The Houston Texans won their first ever National Football League (NFL) playoff game with a 31-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday earning them a divisional round clash with the Baltimore Ravens.

Houston running back Arian Foster was once again the difference-maker scoring two touchdowns and rushing for 153 yards as Houston delighted a record crowd of 71,725 at Reliant Stadium.

The Texans were playing in their first playoff game since joining the NFL in 2002 and the city of Houston was enjoying post-season football for the first time since the old Oilers franchise lost in January 1994.

A pair of rookie quarterbacks started a playoff game for the first time and T.J. Yates, Houston’s third stringer at the start of the season, had the better day with a solid 159 yards and no interceptions.

Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton had a tougher time, throwing for 257 yards but giving up three interceptions as he came under pressure against a forceful Texans defense.

The Texans, who lost starting quarterback Matt Schaub and back-up Matt Leinart to injury this season, kept to the formula which helped them to the AFC South divisional title – running the ball effectively, hitting receiver Andre Johnson with some big plays and making sure that Yates kept it safe and simple.

But it was the Bengals who made the first breakthrough on Saturday as a 52-yard penalty for defensive pass interference on A.J. Green helped Cincinnati towards a one-yard touchdown run from Cedric Benson midway through the first quarter.

Foster burst through for an eight-yard touchdown run to level it at 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The Bengals got back in front with a 37-yard Mike Nugent field goal after he had earlier missed from 50 yards.

Houston responded with a field goal of their own before the turning point in the game came when rookie J.J. Watt pulled off a magnificent catch at close-range to intercept a Dalton pass and then dash the 29 yards for the score.

“That was a huge play that gave us a lot of momentum going into the second half,” said Texans head coach Gary Kubiak. source: www.reuters.com/article

It was on his first Test tour of Sri Lanka, in 1999, that Ricky Ponting first harboured thoughts of captaincy. On his second, in 2004, he was the captain, commanding the team for the first time since Steve Waugh’s retirement. Seven years on and Ponting is back in the island nation for his first series since handing the job to Michael Clarke. He spoke to ESPNcricinfo about Sri Lanka, batting, and captaincy, among other things.

On the 1999 tour of Sri Lanka you played very well at No. 6, but you never enjoyed batting there?
It was always foreign to me, batting that far down the order. I’ve always been a top-order player, whether it was junior cricket or state cricket, I was always in the top three or four. So when I first got a crack in the Australian team it was difficult batting down there, and more difficult when you played in conditions like here or India, where you’re starting against spin the majority of the time or you’re starting against the reverse-swinging ball and things like that. But that was a good tour for me. I have a lot of good memories from that tour and the way that I played, I made a hundred in Colombo and made 90-odd in Kandy and 50-odd not out in the second innings as well.

That’s when Steve [Waugh] came out and said that I was the future of Australian cricket and that sort of thing, and that really got me thinking about leadership down the track. To have that success – I hadn’t had success in India before that and didn’t have any immediately after either, in similar conditions – to come here and play Murali as I did and score a few runs was certainly great for my confidence. source: /www.espncricinfo.com/

The agreement must still to be ratified by the Confederation of African Football, who will meet in Cairo next month.

“In terms of the agreement, Libya will host the 2017 finals which had been awarded to South Africa, while SAFA will take over the hosting of the 2013 tournament,” SAFA said in a statement.

South Africa this year filled in at short notice for Libya, currently embroiled in civil conflict, by hosting the African Youth Championship. They had just six weeks to put together the eight-team tournament.

South Africa had been expected to take over from Libya for 2013 given a comprehensive infrastructure from the World Cup last year made them a logical choice.

Algeria had also expressed an interest as stand-by hosts and Nigeria had been previously delegated as a reserve hosts.

The next Nations Cup finals are to be co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon in January and February after which the tournament switches to every odd year.source:www.reuters.com/

Estrada, who made his third straight start since replacing previously injured pitcher Chris Narveson in the rotation, fired seven innings and allowed just two runs to extend his impressive stretch as a starter.

