Alonso are getting closer!! Viva Tifosi...

Mark Webber extended his championship lead to 11 points on Sunday night, despite finishing on the lowest step of the podium and colliding with Lewis Hamilton during a long and hot Singapore grand prix.

The Australian finished behind pole sitter and winner Fernando Alonso, as well as his Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel.

At the chequered flag just before the 2 hour time limit was up, Ferrari's Spaniard and German Vettel were separated by just 3 tenths of a second.

But Vettel's points gap to Webber, who was a further half minute behind the leading battle at the finish, is still more than 20 points.

Webber's closest challenger is now Alonso, who has won the last two races from pole position in the resurgent Ferrari.

He leapfrogs Hamilton in the drivers' standings, after the Briton retired for the second race in a row due to a collision.

Argentina qualifies for World Cup with victory over Uruguay

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Argentina ended an embarrassing campaign by qualifying for the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Uruguay on Wednesday.

Argentina would have missed its first World Cup since 1970 if it had lost at packed Centenario Stadium.

But moments after Uruguay defender Martin Caceres was ejected for his second yellow card, substitute Mario Bolatti scored amid a goalmouth scramble in the 84th minute to send a relieved Argentina to the finals in South Africa next year.

Argentina claimed the fourth and final automatic berth in South America, while Uruguay finished fifth and earned another chance to qualify through the playoffs next month.

Australia’s Evans wins road world championship

MENDRISIO, Switzerland – Cadel Evans has won the men's race at cycling's road world championships.

The Australian broke clear on the final climb Sunday to finish in an unofficial time of 6 hours, 56 minutes, 26 seconds on the 162.9-mile course.

Alexandr Kolobnev of Russia crossed 27 seconds behind to take silver, beating Spain's Joaquin Rodriguez in a sprint finish.

Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara was in contention on the final lap, but finished fifth as he sought a historic gold medal double after winning the time trial on Thursday.

The riders covered 19 laps of a tight, hilly course that challenged riders with two climbs, technically demanding downhill sections and little recovery time.

Heavy consequences await departed F1 chiefs

The loss of their jobs may not be the only ramifications faced by Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds after effectively admitting to race-fixing amid the 'crash-gate' scandal.

The FIA's World Motor Sport Council meets next Monday and could impose lifetime bans on the pair.

But according to the Daily Telegraph, a guilty verdict could mean even more dramatic consequences, such as possible extradition to Singapore to face criminal charges for ordering a dangerous and violent incident take place.

The British newspaper said other lawsuits are also possible, such as on behalf of Felipe Massa or Ferrari, who arguably lost the 2008 world championship because of the events at the Singapore night race.

The F1 chiefs' employer Renault SA, meanwhile, "may want to sue its former employees for allegedly bringing the company's name into disrepute", the Telegraph added.But specialist sports lawyer Stephen Hornsby said: "Renault are unlikely to want to keep the matter going for little reward."

Also in the spotlight are Briatore's separate roles as a leading driver manager with his own firm FFBB, and his co-ownership of the London football club Queens Park Rangers.

The World Motor Sport Council, meanwhile, is tipped to look closely next Monday at the role played in the scandal by Briatore's apparent conflict of interest in being both Nelson Piquet's manager and his team boss.

An insider told the Guardian: "The wider implications for Flavio and others found to have put Piquet in this position, and what sanctions can be brought to prevent this happening again, are likely to be looked at by the WMSC."

FInally...a win from the Schuderia Ferrari!!

Kimi Raikkonen won the Belgian grand prix, Giancarlo Fisichella's second place is worth "squillions" to Force India, but the big winner at Spa-Francorchamps was Sebastian Vettel.

The German driver finished third, while his fellow championship rivals struggled.

Jenson Button crashed on the first lap, but his Brawn teammate Rubens Barrichello closed the title battle to within 16 points, with Vettel leapfrogging his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber to take third place in the drivers' standings.

The big headline however is the astonishing Belgian form of Force India's Fisichella, who started from pole but was overtaken down the long Kemmel straight by the KERS-assisted Raikkonen's Ferrari.

But the Roman, whose eight points are worth "squillions" to his Silverstone-based team according to business director Ian Phillips, hung onto his Finnish rival throughout the 44 laps, and the gap at the end was less than a single second.

