One of the most historic events of the Olympic Games could be on the chopping block this week. Modern pentathlon, part of the Games since 1912, is among a handful of sports that have been mentioned as potential cuts by the International Olympic Committee's Executive Board, which meets in… Springbok flank Smith retires after new injury
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Springbok flanker Juan Smith has retired days after injuring himself in a comeback game ahead of the new season, local media r eported. The 31-year-old from the Cheetahs was hurt at the weekend on his return after a two-year break following an Achilles tendon injury, which necessitated four operations. A scan on Monday revealed further damage after which Smith decided to quit, the Bloemfontein newspaper Die Volksblad reported. Smith, who won 69 caps, was part of South Africa's World Cup winning team in 2007. … Rugby-Springbok flank Smith retires after new injury
CAPE TOWN, Feb 12 (Reuters) – Springbok flanker Juan Smith has retired days after injuring himself in a comeback game ahead of the new season, local media reported. The 31-year-old from the Cheetahs was hurt at the weekend on his return after a two-year break following an Achilles tendon injury, which necessitated four operations. A scan on Monday revealed further damage after which Smith decided to quit, the Bloemfontein newspaper Die Volksblad reported. Smith, who won 69 caps, was part of South Africa’s World Cup winning team in 2007. …
Umpiring Decisions Hurt White Ferns
The White Ferns need a number of things to go their way if they are to make the final of the women's Cricket World Cup. Umpiring Decisions Hurt White Ferns
The White Ferns need a number of things to go their way if they are to make the final of the women's Cricket World Cup. Avi Creditor: Gus Johnson's transition to soccer worth getting excited about
The celebrated announcer will begin his mainstream soccer journey with Wednesday's match between Real Madrid and Manchester United, and there's a genuine buzz about it. Barca's Villa admitted to hospital due to illness
MADRID (Reuters) – Barcelona forward David Villa has been admitted to hospital due to a bout of renal colic and may be unavailable for Saturday’s league game at Granada, the La Liga leaders said on Monday. The 31-year-old Spain international will undergo an operation to treat the condition, Barca said in a statement on their website (www.fcbarcelona.es). Villa is still working his way back from a broken leg he sustained at the Club World Cup in December 2011. …
Vick, Eagles agree to restructured deal
Quarterback Michael Vick, who was slated to earn $16 million next season, has agreed to a restructured deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.
(Reuters) – San Antonio Spurs protected their NBA-best record with an impressive 103-89 victory over Chicago Bulls on Monday despite missing three top players through injury. Tony Parker (knee), Tim Duncan (knee) and Manu Ginobili (hamstring) were all scratched from the game but the Spurs leaned on a career-best 26 points from Kawhi Leonard and 18 from Danny Green to tame the Bulls. San Antonio clung to a slim 76-75 edge in the fourth before running off a 19-5 spurt to close the door on Chicago. … 
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- All in all, Monday proved to be a painful night for the Boston Celtics. 
CHICAGO (AP) -- Kawhi Leonard had a career-high 26 points and Danny Green scored 18 on Monday night, helping the short-handed San Antonio Spurs beat the Chicago Bulls 103-89 without their three biggest stars. 
BOSTON (AP) -- Johnny Gaudreau scored twice and Parker Milner stopped 20 shots to lead No. 4 Boston College to a 6-3 victory over Northeastern on Monday night and give the Eagles their fourth consecutive Beanpot title. 
Nothing about Taylor Alvarado's first tryout for a club soccer team foreshadowed her potential greatness. 
What happens when four of the biggest stars in MLS sit down at one table to talk shop? 
BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) -- Nike co-founder Phil Knight has issued a statement blasting the Freeh report's characterization of Penn State coach Joe Paterno in the child sex abuse scandal involving assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. 
Detroit manager Jim Leyland arrived at the Tigers' training camp Monday in Lakeland, Fla., exactly 50 years after he first showed up there as a pencil-thin 18-year-old prospect. 
