The India-New Zealand ODI series will move to Baroda for the third ODI but it requires some kind of an injection to get some excitement in the game. India leads 2-0 and unless the Kiwis can look to the likes of Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum to perform really well, the series could soon be gone.

The India-New Zealand 3rd ODI Live Score and Highlights can be followed here.

India had rested three of their main batsmen for the series and yet have batted like a champion team, a combination of probably their strong enough bench strength and poor New Zealand bowling. The Kiwis have depended too heavily on their skipper Vettori, and with no support from the pace bowling, the side has struggled.

What has added to their woes is that Brendon McCullum is not fit in the series and even if he plays in the third ODI, it will need him to get moving quickly, without having too much time to get attuned to the track.

Saurabh Tiwary could get his chance in the third ODI, in place of the rested Suresh Raina, while the Indian bowling will see the return of Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar. That should make it more potent for the Indians.

India will be favourites to win the third ODI against New Zealand.

{thumbnail}

The Masiello Group Durham Real Estate

Durham, NH (PRWEB) October 8, 2010

Individuals and businesses seeking property in Strafford County, NH will find a diverse selection through The Masiello Group’s Durham office. Currently with over 80 properties available listings include single and multi family homes, condos and coops, rental properties, mobile homes and commercial and land lots. No matter what needs one might have, the experienced REALTORS in Durham use their knowledge and expertise to make the process as smooth as possible in order to guarantee customer satisfaction.

The community of Durham offers a small town atmosphere with a population of less than 15,000. Although the town houses the University of New Hampshire, residents may still enjoy the quiet New England environment. Durham lies between the White Mountains and the seacoast, which provides easy access to plenty of outdoor activity, including kayaking, skiing, hiking and camping. For indoor activities, residents of Durham may opt to head over to the University of New Hampshire campus for art galleries, sporting events, concerts and fine dining.

Families looking to move to the area may also take comfort in the fact that Durham’s Oyster River School System is one of the best in the state, and there are several nationally recognized private school programs available as well. On top of their quality educational offerings, Durham boasts an unemployment rate that is significantly lower than the national average, with expected growth in the coming years.

The Masiello Group’s Durham real estate listings range in price, depending upon the type of property. Commercial lots span from the mid 0,000s up to million, while single family homes start in the low 0,000s. Condos, coops and land lots may be available for as low as ,000. Available listings with information on bedroom and bathroom options can be found at the Durham real estate office.

The staff and REALTORS at The Masiello Group have over 40 years of industry experience in the New England region. Properties are available in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine, and The Masiello Group offers several services for any homeowner or real estate needs that may arise. Within their family of companies, the Group provides financing, insurance, relocation, title services, warranty purchasing, remodeling and landscaping tips and more.

The Masiello Group – Durham

10 Pettee Brook Lane

Durham, NH 03824

###

{thumbnail}

Washington, DC (PRWEB) April 4, 2010

Visa Processing and Visa Authentication is Washington Express’ Specialty. We can handle your visa processing and visa authentication with same day pick up in the Washington DC area and nationwide. Washington Express provides same day pick up service, professional office staff and specially trained messengers to deliver your visa applications for processing and authentication to every embassy in Washington, DC area.

Washington Express will have one of our specially trained visa processing messengers take your visa processing and authentication materials to the appropriate embassy or agency and get your material processed properly for far less than a traditional visa processing service would charge with same day pick up.

About Washington Express:

Washington Express is Washington DC’s largest courier service. Founded in 1981, Washington Express (WEX) is the metro area’s largest courier service with offices in DC, Maryland and Virginia. Washington Express messengers specialize in urgent, on-demand package delivery, with a 99% on-time track record. With a fleet of 200 full-time uniformed couriers, we handle over 2,000 thousand deliveries a day for hundreds of area businesses, including nine of the area’s 10 largest law firms. Our service times are the fastest available in the region.

Washington Express’ management team is comprised of experienced and forward-looking transportation professionals. WEX has served the Washington, DC area for 28 years and counting.

###

New York Jets overcame the Houston Texans in a stunning 30-27 win after looking like they were going to go down throughout the match in the National Football League on Sunday. Santonio Holmes was the star of the game as he caught a touchdown pass with moments to go for the game to end.

Jets had led by 16 points but in the fourth quarter they lost all of it and were 23-27 down with ten seconds remaining. It was here that the game turned around as quarterback Mark Sanchez pulled off two passes to LaDainian Tomlinson and followed it up with a 42-yard pass to Braylon Edwards.

Sanchez then had Holmes sneaking into the left corner of the end zone to slam home the winner and go 30-27 up at the final whistle.

In another game of the night, New England Patriots won a close encounter against Indianapolis 31-28 thanks to a good showing by Tom Brady.

The Patriots who had gone into this game with a 7-2 record played well to get them a 31-14 lead. However, Manning helped his rally from that score to reduce the lead to three points only. Unfortunately for him and the Indianapolis team, they were not able to close the gap.

This win means that New England is at the top of the AFC East, and despite the loss, Indianapolis are at 6-4 and lead the AFC South.

Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants 27-17 in another game in the night as LeSean McCoy ran 50 yards for the go-ahead score. This win meant that Eagles went to the top of the NFC East spot, with a 7-3 record.

In some of the other matches in Sunday, Buffalo overcame the Bengals 49-31 while Dallas crushed Detroit 35-19. Carolina had no respite as they went down to Baltimore 37-13 while Jacksonville beat Cleveland 24-20.

Amazon UK Black Friday Deals Week

Traditionally a US Shopping season, Black Friday will be crossing the pond to the UK courtesy of Amazon who earlier in the month announced that they would be extending their Black Friday Deals to the UK market for the first time.

The sale begins tomorrow November 22nd and will have limited quantity, heavily discounted deals on a variety of products. Some of the deals include over 50% off Sony Blu-ray players and TVs, over 60% off Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox consoles,  and more than 60% off Flip Mino HD Camcorders. The deals will be in the form of “Lightning Deals”, which are essentially time and quantity based deals issued on a one per customer, first come first served basis.

“For many years, shoppers in the US have enjoyed massive savings on great products as a result of the ‘Black Friday’ phenomenon,” said Brian McBride, Managing Director, Amazon.co.uk Ltd.

Black Friday signals the start of the Christmas shopping period in the US and with an estimated $10bn spent in the US in 2009 there is going to be a big fight amongst retailers to secure their share of the market.

Another major online retailer in the US electronics market is Best Buy and as yet it is uncertain whether they will also extend their Black Friday Deals to their UK based operation BestBuy.co.uk but it is certainly worth while keeping an eye on them just in case.

Resource Information

Bookmark this page at Amazon UK to keep up to date with the latest Black Friday Deals.

Pakistan will look to cause an upset with a win against a strong looking South Africa side when they take them on the second and final Test at Abu Dhabi. The match begins on Saturday, November 20 and the winner of this game will be the winner of the series as well after the first match in Dubai was drawn.

The Pakistan v South Africa 2nd Test match live can be seen on Ten Cricket from November 20, while the highlights of the second Test match between Pakistan and South Africa can be seen on the same channel at the end of the day’s play.

Pakistan v South Africa 2nd Test Live Highlights Score

Pakistan took the final day’s honors in that game after Younis Khan, with an impressive hundred, and Misbah Ul Haq, the new captain, batted for most part of the day without getting dismissed. Misbah got a wonderful half century in his first match as captain.

The experienced duo will once again be the key along with Azhar Ali, who also played a crucial knock in the last game. The slow bowlers are likely to get some turn but life will be hard for the faster bowlers, like it had been in that lifeless track in Dubai. This venue is hosting its first Test match and the dry pitch is likely to offer plenty of runs.

Wahab Riaz has been injured and in his place comes the fast bowler from Karachi Blues, Tanvir Ahmed. He bagged 85 wickets in the last first class season in which his team were the winners.

South Africa will bank on the return to form of their fast bowlers who struggled on the final day to get the move on.

Watch all of the action in the Pakistan v South Africa 2nd Test match here.

India will want to wrap up the series when they face New Zealand in the second Test at Nagpur.

Watch the India-New Zealand 3rd Test Live on Neo Cricket while the India-New Zealand third Test highlights can be seen from 5.30 pm IST at the end of the day’s play.

The match begins on Saturday, November 20, and India would not want this one to go like the other two. They will want to avoid a stale mate in a series in which they were touted to run away as 3-0 winners. But now India would not mind a 1-0 result.

India have not been on top for most part of this series and have not shown any evidence to suggest that they are the world’s top most team in Tests.

India v New Zealand 3rd Test Live Highlights Score Preview

Only Virendar Sehwag has looked aggressive and has been able to force the issue. VVS Laxman has batted responsibly and was unlucky to miss out on a hundred in the first game. Apart from these two and Harbhajan Singh, with two hundreds to his name, no other batsman has looked to take the game to the inexperienced New Zealand side.

The bowling has looked very tired and without Zaheer Khan, looked toothless on the final day’s play in the last game. Zaheer is likely to be back and India will once again look to him for wickets with the new and old ball.

New Zealand will look to ensure that they continue batting themselves out of trouble but will hope that the track is as easy as it was in the first couple of games.

You can watch the India v New Zealand 3rd Test match here.

Best Buy Black Friday Ads Leaked: Facebook Warning

In among the swathes of Black Friday ad leaks some confirmed others not, it seems that Best Buy are playing a hedging game or are they. Earlier in the month it had been reported by several news websites that they will have certain deals available in their Black Friday sales. However they have issued a statement on their facebook page which effectively says the only way to confirm any leaked ad information will be when they release it.

Many will see this as just another Black Friday marketing ploy, which is probably what it is, only the good people in charge of Best Buy will ever likely know. Some of the deals that had been allegedly leaked are -

Games Systems

* The standard white and black Wii bundles will be $169.99 instead of $199.99.
* A 4gb Xbox 360 with Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones and Lego Star Wars: Complete Saga will be $199.99.
* A 160gb PS3 with LittleBigPlanet GOTY Edition, ModNation Racers and Cars on Blu-ray will be $299.99.
* The red and green DSi bundles that include Mario Party DS will be $149.99 each.

PS3 and Xbox 360 games. $34.99 each

* EA Sports MMA
* FIFA Soccer 11
* Madden 11
* Medal of Honor
* NCAA Football 11
* NHL 11
* Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
* The Sims 3

The warnings on Facebook are obviously a measure, by Best Buy, to cover themselves and reduce any issues or complaints should their Black Friday Deals change when the day comes.

Until then their official statement as per their Facebook page seems to be -

“Please be advised, until our Black Friday ad is released on one of our official sites, we cannot guarantee the validity of any promotions listed on any other sites. That being said, generally we will feature promotions both online at BestBuy.com and in store. Until our ad is released however, we cannot comment on what will be available or when. “

Black Friday isn’t what it used to be, in more ways than one. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and often called the busiest day in retail shopping, was a term coined by retailers in the 1960s to refer to the day that they began going from the red to the black in terms of profit. Among department store workers, however, it is has been known as the frantic day that shoppers stampede the stores in search of the best bargains; and until recently, this has been true.

Black Friday has changed in part because of the recession. With the competition for shopping dollars growing fiercer every year, retailers have started building stocks and offering deals earlier in the season. Recently, Walmart has begun laying out Christmas decorations as early as the last week of August in order to get a jump start on the competition. Since stores now spread their holiday sales out over a longer period of time, shoppers no longer feel the need to be in line at a particular store when the doors open.

Other changes in shopping habits have also affected Black Friday. Getting the best buys has traditionally meant doing a lot of homework, including scouring newspapers and flyers for what each store has to offer. The explosion of online “point and click” shopping has changed all this, and made deal finding a less pressured and more leisurely activity.

Black Friday retains its appeal largely as a marketing strategy – a symbolic beginning of the holiday shopping season – and even online retailers like Amazon.com offer bargains Black Friday sales, just to stay in step with the big box stores.

Two of the archest rivals in the world of hockey, India and Pakistan will take on each other in an important Asian Games 2010 match in China on Saturday, November 20. Both India and Pakistan will go into the game after having pumped in a barrage of goals in their first two games.

The India v Pakistan hockey game in the Asian Games 2010 will be shown live on Ten Sports on November 20. You can also watch the India v Pakistan Asian Games 2010 hockey highlights on the same channel on the next day.

India has scored seven goals against Hong Kong and nine goals against Bangladesh while Pakistan have drilled in 20 goals in the two games that they have played in. These four results so far mean that it is almost definite that both, India and Pakistan will qualify for the semi-finals from their group B, but the winner of the India-Pakistan hockey match will play the second-placed team from the other group.

India v Pakistan Asian Games 2010 Hockey Live Streaming Highlights Scorecard

It is difficult to pick favourites when the two sides are usually so evenly matched. However, there cannot be too much doubt that the Indian side has been playing much better hockey in recent times than their Pakistani rivals. This can also be seen from the fact that in the two games that the two sides have played against each other this year, India has crushed Pakistan on both occasions.

Where the Pakistani side has been found wanting in recent times is their defence and that will be the one aspect of the game that they need to tighten up if they want to go on and win the gold medal. How they go about their game against India will go a long way in getting them closer to that yellow medal.

Watch all the Asian Games 2010 hockey action here.

Microsoft® Survey Reveals Consumer Confidence In Anti Piracy Measures

According to the results of a survey conducted by Microsoft Corp. 75% of those polled considered the use of counterfeit software as dangerous given the factors like data loss and ID theft associated with it. About 38,000 people were surveyed for this and the results were released on Wednesday.

According to the associate general counsel for worldwide anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting at Microsoft, David Finn, the initiative was taken by Microsoft because the consumers had come to the company with complaints about the issues arising out of counterfeit software. He added, “They’re asking what they can do to protect themselves. They want facts. And they want industry and government to stand up and take action. Our commitment is to do everything we can to help them.”

The survey resulted in 80 percent of consumers having concerns about the risks of using counterfeit software. 70 percent of those polled said that the original software was more secure, more stable and is easier to keep up-to-date.

According to the company, it is the difficulty in distinguishing the original software from the fake ones that was a difficult job for the consumers.

Ealier, Microsoft’s How to Tell website had seen more than 300,000 consumers speaking about how the fake software had caused issues to their computer.

The survey also revealed that the consumers were expecting the government to overcome the issue. Two-thirds of the people polled expected the government to help while more than 70% wanted the entire industry to change its way of functioning.

Jodie Kelley, general counsel and vice president of Anti-Piracy, Business Software Alliance, said, “The results of this survey show that there is still a significant need for the software industry and government to educate consumers about counterfeit software. Consumers don’t want counterfeit software. They know it’s harmful, and in fact it’s hurting people everywhere. But they need the tools and the knowledge to keep themselves safe from those risks.”

NFL Carolina Panthers Season Continues to get Worse

Carolina Panthers’ bad season continues to become worse as they will not have the services of running back DeAngelo Williams due to injury. The Panthers who are currently 1-8 have placed him on the injured-reserve after he suffered from a mid-foot sprain. This follows close on the heels of quarterback Jimmy Clausen suffering from a concussion and missing practice.

According to the Panthers’ coach, John Fox, Williams would have needed at least two to three weeks to make a comeback and the side needed the roster spot.

According to Fox, rookie Tony Pike or Brian St. Pierre, will start off as the quarterback on Sunday against Baltimore, in place of Clausen. Clausen hurt himself in the Panthers’ loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday.

In the other injury news, New York Jets’ quarterback Mark Sanchez hurt his right calf and he missed out on practice as well. However, it was said that he may still make it to the starting line-up against Houston despite the injury.

Houston Texans quarter-back Matt Schaub was hospitalised after he injured his knee. The injury was a bursa sac injury in his right knee which meant that he had to stay in the hospital for the night. However, the coach Gary Kubiak said the injury may not require an operation and Schaub should be back to practice by Thursday. He also added that the quarter-back should feature in the game against the New York Jets on Sunday.

According to Fox Sports, the number of players on the season-ending injured reserve has increased by 12.2% after Week 10 as compared to the same point in the previous season. 311 players had hit the injured reserve as compared to 277 in the previous year after the Week 10.

