AL EAST FILLED WITH BEASTS

Forecasting the American League East used to be easy -- the equivalent of padding your record by playing the 2012 (and '13?) Houston Astros.

Just put the New York Yankees on top, and you were right 13 of the past 17 seasons, with two three seconds and a third.

Next came the Boston Red Sox, with 10 second-place finishes since 1998, including eight consecutive from 1998-2005 -- and three third-place finishes.

The Toronto Blue Jays? Third or fourth place in 13 of the last 15 seasons.

And it was either fourth or fifth place for the Baltimore Orioles in 13 of the last 15 seasons.

Lindsey Vonn Suffers Season-Ending Knee Injury After Crash

Lindsey Vonn Suffers Season-Ending Knee Injury After Crash

Lindsey Vonn

Gold medalist skier Lindsey Vonn crashed during the FIS Alpine Ski World Championship Super-G race in Schladming, Austria, Tuesday and suffered a season-ending injury to her right knee.

The World Cup champion from Vail, Colo., lost balance on her right leg after coming around a turn and trying to stick a landing after a jump. Her right ski came off immediately, and Vonn slid down the race course for several feet on her back before hitting a gate and coming to a stop.

According to U.S. Ski Team Medical Director Kyle Wilkens, the 28-year-old competitive skier tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the medial collateral ligament (MCL) of her right knee and suffered a lateral tibial plateau fracture.

“She will be out for the remainder of this season but is expected to return to racing for the 2013-14 Audi FIS World Cup season and the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia,” the U.S. team said in a statement.

Vonn had posted the fastest first interval and was having a strong run when she went down.  She was immediately attended to by race medical officials and then taken to the hospital by helicopter, as is standard protocol, the U.S. team said.

Lindsey Vonn Crash

Vonn is a highly decorated skiing star. With 59 World Cup victories under her belt, she is one of only five women to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines of Alpine skiing — downhill, super G, giant slalom, slalom  and super combined.

Expected to make a huge showing at the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics, Vonn previously took home a gold medal for downhill skiing and the bronze for the Super-G race at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Vonn started racing again in January after missing a few weeks of the season to recover from an intestinal illness, according to the Associated Press.

The Baltimore Ravens reclaimed the greatest prize in North American sports

The Baltimore Ravens reclaimed the greatest prize in North American sports after a dramatic, nail-biting 34-31 Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Inspired by their power-packed quarterback Joe Flacco, the Ravens survived a ferocious comeback from the 49ers and a bizarre power outage that stopped the game for more than half an hour to win their second Super Bowl.

John Harbaugh, the head coach of the Ravens, won the most anticipated sibling rivalry in American team sports against his younger brother Jim, who holds the equivalent job with the 49ers.

And Ray Lewis, the combative 37-year-old Ravens linebacker destined for the Hall of Fame, ended his 17 season career with a second Super Bowl title, 12 years after he won his first.

"What better way to go out?" said Lewis. "We did it! We did it!"

The game, at the Superdome in New Orleans, was preceded by one of the most poignant moments ever witnessed in the 47 editions of the Super Bowl when a choir from Sandy Hook Elementary School joined Jennifer Hudson in a stirring rendition of "America the Beautiful".

The 70,000 spectators rose to their feet, many with tears in their eyes, as the children sang, nearly two months after the deadly shooting rampage at their Connecticut school.

"Our wish is to demonstrate to America and the world that, "We are Sandy Hook and we choose love," the school said in a statement.

The action on the field was as wild as the parties that have taken place in Bourbon St in the days leading up to the game as the Ravens opened up a commanding lead.

With Flacco, who was named Most Valuable Player, calling the shots and wide receiver Jacoby Jones scoring two of the most spectacular touchdowns seen in a Super Bowl, the Ravens looked to be cruising to victory when they led 28-6 early in the third quarter.

Flacco made a great start, orchestrating a six-play, 51-yard drive on his team's first possession that culminated with a 13-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

In the second quarter, he threw a one-yard scoring pass to tight end Dennis Pitta, then a spectacular 56-yard scoring strike to Jones.

The Ravens led 21-6 when Beyonce came out to perform a stunning halftime show then opened the second half with a Super Bowl-record 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Jones that will be shown on highlight reels for generations to come.

BLACK OUT

But just when it seemed the result was a foregone conclusion, a section of the lights at the Superdome, hosting the Super Bowl for the first time since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005, blacked out.

Play was stopped for 35 minutes while red-faced officials and technicians restored power. When it came back on, the game instantly took on a completely different complexion.

With Colin Kaepernick finally finding his targets and making inroads with the football in hand, San Francisco piled on 17 unanswered points.

When Kaepernick rushed for a touchdown himself with just 10 minutes to go in the final quarter, the margin was down to just two points and momentum was on their side.

But Justin Tucker kicked a 38-yard field goal to give his five-team lead and the 49ers failed to score the touchdown they needed to win, getting only a two-point safety, as the Ravens defended their line for dear life.

"Five yards short, all the work we did in the offseason, the whole entire season, everything came down to five yards and we weren't able to get it done," said dejected 49ers tackle Joe Staley.

Both team played down the impact of the power outage, saying it was the same for both teams, while the Harbaugh brothers embraced each other as confetti rained down from the roof after one of the most emotional nights in American sport.

"I just love him obviously. I think anybody out there who has a brother can understand what that is all about," John said.

"The meeting with Jim in the middle was probably the most difficult thing I have ever been associated with in my life. I am proud of him."

Amid 'storybook' ending, Ray Lewis is still controversial

It's not hard to find Ray Lewis in prayer. You might catch a glimpse of it on the sidelines before a game. In the locker room. Even on the cover of Sports Illustrated -- the muscular Baltimore Ravens linebacker standing bare-chested in a swimming pool, his palms pressed together.

To some, Lewis' frequent expressions of faith are the marks of a life redeemed, a long 13-year journey from murder accusations -- later dropped by prosecutors -- in the death of two men hours after the 2000 Super Bowl in Atlanta.

But for others, the show of faith is little more than an act.

"Stop acting like you are one of the people that come out of the Bible," said Greg Wilson, whose nephew Jacinth Baker died along with a friend in the infamous melee 13 years ago that almost derailed Lewis' career.

"If you're redeemed -- and he's always quoting Scriptures -- then you would have stood up like a man and said what happened," Wilson said.It's not hard to find Ray Lewis in prayer. You might catch a glimpse of it on the sidelines before a game. In the locker room. Even on the cover of Sports Illustrated -- the muscular Baltimore Ravens linebacker standing bare-chested in a swimming pool, his palms pressed together.

To some, Lewis' frequent expressions of faith are the marks of a life redeemed, a long 13-year journey from murder accusations -- later dropped by prosecutors -- in the death of two men hours after the 2000 Super Bowl in Atlanta.

