Sports


Al Arouba to receive winners’ trophy today
MUSCAT — Newly crowned Oman Football Association (OFA) first division league champions, Al Arouba Club, will receive their deserving winners’ trophy at a ceremony to be held at the Sur Sports Complex today evening. According to a press release from the OFA, the club will feature in an exhibition game against a Select side comprising players from the Sharqiyah clubs...

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Zenit at zenith after UEFA Cup win
MANCHESTER — Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg won their first European silverware when second-half goals from Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zyrianov secured a 2-0 victory over Rangers in the UEFA Cup final on Wednesday. Denisov slotted home after 72 minutes and fellow midfielder Zyrianov sealed victory with a close range effort in stoppage time...

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Extremists take aim at Euro 2008: report
GENEVA — Religious militants have made appeals for attacks against the Euro 2008 football championships on jihadist websites, which worry Swiss police but they said there was no "concrete" threat yet. The championships in Switzerland
and Austria start June 7 and Swiss federal police spokesman Juerg Buehler told La Liberte daily that the tournament...

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Ferdinand signs new United deal
LONDON —
England international Rio Ferdinand has signed a new five-year contract with Manchester United, the Premier League club announced yesterday. “I am delighted Rio has signed a new contract. Rio’s contribution this season has been a major factor in our outstanding defensive performance,” manager Alex Ferguson told the club website (www.manutd.com). “It is a great honour to be part of this trophy-winning team and to share in the success, which I am sure will continue for many seasons to come,” added Ferdinand. United won the Premier League title on Sunday. Ferdinand joins fellow defender Wes Brown in committing himself to the club, with his new deal keeping him at Old Trafford until the summer of 2013.

Sharapova to take over No 1 ranking
ROME —
Russian Maria Sharapova will be the new women's world No 1 when the WTA rankings are released on Monday, the WTA said
in a statement yesterday. Justine Henin's decision to retire from professional tennis with immediate effect means that she will be removed from the rankings as of next week. And Sharapova, the current No 2 who is playing at the Rome International here, will take over the top spot for the fourth time, although she said the No 1 spot was not a major motivation for her. "To be honest, the ranking has never really been a big deal for me. Whether I'm No 1 or 5, my main goal is just to keep winning tennis matches."
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            — AFP

Former Celtic coach Burns dies
GLASGOW — Former Celtic manager Tommy Burns has died after battling cancer, the club announced on their website (www.celticfc.co.uk) yesterday. He was 51. “It is with great sadness that Celtic confirmed this morning that Tommy Burns
has passed away,” the club said. “Tommy, a true Celtic legend and wonderful man, will be sadly missed by us all. Clearly,...

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Celtics, Lakers surge ahead
BOSTON — The Boston Celtics rallied to a 96-89 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday to take a 3-2 lead in their NBA best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal. Boston’s top-seeded counterpart in the Western Conference also surged 3-2 ahead as the Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 111-104 in Los Angeles.Kobe Bryant, struggling with a sore back, led Los Angeles...

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Canada, Russia romp into semis
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Canada survived an early scare before romping to an 8-2 win over Norway and Russia crushed Switzerland 6-0 to send the two rivals into the World Ice Hockey Championship semifinals on Wednesday. In contrast to
those lop-sided routs, Nordic rivals Sweden and Finland needed 3-2 overtime victories to book their spots in the final four.

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