Black Friday Deals Almost All Announced Early

The term Black Friday in reference to post Thanksgiving sales can be traced back to at least 1966. Today Black Friday deals aren’t much of a surprise like they used to be. With a little over a week until the big retail kick-off of the Christmas season, Black Friday ads have already been released or leaked for most major stores.

Electronics remain a big item common among most Black Friday deals. Walmart is offering discounts on DVD players, Blu-ray players, LCD HDTVs and mp3 players. Staples has a 20 inch LCD monitor for under $100, while Office Depot has a laptop with a 250GB hard drive for just under $400. Kmart has a plasma HDTV in the same price range.

Those with a penchant for sports and athletics can find deals at Dick’s Sporting Goods on shoes in the $30-40 range, socks under $10 and jackets for the entire family averaging around $100. In addition to t-shirts and shorts under $10, Old Navy is also giving away copies of a video game called Dance Central for Xbox and Kinect to all customers who make a purchase of at least $25.

Menards will serve up deals on kitchen appliances and toys, Harry and David will offer some gourmet foods in the $20-30 price range, while Macy’s and Kohl’s are offering savings of 10-50% on some items. The key to taking advantage of many of these savings is to shop early. Many retailers plan to open as early as 4am.

Black Friday Sales Begin to Overshadow Thanksgiving

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is once again shaping up to be the biggest shopping day of the year. Big box retailers such as Wal Mart and Target count on Black Friday to make or break their holiday season.

While Black Friday hasn’t overshadowed Thanksgiving yet, every year it becomes more and more of a standalone event.

Stores and malls are almost required to open in the wee hours on Black Friday and some have even resorted to staying open on Thanksgiving. And each year, the “door buster” deals become more and more extreme.

This year’s twist on the shopping holiday comes from retailers who are deliberately leaking their Black Friday shopping circulars to web sites well ahead of the actual day.

Wal Mart traditionally focuses on small appliances for Black Friday and this year is no different. Their “leaked” flier shows a Phillips MP3 player for $29.95 and dozens of DVDs for $1.96.

Target is offering similar deals on small appliances and discounts of up to 50% on some clothing and toys. As an added incentive, Target is giving a $10 gift card for $100 spent at the store.

Exhausted retailer workers gave the name “Black Friday” to the day after Thanksgiving because it was such a busy day. Somehow, the term caught on and is even used by corporate management in official press releases.

A recent survey by BDO USA, LLP found that retailers are expecting a 3.8% sales increase over last year’s Black Friday.

The muscles from Brussels has released a video on YouTube detailing how he will fight Thailand’s Somrak Khamsing next year. Jean Claude Van Damme the action star, famous for playing the tough martial arts fighter in a string of movies, speaks of his wish to return to fighting for real.

“…first time in history were an action star will meet a real champion for real in the ring,” said Jean Claude Van Damme.

Famous for many films including Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Universal Soldier and Double Impact to name a few plans to make a series of episodes as he trains and prepares for the fight that he says could happen in July or August 2011 in Vegas. This is his way of trying to dispel the sceptics who will undoubtedly say the fight was fixed if he wins.

Before Jean Claude began his movie career he was a very successful Karate and Kickboxing competitor winning 20 of 22 ( for full contact ) fights before he left for the silver screen.

His movie career almost didn’t start but for a chance encounter with a cannon studio producer and an invite to appear in Bloodsport, itself on very shaky ground as it was shelved for a few years. When Bloodsport was finally released the audiences lapped it up worldwide and ended up as a $30 million dollar earner. More importantly it put Jean Claude on the map and more starring roles were offered.

Washington Redskins quarter-back Donovan McNabb, who had reportedly signed a deal worth $40 million with the franchise, will actually get only $3.5 million.

According to McNabb’s agent, Fletcher Smith, the contract was written in such a way that if the player got cut away from the Redskins at the end of the current season, he would be entitled to $3.5 million only. Smith added that the contract had $40 million in guarantees but the actual available amount to the player at the end of the season was only a fraction of that.

McNabb has already got the $3.5 million bonus this year while the rest of the $78 million agreement could be worth nothing if the team did not continue with him for the remaining four years. It is this clause in the contract that does allow the Redskins another seven games this season to decide whether McNabb is the right quarter-back for the side. This, despite the fact that coach Mike Shanahan had ended up benching the player in the Detroit games two weeks ago.

Earlier, the player had defended the contract saying that it was necessary given that there was a chance of a lock-out in 2011. He added, “That doesn’t mean I won’t be a Redskin. I will be here next year. … Not just next year, but after that as well.”

In other NFL news, the players’ union has said that they will agree to the change in the number of games from 16 to 18 only if there were two bye weeks and bigger rosters. The plan is to change from 16 regular seasons and four pre-season matches to 18 and two respectively.

Amazon Starts Black Friday Sales 22nd November and Includes the UK

Amazon today announced the start of their Black Friday run of deals is to start on Monday 22nd November. They join the many big retailers such as Kmart, best buy and many others.

Black Friday is the day that follows Thanksgiving in the USA; with Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November, this year Black Friday will be November 26. It traditionally marks the beginning of Christmas shopping, with shoppers grabbing some great prices on a huge range of products.

The shift in timing is a break from tradition that, many analysts believe is an attempt to buck the recession blues being experienced by retailers over the entire country. Last year in a bold move Sears broke the trend by offering Black Friday deals for the entire month of Thanksgiving and this year will be no different with the stores scheduled to open at 7am on Thanksgiving.

Natalie Norris-Howser, a spokesperson for Sears said, with regard to last years month-long Black Friday Deals, “Not only did our customers want additional time to take advantage of the offers, they also wanted to take advantage and not have to fight the Black Friday traffic and all of the crowds.”

Another surprise move by Amazon is that they will this year offer Black Friday deals to other market places around the world not least of which will be the UK.

“For many years, shoppers in the US have enjoyed massive savings on great products as a result of the ‘Black Friday’ phenomenon,” said Amazon UK boss Brian McBride.

There will be many great deals to be had as the big retailers run up to Christmas and it seems the gloves are coming off early this year in a bid to boost retail sales in, what has been, a tough market for retailers large and small.

After an eight year courtship Prince William and Kate Middleton are to be married next year. They announced official engagement today. Speculation has been rife for many months now, no dates have yet been set but the wedding will take place in the spring or summer of next year.

A Clarence House statement said “Further details about the wedding day will be announced in due course,”

The couple first met eight years ago whilst both attending St Andrews University, with a brief break in the relationship in 2007. The break was reportedly due to pressures arising from Prince Williams Royal Air Force active duties.

It is anticipated that the couple will continue to live in North Wales where they have rented a property on the Isle of Anglesey, for the past six months, amid a military population.

When asked the Prince of Wales said  “They have been practising long enough”. He added: “It makes me feel very old.”

All the party leaders have extended their congratulations and The Prime Minister, David Cameron, said ” this is a great day for our country”, speaking from the steps of number 10.

The nation will see the engagement ring this afternoon when the couple are due to speak publicly from St James Palace.

The event will probably be the biggest Royal event since the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in 1981. It is expected that many heads of state and Royal guests will be present at the wedding.

Naturally Prince William sought the blessing of Kate’s father as well as adhering to an old law from the 18th century that requires him to also ask permission from the Queen.

Bookmakers are already drawing up odds on all sorts of features about the wedding not the least of which will be the abounding specualtion on the date of the event.

Kinect Xbox 360® Hits 1 Million Sales Worldwide

Microsoft Corp. has announced  that it has reached the 1 million mark for the number of Kinect Xbox 360 units sold worldwide in the last 10 days. It has also said that it should reach the 5 million figure by the turn of the new year.

According to the president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, Don Mattrick, “We are appreciative of the response we have seen from consumers that has culminated in sales of more than 1 million units in the first 10 days on the market for Kinect for Xbox 360. This is a great start to the holiday season, and we will continue to work with our retailer partners to keep pace with high demand and deliver against our plan to sell more than 5 million Kinect sensors worldwide by the end of this year.”

Kinect was launched in North America on November 4 and in Europe on November 10. It will now be launched in Asia on November 18 and Japan on November 20.

Chris Homeister, senior vice president and general manager of the home entertainment group at Best Buy said, “We have seen tremendous excitement from customers for Kinect for Xbox 360. There were lines of customers at our stores all over the country on the night of the Kinect launch, and thousands more are trying it for themselves in our stores every day. It’s no surprise Microsoft has already surpassed 1 million units sold, and we expect Kinect to be one of the must-have gifts at Best Buy this holiday.”

Microsoft also recently revealed that around 25 million Xbox LIVE users have spent more than 1 billion hours on the service a month which makes it an average of 40 hours per member.

There are three ways by which the consumers can look to avail of the Kinect. For those who already have an Xbox 360 console, the stand-alone Kinect for Xbox 360, at an estimated retail price (ERP) of $149.99 (U.S.), includes the Kinect sensor and “Kinect Adventures” and works with all of the 45 million Xbox 360 consoles currently in homes worldwide. For the new Xbox consumers, the Xbox 360 4GB console with Kinect, priced at $299.99 ERP (U.S.), includes the new flat black Xbox 360 4GB console, Kinect sensor and “Kinect Adventures,” which will have families off the couch and enjoying entertainment quickly and easily. For those serious entertainment experts in the family, the Xbox 360 250GB console with Kinect, priced at $399.99 ERP (U.S.), includes the glossy black Xbox 360 250GB console, Kinect sensor and “Kinect Adventures” and provides more memory to store movies, music and more.

Microsoft® Merges Casual and Social Gameplay and Partners with Crowdstar

Microsoft Corp. has decided to introduce differentiation between “casual” and “social” gameplay.

An all-new MSN Games site along with Windows Live Messenger and Bing Games has been brought about by Microsoft which comes with abilities to link to a player’s Facebook. Microsoft has also announced its partnership with leading social games publisher, CrowdStar.

According to the senior global director of PC and mobile gaming for MS, Kevin Unangst, “We’ve made it easier to find and play the games you love while connecting to the people who matter most. MSN Games, Windows Live Messenger and Bing reach millions of consumers every month, and we’re connecting all those players — and their social circles — for the first time with a great games experience at the center.”

Microsoft casual games found on the website http://games.msn.com brings about what can be be expected from the gaming section of the company.

Some of the features that the new games offered by MS are the best online games, challenge Facebook and Windows Live friends to beat their high scores, and keep track of their favorite celebrities.

A new social feature called Microsoft Game Hub has also been launched that helps add a new flavour to the manner in which one can play the games.

The company has also made it easier for the users to find and play the casual titles online easier with their tie-up with their own search engine, Bing Games.

It was also revealed that Bing Games will be rolled out to Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

NFL Buffalo Bills Beat Detroit Lions 14-12 on Super Sunday

Buffalo Bills finally won a game in the National Football League by overcoming the Detroit Lions 14-12 on Sunday at the Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park in New York. However, that meant that Lions continued its losing streak in the championship and are now at 2-7.

The player of the game for the Bills was Fred Jackson who got a couple of touchdowns and that in a game played under inclement weather conditions. This was Buffalo’s worst start to the season for 26 years when they had lost the first 11 games in a row. However, on the other hand, the Lions had lost their 25th successive away game in three years to continue a streak that has now broken all records.

A visibly excited Bills defensive tackle, Kyle Williams said, “Our fans deserve it. The guys in the locker room deserve it. To go out there and win a football game, it means a lot.”

It was a closely fought game and the Lions scored a touchdown in the final minute of the game. However, they failed in their two-point conversion attempt that could have sent the game to overtime and that allowed the Bills to win their first game this season.

Earlier, the Bills had fought hard in the previous three games but had gone down to their opposition in all of them in close encounters.

Calvin Johnson lamented the loss and said, “It was really frustrating, especially coming here and feeling we were the better team. We weren’t thinking about the streak. That should have ended it. But it didn’t.”

In some of the other games this weekend, Falcons beat the Ravens, Dolphins won against the Titans and the New York Jets overcame Cleveland Browns 26-20.

India begin their Asian Games 2010 hockey campaign with the game against Hong Kong on Monday, November 15. India will look to overcome their poor performance of the previous Asian Games hockey where they had failed to qualify for semi-finals and lost out on a medal.

India’s performance in the Commonwealth Games was, on the other hand, commendable as they went on to win a silver medal.

The India v Hong Kong Asian Games 2010 hockey match will be shown live on Ten Sports on November 15. You can also watch the India v Hong Kong Asian Games 2010 hockey highlights on the same channel on the next day.

India v Hong Kong Asian Games 2010 Hockey Live Streaming Highlights Scorecard

India has won two gold medals in the Asian Games and will love to add more. The confidence will be there as captain Rajpal Singh will hope that the side replicates the form that the side had exhibited in the CWG 2010 – beating Pakistan and England en route to the final.

Hong Kong, on the other hand, will look to ensure that the Indians do not shoot a barrage of goals. They have been the whipping boys of hockey and will be lucky if they can get away with a point as well in their first Asian Games 2010 hockey match.

Callanish Candles Announces New Website Selling Handmade Candles

Isle of Lewis, Callanish (ClickNews.org) Nov 13, 2010 – Callanish Candles, owned and operated by Calum Macleod, has recently launched their new website www.CallanishCandles.com so that people from around the world can order his Handmade Chunk Candles.

“It’s been a long road to getting the website up and running and finally we are there,” said Calum.

“Over the coming weeks and months we will add more of the Candle range we have in the shop, we wanted to start off slowly so that we can make sure all the functions of the website shop are working and we have our fulfilment systems in place.”

Callanish Candles has a small shop located in the famous village of Callanish or Calanais (Gaelic) on the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles of Scotland. It is the home of one of the worlds oldest megalithic standing stones.

Calum has created a range of Candles that evoke memories of the scents of the Hebridean Islands. Letting people take home a reminder of their visit to the Islands.

You can now visit the online store at www.CallanishCandles.com to top up on your stock of Handmade Chunk Candles and revisit your “Celtic Scent Experience”.

###

Callanish Candles
31 Callanish
HS2 9DY
Isle of Lewis

tel +441851 621386

http://CallanishCandles.com

Everton play hosts to Arsenal at Goodison Park in their 13th English Premier League game of the season on Sunday, November 14 at 1400 GMT. The Everton v Arsenal EPL game live can be seen on ESPN while the Everton v Arsenal highlights will be shown on the same channel on the next day.

Click here for Everton v Arsenal Score Results Highlights

Everton had a narrow escape in their previous match-up against Bolton scoring a 90th minute goal to earn one point. Jermaine Beckford was the goal-scorer for them that ensured that the side now has 15 points from 12 games. Interestingly, despite being in the 12th position in the points table, they are probably a win away from walking into the top five or six.

However, it will be tough for the side given that they take on the third-placed Arsenal and will be without Marouane Fellaini for this match. Louis Saha could just be the player to watch out for Everton.

Arsenal won their previous game thanks to the Chamakh brace and will look to continue with their winning streak. The side are just a point behind Manchester United in the second position and if they can win this game and hope that United lose, they will go to the number two spot.

Cese Fabregas and Robin Van Persie will be the two players to watch out for the Gunners.

West Indies begin their series against Sri Lanka with the first Test match at Galle from Monday, November 15. West Indies has struggled in Sri Lanka in the past and with a 0-5 record in the country, it will be difficult for a young team like theirs to do well.

Watch Sri Lanka v West Indies 1st Test live on Ten Sports from 0430 hours GMT. Also watch the Sri Lanka v West Indies 1st Test highlights on Ten Sports next day.

Sri Lanka v West Indies 1st Test Live Streaming Highlights Scorecard

West Indies have never won in Sri Lanka and with a team that they have taken to the island, it does not look like they are going to win another one in a hurry. Unless of course, their new captain, Darren Sammy can get the best from the side.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the other senior player in the team will be the key to their success but what the side will need is for the youngsters to pick up the gauntlet. Ramnaresh Sarwan’s absence will be felt by the West Indian side.