But for others, the show of faith is little more than an act.

"Stop acting like you are one of the people that come out of the Bible," said Greg Wilson, whose nephew Jacinth Baker died along with a friend in the infamous melee 13 years ago that almost derailed Lewis' career.

"If you're redeemed -- and he's always quoting Scriptures -- then you would have stood up like a man and said what happened," Wilson said.It's not hard to find Ray Lewis in prayer. You might catch a glimpse of it on the sidelines before a game. In the locker room. Even on the cover of Sports Illustrated -- the muscular Baltimore Ravens linebacker standing bare-chested in a swimming pool, his palms pressed together.

To some, Lewis' frequent expressions of faith are the marks of a life redeemed, a long 13-year journey from murder accusations -- later dropped by prosecutors -- in the death of two men hours after the 2000 Super Bowl in Atlanta.

But for others, the show of faith is little more than an act.

"Stop acting like you are one of the people that come out of the Bible," said Greg Wilson, whose nephew Jacinth Baker died along with a friend in the infamous melee 13 years ago that almost derailed Lewis' career.

"If you're redeemed -- and he's always quoting Scriptures -- then you would have stood up like a man and said what happened," Wilson said.Revisiting the scene

For 13 years, Reginald Oakley has also remained silent about what happened in Atlanta.

But this week, he agreed to walk through the Atlanta neighborhood where the killings happened and talk about that night.

It's the first time, he said, he's returned to the scene. The neighborhood has changed drastically, but the memories are still fresh.It was self-defense for me because someone attacked me," Oakley told CNN.

He still maintains he did not stab anyone.

But for the first time, Oakley cast doubt on Lewis' version of what happened that night. Lewis wasn't a peacemaker, he says, but a participant in the fight.

"I don't know if he was wrestling or fighting, but I know he was right in the mix with everybody else," Oakley said. "I think he was just standing up for himself. It's just too bad that when the police asked him what happened he wouldn't come clean."

But Garland, the defense lawyer, remains unrelenting in his defense of the football star.

"He was not involved in the fight; he didn't cause it," Garland said. "He didn't take an act or step or statement to make this happen. He was no more guilty than the other 100 people on the street."

Storybook ending?

The convoluted accounts of what happened that night still anger the families of the victims.

"All of them were involved in it and nobody wants to tell the truth with exactly what happened," Wilson said.

And he just doesn't understand how football fans can get swept up by the story of Lewis' redemption.

To him, Lewis is a criminal ringleader "hiding behind the Bible."

"This will never fade," Wilson said. "I hope it haunts them for the rest of their life until the day they die and then they burn in hell."

But if Lewis is thinking back on what happened in Atlanta, he's not letting on. He was all smiles during Super Bowl media appearances this week, even while batting down fresh accusations claiming he used a banned performance-enhancing substance.

He hasn't gone out this week, he says. He doesn't want to. All he's thinking about is football.

Jeff Pearlman: I hate, hate, hate Super Bowl parties

"You draw up a lot of storybook endings, but for me, how else would I rather go out than be on the biggest stage ever," Lewis said, "giving everything I've got for my teammates to be able to touch that Lombardi trophy."

Of course, the true end to Lewis' playing career will come in a few years when he is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

It's just a few miles down the road from where Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar, childhood friends from Akron, Ohio, were buried 13 years ago.

David Robinson, son of Jackie Robinson, shares his father's story with Dorchester students

David Robinson, son of Jackie Robinson, shares his father's story with Dorchester students...

 

The story of the baseball legend Jackie Robinson has been told for decades, but on Thursday, instead of looking at the past, speakers at the Dever-McCormack School wanted to get eighth-grade students looking toward their futures. 

Close to 150 students from Dorchester public school packed its auditorium to listen to David Robinson, the son of Jackie Robinson, and other speakers talk about the legacy of America’s first professional black baseball player. 

The speaker series was part of a yearly tour by the Red Sox baseball club, to celebrate the life of the player and instill his struggle and his triumph in young Boston students. 

Born in 1919, Jackie Robinson was drafted in 1947 to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, earning him the title of the first black player in Major League Baseball. Breaking both the color barrier and a number of MLB records, Robinson went on to be one of the best players in the game and an inspiration to both black and white athletes and citizens across the country. 

David Robinson was joined Thursday by Red Sox Hall of Famer Tommy Harper, award-winning poet Dick Flavin, and Dr. Stephen Schlein, a longtime chronicler of Robinson’s life. 

“[My grandmother] wanted a future for her children and she knew education was the way to do that,” the 60-year-old Robinson told students Thursday. 

The youngest of three, Robinson, who currently resides in Tanzania on a coffee co-op, said not only is intelligence important for the students’ futures, but understanding the world around them and building off of their history.

"The issues are not breaking down a barrier and it is done, it's more like cutting the grass or cutting back the thorns," said Robinson. "They keep growing back unless the next generation keeps cutting it back and opening up opportunities."

He touched on everything from the societal impacts of his father's time in the game to what his father's legacy means in 2013. 

“The world is your arena,” said Robinson. “It’s a global society so welcome to the world young ladies and young men.”

Faculty at the school also hoped Robinson’s speech would be a jumping off point for the students who will soon leave the eighth-grade and head to high school.

“I think when you hear the message from a number of different personalities it really sinks in for the students,” said Efrain Toledano, vice principal of the McCormack. “We try to instill the importance of working hard because you will always face obstacles that you will have to overcome.”

Students in attendance also seemed excited to take part in the presentation, even if cupcakes with the number 42, Jackie Robinson’s number, were handed out at the end. 

“It was cool because I learned more things about Jackie Robinson,” said Karel O’Garron, 14, an eighth-grade student. “I think the idea of perseverance is what really stuck with me.”

Hard work was the theme Thursday after three students were recognized for their essays in the Red Sox Essay Challenge. 

Zaria Crawford, Cydney Ochogwu, and Juan Veras were named the winners of the contest earning them tickets to the Red Sox’s Jackie Robinson Day in April. 

“It was really awesome to meet all the legends and learn what Jackie Robinson stood for,” said Cydney Ochogwu, 14, who won the contest and is an aspiring lawyer. “In my essay I tried to talk about how what he stood for connected to me and the good I can do.”

Villas-Boas relaxed on striking crisis

Andre Villas Boas

André Villas-Boas defended Tottenham Hotspur's recruitment programme after they had been added to the list of Premier League casualties in the FA Cup and insisted he was comfortable with their attacking options despite going into the tie at Leeds United without a recognised senior striker.

Jermain Defoe has battled the pain of a niggling pelvic problem in recent weeks, which has required at least one injection and may yet need surgery to cure properly, and he was stood down from the 2-1 defeat at Elland Road. With Emmanuel Adebayor absent on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Togo, Villas-Boas was left to start two attacking midfielders, Clint Dempsey and Gylfi Sigurdsson, as centre-forwards.

