POWER 25 for the week of Dec. 25, 2010

In conjunction with The Academy of Wrestling Arts & Sciences (AWAS), ranks the Top 25 Superstars in WWE each week with POWER 25. The rankings are based on victories, quality of opponents, momentum and overall in-ring dominance, as well as intangibles. Be sure to check back every Saturday for the latest POWER 25. Here are the rankings for Dec. 25. Superstar Last Week 1 EDGE The Rated-R Superstar captured his tenth World Championship at WWE TLC in a wild Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match. 2 ...

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Warriors hire Lloyd Pierce as assistant coach

Pierce replaces Stephen Silas, who left the club to work under his father and new Bobcats coach Paul Silas. The 34-year-old Pierce, a Bay Area native, helped Santa Clara to a pair of NCAA tournament appearances during his collegiate career. He spent the past three seasons as player development coordinator for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Paul Silas became Charlotte's interim coach on Wednesday, replacing the fired Larry Brown. Golden State announced its new assistant on Frid...

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McCullum likely to miss first two Twenty20s

New Zealand have suffered a setback as Brendon McCullum is likely to miss the first two Twenty20s against Pakistan due to back stiffness. On Wednesday, he had been named in the squad for the three Twenty20s over the next week but his availability was in doubt after a fitness test. New Zealand are already missing regular captain Daniel Vettori, who has been rested for the Twenty20s. McCullum had injured his back during the second Test against India in November, in which he scored a double-century to secure a draw, but played in the third Test and three of the five ODIs that followed. The back problem had ruled McCullum out of much of the ongoing HRV Cup, New Zealand's domestic Twenty20 tournament, as well. He plays as a specialist...

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Teams in upheaval evenly matched

December 26, Auckland Start time 14:00 (01:00 GMT) (06:00AM Pak) Pakistan run into another team that is dealing with problems. Compared to the murkiness surrounding Pakistan's cricket - spot-fixing investigations, an inefficient and politically incorrect board, a disappearing wicketkeeper - New Zealand's winless woefulness may seem like a trifle. Yet, their recent travails in the subcontinent - where they failed to win any of their last 11 one-dayers and three Tests, spread across each of the three World Cup hosting countries - have left their tournament preparations in disarray, with very little time for new coach John Wright to turn things around. This series - on spongy, seaming tracks and small grounds - against a Pakistan team...

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Umer Gul & Yasir Arafat included in Guinness Book of World Records.

Pakistani fast bowler Umer Gul and all-rounder Yasir Arafat names have been included in Guinness Book of World records for their best performances in T-20 cricket. According to sources, fast bowler Umer Gul  name was added in the book keeping in view his performance in T-20 matches, especially a match that was played against NewZealand in which he got six wickets and was declared man of the match. While Yasir Arafat has got ninety wickets during sixty one T-20 match...

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Pakistan vs Newzealand

Two of the big test playing nations struggling to cope with the pressure at the highest level of international cricket will go head to head for a full fledge series which includes 3 Twenty20 matches, 2 Test matches and 6 matches on One Day Internationa series. Pakistan who are coming into this match on the back of a poor series against South Africa in Abu Dhabi and Dubai while New Zealand had absolutely horrific tour of Sub Continent where they lost all five ODI matches against India while before that they were  hammered by Bangladesh by 4-0 in home series. And that is something which is a big surprise for many of the new Zealand experts specialy considering hte fact that 2011 World Cup will be in Indi...

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Bierhoff: Ballack must prove himself

Germany general manager Oliver Bierhoff has warned Michael Ballack not to expect to walk straight back into the national team in the new year.The Germany captain is on the road to recovery after an ankle injury ruled him out for much of the first half of the season and he expects to be fit to make his comeback for Bayer Leverkusen in their first match of 2011. However, Bierhoff has warned him that he will still have to prove himself before returning to the Germany set-up."We know about his personality and his excellent qualities, which are good and important for the team, but he also knows that a player who has been out for such a long time will first have to reintegrate with a newly-formed team," he told the Suddeutsche Zeitung...

