Double national record for Delano Williams
Delano Williams, representing Munro College here at the Milo Western Athletics Championships being held at the Montego Bay Sports Complex, erased both his country's - Turks and Caicos Islands - 100m and 200m national records.
Williams, pushed in both events by Green Island's Odail Todd, recovered from a slow start to stop the clock in 10.51 seconds. Williams' time beat the old Turks and Caicos Islands record of 10.60, which he established during the Jamaica's High School Championships last year.
Todd was relegated to third in 10.73, behind Andrew Fisher of STETHS (10.66).
Williams also lowered his country's 200m senior record when he crossed the line in 20.73 seconds to take the sprint double. His time beat the previous Turks and Caicos Islands record of 21.05, held by Darian Forbes.
David Haye to fight Wladimir Klitschko in summer
WBA heavyweight champion David Haye will fight IBF and WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko in Germany on either 25 June or 2 July.
On Saturday, Klitschko withdrew from his bout against Britain's Dereck Chisora that was set for 30 April.
And Haye told the BBC that an agreement had been struck on Saturday night: "I finally had a contract in front of me and couldn't wait to put pen to paper.
"It's the fight every boxing fan has to see, and every sports fan."
A protracted recovery from a stomach muscle injury was given as the reason for Klitschko cancelling the Chisora fight.
Klitschko's manager, Bernd Boente told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag that the fight against Haye could take place at one of three football stadiums - Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen or Kaiserslautern.
The announcement brings to a conclusion the long-running saga to get the bout staged.
A back injury forced Haye, the WBA champion, to withdraw from a fight with Klitschko in 2009. And talks stalled last December with the two camps wrangling over the details of the contest.
Haye continued: "The fight will be either June 25 or July 2, either date is fine by me.
"He is ranked by many as the best heavyweight in the world - in front of myself, even though I'm the WBA champion."
On the negotiation process, Haye said: "He wanted all these little things - he's a bit precious, is Wladimir, so I gave him all these little things to make him feel like he'd got a mental edge.
"The terms were right, it's a fair deal - it's a 50-50 split, that's what they wanted and that's what I wanted.
"I'll just make sure the referee can count to 10, then I'm the new unified heavyweight champion of the world.
"Here it is - end of June, beginning of July - let's get ready to rumble."
Haye claimed that he has already begun preparation for the fight.
"I've been training, I've been out in Miami and done two months of hardcore conditioning, ready for the hardcore boxing training," he said.
"I'm firing on all cylinders, I can't wait to get Wladimir in that ring - it's the fight I've wanted for so long."
Strauss savours thrilling victory over South Africa
Andrew Strauss spoke of his relief as England beat South Africa by six runs despite being bowled out for only 171.
"There are plenty of things we didn't do well in this game but we got away with a win," captain Strauss admitted after a thrilling finish in Chennai.
"Sometimes a win is all you need to really kick-start things.
"We thought the wicket was going to deteriorate but we should have got 230. We're delighted to win and we move on with high hopes of achieving things."
Prior to this classic comeback England were involved in a high-scoring tie against India and a shock three-wicket defeat against minnows Ireland. They even stretched their fans' patience in their opening match against Group B outsiders The Netherlands before settling the matter late in the day.
"We're definitely doing our bit to advertise the 50-over format but we'd like games to be a little bit less close than they are," Strauss commented.
"We had to respond well after the defeat to Ireland. I thought the guys in the field were outstanding and it puts us back on track in this World Cup and it couldn't come a day too soon.
"The spinners were outstanding earlier on and then the seamers just banged a length down consistently which is what you need to do on wickets like that.
"It was a huge game for us and it was a far better performance. After the Ireland game we needed to show some character," added Strauss before admitting that England had lost the plot badly with the bat after winning a helpful toss.
"To lose three wickets early on a pitch like that was criminal really. Thankfully Jonathan Trott and Ravi Bopara got us back in the hunt."
Even then, the hard work was still to be done.
"You're not going to defend 170-odd very often, so you need things to go your way," said the captain, who reserved special praise for off-spinner Graeme Swann.
"Swanny bowled exceptionally well, while Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad made crucial breakthroughs at the right time when the ball was reversing.
