By Brian Murgatroyd DUBAI | Thu Aug 23, 2012 7:46pm IST DUBAI (Reuters) - Australia are ready for a trial by spin during their tour of the United Arab Emirates, opening batsman David Warner said on Thursday. Warner's reputation, forged initially in Twenty20 cricket, is for blitzkrieg batting at the top of the order and he has a strike-rate in excess of 140 runs per 100 balls in that form of the game. But in the UAE, in limited-over games against Afghanistan and Pakistan and on pitches expected to help spin bowling, the left-hander expects a completely different challenge. "Everyone says we struggle against spin and we know they (Afghanistan and Pakistan) are going to have a lot of spin bowling," Warner told reporters. "In Darwin on pre-tour training we had a fantastic set-up with (batting coach) Justin Langer who arranged for wickets to be turning and challenging and our batters took a lot out of that. Air Max 95"The boys challenged themselves and we got through it pretty well and now we're looking forward to that challenge." Australia will play seven matches in the UAE with a one-dayer against Afghanistan in Sharjah on Saturday followed by three ODIs and three Twenty20s against Pakistan. Pakistan's commitment to test Australia with spin is highlighted by their selection of five slow bowlers in a 15-man squad - Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Hafeez and Abdur Rehman. "I'm coming up against these bowlers and I haven't really faced them (much) before," said Warner. "I haven't faced them in turning conditions and I'm looking forward to it. "The challenge for me is to keep rotating the strike. I can't just go 'three dot balls and I've got to hit a boundary'. "If I do get bogged down for three balls I can't just try to hit it out of the park and get a soft dismissal. That would put us in a tough situation and it says I'm not playing for the team," added Warner. Afghanistan will be playing only their second ODI against one of cricket's established sides after facing Pakistan in February, a match they lost by seven wickets. "It gives them a chance to see where they are against the rest of the world," said Warner. "We've maybe slipped down the rankings but it gives them the perfect opportunity if they can knock us over to say 'we can beat anyone in the world'. "We are not going to take them lightly. We know what they are capable of over here." (Editing by Tony Jimenez)

 
“I’d love to defend my (100) title ... I just think I have really moved away from the 100,” Pistorius said from Olympic Park, a day before he will carry the South African flag at the opening ceremony. “I ran my first race in the 100 meters last weekend in 16 months, and I ran in 11.1 into quite a strong headwind. “So I feel like I am in quite strong shape to be a feature in that race, but some of the top guys are still running quicker than I am and that’s their focus. They will be resting for the 100.” World champion Jerome Singleton and world record holder Jonnie Peacock are Pistorius’ greatest threats in the short sprint next Thursday. “I have to be realistic and say the 200 and 400 are the events I am probably better suited at,” the 25-year-old Pistorius said. Singleton, who will be competing in the 100 and 200, thinks Pistorius “is saying that as an excuse.” “If you are in Olympic shape and you can compete against the able bodied ...air max 2012 you have to run a quick 100,” the 26-year-old American said in an interview from a promotional event. “You are going to see one of the best races to ever come through at the Paralympics ... we have a new group of people trying to take on the old guard.” Pistorius has a rival closer to home, his athletes’ village roommate Arnu Fourie. “It’s going to be a bit awkward the night before the final— I might have to drop some sleeping pills in his water or something,” Pistorius said, joking. Pistorius made his Olympic debut in the 400 this month at the London Games, reaching the individual semifinals and competing in the relay final. “Being able to run out here against some of the world’s best really pushed me to want to run harder and better, and inspired me in many ways,” Pistorius said. “I think what was really nice is I got used to the track and the kind of intensity ... I’d never want to say that one (the Olympics or Paralympics) is more important than the other because I’d never be able to choose. I hope my performances reflect where I’m at physically.” But unlike Olympic sprint star Usain Bolt, Pistorius will let others decide if he’s a “legend.” “I’d never say that about myself,” he said. The South African believes Britain’s status as Paralympics host is recognition for being at the forefront of banishing stigmas in disability sport. A Paralympic event in London’s Trafalgar Square reinforced that view last year. “Kids didn’t stare at people’s prosthetic legs and they were asking guys in wheelchairs what events they do,” Pistorius said. “There are a lot of people here who don’t focus on the disability anymore — they focus on the athletes’ abilities ... there’s nothing to be ashamed of.” ___ Rob Harris can be reached at http://twitter.com/RobHarris Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 
GLENEAGLES, Scotland (AP) - Paul Lawrie of Scotland shot a 5-under 67 in the third round of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead.