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DFA Lahore League Inauguration Ceremony Tomorrow

The DFA Lahore's League programme for 2010 starts on the 25th of December (tomorrow) at the Punjab Stadium. 34 teams in total will take part with teams divided into four tiers; A,B,C,D divisions that is. There will be a proper relegation/promotion system in place for the league with matches taking place at 7 different grounds in Lahore simultaneously. This was announced by, DFA Lahore Secretary, Muhammad Riaz at a meeting at the DFA Lahore head-quarters today. The format was explained to all, facilities inquired about and a questions/answers session was held. The most notable figures in the meeting were those of National team legend Masood Butt, Hafiz Salman Butt, and AFC 'B' licence coach Bilal Butt. There will be an exhibition match...

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Roddick As Hungry As Ever

Andy Roddick's physical trainer Lance Hooten and physio Doug Spreen discuss the American's off-season training. Andy Roddick has been as hungry and motivated as ever during the off-season as he prepares for his 12th full season on the ATP World Tour and another assault on the Australian Open title. “I haven’t seen him this motivated for some time,” said Roddick’s physical trainer, Lance Hooten. “Andy’s always been a grinder, a hard worker; you have to put reins on him all the time because he’s always going to work too hard, too long and too much.” Indeed, on the first day of Roddick’s pre-season training the American was due to work out with Hooten and other professional athletes. As Roddick had finished...

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The longest tennis match ever....

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Kirsten expects bowling to bounce back

Gary Kirsten has said he trusts his bowling unit, bolstered by the return of a fit and eager Zaheer Khan, to prove the critics wrong. Responding to former South African cricketers' comments on the weak bowling unit and lack of pace, Kirsten said, "Bottom line is, we need to get 20 Test wickets. I think we have shown in the last three years that we have the ability to get 20 Test wickets in any conditions. It's up to us to prove to every one that we can do that here. It's up to us to prove to ourselves too that we can do that. Obviously nice to have Zaheer back. We look forward to whatever conditions are given to us, and we have the quality in our bowling line-up as well." Going by the first looks, the conditions should assist the...

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Ponting set to play after batting well

Ricky Ponting is almost certain to take his place in the Boxing Day Test after batting without any obvious discomfort in the nets at the MCG. Ponting faced a bowling machine, throwdowns, and then a group of young net bowlers as he aimed to prove that he can lead Australia on Sunday, despite breaking the little finger on his left hand during the victory in Perth. It will be a different challenge facing the likes of James Anderson and Chris Tremlett, but Ponting had little trouble against the net bowlers, pulling and driving without hindrance. Usman Khawaja, the New South Wales batsman, was at training on Thursday but is not likely to be required, although Ponting's finger has not healed enough for him to field in the cordon during...

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Bates destroys Pakistanis in tour opener

Pakistan's tour of New Zealand got off to a poor start after they lost their twelve-a-side Twenty20 match to Auckland at Colin Maiden Park. The hosts won with 40 balls to spare, easily chasing down the target of 92 after Pakistan were bowled out in 17.4 overs. Pakistan were put in to bat and were in immediate trouble, sinking to 7 for 3 inside the third over. Left-arm seamer Michael Bates did the early damage, getting Mohammad Hafeez out caught and bowled off the fourth ball of the match. Two balls later he got Ahmed Shehzad to nick to Lou Vincent and be dismissed for a duck. In Bates' next over he got rid of the big fish - the captain Shahid Afridi, for 1. Afridi tried to pull Bates, but only got it as far as square leg, where...

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T20 Matches . Pak Vs NZ

01:00 GMT | 14:00 Local 06:00 PKT New Zealand v Pakistan at Auckland, 1st T20I 06:00 GMT | 19:00 Local           11:00 PKT New Zealand v Pakistan at Hamilton, 2nd T20I 06:00 GMT | 19:00 Local           11:00 PKT New Zealand v Pakistan at Christchurch, 3rd T20I ...

