The Championships Wimbledon Sharapova stunned

Centre Court queen Maria Sharapova, the 2004 champion, was sensationally dumped out of Wimbledon on Wednesday losing 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 to Argentina's Gisela Dulko in the second round.

Dulko, who needed five knife-edge match points to seal victory after 2hr 13min, goes on to face Russian 10th seed Nadia Petrova for a place in the last 16.

But for Sharapova, defeat will cast further doubts over the ability of the sport's most bankable star to ever return to her former powers following a 10-month absence from the tour nursing a shoulder injury.

"It's the biggest win of my career because she's a great champion and on centre court in the most important tournament in the world," said the 24-year-old Dulko.

"It's a dream day. I played a poor second set but I kept fighting in the third. I was really nervous at the end. I didn't want it to go to 5-5 because she competes right to the very end."

Dulko was quickly a break ahead to lead 2-0 as the Argentine showed few nerves playing in front of 15,000 people.

The world number 45, had the Russian scampering from side to side and took the opening set in the eighth game courtesy of a sweeping, crosscourt forehand winner.

Sharapova was soon in trouble again as the slender Argentine nipped ahead to a 3-0 lead in the second set, courtesy of a break in the second game.

Dulko had lost both her previous meetings with Sharapova, but the Russian is nothing if not competitive and she was back in contention with a break to trail 2-3.

Two successive double faults from a suddenly frail-looking Dulko then allowed Sharapova to lead 4-3 which became 5-3 on a service hold.

The former champion then unleashed a succession of thunderous service returns to further dismantle the Argentine's crumbling confidence and she broke again to level the tie in the ninth game.

Sharapova, now with renewed potency, was ahead to lead 1-0 in the decider before Dulko ended the Russian's seven-game streak to level at 1-1.

Breaks were exchanged in the next two games with Sharapova fighting off two breaks points, as well as picking up a time violation, in the fifth game.

Dulko, who has reached the third round here on three occasions, refused to be overpowered and she broke to love to lead 4-3 as the Centre Court crowd warmed further to the underdog.

Sharapova saved four match points in a tense 10th game, but Dulko claimed an emotional victory when the Russian unleashed a wild forehand.

Messi tops C'Ron

Cristiano Ronaldo may be the world's most expensive footballer, but Barcelona star Lionel Messi outshines him in terms of media value, at least according to a team of Spanish researchers.

The team from the University of Navarra said the Argentine had ousted the Portuguese striker as the player with the highest profile last season.

However, Ronaldo remains the most expensive player, with the researchers valuing him at 82 million euros, less than the world record 93 million Real Madrid paid Manchester United for him this month.

Messi was next at 80 million, followed by Liverpool's Spanish striker Fernando Torres at 67 million.

The study cited Barcelona's European Champions League victory, and Messi's goal in the final, for his leap to number one in the media rankings over last year's winner Ronaldo.

It forecast "an exciting media fight between these two brilliant players" next season.

In team rankings, it recorded a "technical tie" between Barcelona (86.2 points) and Manchester United (86.0 points).

But the manager with the most media pulling power was United's Alex Ferguson, ahead of Barca's Pep Guardiola.

FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa v Brazil Pupil meets Master

Former coach Carlos Alberto Parreira promised to introduce South Africa to 'samba football', a mission pursued by his successor, Joel Santana.

Well at Ellis Park on Thursday the willing pupil will have the chance to test precisely how much they've learned when they take on the country who invented the concept.

The smart and not so smart money is on Brazil overpowering South Africa in this Confederations Cup semi-final to set up a dream final Sunday with Spain, favourites to beat the United States on Wednesday.

But this 2009 Confed Cup has been nothing if not unpredictable - witness the USA's advance to the last four at the expense of world champions and African champions Italy and Egypt.

South Africa owe their presence here to having narrowly shaded Iraq on goal difference to emerge as Group A runners-up after goalless draws against the Asian champions, a 2-0 win over New Zealand and a 2-0 loss to Spain.

Brazil strode imperiously through Group B, following up the last minute 4-3 victory over Egypt with 3-0 drubbings of the USA and then astonishingly Italy.

That has left Kaka and company in prime shape to defend the title they collected in Germany four years ago, but South Africa are counting on their vibrant and colourful support and some class acts like Everton's Steven Pienaar, Bernard Parker and Teko Modise to help them dethrone the five time world champions.