The defender revealed he and the Santos star had held a conversation about what playing for the Bundesliga club is like, but the 21-year-old has contradicted his claims 
Thành công c?a bóng ?á n? Vi?t Nam: Gi?c m? tà áo dài Vi?t Nam gi?a ngày h?i World Cup 
The defender revealed he and the Santos star had held a conversation about what playing for the Bundesliga club is like, but the 21-year-old has contradicted his claims 
(Reuters) – The Philadelphia Eagles' st arting quarterback job is up for grabs with Michael Vick taking part in the competition after restructuring his contract in order to remain in Philadelphia, the team said on Monday. Vick was due to make $15.5 million this season, a high price tag given his production the last two seasons, and the club had been expected to cut him if a restructuring was not agreed. … 
NEW YORK (AP) -- Scissors, blow dryers, bobby pins -- they're as much a part of the Westminster Dog show as commands, crates and trea ts. 
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter hasn't ruled out pitching again, including this year. 
ROTTERDAM (Reuters) – World number two Roger Federer has called for the introduction of biological passports in tennis similar to those used in cycling to detect possible doping. "A blood passport will be necessary as some substances can't be discovered right now but might in the future, and that risk of discovery can chase cheaters away," the 31-year-old Swiss said on the opening day of the World Indoor Tournament in Rotterdam. "But there also should be more blood tests and out of competition controls in tennis," he added. … 
The Australian goalkeeper says he is not considering hanging his gloves up any time soon and has entered talks with Fulham in the hope of extending his Craven Cottage stay. 
The defender revealed he and the Santos star had held a conversation about what playing for the Bundesliga club is like, but the 21-year-old has contradicted his claims 
US Under-20 national team head coach Tab Ramos added Jerome Kiesewetter to his CONCACAF U-20 Championship roster on Monday, giving the young Yanks some firepower up front. 
The best moments of my life were celebrated with Shakira. Virtually, of course! After watching 'La Tortura' for the first time, I wanted to take up Latin dance and since then have had an amazing love of Zumba. 
(Reuters) – Former Cy Young winner Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers has declined an invitation to pitch for the United States at next month's World Baseball Classic (WBC). Verlander, who helped the Tigers reach last year's World Series, had left open the possibility of participating in the WBC when provisional rosters were announced last month but now said he needs the time to prepare for the upcoming 2013 Major League Baseball season. "I don't want to have to feel rushed to catch up to where I need to be," Verlander told reporters at Detroit's spring training camp in Florida on Monday. … 
(Reuters) – The calendar may still read February, but for restless baseball fans sp ring has arrived with pitchers and catchers reporting to diamonds in Arizona and Florida to begin Major League Baseball (MLB) Spring Training. The slap of the hardball into leather mitts will be heard in Florida when the American League pennant winning Detroit Tigers join nine other teams opening training camps on Monday, while the World Series champion San Francisco Giants highlight another 15 clubs getting down to business on Tuesday. … 
American wins super-combined title at the world championships with impressive downhill and night slalom run. 
The 40-year-old Australian goalkeeper is not considering hanging his gloves up any time soon and has entered talks with the club in the hope of extending his Craven Cottage stay 
SCHLADMING, Austria (Reuters) – American Ted Ligety's risky strategy earned him the super- combined title on Monday and his second gold medal of the alpine skiing world championships. Seven years after winning the discipline's Olympic crown in Sestriere, Ligety proved he was more versatile than ever, clinching victory in a combined time of two minutes 56.96 seconds. Ligety, who won the super-G last week, will also be the hot favorite in the defense of his giant slalom crown on Friday as he bids for a formidable hat-trick. … 
Canada will likely be without forward Olivier Occean for this summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup after FIFA announced on Monday that the Eintracht Frankfurt forward has been suspended for six games stemming from an incident in World Cup qualifying last October. 
SCHLADMING, Austria (AP) -- American Ted Ligety already has two gold medals at the world championships, and he hasn't even skied his best event yet. 
