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“It is with a heavy heart, but it is an irreversible decision for our bank,” Bert Bruggink of the board of governors said. “We are no longer convinced that the international professional cycling world is capable of creating a clean and honest sport.” Bruggink said the bank was shocked by the detailed allegations of doping in the report. “For us, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” he said. The teams said in a statement they will try to find new sponsors. Dutch broadcaster RTL Z reported that bicycle maker Giant — which already provides the Rabobank team’s bikes — is considering sponsoring the team. “We’re seriously considering becoming the Rabo team’s head sponsor,” Giant said. “Another option would be to give the team material support or, for example, a co-sponsorship with another partner.” The announcement Friday signaled the end of Rabobank’s sponsoring of the biggest professional cycling team in the bike-crazy Netherlands, but the team manager said the bank would continue to support its riders as they seek a new sponsor. “We hope and expect the UCI will work with us to let the team to keep its license,” Harold Knebel told national broadcaster NOS. “We hope the team can stay together.”nike air max shoes The decision came a day after the Rabobank team confirmed that the International Cycling Union had launched a doping case against one of its riders, Carlos Barredo. The UCI said it understood Rabobank’s decision “in light of the difficult period, namely the high public interest in past doping issues and perhaps a more recent action taken by the UCI against a rider of the team.” The scandal-tainted sport’s governing body said in a statement it “reaffirms its commitment to the fight against doping and full transparency about potential anti-doping rule violations.” The Rabobank men’s team includes Dutch rider Robert Gesink and Spanish colleague Luis Leon Sanchez, who won a stage in each of the last two Tours de France. The women’s team is led by world and Olympic road race champion Marianne Vos. Vos tweeted that the decision was “understandable in light of the current doping cases, but unfortunately this hurts many innocent (riders) in our sport.” The closest the Rabobank came to an overall Tour victory was halted by doping suspicions swirling around Michael Rasmussen, who was fired by the team while leading the 2007 Tour for lying about his whereabouts when he missed pre-race doping tests. Rasmussen was banned for two years, although he has maintained he raced clean and never tested positive. Another past Rabobank rider, Levi Leipheimer, was fired Wednesday by the Omega Pharma-Quick Step cycling team after confessing to doping as part of the investigation that brought down Armstrong.

 Conley and Rudy Gay each finished with 20 points to lead the Grizzlies and Marreese Speights had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Monta Ellis had 20 points for the Bucks and Brandon Jennings had 19 points, four assists and two steals. Jennings forced a steal late in the game and then set up Mike Dunleavy for a layup to pull the Bucks within one point with four seconds to go. Nike Air Max 95 Jennings also hit 5 of 6 on 3-pointers for the Bucks, who shot 52.4 percent from beyond the arc. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By Keith Weir LONDON | Thu Oct 18, 2012 5:01am IST LONDON (Reuters) - English soccer clubs are putting their survival at risk by spending heavily to try to win a place in the lucrative Premier League, a report from accountancy firm PKF said on Thursday. Television deals have turned English soccer into a tale of "the haves and have nots" where it was becoming harder to avoid losing money if you were outside the Premier League, said Charles Barnett, head of PKF's Football Industry Group. "Many clubs outside of the Premier League elite are balanced precariously on the knife edge between survival and insolvency," added Barnett. "This tension is particularly evident in the Championship (second division), where many clubs gamble with their very survival for a shot at entry to the promised land of the Premier League," he said. Two-thirds of clubs did not expect to make a profit in their next accounting period if payments for player transfers were not included, according to PKF which surveyed the finance directors of 62 clubs in England and the Scottish Premier League. PKF have first hand experience of dealing with the fall-out from the failure of a soccer club. Administrators from the firm have been running debt-laden Portsmouth since February. Nike Air Max 95 Portsmouth were relegated from the Championship at the end of last season and are still negotiating with two potential buyers. The gap between the Premier League and the rest will yawn even wider next season when a new domestic television rights deal worth one billion pounds a season begins for the top flight, 70 percent up on the current contract. Bigger Championship clubs are attracting the interest of foreign investors eyeing the riches of the Premier League. A group of Kuwaiti investors bought former European champions Nottingham Forest earlier this year and Leeds United have been in takeover talks with Dubai-based investment firm GFH Capital. "There is the opportunity to buy into Premier League revenues at a discounted price," Barnett said, commenting on the benefits for investors in successful Championship teams. Clubs below the Premier League have adopted rules to cut losses modelled on Financial Fair Play measures being introduced for top European clubs. Eighty-five percent of clubs surveyed said they expected to comply with domestic or European financial rules in the current 2012-13 season. Barnett said it was essential that clubs honoured that commitment. "Clubs are making the right noises but I suspect that many will need to urgently review their five-year-plans with a strong dose of realism if the industry is going to make it through the next few years without any further insolvency cases," he said. (Editing by Alison Wildey)