Villas-Boas said that Defoe would return at Norwich City on Wednesday but there has been concern behind the scenes at Tottenham about the England international, even if the manager has been defiant in public. Defoe had been expected to miss the previous Sunday's home fixture against Manchester United only to declare that he was fit enough and determined to play.

The club have explored the possibility of signing a new striker this month, and Sevilla's Alvaro Negredo is the latest possible target. But Villas-Boas said that he did not foresee any reinforcements in the final week of the transfer window and he added that the apparent imbalance to his squad was not to blame for the loss to Leeds.

"It is risk we were willing to take," he said. "We are comfortable with the situation. We are happy with the squad. This defeat is not going to alert us to anything. Unfortunately we missed Defoe, who gives us options, but we have him back for Norwich and still have Ade to return so we have strength in depth.

"We will have to see when we can get Ade back but we did not lose because we missed chances that a striker may have taken. We lost because we could not create enough clear-cut chances.

"It's disappointing because we wanted to stay in this competition but Leeds were very competitive and scoring first gave them the extra stimulus. Leeds made the most of their opportunities and deserve credit. We had a couple of chances in the beginning that normally we score and maybe we could have done a little bit more but it's a hard game for any team that comes here. Leeds were really up for it and going to 2-0 gave them more inspiration."

Neil Warnock, the Leeds manager, described it as a "fabulous day" for the Championship side. "We've got some good players. We haven't got a massive squad but when we play like we did today it makes me really proud to be the manager. We've had a few problems, a bit of dissent around the place. But I didn't think we got anything other than we deserved.

"When you look at the two teams on paper you don't know how the hell you are going to have a kick, let alone beat them. But you don't play teams on paper. It just shows what can happen if you've got a good group of players and you are all in it together."

West Yorkshire police confirmed after the match they were investigating a laser pen being shone from the crowd. Neither manager was aware of it but Warnock did mischievously suggest that "it must have been on their centre-half [Steven Caulker] for the second goal".

Warnock had left out Luciano Becchio because of his transfer request and confirmed there had been "two or three offers" from abroad but none that matched the club's asking price. Leeds, however, did not miss their leading scorer and Caulker was not alone in having a poor day. "My reflections on our defending I don't really want to make public," Villas-Boas said.

Mike Eruzione items up for sale

Mike Eruzione

Mike Eruzione items up for sale

More than a generation after the historic "Miracle On Ice" game in the 1980 Winter Olympics, 58-year-old Mike Eruzione is parting with his iconic No. 21 USA jersey, hockey stick and other Olympic paraphernalia.

Eruzione's white jersey alone is expected to fetch more than $1 million, but some sports memorabilia experts think it could go considerably higher. Eruzione scored the sensational winning goal against the Soviet hockey team in Lake Placid, N.Y., catapulting the Americans toward the gold medal.

Dallas-based Heritage Auctions is selling the items in New York on Feb. 23, the day after the 33rd anniversary of the historic game.

"It's history as much as it is sports," said Phil Castinetti, owner of Sportsworld in Saugus, Mass., which bills itself as New England's largest sports memorabilia store.

"It was back when the Americans were all amateurs and playing against a professional Soviet team that was supposedly unbeatable. It was the Cold War. ... The Americans were big underdogs. It was a worldwide event that was incredible," Castinetti said.

The auction record for any piece of hockey memorabilia is $1.2 million, set in 2010 for the jersey Paul Henderson wore when he scored the winning goal in the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviets.

Unlike Olympians of today, Eruzione, who was captain of his team in Lake Placid, received no lucrative endorsements. But he said he's not hurting financially and is selling the prized items to help out his three adult children and grandson.

"I thought this would be a great little nest egg for them for their future with their kids," he said in a telephone interview, adding the memorabilia had languished in his USA hockey bag in the attic of his Winthrop, Mass., home, ever since that memorable day.

Eruzione said the auction proceeds from his collection will also benefit his Winthrop Foundation founded in his hometown, just outside Boston.

The Americans beat the Soviets 4-3 -- perhaps the greatest sporting moment of the 20th century -- after Eruzione scored what would be the winning goal with 10 minutes left in the semifinal game. Two days later, the team clinched the gold when it beat Finland. The Soviets won the silver medal.

"As long as I'm alive, the gold medal won't be sold," said Eruzione, who is director of special outreach at Boston University and a partner in a nutritional supplement business that includes several other ex-Olympians, including gymnasts Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner.

"The medal is what it's all about," Eruzione said. "That's what we played for."

But the sale does include "Miracle On Ice" forward Steve Christoff's gold medal, estimated to bring $400,000. He was the only player on the gold-medal team to score multiple points, and the first player from the "Miracle On Ice" team to be drafted and go to the NHL, playing for the Minnesota North Stars and the Los Angeles Kings.

Mike Eruzione

It's estimated that Eruzione's hockey stick will sell for $50,000. In addition, he is selling the blue jersey he wore when he won the gold, estimated at $200,000, and the glove and warm-up suit he wore to the podium when he accepted the gold, both estimated to bring $10,000.

"Unlike any other sports collectible, I can see Eruzione's collection and Christoff's gold medal finding their way into people's homes who are not necessarily sports fans, because this was patriotic. They made movies and documentaries about this," said Howie Schwartz, CEO of Grandstand Sports in New York City, a sports and entertainment memorabilia venture that has had exclusive deals with the "Miracle On Ice" team over the years for autographed merchandise and appearances.

"It was the biggest upset in sports history," he said. "In my eyes, Eruzione's collection is a seven-figure sale, as is Christoff's gold medal."

Eruzione said he hopes whoever buys his pieces will appreciate them as much as he has.
"It was a special, proud moment," he said. "It was not just a great moment for me and my teammates, but a great moment for the United States."

FIFA official Jerome Valcke: 'Match-fixing is a soccer disease'

Match-fixing is a "disease" that could kill football, a top official at the sport's world governing body told CNN on Wednesday.

Earlier this month FIFA handed lifetime bans to 41 South Korean players who had been involved in prearranging matches.

It followed December's suspension of the president of the South African Football Association ahead of an investigation into match-fixing in the country prior to it hosting the 2010 World Cup.

"I really think that it's a disease and a threat which is on a worldwide basis," FIFA's general secretary Jerome Valcke told CNN in an exclusive interview."It's not just about Africa. It is in Asia, it is in Europe, it is in North America, it is in Canada, it is in South America. It's all around the world that this match-fixing, or match manipulation, is active."Valcke was speaking after European football chief Michel Platini branded match-fixing the greatest threat to the future of football in an interview with a French radio station.

Platini had warned that football is "dead" if the outcome of matches is prearranged, a statement Valcke echoed by saying the appeal of the sport lies in its unpredictability.