"I'm a little bit sad because I was quicker than Kimi but he overtook me just because of the KERS. Actually, we could have won the race," Fisichella told reporters afterwards.

Schumacher warms up for F1 return in karts

Michael Schumacher continued preparing for his return to Formula One with a second day of kart racing in northern Italy Thursday.

"We had two very good karting days," the seven times world champion said on his website (www.michael-schumacher.de). "Arms, upper body, shoulders, neck -- an excellent practice indeed."

The 40-year-old German is coming out of retirement to fill in at Ferrari while Brazilian Felipe Massa recovers from injuries sustained in a nasty accident in qualifying at last month's Hungarian Grand Prix.

Schumacher is not allowed to use Ferrari's F60 car before the European Grand Prix in Valencia on August 23 beause the sport's regulations ban track testing during the season.

Its Official! Ferrari Confirm Michael Schumacher will Replace Felipe Massa

Michael Schumacher on Wednesday announced he is looking forward to the challenge of replacing his injured former Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa at forthcoming grands prix.

"I met this afternoon with Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo and together we decided that I will prepare myself to take the place of Felipe," the 40-year-old German, who retired in 2006, said.

Schumacher hung up his helmet as a record-holding seven time world champion and winner of 91 grands prix and insists he has never regretted his decision.

"Though it is true that the formula one chapter was completely closed for me a long time ago, it is also true that for loyalty reasons to the team I cannot ignore (this) unfortunate situation," he added.

"But as the competitor I am I also very much look forward to facing this challenge," said Schumacher.

Ferrari also confirmed the news, following reports in the respectively German and Swiss newspapers Bild and Blick.The Italian team said it will enter Schumacher as the alternative competitor of Massa's car number 3 following a training programme for the German, who earlier this year hurt his neck in a motorcycle testing crash.

"I really can't tell you if his neck would be fine to drive an F1 race ... and remember he is a 40-year-old man, too," Schumacher's spokeswoman Sabine Kehm said on Tuesday.

Astana controls first Tour week

Galloping sprints, dramatic crashes, French victories and inner rivalries added to the excitement of the first week of the 2009 Tour de France. Saxo Bank may have spent the first six stages with the maillot jaune on Fabian Cancellara's shoulders, Columbia-HTC may have taken two stages with Mark Cavendish, but all eyes were focused on Team Astana and the Tour de France comeback of its most famous rider.

With the return of Lance Armstrong, the Tour has enjoyed bigger crowds, more press and undoubtedly more drama than it has seen since he left the sport back in 2005. His battle to establish himself as leader of his team was the theme of the first week, even if, as his team likes to claim, much of it was fabricated by the press.

Round one, the opening time trial, saw Contador get a leg up in the leadership department with a second place finish, laying claim to the race's first mountains jersey. Armstrong finished a solid 10th place but on stage three he set tongues a-wagging by leaving Contador behind when the field was split in strong crosswinds by Team Columbia-HTC. With that move he pulled himself into third overall, 19 seconds ahead of his Spanish teammate.

Harmony was restored within the Kazakh-backed team's camp in time for the Astana squad to smash the overall classification to bits in the team time trial. Many a GC hopeful lost his chance at winning the Tour on that fateful day and Armstrong came within fractions of a second of claiming his beloved maillot jaune.

That stage might have been the 37-year-old's best chance of taking the lead in the race, however. Three days later, on the climb to Andorra Arcalis, Contador stamped his authority on the race and the role of team leader with a stunning, final-kilometre attack that was apparently, 'not according to the plan'.

Showing that there may be no need to ban race radios, opening-week breakaways had unprecedented success this year - on three separate occasions the victor from the escape came from the race's host nation and won for a French team. Thomas Voeckler and Pierrick Fedrigo made Bouygues Telecom's Tour a huge success with wins, while newcomer Brice Feillu gave Agritubel a dramatic victory in Andorra.

Footballer Ronaldo liquidating his car collection - after accepting £80 million bid from Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo cars

24-year-old soccer football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has put his luxury car collection up for sale after accepting an £80 million ($128,467,650 USD / €92,294,100) offer to play for Real Madrid.

