World Track Cycling Chamionships,Two silvers for GB on opening day

Venue: Pruszkow, Poland Dates: 25-29 March Coverage: Live on BBC Two

Great Britain won two silver and two bronze medals but could not secure a victory on day one at track cycling's World Championships in Poland.

Wendy Houvenaghel was overhauled by New Zealander Alison Shanks in the individual pursuit final.

With Chris Hoy out injured, GB's Olympic champion team sprint trio were 0.3 seconds behind France.

And there were bronze medals for Chris Newton in the points race and Victoria Pendleton in the 500m time trial.

Matthew Crampton stood in for Hoy to join Jamie Staff and Jason Kenny in the team sprint, seeking to win Britain's first world title in the event since 2005.

But they were slower than defending champions France in qualifying and struggled to stay together as a trio in the final.

Crampton, 22, dropped off the pace in the opening lap and said: "It was a tough ride. I just lost a load of momentum.

"The first round was really good but the final didn't happen. But a silver medal is awesome - I've got to be happy."

Veteran Staff added: "We're a bit disappointed but we gave it our best.

"It's been such a hard time since the Games. We've been really busy and the intensity in training has been nothing compared to before the Olympics.

"We're just here to enjoy it. I'm sure by the end of the week we'll have at least four or five golds but we're a bit disappointed we didn't bring one of them home."

Houvenaghel, from County Londonderry in Northern Ireland, won an Olympic silver medal in the individual pursuit in Beijing behind Rebecca Romero, who is taking a year off.

The 34-year-old was fastest in qualifying and led the early part of the 4km final but she began to flag at the half-way mark and finished 2.7 sec behind her qualifying mark, 2.3 sec behind Shanks.

"Having the two races quite close to each other took a bit more out of me than it did for Alison," said Houvenaghel.

Her GB team-mate Joanna Rowsell, 20, was pleased to finish fourth in her first individual event at a world championships.

Lithuania's Simona Krupeckaite set a new 500m time trial world record of 33.296 seconds but Pendleton, 28, was delighted to finish third in 34.102 sec.

She will compete in four events in all at these championships, adding the time trial and keirin to the events she won last year - the individual sprint and the team sprint, with Shanaze Reade.

"I was thinking at best I might podium so I'm absolutely delighted," said Pendleton.

Newton, who won the World Cup Series title in the points race this season, was left with too much to do as Australian Cameron Meyer was among a group of attacking riders in the final laps.

"It was a tough one but they always are. There were a lot of people watching me but some other riders who were strong favourites," he said.

News Source : news.bbc.co.uk

World Track Cycling Chamionships,Two silvers for GB on opening day

Lewis Hamilton Has Hinted He May Have To Look Elsewhere.............

Lewis Hamilton has hinted he may have to look elsewhere if McLaren continue to struggle and not live up to his expectations.

McLaren have been working 24/7 to correct the issues, and they have made significant progress from just a few weeks ago when it quickly became apparent they were miles off the pace.

Hamilton knows there is now little he can do at Melbourne's Albert Park on Sunday, other than give it his all.

"It's been a long, long break since the last grand prix, and we've come here not knowing what to expect," said the 24-year-old.

"I feel very proud to be here as world champion, to have realised a dream I had long held.

"I have reset my targets, and the goal now is to be world champion again.

"You can improve and you can always try to be better. Now we will just try and do the best job we can."

Hamilton, though, will not have enamoured team bosses by claiming he would listen to other offers if approached.

It goes against the grain of comments made at the end of last year when he stated he would love to see out his career with McLaren.

Now, with McLaren clearly struggling, he has opened the door for a potential escape should the team fail to resolve their concerns.

"I haven't had offers from other teams, and I am not talking to anyone," insisted Hamilton.

"But I would listen to an offer if someone asked. It would be a compliment, and it would be silly if I did not."

News source :espnstar.com

Lewis Hamilton Has Hinted He May Have To Look Elsewhere.............