Despite winning two of his three starts and allowing just three total runs, the 28-year-old Estrada is likely headed back to duty as a reliever now that Narveson has returned from the disabled list.

Milwaukee’s offense sent Estrada off on a positive note by swinging for 17 hits and burying the Pirates (60-68) early with a seven-run second inning that established a 7-0 advantage.

Nyjer Morgan went 4-for-6 with two RBIs, and Casey McGehee launched a three-run blast in the second as the Brewers (78-53) terrorized losing starter Ross Ohlendorf before pouring it on against the Pittsburgh bullpen.

The win extended Milwaukee’s commanding lead in the National League Central to 9 games.source: www.reuters.com/article/

U.S. sprinter Allyson Felix will receive some last-minute tips from a trailblazer as she launches her bid for a unparalleled 200-400 meters double at the world championships, the three-times world 200 meters champion’s coach said on Thursday.

“Valerie Brisco is coming in,” said Bob Kersee of the first woman to win both events at an Olympics in 1984 at Los Angeles.

“She will walk Allyson through what she did,” Kersee told Reuters in an interview two days before Felix launches her bid.

No woman has accomplished the double at a world championship. Brisco and Frenchwoman Marie-Jose Perec did it at the Olympics with Michael Johnson completing the double at both the Games and world championships.

“I do feel like I’m prepared to handle the workload,” Felix told reporters in Daegu, South Korea.

“Obviously I am in territory that I am not too familiar with,” said the 25-year-old Californian.

“I am definitely a little nervous and a little anxious, but I think that is what happens when you step up to a challenge and do something you are not so comfortable with.”

The nerves are nothing new for Felix.

“If I wasn’t, it would be weird,” she said.

But the challenge is new, especially in the 400, which comes first on the program.

“It is not the most pleasant event,” said Felix, who has never run the event in a major championship. “But as I run it more it becomes easier.”

The schedule calls for three consecutive days of 400 meters running, climaxing with the final on Monday.

After two days to recover, Felix will be back for three 200 meters races in two days.

Then, if she is up to the task, she will race in the finals of the 4×100 meters and 4×400 meters relays.

The task is a busy one, but Felix wants to do all four.

Punishing two-a-day workouts in California have prepared her for the challenge even though her times are not the year’s fastest.

She ranks but sixth fastest in the 200 and fourth in the 400.

“But I think she is ready and excited,” said Kersee.

He has backed off the training since they have been in Daegu.

“I have been hanging out in my room, watching some TV, and trying to visual the races in my mind,” Felix said.

Her performances are always perfect.

“I don’t lose in my mind,” Felix said, hoping to produce the goods on the track in Daegu.

Kenyan David Rudisha was feted like a lion killer when he returned home after breaking the world record last year, but the 800 meters favorite is hunting bigger game at the world championships.

The 22-year-old, speaking at a news conference Thursday ahead of the August 27-September 4 event, said that while owning the world record was special, someone could always come along and take it from you. As a world champion, or an Olympic gold medalist, there would be no such fears.

Rudisha was initiated as a Maasai warrior when he returned home after lowering Dane Wilson Kipketer’s record.

“It was really good to go back after breaking the records,” he added. “The people were really happy, they said what I had done was something like killing a lion.”

Rudisha ran one minute 41.09 in Berlin on August 22 last year, shaving two hundredths of a second off Kipketer’s 1997 mark, and lowered it to one minute 41.01 a week later in Italy.

The lanky Kenyan is unbeaten over the distance in two years, his last loss coming when he failed to qualify for the 2009 world championship final in Berlin.

“I have got a little bit more experienced and I have learned from my mistakes. Nowadays I’ve decided on a different way of running — running from the front.

“Sometimes when you are running from behind that is when you can get the problem of being boxed, bumping and pushing each other. If you’re strong I think it’s a good idea to run from the front.”