"If you know the end of the party, of the game, then definitely football is dead," he said. "That's the beauty of the game, you never know who will be the winner.

"It can be the team you think would win, but it can also be the other team, the opponent who can make it because it's just played on one goal. So that's why we have to protect football as much as we can."

Valcke warned that the fight against the highly lucrative match-fixing business could take 10 years, and urged anyone with knowledge of such activity to come forward.In May 2011 FIFA announced it would donate over $25 million to Interpol over 10 years -- the largest grant the world police organization had ever received from a private body -- with a view to tackling corruption.

"When I was in Rome where we had this meeting with Interpol and 50 of the 53 of the European associations, I heard that the business of match manipulation per year is around 100 billion. I don't know it is in Euros or U.S. (dollars), but whatever, it is 100 billion, it's an amazing figure," Valcke said.

"I think it will be a very, very long fight and it will be very difficult to win. And if we want to win, it is all together. Also I told some media in South Africa, if you are aware of anything you should tell us. We have to fight all.

"All the people who love football should be together towards match-fixing. But it will not be a fight of one day as we have other fights which have been there already. And match manipulation will be another fight that will be there for the next decade."

Former Interpol director Ralf Mutschke replaced FIFA's former head of security Chris Eaton -- who joined a Qatar-based sports security consultancy -- in June last year, tasked with tackling the scourge of match-fixing.

In the past FIFA's own governance has been questioned. Corruption watchdog Transparency International cut its ties with the body in 2011 when two of its recommendations -- that the investigator charged with overseeing FIFA would be compromised if he was paid by FIFA and that he should be allowed to investigate old corruption scandals -- were dropped.

"There is no limit in what we have to do in order to make sure we can eradicate match-fixing one day in our game," Valcke said. "Or at least to make sure that match-fixing is not a threat anymore to our game."

See the worst service in the tennis history

Na Li - Agnieszka Radwanska

Chinese Na Li is won the Australian Open quarter-finals match, in this match he served the worst service in history.

In a match against Agnieszka Radwanska, during the his service, Na Li sent ball to the stands, and earned standing ovations.

Worst serve in the tennis history you can se in the video below.

Kolo Toure column: Ivory Coast ready to win Africa Cup of Nations

In his first column for BBC Sport, Manchester City defender Kolo Toure explains why his Ivory Coast team need to win this year's Africa Cup of Nations.

Toure, who will be writing regularly throughout the tournament, also discusses the Elephants' perfect preparations and the pain of last year's defeat in the final.

It's time for the talking to stop. Now is the time for Ivory Coast to show that we are ready to win the Africa Cup of Nations.

This generation of Ivory Coast players really wants to win something. Our squad has players who have won Champions League finals, have played in World Cups and won league titles in lots of different countries, but we have not won this title.

We badly want to go one step further this year, if it is Allah's wish, after falling just short last January against Zambia.After making it to the final in 2012, we had an amazing chance to win the tournament. You just never know when opportunities like that will come around again.

However, in that game, we didn't take advantage of the chances that we had. After extra-time finished 0-0, we knew it would be a risk going to penalties. And so it proved.

This time around, it will be an even harder challenge. We have a tough group and we have to play - and get positive results - against Togo, Tunisia and Algeria.

The whole of the Ivory Coast nation will be behind us, though. We know what this tournament - and winning it - represents to the people back home, watching on TV and those who will make the long journey to see us in South Africa.

They remember the team that won this tournament in 1992. It would mean so much, to the nation and to everyone on this team, to repeat their achievement.

If we go all the way this year, then no one will think of us as the team that failed when it mattered. They will simply think of us as winners.

Sabri Lamouchi, our coach, knows what he wants. Our pre-tournament training camp in Abu Dhabi was great. The players in our squad are based around the world - Didier Drogba, of course, is in China while others are in Turkey, Russia, Spain and England. So we really value the time to train together.We've concentrated a lot on our attacking and defensive shape. We know we'll need some luck - you always do in a tournament - but our preparations have been ideal.

Our training facilities are excellent, too. We flew to South Africa from the Middle East last week and are based in Rustenburg. Our group games are at the same stadium where England played the USA during the 2010 World Cup.

There had not been a lot of time to work together before the tournament started last week and so our friendly against Egypt, played in Abu Dhabi on 14 January, was important, too.

We won 4-2 and we've worked hard since that game to improve even more.

That's important because Togo will be ready for us when we meet them on Tuesday. I know all about their main threat, Emmanuel Adebayor. I know him from both Arsenal and from our time together at Manchester City.

He's a player of great quality who will always be a threat, even if sometimes it looks like he's having a quiet game. You can never be complacent when he's on the pitch as he's technically brilliant and we'll need to be switched on to counter him.

I'm so happy that the tournament is now under way. We've had 12 months to think about the pain of losing that final against Zambia.

Finally, the chance is here to put it right. This is where the hard work starts.

Six All-Americans lead record list of early NFL Draft entries

NFL drafts

A record 73 underclassmen, including six first-team All-Americans, have been approved for the NFL draft on Saturday.

That overall number of early entries is eight more than last year.

The six All-Americans are safety Matt Elam of Florida, tight end Zach Ertz of Stanford, tackle Luke Joeckel of Texas A&M, defensive end Bjoern Werner of Florida State, linebacker Jarvis Jones of Georgia and cornerback Dee Milliner of national champion Alabama.

Also approved former LSU cornerback-kick returner Tyrann Mathieu, a 2011 All-American who was kicked off the Tigers before last season.

The NFL draft will be April 25-27 in New York.

Djokovic pushed to the limit by Stanislas Wawrinka

Novak Djokovic

 Novak Djokovic is still in this Australian Open, but he needed all his fighting spirit to overcome the inspired challenge of the No15 Stanislas Wawrinka to get out of the fourth round in a struggle that straddled midnight and lasted just over five hours.

The last dog-fight Djokovic had on this court he overcame Rafael Nadal in nearly six hours to win his third title here in probably the most brutal final in the history of grand slam tennis. A year later, back in the Rod Laver Arena, he was drawn into a quicker five-set struggle of slightly lesser quality but comparable intensity.

Of the 26-five-setters so far in the 2013 tournament, this was the most absorbing, the first on the main show court and one that could have a significant impact on the eventual result.

The Serb won 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 12-10, not as even as his recent performances – after four hours, he had hit 54 unforced errors, four more than in his previous three matches combined – but he fashioned a remarkable fightback and, at the end, just got the better of a gripping conclusion.

"It's hard to find the words," Djokovic said. "He deserved, equally, to be a winner of this match. I give him a lot of credit and respect. He was the aggressive player on the court, I was just trying to hang in there. It's midway through the tournament but it feels like a final to me. This means a lot to me, and to him. Incredible that so many people stayed until nearly two in the morning. It brings back the memories of 12 months ago with Rafa."