For Sri Lanka, Tharanga Paranavitana could be the player to look out for after his twin-centuries against India. He will partner T Dilshan at the top while Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene will be the two who will be the pivot around whom the Lankans will revolve.

Lasith Malinga has been rested and Suraj Randiv will be the bowler who could surprise a few of the West Indian batsmen with his ability to get the bounce.

Watch Sri Lanka v West Indies and all the remaining cricket action here

NFL Super Sunday Can Cowboys Overcome Giants ?

With the recent departure of coach Wade Phillips and the appointment of Jason Garrett to head coach, previously offensive co-ordinator, the Cowboys have yet more trouble in the ranks. Defensive end Marcus Spears will be sidelined for four to six weeks because of a calf injury.

The  Cowboys face the New York Giants on Sunday, whilst they have no hope of making the play offs now it still remains to be seen what effect all the recent changes and injuries will have on the NFL Spread.

The full extent of Spears injury was revealed on Monday after an MRI scan confirmed he will not be able to rejoin the defensive line any time soon.

This adds another blow to a defensive line which has already lost Jason Hatcher, with a groin injury, and Sean Lissemore, with an ankle injury,which he picked up in Sundays game. Hatcher could miss the next two weeks and Lissemore status has not been determined.

Spears was injured during the 45-7 defeat of the Cowboys against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night. Jay Ratliff also took the place of Josh Brent suffered cramps and had dual role in that game.

The Cowboys now do not have enough defensive linemen to properly fill their practice squads, and a source said the team may sign one or two to offset the deficit.

With a new head coach in Jason Garrett time will tell if any major changes take place and whether this will provide the much needed boost the Cowboys need if they are to look to the future and the 2011 season.

Manchester United will travel to Aston Villa to play their 13th game of the English Premier League this season on Saturday, November 13 t 1245 GMT. The match will be played at Villa Park and will see the visitors bid to close down the lead that Chelsea have in the competition at the top of the points table.

The Aston Villa v Manchester United game live will be broadcast on ESPN in India while the Aston Villa v Manchester United highlights can also be seen on the same channel on the next day.

Aston Villa v Manchester United Score Results Highlights

Aston Villa’s previous couple of games had resulted in a draw and a win and they now 16 points. A win against the second-placed side in the competition will require, nothing short of an upset but if it does happen for the side, they will look to leapfrog over many teams to get to the top six or seven.

An for that to happen, Aston Villa will need the likes of Stewart Downing, Nathan Delfouneso and James Collins to continue being on the scoring sheet.

Manchester United will continue to suffer from the same problems that they had before their Manchester derby. Wayne Rooney and Owen Hargreaves continue to remain injured and hence, are out of the side, while Paul Scholes’ bookings have left the side without his service as well.

With Nani playing in the previous important game against the Manchester City side, he could be afforded some rest given his injury issues and that will make the United side a tad susceptible to an upset.

Despite the evident one-sided nature of the contest, it does look like it could go right down to the wire.

Inter Milan take on AC Milan in what is Italy’s largest derby game of the season.

The match will be played at the Stadio Giuseppe on Sunday, November 14 at 1945 GMT and you can watch the Inter Milan v AC Milan match live on TEN Sports if you are from India. Of course, if you miss it live, you can also watch the Inter Milan v AC Milan highlights on the same channel the next day.

Inter Milan v AC Milan Score Results and Highlights

Now, quite clearly, this is a game that not too many football fans would want to miss. Especially not those from Italy. Inter Milan are the current champions and they will look to continue playing the brand of soccer that had made them ones.

Not for AC Milan to give up on their top position where they site pretty with 23 points, but only three more than Inter Milan. A win for Inter Milan will put them at par with AC Milan, while the converse will only increase the gap between the two teams.

Inter Milan will rely on the likes of Samuel Eto’o and Deigo Milito to ensure that they get onto the scoring charts even as Snidjer will look to take control of the mid-field. The defence of Julio Cesar will probably be the key for the side.

For AC Milan, Ronaldhino, Zlatan Ibrahamovhic and Robhino will be the players to watch out for.

There cannot be too much doubt that the two teams will look to give it all for this game and given the points table, it will augur well if both went all out for a win.

Houston Rockets centre Yao Ming was injured again and will be out of the NBA for a period of at least one week. According to the tests that were conducted on Thursday, it was revealed that the injury was only a mild sprain in his ankle.

The Houston Rockets had lost their previous game to the Washington Wizards 91-98 when the injury happened. Ming was out of the game and did not return back to play but it was later revealed that the injury wasn’t the same one that had kept Ming away through the entire previous season.

The injury and the break from the game means that the Rockets will replace him with Jordan Hill (5.8 points, 4.4 rebounds in 18 minutes a game) or Brad Miller (4.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 14 minutes).

Apart from the Ming injury, the Rockets’ 1-6 record is one of the worst in the competition this season and will be playing away games in the next four out of the five games. Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers are the only two other teams which have only one win.

Houston’s problem has been their defense which has already yielded 110.8 points on an average. This is the highest in the competition so far, followed by the conceding of second-most number of rebounds and ninth-most fouls. The offense has been good enough, with the average of 109 points positioning them at the second spot.

A disappointed coach Rick Adelman said, “Every game we’ve had this year — except for the one we won — right down to the fourth quarter, we have a chance to win, and we don’t get it done.”

The Utah Jazz came back from near-dead to beat Orlando Magic 104-94 in the NBA. This was the second successive game in which they had made a comeback from being down by double-digit scores to notch up their second win in as many matches.

The Jazz were helped by Deron Williams’s 30 points and the 23 scored by Paul Millsap on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Utah Jazz had made a 22-point comeback to win their game against Miami Heat and they repeated that on Wednesday. The Jazz fell behind by 18 points first before winning by the 104-94 margin.

Later, Millsap said in jest that getting down was probably the key to their success.

At the other end, the Magic coach Stan Van Gundy was a disappointed man and termed it a disturbing loss. They had earlier almost lost to Charlotte after leading by 18 points but managed to scrape through.

Talking to the media at the end of the game, Van Gundy called it “Ridiculous professional basketball,”

The Jazz’s furious rally was highlighted with a 24-2 run between the third and fourth quarters. Andrei Kirilenko and Williams each hit a pair of 3-pointers during the spurt to give them an 80-76 lead.

The Jazz had earlier won a game against Los Angeles Clippers after being down by 18 points last week as well. They now have five wins from eight games this season while Orlando have five from seven.

In some of the other games, Milwaukee Bucks beat Atlanta Hawks 108-91, Charlotte Bobcats overpowered Toronto Raptors 101-96 while Houston Rockets lost their game against the Washington Wizards 91-98.

South Africa will look to repeat the results of the T20 and ODI series in the Test series as well when they play Pakistan in the first Test at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday, November 12. South Africa won both the T20 matches and then beat Pakistan in the fifth ODI to win a nail biting series 3-2.

Watch Pakistan v South Africa 1st Test live on Ten Cricket from 0530 hours GMT. Also watch the highlights of Pakistan v South Africa 1st Test on Ten Cricket next day.

Pakistan v South Africa 1st Test Live Streaming Highlights Scorecard

They have a very strong looking side and will be looking for a win in the Test series as well. Dale Steyn returned to match fitness during the ODI series and will partner Morne Morkel in sharing the new ball. Jacques Kallis has also started bowling, which augurs well for South Africa.

The batting too looks very strong. Alviro Petersen has been a place in the squad and will fight for the other opener’s place with Ashwell Prince. Hashim Amla will be the key for South Africa and he has had an amazing year with the bat. He will want to carry that form into the Test series as well and the Pakistan bowling lineup is not that strong to stop him from doing that.

Pakistan will want to prove a point in this game. They beat England and Australia in their recent series and despite a weak bowling attack; they will be hard to beat. They’d want Mahammed Yousuf and Younis Khan to fire with the bat. Misbah Ul Haq, Pakistan’s new Test captain, also has a point to prove.

Follow South Africa’s tour of Middle East against Pakistan and all the remaining cricket action here

India have to be a little more attacking if they want to win the second Test against New Zealand which starts on Friday, November 12.

Watch India v New Zealand 2nd Test live on Neo Cricket from 0400 hours GMT. Also watch India v New Zealand 2nd Test highlights on Neo Cricket next day.

India were far too defensive and were primarily focused on saving the first Test rather than counter attacking New Zealand who were two bowlers short in the second innings.

India v New Zealand 2nd Test Live Streaming, Highlights and Score

The crumbling of their top order in the second innings cost them any chance of a win and from then on, for the last one and a half days they were intent on saving the Test match. Gautam Gambhir has been a disappointment this whole year and need some runs to his name to get his confidence back.

Suresh Raina too was a disappointment in the last game and should curb his attacking instincts a little if he wants to continue playing this format. Mahendra Singh Dhoni might have very few chances to score big runs but he needs to contribute more.

It will be interesting to see how the pitch behaves. Test cricket is returning to Hyderabad after a long time and in the mean time the stadium has hosted a lot of ODI and T20 games. The red and black soil might crumble after three days but should be good for batting in the opening days. Zaheer Khan will enjoy the bounce the pitch offers and Harbhajan Singh will also welcome some bounce in the track to assist him.

Chris Martin was excellent in the last game and will want some support from his other bowlers this time. Tim Southee is likely to replace the injured Hamish Bennett. The middle and top orders were excellent and they would want that to continue in this game as well.

India are favorites but New Zealand are a side that never give up and will be hard to beat.

Follow the New Zealand’s tour of India and all the remaining cricket action here

The American Supreme Court has rejected the National Football League’s plea to suspend the duo of Pat Williams and Kevin Williams after they had tested positive for drugs in 2008.

The NFL had asked the Supreme Court for a hearing to decide on whether the the NFL drug-testing program is protected by federal labor law.

The case is a long-going one after the two players had decided to take the NFL to court after being banned by the body. They had tested positive for banned substance bumetanide – a diuretic and a masking agent found in the StarCaps weight-loss supplement the both players had had. Suspended for four games, they had gone on to sue the NFL for violating Minnesota state workplace laws.

The Supreme Court decided not to change the verdict that was given out to file a suit in Hennepin County, Minn. This means that the NFL will now need to reconsider whether the sport’s collective bargaining agreement made too much sense in the wake of this ruling.

With this ruling if a suspended player challenged the collective bargaining agreement against the state workplace rules, the NFL could have huge difficulties in laying down the rules for the drug cheats.

The one option that NFL could look at is to have an independent agency conduct drug testing. This idea is supported by the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Even Dr. Gary Wadler of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) seems to agree. He said, “Turning the testing over to an independent agency would result in a much more transparent process.”

Both players are now a part of the Minnesota Vikings side and did not serve the four game suspension.

Chelsea will take on Fulham in a home game on Wednesday, November 10 at 1945 GMT at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea may be at the top of the points table but the loss to Liverpool would have shake the side, especially given that the difference between them and Manchester United is only two points.

You can watch the Chelsea v Fulham game live on ESPN in India while the Chelsea v Fulham highlights can be seen on the same channel next day.

Chelsea v Fulham Score Results and Highlights

Chelsea had an excellent start to their season but over the last few games they have shown a downward trend. Fernando Torres had had a great time against them in the Liverpool match but at home, Chelsea could be a different proposition altogether. They have won everything at home so far.

Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba have not had the best of times and it was said that the Ivory Coast player will feature in this game despite suffering from malaria. He sure should inspire the side with his guts, into a much better performance today to keep their lead over Manchester United.

Fulham are currently at the 13th spot and expecting them to win this will be expecting too much. However, they can take heart from the fact that Blackburn Rovers, another much lower ranked side had taken Chelsea the distance before losing in the closing stages of the game.

Follow all the English Premier League action here

Manchester United will play the Manchester City in the Manchester derby in The City of Manchester Stadium on Wednesday, November 10 at 2000 GMT. Manchester United are currently gunning for the top spot in the English Premier League season but Manchester City’s performances mean that the game will go down to the wire.

Watch the Manchester City v Manchester United game live on ESPN in India and the Manchester City v Manchester United highlights on ESPN on the next day.

Manchester City v Manchester United Score Results and Highlights

Manchester United had managed to cut Chelsea’s lead at the top of the table to two points but this could be a difficult proposition. First of all, Manchester United will realise that they will be going into the game without some of their most important players – out, either to injuries or suspensions. Wayne Rooney, Nani and Owen Hargreaves all miss out.

To make matters worse for them, the side will also be without some of the others due to a virus that has swept across the team, making Sir Alex Feguson a grumpy man.

It will be left to Ji-Sung Park to weave his magic in the same manner as he had in the previous game.

Manchester City were also dealt a big blow when Maio Balotelli was red-carded and suspended for three matches in their 2-0 win over West Bromwich. However, the hosts will be very upbeat about their chances in the game and with the United manager trying to fuel the fire by asking them to first win the silverware before talking, things could get very interesting in the game.

A win for Manchester United will mean that Chelsea will need to win against Fulham or run the risk of losing the top spot. If Manchester City win, they would have caught up with Manchester United in the points table.

Follow all the English Premier League action here

The National Football League has penalised Green Bay’s Nick Collins $50,000 for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Dallas receiver Roy Williams. The announcement came about on Monday and follows the strict stance that the NFL has taken over such violations.

The NFL released a statement and said that Collins had “violently and unnecessarily struck a defenseless receiver” in his neck and head and that had resulted in a total violation of the safety rules that the NFL had introduced a few weeks ago.

NFL executive vice president of football operations Ray Anderson, one of the most vociferous voices against such violations informed Collins that any further such plays will result in an increase in the amount of fines and could also lead to the player being suspended.

The NFL has said that no penalty will handed out to Eagles safety Quintin Mikell despite the hit to Indianapolis receiver Austin Collie that sent him into a concussion on Sunday.

Collie was first hit by Eagles safety Quintin Mikell before taking another blow on his helmet from safety Kurt Coleman’s helmet. Collie became unconscious and had to be taken off the field for treatment.

This had resulted in Coleman being fined for unnecessary roughness but the NFL said the helmet-to-helmet contact was thanks to Collie being driven toward Coleman by Mikell’s legal hit.

In other off-field NFL news, Randy Moss reached the practice sessions for his new side, the Titans and the coach Jeff Fisher said the receiver had passed the physical examination. It was also reported that he had his gym training and then went on to meet the coaches to get used to defense that he was to stat learning.

Tottenham Hotspurs take on Sunderland on Tuesday, November 9 at 2000 GMT at White Hart Lane. The game could be one of the more evenly fought matches in this mid-week given that both sides have 15 points each.

Watch Tottenham Hotspurs v Sunderland live on ESPN apart from the Tottenham Hotspurs v Sunderland highlights game on the same channel on the next day. The Tottenham Hotspurs v Sunderland will start at 2000 hours GMT.

Tottenham Hotspurs v Sunderland Live Score Highlights

Tottenham did not have a great last game as they crashed out to Bolton Wanderers, losing 2-4. However, the good news from their perspective is that even if they win this against Sunderland, there is a good chance that they could leapfrog to the number five position.

For that to happen, players like Gareth Bale may need to go all out in ensuring that  Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko get more opportunities to score in the game.

Sunderland had won their previous game in the English Premier League against Stoke City thanks to a brace by Asamoah Gyan and will look to ensure that the winning streak continues. Defender Phil Bardsley’s new deal with Sunderland would augur well for the side and will understand that a win in this game will go a long way in assisting the side go to the top five position.

It will be difficult to predict who the winner would be, but given the incentive to move up from the mid-position clutter in the points table, it should be an exciting game.

Cleveland Browns relied on quarterback Colt McCoy for a touchdown and Peyton Hillis’ career-high 184-yard run to rout the New England Patriots, 34-14 in the National Football League in Sunday.

The last game that the Browns had played had resulted in a win over New Orleans Saints and after the one week break they came back strongly to overcome the more fancied Patriots. Not only had the Patriots gone into the game with a six-game winning streak but they were thoroughly outplayed through the duration of 60 minutes.