The striker was suspended and fined by the world governing body after receiving a red card in Canada's 3-0 win over Cuba last October. 
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Brandt Snedeker sat alone at the far end of a bar in Carmel called A.W. Shucks, the perfect name for an oyster bar, the perfect spot for a Tennessee golfer with his mop of strawberry blond hair and innocence to his freckled-face that belies how fiercely he wants to win. 
Indiana remains at No. 1 in The Associated Press' Top 25 despite losing a game this week, surviving a week of upsets to become the first team in over a month to hold onto the top ranking. 
They say a rising tide lifts all boats, but when it comes to Major League Soccer's influence in CONCACAF, it's possible that some boats have risen higher than others. 
Two days after boarding Tiger Woods' private plane, the skier underwent an operation to repair two torn ligaments 
Four years in the making, Julian Shaw's new doco 'Cup of Dreams' takes viewers on a deeply personal and emotionally charged journey through the heart of New Zealand, as the nation prepares for the biggest global sporting event of 2011: the Rugby World Cup 
Four years in the making, Julian Shaw's new doco 'Cup of Dreams' takes viewers on a deeply personal and emotionally charged journey through the heart of New Zealand, as the nation prepares for the biggest global sporting event of 2011: the Rugby World Cup 
Turf or not, Seattle may just get its wish to host one of the four remaining World Cup qualifiers still up for grabs. 
(Reuters) – Rafa Nadal's worst defeat on a claycourt fo r nine years offered ammunition to the naysayers but the Spaniard says his recovery from knee injury should be judged over time. The seven-times French Open champion's narrow loss to Argentine world No. 73 Horacio Zeballos in Vina del Mar on Sunday was rightly regarded as a shock as Nadal's defeats on clay over the past eight years can be counted on two hands. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – Cesar Azpilicueta has taken time to settle in at Chelsea but the Spain defender affectionately known as 'Dave' by the fans is beginning to make a name for himself at Stamford Bridge. Azpilicueta, who joined the club from Olympique Marseille for a fee of seven million pounds in August, produced his best display for the European champions as they brushed aside Wigan Athletic 4-1 in the Premier League on Saturday. On a day of perfect symmetry in west London, the supporters welcomed back old favourite Frank Leboeuf when the former World Cup winner was paraded at halftime. … 
The former Manchester United captain says that the Real Madrid attacker can already be compared to the game's greats ahead of the Champions League meeting between the sides 
MUMBAI, INDIA – JANUARY 27: Anisa Mohammed of West Indies poses at a portrait session ahead of the ICC Womens World Cup 2013 at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel on January 27, 2013 in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Graham Crouch ICC v ia Getty Images) 
VINA DEL MAR, Chile (AP) -- After seven months away treating a left knee injury, Rafael Nadal left many questions unanswered in his comeback tournament. 
The 21-year-old has nothing but praise for the 2010 World Cup final hero, and says he is trying to learn as much as possible from him after the 6-1 win over Getafe 
LONDON (Reuters) – England captain Chris Robshaw believes his team's 12-6 Six Nations victory over Ireland on Sunday could be a "watershed moment" for the former World Cup winners as they seek to get back among the game's best. England had not won in Dublin for 10 years before the weekend, the 2003 victory coming in the same year that they won their first and only World Cup before a painfully long title drought that ended at the 2011 Six Nations. "This was a victory that felt like a watershed moment for this team," Robshaw wrote in his Daily Telegraph column on Monday. … 
Triumph over Burkina Faso at the Africa Cup of Nations brings joy to thousands of Nigeria fans and pride to players. 
SCHLADMING, Austria (AP) -- Romed Baumann of Austria took the lead after the downhill leg of the super-combined at the skiing world championships Monday, and American rival Ted Ligety was the best positioned of the technical specialists in sixth. 
The young midfielder has nothing but praise for the 2010 World Cup final hero, and is satisfied with his playing time so far this season. 
Benitez backs Lampard for World Cup 2014