Those left in the draw will still be wary of the world No1, of course, because he is always dangerous when wounded, but they might sense vulnerability that was not there before. Pinned deep by the weight of Wawrinka's shots all night, he struggled to consistently dictate the pattern of the exchanges, despite the excellence of his defensive game.

Playing in new shoes, he slipped at the start, but stood tall at the end. Had Wawrinka won either he, Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer or Nicolas Almagro, who meet in the other quarter-final in this section of the draw, would have made the final, only the second "intruder" from outside the Big Four in 34 majors. As it is, the status quo remains.

What a beast Djokovic is. Not many players could have let Wawrinka bludgeon his way to a 6-1, 5-2 lead before clawing his way back to parity and victory.

He out-gutted one of the game's quiet men, a solid citizen who looked to have frozen in sight of the prize before again and again coming back at the No1 seed. His next opponent, Tomas Berdych, also is prone to attacks of self-doubt in good company – although he came through a long, third-set tie-break to beat Kevin Anderson in the Margaret Court Arena earlier in the day, and, if he is at his best, he will give the Serb another serious argument.

For nearly an hour, it was impossible to recognise Djokovic as the shirt-ripping, chest-beating force of nature who traded nuclear missiles with Nadal in the same place a year ago. This was an inferior model, albeit a formidable one.

Stan was the man for the first five games, breaking for a second time with a disguised one-handed backhand he might have borrowed from his compatriot Roger Federer. Djokovic could not find rhythm on his serve or any steadiness in his ground strokes. He breathed heavily, sweat bathing his brow.

Everything was going Wawrinka's way, gloriously so as he sent a sizzling forehand around the net post, then served out to love to go 5-1 before they had properly warmed up, and took the set with an unreachable forehand whipped across a stationary, bamboozled Djokovic.

Wawrinka was in serving heaven, belting them down at around 211kph at a strike rate of 72% in the first set, 64% overall. His 2012 average was 56%.

Djokovic lifted himself immediately, needing just one of two break points to hit back at the start of the second, but, no sooner had he come to life, than he drifted out of focus again and buried a backhand low into the net to drop serve for the fourth time in a row. He trailed 1-4 after less than an hour, and his bad night had turned into a nightmare. His own game was collapsing while Wawrinka went through long stretches where nearly everything he tried came off, comfortable in the knowledge that he was playing a ghost.

Djokovic pulled one back in the sixth game and got a firmer foothold in the match to drag himself back to 3-5. The ghost left the building; the animal growled again.

The prospect of blowing a 6-1, 4-1 lead, and being in touching of a two-set lead at 30-0 and 5-2 up in the second, seemed, for a while, to suffocate his tennis. Serving for the set, he lost the energy in his shot-making and Djokovic pounced to break back and level.

It was now an exercise in redemption for Djokovic, while Wawrinka had to cope with the disappointment of wasting a chance he might never have again in his career.

Djokovic was hitting deeper, and so was Wawrinka – except his ground strokes were continuously straying long. There was hardly a soul in the house who did not make the champion a firm favourite. When he broke at the start of the third, he celebrated with a leap and a yell that curdled the blood. It was the frightening Djokovic of 12 months ago.

Wawrinka looked shattered but he was not entirely done, visibly relieved when Djokovic punched a backhand long, to give him another look. The tension hung heavy in the night air, as neither could establish dominance but, Djokovic broke then held to go a set up after two hours and 10 minutes.

Wawrinka had court-side treatment to his right thigh, but was hitting hard enough in the 10th game of the fourth set to knock a letter off the sponsor's name on the net, and his spirits rose as he urged the crowd to lift the volume after holding to love for 6-5. What the fans did was boo officials whose warped priority was to hold up play while they re-attached the sponsor's sign.

Back on planet reality, Wawrinka went 3-0 up in the tie-break as they went past midnight, and held three set points at 6-3; after clipping the net in mid-rally, he took the match into a fifth set at 6-5 with a firm forehand, no less than he deserved.

Having played so heroically to retrieve the advantage he threw away at the start, Wawrinka broke at the first time of asking in the fifth but was again struck down by his groin strain and dropped serve after a deuce duel.

It was impossible to gauge who might win, as neither had played with total conviction from the front, while both produced some of their most inspired tennis from behind.

Djokovic saved break point with a pressure smash and stayed ahead on serve with a cross-court forehand that recalled some of his best work.

In the sixth game, Wawrinka cramped up but held to level. At 4-4, he "blew" four break points, the last one on a wrong call with no challenges left. It was the most wretched turn of events for an underdog who refused to lie down.

From that point, neither flinched until Wawrinka served only his second double fault of the match and hit long for deuce in the 22nd game, after nearly five hours of tennis. Djokovic got to match point three times, and brought the drama to a fitting close with a forehand that passed an exhausted Wawrinka at the net. Their embrace at the net was one of the deepest respect. And, yes, Djokovic, saw fit to rip that shirt off again.

India humiliating England again

The chanting started immediately Yuvraj Singh lost his off stump to a beauty from James Tredwell. For the best part of a minute, as Yuvraj walked back towards the pavilion, the 40,000 who had been lucky enough to secure a ticket for the first one-day international in Ranchi implored their local hero, MS Dhoni, to promote himself above Suresh Raina in India's batting order, and have a bat on his home ground.

Dhoni has never seemed the sentimental type, any more than India's coach Duncan Fletcher. But the roar left no doubt that he had granted Jharkhand its wish, trotting down the pavilion steps in his blue cap, and it did not cease until he removed the cap to take guard against Tredwell. The game was already won, England having crumbled to their second-lowest total in a one-day international in India - three fewer than they had managed in Kochi last Tuesday - a double flop that their captain, Alastair Cook, admitted is unacceptable even for this inexperienced team. But who other than Dhoni to hit the winning runs?

He made the crowd wait, playing back three dots against Tredwell before punching Steve Finn back down the ground with such power that the ball still raced away for four after hitting the stumps at the bowler's end. Then, after helping himself to a couple of singles, Dhoni applied the fairytale finish by pulling Finn through square leg for four - off the first ball of the 29th over, a humiliating statistic for England. Virat Kohli had made a brilliant unbeaten 77 from 79 balls, but was completely overshadowed.

"I was sitting next to Raina and he said 'Why don't you go in?'" Dhoni explained. "I understand the fact that people want to see me bat so I said ok - it wasn't really looking as though I would get a chance to bat, but let me pad up and see. Then Yuvi got out. The response of the people was amazing - they have been very excited about this game, not just at the stadium but next to the hotel all week. The stadium was made in two and a half or three years so I think it was the perfect script."

Not for England, it wasn't, and they are left with much to ponder ahead of the fourth match of the series in Chandigarh on Wednesday, which is now a must-win. "We're going to have to look deeply in our dressing room, and produce a better performance in Mohali," Cook said.