The vehicles up for sale include a Bentley Continental GT Speed(£114,950), a Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Tiptronic S (£69,995), and a Mercedes C220 CDI (£10,795). As one source put it, "Cristiano is keen to sell his cars because they are right-hand drive. He will just go out and replace them."

He certainly knows how to replace vehicles, in the past few years Cristiano has owned a Porsche Cayenne, a Bentley Continental GTC, a Ferrari 599 GTB (which he crashed), and an Audi R8.

All three vehicles are being sold by a local Manchester dealer which has listed them on Auto Trader.

Man Utd Barclays Fixtures 2009/2010

Owen is the new Red Devil......

MICHAEL OWEN vowed to prove his doubters wrong after completing a shock move to Old Trafford last night.

Owen signed a two-year deal as Manchester United fans filled internet message boards questioning the capture of the injury-prone former Liverpool star.But the striker promised to start next season with a bang and prove Alex Ferguson was spot-on to take a gamble on him.

Owen said: "I know there will be people out there saying 'maybe the manager shouldn't have signed me'. But when the first game kicks off I can do my talking on the pitch - and I want to start with a bang."The 2001 European Footballer of the Year also wants to prove he is not a crock.He said: "A lot has been made out of it - but I certainly do not think I'm injury-prone.

"I'm 29 and played more than 500 games at the highest level for clubs, and with England at international level, so I can't have been on the treatment table all the time.

"I want to improve on my injury record and, hopefully with the staff here, I'll be ready for every game. Everyone would have got injured had someone stamped on their foot."Owen went through two rigorous medicals in London and Manchester - and then serious fitness tests at United's Carrington training ground.He said: "I would like to think everyone was surprised at how the medical was."But I have passed them before and my fitness is fine."

Owen said the move was a dream after only Hull had made their interest public until the striker received a call from Ferguson on Wednesday.He said: "A few days ago I didn't have this in my wildest dreams. Now I don't think I'll be able to sleep, thinking about all the top players I'll be playing with here.

"I had just begun to talk to other clubs when out of the blue Sir Alex phoned me on Wednesday. He invited me to have breakfast with him the next morning, during which he told me that he wanted to sign me. I agreed straight away.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I intend to seize it with both hands.

"I'm now looking forward to being a United player and I'm fortunate I know so many of the players here.

Mosley on warpath, FOTA breakaway back on menu

Far from peace in our time, furious Max Mosley on Friday suggested FOTA's plans for a breakaway series may be back on.On Wednesday in Paris, FOTA chairman Luca di Montezemolo sat with the FIA president as well as Bernie Ecclestone as they announced an agreement had been reached to move on after weeks and months of bitter feuding.But Mosley interpreted the subsequent media coverage of the agreement as manipulated by Montezemolo and the eight rebel teams, keen to portray the deal as a successful coup that had resulted in victory as well as his head.

The 69-year-old wrote a letter to Ferrari's Montezemolo demanding a retraction and apology, but on Thursday the Italian instead issued a backhanded compliment by thanking Mosley "for his decision to leave the FIA in October".Mosley, now openly rethinking his retirement, is reportedly also furious at FOTA vice-chairman John Howett's appeal to the World Motor Sport Council that it elect an "independent" president to succeed the incumbent.He has now written another letter to the FIA member clubs, in which Mosley alludes to Howett's comments that "concern me greatly" and to Montezemolo who "did not keep his part of the bargain".

"We must continue to defend the independence of the FIA, even if this leads to difficulties in the sport," Mosley wrote.He said the aftermath of the agreement had become "intolerable" and warns that, despite this week's declaration of peace, formula one now faces another "difficult period".

"This may well result in short-term problems in formula one," added Mosley. "It is possible FOTA will set up an independent series. The championship has had difficult times in the past, and no doubt will again in the future."

He accuses FOTA as being a body with "no sporting ethics" and "under the control" of the car manufacturing industry "we have constantly to monitor".Even more provocatively, Mosley revealed that one manufacturer team lobbied him to ignore the processes of the Court of Appeal and simply declare 'double diffusers' illegal earlier this year.He also said that when the FIA championed the road car safety standards system Euro NCAP, "one of the major manufacturers threatened to quit formula one" in protest.