Bopara, brought back into the side at the expense of Paul Collingwood, responded by hitting 60, his career-best at this level. It was enough to win him the man-of-the-match award, though Broad (4-15) was entitled to feel hard done by.
"I'm very pleased with the result - but the man of the match should have gone to Stuart," concurred Bopara.
"I know he didn't bowl his full quota of 10, but when he did bowl he was a massive difference and made it count.
"When me and Trotty got together we realised after about 20 minutes it wasn't a great wicket and thought 200 would be a good score.
"We fell short, but we knew it would turn and reverse."
South Africa captain Graeme Smith found himself answering all-too-familiar questions afterwards, principally about his team's reputation as "chokers" at big tournaments.
They already have two wins on the board, though, and still ought to progress to the last eight with ease.
"It's obviously disappointing not to get over the line. I felt we had enough to do it at 120-3," said Smith.
"Losing those two wickets in such a short space of time was a big blow. I think Broad and Jimmy bowled particularly well with the reverse-swinging ball today. It's always tough to face when they get it to reverse both ways.
"Credit to them for the skill they showed today. They were able to create a lot of pressure on the guys."
Rose scores 27 as Bulls add to Heat misery, 87-86
The perspectives could not have been more different. Luol Deng either got pushed in the back by Mike Miller on what became one of the final two game-deciding moments, or tripped over his own feet stumbling for a rebound.
That point could be argued.
What's inarguable, however, is this: Another final-second opportunity slipped away from the Miami Heat , and the Chicago Bulls - spurned last summer in their bids to land Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh - swept all three regular-season meetings from the team that signed them.
The Big 3? They're No. 3 in the East at this point, after Derrick Rose scored 27 points, Deng capped an 18-point effort with two free throws on a debated play with 15.9 seconds remaining, and the Bulls beat Miami 87-86 on Sunday to hand the Heat their fourth straight loss.
"The Miami Heat are exactly what everyone wanted, losing games," Wade said. "The world is better now because the Heat is losing."
Carlos Boozer scored 12 and Joakim Noah added 11 for the Bulls, who moved a game ahead of Miami into outright possession of second place in the Eastern Conference. Chicago was down by 12 late in the first half, then became the fourth team since Feb. 24 to erase a double-digit deficit against the Heat.
"We have guys who can close," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Few would say that Miami doesn't - but closing games has been, and continues to be, the biggest Heat challenge.
James had a chance to win it on a drive with 6 seconds left, missing a contested shot, and Wade's desperation toss from the right baseline bounced away as time expired.
Those were the 12th and 13th consecutive shots that the Heat have missed with a chance to tie or lead a game in the final 10 seconds of regulation or overtime. James has missed four in this four-game losing streak alone.
"I told my team, I'm not going to continue to fail late in games," James said. "I put a lot of blame on myself tonight. I told the guys that I just keep failing them late in games and I won't continue to do that."
James scored 26 points, Bosh added 23 and Wade had 20 for the Heat, who put together a rally to take the lead in the final minute.
The Heat were down 82-76 with 3:30 left when Rose made a jumper over Miller, before Mario Chalmers led the comeback effort. He hit a 3-pointer to tie it with 1:05 left, then blew past a closeout for an easy layup from the left side that put the Heat ahead 86-84 with 25 seconds remaining.
With Chicago down by two, Deng made one free throw, missing the second. Noah got a hand on the ball, keeping James and Erick Dampier from grabbing it cleanly, and in the chase for the carom referee Tony Brothers called a foul on Miller for pushing Deng in the back.
"Looked like he tripped on his own," Bosh said.
Deng went back to the line and made both this time, putting Chicago in front.
"That's the right call," Rose said.
The ball went to James, who drove on Noah and missed a layup from the left block. Wade got the rebound, tried a 15-footer from the baseline that bounced away, and time expired as the Bulls leaped in celebration and Thibodeau punched the air.
"We're just trying to play the best we can," Noah said. "I think we still have a long way to go and we can get a lot better. That's what is so exciting about this team. Our defense is really improving. We can still improve offensively as well. We can take this pretty far."