The last time the hosts and holders met was back in 1996 in Joburg when South Africa, with Lucas Radebe and Doctor Khumalo on board, were leading a Brazil side captained by Dunga two nil at half time only to go down 3-2.

Santana, constantly criticised in the local media for his defensive tactics, is talking a big game ahead of what promises to be an electric encounter at a sold-out Ellis Park.

"We deserve to be in the semi-finals, we got four points," said the Brazilian.

"We outplayed New Zealand. We beat them 2-0, but could have scored six while Iraq were totally negative.

"I am happy to be in the semi-finals, I could have been heading home. But now I am looking forward to a major semi-final of a big FIFA event."

Dunga rates his compatriot highly as a manager and is wary of the threat presented by his team.

"South Africa are an emerging team, but we know they will give us a difficult test.

"They're strong, quick and they will have the crowd behind them. But we'll be well prepared. Brazil have a very strong squad, which helps in a tournament like this. Every player in the squad is a first-teamer."

ICC World Twenty20 'We must build on T20 win'

Popular all-rounder Shahid Afridi said Pakistan need to build on their historic victory in the ICC World Twenty20 championship as he arrived home Wednesday.

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets to win the World Twenty20 title in England -- their second biggest win in the sport in 17 years after their 50-over World Cup win in Australia in 1992.

Afridi, who won man-of-the-match awards in the semifinal and final, said the team lived up to the expectations of the nation. He scored half centuries on both occasions.

"We are proud champions and, more so, we lived up to the expectations of millions of cricket fans in the country who were seeking some moments of smile," Afridi told reporters at his residence where a large crowd had gathered to greet him.

But Pakistan need to carry on the winning momentum, he said ahead of next month's Test tour of Sri Lanka.

"We have met success in one event, but now we have to carry forward this momentum and win more and more series in future," said Afridi, who arrived in Karachi with team-mates Fawad Alam and Shoaib Malik two days after the squad returned home.

Allrounder Abdul Razzaq flew into Lahore. The four players had stayed in England due to some personal commitments.

Eleven other members including captain Younus Khan and team coach Intikhab Alam arrived on Tuesday.

Afridi expressed surprise that fans were deprived of welcoming the triumphant team when they arrived at Lahore due to security concerns.

"I heard that fans had to wait for hours outside Lahore airport but the team was taken away without giving them a glimpse, it's disappointing for fans," he said.

Afridi was also surprised over captain Younus's decision to quit T20 cricket after their victory.

"I am surprised, he can still play this form of cricket and is good at it," he said.

Razzaq, who was summoned to England as replacement for injured allrounder Yasir Arafat, praised Younus and coach Intikhab Alam.

"Both Younus and Alam were outstanding and supported me a lot. I needed that because I had come in the team after a long gap," said Razzaq who joined the team in England after two-year absence from international cricket.

Razzaq, 29, signed with the unrecognised Indian Cricket League in protest after he was left out of the squad for the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007.

He snapped his ties with the league earlier this month to get clearance to play for Pakistan.

"I have my confidence back and now I am ready to play for Pakistan in Tests against Sri Lanka," said Razzaq who was named in the 15-man squad for the Sri Lanka tour.

Pakistan play three Tests, five one-day and one T20 international. The first Test starts in Galle from July 4.

Mere Sang New York HD FULL SONG VIDEO JOHN ABRAHAM KATRINA KAIF NEW HINDI MOVIE xvid

via The Insider

Sizzling chemistry between John and Katrina

Here's what majority have to say."The two stars get intimate in bed and even share a passionate kiss in a song in their film New York .The music video of the song is already on the net and has become quite a sensation among Bollywood buffs because of the sizzling chemistry between John and Katrina in it."

We think that 1) Katrina Kaif is doing too much, on the contrary John is doing nothing. 2) A few seconds of them touching each other's faces have no subtext nor seduction-hence the inappropriate "sizziling chemistry"comment. 3)I'm thinking twice to go watch New York. With that said- watch the clip below. And oh, Salman Khan should not bother getting worked up on this clip-it is as bad as the clip he shared with Katrina Kaif on Yuvraaj, where Kat tried to tie Salman Khan's hand on the bed. (cue to vomit).