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Mecullam Injured not in T20.

Brendon McCullum has been ruled out of the remainder of the HRV Cup due to a back injury that could affect his participation for the early part of the home series against Pakistan. McCullum had injured his back during the second Test against India, where he scored a double-century to secure a draw, but played in the third Test and three of the five ODIs that followed. An Otago association statement, as reported in the New Zealand Herald, said the decision to rule out McCullum was "the most common-sense approach for Brendon to rest to give him the best possible opportunity of taking a full part in the upcoming international series". McCullum has played just one HRV Cup game for Otago since returning from India. The series...

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Sachin Tendulkar completes 50th ton

Sachin Tendulkar scored his 50th Test century as In...

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Will Rafa Win His Fourth Straight Major?

ATPWorldTour.com previews five storylines to watch during the 2011 season. In the fourth installment, we look at Rafael Nadal's quest to win a fourth straight Grand Slam title. It hasn’t been done in 41 years, but Rafael Nadal has a chance to match Rod Laver’s feat of holding all four Grand Slam titles at one time when he goes for the Australian Open crown in January. The Spaniard set the stage for the historic accomplishment with a showcase of dominance at the final three majors this season. He rolled to his fifth Roland Garros title without the loss of a set, won Wimbledon for a second time, and completed his Grand Slam set at the US Open - making him the first to win those three majors back-to-back since Laver completed his calendar...

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Polamalu could sit out season

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu is doubtful for Sunday's game against the New York Jets because of a strained right Achilles' tendon and could sit out the rest of the regular season.   Get all the news from the football world on our NFL Buzz Blog. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Polamalu could miss the Steelers' final three regular-season games before the playoffs. After facing the Jets (9-4) on Sunday, Pittsburgh finishes its regular season against Carolina (1-12) and Cleveland (5-8). The Steelers (10-3) play the Panthers in Week 16 on Thursday night, and the short week might not allow for a full recovery for Polamalu. In Week 17, the Steelers travel to Cleveland. Depending on the outcomes of the previous...

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Tennis

This is tenn...

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Matches off

All of Sunday's Barclays Premier League matches have been postponed due to this weekend's bad weather All three fixtures have been postponed on safety grounds. Chelsea v Manchester United was the first of the day's matches to be called off and later the Black Country derby between West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers and also the meeting between Blackpool and Tottenham Hotspur were postponed. <a href="http://adserver.adtech.de/adlink|3.0|327|2816969|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;sub1=[subst];grp=[group]" target="_blank"><img src="http://adserver.adtech.de/adserv|3.0|327|2816969|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;grp=[group]" border="0" width="300" height="250"></a> The poor weather also had a dramatic impact...

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soccer

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Pakistan focussed on cricket - Younis

Pakistan will be focused on the cricket and not distracted by the spot-fixing controversy, team manager Intikhab Alam has insisted. The Pakistan squad arrived in New Zealand today for a tour that includes three Twenty20s, two Tests and six ODIs. Alam said the team was geared up for the challenge even as three of its former members - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - are under investigation for their alleged involvement in the spot-fixing controversy, and await their fate upon the conclusion of their hearing before the ICC's anti-corruption tribunal, to be held in Doha between January 6-11. All three have been provisionally suspended pending the result of the investigation. "Everybody's been briefed, everybody's very...

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Harris takes six to level Ashes series

Australia wasted no time in levelling the Ashes series with a crushing 267-run victory at the WACA as Ryan Harris tore out the remaining resistance with a Test-best 6 for 47 to humble England. He finished off the visitors in a hurry as they were blown away in 10 overs on the fourth morning to set up a potentially thrilling conclusion to this series over the Christmas and New Year period. Harris collected the rewards that eluded him in Adelaide as he finished with nine in the match, while Mitchell Johnson claimed the other wicket to fall as he, too, picked up nine. Johnson's revival in this match reflects Australia's upward curve, leaving England with much to ponder before the MCG Test starts on Boxing Day.  This was Australia's...

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