Spoelstra said some players were moved to tears in the Heat locker room. This much is clear: He and the Heat are hurting.
"One of these days, we will break through," Spoelstra said.
Down nine at the half, the Bulls shot 39 percent in the third quarter, still managing to outscore Miami 23-16 thanks to five Heat turnovers, a 14-9 edge in rebounding - and Rose, who made a ridiculous shot early in the period look ridiculously simple.
Even a 1-on-2 break - him against Wade and James, no less - went Chicago's way. Rose bumped slightly into Wade to create separation on his drive downcourt, then leaped, double-clutched so James could fly harmlessly by from the left wing, and then spun a left-handed layup off the glass to cut Miami's lead to 54-50.
He skipped back upcourt, head back confidently, pumping up teammates. And Rose stayed that way until the finish.
"We're just taking it for what it is," Rose said. "We're just trying to win games, play hard and play aggressive on both ends."
Kuyt hat trick leads Liverpool to a 3-1 rout over Manchester United
Premier League leader Manchester United stumbled to a second straight defeat by losing 3-1 at fierce rival Liverpool, and fifth-place Tottenham conceded a late goal to 3-3 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.
Dirk Kuyt scored twice in the first half and again in the 65th to complete his first hat trick for Liverpool, ensuring United wasn't able to capitalize on second-place Arsenal's draw against Sunderland on Saturday.
United, which grabbed a late consolation through Javier Hernandez, remained three points above Arsenal having played a game more. Manchester City, which downed Wigan 1-0 on Saturday, is four points further back in third.
Steven Fletcher's late header earned Wolves a deserved draw against Spurs, whose England striker Jermain Defoe scored twice for his first goals of the season. Tottenham drew level on points with fourth-place Chelsea, which visits Blackpool on Monday.
United, whose defense looked creaky at Anfield without center backs Nemanja Vidic (suspended) and Rio Ferdinand (injured), has now lost three of its last five matches to keep the title race wide open.
Manager Alex Ferguson, facing a charge of improper conduct after his criticism of a referee following the 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on Tuesday, refused to speak to the media after the game but Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish was more than happy to.
"We know it's a good victory for us,'' said Dalglish, whose side moved above Bolton into sixth, six points behind Chelsea and Tottenham but having played more games.
"We know Manchester United are a great benchmark but our season is not finished. We want to keep going.''
Luis Suarez wriggled past three defenders to set up Kuyt for his close-range opener in the 34th, and the Netherlands forward nodded in his second five minutes later after Nani had made a hash of his clearing header, instead diverting the ball back toward his own goal.
Kuyt completed the haul by tapping in the rebound after Edwin van der Sar failed to hold Suarez's free kick, giving the Reds enough breathing space to allow them to throw recent record signing Andy Carroll off the bench for his debut.
"To make a hat trick against United is the best feeling ever. I have to thank Luis Suarez because he played great today and created two of the three goals,'' Kuyt said.
"We showed that we can compete against the best but we need to compete against the other sides.''
Ryan Giggs had a quiet match on his club-record 607th appearance for United, but the veteran winger did at least set up Hernandez late on for the Mexico striker's 10th league goal of the season.
Fletcher's goal, when he rose to meet Matt Jarvis' cross three minutes from time, denied Spurs a win that would have lifted them above Chelsea, dealing them a blow in their bid to qualify for the Champions League for a second straight season.
"It's a blow,'' Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said. "It looked like we got three points and I hoped we'd won. I thought we deserved to win - we got three fantastic goals, amazing strikes - and had chances to kill it off.''
Defoe canceled out Kevin Doyle's opening goal in the 20th with two sensational long-range strikes in the space of five minutes to end his drought this season. They were his first goals since April last year.
Doyle equalized from the penalty spot in the 40th for his second of the game, but Roman Pavlyuchenko put Spurs back in front before Fletcher's late strike.
Redknapp could at least celebrate the return to action of star winger Gareth Bale, who came on as a substitute for the final 20 minutes having missed the last six weeks with a back injury.
The point kept Wolves second from bottom, but the central England team is now two from safety and on current form looks too good to go down.