Salman Khan manages to get shy Sridevi on his show

Salman Khan is in a mood to make the second season of his ‘Dus Ka Dum’ even better and far successful than his first row. After Bollywood biggies like Katrina, Neil, Mallika and others he has managed to get otherwise media shy Sridevi on his show.
This would be Sridevi’s first appearance in a reality show. However, when Salman invited her for the show she just couldn’t refuse him because she is supposedly a fan of this actor and also because she is the producer of Salman’s next release ‘Wanted’. It may be mentioned here that the two have worked together in films like ‘Chand Ka Tukda’ and ‘Chandramukhi’. Though the episode is primarily a part of the promotion of the film ‘Wanted’ but the trio of Sridevi, her husband Boney Kapoor and Salman Khan shared some quality bonding over the show. Salman also gifted two of her paintings on the show and showed it to all.

FIFA Confederations Cup Spain v USA Final on Spanish sights

Spain was expecting to face Italy or Egypt in their Confederations Cup semifinal on Wednesday but instead the United States stands between them and another world record.

The unlikely outcome came about after Brazil beat Italy 3-0 and the United States upset Egypt by the same margin on Sunday, with Bob Bradley's team going through on goal difference.

Despite having to revise his plans, Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said the US deserved to qualify.

"They had Italy against the ropes and heavily beat Egypt, who were until then the revelation of the tournament," he said.

"They are fast, well organised, and they will come into the match with plenty of desire."

Nevertheless, the odds are heavily stacked against a team who have the unenviable task of trying to become the first side to beat the European champions since November 2006.

If Spain avoid defeat, they will eclipse Brazil's 35-match unbeaten run, set between 1993 and 1996, to rewrite the history books for the second time in less than a week.

By beating South Africa over the weekend, they stretched their winning streak to 15 games, something no other national team has achieved.

While Del Bosque admits records are a motivating factor, at stake is more than that with a place in Sunday's final in Johannesburg against Brazil or hosts South Africa the reward for winning.

There are few weak points for the United States to exploit, with Fernando Torres and David Villa a formidable proposition for any defence.

Torres scored a hattrick in Spain's 5-0 demolition of New Zealand while Villa has put aside personal distractions regarding his on-off move away from Valencia to score in all three of Spain's matches so far.

Add into the mix players like Xavi, Cesc Fabregas, Xabi Alonso, and Carlos Puyol and it is a titanic task.

Torres said the side, which has yet to concede a goal here, was driven by setting records and winning their first FIFA trophy.

"Everyone will remember this team in the future and when we look back on it we will be even prouder," he said about their record-breaking run.

"But we don't want to stop here. We want to play the final and win it. We are ambitious and we are hungry."

Bradley is no dreamer and knows it will need something extraordinary to prevail on Wednesday, particularly with Spain having an extra day to rest and prepare.

"Spain are a great team," he said.

"We played them last year in a friendly in Santander, their last warm-up before Euro 2008.

"They wore us down in the second half, but then we watched as they wore down Russia, Holland and eventually Germany at the European championships.

"I pointed out to the players that they should take note that we had done a good job.

"It's a short turnaround and playing them is such a challenge, it's like playing Barcelona and the national team. We'll have our work cut out against the likes of Torres and Xavi."

Landon Donovan, David Beckham's teammate at LA Galaxy and the United States' all-time top scorer, concedes it won't be easy but remains optimistic, insisting stranger things have happened.

"It's not going to be easy," he said. "I don't think many teams go into a game against Spain thinking they'll win.

"But we thought we were out of the competition 10 minutes after our second game here, so it just goes to show that soccer is a crazy game and anything can happen. We've proved that."

The Championships Wimbledon Venus sinks Voegel

Defending champion Venus Williams moved into the Wimbledon second round on Tuesday but time caught up with fellow All England Club veterans Kimiko Date Krumm and Jelena Dokic.

Williams, the five-time, 29-year-old champion, beat Switzerland's Stefanie Voegele 6-3, 6-2 in a sun-kissed Centre Court workout.

"It is the best place to be when you are a pro tennis player and I savour every blade of it," said Williams. "I've had that crown for several years and I want to make it mine again."

While Williams was pondering facing Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko for a place in the last 32, Date Krumm and Dokic's hopes of a fairytale campaign melted in the Wimbledon heat.

Date Krumm, the 38-year-old Japanese who last played here in 1996, took the first set off Danish ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki but slipped to a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 defeat.

The Japanese player, making a comeback this year, reached the semi-finals in 1996 and when she made her debut in 1989, Wozniacki was still a year away from being born.

Date Krumm, 20 years older than the blonde Dane, needed extensive medical treatment on her injured thigh as the marathon first round tie took its toll.

