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Alberta's Koe, N. Ont's Jacobs in Brier playoffs
Northern Ontario skip Brad Jacobs releases a rock as Ryan Harnden, left, and Caleb Flaxey sweep during their 8-4 doubling of Newfoundland and Labrador's Brad Gushue. (Andrew Vaughn/Canadian Press) Northern Ontario and Alberta clinched playoff berths

Hard-nosed French have the bottle to see off Italy in Paris | Eddie Butler
France should be too strong for a confident Italy while Wales can beat Ireland if their centres strike right balance It has become a labour of love over the past two weeks to try and build a logical argument for Italy to win in Paris in round four of

France Vow to Play More Expansive Game Against Italy
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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Lyon eliminate giants Real, Man United demolish AC Milan
Hot favourites Real Madrid crashed out of the Champions League after being held 1-1 by France's Lyon in front of a home crowd at the Bernabeu stadium (aggregate score 2-1). Man United will join Lyon in the quarters after thumping AC Milan (4-0). Adeline

Lille v Liverpool - live!
Click the auto-refresh button or batter F5 for the latest news. Email your thoughts to rob.smyth@guardian.co.uk. And click here for all the latest scores in the Europa League 3 min 'Erinsborough is an anagram of Neighbours,' says Mike Gibbons. 'Send me

Hard-nosed French have the bottle to see off Italy in Paris
France are not short of options with David Marty coming in for Mathieu Bastareaud at centre against Italy. Photograph: Franck Fife/AFP/ It has become a labour of love over the past two weeks to try and build a logical argument for Italy to win in Paris

Michael Schumacher ready for Formula 1 and a tilt at an eighth title
Jenson Button enjoys a joke with Michael Schumacher as Lewis Hamilton, top, and Fernando Alonso look on. Photograph: Sascha Schuermann/AFP/ Four world champions lined up for the pre-race photocall in the grand prix paddock this afternoon, but only one of

Germany thrash England to reach final
NEW DELHI: Olympic champions Germany thrashed England 4-1 in the semi-finals of the men's hockey World Cup on Thursday to stay on course for a third successive title. Top-ranked Germany led 3-1 at halftime and defended solidly in the second half to stay

Nadal commits to playing Queen's
Nadal hopes to win back the Queen's title from Andy Murray Rafael Nadal plans to dethrone Andy Murray as Queen's Club champion after confirming he will play in the pre-Wimbledon tournament in London in June. The Spaniard has not played on grass since

Figure skater Reynolds fills in for Chipeur at worlds
Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., impressed with his free skate at the Canadian championships. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press) Edmonton figure skater Vaughn Chipeur will not compete at the world championships later this month because of a torn ligament

Catalans Dragons clear snow to ensure Castleford game goes ahead
• Super League match is on despite 40cm of snowfall • Castleford include Mike Cooper and Joe Westerman in squad Catalans Dragons have confirmed Saturday's Super League match against Castleford will go ahead following a successful snow-clearing

Report: Tiger targeting Bay Hill for return to PGA Tour
Tiger Woods has summoned someone even more significant than swing coach Hank Haney to help facilitate his wildly anticipated comeback. NewsCORE is a 21st-century multimedia information service that draws on the worldwide news and sports resources within

Poland confirms Olympic doping case
Poland's Kornelia Marek, left, competed in cross-country skiing at the Vancouver Olympics. (Franck Fife/AFP/) The Polish Olympic Committee says cross-country skier Kornelia Marek tested positive for a banned substance at the Vancouver Olympics. Marek

Caster Semenya's career still in doubt as IAAF delays decision
South Africa's Caster Semenya celebrates winning the women's 800m at the 2009 World Championships. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/ Caster Semenya's future in athletics remained under a cloud today after it was revealed that no further progress had been

A Pair of Europe's Titans Topple
Forlorn and surrounded by bodyguards, the players of Real Madrid and AC Milan returned to their training retreats Thursday. News and features from around the world of soccer and the Web. It was the morning after defeat. The two most successful clubs in