In another game, Oakland Raiders edged out Kansas City Chiefs 23-20 at home to go 5-4 this season. Jason Campbell was the man responsible for a 47-yard pass to rookie Jacoby Ford as the game went into overtime. This meant that the Raiders had won their third successive game while the Chiefs are now 5-3.

San Diego also won their game against the Houston Texans 29-23 thanks to Philip Rivers’ four touchdown passes. The Chargers had thus won their first ever away win.

The first quarter saw the Chargers take a 14-10 lead before the opposition came back strongly to earn ten points in the second to nothing. This gave Houston a six point lead which was reduced to two at the end of the third quarter. In the final quarter, Chargers drilled in eight points without return and won the game.

The Carolina Panthers were afforded a 34-3 drubbing at the hands of New Orleans Saints. This meant that the Panthers had lost their seventh game this season and will look to overcome this in the rest of the season.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nokia business smartphones, maps and apps enhance the enterprise experience

Espoo, Finland (ClickNews.org) November 8, 2010- Nokia today gave an update on the deployment of Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync for Nokia smartphones that shows it is gaining substantial traction among the world’s biggest operators and enterprises.

The solution – which delivers direct, secure access to email and personal information via organizations’ Microsoft Exchange servers – is now available for Nokia smartphones on more than 550 operator networks worldwide. These operators include America Movil, Orange, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, TeliaSonera, T-Mobile and Vodafone. And recently, the solution has undergone large-scale deployment at leading enterprises such as JCDecaux and OnMobile, which have been attracted to its dramatically improved efficiency and significantly lower cost compared to rival solutions.

Through joint activities targeted at enterprises, Nokia and operators are bringing operational efficiencies and substantial savings in total cost of ownership (TCO) for IT decision makers, when compared to other solutions.

At JCDecaux, Europe’s largest outdoor advertising company, just 14 percent of its mobile users in the UK had access to mobile email and calendar functions. The company was looking to extend that functionality to more of its workforce, in a way that was cheaper than the existing solution and without issues such as managing additional servers. JCDecaux chose Nokia’s solution, which – in combination with attractive data tariffs from Vodafone Global Enterprise – led to a reduction in TCO, increased the company’s responsiveness to customers and raised mobile email access for company mobile users to 100 percent.

OnMobile, India’s largest white label data and value-added services company for mobile, landline and media service providers, was able to speed up processes, cut response time and save money by introducing Nokia’s solution. Also, given that part of its workforce was already using Nokia smartphones, it was easy to set up Mail for Exchange without extra cost. In addition, monthly mobile data charges were substantially lower for the Nokia solution, and this encouraged users of a rival solution to switch. In the six months following the deployment, OnMobile reported substantial time savings for engineers, a 20 percent increase in projects completed on time and a 30 percent decrease in travel expenses.

“IT directors are being pressured to deploy business mobility solutions such as email, IM and intranet access for more employees, but without the high costs they have had to spend on additional middleware, licenses and maintenance,” said Ilari Nurmi, the head of marketing for Nokia’s portfolio of Eseries business smartphones.

The solution enables employees to connect directly to the corporate mail server with their Nokia smartphone without the need for additional servers, and is fast becoming the solution of choice for businesses. In addition to accessing email, employees also enjoy direct access to corporate instant messaging through Microsoft® Communicator Mobile, which was the first new application to be delivered by the two companies as part of their strategic alliance announced last year.

“Nokia is doing more than any other handset company to help businesses go mobile. Microsoft will design and develop mobile productivity, communication and collaboration solutions, and we will jointly bring them to market – giving our smartphones the edge over the competition,” Nurmi continued.

The Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync solution is supported by a wide range of Nokia smartphones available with different designs and prices, covering the entire business user market. In the first half of 2010, more than 12 million Nokia Eseries business smartphones were shipped, representing a growth of more than 50 percent compared to the first half of 2009. Nokia’s line-up of business smartphones is to be strengthened by the arrival of the Nokia E7, equipped with a full keyboard and 4-inch touchscreen featuring Nokia ClearBlack technology for improved outdoor visibility.

In addition to access to corporate email and infrastructure, Nokia smartphone users also enjoy access to maps, navigation, download apps and access other services through Ovi. The popularity of Business category apps in the Ovi Store, such as Worldmate, F-Secure Anti-Theft for Mobile, Boingo and Bloomberg, has significantly increased with some of the top downloading countries including France, Germany, India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the UK.

About Nokia
At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.3 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device – from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi (www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia’s NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.

Media Enquiries:

Nokia
Communications
Tel. +358 7180 34900
Email: press.services@nokia.com

www.nokia.com

Pakistan take on South Africa in the fifth ODI of the series. With the scores tied at two games apiece, and three of the four matches having won in the last over, the series is very much alive and kicking and one can only hope for an exciting end to it. The Pakistan v South Africa fifth ODI will be played on Monday, November 8.

Watch Pakistan v South Africa 5th ODI live on Ten Cricket from 1600 hours GMT. Also watch the highlights of Pakistan v South Africa 5th ODI on Ten Cricket next day.

It is a surprise that the fifth ODI is not a dead rubber. Especially after the kind of performance that was displayed by Pakistan in the first three games on this tour. Clearly, the unpredictable nature of the side is back and that only makes for more interesting cricket on display.

Pakistan v South Africa 5th ODI Live Streaming Highlights Scorecard

Having said that, it is evident that just like the Pakistanis have been having problems with their batting, the South African bowling has not been at its peak. They have tried out different combinations and given almost everyone a go – Albie and Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Charl Langeveldt, Juan Theron and Lonwobo Tsotsobe and one gets the sense that only Morne and Tsotsobe have been anywhere close to being respectable.

Pakistan, on the other hand, have seen a bit of a resurrection in their batting. Younis Khan’s presence has made some of the difference, while the likes of Fawad Alam and Abdul Razzaq have all made their contributions down the order. If only now, the openers could do something good and things would have turned around really well for the side.

Watch the Pakistan-South Africa ODI series live here.

Australia will try to save face in their home series against Sri Lanka when the two teams take on each other in the third and the final ODI of the series. Sri Lanka have already won the series 2-0 and will look to inflict a first clean sweep on Australia in Australia. Australia, on the other hand, would be puzzled by the recent turn of events which have already seen them lose seven games in a row.

Watch Australia v Sri Lanka 3rd ODI live on Star Cricket from 0300 hours GMT. Also watch Australia v Sri Lanka 3rd ODI highlights on Star Cricket next day.

Australia will be worried with form on two counts. For one, their confidence would be earth-shatteringly low having lost seven successive internationals including three ODIs and three Tests. Secondly, there isn’t much that they can do right now except hope that the players come good because it is probably too late in the day to think of tinkering with the line-up.

Australia v Sri Lanka 3rd ODI Live Streaming, Highlights and Score

Ricky Ponting will not feature in the game as he has been asked to feature in the Sheffield Shield games to get in touch before the Ashes begins. Michael Clarke will assume the responsibility of the captain but his record as the leader of the side in this format hasn’t been too great this year.

It is the lack of aggression that is letting the Australian side down – oppositions have been allowed to claw back from near-impossible situations and the batting has not worked well in cohesion.

Sri Lanka, with their all-round efforts from all departments of the game will be the favourites to pocket this one, unless, the Aussies can turn things around for themselves before the Ashes and the World Cup.

Follow Australia v Sri Lanka 3rd ODI and the rest of the Australia v Sri Lanka ODI series here.

The UFC 122 will be held on November 13, 2010 in König Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen in Germany. This is only the second instance of a UFC being held in Germany and will happen despite all the criticism that was meted out by the German critics. Their rationale is that the sport is too violent for it to be showed on television.

You can watch the live streaming of UFC 122 on various channels around the world while the deferred live UFC 122, Nate Marquardt v Yushin Okami deferred live and highlights can be seen on Spike TV on November 13.

The fight that will be worth watching in UFC 122 will be the number 1 contender fight between Nate Marquardt and Yushin Okami, two of the best in their category. Earlier, it was Vitor Belfort who was to feature in the fight but he withdrew from it – allegedly to take on Anderson Silva. This left Okami to take on Marquardt instead.

Now, the winner of this fight will go on to play the UFC 126 fight between Silva and Belfort, making it an interesting battle for later.

For now though, Okami has said that Marquardt was always a complete and a technical fighter and bereft of any weaknesses making it difficult for him to have a good shot at winning this one and having a shot at the title.

Okami was also categorical about the fight. He said that this could possibly be his last chance to winning the crown. He added, “My ultimate goal in the UFC is to become the first Japanese champion. This fight will lead me to that goal. So this is the most important fight of my career.”

On the other hand, Marquardt said that it did not matter who he was fighting. That the man is confident can be seen from this line, “I feel like I can fight someone on steroids and still have them at a disadvantage.”

For all the other sports action you can visit here

Traditionally Black Friday follows thanksgiving weekend and in years past has always been a boon to retailers throughout the US. This years Black Friday should be on November 26, however it seems many online retailers are getting in early as sales and offers begin.

Originating in the 1960′s and peculiar to the east coast, although widely accepted throughout the US, Black Friday is not an official holiday but many take it as an extension to their Thanksgiving Day holidays. This led to retailers taking advantage of the extra footfall and potential customers.

Stores such as Walmart, Best Buy and Amazon are all running special deals and advertising them as Black Friday specials.

It is believed the retailers are trying to avert what many economists predict as a down turn in turnover based on last years poor performance.

Best advice would be to make a list and watch for the bargains and get them as soon as possible. It is very possible that a sale war may break out between retailing giants to ensure that they get as much of the market share as possible.

Chelsea take on Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, November 7 in the English Premier League. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a game between the two top teams of the season but Liverpool’s disastrous start to the season has left them tottering outside the top ten. Chelsea are the table-toppers currently.

You can watch the Chelsea v Liverpool EPL game live on Star Sports in the Asian region. You can also watch the Chelsea v Liverpool EPL game highlights on Star Sports as well.

Follow the Chelsea v Liverpool result here

Despite the bad start, Liverpool seem to have recovered a tad by winning back to back games in the tournament. Earlier, they were in the danger of being sent packing out of the EPL Division One, but the previous results ave propped them up to the number 13 position in the points table.

If Liverpool win again, and some of the other results go in their favour, they may even enter the top five. Having said that, though, they are up against a side which has been pretty ruthless against most of their opposition and have taken a five-point lead at the top of the table.

Chelsea’s attack has been at its peak and this can be seen from the 27 goals that they have scored in ten games. In turn, they have conceded only three and the goal difference of 24 is twice that of their nearest rivals, Arsenal.

Chelsea did struggle against the Blackburn Rovers through most part of the game before bagging full points in the last few minutes of the game. That could be something that Chelsea will look to improve upon but given the high-profile nature of the contest, it will be a difficult call to predict the winner.

Arsenal play Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, November 7 in the English Premier League. Arsenal are current at the second in the points table with 20 points, tied at the same slot with Manchester United and five behind Chelsea.

You can watch the Arsenal v Newcastle United EPL game live on Star Sports in the Asian region. You can also watch the Arsenal v Newcastle United highlights on Star Sports as well.

Follow the Arsenal v Newcastle United results here

With Newcastle United winning their previous game against Sunderland by a whopping 5-1 margin, it does look like Arsenal will be tested in this game.

Newcastle United are currently at the number seven in the points table and only three behind Manchester City, who are at fourth position. As difficult as it sounds against a more fancied team like Arsenal, Newcastle United will be eying a win that will take them forward in the points table.

As compared to that, Arsenal did not have a great last game against West Ham United and won only after scoring a goal in the dying minutes of the game. However, Arsenal did beat Newcastle United in their previous game they had met and will look to repeat the dose against Newcastle.

Alex Song would be the man to look out for Arsenal while Newcastle will look to Nolan – the hat-trick scorer in their last game – and Ameobi to assist the goal-scoring.

Manchester United host Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Premier League game this weekend at Old Trafford. The Manchester United v Wolverhampton Wanderers game will be played on November 6 from 1500 hours GMT.

You can watch theManchester United v Wolverhampton Wanderers EPL game live on Star Sports in the Asian region. You can also watch the Manchester United v Wolverhampton Wanderers highlights on Star Sports as well.

Follow the Manchester United v Wolverhampton Wanderers results here

Manchester United are clearly favourites to win this game, as they start at the joint-second position in the table. As compared to that, and despite their previous game victory over Manchester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers are currently placed 19th in the points table and staring down the relegation barrel.

The advantage that the Wolves have is that they are only a win or two short of changing things around – such is the close competition this time around. Unfortunately for them, Manchester United are the form team of the tournament and will look to gain full points out of the game to chisel off that five point lead that Chelsea have over them.

Manchester United go into this game with a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspurs, a match dominated by the Nani-goal controversy. United later routed Turkish club Bursaspor in the Champions League 3-0 to move within a point of qualifying for the knock-out round of that tournament as well.

Manchester United will be hardcore favourites to win this game, after having beaten the Wolves in the League Cup. However, as Darren Fletcher pointed out, they will do well to not take the opposition for granted.

Pakistan plays South Africa in the fourth of the five ODIs to be played in the series. South Africa won the third game by the skin of their teeth and took a 2-1 lead over the Pakistanis but will know that the opposition is very much in the series and should not be taken lightly. The Pakistan v South Africa fourth ODI will be played on Friday, November 5.

Watch Pakistan v South Africa 4th ODI live on Ten Cricket from 1600 hours GMT. Also watch the highlights of Pakistan v South Africa 4th ODI on Ten Cricket next day.

The scoreline could have very easily been in favour of the Pakistanis. Unfortunately, the batting was a letdown in the Pakistan v South Africa 3rd ODI and despite a brave effort by Fawad Alam, he just did not have enough support at the other end.

Pakistan v South Africa 4th ODI Live Streaming Highlights Scorecard

However, the target of less than 230 should have been achieved by the Pakistanis had they had a decent start. As perennially the case, they lost four quick wickets at the top of the innings and through most of the rest, they were only doing a recovery job.

South Africa will also realise that they got out of a jail and will look to not allow a repeat of such situation. For one, they need to bowl much better as a team but more importantly not allow the pressure of run-scoring to solely on Hashim Amla, as is now the case.

Jacques Kallis could be the man who would like to make the most of opening the innings in place of the injured Graeme Smith. If Amla and Kallis get going, things could get really tough for the home team.

Watch the Pakistan-South Africa ODI series live here.

Australia face Sri Lanka in the second ODI of the series at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Sri Lanka lead the series 1-0 after the first game saw them stun the Aussies from a near-impossible situation.

Watch Australia v Sri Lanka 2nd ODI live on Star Cricket from 0300 hours GMT. Also watch Australia v Sri Lanka 2nd ODI highlights on Star Cricket next day.

The Aussies would go into the second game knowing that a loss would mean that they would have won no series going into the Ashes since they beat Pakistan in Australia at the start of the year.

Australia v Sri Lanka 2nd ODI Live Streaming, Highlights and Score

On the other hand, Sri Lanka’s confidence would be sky-high following their comeback-from-behind win over the Aussies at Melbourne. It was a situation from where the side should have lost 99 times out of 100 and this was that one other occasion that Sri Lanka shocked the world champions.

Having said that, the Sri Lankans will know that they gave away too many wickets to a rookie spinner and will need to play much cautiously for starters. Tillakaratne Dilshan could be the man to watch out for.

Follow Australia v Sri Lanka 2nd ODI and the rest of the Australia v Sri Lanka ODI series here.

India take on New Zealand in the first Test match of the three Test match series at Ahmedabad. The rest of the New Zealand’s tour of India has two more Test matches after this and five ODIs, before India moves to South Africa.

Watch India v New Zealand 1st Test live on Neo Cricket from 0400 hours GMT. Also watchIndia v New Zealand 1st Test highlights on Neo Cricket next day.

India go into the series as favourites to win it. However, despite the apparent one-sided nature of the teams, the Indians will do well to not under-estimate the opposition who have been hurting hard after their 0-4 loss to Bangladesh. They would know that a loss to India could put many of their careers in jeopardy and hence will come hard at the Indians.

