Sports

South Africa players celebrating thinking they had qualified for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations

South Africa's FA (Safa) has been branded a 'disgrace' by sports minister Fikile Mbalula for its reaction to the failure to reach the Cup of Nations.

Safa lodged a hasty formal appeal last week with Caf against the head-to-head system used to separate teams.
Niger emerged shock winners of a group having finished level on points with South Africa and Sierra Leone.
Safa officials, players and coaches thought goal difference decided who finished first in the group.

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The Dutch baseball team is making history during this year's World Cup tournament in Panama. A victory over baseball powerhouse Cuba on Thursday has ensured the Dutch team a place in the finals, the first time ever for a European team.

Dutch pitcher Leon Boyd stares at catcher Shawn Zarraga. The catcher gives him the sign, telling him where he should throw the pitch. Boyd winds up, throws the ball... "Strike three!" yells the umpire, and one of Cuba’s best hitters, Alexei Bell, is out. The Dutch baseball team has just made history.

Using sports as a means to build stronger people-to-people connections and empower young people worldwide, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today that NBA legends Bo Outlaw and Dee Brown and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) legends Edna Campbell and Tamika Raymond will travel to Africa as sports envoys.

Sports diplomacy builds on Secretary Clinton’s vision of “smart power” diplomacy. It embraces the use of a full range of diplomatic tools, including sports, to bring people together for greater understanding.

NEW YORK – Serena Williams has been seeded 28th for the U.S. Open, which is sticking with its policy of following the rankings instead of taking into account players' past performances.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Sherman White, a 1950s college basketball star at Long Island University who served jail time for point shaving, has died. He was 82.

White died of congestive heart failure on Aug. 4 at his home in Piscataway, N.J., his widow, Ellen, said Friday.

The 6-foot-8 White was one of the nation's best college players for LIU in the late 1940s, and led the nation in scoring in 1951.

"He was way ahead of his time," said former longtime St. John's coach Lou Carnesecca, a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. "He was the first guy his size to play facing the basket. He was truly a great player and one of the best players of his time."

DR Congo striker Tresor Mputu Mabi scored on his return to action after the end of his one-year suspension.
Mabi took only 46 seconds to get on the scoresheet for his club, reigning African Champions TP Mazembe, in their 1-0 win over Malekesa on Wednesday.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- The NFL lockout is over, but the legal wrangling is not.
Lawyers for the NFL, the players' union and a group of retirees were back in federal court in St. Paul, Minn., on Wednesday. The retirees, led by former Vikings star Carl Eller, say they were shut out of the settlement that ended the lockout.
At issue before U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson is whether to order everyone back into mediation before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, who helped broker the deal.

AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- LeBron James has cut the ribbon to open a clubhouse for children in Ohio named for him.
In a gym he played in as a kid, the NBA superstar Tuesday opened the LeBron James Clubhouse at an Akron Boys & Girls Club, which was renovated with $240,000 he donated through his family foundation. James said he was humbled to be able to help area youth. The Miami Heat forward promised to keep giving back to a city that will "always be home no matter where I am."

The front page headlines summed up the mood of cricket lovers after India was decimated for the second time in a row by England at Nottingham on Monday.
Not since 2008 have India lost two Tests in a series. The margins of defeat at Lords and Nottingham - 196 and 319 runs - have been downright embarrassing. Its star-studded batting line-up managed a mere 992 runs in four innings compared with England's more than 1,500 runs.
"India annihilated," reported The Hindustan Times, adding that India had "lost match and face". Pathetic, screamed Mail Today. "England Two Good," said a more benign headline in The Pioneer.

Tiger Woods goes to sports