Teen Star Adu to play in Portugal

Freddy Adu, the American phenom who is one of the highest-profile stars of Major League Soccer, has agreed to play for Benfica and has begun training with the Portuguese club.

MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis told the Associated Press that Adu’s agent Richard Motzkin had confirmed the deal.

"Freddy, when we signed him, was one of most talented young players in the world. I think, today, he still is one of most young talented players in the world," Gazidis said. "What we’ve struggled with is the expectations, not that we’ve placed on him, but that the media has placed on him." MLS and Benfica agreed to a $2 million transfer fee for Adu, the U.S. captain at the under-20 World Cup in Canada in July. Besides the trans-fer fee, MLS is in position to gain a percentage of any future transfer of Adu from Benfica to another club, Gazidis said.

England wrest a draw but concede the series to India

England 345 and 369 for 6 (Pietersen 101) drew with India 664 (Kumble 110*, Dhoni 92, Karthik 91, Anderson 4-182) and 180 for 6 dec.

India won their first series in England since 1986, albeit 1-0, after England held on for a draw on the final day of the last Test at The Oval. It was a fitting denouement to a hard-fought and evenly contested series as India’s bowlers seldom slackened in their effort to force a win whereas England’s batsmen displayed remarkable application. Kevin Pietersen helped himself to a workmanlike century and provided the backbone for England’s resistance as they ended on 369 for 6. On a day when wickets fell at regular enough intervals to keep India interested till the very end, England held on, but Michael Vaughan’s unbeaten home record slipped from his grasp.

Collins, Deonarine in Twenty20 World Cup squad

West Indies selectors have announced the 15-man squad to contest the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa next month.

The squad sees the return of captain Ramnaresh Sarwan after he missed part of the Test series against England last month and the whole of the one-day and Twenty20 series there.

Left-arm seamer Pedro Collins has also been chosen for the September 11-24 event after having not played for the regional side since last year July. He has not played in a shorter version of the game since May 2005.

Guyanese batsman Narsingh Deonarine also makes a return to West Indies colors after two years out of the side.

SQUAD: Ramnaresh Sarwan (captain), Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Devon Smith, Marlon Samuels, Runako Morton, Denesh Ramdin, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy, Dwayne Smith, Ravi Rampaul, Daren Powell, Fidel Edwards, Narsingh Deonarine, Pedro Collins.

Composed Guyana snatch tie as Windwards fall apart

Guyana held their nerve to force a tie with erratic Windward Islands in a pulsating finish to their second round TCL West Indies Under-19 Challenge limited overs match at Cayon in St. Kitts on Tuesday. Chasing a revised target of 172 from 42 overs on the Duckworth/Lewis system in their rain interrupted game, the Windwards, replying to Guyana’s 187 all out in 45.5 overs, slumped from 141 for three to 177 all out with one ball remaining in their innings. Opener Lindon Lawrence stroked seven fours and a six in 64 from 91 balls and got support from skipper Lauron Francois (40) and Donwell Hector (28) in the Windwards’ reply. Seamer Kellon Carmichael (3-40) and left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul (3-42) bowled well for Guyana. The Windwards panicked with two runs to win from four balls in the last over and lost two wickets, including their skipper, caught and bowled by Guyana’ captain Steven Jacobs.

THE CRICKET PUNDIT

By: Gladstone Critchlow Column

For more than fifty years, Test cricket was played on four West Indies grounds. These were Sabina Park in Kingston, Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Kensington Oval in Bridgetown and Bourda in Georgetown. When England toured the Caribbean for the eighth time in 1980-81, Recreation Ground in St. John’s, Antigua became the West Indies’ fifth ground. When five-match Test series came into vogue in 1953, either Sabina Park or Queen’s Park Oval accommodated the fifth Test. Within recent years, Test matches were played at three other venues, the New Queen’s Park in Grenada, at Arnas Vale in St. Vincent and at the Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St. Lucia. Most of the almost two hundred Test matches played over 46 series were played at Sabina Park and at the Queen’s Park Oval.

Worrell - Mover and shaker

By Telford Vice

Frank Worrell bought me plenty of coffee during the 2007 World Cup. That’s odd, because he died 40 years ago. But in Barbados the going rate for a double espresso is $4.50 in the local currency, and the face that beams with easy dignity on a $5 bill is that of Worrell. "Go on," his slight smile seemed to suggest, as Australia ground towards their umpteenth victory. "It won’t feel so bad if you have another." So I did, often, and in the midst of a caffeine buzz, it didn’t seem to matter quite so much that Ricky Ponting’s custard column was marching unhalted through another World Cup, or that one-day cricket had marked time since Steve Waugh had lifted the trophy at Lord’s in 1999. What might Worrell have said about all that? "Stop moping and find a way to beat them," probably. It is for real and imagined reasons like this that Worrell is my favorite player, despite the fact that I was but a year old when he succumbed to leukemia in 1967. Among the more real reasons is that Worrell donated blood to help save the life of Nari Contractor after Charlie Griffith had bounced Contractor into hospital in 1962.

Shaun George Thrashes Matthew Charleston

The light heavyweight division’s most avoided fighter took another step towards becoming a world title contender with a four round drubbing of Matthew Charleston at the Coeur d’Alene Casino in Worley, Idaho. Shaun George, now 15-2 (7 KO), was in control of the fight from the opening bell, displaying a varied assault that was nearly impossible to defend against. George worked the body religiously, weakening Charleston and setting up violent fireworks upstairs. The fourth round was a withering stanza for Charleston, whose figure came under heavy fire that degenerated into an inferno. Wisely, Charleston opted not to come out for the fifth round, much to reason’s delight. "I was able to establish my jab and work the body," says George, a Brooklyn native who now trains out of North Jersey. "This is exactly what I wanted to do. Any shot you could think of, I was tagging him with it. I took the fight on two weeks’ notice, which is why I was a little rusty. He was trying to survive from the second round on until he retired."
 

Ex-NBA Referee Pleads Guilty to Charges

Tim Donaghy started making NBA bets four years ago, and he didn’t hesitate to wager on games he worked. Speaking in code during telephone calls, he tipped off high-stakes gamblers with inside information and recommended which teams to bet on. When his picks hit, he was paid $5,000. The stunning allegations emerged Wednesday as the disgraced former NBA referee pleaded guilty to two felony charges in a scandal that rocked the league and tarnished the integrity of the sport. "By having this nonpublic information, I was in a unique position to predict the outcome of NBA games," Donaghy, standing ramrod-straight with his hands clasped in front of him, told the judge in a Brooklyn courtroom.