India v New Zealand 1st Test Live Streaming, Highlights and Score

India will play a full strength side with the return of VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma. Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara should sit out, while Ishant will replace S Sreesanth.

The news from the New Zealand camp is that Brendon McCullum may be pushed up to open the innings with Jesse Ryder while Ross Taylor will be one of the keys to the batting.

The New Zealand bowling could be tested and a lot will depend on how well the pace bowlers will be able reverse the ball.

Follow India v New Zealand 1st Test and the rest of the India v New Zealand series here.

Tottenham will play hosts to Inter Milan in the fourth round match in the Group A on November 2. The game will begin at 1945 GMT and will played at White Hart Lane.

You can watch the Tottenham v Inter Milan live on Ten Sports in the Asian region. You can also watch the Champions League Live and the Tottenham v Inter Milan highlights on Ten Sports as well.

Follow the Tottenham v Inter Milan Champions League results here.

This is the second game between these two sides in their group. Inter Milan had defeated Tottenham Hotspurs 4-3 in the previous game and will look to repeat the same dose. The Hotspurs, who are already reeling from the previous defeat at the hands of Manchester United in a controversial manner will look to shrug it off to return the favour to Inter Milan.

Rafa Benitez will play in this game for Inter Milan but the team hasn’t had the best of times in England. They have won only four off their 12 games and will need to make the most of this game to prove their detractors wrong.

Esteban Cambiasso may have fitness concerns and could be left out, while Gareth Bale could be the man to look out for in this game. Heurelho Gomes, who was red-carded in the previous match will miss the match as well.

Australia face Sri Lanka in the first ODI of the series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Sri Lanka had won the one-off T20I by seven wickets and will now look to continue their dominance in the ODIs. On the other hand, Australia will need to get some wins under their belt after going seven games without a win.

Watch Australia v Sri Lanka 1st ODI live on Star Cricket from 0320 hours GMT. Also watch the Australia v Sri Lanka 1st ODI highlights on Star Cricket next day.

The good news for Australia is that most of their ODI specialists are back. Michael Hussey, who is struggling for form will be a part of the side and as will pace bowler Mitchell Johnson. Both will look to get into gear for the Ashes series that follows the ODIs.

However, the bad news was that Ricky Ponting will miss the 1st ODI at Melbourne because of a bereavement. Ponting will rush to Tasmania and that means that the side will be led by Michael Clarke.

Australia v Sri Lanka 1st ODI Live Streaming, Highlights and Score

Sri Lanka would have felt that this is their best chance to win their first ever ODI series in the land. It is evident that the things are not exactly moving in the right direction for the Aussies and that will push the Lankans on a higher pedestal. Kumar Sangakkara will be a key as a batsman while the bowling will depend on how the pace bowlers bowl.

Interesting to see if Nuwan Kulasekera makes it to the side.

Follow Sri Lanka v Australia 1st ODI and the rest of the tour of Australia here.

The Minnesota Vikings have decided to axe the six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, Randy Moss after the side lost three games out of four in the National Football League this season. Moss had rejoined the Vikings on October 10 this year in a trade from the New England Patriots.

It was confirmed by the Vikings players that the coach Brad Childress had informed them of the sacking. However, Childress and the rest of the management have yet to confirm this development.

Moss had earlier been fined $25,000 in the previous week after he did not co-operate with the media and refused to make himself available for the media questioning and interviews. He had then criticised the Vikings side for not being receptive to his ideas and praised former coach, Bill Belichick.

Moss’ record in the four games for the Vikings was only one catch for eight yards. Apart from that he had 13 receptions for 174 yards and two touchdowns.

Moss’ contract was for a $6.4-million base salary this season, which allowed the Minnesota side left with at least $1.5million.

The buzz now is that Tennessee Titans may look to hire his services for the remainder of the season. Kenny Britt was expected not to feature in the NFL for most part of the remainder of the season and coach Jeff Fisher said that Moss would form a part of their discussion.

Fisher said, “We are always interested in upgrading the football team. I am sure there will be certain discussions here this evening.”

Another Titans receiver Justin Gage will return back to action for them as well, after injury had laid him low.

The San Francisco 49ers beat the Denver Broncos 24-16 on Sunday in the National Football League game played at Wembley in London. This was the fourth regular-season game to be played at Wembley but it is yet to be ascertained whether more games will be played there in the future.

According to NFL UK managing director, Alistair Kirkwood, the decision to return to London will only be taken after the collective bargaining agreement was signed. After that, gates could open for a potential International Series.

At half-time in the 49ers-Broncos game, the San Francisco side led by a small 3-0 margin before the Broncos came back strongly to score ten points without reply.

Then, Troy Smith changed things around for his San Francisco side with an excellent run of play that saw him finish a 38-yard pass to Chris Bailey. This moved San Francisco one yard from the endzone.

Given that there was a lot of risk involved in the throw, things could have gone either way, but it worked in the team’s favour and put them back into the game.

Smith ran in the touchdown and then sent down another pass to Michael Crabtree to put the 49ers in front. Frank Gore then drilled home the advantage with a third touchdown to get the side 24-10 and it was only a late Denver effort that got them closer to the 49ers.

This gave the 49ers only their second win in the season in the eight games that they have played.

New England Patriots are the only team in the competition to have six wins so far, which they have managed to achieve from seven matches. Seven other teams have a 5-2 record in the season so far.

Pakistan take on South Africa in the third of the five ODIs to be played in the series and the Abdul Razzaq blitzkrieg has ensured that both teams will go into the game on an even keel. The Pakistan v South Africa third ODI will be played on Tuesday, November 3.

Watch Pakistan v South Africa 3rd ODI live on Ten Cricket from 1600 hours GMT. Also watch the highlights of Pakistan v South Africa 3rd ODI on Ten Cricket next day.

It was clearly an innings that comes once in a lifetime but ensures enough for the rest of the team-mates to take up the baton and turn things around. Pakistan needed such magic and in the end, it came from where it was least expected.

Pakistan v South Africa 3rd ODI Live Scorecard

That said, the South African bowlers sent down far too many bad balls towards the end of the innings. Razzaq’s favourite shot all his career as was the case in the innings was the pull away to the leg-side and swipe over the leg-side and the stand-in captain Johan Botha had had no answer to the situation.

While Pakistan should not make any changes to the winning side despite the early failures in the batting, South Africa will have a question or two to answer. Both Albie Morkel and Charl Langeveldt did not have a good match and could be in the selectorial ax-radar.

What needs to be seen is whether the management gets in Juan Theron along with the re-entry of the injured Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith.

Watch the Pakistan-South Africa ODI series live here.

Blackburn Rovers take on Chelsea at Ewood Park on Saturday, October 30 at 1500 hrs BST. This could very well be called the game of the extremes; Chelsea is at the top of the table whereas the Rovers are at the other end of the spectrum on the 17th position.

You can watch the Blackburn Rovers v Chelsea EPL game live on STAR Sports in India. The Blackburn Rovers v Chelsea EPL highlights can also be watched on the same channel the next day.

Chelsea, with their five point lead over the second-placed Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal, will look to ensure that they get full points out of this. With the lead up to eight, they can then hope that one or more of the other three drop points and fall back further in the race for the top spot.

Chelsea have been in amazing form as well, having scored the points and the goals.

As compared to that, despite the news that Blackburn will be bought over by the Venky’s group in India, they have failed to ignite in the tournament. They are currently just one spot away from relegation and that will put them in a bit of a tough spot.

Where the Rovers could have a chance is that Chelsea rest a few good players and get a tad complacent but even that happening is difficult to imagine.

Chelsea v Blackburn Rovers Live Streaming, Highlights and Preview here

Manchester United take on Tottenham Hotspurs at Old Trafford on Saturday, October 30 at 1730 hrs BST. This is an important game for the home team Manchester United given that they trail the table-toppers Chelsea by five points and dropping any points here is bound to increase the gap.

Watch the Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspurs English Premier League game live on ESPN in India and other parts of Asia.You can also watch Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspurs highlights on the same channel on the next day.

Thankfully for Manchester United, this game has resulted in points for Manchester United usually and they would be more than happy to go into the match with the confidence of knowing that. However, they will do well to not feel too confident given that neither can Manchester United get too complacent nor does a win guarantee a closing of the gap.

As compared to that, the Hotspurs are currently in the fifth position below Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City and a win for them could send the points table in a frenzy. They go into the game with a 1-1 draw against Everton last weekend. However, with a bad record at the Old Trafford, the Hotspurs will need to play out of their skins to do well.

Javier Hernandez and Van Der Wart will be the two players that the teams will look to do the scoring for the side.

Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspurs Live Streaming and Highlights here

Australia face Sri Lanka in the one-off T20 between the two sides that precedes the three match ODI series. The Australia v Sri Lanka T20 will be played at the WACA in Perth.

Watch Australia v Sri Lanka T20 live on Star Cricket from 0935 hours GMT. Also watch the highlights of Australia v Sri Lanka T20 highlights on Star Cricket next day.

Australia’s selectors have named a 12-member side for this game, saving up some of their main guys for the ODIs and the Ashes to follow. Michael Clarke will look to improve upon his batting form in this format of the game but he will be happy to get a century under his belt in the ODIs. The other main batsman to look up to is Cameron White, who lambasted the Indian bowlers to an 89 off only 49.

Australia v Sri Lanka T20 Live Streaming, Highlights and Score

Sri Lanka will depend heavily on their duo of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara to get them the runs. With the WACA track expected to play quick, the rest of the batting line-up will need to do much more than what they did in the warm-up games. Dinesh Chandimal was used up the order but one gets the sense that one Mahela Jayawardene or Upul Tharanga will open the innings with Tillakaratne Dilshan.

What works in Sri Lanka’s favour is that Lasith Malinga is now fit and raring to go, and despite Muthiah Muralitharan’s not-so-appealing record in Australia, he should be a part of the eleven as well.

Follow Sri Lanka v Australia T20 and the rest of the tour of Australia here.

Pakistan play South Africa in the second ODI of the five-game series at Abu Dhabi on October 31. South Africa leads the series 1-0 and will look to continue pushing their foot on the Pakistani throats and win it before the opposition wakes up.

Watch Pakistan v South Africa 2nd ODI live on Ten Cricket from 1600 hours GMT. Also watch the highlights of Pakistan v South Africa 2nd ODI on Ten Cricket next day.

Given the way that Pakistan has batted in this series so far – including the two T20Is – it does look like their batsmen want to be anywhere but at the crease. In the first ODI, there was at least a glimmer that the side was looking to make the best use of conditions but the shocking collapse that ensued made things difficult for the side.

The time is right for captain Shahid Afridi to come good in the game and with the bat.

Pakistan v South Africa 2nd ODI Live Scorecard

South African pace bowler, Lonwobo Tsotsobe needs to be complimented for the way he bowled his way to his best spell in his career and the Pakistani batsmen need to relook at their techniques. If it was bad in the T20Is, it has only become worse in this format of the game and the morale of the side can barely be great.

Things look ripe for a 2-0 scoreline, unless Pakistan can conjure up a miracle of a Houdini-like proportion.

Watch the Pakistan-South Africa ODI series live here.

Pakistan v South Africa 1st ODI at Abu Dhabi

Pakistan will play South Africa in the first ODI at Abu Dhabi on Friday, October 29. The two teams, South Africa and Pakistan were involved in a T20I series before the start of this ODI series and the South Africans had throttled the opposition in both the games to win it 2-0.

Watch the first Pakistan South Africa ODI on Ten Cricket from October 29 at 1100 hours GMT. The Pakistan South Africa 1st ODI highlights can also be seen on Ten Cricket.

Pakistan v South Africa 1st ODI Score Live Highlights

It isn’t too difficult to conclude that the Pakistani batting has been the cause of most of their issues in recent times. Inability to score the runs at the top has been one problem and that is the one aspect of their cricket they need to remedy.

Shahid Afridi may have taken the blame for the batting failures but one must remember that his batting has always been shorn of consistency. What the side needs from this Pakistan-South Africa 1st ODI is a refreshingly positive approach from all the remaining batsmen as well – aggressive running between the wickets and saner choice of strokes for starters.

The live streaming of the Pakistan v South Africa 1st ODI can be seen on the official Ten Cricket website.

South Africa, on the other hand seemed to have done everything right so far and in more ways than one, will be the favourites going into the series. For one, they have a better all-round game on paper, but more importantly, the ODIs will also see the return of three of their match-winners – Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn.

It is difficult to see how the Pakistanis can win this one unless the return of Younis Khan can work the magic for them.

Watch the Pakistan vs South Africa 1st ODI here.

National Football League player Vince Young returned back to practice after he seemed to have recovered from his knee and ankle injury. Young had sprained himself on October 18 and had neither played a game nor practiced since then.

However, it is yet to be seen whether Young will make it to the starting line-up for the Titans in their game against San Diego (2-5). The Titans have won five out of the seven games that they have played so far.

Titans coach Jeff Fisher allowed his side some rest on Thursday and said that Young had made good recovery from his injury. He added that Young would be able to last one period so far.

In other news, the St. Louis Rams have contracted safety Michael Lewis who was cut from his contract with the San Francisco 49ers. Lewis was given the axe by the 49ers after he had missed a practice session after losing his starting slot in the side to Taylor Mays. It is yet to be seen whether Lewis will play against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

In another signing, the Kansas City Chiefs have got free-agent linebacker Mark Simoneau for this season. He had earlier played for Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints before this. To get in Simoneau, the Chiefs have got rid of defensive lineman Atiyyah Ellison.

However, what will be interesting to see is how Simoneau shapes up after having not played since 2007.

San Francisco had their own issues with injuries as quarterback Alex Smith will miss their game against Denver Broncos because of a left shoulder dislocation. He will be out of action for around three weeks.

The National Football League has fined Brad Childress for condemning the match officials and speaking on confidential matters in the post-match press conference. Childress was angry with the match officials and their referral decisions in the game between Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers.

The NFL fined Childress $35,000 for his comments on Sunday in his team’s 24-28 loss. Childress had also called the game a badly officiated one, emanating from a change of decision that cost his team the game. A touchdown by tight end by Visanthe Shiancoe was overturned in the second quarter.

Brad Childress said that it was “the worst officiated game I’ve seen,” and panned the officials by calling them “50 drunks in a bar”. He had also revealed that the NFL’s director of officiating, Carl Johnson, had informed him that it should have been a touchdown.

“I was told this morning that that was a touchdown by Carl Johnson,” Childress said. “He was disappointed to see that reversed.”

It was this transgression that earned him the fine.

With that loss, Vikings are at 2-4, are in third place in the NFC North, and have the fifth-to-last record in the NFC. Minnesota Vikings will now take on New England Patriots in the eighth game of NFL regular season 2010. The Patriots have lost only one of their four games and will look to make it 5-1.

It remains to be seen whether Brett Favre, convinced to play for the Vikings this season will start in the game given that the coach had slammed his performance in the previous game too. Favre suffered from injuries and had to limp off and is in danger of missing his first game in the NFL after 291 straight appearances.

Pakistan play South Africa in the second T20I at Abu Dhabi on October 27. The first T20I between South Africa and Pakistan was won by the tourists and South Africa will now look to clean sweep the series. The two teams play another five ODIs and two Tests after this.

Watch the second Pakistan v South Africa T20I on Ten Cricket from October 27 at 1600 hours GMT. The Pakistan v South Africa 2^nd T20I highlights can also be seen on Ten Cricket.

Pakistan v South Africa 2nd T20I Score Live Highlights

In the first T20I, the Pakistanis fell at their first hurdle again – they failed miserably with the bat. It was hardly a track where the team batting first could expect to score 120 and get away with a win. There were not enough runs on the board and there couldn’t have been any doubt that much had to do with the fact that the Pakistanis haven’t been in the best of batting touches.

Much improvement is needed from the Pakistani team if they wish to make the best of the rest of the series. This was the scenario without two of South Africa’s more experienced and incisive bowlers in Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis playing for the team.

Graeme Smith has obviously continued to worry the management with his inability to get the runs, while time could be running out on the inconsistent Loots Bosman.

Watch the Pakistan v South Africa T20Is, ODIs and Tests here.