Official: FOTA Announce Breakaway Series for 2010

In the dead of Thursday night in England, the eight FOTA teams decided to issue a statement announcing that a breakaway world championship will be formed.

The announcement came on the eve of the FIA's Friday deadline for making unconditional entries for the official formula one series, and amid the sides' deadlocked negotiations about income, governance and rules.

"The FIA and the commercial rights holder have campaigned to divide FOTA," the statement read. "The wishes of the majority of the teams are ignored.

"Furthermore, tens of millions of dollars have been withheld from many teams by the commercial rights holder, going back as far as 2006."

The statement was issued on behalf of BMW, Brawn, Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Toyota and the two Red Bull teams.

"These teams therefore have no alternative other than to commence the preparation for a new championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners," said the formula one teams association.

Man Utd announce Tevez departure

Manchester United have confirmed that Carlos Tevez is leaving the club.

United were willing to pay the £25.5m to turn the striker's two-year loan move into a permanent five-year deal but Tevez has decided to move on.

"Disappointingly, his advisors informed the club that he does not wish to continue playing for Manchester United," read a United statement.

"The club thanks Carlos for his services over the last two seasons and wishes him good luck for the future."

Tevez became a fans favourite duruing his time at the Old Trafford club and helped the side win the last two Premier League titles as well as the 2008 Champions League trophy.

But he has joined Cristiano Ronaldo in exiting the club, with his final appearance being as a substitute in United's loss to Barcelona in the 209 Champions League final.

Its Tour Time!!!! 2009 Tour de France

Who's the favourite?

Alberto Contador

Cadel Evans


Dennis Menchov
Carlos Sastre
Levi Leipheimer
Lance Amstrong

Ronaldo: It’s historic deal

CRISTIANO RONALDO last night branded his world-record £80million move to Real Madrid "historic".

But while the 24-year-old celebrated in Los Angeles, he was also exposed as a two-faced winker by the man who masterminded the deal.Ronaldo said: "I have had my time at Man United. It's time to look forward and £80m is quite a sum of money. This deal is historic."However former Real president Ramon Calderon insisted Ronaldo agreed to go more than SIX MONTHS ago.The revelation makes a sham of the Portugal winger's repeated claims that he was going to stay at United.

Calderon said: "It was easy. We agreed everything and he decided to come."He also claims United knew all about the deception and added: "Let's say it was a gentleman's agreement."Let's say that everyone involved in the operation agreed to do it this season. That is what I can say. It has happened now, it was a bit early last season."Ronaldo got the news that his transfer to Real had been confirmed after being out clubbing all night in Los Angeles where he is on holiday.

Man United wins 3rd straight Premier League title

MANCHESTER, England (AP)—Manchester United won the Premier League for the third straight season Saturday after a 0-0 tie with Arsenal.

United needed a point to clinch a record-equaling 18th title. The draw at Old Trafford put the championship out of reach for second-place Liverpool, which is seven points behind with two games left.

“Thankfully, we got the job done today,” striker Wayne Rooney said. “The last few years have been unbelievable.”

United has won 11 Premier League titles in the last 17 seasons under manager Alex Ferguson and is tied with Liverpool with 18 on the list of English league champions.

“I never thought we could get 11 titles—never in a million years,” Ferguson said.

After a lackluster game, the final whistle set off a massive celebration. The team was presented with the Premier League trophy on the field, with the players hugging and spraying champagne.

Ferguson has 25 major trophies since he arrived at the club in 1986 and hopes to make it 26 when United faces Barcelona in the Champions League final May 27 in Rome.

“It makes you want to go on forever,” said the 67-year-old Scot, who has no plans to retire anytime soon.

The trophy was carried onto the field by four soldiers who returned from a four-month tour of duty in Afghanistan. As the medals were presented and fireworks exploded, the rain that had lashed the field all game cleared and Old Trafford was bathed in sunshine.

Ryan Giggs has been part of United’s team for each of its 11 Premier League triumphs masterminded by Ferguson since the 1992-3 season.

“It’s been a special time at the club since the manager took over and we’ve managed to win so much,” Giggs said. “Hopefully we can carry on.”