They might consider dropping Kevin Pietersen down the order to no4, given the significant change of emphasis demanded by the new fielding regulations which place a greater importance on preserving wickets early in an innings and plundering runs late on. Joe Root again played well enough in top-scoring with 39 to suggest that he could fill in for Jonathan Trott at no3, although even he could not be spared criticism for the manner of his dismissal, chasing a wide one from Ishant Sharma with 13 overs of England's innings remaining.

Craig Kieswetter must now be close to being dropped altogether, after following a scratchy 18 in Kochi with a hapless dismissal here, sliding his bat along a curtain-rail to provide no defence against Ravindra Jadeja's skiddy straight-on delivery. Samit Patel went lbw in similar fashion in the same over to leave England doomed at 98 for six, but he has more credit in the bank from earlier in the series.

Dropping Kieswetter now would represent a major rethink for England, having clearly included him in their plans for the Champions Trophy in the summer. But his Somerset team-mate Jos Buttler is desperate for a chance on the remainder of this tour, and Matt Prior is waiting in the wings.

Cook had started fluently after Dhoni chose to bowl on winning the toss, reflecting a general uncertainty about how the pitch at this new venue would play. But he fell lbw to Shami Ahmed's inswing as he tried to hit to leg, setting the pattern that would stymie the England innings - each of the top five made double figures then fell trying to force the pace.

Pietersen seemed unlucky, with replays suggesting he had been incorrectly given out caught behind off Ishant Sharma when the ball appeared to have brushed his trousers. But there were no excuses for Ian Bell, sharply caught by Dhoni standing up to Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the next over to leave England on 68 for three.

As in the second game in Kochi, that gave the middle-order a chance to prove that England are not overly reliant on their big three. As in Kochi, they failed miserably, with spin doing the bulk of the damage.

Eoin Morgan chipped a catch to short third man playing a horrible reverse sweep at Ravi Ashwin. Then Kieswetter and Patel were both undone by Jadeja, much as the Test batsmen had floundered haplessly against Abdur Rehman in the UAE this time last year. Despite a belated application of Yorkshire common-sense by Root and Tim Bresnan, that was pretty much that.

NHL players finally back on ice...

NHL players finally back on ice...

NHL players finally back on ice...

After being on ice for several more months than planned, National Hockey League players are back where they belong.

And that is, of course, on the ice -- as players dashed, dipped and scored around pro rinks around North America on Saturday, the first day of the league's now abbreviated regular season.

The return was long awaited, but hardly guaranteed. NHL owners locked out players September 15, and in the subsequent months the two sides engaged in a sometimes acrimonious process to reach a new labor deal.

In that stretch, league officials canceled the All-Star Game, the annual outdoor Winter Class game and hundreds of regular season games. And they threatened to scrap the entire campaign -- like they did for the 2004-2005 season, which was also due to labor strife -- if a deal couldn't be reached in January.

But one was reached, on January 12, when the NHL Players' Association ratified a new collective bargaining agreement. The schedule came out that night, giving teams one week to get together, get in shape and get ready for the new season.

On Saturday, they were back.

Those back on the ice included the Los Angeles Kings, nine months removed from winning the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship despite being one of the two lowest-seeded squads in the playoffs.

A raucous Staples Center crowd reveled in their return, as the championship banner was raised aloft.

The team's captain, Dustin Brown, said the response was great. But, mostly, he and other players were just itching to get back on the ice.

"It's a pretty proud moment for the team," he told NBC. "But as players we just wanted to get it up there and start playing."

The game did not quite work out the Kings' way. They fell to the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-2.

It's time to show: Atlanta Falcons - San Francisco 49ers game preview

Atlanta Falcons - San Francisco 49ers

Back in the NFC championship game, the San Francisco 49ers are confident they can take that next step this year behind multi-threat quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

The top-seeded Atlanta Falcons look at their first playoff victory under coach Mike Smith as nothing more than clearing the first hurdle on the way to achieving the ultimate goal.

The conference's top two teams meet Sunday at the Georgia Dome with a berth in Super Bowl XLVII on the line.

"You're already amped up for the game, but guys get a little more amped up for championship games," San Francisco defensive lineman Ray McDonald told the team's official website. "When you're growing up, these are the kind of games you want to be in."

It's no great surprise Atlanta (14-3) and San Francisco (12-4-1) have reached this point as both were among the favorites to represent the NFC in New Orleans on Feb. 3.

The Falcons cruised to the South title while securing the conference's best record for the second time in three seasons. Second-seeded San Francisco had to wait until Week 17 to clinch the NFC West, but they're back in the title game after suffering a mistake-filled 20-17 overtime loss to New York last season.

This postseason, coach Jim Harbaugh has the versatile Kaepernick under center instead of Alex Smith, who threw five touchdowns without an interception in last season's playoffs and was one of the league's highest-rated passers until suffering a concussion in Week 10.

Kaepernick has a 98.7 passer rating while going 6-2 as a starter since taking over, and his overall performance in last Saturday's 45-31 divisional round victory over Green Bay seemingly makes San Francisco a more dangerous opponent than it was a year ago. The second-year pro rushed for a quarterback playoff-record 181 yards with a pair of touchdowns and overcame an early interception returned for a TD by throwing for 263 with two scores.

"It feels good," Kaepernick said. "We're one step closer to where we want to be. I feel like I had a lot to prove. A lot of people doubted my ability to lead this team." The burden of trying to stop Kaepernick falls on the shoulders of Atlanta defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, who went 18-37 as 49ers head coach before being fired in the middle of the 2008 season.

"It doesn't change the competitive nature of the game and what we're doing," Nolan said of the reunion, his first with San Francisco.

Versatile quarterbacks have given the Falcons trouble this season. Carolina's Cam Newton threw for 502 yards with four TDs and no picks while rushing for 202 and two scores in two games against them in 2012. In last Sunday's 30-28 win over Seattle, Seahawks rookie Russell Wilson passed for 385 yards with two TDs and an INT while running for 60 and a score on seven carries.

"These young guys, they are athletic and they can run," Nolan said. "That creates a whole new set of problems."

Atlanta surrendered 5.90 yards per play this season -- 29th in the league -- and allowed the Seahawks to average 7.44 in the divisional round.

Backed by Kaepernick and one of the NFL's best defenses, the 49ers are eager for the chance to avenge last season's championships game loss and return to the Super Bowl for the first time since beating San Diego 18 years ago.

"We all know it's hard to get back to this point, but we did it," said running back Frank Gore, who rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries against the Packers. "We also know how that feeling was when we didn't get the job done last year. We'll try our best to not get that feeling again."

That won't be easy considering the 49ers' postseason road woes. They'll try Sunday to snap a five-game road playoff skid that dates to a 28-3 conference title game win at Chicago on Jan. 8, 1989 -- one of only two postseason victories away from home in franchise history.