Dokic, who made her career breakthrough here in 1999 when she defeated top seed Martina Hingis, before her professional and private life went into a spiral, also needed medical attention.

The 26-year-old Australian took the first set off German qualifier Tatjana Malek before losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Dokic complained of feeling dizzy at the end of the second set and had her blood pressure taken at courtside.

Malek goes on to tackle Australian 18th seed, and French Open semifinalist, Samantha Stosur.

Also progressing in the women's draw was Serbian sixth seed Jelena Jankovic who defeated Germany's Julia Göerges 6-4, 7-6 (7/0) and she will face the Czech Republic's Iveta Benesova who saw off Britain's Katie O'Brien.

In the men's first round, Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro, a semifinalist at Roland Garros, brushed aside France's Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.

There were also comfortable wins for Chilean 10th seed Fernando Gonzalez, Russian 12th seed Nikolay Davydenko and Tommy Haas, the German 24th seed and a winner on grass at Halle last week.

Exit Ash, Enter Mash

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is the first paceman in the country to lead the national team as Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Tuesday appointed him as captain and Shakib Al Hasan as his deputy for the tours of West Indies and Zimbabwe.

The 25-year-old cricketer, dubbed as Narail Express, took over the helm as the fifteenth skipper of the country from Mohammad Ashraful, who was sacked following the Tigers' early exit from the ICC World Twenty20, which created huge tumult in the cricket fraternity.

BCB however said that they took away the captaincy from Ashraful to get maximum batting service from the 24-year-old right-hander, who played some memorable innings in his eight-year career though the main problem lies in consistency.

"The Board wants to sincerely thank Mohammad Ashraful for his contribution as skipper. The decision to replace him was taken with the intention of relieving the load on Ashraful so that he can play his natural game. We all know his quality and what he is capable of as a batsman and we are confident that without the burden of captaincy his batting would flourish and he would contribute more to the team," BCB spokesman Jalal Yunus explained the reason behind the removal of Ashraful.

"We believe we have picked the ideal person as captain [Mashrafe Bin Mortaza]. Apart from his obvious match-winning ability Mortaza is a proven fighter and has the experience. He can inspire and motivate the team. This is a new challenge for him and we know that he loves challenges," added Yunus.

With the announcement, the game's governing body put an end to the speculation over the last few days and now the focus would be on Mashrafe, who so far played 35 Tests and 103 ODIs since making international debut in 2001, to show how he handles the situation and goes about the hot job.

"I think we lack mental confidence and this is the area I want to work on. I am feeling good because it's a big thing to lead the national team but at the same time it's a difficult time. But as a senior member of the team, I am prepared to take the responsibility and challenge," said Mashrafe, who guided Abahani to league championship.

"As a bowler I don't think it's an additional pressure. I have eight years' international experience with me, so I hope I can enjoy the job," he said replying to a question whether it'd be difficult for him to lead the team as a bowler as it's not so common in international arena.

"But what I can say is that I want to lead the team with pride even if it's for one match. And I am not worried with the criticism because it's part of the game. I think we had some good performance under the leadership of Ashraful and I will definitely seek assistant from him whenever needed," he said.

For Mashrafe, the main concern is his every so often injury which many thought could be a real barrier for him to be given the responsibility but the man himself was hardly bothered with the problem as he has full confidence in his deputy.

"Injury is part of life and I think in my absence Shakib can lead the team because he is a matured cricketer after spending four years in international scene," said Mashrafe.

Mashrafe also heaped praises on outgoing skipper Ashraful under whom he acted deputy for long. "Ash is a big name in our cricket and he earned lot for us and an useful batsman in all format of the game. Hope we get maximum from him," he said.

It was however not a day for Ashraful to say something because he was not ready to quit the job but still checked his emotion to congratulate the new captain and vice-captain while talking with the reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

"I want to congratulate new captain and vice-captain and hope we will be able to play good cricket in our next tour to forget the debacle in the last World Cup. I will try my best to help the team," said a gloomy Ashraful, who was not ready to take any questions from the reporters.

Ashraful took over the captaincy from Habibul Bashar in June 2007 and under his leadership in 38 ODIs Bangladesh managed to win only eight games, with a majority of those against the minnows. The significant victories were against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. The team also failed to win a Test under him, losing 12 out of 13. He also under-performed as a batsman in both forms, averaging 22.58 in Tests and 25.60 in ODIs.