His unbeaten streak inevitably means he has a bullseye on his back and Rudisha knows his opponents will be gunning for him.

“Winning all the time is not easy, all the time the athletes are focusing on beating you, all the time you are a target. People are expecting me to do well, the only way I can answer them is … to do my part.”

Rudisha, whose father Daniel won a silver medal as part of Kenya’s 4×400 Olympic relay team in Mexico City in 1968, is not looking beyond the Daegu race, but after the world championships he knows the next big challenge will be the 2012 Olympics in London.

“The world record is something special but sometimes someone will come along and break it, he added. “But a world title, you will have it for the rest of your life.

“The Olympics and world championships are so important, and I’m really working very hard to make sure I get these two titles in my career.”source: www.reuters.com/article/

Serbia’s world number one Novak Djokovic was named Wednesday, as expected, as the top seed for the August 29-September 11 U.S. Open.

It marked the first time Djokovic was seeded number one for the year’s final grand slam.

Djokovic has never won the U.S. Open but has been in great form this year, losing just two matches all season and winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Defending U.S. Open champion Rafa Nadal was seeded second as tournament organizers stuck with their practice of following the official world rankings to decide the seedings.

Switzerland’s Roger Federer, a five-time U.S. Open winner, was seeded third, ahead of Britain’s Andy Murray, the only player in the top four yet to win a grand slam.

There were two other former champions among the 32 seeds. Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro, the 2009 winner, was listed 18th while American Andy Roddick, the 2003 victor, was seeded 21st. Source: www.reuters.com/article/

While he is still around Rodger Federer, will always be the favourite and it’s no difference at the US Open this year. Rafael Nadal is second favourite to win the tournament with Andy Murray in close third.

Federer had poor showing at the French Open and Wimbledon, but he is now playing some of his best tennis of the year after recently winning the Cincinnati masters title.

The draw for both Federer and Nadal seems kind with no real tough challenges before the last eight.

Andy Murray has been showing some good form recently. He beat both Federer and Nadal in the Rogers Cup, but was clearly tired in the Cincinnati Masters when he lost to Mardy Fish. If the right Murray shows up to the US Open, then he can make the final, where he will probably face either Federer or Nadal.

Novak Djokovic, fourth favourite for the US Open, is not quite up to the standard of the top three and does face a tough battle after round three, having a potential meeting between either Marcos Baghdatis or Mardy Fish. It’s hard to see him having much impact in the later stages of this tournament.

Can Andy Murray win his first Grand Slam title at the 2010 US Open? Only time will tell.

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The ICC confirmed the decision this afternoon following an executive meeting that was supposed to formalise Howard’s election. No vote was taken and Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket were asked to re-nominate a candidate by August 31.

The ICC said in a statement: “Following lengthy consideration it was recognised that the nomination put forward by Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket did not have sufficient support within the ICC board.”

Cricket Australia’s chairman Jack Clarke and his New Zealand Cricket counterpart Alan Isaac said in a joint statement they were “deeply disappointed” after supplying “the best possible candidate”. “We jointly nominated Mr Howard as he possesses significant leadership and administrative skills,” they said. “We believe cricket needs to continue to seek excellence and dispassionate independence in the game’s global governance.

“We were delighted that the most senior world figure ever considered for this role agreed to accept the nomination. We remain convinced it is reasonable for his nomination to be supported by the ICC executive board and we are deeply disappointed by the position taken.”

Initial rumblings from Zimbabwe and South Africa in April became an all-conquering alliance when India signed up along with their subcontinent neighbours this week. It leaves the ICC without a deputy to be paraded alongside India’s Sharad Pawar when he takes over the presidency from David Morgan this week.

The position taken by the six board members on Tuesday night was believed to be an attempt to force Howard to withdraw his nomination before the meeting. Howard remained in the race but lost the one-man raffle at the Raffles convention centre, ending the 70-year-old’s cricket administration career before it was allowed to begin. source: cricinfo.com/ci-icc/content