Anik Singal's Empire Formula : Building Info Business Empires

Anik Singal, the driving force behind Affiliate Classroom and Lurn Inc, will today release a new training course teaching people to mimmick his rise from $0 to $10 million annual turnover over the past 6 years. He has achieved this by selling information and teaching the principles of developing such products.

Anik first started lifting the Mystical veil surrounding the “Make Money Online” genre of business which for the most part means selling information products on behalf of their owners, better known as affiliate marketing. He did this by launching a training program called Affiliate Classroom, previous to this a lot of the information around how to succeed at this was hard to find and closely guarded by a few people raking in huge profits.

Affiliate Classroom also led to the foundation of Lurn Inc, which became a top 500 company in the inc500 register in 2009. Lurn Inc also boasts several other accolades from various eduction and business bodies.

Empire Formula is a training course that is broken into 4 stages based on income level acheivements the first of which is $300,000, which Anik say’s is the sweet spot for expanding your business. The Internet is a constantly evolving environment with everyone trying to tell you that they know a really great way to make money.

Anik seems to be one person with a reputable track record ,that you can easily search for yourself online, you can get more information and even enrol in this course by visiting their site at http://EmpireFormula.com

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo suffered from a collarbone injury in the National Football League game against the New York Giants. The Cowboys lost 35-41 to the Giants and Romo could now be out of action for some weeks due to the fracture.

The injury occurred in the second quarter of the game when Romo hit by blitzing Giants linebacker Michael Boley. Romo then left the field for X-rays and later returned to confirm that it had been a fracture.

In the post-match conference, Romo wore a sling and said that he did not know how long would he be out of the game. Romo also said that he had not realised that he had had a fracture until after the X-rays. He said, “It felt like a sprain. I was upset, disappointed and I was frustrated. You work hard to be in these games and be in these positions.”

Romo’s untimely injury meant that 38-year-old Jon Kitna got a chance to be a part of the game. He looked rusty having not featured in a game these last two seasons. However, he recovered later to complete 16-of-33 passes, and threw for 187 yards along with having a couple of touchdowns.

Speaking of his replacement, Romo said, “He will step in, and do a really good job for this team, he has had some really good seasons in this league… we will rally around him. He is a good player and he will show that.”

It was later revealed that the injury could keep Romo out for a couple of months.

After his recent controversy involving his sexually-charged text messages to a female reporter, Brett Favre season at the National Football League seems to have gotten worse when Minnesota coach Brad Childress blamed him for their 28-24 loss to Green Bay.

Things seemed to have come to head when Vikings head coach Childress, said publicly that Favre was responsible for the defeat. This could result in Favre missing out on a starting place in Vikings’ next game against New England after 291 successive starts.

Favre’s injured leg meant that he was limping throughout the second half of the game and needed support to walk down the podium steps.

And it was not as if Favre was confident of starting out next week. Replying to a question on whether he would start out next week, Favre said, “Who knows? I hope I do. … If I can play but not be effective, it’s not worth playing. I hope I use good judgment. We’ll see. I’m no spring chicken any more. I don’t heal as quickly.”

Childress, on the other hand, did not make things easier for Favre and blamed him for the defeat. He also said that he had thought of benching Favre but allowed him one more series to rebound. Favre completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss which allowed the score to reduce to 24-28.

Earlier, it was reported that Favre admitted to NFL security it was he who had left voicemails for New York Jets reporter Jenn Sterger in 2008. Both had then been employed by the team. However, he also said that he had not sent any lurid pictures to Sterger as had been claimed earlier.

Yes, the King of Pop is still set to break records even after his sad, untimely death as his “Thriller” costume is set to become the biggest selling Halloween fancy dress costume of all time. Online merchants are reporting a massive increase in hits on the famous red Michael Jackson outfit designed by Deborah Landis, wife of John Landis, which wowed audiences in the infamous 80’s Thriller Video catapulting him into the megastar we know today.

Michael Jackson’s 14 minute masterpiece directed by John Landis and featuring the classic vocal talents of horror film star Vincent Price was not only a landmark in the music pop culture but was itself a record breaker itself selling over 9 million copies.

The previous record for fancy dress costumes was held by the popular Scream outfit after the success of the 1996 horror film. As that particular costume had the advantage of being available in many price ranges it was seen skulking around on every doorstep whereas the “Thriller” costume is generally only available in 2 which gives this record breaking costume even more standing.

The online fancy dress costume merchants are only hoping they have ordered enough to satisfy the demand as the sales begin to increase. It’s been estimated that an incredible 1,000,000 Thriller costumes will be sold this Halloween worldwide so expect a plethora of MJ’s thrilling your doorstep this Halloween and also expect to be invited to a couple of “Thriller” Halloween parties which seem to the favourite Halloween party theme this year.

Brought to you by Halloween Fancy Dress Ideas.

Yahoo! held their fourth annual Digital Citizenship Summit on Friday with the focus firmly on tackling cyber bullying. The summit was attended by over 200 educators, non-profit organisations and police officers where they were shown a presentation of a new program that will help schools and communities identify children that are at risk of cyber bullying and the other dangers of the Internet.

The program is called “Generation Safe” and is soon to be launched by iKeepSafe.org. Catherine Teitelbaum, the Yahoo! director of child safety said, “There is a role to be played by everyone in a child’s life.” The program not only identifies children being targeted, but also helps teach the community how to address these issues.

“Kid’s online and offline lives have merged; it is their real life and when something goes wrong they feel real pain,” said Teitelbaum. This results in the several high-profile cases of students committing suicide after being humiliated and tortured by cyber bullies.

Although adults can set limits for their kids in the real world, many don’t know how to direct their online lives as well. As more kids begin to incorporate technology into their lives, they are more likely to seek help through many of today’s social networking websites. Summit goers advise parents to befriend their children on Facebook, and follow them on sites like Twitter. Adults can also set boundaries on mobile phone Internet access. Teitelbaum advices in “keeping the computer in the most highly-trafficked part of the house.”

US President Obama is also taking steps into making young people feel safer online. Yahoo! hopes to get more people active in protecting today’s children against cyber bullying.

Pakistan play South Africa in the first T20I at Abu Dhabi on October 26. This South Africa’s tour of the Middle East will also see the two teams play another T20I, five ODIs and two Test matches.

Pakistan v South Africa 1st T20 Live Streaming and Highlights here

This will be a huge opportunity for the Pakistani cricketers to prove to their fans that normalcy has returned back to their cricket. This comes after the recent spot-fixing controversy that saw three of the Pakistani players being suspended and a huge outcry in cricket in what is fast turning out to be their worst ever year in cricket.

Shahid Afridi will captain the side and will have the experience of Misbah-ul-Haq and Abdul Razzaq along. Asad Shafiq could also get a look-in while the likes of Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal will look after the bowling.

South Africa will be led by their newly appointed skipper, Johan Botha. Mark Boucher is no longer a part of the side as well, but apart from that it is a strong South African squad and selection of the final 11 will be a stiff exercise.

Graeme Smith should open the innings, but it will be interesting to see if Loots Bosman gets picked. JP Duminy will add the depth to the spin department, partnering Botha, but his main role will be to bat well.

Dale Steyn and Juan Theron should share the pace bowling role while the clamour for the third fast bowling option will see four bowlers fight it out. Albie Morkel’s all-round skills should win him the place.

Follow all the Pakistan v South Africa cricket live from the Middle East here.

Stoke City take on Manchester United at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday, October 24. The Stoke City v Manchester United game will start at 1330 hrs BST and one can watch the Stoke City v Manchester United match live on ESPN. Watch the Stoke City v Manchester United English Premier League highlights the next day.

Stoke City v Manchester United Score and Highlights

Manchester United will be a relieved team after the Wayne Rooney saga seemed to have ended yesterday with the star footballer signing a five-year long contract with the team. However, that relief cannot assuage the fact that Manchester United have yet to win an away game this season and will look to do that against Stoke City.

What will make Manchester United’s job tough will be the absence of Rooney himself after being ruled out of football for three weeks with an injury.

Stoke City, which are currently positioned ninth in the points table will rely on the fact that they are playing at home. Usually known for a more rough brand of soccer, Stoke City are not expected to change that around for this game and will look to overcome Manchester United with those tactics.

Interestingly, Sir Alex Ferguson had rested many of the players for the mid-week games and this will ensure that the Manchester United players are fresh enough to take on the Stoke City side.

Manchester United should be favourites to win this and go one step closer to the top spot, which is five points beyond their grasp currently.

You can follow all the English Premier League action here

Ray Anderson Issues Video to Explain Fine Worthy Violations

National Football League’s executive vice-president Ray Anderson has sent a video tape to all the 32 teams explaining the violations that could end up fining the players for excessive rough play. Anderson has said that the players were on notice and will be fined heavily or even suspended if they continue to hit other players beyond a certain point.

Right from the past couple of weeks when the NFL began doling out heavy fines for illegal hits, the biggest topic of discussion has been what constitutes a legal hit and what is not. The video shows a couple of hits by the Kansas City Chiefs as the kinds to avoid and one that is legal.

There was a play involving Chiefs safety Kendrick Lewis who hit Browns TE Evan Moore in “helmet to helmet contact with a defenseless receiver,” as described by the NFL.

Anderson also said in the video that the players must play under control. He also added, “If a player launching into an opponent misses his aiming point he will nevertheless be held responsible for what he hits.”

That’s what the league felt Lewis did on the hit to Moore. It wasn’t a blatant violation but replays do show he makes contact with Moore’s helmet.

Then, there is a play showing former Chiefs safety Jarrad Page lowering his shoulder and driving into the chest of Giants WR Ramses Barden Steve Smith, who is shown to be running across the middle of the field.

The teams have been trying to understand this new disciplinary violation with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin still making an issue out of the league’s fining of James Harrison for his hit against Browns receiver Mohamed Massaquoi.

A very unhappy James Harrison decided not to practice on Wednesday after the National Football League fined him $75,000 for an allegedly rough tackle on a Browns player.

According to reports, the Steelers linebacker was allowed to go without practice after he met up with the coach, Mike Tomlin and expressed his feelings about being fined by the NFL. According to Tomlin, Harrison needed his day off apart from requiring cooling off before he returned back to the game.

It was reported that Harrison was upset enough to contemplate quitting the game but according to coach Tomlin, he should be ready to make a comeback to practice in a day or so.

According to Tomlin, “I thought it was beneficial for him and for us if I gave him a little time to cool off and give him the day off. I excused him at that time and we went on and had a productive day,”

Harrison had earlier said that he had been taught to play the game in a certain manner and it would be difficult for him to play his natural game given the manner in which the NFL was penalising the errant players.

While Harrison skipped practice, Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed got down practicing after giving up on his role as a cheerleader and coach. Reed, who had given up playing six months ago practiced for the first time this season after he had been laid low with a hip surgery. What remains to be seen is how he carries about his business in practice before the coach John Harbaugh could take a decision on his selection.

Harbaugh said, “I think we’ll be prudent, certainly, but there’s definitely a possibility he can play. It’s going to be based on how he responds to practicing football at a fast pace.”

The English Premier League will see Manchester City take on Arsenal at the City of Manchester Stadium on Sunday, October 24. The Arsenal v Manchester City match will start at 1630 hrs BST and the Manchester City v Arsenal match live can be seen on ESPN in Asia. The highlights of Manchester City v Arsenal game can be watched on the same channel next day.

Rather surprisingly for some, Manchester City are currently placed second on the points table after they had a few exciting results going their way. Currently, they are behind Chelsea by two points but if Chelsea win their game against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the distance will become five.

On the other hand, Arsenal and Manchester United are both at 14 points and a win for Arsenal will tie them with City. Last week, Arsenal overcame Birmingham City at the EPL and then beat Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1 in the UEFA Champions League.

The Manchester City starting line up for this game will elicit interest. Roberto Mancini is known to be a defensive manager which will mean that he could play with two defensive midfielders. Arsenal will need Fabregas to get into his groove as quickly as possible on his return to football and try and create the opportunities required.

Follow all the English Premier League and the Manchester City v Arsenal game here.

The first-ever Korean Grand Prix will be held at the Korea International Circuit from October 22-24 this year. It took a long-time coming but the FIA has finally approved the circuit and the action will start with the practice on Friday followed by the qualifiers on Saturday and the race on Sunday.

Follow the Korean Grand Prix Formula One here.

In the drivers’ championship, it is  Renault’s Mark Webber who is currently at the top of points with 220 to his name, and is closely followed by the second-placed Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel. Both, Alonso an Vettel are currently on 206 points and can hope to overtake Webber.

The practice session of the Korean Grand Prix will be shown live on Star Sports from 0100 hours GMT on Friday. The third session of practice will continue on Saturday that will be followed by the qualifiers on the same day. You can watch the Korean Grand Prix race live on Sunday at 0600 hours on Sunday, October 24.

With the existence of the unknown element in this race, the things could get interesting and the drivers will need to get used to track as soon as they possibly can. They layout is a tad different and according to some like the principal engineer of McLaren, Philip Prew, ”there’s aspects of it which will favour every one of the top teams.”

The battle for the constructors’ championship is fast becoming a two-way shootout between Renault and McLaren-Mercedes, with 45 points separating the two.

Roger Federer will play at the Stockholm Open for the first time since 2000 and will begin his campaign in the tournament against American player Taylor Dent. The Federer v Dent match at the Stockholm Open will begin at 1630 hours GMT.

You can follow the preview, live and highlights Federer v Dent game here

Federer has been given the top billing in the tournament. However, he will know that he needs to play much better than what he has throughout the year to justify it – having won only the Australian Open and the Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000. In the duo’s previous meeting, Federer had beaten Dent in straight sets.

Federer will go into the Stockholm Open after having lost in the final of the Shanghai Rolex Masters to Andy Murray.

Some of the other games will see the home favourite and second seed Robin Soderling take on Benjamin Becker and 4th seed Ivan Ljubicic plays Arnaud Clement.

Follow all the results of the Stockholm Open here.

MS Dhoni

India take on Australia in the third and the final ODI of the series at Goa. After the first game at Kochi was abandoned due to rains, India beat Australia in a high-scoring second ODI at Vishakapatnam. This means India lead the series 1-0.

The India v Australia Goa ODI match will be played on Sunday, October 24. With the Test series already under their belt, the Indians will not want to show any hospitality and take the ODI series 2-0 as well.

India v Australia, 3rd ODI at Goa Live Preview Scorecard and Commentary

You can watch the India v Australia 3rd ODI match live on Neo Cricket from October 24 at 0330 hours GMT (or 9.00 am IST). You can also watch the highlights of the India v Australia 3rd ODI match at Goa on Neo Cricket at the end of the game. The live streaming of the India v Australia 3rd ODI game will be seen on the CricketNirvana website

India had bowled well in the initial part of the innings but had failed to sustain the momentum during the latter half of the innings. Much of it was to do with the lack of experience in their ranks to go with the lack of feasible bowling options given that the Indians had gone in with only four main bowlers.

However, the batting was impeccable. After the early loss, the Indians had recovered well to get the better of the opposition thanks to sizzling from Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina.

What Kohli and Raina did was also done by Michael Clarke and Cameron White for the Aussies, but the different lay in the manner the Australian spinners bowled. There was not much going for them and the Indian batsmen could take them to the cleaners.

Where the Aussies will look to improve in this Goa game will be the manner in which they bat upfront – in the first ten overs of the innings. Much like the first day of the first Test match at Mohali, the side failed to get a move on and allowed the Indian bowlers to dominate. One cannot expect to see a repeat of that happening.

Follow live coverage of the India v Australia ODI series here.

India play Australia in the second ODI of the three-match series at Vishakhapatnam. India had won the two-match Test series 2-0 and with the first game of the three-match ODI series abandoned due to rain, the side will look to win the ODIs with the same scoreline as well.