The title is the eighth for 34-year-old defender Gary Neville.

“I think it’s a fantastic achievement,” said Neville, adding that Liverpool’s challenge helped focus the champions. “They pushed us really hard this season. Next season, we’ve got our work cut out to go and do it again.”

Powered this season by goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and top performances from strikers Rooney and Carlos Tevez, United also had a rock-solid defense. Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar set a British record by going 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal.

United withstood a shaky stretch in April, losing 4-1 at home to Liverpool and 2-0 at Fulham. Then came a winning streak that pushed the club ahead of rival Liverpool.

Liverpool plays last-place West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. The final round of games is May 24.

Cristiano's the Special Ron

MANCHESTER UNITED pulled off an historic victory — thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 40-yard rocket.The Portuguese star — dubbed ‘The Winker’ after his exploits at the 2006 World Cup — hit a sixth-minute stunner as United became the first English team to win at Porto’s Estadio do Dragao.

Raikkonen: Ferrari will bounce back

Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen has vowed that Ferrari will bounce back from their awful start to the 2009 season which has seen them fail to register a single point.

Two races in, the reigning constructors' champions have not only finished outside the points but have also looked some way off the pace of the all-conquering Brawn GP team.

And to make matters worse, poor tactical decisions cost Felipe Massa in qualifying and Raikkonen in the race itself.

That moved Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo to demand an improvement from his team.

"We know that we have to react to catch up in terms of performance, part of which is also due to the interpretation of the technical rules (the rear diffusers), considered to be incorrect by many teams, but that's why we'll work very hard over these next few days to improve the F60's aerodynamic developments as much as possible," he said.

And Raikkonen, who many believe is driving for his future with the team this season following a disappointing defence to his title last year, is confident the team can react before the next grand prix in China following disasters in both Australia and Malaysia.

"We still don't have any points following two grands prix and without a doubt this is a difficult time for us," he said.

"But we've been through similar phases in the past. We know how to react and we'll do so in Shanghai."

However, Raikkonen admitted that the FIA decision over the rear diffusers being used by Brawn, Toyota and Williams will also have a large impact on the Ferrari's competitiveness.

Several teams have lodged an appeal with the FIA over the legality of those diffusers and a hearing is set to be held next week.

"Right now we still have some problems which were evident in Malaysia," added the Finn.

"The next race is in China but a couple of days beforehand the FIA's Court of Appeal will decide on the diffusers.

"That's a decision that will have a huge impact on the championship."

Malaysian GP - Ferrari: Our performance is unacceptable

Reigning constructors' champions Ferrari were searching for a quick fix after both cars finished outside the points at the rain-shortened Malaysian Grand Prix, a week after a similar scoreless weekend in Australia.

A tropical storm over the Sepang circuit brought an abrupt end to the second race of the season and while Brawn GP's Jenson Button was able to celebrate a second consecutive victory,

Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen were never a factor, with Brazilian Massa finishing five places ahead of his team mate in ninth.

After an error of judgment ruined his qualifying session on Saturday, Massa believes the Italian outfit must rebuild from scratch ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai in a fortnight.

"It was a bad result and we need to start again from zero," said Massa.

"We need to get together to understand where we can improve things. To clear up our mistakes and fine-tune our strategies.

"We (have not gone from being) great in the past to suddenly stupid now, although last year we had a better car. But we have to work quickly to get this season back on track."

Team principal Stefano Domenicali echoed his driver's concerns and after both cars failed to finish in the season-opening race in Melbourne, he stressed the need for a positive reaction.

"It was the second bad weekend in a row and we have to react really immediately to this," the Italian said.

"Things are not going well and our performance is not acceptable and I will not accept it. We need to make sure we resolve any technical issues with the car and also cut down on the mistakes we are making with our strategies."

Under pressure from Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, Domenicali explained the team needed results to improve by the next grand prix on April 19.

"From a performance point of view, we have to work on the aerodynamics of the car... the downforce," he added.

"We need to work day and night to make this better and we also need to see why the car is so competitive in practice at the start of a race weekend but struggles in qualifying and on raceday.

"The car is very sensitive to fuel load and tyres right now, something we need to fix as it should not be this way."