"It looks like being a high number of points to stay up, but with that spirit and commitment I still think we'll stay up,'' said Wolves manager Mick McCarthy, whose side has beaten United, City, Chelsea and Liverpool this season.
'Rango' No. 1 at box office with $38 million
Paramount's "Rango," the animated Western starring Johnny Depp and directed by Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy), lassoed the year's biggest three-day opening so far with $38 million, according to studio estimates.
That's a bit less than "How to Train Your Dragon's" $43.7 million debut last March. But that film benefited from 3-D surcharges, while "Rango" was one of the rare animated films not to be released in 3-D these days. The movie cost $135 million to produce and marked the first animated feature ever designed entirely by the visual-effects house Industrial Light & Magic.
Despite stellar reviews, "Rango" garnered a dispiriting "C+" grade from CinemaScore audiences. Adults, in particular, didn't enjoy the ride, with those 25 and up rating the movie a "C." That's rather odd since the PG-rated movie was stuffed with cinematic references and the kind of offbeat humor best appreciated by grownups.
In second was the romantic sci-fi thriller "The Adjustment Bureau," which collected $20.9 million. The Universal release gave Matt Damon his best leading-man opening since 2007's "The Bourne Ultimatum," while costar Emily Blunt, who also voices Juliet in "Gnomeo & Juliet," now has two movies in the top five.
"Bureau" skewed older, with 73 percent of its audience at least 30 years old, and CinemaScore moviegoers gave the PG-13 film a "B" grade.
The fantasy romance "Beastly" snared third place with $10.1 million. While by no means a stupendous gross, the result is nonetheless a minor victory for CBS Films.
The distributor produced the PG-13 film for $17 million and then marketed it almost exclusively to teenage girls. The target audience took the bait, as 78 percent of the audience was female and 47 percent was under the age of 18. The film, a modern-day reinterpretation of Beauty and the Beast starring Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer, received a "B+" from CinemaScore participants.
The week's other new release, the '80s-set comedy "Take Me Home Tonight," let down Eddie Money fans everywhere. The R-rated film, which was shot way back in 2007, earned just $3.5 million from 2,003 locations -- enough for an 11th-place finish.
If the estimate holds, that'll represent the worst debut for a film playing in at least 2,000 theaters since 2009's "Bandslam" premiered to $2.2 million.
The Best Picture Oscar-winner "The King's Speech" dropped 11 percent for $6.5 million, bringing the historical drama's cumulative gross to a regal $123.8 million.
Check back next week as aliens once again play "Destroy that Landmark" in "Battle: Los Angeles." Also being released: The gothic thriller "Red Riding Hood" and the motion-capture animated film "Mars Needs Moms."
Neal & Massey wins $2 million in Panaroma
Leon Smooth Edwards' arrangement of It’s Showtime helped the Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars to their sixth Panorama win and the TT$2 million first prize for large bands early this morning.
Katzenjammers were smiling all the way back to neighbouring Tobago, after tying on 275 for first place with Valley Harps of Petit Valley in the medium bands final. Katzenjammers won with the Edwin Pouchet-arranged Wake Up, while Do Something For Pan, which was arranged by Michelle Huggins-Watts, did it for Valley Harps.
All Stars opened the finals of the large band category on a flourish with the Anslem Douglas track, and made a big enough impression on the judges that was evidently not erased by the nine other bands that followed. They scored 278 points to the top the standings.
Winning large band song It’s Showtime was one of the more popular ones on the night, with four of the 20 bands playing it for their finals bid. Destra’s Calling Meh had a similar number of plays. Destra, who took third place in the Pla Whe Groovy Soca competition as the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Friday night, was actually on stage as the flag person with the fourth placed medium band Courts Sound Specialists of Laventille, as they played the Ken Professor Philmore arrangement. Sagicor Exodus was two points behind with 276 to take the second spot with Destra’s Calling Meh. The runner-up piece was arranged by Pelham Goddard.
Defending champs PCS Silver Stars was denied the chance of scoring hattrick and had to settle for third with It’s Showtime, which was arranged by Pelham Goddard. Based on the scores, they were not disgraced. The 275 points amassed was just three points behind that of the winning All Stars. Indeed it was a close competition throughout. Last-placed RBC/RBTT Redemption Sound Setters finished with 268, 10 behind the winners.
