size of its bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Fund, to capacity of 1tn euros.
In December, 26 out of 27 EU member states backed a tax and budget pact to tackle the eurozone debt crisis. Only the UK said it would not join.
Hungary close to passing controversial central bank law
Hungary is close to passing a law that critics say could undermine the independence of its central bank.
The ruling Fidesz party, which has a two-thirds majority, is due to approve the constitutional change in the final session of parliament this year.
Ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Hungary's debt to junk status last week, partly due to the proposed changes to the constitution.
And EU and IMF officials have cut short aid talks with Hungary over to the law.
Hungary had been seeking a standby credit line of 15-20bn euros ($19.5bn, £12.6bn) in case it ran into trouble issuing new debt.
But the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission have both cast doubts over aid because of the law.
On Thursday, Hungary abandoned part of a planned bond auction, when investors demanded a higher interest rate on the debt the country planned to issue.
Hungary's central bank governor, Andras Simor, has said the proposed bill amounts to a takeover of the central bank.
International pressure
The government wants to keep interest rates low to boost growth - but last week, Hungary's central bank increased rates for the the second month in a row, to 7% from 6.5%.
"Some amendments have been made since the original draft was presented before the Christmas holiday, but concerns remain that the essence of the law has not changed," said the BBC's Eastern Europe reporter Nick Thorpe.
"The reform of the bank would introduce deputy governors and allow the government greater potential influence over key aspects of monetary policy, such as the level of interest rates."
Hungary was given a 20bn-euro standby loan by the IMF in 2008 to prevent it having to default on its debts.
But the newly-elected Prime Minister Viktor Orban decided not to renew the standby facility last year.
Standard & Poor's has cited heightened risks to the country's ability to repay its debts due to the weakening domestic and global economic outlook.
"In our view, the predictability of Hungary's policy framework continues to weaken, harming Hungary's medium-term growth prospects," S&P said.
Last month, fellow ratings agency Moody's also downgraded Hungary to junk status, blaming the economy's high levels of debt and weak prospects for growth.
Japan delays sales tax increase amid growing opposition
Japan's ruling party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), has agreed to postpone a sales tax increase amid growing opposition against the move.
A DPJ panel has agreed to delay raising the tax to 8% until April 2014, with a further increase due in October 2015.
The 8% tax level was due to come into force by April 2013.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has been seeking to double the sales tax from current 5% to improve the country's finances, amid growing debt levels.
Japan, the world's third-largest economy, has the highest public debt to gdp ratio among the world's developed economies.
The delay in tax increase comes just days after Japan unveiled a 90.3tn yen ($1.2tn; £742bn) draft budget plan for the financial year running from April 2012 to April 2013.
Japan has been facing an increased pressure on its finances as it continues to rebuild its infrastructure and economy after the earthquake and tsunami in March.
According to the Cabinet office, the twin disasters are estimated to cost it between $198bn (£127bn) and $309bn.
Analysts said the delay in the tax increase was likely to put pressure on Japan's already-stretched finances.
"We are now in a spending-oriented economy without a meaningful tax reform policy," Martin Schulz of Fujitsu Research Institute told the BBC.
"The tax increase would have counterbalanced the budget that the government have drafted," he added.
Tough to convince?
The planned increase in the sales tax has been a hotly debated topic in Japan, not just among the ruling and the opposition parties, but also the general public.
Analysts said, while people understood that Japan was facing tough times, they wanted the government to first scale back its own expenses.
"The public is against it as they want to first see spending cuts and reforms from the government side before they give their support to any such move," said Mr Schulz.
"It's very simple - it is impossible to increase the consumption [sales] tax." he added.
At the same time, there are fears that an immediate tax increase may dent consumer sentiment in Japan and hurt its economy.
According to the latest figures, retail sales in Japan fell 2.3% in November from a year earlier, raising concerns about a slowing domestic demand.
Verizon to charge $2 fee for online payments
Verizon Wireless will soon make some customers pay for the privilege of paying their bills.
The nation's largest wireless company is instituting a $2 "convenience charge" for those customers who make one-time bill payments using a debit or credit card, either online or by telephone. The fee will go into effect on Jan. 15.
There are three ways for customers to avoid the charge: Customers can make a one-time payment using an electronic check, they can pay their bill using their home banking accounts, such as Citibank (C, Fortune 500) Online, or they can use a Verizon gift card or rebate card. Otherwise, single telephone and online payments will incur a $2 fee.
"The fee will help allow us to continue to support these single bill payment options ... and is designed to address costs incurred by us for only those customers who choose to make single bill payments," the company said in a statement.
Customers can still enroll in a service that will debit their bank accounts or charge their credit cards on a recurring basis for free. They can also show up at a Verizon store to pay without incurring the fee, and they can mail checks to the company.
It's not clear how many of Verizon's 91 million customers will be affected by the new charge. A spokesman from Verizon did not reply to a request for comment.
The news came one day after Verizon Wireless' 4G network suffered its third nationwide outage in as many weeks.
Elsewhere in the industry, a Sprint (S, Fortune 500) spokesman said the company does not have similar fees, though according to Sprint's website, certain customers who have accounts with spending limits are subject to a $5 monthly fee if they're not enrolled in automatic payments.
T-Mobile charges customers $5 if they make payments over the phone with a company representative, a spokeswoman said. AT&T (T, Fortune 500) did not return requests for comment.
Verizon's (VZ, Fortune 500) "convenience charge" was announced at the end of a year in which banks were vilified for charging customers a fee for using their debit cards. The banks claimed that the fees were necessary because new regulations would limit how much revenue they could make on the cards: New rules that went into effect in September capped the fees banks could charge retailers when customers swipe their debit cards.
Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) inspired by far the most outrage from customers after it announced it would charge its customers $5 a month for the privilege of using their debit card. Even after most other banks eventually dropped their fees, citing a customer uproar, Bank of America held fast to its decision
"They'll understand what we're doing -- understand we have a right to make a profit," BofA CEO Brian Moynihan stated in October. But by November, the company retreated and dropped the charge.
Verizon's fee is also akin to Ticketmaster, which famously bills a "convenience charge" and "processing fee" on top of the price of every ticket