Japan And Korea Familiar Foes at Classic

Championship game will be fifth matchup between nations in tournament




The 2009 World Baseball Classic thus far has been a festival of 38 games played by 16 teams from all over the world.

Now it's down to one game and two teams from neighboring nations.

Really, it is down to the rubber game of a best-of-five series between two familiar foes who are neck and neck in international baseball competition.

This is the one game that both teams have been waiting to play since the tournament began almost three weeks ago and, just perhaps, were destined to play all along: A Classic final.

Japan and Korea meeting for the championship of the '09 Classic should shock no one who has followed the tournament, watching as the defending champion and the 2008 Olympic champion have been sharp and efficient in winning six games each -- and losing only to each other, twice apiece.

When the two teams meet for the fifth time in the tournament Monday night at 9 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium, they'll be way beyond familiarity and rivalry.

They're into historic territory.

"That we were able to come up to the stage together, I really feel great respect for the Koreans for that," Team Japan manager Tatsunori Hara said. "And at the same time, I feel like it's the game of the century."

It's certainly the culmination of a decade of competition between the two countries. Since the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the two teams have faced each other 15 times in international play, with Korea taking eight games and Japan taking seven. In those games, the runs scored are Japan 38, Korea 35. Six of those have come in the Classic, including a memorable meeting in Anaheim in '06 that almost cost Japan a semifinal berth.

In this go-round, both teams have benefited from excellent pitching, and they're both throwing their hottest starters for the final. Korea, which won a coin toss Sunday night to be declared the home team, goes with Jung Keun Bong (2-0, 0.66, 3G/2GS, 13.2 IP in the Classic), who has defeated Japan twice thus far. Japan turns to Hisashi Iwakuma (1-1, 0.73 ERA, 3G/2GS, 12.1 IP), who gave an ace effort in a 1-0 loss in the seeding game out of Pool A on March 9.

These two teams know each other as well as they know themselves, and all they did was find out more about each other in the first four meetings.

Here's a look at the first four meetings in this tournament:

March 7 in Tokyo

Japan 14, Korea 2

There was no indication going in that this would be the most lopsided game in the series history since the Sydney Olympics, much less that it would end on a mercy rule. Japan had begun the tournament with a 4-0 victory over China that wasn't exactly stirring, and Korea dispatched Chinese Taipei, 9-0. But Japan jumped all over Korea starter Kwang-Hyun Kim to the tune of eight runs in 1 1/3 innings. Japan's five extra-base hits accounted for a good chunk of the 16 total Japan has thus far in the tournament, compared to 77 singles. That included a homer from slugger Shuichi Murata, now out of the tournament with a hamstring injury.

March 9 in Tokyo

Korea 1, Japan 0

Korea turned the tables and earned the top seed out of Pool A with a masterpiece by Bong, who pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings on three hits, and the Korean bullpen took it the rest of the way on just three hits. Tae Kyun Kim's RBI double in the fourth accounted for all the offense.

March 17 in San Diego

Korea 4, Japan 1

Bong did it again, allowing just three hits in 5 1/3 innings, but giving up a run this time. Korea got to 22-year-old phenom Yu Darvish early, though he settled down to allow three runs -- all in the first -- on five hits in five innings, striking out seven.

March 19 in San Diego

Japan 6, Korea 2

This was perhaps the most intense game, despite the score, and came on the heels of Japan eliminating Cuba. A seesaw battle until a three-run eighth for Japan, this victory sent Japan to Los Angeles as the top seed out of Pool 1 in San Diego. The Koreans used six pitchers and the Japanese seven, and Japan's 15-hit attack proved too much.

When the rubber match takes place at Dodger Stadium -- which no doubt will have its fair share of thunder sticks, orange for Japan and light blue for Korea -- the two teams will come in with much in common.

"Korean players and Japanese players are excellent," said Korean outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, who plays for the Indians. "There is little difference between the two."

On Monday night, there will be one big difference: Only one will go home a Classic champion.

John Schlegel is a national reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Japan And Korea Familiar Foes at Classic