Wed Oct 17, 2012 3:45pm IST n">Oct 17 (Reuters) - Finland's Jari-Matti Latvala will leave the Ford works rally team and drive for Volkswagen next season, the German manufacturer said on Wednesday. The 27-year-old, who has been with Ford for five years and was the world championship runner-up in 2010, will join French driver Sebastien Ogier at Volkswagen. "It wasn't easy for me to say goodbye. At the same time, I see the change as a personal new beginning,"Cheap Nike Air Max said the Finn in a statement. Ford announced on Monday that they were withdrawing works support from the world rally championship from next season. Latvala and co-driver Mikka Antila are third overall in the standings with France's Sebastien Loeb having already clinched his ninth title in a row for Citroen. Loeb will not be defending his championship next year. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London; Editing by Clare Fallon) Motor Sports

By Alan Baldwin SILVERSTONE, England | Wed Oct 17, 2012 6:54pm IST SILVERSTONE, England Oct 17 (Reuters) - Williams development driver Susie Wolff paid tribute to seriously injured Marussia tester Maria De Villota after having her first drive in a Formula One car at a damp Silverstone circuit on Wednesday. Spaniard De Villota, the last woman behind the wheel of a Formula One car, lost her right eye and fractured her skull in a horrific accident at a straight-line test at Duxford airfield in eastern England last July. "She is an incredible lady. Before you even talk about her as a racing driver, she is an incredible person, an inspiration," Wolff told reporters after her first session in last year's unsuccessful Williams FW33. "We were in contact a couple of weeks ago and she told me to drive for the both of us now, that I would be out there representing us both. "I had Maria's star on my helmet, it's with pride I have that, and without a doubt I was driving for the two of us," added the 29-year-old Scottish-born driver. Wolff,Air Max 95whose Austrian husband Toto is a Williams shareholder and director, normally races in the German Touring Car (DTM) championship and was thrilled to be achieving a lifetime's ambition. Only a handful of women have driven Formula One cars in the last decade and none has come near to racing one. Before De Villota, who also tested a Renault in 2011, Britain's Katherine Legge drove a Minardi at Italy's Vallelunga circuit in 2005 and American Sarah Fisher carried out a demonstration run in a McLaren at Indianapolis at the 2002 U.S. Grand Prix. The last woman to start a Formula One race was Italian Lella Lombardi in 1976. "Never at any point was I worried about what was happening out there. Everything was under control and it was really good fun," said Wolff. "It was incredible. I've waited a long time for this day, I've dreamed about this day for a long time, with the first lap something special. "I've done a lot of days in the simulator so I knew what to expect but of course it is tremendously different when you are out there and going at those speeds." Williams's regular race drivers Pastor Maldonado of Venezuela and Brazilian Bruno Senna, who were at Silverstone to drive two title-winning cars - Keke Rosberg's 1982 FW08 and Damon Hill's 1996 FW18 - and meet guests and sponsors, were watching the run. "She's doing quite good...so confident with the car. I have been with her in a DTM two-seater and I have to say she has a great control of the car," said Maldonado, who drove Hill's car. "The first time in a Formula One car as everyone knows is a special day. She is good." (Editing by Clare Fallon) Motor Sports

