NEWS
Your daily sports news headlines - worthwhile reading as the content may be useful for some major competitions we plan to hold in the future where we will be offering some interesting prizes.
Latest Headlines - 7 Jan '09
TOP STORIES
* Tottenham 4-1 Burnley *
Spurs take a huge stride towards the Carling Cup final by thrashing Burnley in the semi-final first leg at White Hart Lane.
* Australia v South Africa scorecard *
South Africa are looking for a series whitewash in the third and final Test against Australia in Sydney.
* Arsenal 'interested in Arshavin' *
Arsenal are interested in signing Andrei Arshavin, according to Zenit St Petersburg's coach Dick Advocaat.
* Benitez relaxed on Reds transfers *
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez says he is unlikely to do any major transfer deals in January.
* Beckham makes bow in AC Milan win *
England's David Beckham plays 45 minutes on his AC Milan debut as the Serie A side run out winners on penalties against Hamburg.
FOOTBALL
* Tottenham 4-1 Burnley *
Spurs take a huge stride towards the Carling Cup final by thrashing Burnley in the semi-final first leg at White Hart Lane.
* Clough takes over as Derby boss *
Nigel Clough leaves Burton Albion after 10 years in charge to become the new manager of Derby.
* Spurs set to finalise Defoe deal *
Tottenham are poised to sign England striker Jermain Defoe after agreeing a deal with top-flight rivals Portsmouth.
* Rangers open to Blues' Boyd offer *
Rangers will consider selling striker Kris Boyd to Birmingham, if the St Andrews club increase their £3m bid.
* McGeady accepts Celtic sanctions *
Aiden McGeady will not dispute the fine and first-team suspension imposed by Celtic for a breach of club discipline.
* Giggs hints at Man Utd retirement *
Manchester United's Ryan Giggs has hinted that he could retire at the end of the season.
* Cardiff's cup tie date switched *
Cardiff City will be rewarded with an extra £160,000 as their FA Cup fourth-round tie with Arsenal will be shown live on television.
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CRICKET
* Mushtaq cleared for England role *
Former Pakistan leg-spinner has received clearance to coach England spin bowlers and also Sussex for three months in the summer.
* England discord worries Butcher *
The former England opener and Surrey captain Mark Butcher says England must beware of the fall-out from the row between captain Kevin Pietersen and coach Peter Moores.
* Australia v South Africa scorecard *
South Africa are looking for a series whitewash in the third and final Test against Australia in Sydney.
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RUGBY UNION
* Rees Six Nations blow for England *
England and Wasps flanker Tom Rees will miss the majority of the Six Nations due to a knee injury.
* Vainikolo to miss rest of season *
Gloucester winger Lesley Vainikolo will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on a ruptured Achilles tendon.
* Fitness race for Wales wing Jones *
Scarlets and Wales three-quarter Mark Jones is a doubt for the Six Nations start after an operation to remove his appendix.
* Edinburgh v Ulster (Fri) *
Timoci Nagusa remains a major fitness doubt for Ulster's Magners League clash against Edinburgh despite being named in a 27-man squad for Friday's game.
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RUGBY LEAGUE
* Saints player banned for drug use *
St Helens academy player Daniel Langtree is banned for two years after traces of cocaine are found in his system.
* Warriors star Fai feared drowned *
New Zealand Warriors forward Sonny Fai is presumed drowned after being swept out to sea off a beach near Auckland.
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TENNIS
* Murray eases to victory in Qatar *
Andy Murray makes a comfortable start to his Qatar Open title defence with a straight-sets victory over Albert Montanes.
* Keothavong wins Auckland opener *
British number one Anne Keothavong is through to the second round of the ASB Classic in Auckland after beating Mirjana Lucic.
* Gulbis stuns Djokovic in Brisbane *
Novak Djokovic suffers a surprise setback ahead of his Australian Open defence, crashing out of the first round of the Brisbane International.
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MOTORSPORT
* Rally duo in hospital after crash *
British driver Paul Green and his co-driver Matthew Harrison both remain in a serious condition in hospital after an accident in the Dakar Rally.
* Kawasaki's MotoGP future in doubt *
Kawasaki are poised to withdraw from the 2009 MotoGP championship.
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ATHLETICS
* London may get Golden League slot *
London could be added to the Golden League athletics series under new plans by the IAAF.
* More stars sign up for Birmingham *
A further six World and Olympic medallists agree to compete in the Aviva Grand Prix at the NIA next month.
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OTHER SPORT... DARTS
* Below-par Anderson into quarters *
Top seed Gary Anderson battles into the BDO World Championship quarter-finals with 4-2 win against Robert Hughes.
* Nervy Adams edges into round two *
Martin Adams books his place in the second round of the BDO World Championship after beating Dave Chisnall 3-2.