There was more excitement for the Tobago crew, as the NLCB Buccooneers took third in medium bands with the Seion Gomez arrangement of Calling Meh. They scored 269.
Winning large band song It’s Showtime was one of the more popular ones on the night, with four of the 20 bands playing it for their finals bid. Destra’s Calling Meh had a similar number of plays. Destra, who took third place in the Pla Whe Groovy Soca competition as the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Friday night, was actually on stage as the flag person with the fourth placed medium band Courts Sound Specialists of Laventille, as they played the Ken Professor Philmore arrangement.
Meanwhile, a number of steel bands and sound trucks will are expected to play accompanying music as thousands, including a large Barbadian contingent, take to the Trinidad Streets today and tomorrow for the two-day masquerade for the bands.
Speaking at the prize-giving of the bMobile Soca Monarch on Saturday morning, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said she expected this year’s Carnival to be massive. She said reports to her indicated all hotel rooms were booked and that the bands, costumes and fetes had been sold out. Police and other security forces are expected to be out in full force to ensure the safety of Trinidadians and visitors alike as they go out to the finals events for Carnival 2011.
Kanye Wins Again; 'Stronger' Copyright Lawsuit Tossed
Kanye West claimed another victory in court late last week, when a judge threw out a copyright infringement case against the rapper/producer.
Kanye was sued in June of 2010 by songwriter/producer Vincent "Vince P." Peters, who claimed that he produced and wrote Kanye's hit single "Stronger" from the hit album Graduation.
Peters claimed he gave the track to Kanye's longtime business associate John Monopoly in 2006, who played his version for Kanye.
West has emerged victorious in the lawsuit, as Illinois Judge Virginia Kendall through the case out of court last week.
Judge Kendall ruled that the songs were not substantially similar and dismissed Peters' case.
The news comes on the heels that Kanye recently reached a confidential settlement with former Death Row Records' mogul Marion "Suge" Knight, who sued the Chicago artist after he was shot at a pre-VMA party in 2005.
Suge Knight, Kanye West Reach 'Confidential' Settlement
Former Death Row CEO Marion "Suge" Knight has dropped his appeal of a lawsuit involving rapper/producer Kanye West.
Suge Knight took Kanye to court over medicals bills that stemmed from an August, 2005 shooting at a pre-VMA that was hosted by West at The Shore Club.
The party was attended by celebrities like Game, Paris Hilton, Black Eyed Peas, Eddie Murphy and others.
Knight attempted to sue Kanye West for millions, after he was shot in the leg and suffered from a shattered femur.
Additionally, Knight attempted to charge Kanye for a $135,000 earring that was stolen during the melee.
The case was thrown out in November, when a judge ruled that there was no evidence to support Knight's claim that security had been negligent by allowing someone with a gun to enter the club, where security was supposed to be tight.
According to the Associated Press, both sides have reached a confidential agreement to settle the case out of court.
Akon Sues Talent Agency For $750K Over Secret Bookings
Producer/singer Akon is suing a talent agency against his former booking agency American Talent Agency (ATA), claiming the company has held on to hundreds-of-thousands of dollars of performance fees.
Akon and his company Kon Live Touring Inc. filed the lawsuit yesterday (March 4th) in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, for breach of contract, trademark infringement and unjust enrichment.
According to the complaint, Akon terminated his agreement with ATA in September of 2010, claiming the company was booking unapproved appearances for Akon, in addition to failing to pay earned performance fees.
Akon claims he ordered ATA to stop using his name, image and likeness for commercials purposes, but the company secretly booked him in places like Dubai, India, Nigeria and Singapore.
The lawsuit claims ATA wrongfully kept deposits from promoters who thought they would secure Akon at special events.
Akon's lawsuit claims Kon Live Touring is owed over $750,000 and continues to represent Akon on their website.
Akon, who's stable of artists includes Lady Gaga, Ya Boy, Colby O'Donis, Ray Lavender, and others, is represented by Creative Artists Agency, LLC.