"It's a big task," said Harbaugh, who was a member of that Bears team that lost to San Francisco. "(The Falcons) had a great season. They're solid in every regard."

Atlanta, which blew leads of 20-0 and 27-7 against Seattle before Matt Bryant kicked a game-winning 49-yard field goal with eight seconds left, does not expect anything to come easy again Sunday.

"We were very fortunate to make the plays there at the end of the game and get the win," Smith said.

"It means we have an opportunity to play again. I think our guys understand the challenge this week is going to be big."

With the chance to reach their first Super Bowl since losing 34-19 to Denver at the end of the 1998 season, the Falcons are not satisfied with simply reaching this point.

"Our goal is not to win one playoff game," said Matt Ryan, who was 24 of 35 for 250 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions against the Seahawks. "Our goals are still in front of us. We still have two more games to go. That's the mindset I have. That's the mindset this team has."

Though the Falcons possess one of the game's top passing offenses behind Ryan, Roddy White, Julio Jones and future Hall-of-Famer Tony Gonzalez, it was a running game that averaged 87.3 yards -- 29th during the regular season -- that played a key role last weekend. Michael Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers combined to run 24 times for all but five of Atlanta's season-high 167 yards.

Atlanta could have a hard time duplicating that success against a 49ers defense that ranked fourth in the NFL by allowing an average of 94.2 yards on the ground during the regular season.

The Falcons have won four in a row against the 49ers, most recently 16-14 in 2010. Atlanta also won the teams' only previous playoff meeting, 20-18 at home Jan. 9, 1999.

Ryan has completed 64.0 percent of his passes for 602 yards with three TDs and three INTs while going 2-0 against the 49ers. White has 18 receptions for 369 yards and two scores in three career victories against them.

Southampton replaced Nigel Adkins with Mauricio Pochettino

Southampton FC

 Southampton have sacked Nigel Adkins as manager and replaced him with the former Espanyol manager Mauricio Pochettino. The Premier League club announced this morning that Adkins had been relieved of his managerial duties.

The Saints are 15th in the Premier League after coming back from 2-0 down to claim an impressive draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, but that was not enough to save Adkins from the axe.

The 40-year-old Argentinian spent three years with Espanyol, but was sacked in November with the club bottom of La Liga with nine points from 13 games.

Pochettino will take charge of training on Saturday ahead of Southampton's home game with Everton on Monday

A statement from the club said: "Southampton Football Club has this morning appointed Mauricio Pochettino as first-team manager, having relieved Nigel Adkins of his managerial duties.

"Pochettino has earned a reputation as one of the most talented young coaches in European football thanks to an impressive spell in La Liga with Espanyol.

"The Argentine was widely linked with a future role at one of Spain's top clubs, but having left Espanyol in November now joins Southampton to continue his top-flight managerial career.

"The club would like to thank Nigel Adkins for his service over the past three seasons, and wish him well for the future."

Southampton's executive chairman, Nicola Cortese, said: "This decision has been made with the long-term ambitions of Southampton Football Club in mind. Whilst we acknowledge the contribution Nigel has made during the past two years, for the club to progress and achieve our long-term targets a change was needed.

"Mauricio is a well-respected coach of substantial quality who has gained a reputation as an astute tactician and excellent man manager. I have every confidence that he will inspire our talented squad of players to perform at the highest possible level.

"He also shares my belief that the most successful clubs are built by nurturing young players through a development system that provides a clear path to the first team, thereby creating a culture that keeps them at the club for the long term. This is an approach he has employed with great success in the past and I look forward to him bringing that experience and expertise to Southampton."

Pochettino added: "This is the kind of opportunity that any coach would relish. Southampton is a club with great heritage, and an even more exciting future. There is a clear vision to take the club to a new era of sustained success in the Premier League, and beyond, which I'm delighted to be part of."

Lance Armstrong expected to give drug answers to Oprah Winfrey

Lance Amstrong and Oprah Winfrey

Lance Armstrong is expected to address claims he used performance-enhancing drugs in a two-part television interview to be broadcast on Friday.
The former cyclist, 41, recorded the interview with Oprah Winfrey in his home city of Austin, Texas.

It will be shown at 02:00 GMT on Friday and Saturday.

Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after being labelled a "serial cheat" by the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada).

Chat show host Winfrey, who conducted the two-and-a-half-hour interview with Armstrong on Monday, has revealed that the American "did not come clean in the manner I expected".

But she said that she was "satisfied" with his answers, that he was "serious and thoughtful", had prepared well for the interview and had "met the moment".

The interview will be shown on her Oprah Winfrey Network in the United States at 21:00 eastern time on Thursday and Friday, and streamed live online.

A spokeswoman for the Oprah show said that Armstrong had not been paid to appear and that Winfrey had been free to ask any question she wanted.

The International Cycling Union, which is the sport's governing body, stripped Armstrong of all results since 1 August 1998 and banned him for life after Usada's investigation into systematic doping. He has also been asked to return the Olympic bronze medal he won in Sydney in 2000.

Usada also gave him a life ban for what it described as "the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen".

The organisation released a 1,000-page report last October, which included sworn testimony from 26 people, including 15 riders with knowledge of the US Postal Service Team, for which Armstrong competed.

 Armstrong also later resigned as chairman of the Livestrong Foundation, the cancer charity he created.

But his lawyer, Tim Herman, has described the Usada report as a "one-sided hatchet job" and the cyclist himself has accused the agency of offering "corrupt inducements" to other riders to speak out against him.

Armstrong won the Tour de France for seven successive years between 1999 and 2005 after overcoming testicular cancer.

He has consistently denied taking performance-enhancing drugs, but announced last August that he would no longer fight Usada's charges against him.

An admission of guilt could raise a series of legal issues for Armstrong.

He could face perjury charges if he confesses to using performance-enhancing drugs, because he made sworn testimony in a 2005 court case that he had never done so.

New York defence attorney Stuart Slotnick told BBC Sport earlier this month that the passage of time could help Armstrong, though.

"Perjury is a statement under oath that is false and carries a potential prison sentence of up to five years," said Slotnick.

"But in most cases, with exceptions such as murder, the Statute of Limitations means you have five years in which you can be prosecuted from the date of any crime. After that time, a defendant can go to the judge and say it's too late."

Former teammate Floyd Landis - who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for doping - has filed a federal whistle-blower lawsuit accusing Armstrong of defrauding the US Postal Service, which paid more than £18.7m to sponsor the team Armstrong competed for.

The US Department of Justice is reportedly considering whether to join the lawsuit against him and Armstrong's lawyers are said to be in negotiations to settle the suit.

In addition, the Sunday Times is already suing Armstrong for £1m over a libel payment to him in 2004 after the newspaper alleged he had cheated.