Lawrie's 12-under 204 puts him one ahead of Frenchman Romain Wattel, who had 10 birdies for a 63. Stephen Gallacher (65) of Scotland is another two shots back.

Lawrie, who will be making his Ryder Cup return next month after a 13-year absence, had seven birdies in his round with just two bogeys in pursuit of his second Tour title of the year.

Earlier this year, Lawrie won his second Qatar Masters title,Air Max 95 a win that sent him to second on the European Ryder Cup points table. He has been among the automatic qualifiers ever since.

If Lawrie hangs on, it will be the third straight success for a member of Jose Maria Olazabal's team following wins in the PGA Championship by Rory McIlroy two weeks ago and Sergio Garcia last week at the Wyndham Championship.

Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts, despite birdies on his opening two holes, appears likely to require a Ryder Cup wild-card pick after slipping six shots behind Lawrie with a 71.

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COQUITLAM, British Columbia (AP) -Lydia Ko took a one-stroke lead Saturday in the Canadian Women's Open in her bid to become the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history, shooting an even-par 72.

The 15-year-old South Korean-born New Zealander had an 8-under 208 total at The Vancouver Golf Club.

"It's good to stay at the top of the leaderboard, but my first goal was to make the cut and hopefully top-15 or something," Ko said. "But to be up there is just an honor, especially playing against the world's best. Fifteen year olds don't lead at an LPGA event all the time. Cheap Nike Air MaxLike I said, I'm very surprised. But I've been playing really good golf and I've been really confident with my game."

Also trying to become the fifth amateur winner and first since JoAnne Carner in the 1969 Burdine's Invitational, Ko won the U.S. Women's Amateur two weeks ago. In January, she won the New South Wales Open in Australia at 14 to become the youngest player to win a professional tour event.

Lexi Thompson is the youngest LPGA Tour winner, taking the Navistar LPGA Classic last September at 16.

Ko bogeyed the par-4 18th, making a 5-foot putt after her 4-foot par try lipped out. She finished the round with three birdies and three bogeys.

"Today I tried to have more fun, but my score wasn't as good," Ko said. "I mean, 72 is better than 73 or any other score, so I'm pretty happy.

"Tomorrow, I'm just going to try my best. I've got to play my own game. I can't concentrate on what the other players are doing. If they shoot 66 and I shoot 68 and I lose, I can't control what they do."

Chella Choi, tied for the second-round lead with Ko, had a 73 to drop into a tie for second with Stacy Lewis, Inbee Park and Jiyai Shin. Lewis, a two-time winner this year, had a 66, Shin shot 69 and Park 70.

Lewis began the round seven strokes behind Ko and Choi.

"It's the kind of course if you get some birdies early and kind of get rolling on the par 5s, you can shoot a good number," Lewis said. "If you don't, you'll be struggling for pars. I mean, it's a course that you can play well and shoot 1 or 2 under. So it's just kind of the way the course plays, I think."

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SNOQUALMIE, Washington (AP) -Defending champion Mark Calcavecchia eagled the par-5 eighth hole and finished with a 7-under 65 on Friday to take the first-round lead in the Boeing Classic.

Steve Pate, Jeff Sluman, Joe Don Blake, Eduardo Romero and Kirk Triplett were tied for second at 68.

Calcavecchia, a playoff winner last year at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge for his first Champions Tour title, made a 20-foot putt on No. 8 after his 4-iron approach sailed over the flag.

"Had that not gone in, I still would have made birdie and been 4 under," he said. "It went in, which is great. Then, like I always do, I tried to stay aggressive,Cheap Nike Air Max keep making birdies and shoot low as I could."

Calcavecchia birdied two of the first three holes on the back nine and got to 8 under. But on the par-5, 498-yard 18th, he found the sand twice and took a bogey 6.

"Taking a 6 on an easy 5 kind wrecked an otherwise great day," he said. "I had a great score but you hate doing that. All in all, I played great, hit a lot of great shots."

Calcavecchia won the Montreal Championship in June for his second victory on the 50-and-over tour.

Fred Couples withdrew because of back problems on the first hole. He won the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic in March and Senior British Open last month.

"I didn't feel very good warming up," Couples said. "I hit the tee shot at No. 1 and then my lower back really locked up when I walked down to my second shot.

"It was like a bomb went off in my lower back. It's time to rest. I'm sad I won't be able to play in this year's event. For this to happen in Seattle, this is a rough one."

Calcavecchia's three-stroke lead is the biggest after the first round in the eight-year history of the event and the largest on the Champions Tour this year.