Gold Cup winner Sam Thomas airlifted to hospital after fall
• Jockey now a doubt for next week's Cheltenham Festival • 'I'm afraid this was a bad fall,' says trainer Paul Nicholls The Gold Cup-winning jockey Sam Thomas has been airlifted to Bath's Royal United Hospital with suspected back and neck injuries

Rooney hits double as United crush Milan
MANCHESTER: Wayne Rooney scored twice again as Manchester United cruised into the quarter-finals of the Champions League after a 4-0 win over a feeble AC Milan sent them through 7-2 on aggregate on Wednesday. Rooney, who scored twice in the 3-2 San Siro

Noh, Chia share lead in British Open qualifier
KUALA LUMPUR: South Korean teenager Noh Seung-yul shot a six-under-par 66 on Wednesday to share the opening round lead with Danny Chia of Malaysia at British Open qualifying for Asia. Noh shot an eagle and seven birdies against a bogey and a double

Ferguson issues Rooney challenge
Rooney took his tally for the season to 30 club goals with a fine brace Sir Alex Ferguson has challenged Wayne Rooney to surpass Cristiano Ronaldo's 42-goal season for Manchester United. England striker Rooney reached 30 with two against AC Milan as

Beckham shows his colours
Former Manchester United star David Beckham made his return to Old Trafford last night as AC Milan were knocked out of the European Champions League by a stellar United performance. There was much applause for the performance of striker Wayne Rooney who

Nadal says he is fit and raring to go for Indian Wells
MADRID: Former world number one Rafael Nadal, who retired injured during his Australian Open quarter-final in January, says he is fit for the Indian Wells tournament which gets underway in California on Wednesday. 'I have been training hard for three

Pakistan finish last after loss to Canada
NEW DELHI: Four-time champions Pakistan slumped to an embarrassing 3-2 defeat by Canada on Thursday to finish last for the first time in the hockey World Cup. Scott Tupper scored a golden goal two minutes before the end of extra-time in the play-off for

Australia wrap up ODI series
Australia have cruised to a six-wicket victory in the fourth one-day international in Auckland to take an unassailable 3-1 series lead. Cameron White showed his class with an unbeaten 50 that came from 57 deliveries with five fours and one six to earn

National Rugby League junkies will get their fix any way they can | Andy Wilson
Despite the absence of a TV deal for the UK, fans of the brilliant NRL await the opening weekend, while in Super League there are mouth-watering ties closer to home What are your plans for tomorrow morning? For a significant number of British rugby

'Bradman is greatest, Sachin comes second'
ABU DHABI: Sachin Tendulkar can come only second, after legendary Don Bradman in the list of all-time great cricketers, according to former Australia captain Steve Waugh. 'Don Bradman is the greatest, there is no debate. Don is the number one and then

Talking Horses: Today's best bets and latest news plus our weekly tipping competition
The latest news and best bets, plus the fourth day of our weekly tipping competition Today's best bets, by Tony Paley Robert 'Choc' Thornton is clearly the man to head Racing For Change. There was genuine disappointment and frustration at both Channel

Rested Bulls have Highlanders in their sights
The Bulls, refreshed from last week's bye, look set to keep the heat on their Super 14 title chasers when they host the Highlanders on Saturday. The Bulls head the southern hemisphere provincial championship standings on points differential from last

United debacle shows Milan reduced to rubble: Media
ROME: AC Milan's 4-0 drubbing at Manchester United in the Champions League shows the seven-times European champions are now scrabbling in the rubble of their great past, Italian media said on Thursday. 'Once upon a time, there was Milan,' read the front

Onions out of Bangladesh series
Onions has been unable to overcome his troublesome back injury England bowler Graham Onions has been ruled out of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh with a back injury. The Durham paceman, who suffered the problem in the nets after joining up

Team Origin lose out to Team New Zealand at Louis Vuitton Trophy
Ben Ainslie's team were beaten by Team New Zealand. Photograph: Chris Skelton/ Team New Zealand retained its unbeaten record through three races at the Louis Vuitton Trophy sailing regatta for America's Cup teams, beating Britain's Team Origin today. In