The India v Australia Vizag ODI match will be played on Wednesday, October 20. Both, India and Australia have second string sides that could not be tested after the first game was washed off at Kochi

India v Australia, 2nd at Vishakhapatnam Live Preview Scorecard and Commentary

You can watch the India v Australia 2nd ODI match live on Neo Cricket from October 20 at 0900 hours GMT (or 2.30 pm IST). You can also watch the highlights of the India v Australia 2nd ODI match at Vishakhapatnam on Neo Cricket. The live streaming of the India v Australia 2nd ODI game will be seen on the CricketNirvana website

With India going into the series without their top-notch players, the focus will be on the likes of how Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and even the younger guns like Saurabh Tiwary perform in the series. MS Dhoni had earlier hinted that Tiwary may be given an ODI debut and one gets the sense that he could be the player to watch out for.

Australia will be without Ricky Ponting, but most importantly, it will give an opportunity to Michael Clarke to prove his mantle as both, captain and a batsman. Clarke’s batting form in the year has hardly been anything to write home about.

What could also be interesting is the team selection; will India go in with two main spinners apart from two fast bowlers or will they get in three pace bowlers and one spinner apart from the part-timers. Australia should get in three pace bowlers apart from a James Hopes or John Hastings who can bowl seam-up apart from batting lower down the order.

All the live action from the India v Australia ODI series can be found here.

India face Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series at Kochi. India had won the two-match Test series 2-0 and will look to do a double of winning both, the ODI and the Tests against the Aussies.

The India v Australia Kochi ODI match will begin on Sunday, October 17. Both teams will go into the game with depleted sides replete with youngsters and that should make for an interesting contest.

India v Australia, 1st ODI at Kochi Live Preview Scorecard and Commentary

You can watch the India v Australia 1st ODI match live on Neo Cricket from October 17 at 0330 hours GMT (or 9.00 am IST). You can also watch the highlights of the India v Australia1st ODI match live at Kochi on Neo Cricket. The live streaming of the India v Australia game will be seen on the CricketNirvana website

The Tests are out of the way and most of the top-notch players in that series will not be a part of the ODIs. India will be without Sehwag, Gambhir and Tendulkar in the batting and Ishant, Zaheer and Harbhajan in the bowling department. For Australia, there will be no Ricky Ponting, and the bowling will be shorn of Ben Hilfenhaus and Mitchell Johnson.

MS Dhoni will get no such breaks and will lead the side, while Michael Clarke will captain the Aussie team.

India could see up to two new faces in the line-up including opener Shikhar Dhawan and Saurabh Tiwary, while Callum Ferguson makes a comeback in the Aussie middle-order. The Indian bowling has gone into games in the recent past with Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra at the top but the presence of R Ashwin will be an interesting bit.

Australia could also see the debut of Mitchell Starc and Steven Smith to take up the spin.

All the live action from the India v Australia ODI series can be found here.

Bangladesh face New Zealand in the fifth and the final ODI of the series between the two teams at Dhaka. The results may have surprised many of the Kiwi fans, but it is evident that the manner in which Bangladesh has played throughout the year that any complacency from New Zealand would have hit the side hard. That is exactly what has happened. And very hard.

The Bangladesh v New Zealand 5th ODI will be played on Sunday, October 17.

Bangladesh v New Zealand, 5th ODI at Dhaka Live Preview Scorecard and Commentary

You can watch the Bangladesh v New Zealand 5th ODI live on Neo Sports on October 17 at 0300 hours GMT (or 8.30 am IST). You can also watch the highlights of the Bangladesh v New Zealand 5th ODI at Dhaka on Neo Sports. The live streaming of the Bangladesh v New Zealand game will be seen on the neosports website

New Zealand did try to do things differently by getting in four different players for the previous game and while the experiment with Kane Williamson did work, the end result did not quite go their way. The New Zealand batsmen were still throttled by the Bangladeshi spinners and in the end, the chase was never going to materialise.

New Zealand need a desperate effort from their openers – Jesse Ryder could be called back in place of BJ Watling – while Brendon McCullum needs to look at getting a long one. One gets the sense that McCullum is trying his best to thrash the bowling in the first ten overs and in the process trying too hard.

Bangladesh’s stand-in captain Shakib al Hasan has been in the best form of his life and will continue to be the cherished wicket for the Kiwis. The bookies may still call the New Zealand side favourites to win this game, but one look at the scoreline – 3-0 in favour of Bangladesh – points to something otherwise.

All the live action from the Bangladesh v New Zealand ODI series can be found here.

Pittsburgh Steelers play Cleveland Browns in this weekend’s game at the National Football League. The match will see Ben Roethlisberger try and make a successful comeback after the string of controversies had laid him low, while the Browns will have rookie Colt McCoy in with a chance to debut.

The Steelers have had a good start to the NFL this season, having won three out of their first four games. The only loss came to Baltimore Ravens when a late touchdown meant that they went down 17-14. No team in this season’s NFL has had a 4-0 start.

Injuries have set the Browns back a tad in this season. Jake Delhomme had an ankle sprain and has missed three games already and twisted his ankle as well their loss to Atlanta. It did not get any better when Delhomme worsened an existing injury when coming on in relief.

In another game, the Washington Redskins will play Indianapolis Colts at FedEx Field for an interconference clash. Washington’s previous season’s 4-12 record had meant that Shanahan had been hired as head coach and quarterback Donovan McNabb was also inducted into the side and that has given them a much better start. They go into the game with a 3-2 record.

The Colts have had a same 3-2 scoreline so far and their defense has been a bit of an issue for the side in the five games. It did show some improvement in the previous match against the unbeaten Kansas City and played its part in relegating them to their first defeat. But against Washington, it will be an interesting match-up and one that could decide the winner.

Bangladesh play New Zealand in the fourth ODI of the series between the two teams at Dhaka. Bangladesh have a stunning 2-0 lead in the series and there are two more games to play including this one. This means that the best result that the New Zealand team can hope for is a drawn series.

The Bangladesh v New Zealand 4th ODI will be played on Thursday, October 14.

Bangladesh v New Zealand, 4th ODI at Dhaka Live Preview Scorecard and Commentary

You can watch the Bangladesh v New Zealand 4th ODI live on Neo Sports on October 14 at 0300 hours GMT (or 8.30 am IST). You can also watch the highlights of the Bangladesh v New Zealand 4tg ODI at Dhaka on Neo Sports. The live streaming of the Bangladesh v New Zealand game will be seen on the neosports website

New Zealand’s batting has been appalling so far in the series and that has led them to their downfall. This is a surprise given the quality of the line-up that consists of Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor amongst some of the others. Against the spinners, they have come a cropper so far.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, have sent down overs after overs, spells after spells from left-arm spin bowlers and the things have come to such a head that they may seriously be contemplating going in with an all-spin attack. Sahrawadi Shuvo is the latest spinner in the pack and did a great job in stunting the New Zealand growth.

New Zealand has no option but to go out hard at the opposition and win this one. And one gets the sense that they will. Of course, a lot will depend on how well the middle-order bats.

All the live action from the Bangladesh v New Zealand ODI series can be found here.

India will take on the mighty Australians in the final of the Commonwealth Games 2010 hockey tournament in New Delhi. You can watch the India v Australia hockey final on Doordarshan or on Doordarshan Sports if you are from India from 11.30 am IST (or 0600 hours GMT). You can also watch the India v Australia hockey final highlights on the same channel on the next day.

India’s path to the final has been rocky to say the least. They struggled to beat Malaysia, they were routed by the Aussies in the league game and then had to beat Pakistan in a virtual quarter-final to get to the semi-finals. As it turned out, India crushed their arch-rivals Pakistan to win themselves a semi-finals berth.

The semi-final against England was another humdinger as they were 1-3 down with only 15 minutes to go. However, Sarvanjit and Vikram scored a goal each to bring parity back into the game and then they beat England through the penalties.

Australia’s road to the final could not be more contrasting. In the league stages, they won all their four games and shot 15 goals while having only two against them (both by India). In the semi-finals against New Zealand, they slammed six more to storm into the final.

Without doubt, the Aussies will be the favourites to go through to winning the gold medal. What remains to be seen is whether the Indians can stop their juggernaut and win another gold for the country.

You can follow all the action from the India v Australia hockey game here

Vikings’ quarter-back Brett Favre has said sorry to his fellow National Football League players from the Minnesota side for the controversy surrounding him related to the text messages that he sent to a New York Jets game hostess two seasons ago.

According to the Associated Press, Favre apologised to his Minnesota Vikings teammates on Monday before their game against the Jets at New Meadowlands Stadium. The Jets beat the Vikings 29-20 and Favre refused to answer any questions related to the issue. Speaking to the reporters at the end of the game, Favre said, “I said what I had to say. I am disappointed that we lost this football game. If you want to talk about football, I can’t say I’d love to talk about football. … But, once again, it is disappointing that we lost,”

According to the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the NFL will look to get down to the issue and try and find all the facts around it. The league needs to decide, based on its investigation whether Favre had violated its personal conduct policy. If found guilty, he could either be fined or suspended.

The controversy broke out when a website put up a series of voicemails which were alleged to be sent by Favre to Jenn Sterger. Sterger had worked with the Jets in 2008. The voicemails had a man asking her to meet him. There were also some pictures posted which were allegedly sent by Favre to Sterger’s cell phone.

Favre had no comment to offer publicly and he said, “I’m not getting into that. I’ve got my hands full with the Jets and am trying to get some timing down with our guys, so that’s all I’m going to discuss,”

Favre is a 41-year old quarterback who has also played for the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 2007 apart from one season for Atlanta Falcons in 1991 and New York Jets in 2008, before joining the Minnesota Vikings.

Windows Phone 7 will be here for the Holiday Season

Microsoft Corp have announced their awaited launch of a new Windows 7 phone to be available in time for the Holiday season this year with more partners coming on board in 2011. The roll out is to incorporate North America, Europe and Asia Pacific including 60 operators and 30 countries.

“We have a beautiful lineup in this first wave of Windows Phone 7 handsets,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft.

Dell, HTC Corp, LG and Samsung are among the hardware partners for Windows 7 phones. All hardware will include Snapdragon™ processor from Qualcomm. With sprint and Verizon Wireless coming to market in 2011.

“Microsoft and its partners are delivering a different kind of mobile phone and experience — one that makes everyday tasks faster by getting more done in fewer steps and providing timely information in a ‘glance and go’ format.” said Steve Ballmer.

As well as a customaizable start screen, with live tiles for a personal experience, Windows Phone 7 will hail a new era in mobile gaming utilizing the power of Xbox LIVE to put games in to the hands of users.

EA (Electronics Arts Inc ) announced to a new lineup of games coming to the Windows Phone 7 platform including titles such as “Need for Speed™ Undercover,” “Tetris®” and “The Sims™ 3,” a selection to cover the needs of most hardened gamers on the go.

insert video

British Hostage May Have Been Victim of Friendly Fire, say's British PM

London UK, Prime Minister David Cameron announced this morning that he had been given unconfirmed information that Linda Norgrave, a Taliban hostage in Afghanistan, may have been killed by friendly fire a rescue attempt over the weekend.

Previous reports issuedduring the weekend by NATO and British officials indicated that she was killed by an explosive device detonated by her captors during the rescue attempt by US forces.

A full and swift investigation is to be initiated by Gen. David Patraeus, US commander Afghanistan. The mission commander, who has not been named, informed the commander of US forces in Afghanistan that follow up reports after the rescue indicated that a grenade had been used by US personnel during the rescue attempt.

A staement by the US military today said “a review of surveillance footage and discussions with members of the rescue team do not conclusively determine the cause of her death.”

A written statement from William Hague, British Foreign Secretary stated that his forces had information that indicated Linda’s location. It was decided that under the circumstances her best chance of survival laid with being rescued by force.

After the tragic outcome he also said “Responsibility for this tragic outcome rests squarely with the hostage takers,”

Linda Norgrove, two Afghan drivers and a security guard were ambushed on Sept 26 shortly after this the three afghans were released but Linda was held in a remote location in Dewcar Valley.

Kansas City Chiefs were handed their first defeat of the National Football League 2010 season as they lost to Indianapolis Colts 19-9 which meant that there were no teams in the tournament left without a loss. This also meant that for the first time since 1970, no side in the NFL had got to a 4-0 record at the start of the competition.

The Colts had gone into the game with a 2-2 record and won through Mike Hart’s touchdown – the only one of the game.

In another match, Tampa Bay overcame a stern challenge from the more fancied Cincinnati Bengals 24-21. It was a close game and in the end, Carson Palmer’s interception allowed Tampa Bay a chance to win it. Connor Barth kicked a 31-yard field goal with almost no time left to clinch the game.

This meant that Tampa Bay now have a 3-1 record in the tournament.

Arizona also beat New Orleans 30-20 in another game, as debutant Max Hall intercepted three passes by Drew Brees and assisted the side in winning the game. Hall threw an interception which meant that the Saints were up early thanks to the field goal. This led to Arizona’s third win of the tournament.

In some of the other games, Oakland won against San Diego 35-27 thanks to Michael Bush’s three yard run and Tyvon Branch’s return to a fumble. This meant that the side had finally to manage to beat San Diego after 13 successive losses to them. The last time Oakland had beaten San Diego was in September 2003.

Tennessee beat Dallas 34-27, while Detroit routed St. Louis 44-6.

New Zealand play Bangladesh in the third ODI of the series between the two teams at Dhaka. Bangladesh leads the series 1-0 with the second game being abandoned due to rain.

The Bangladesh v New Zealand 3rd ODI will be played on Monday, October 11. A win for Bangladesh will mean that they cannot lose the series; the first time this will happen for them against a Test match team.

Bangladesh v New Zealand, 3rd ODI at Dhaka Live Preview Scorecard and Commentary

You can watch the Bangladesh v New Zealand 3rd ODI live on Neo Sports on October 11 at 0300 hours GMT (or 8.30 am IST). You can also watch the highlights of the Bangladesh v New Zealand 3rd ODI at Dhaka on Neo Sports. The live streaming of the Bangladesh v New Zealand game will be seen on the neosports website

Bangladesh had won the first ODI against New Zealand by the skin of their teeth, and would understand that they were lucky with the Duckworth-Lewis. However, that cannot take anything away from the fact that the Kiwis batted poorly on a track which is not going to get better through the rest of the series.

What the Kiwis will probably need to do is to get some runs on the board by playing through the 50 overs instead of going after the bowling. The Bangladeshi spinners will make life difficult for them, and a good way to counter that is to have the likes of Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor bat when the spinners are bowling.

Bangladesh will also need to bat much better than what they did in the first ODI. They will obviously miss Tamim Iqbal but in Imrul Kayes and Shahriar Nafees, they have two of the best in the country.

All the live action from the Bangladesh v New Zealand ODI series can be found here.

India will play Australia in the second Test match of the series at Bangalore. India leads the two match series 1-0 after they won a thriller at Mohali, but will need to ensure that they go on to win their first major series of the year.

The India v Australia Bangalore Test match will be gin on Saturday, October 9. A win for India will reaffirm their number one status while pushing Australia down to number five, while an Aussie win would maintain status quo.

India v Australia, 2nd Test at Bangalore Live Preview Scorecard and Commentary

You can watch the India v Australia 2nd Test match live on Neo Cricket from October 9 at 0400 hours GMT (or 9.30 am IST). You can also watch the highlights of the India v Australia 2nd Test at Bangalore on Neo Cricket. The live streaming of the India v Australia game will be seen on the CricketNirvana website

India will know that they escaped out of a jail in the first Test match. However, the bigger worry will lie at the doorstep of the Australian side who have now got the most difficult task of winning a Test to level the series despite the absence of Doug Bollinger.

India will have their own injury issues and there is a good chance that Murali Vijay will replace Gautam Gambhir while S Sreesanth may get a game in place of Ishant Sharma. The bigger question-mark is over the fitness of the man of the moment, VVS Laxman and whether he will be fit to take field at Bangalore. If he does not, Cheteshwar Pujara will get a look-in.

This is also an important from the point of view of being the last Test match before the Aussies return back home to play the Ashes.

All the live action from the India v Australia Test series can be found here.