Also, the first-round leader in tournament history never won the title.

"My first rounds lately haven't been very good," Calcavecchia said. "So I rectified that situation at least a little bit."

Bernhard Langer shot an even-par 72. He won in 2010, shooting 66-63-69 to match the tournament record at 18 under.

PGA Tour winners Duffy Waldorf and Gene Sauers made their debuts on the Champions Tour. Sauers opened with a 71, and Waldorf shot 75.

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use ordistribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and TheAssociated Press is strictly prohibited.

 
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Roger Clemens says his weekend start in the minors shouldn't be viewed as a prelude to a big-league comeback.

 

The 50-year-old Clemens is scheduled to pitch Saturday for the Sugar Land Skeeters against the Bridgeport Bluefish in the independent Atlantic League.

 

I don't know how much clearer I can say it,” Clemens said Friday. “I'm nowhere near major league ready, nor have I been training or pitching in that type of mode.”

 

But Houston Astros owner Jim Crane told KRIV-TV the team is open to the idea of adding the seven-time Cy Young Award winner and is sending a scout to the game.

 

If it goes all right and he comes to us, we'll talk to baseball about it at length,” Crane said. “The only thing we don't want to do is make it a publicity stunt. If we did it, I want to try and take it and turn it into a positive, which would be Roger's doing it for the good of baseball. The extra proceeds on the game might go to the (Astros') community charity deal to build (baseball) fields, do something positive out of it.”

 

Clemens has a personal services contract with the Astros and he said Crane has been supportive of him.

 

Clemens last pitched in September 2007, with the New York Yankees. Two months later, former trainer Brian McNamee accused Clemens of using performance-enhancing drugs in the Mitchell Report. In June, Clemens was acquitted of charges he lied to Congress when he denied using PEDs and he's maintained a low profile until this week.

 

Clemens acknowledged that he and Crane may talk, but he was vague about what that meant for his future. He did say that he wasn't interested in working for the Astros as a coach or in the front office.

 

I appreciate his comments, and I'll go to bat for him, whatever he wants me to do,” Clemens said. “I'm looking forward to it, when this is all said and done, whether we do something this year, or we do something in spring training, I'll get up there and demonstrate, just like I have. I like to get up and demonstrate with the guys. I'll do this the next couple of days here, too.”

 

For now, Clemens says he's looking no further than Saturday and will decide later how much — or if — he pitches again. He compared the outing to a spring training start and says he's not concerned about the results.

 

I'm going to go out and pitch and try and stay healthy,” Clemens said. “If I feel good, I'll turn a couple loose. If I don't, I'll try and pitch a little bit, get out there and let everybody whoop it up and get out of there and let `em start playing well.

 

Clemens decided to join the independent team on Monday and was introduced on Tuesday. The Skeeters, in their inaugural season, instantly gained national attention and overshadowed the Astros, who have the worst record in baseball.

 

The capacity at the Skeeters' home ballpark is 7,500, and all the tickets for Saturday's game sold out within 90 minutes. The team ordered 1,500 T-shirts with his name and No. 21 on the back, and Clemens' jerseys — at $15 — were hot items in the merchandise store inside the ballpark.

 

Hopefully, this is not the only time he'll pitch for us,” said Christopher Hill, the team's vice president of business development. “He's the biggest name in baseball.”

 

The Skeeters' manager is former Minnesota Twins third baseman Gary Gaetti, a two-time All-Star who turned 54 on Sunday. He and Clemens became friends when Clemens pitched for the Astros and Gaetti was Houston's hitting coach from 2004-06.

 

Gaetti began talking to Clemens about his oldest son, Koby. Originally a first or third baseman, Koby Clemens was drafted by the Astros in 2007, and recently signed a minor-league contract with Toronto. Along the way, Gaetti texted Roger in April and asked if he would consider playing for the Skeeters.

 

He said, `That sounds interesting,“’ Gaetti recalled. “I think I could go out and do five innings right now.”

 

Clemens joked that he may not last more than two innings on Saturday.

 

Get here early,” he said, “‘cause it might go by pretty quick. I hope it's more than one or two innings, but it might not be. I don't know what to expect. I'm going to get out here, kick my leg up and try to get behind some baseballs, and turn `em loose.”

 

Clemens says he bought 125 tickets for family and friends, including some former teammates.

 

It's exciting,” Clemens said. “It's into the summer, the kids are going back to school, it's going to be fun.”

 

Wearing a white shirt, blue jeans and a burnt orange University of Texas baseball cap, Clemens walked into the Skeeters' clubhouse about 4:15 p.m. Friday and peeked into Gaetti's office.