Event Listing - Jan 2009
Here's a detailed listing of sporting events going on in January 2009
DARTS: Dec 19-Jan 4 Alexandra Palace: PDC World Championship
CRICKET: Jan 1 First ODI, Queenstown: New Zealand v West Indies
FOOTBALL: Jan 2-5 FA Cup third round
CRICKET: Jan 3 Second ODI, Christchurch: New Zealand v W Indies
ATHLETICS: Jan 3 Belfast: IAAF cross country meeting
CRICKET: Jan 3-7 Third Test, Sydney: Australia v South Africa
CRICKET: Jan 3-7 Second Test, Bogra: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka
DARTS: Jan 3-11 Frimley Green: Lakeside World Championship
BASKETBALL: Jan 4 Forssa: EuroBasket qualifier: Finland v GB
TENNIS: Jan 5-11 Brisbane: ATP Brisbane Open
TENNIS: Jan 5-11 Chennai: ATP Chennai Open
TENNIS: Jan 5-11 Doha: ATP Qatar Open
TENNIS: Jan 5-11 Auckland: WTA ASB Classic
TENNIS: Jan 5-11 Brisbane: WTA Brisbane International
BOWLS: Jan 5-25 Hopton: Potters World Championships
FOOTBALL: Jan 6-7 Carling Cup semi-final first legs
CRICKET: Jan 7 Third ODI, Wellington: New Zealand v West Indies
BASKETBALL: Jan 7 Sheffield: EuroBasket qualifier: GB v Bosnia
GOLF: Jan 8-11 Kensington GC, Johannesburg: Joburg Open
GOLF: Jan 8-11 Hawaii: Mercedes-Benz Championship
GOLF: Jan 9-11 Bangkok: Royal Trophy
CRICKET: Jan 10 Fourth ODI, Auckland: New Zealand v West Indies
CRICKET: Jan 10 Triangular series, Dhaka: Bangladesh v Zimbabwe
BASKETBALL: Jan 10 Nottingham: EuroBasket qualifier: GB-Romania
ATHLETICS: Jan 10 Edinburgh: IAAF cross country meeting
CRICKET: Jan 11 First Twenty20, Melbourne: Australia v Sth Africa
SNOOKER: Jan 11-18 TBC: Masters
TENNIS: Jan 11-16 Hobart: Moorilla International
CRICKET: Jan 12 Fifth ODI, Napier: New Zealand v West Indies
CRICKET: Jan 12 Triangular series, Dhaka: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe
TENNIS: Jan 12-18 Auckland: ATP Heineken Open
TENNIS: Jan 12-18 Sydney: ATP & WTA Medibank International
TENNIS: Jan 12-18 Hobart: WTA Moorilla Hobart International
CRICKET: Jan 13 Second Twenty20, Brisbane: Australia v Sth Africa
BASKETBALL: Jan 13 Worcester: EuroBasket qualifier: GB v Finland
CRICKET: Jan 13-17 First Test, Karachi: Pakistan v India
CRICKET: Jan 14 Triangular series, Dhaka: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka
GOLF: Jan 15-18 Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Golf Championship
GOLF: Jan 15-18 Hawaii: Sony Open
CRICKET: Jan 16 First ODI, Melbourne: Australia v South Africa
CRICKET: Jan 16 Triangular Tournament Final, Dhaka
BASKETBALL: Jan 16 Sarajevo: EuroBasket qualifier: Bosnia v GB
CRICKET: Jan 17 Second ODI, Hobart: Australia v South Africa
ATHLETICS: Jan 18 Seville: IAAF cross country meeting
BASKETBALL: Jan 18 Birmingham: BBL Cup final
CRICKET: Jan 19 First ODI, Dhaka: Bangladesh v Zimbabwe
BASKETBALL: Jan 19 Targoviste: EuroBasket qualifier: Romania v GB
TENNIS: Jan 19-Feb 1 Melbourne: Australian Open
FOOTBALL: Jan 20-21 Carling Cup semi-final second legs
CRICKET: Jan 21 Second ODI, Dhaka: Bangladesh v Zimbabwe
CRICKET: Jan 21-25 Second Test, Rawalpindi: Pakistan v India
GOLF: Jan 22-25 Doha: Commercialbank Qatar Masters
GOLF: Jan 22-25 California: Bob Hope Chrysler Classic
CRICKET: Jan 23 Third ODI, Sydney: Australia v South Africa
CRICKET: Jan 23 Third ODI, Dhaka: Bangladesh v Zimbabwe
FOOTBALL: Jan 24-25 FA Cup fourth round
CRICKET: Jan 25-27 Tour Match, St Kitts: St Kitts XI v England
CRICKET: Jan 26 Fourth ODI, Adelaide: Australia v South Africa
CRICKET: Jan 29-31 Tour match, St Kitts: West Indies A v England
CRICKET: Jan 29-Feb 2 Third Test, Lahore: Pakistan v India
GOLF: Jan 29-Feb 1 Dubai: Dubai Desert Classic
CRICKET: Jan 30 Fifth ODI, Perth: Australia v South Africa
ATHLETICS: Jan 30 New York: IAAF indoor meeting
BADMINTON: Jan 30-Feb 1 Manchester: English Championships
RUGBY UNION: Jan 31 Scarlets v Barbarians
BOWLS: Jan 31 TBC: Welsh International Open