Super Sunday NFL: Cheifs Play Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium

Kansas City Chiefs will play the Indianapolis Colts at the Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday in the National Football League. The Chiefs have played three games this season and have yet to lose one, whereas the Colts have won three and lost only one.

Despite the all-win record, Kansas City may not go into the game as favourites. The Colts, with the presence of Peyton Manning, could go in as a difficult side to overcome and with Colts having beaten the Chiefs twice earlier, it would be difficult to bet against them. The Colts had almost gone unbeaten through the entire previous season and they would look to overcome the Chiefs in this game.

In the previous games, the Chiefs had beaten the San Francisco 49ers 31-10, while the Colts had been halted from their winning streak by the Jaguars, 28-31.

The Chiefs look much better on their offensive side than they have ever looked in the last dozen years and the pair of Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles have had a say in that. What needs to be seen is whether the Chiefs’ defense will be able to hold out against the rather incisive attack of the Colts.

In another game on Sunday, Dallas Cowboys will play the Tennessee Titans. Dallas had a bye week last time and in the game before that they had beaten the Houston Texans. The Titans are 2-2 going into the game but Chris Johnson is clearly struggling and will need to start producing the goods if the Titans have to win this one.

Bonamego Shown the Door After Miami Lose 14-41

National Football League’s Miami Dolphins sacked their special teams coordinator John Bonamego after the team was brushed aside by New England Patriots 14-41 in a game on Monday. 21 of those conceded points came thanks to the poor show by the special teams and that led to the axing.

There were two blocked kicks which led to touchdowns for the Patriots and this was followed by a kickoff 103 yards to get another score.

And this was not the first game where the special teams had had been the cause of issues. In their previous match-up against the New York Jets, they had had a punt blocked. The side is now 2-2 in this season of NFL.

The sacking will mean that the assistant special teams coach Darren Rizzi will come in place of Bonamego. Bonamego has already been a part of the NFL for 11 seasons and was the specials coach for Dolphins since 2008. Even earlier, Bonamego has been the special teams coach for the different sides since 1999 when he first became a part of the NFL.

The Dolphins do not play in the fifth week of the season and their next game is against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

The Dolphins have let go of many of the special teams guys in the last couple of seasons including cornerback Nathan Jones and linebackers Reggie Torbor, Erik Walden and Charlie Anderson. According to some of the experts, Bonamego was just the fall guy after the one-sided rout of the Dolphins.

New special teams coach Rizzi has not played in the NFL but started as an assistant coach at Colgate in 1993.

Europe won the Ryder Cup this year by a narrow margin of 14.5-13.5 on Monday at Celtic Manor Resort, Twenty Ten Course in Wales. USA had won the previous edition of the Ryder Cup in 2008, but were thwarted in their attempt to win their first since 1993 away from home.

The American side had gone into the last day of the tournament trailing by 6.5-9.5 but came back strongly to ensure that the tournament did not end without a thrilling finale.

Rickie Fowler brought the American team back into the tournament by winning the last three holes, which meant that Graeme McDowell had to beat Hunter Mahan to seal the win for Europe. McDowell then birdied the 16th before ensuring that the Ryder Cup was Europe’s on the 17th hole of the game.

Europe’s captain Colin Montgomerie said that it was a part of the strategy to send McDowell at the end of the order given that he was the US Open champion and knew how to handle the situation.

In the end, it would be fair to say that it was the third session on Saturday that proved to be US’s problem when they lost 0.5-5.0.

On Monday, Ian Poulter, Luke Donald and Miguel Angel Jimenez won their games for Europe, while Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Jeff Overton, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson notched up wins for the USA, that meant that the McDowell-Mahan match-up was going to be the deciding factor.

This was Europe’s fourth Ryder Cup win out of the last five tournaments, and six of the last eight, which shows how dominating the Europeans have become as a team as compared to the brilliance of the American individuals.

The New York Giants crushed Chicago Bears in the fourth game of the National Football League season by a 17-3 margin to record their second win in the tournament. The Bears, who had gone into this game with an all-win record, lost their first game in four matches. This also meant that the Giants had broken their two-match losing streak.

This leaves Kansas City Chiefs as being the only side to yet to lose a single game in the competition so far.

In another game last night, the Washington Redskins overcame the Philadelphia Eagles 17-13. The Eagles had been dealt a mighty blow when Michael Vick was ruled out of the game with chest and rib injuries and while his replacement Kevin Kolb did reduce the Eagles’ deficit to 17-12, that was as close as they could get.

The New York Jets recorded their third win as well, as they trounced the hapless Buffalo Bills 38-14. This leaves the Bills without a win off four games, one of the only four teams with such a record in the competition.

The Green Bay Packers also won their third match when they edged the Detroit Lions 28-26. Lions came close to recording their first win of the competition but were left to join the Bills, San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers with no win from four games.

The Panthers were beaten by the New Orleans Saints 16-14, who now have a 3-1 win-loss record in the NFL this year.

John Carney hit three field goals at the age of 46 for the New Orleans to not allow the Panthers get their first win this seasons.

Shaun Smith, Kansas City Chiefs’ linebacker has been fined $10,000 by the National Football League for allegedly grabbing the groin area of San Francisco offensive lineman Anthony Davis. The Chiefs had gone on to win the game 31-10, but Smith’s pockets were that much lighter after the NFL ruled against him.

This is the second time that Smith has been involved in this kind of an infiltration. Earlier, in their game against the Cleveland Browns, Alex Mack had also made similar accusations. Smith had refuted the same and said, “I don’t recall doing anything like that. I’m not known for being a dirty player or anything like that, so I don’t know what that was all about.”

There were other fines handed out as well. Minnesota’s Ray Edwards was penalised $10,000 on two counts, for hitting Detroit player Shaun Hill and for rough play on a Lions player.

Buffalo’s Steve Johnson was also fined $10,000 for celebrating inappropriately when he showed like he was shooting a shotgun after scoring a touchdown. This happened in the Buffalo Bills v New England Patriots game that the latter had won 38-30.

The most number of fines came up in the New York Giants-Tennessee Titans game, with six penalties being handed to the players. A total of $27,500 worth of fines were given to Ahmad Bradshaw, David Diehl, Kareem McKenzie, Adam Koets, Cortland Finnegan and Jason Babin.

The Titans had gone on to win the game 29-10 against the Giants. Currently, Titans have two wins and a loss whereas the Giants have lost two and won only one so far in the tournament.

The president of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka has said that he will be more than happy to try and resolve National Football League’s labor dispute. In a letter to both, the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith, Trumka invited both of them to discuss with him how truce could be achieved.

Trumka said that he believed that this meeting could be the start of a process that saves the tournament for the next season. He also added that it would also reduce job losses “if owners lock out the players and cancel games.”

According to NFLPA chief, once the collective bargaining agreement ends in March, the owners will look to lock out the players before the start of the 2011 season.

What remains to be seen is whether the two parties will end up meeting Trumka and getting the dispute resolved. Both have yet to reply to the missive.

The AFL-CIO had earlier warned all the teams that locking the players out would many American citizens their jobs. This could also end up with the cities losing out on more than $140 million in revenue according to Trumka.

Even in this letter, Trumka has requested Goodell to send across the profit and loss statement and operating expenses of all the teams that could help in justifying the need behind the lockout. He also added that this information was necessary to have a fair and productive meeting.

Trumka said, “I believe that a productive meeting and a production of the relevant financial information will be useful in helping to avoid a work stoppage that would impact thousands of jobs nationwide.”

India will play Australia in the first Test match of the series at Mohali. This is a part of the two Test match series, with the second India v Australia Test match to be played at Bangalore. The India v Australia Mohali Test match will be gin on Friday, October 1 and will see two of the best Test teams in the world, battle it out for the top two spot.

India v Australia, 1st Test at Mohali Live Preview Scorecard and Commentary

You can watch the India v Australia 1st Test match live on Neo Cricket from October 1 at 0400 hours GMT (or 9.30 am IST). You can also watch the highlights of the India v Australia 1st Test at Mohali on Neo Cricket.

India had won the last series against Australia 2-0 but that was two years back. Australia has definitely got a much better bowling attack than what they had then, and if their spinner, Nathan Hauritz can hold one end up, then things can definitely look up for them. On the other hand, India will need their spinner, Harbhajan Singh to be a trump card, and with his famous nemesis Ricky Ponting at the other end, things could look get interesting.

Australia will look to bat as well as they did in the warm-up game against the Board President’s XI, but against an attack having Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, things could be a tad different.

Rahul Dravid and Ricky Ponting will both bat at the number three position and will need to get their form going after a lacklustre previous 12 months or so.

All the live action from the India v Australia Test series can be found here.

The president of the Atlanta Falcons Rich McKay, who is also the co-chairman of the National Football League’s competition committee has said that the committee is a long way off from the decision to increase the number of regular season games to 18. McKay’s comments come in the wake of Indianapolis Colts’ Bill Polian’s assertion that the 18-game season was a foregone conclusion.

McKay said on Wednesday that there was some time before they took the decision on the increase in the games. He also added that the committee was studying the proposals and the pros and the cons associated with it, and would take a decision only after the ongoing discussions were completed.

McKay did admit that the 18-game season makes for a lot of sense and would be good for the fans as well. However, he added that it would be good to allow the process to be completed. He said, “But I think the process is ongoing, and I think Bill knows that because Bill’s been part of that process.”

Even the NFLPA president Kevin Mawae said that he was surprised by the statement and did not know whether Polian had the authority to go public with any of such announcement.

Earlier on Wednesday, Polian had himself backtracked on what he had said only two days ago. He said that that he had managed to get into headlines by not answering the question put forth to the best of his abilities. He added that he had said something that was “180 degrees from what was right.”

Polian had said on Monday that the owners of the NFL teams and the commissioner had agreed with the suggestion to increase the number of games and that the debate over it had been over.

Ryder Cup Practice will not Scupper Original Plans: Pavin

American Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin has said that the practice sessions will not have any effect on his team composition when the three day event begins from October 1. The Ryder Cup, which will be played at Celtic Manor Resort in the city of Newport, South Wales will see golfers from USA and Europe fight it out for the golf’s top crown.

Pavin admitted that he had had a talk with Tom Watson, who had won the last Ryder Cup captain for America in 1993 and added that he was advised to overlook the practice performances. The current American captain said, “A good piece of advice that Tom gave me was to just let them go out and play in practice. You can’t let the team be concerned about how they are playing. They are getting over jet-lag, and their bodies are out of whack.”

The Welsh weather will also be much to worry about as the forecast for the weekend isn’t too great. After a cloudy couple of days at the venue, there are rains expected over the weekend along with fog which could add to the woes. The shorter days of October could mean that the tournament will not be able to take delays due to the inclement weather.

The Americans practiced hard despite the weather, and one saw Tiger Woods partner Steven Stricker, something that should happen even during the tournament. World No 2 Phil Mickelson also practiced with the youngsters Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson, while Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar teamed up together and practiced with Zach Johnson and Hunter Mahan. Rickie Fowler and Jim Furyk played along with Woods and Stricker.

America are the defending champions at the Ryder Cup but the last time they won the trophy in Europe was in 1993.

NFL set to Increase Game Schedule to 18 According to Bill Polian

According to the Indianapolis Colts chief, Bill Polian, the National Football League will increase the number of games from the 16 to 18 from the next season and this announcement could be made soon.

Speaking to ESPN on a radio show, Polian said that it was a foregone conclusion that the number of games will see an increase and that there was no more debate around the same. He used the phrase “fait accompli” on two separate occasions to describe the situation.

According to the Colts owner, the owners and the commissioner of the NFL have agreed in principle that the best way to move forward was to increase the regular season by a couple of games. He also added, “I’ve heard recently, and I’m sorry that this didn’t get more coverage earlier, some really, really interesting commentary on it…I wish some of that dialogue had taken place earlier.”

The NFL has yet to announce any change in the number of games and refused to comment on Polian’s statements.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and some of the NFL franchise owners have been supportive of the move to increase the number of games by two after doing away with two pre-season matches. However, there has been no vote on the same and with concerns over injuries being an issue with player agents, there could still be some time before the same gets approved.

The other issue that may hinder this proposal is that shortened pre-season would reduce the evaluation time for the fringe players vying for roster spots, and make it difficult for them to make it to the side.

Earlier, in August, the team owners had met up in Atlanta to push for the addition of the two extra games to the regular season. New England Patriots’ Bob Kraft had said, “I think it’s a win-win all around.”

NFL-Kansas City get Third win this Season, Saints Stunned by Falcons

Atlanta Falcons stunned the defending champions New Orleans Saints while Kansas City Chiefs recorded their third successive win at the National Football League this season.

The Saints had gone into their game against the Falcons having won both their first couple of games this season. The Saints had also beaten the Falcons in seven out of the last eight encounters, and were expectedly favourites to clinch this one. As it turned out, the game between the Saints and Falcons went on to be a thriller and ended with the latter winning 27-24.

The Saints missed the presence of Reggie Bush, who was out with an injury, while the Falcons were helped by an overtime field goal by Matt Bryant.

Garrett Hartley missed a routine chip shot and that was one of the chief reasons for their defeat. Hartley accepted his mistake in as many words, “I missed basically an extra point. It was clearly my mistake. It’s the highs and lows of being a kicker.”

Kansas City had come into the season without too man expectations, but three weeks into the season, they have won everything that has come their way. They beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-10 which pushed the 49ers to their third defeat this season. Kansas City now have a break for a week before facing Indianapolis Colts in their next game.

Linebacker Derrick Johnson said, “It was a great day for the Chiefs. Each win, we’re getting more and more confident.”

Pittsburgh Steelers also recorded their third win with a 38-13 scoreline over Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions all joined the 49ers in a third successive loss.

The Chennai Super Kings will play the Warriors in the final of the Champions League T20 at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. The Chennai Super Kings v Warriors game will be played on Sunday and will be a rematch of the league stage encounter between the two sides. The winner of this Chennai Super Kings v Warriors game will lift the Champions League T20 trophy and a cheque for $2.5 million.

Chennai Super Kings v Warriors Live Preview Scorecard and Commentary

You can watch the Chennai Super Kings v Warriors CLT20 match live on Star Cricket on September 26 from 1530 hours GMT (or 9.00 pm IST). You can also watch the highlights of the Chennai Super Kings v Warriors CLT20 match on Star Cricket.

The Chennai Super Kings go into the finals of the Champions League T20 after having got the better of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first semi-finals. In the second last-four game, the Warriors overcame favourites South Australian challenge to get to the final.

A lot of credit for the Warriors’ entry into the final must be afforded to the captain Davey Jacobs, who has starred as a batman and a fielder as well. The Super Kings, on the other hand, have had Suresh Raina cracking two scores in excess of 80 to guide them through, along with Murali Vijay, who has batted consistently.

The game could well turn out to the battle of the spinners as both teams possess two high-class slow bowlers for this format.

All the action from the Champions League T20 can be followed live here.

The South Australian Redbacks will play the Warriors in the second semi-final of the Champions League T20 at the Centurion. The South Australia v Warriors game will be played on Saturday and is the only match of the day. The winner of this South Australia v Warriors game will play Chennai Super Kings in the finals of the Champions League T20

South Australia v Warriors Live Preview Scorecard and Commentary

You can watch the South Australia v Warriors CLT20 match live on Star Cricket on September 25 from 1530 hours GMT (or 9.00 pm IST). You can also watch the highlights of the South Australia v Warriors CLT20 match on Star Cricket.

South Australia have been the standout team in the tournament so far, having won all their games and cruising into the semi-finals. However, one has seen many teams going through a tournament without a loss and then crashing out in the first knock-out they play.

The issue may be more reminiscent for the South African side of the Warriors. Usually, it is the South Africans who have choked at such times and the Warriors will not want to follow the footsteps of the senior South African side.

Shaun Tait continues to impress, but the Warriors would hope that the break from the Guyana game would help in breaking his rhythm than recover him from his injuries. On the other hand, it will be a battle to watch between the captains and the middle-order; Davey Jacobs v Michael Klinger, Colin Ingram v Callum Ferguson.

All the action from the Champions League T20 can be followed live here.