The New York Giants' 4-2 record isn't as good as it seems in the NFC East, and this team finds itself in a must-win scenario in Week 7 against the Washington Redskins. Eli Manning and company absolutely demolished the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park in Week 6—showing up their opponent in every single way. It was an embarrassing loss from the 49ers' perspective, and with the decisive victory over one of the NFC's top teams, the Giants reasserted themselves as a true powerhouse in the NFL. All that will mean exactly nothing, though, if the Redskins come into MetLife Stadium on Sunday and defeat their intra-divisional rivals. It's not such a stretch to think the Redskins could do it, either, as this team defeated the Giants in both contests a year ago. Should the Giants lose this next game, not only will they share a 4-3 record with the Redskins, but they'll actually be behind in the NFC East standings with an 0-3 record against their own division. Given the fact that the Dallas Cowboys and  Nike Air Max salePhiladelphia Eagles have already beaten the Giants, any more divisional losses could completely submarine this team's chances to make it back to the postseason in 2012. There's an excellent chance that only one NFC East team will make it into the playoffs this season—the team that wins the division. It's not inconceivable to think that the NFC North could provide both of the NFC's wild-card teams. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images With strong teams in the NFC North and NFC West, it is highly probable that the two wild-card teams from the NFC will come from one or both of those divisions. The 49ers are currently tied with the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks with a 4-2 record, and the St. Louis Rams are only one game back. The Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears both feature strong defenses and a four-win total to this point in the season, and the Green Bay Packers are starting to surge. The Redskins are a legitimate threat to the NFC East divisional crown. Robert Griffin III gives his team a chance to win every single game, and though the team's passing defense is suspect, the front seven is adept at shutting down opposing teams' running games—making them one-dimensional. Is this a must-win game for the Giants? Is this a must-win game for the Giants? Yes77.7% No22.3% Total votes: 206 If the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys start getting consistent play from their quarterbacks, this division will surely come down to the wire—much like it did in 2011, when the Giants squeaked past their rivals with a 9-7 record. Divisional games are more important than any others, and if the Giants fall to 0-3 within the NFC East, it may well spell their doom in 2012. Follow me on Twitter @JesseReed78 and check out my weekly NFL picks at Pickfactor.com

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Good thing that's what Texans running back Arian Foster thinks. Let's rewind to the Packers' 42-24 win over the Texans on Sunday night. Green Bay is up, 35-17, and Aaron Rodgers throws an 18-yard touchdown pass to James Jones to put the game out of reach. With the game in Houston, there was no "Lambeau Leap." cheap air max shoes Instead, the Packers' wide receiver performed a namaste, a Hindu ritual thatArianFoster hasmade famouswhen he reaches the end zone. Jones did this in Foster's house. He rubbed Foster's own celebration in his face. The big question: Was Foster insulted? Should he have been? Check out our video above for Arian's reaction and to find out what namaste actually means. Let us know in the comments below if Jones should have done this or if Foster was cool and had the right reaction.

With each throw, Peyton Manning is bolstering his resume for the 2012 MVP. It was almost seven months ago to the day that this writer argued that Manning was a major risk for whatever team signed him and wouldn't be worth the money. Consider this a mea culpa. Manning has taken a Denver Broncos team that finished 8-8 last year and turned them into bona fide contenders. They made the playoffs last year in spite of Tim Tebow, relying on a very good defense and the annual underachievement of the San Diego Chargers. It was really a fluke considering the -81 point differential. Give credit to John Elway as he wasn't afraid to jettison the popular Tebow and give Manning the kind of contract he wanted. It's a move that's paid off in spades. Manning hasn't been perfect this year, but considering he's a 36-year-old coming off neck surgery, he's about as close to perfect as he can get. Manning is second in the league in passing yards, touchdowns and quarterback rating. The 3-3 record is a bit deceiving for Denver. They started off the year with games against Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Houston, New England and San Diego. Even with a .500 record, the Broncos are first in the AFC West. And only the Baltimore Ravens and Houston  air max 2012Texans have a record better than Denver in the AFC. And it's in more than in the stat sheet that Manning's influence can be felt. Prior to the season, Demaryius Thomas had made the statement that this year he was going to actually have to run routes now that Manning was in town. Having Thomas just run across the field made him a dangerous receiver, but having him adhere to the play call may turn him into one of the best receivers in the league. Eric Decker is another receiver who has greatly benefited from both the talent and experience of Manning. It's going to take about half the season for him equal his receiving totals for all of 2011. If there were any doubt as to the quarterback's MVP credentials up to this point, the comeback against the Chargers Monday night sealed it. Manning's first-half performance left a lot to be desired. However, in the second half, he more than made up for it, throwing only one incomplete pass and three touchdowns. It's just representative of his season so far. The bulk of Manning's yards and touchdowns have come in the second half of games, and more specifically, in the fourth quarter. Despite all the questions surrounding him in the offseason, Manning has regained his status as the NFL MVP.

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