US sports star in bizarre hoax

A US college football star is in the spotlight for the wrong reasons after his story of a girlfriend who died of cancer turned out to be a bizarre hoax.

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o, 21, said her death had inspired him to lead his Indiana team on its march to the national championship game.

But he stunned the sporting world on Wednesday night by admitting that his partner, Lennay Kekua, never existed.

Notre Dame said the player had been duped by an online and phone romance.

The hoax was revealed hours after a sports website, Deadspin.com, posted an investigative report stating that it could find no record Kekua had ever existed, while noting numerous inconsistencies in the story.

'Sick joke'

She was said to have been a 22-year-old Stanford University graduate who had been in a serious car accident in California, before being diagnosed with leukaemia.

Kekua was said to have died within hours of Te'o's real-life grandmother, who passed away on 11 September after a long illness.

But Deadspin said that it could find no official record of Kekua's death and that no-one of that name had attended Stanford University.

In a statement, Te'o said he had been the victim of a "sick joke", but he did not say whether he had ever met Kekua in person, nor did he correct media reports that he had met her.

"This is incredibly embarrassing to talk about, but over an extended period of time, I developed an emotional relationship with a woman I met online," said the statement.

"We maintained what I thought to be an authentic relationship by communicating frequently online and on the phone, and I grew to care deeply about her."

He added: "To realise that I was the victim of what was apparently someone's sick joke and constant lies was, and is, painful and humiliating. In retrospect, I obviously should have been much more cautious."

Unnerving phone call

Notre Dame apparently knew about the hoax as far back as 26 December, but kept the information private ahead of this month's national championship game.In a press conference on Wednesday, Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick said Te'o had told his coaches in December that he had received a call from Kekua's phone number earlier that month.

"When he answered it, it was a person whose voice sounded like the same person he had talked to, who told him that she was, in fact, not dead," Mr Swarbrick said.

"Manti was very unnerved by that, as you might imagine."

Notre Dame then hired investigators, who reported that multiple individuals had discussed the deception online.

For Te'o, Mr Swarbrick said: "The grief was real. The affection was real."

He added Notre Dame had not released its investigation report before Deadspin's story because the school had "no idea of motive".

Notre Dame lost the championship game to the University of Alabama on 7 January, and Te'o is now hoping to go professional in the National Football League.

Murray wins first round in Australian Open

Andy Murray

Appearances can be deceiving but mostly they are not. A lightly grilled audience in the Rod Laver Arena witnessed the evidence of that when the grooved and muscled tennis machine that is Andy Murray methodically deconstructed his opponent, Robin Haase, a slim and ambitious contender from the old school, to advance to the second round of the Australian Open.

They were born within a month of each other, in 1987, and each stands at 6ft 3in, armed with enough talent to win any rally, but not, in the Dutchman's case, necessarily any match. Murray outweighs Haase by a stone, all of it pure power, and that is one reason the Scot resides on a different part of Planet Tennis: in many of his matches he is a lion among lambs.

He arrived in Australia fresh from a prolonged winter training camp in Florida; Haase, who does not have those resources, turned up having won only one of his past 10 matches.

After an hour and 37 minutes the world No3 had crushed the world No53 6-3, 6-1, 6-3. It was an entertaining workout, with plenty of lovely shots on both sides of the net, the concluding ones invariably delivered by Murray.

"It was a good start," Murray said. "Nice to win in straight sets. It took a little while to get used to the breeze. I've come close here a few times, so to finally get a slam [in New York] was great and I'll try to focus on the second part of my career now."

Asked about what seems to be an ideal relationship with his coach of 12 months, Ivan Lendl, Murray joked, "Yeah, in front of the cameras, anyway. He works me very hard. He's very honest, very open."

Haase, with a whipping one-handed backhand and equal facility to crunch topspin winners on the other wing, was as pleasing on the eye as Murray was physically imposing, his double-fisted ground strokes full of mechanical menace.

Haase's recent results constitute a poor return for a clearly talented player who does not seem to have tamed his urge to play big points all the time. It is fine to trust your talent, more important to know how much you have – especially if your opponent is soaking it up and giving it back with interest. That is a dividing line on the tour: those who get desperate and those who get the job done. Memories of his fighting five-set loss to Murray at the 2011 US Open were just that on this Tuesday in Melbourne.

It was the perfunctory that took first blood over the ambitious, as Murray (who had just missed a miracle running forehand around the post) forced the Dutchman to hit long at the end of a brief rally in the third game.

Hitting flat through a light breeze inside this blue cavern, he was getting more purchase on his shots as Haase continued to search for the killer shot with bags of overspin and drift. If he had watched Murray handle the howling gales of Flushing Meadows last summer he might have taken a different tack, so to speak. This was more a teasing shudder of occasional wind than a hurricane, but it never the less required management.

Trailing 4-1, Haase lifted his game appreciably. Murray had to save four break points, the first with a carefully modulated pressure rally, followed by two sublime aces, one up the middle, then wide on the backhand side, before grinding his opponent into errors in his old-fashioned way to lead 5-1 after 27 minutes.

Murray lost focus with the set in his pocket and, after Haase held, the US Open champion double-faulted and handed him hope with a shot from the baseline that dropped softly into the net for 5-3, before serving out in 41 minutes.

It was a little longer than he might have wished 20 minutes earlier, workmanlike rather than dazzling tennis, which one could gauge from the polite rather than raucous applause that greeted each winner.

The first crack in the second set came in the fourth game when Murray drew Haase to the net and there seized on his inability to handle spin-laden shots from mid-court that all but kissed the cord. Haase shook his curly locks in frustration as volley after volley billowed the net.

Murray was coasting on the hour, a set and 4-1 up, master of his own destiny, destroyer of Haase's. There were shards of magic from the Dutchman, but his forearm weakened in sync with his spirit and Murray's march to victory was unstoppable. The Haase curls shook after nearly every exchange now, like a teenager who realised he had wandered into a conversation with grown-ups.

He continued to fight, however, trusting that talent, hoping for something unlikely to unfold, knowing it probably would not. In the third and concluding session Murray put him up against the ropes and worked him over all the way to the final bell.

Britain's other representative in the men's singles, Jamie Baker, could not build on his run through qualifying as he fell to Lukas Rosol, the Czech who found fame last year by beating Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon. The Glaswegian served for the first two sets but could not get the job done in a 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, 6-2 defeat as Rosol's all-or-nothing game clicked at the vital moments.

"The way he plays you just try to stick with him, don't let him get a lead and get confident," Baker said. "I executed it perfectly until those two games when I didn't take my chances. I was playing the right way but it's difficult to analyse that particular match in that he doesn't play like anyone else on tour.

"He's like a freak show. He doesn't put the ball in court the whole set but he continues doing the same thing. Any sane person would change tactics but he doesn't and then sure enough it happens at some point. It's very difficult to get any control."