 

Tell me what I need to do,” he said.

 

Clemens walked through the clubhouse and shook hands with every Skeeter, including former major-leaguer Scott Kazmir, who started Friday night. A piece of masking tape above Clemens' locker read: “Rocket (hash) 21.”

 

Clemens reserved his last greeting for right-hander Tim Redding, who was pitching for the Astros when Clemens arrived in 2004. Redding only signed with the Skeeters a week ago.

 

He just wants to be one of the guys, and it's great to have him here,” Redding said. “I know we all can't wait to see him perform.”

 

Gaetti said he's only expecting one start from Clemens, and will leave the decision to make more to the Rocket.

 

I know Roger, I know what he can do,” said Gaetti, who hit a grand slam off Clemens in September 1993. “I'm anticipating one start, right here. One start. Depending on how things go, and what he decides he wants to do — if he feels like he can help us win some ballgames, and he feels good about what he's doing, then why not (more starts)?

 

A lot of it is going to be determined on how he feels,” Gaetti said. “I'm certain that he can help us win ballgames. If that's what he wants to do, then he's more than welcome to do that. If he has other plans, then that's his deal.”

 

As of Friday night, not even Clemens seemed certain of what may come next in his career.

 

I'll get out there and get loose, it shouldn't take long in this heat,” Clemens said. “I'll get after it, and we'll see how far I can go. I'm not looking past tomorrow (Saturday). I want to get through tomorrow and then we'll worry about that.”

 

 
Jamaica's Usain Bolt has said he is considering switching sprinting for long jump before the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The world's fastest man, who claimed three gold medals at the London Olympics, dismissed rumours that he may retire before Rio but said he may compete in different events in four years' time.

"It's just about making different goals, there's a lot of things I can do in the sport," Bolt told Britain's Sky News television channel.

"My coach wants me to do 400 metres, I want to try long jump, Nike Air Max sale" said Bolt, who successfully defended his 2008 Beijing 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay titles in London this month.

"I could always try to aim for the records again, so there's different things - but after the season we'll decide what we want to do and work on that next season."

Bolt's flirtation with long jump comes a week after he claimed he was considering playing cricket in Australia's domestic Twenty20 Big Bash League.

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He played junior cricket before turning to the track and has long voiced a love for the game.

The sprinter has also said he would happily play football for Manchester United, "if the money's right".

If Bolt does switch to long jump, he would be following in the footsteps of US sprinter Carl Lewis, who won the Olympic long jump title four times from 1984 to 1996 as well as four sprint golds.

Bolt also brushed off speculation that he was planning to quit ahead of the Rio Games.

"Yes, definitely I will be there (in Rio), as long as I'm fit and I'm ready," said the 26-year-old.

"It'll be a little bit harder but I'm looking forward to it."

 
Sonny Bill Williams admits if he knew his rugby tenure would have been this successful, he probably never would have made the handshake agreement that will see him return to the NRL next year.

Williams stands on the verge of leaving the game with a clean sweep of major trophies; the World Cup, a Super Rugby title, and if the All Blacks defeat the Wallabies tomorrow night, the Bledisloe Cup.

If he does, there will be no wild celebrations. Hours after the game at Eden Park, Williams will catch a flight to Japan and meet his new Panasonic Wildknights teammates in Ota City.

The All Black centre will return to league –air max 2012 believed to have been decided upon a handshake agreement with Sydney Roosters boss Nick Politis - once his Japanese rugby stint ends in January, but concedes he may have made a different decision in hindsight.

"You know when I came here three years ago I didn't even know if I could play rugby,” Williams said. “I didn't know how the future was going to unfold but it was good to have that security knowing that I had a job in three years’ time in rugby league.

"I wish I could say now I would just stay but three years ago, if I had the chance I would probably have been back in league straight away but I came back here and things worked out the way they did.

“If things don't work out over there [Australia] as well as I hope then maybe I might be back here, but who knows what is going to happen?

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“When I first came into the All Blacks squad I definitely felt like I didn't belong here, I didn't know anyone. I had come straight from ITM Cup and I felt like I was out of my depth. I was still improving as a rugby player.

"After being involved so long, and being involved in [19] Tests you really appreciate what you have. Now that I understand rugby I have got the utmost respect for it and you kind of look back on it definitely happy knowing you've been able to accomplish what you have.

"I've got one hand on that Bledisloe and I want to get both hands before I leave so I've been telling the boys, ‘send me off with a win brothers’.”