Player Profile: Milos Raonic

Milos Raonic is a 20 year old Canadian professional tennis player who in recent weeks has drawn comparisons to a young Pete Sampras, his idol growing up.

Raonic moved with his family to Canada at the age of 3 from Titograd, Yugoslavia which is now known as Podgorica, Montenegro, and began playing tennis at the early age of 8 at the Blackmore Tennis club in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

When asked why he chose tennis over Ice Hockey, widely known as Canada's national sport, he said it provided an individuality, and he felt he could spend more time training and focusing on his own game.

It has been said that his dad used a ball machine at either 6:30 a.m. or 9:00 p.m to train with because court fees "were a lot cheaper at this time".

Since turning pro in 2007 at the age of 17, Raonic has had gradual success on both the ITF Futures and the ATP Challenger series, with his large serve, heavy ground strokes and accurate volleying developing with every tournament he plays.

After finding his feet at the top level, Raonic has since qualified for several ATP World Tour events including the U.S. Open and the Australian Open.

At only his second Grand Slam appearance, Raonic showed his growing game and true potential when defeating 10th ranked Mikael Youzhny on his way to the fourth round. Despite losing to David Ferrer, Raonic received rave reviews for his performance at the Australian Open, with John McEnroe referring to Raonic as "the real deal" on Twitter.

Raonic is curenntly Canada's highest ranked player, and has tennis greats such as Martina Navratilova touting him as "a new star".

If Raonic continues to play the way he did throughout the Australian Open those comparisons to Pete Sampras might not seem so far fetched. He has his entire career ahead of him and with his heavy serving and supreme volleying, the sky truly is the limit.

A-League undergoing change

In what will be the A-League's most fundamental revamp since it's inception, the start of next season will be shifted by several months to avoid clashing with other popular sporting codes.

The competition is rumoured to be changing it's start to September or October, having begun in August for its first six seasons.

The change is designed to avoid the first six weeks or more of the season being affected by AFL and NRL finals, with all A-League clubs complaining that they find it almost impossible to generate excitement during other codes sporting finales.

In its first season the FFA spent $5 million on marketing to ensure the competition received enough exposure, and was rewarded with average crowds that increased for the first three seasons.

But despite the standard of play this season being hailed as the highest yet, crowds have slid in the opposite direction.

Sydney chief executive Edwin Lugt said the clubs had not been told officially that the season is set to move, but welcomed the notion.

"Assuming this happens, I think the clubs would support it unanimously", Lugt said.

"We know, and FFA research proves it, that the amount of publicity we get goes up strongly once the other codes finish".

The Good, The Bad and The...(31/01)

The Good - Bubba Watson

Bubba Watson held off late charges by fellow American Phil Mickelson and Venezuela's Jhonattan Vegas to clinch his second PGA Tour title, in what was an emotional one-shot victory at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Left handed Watson coolly birdied the par-five last to keep his challengers at bay, as he closed with a sparkling five-under-par 67 on the tricky South Course at Torrey Pines.

"It means a lot", a tearful Watson, whose father Gerry died late last year after a lengthy battle with lung cancer, said greenside. "My dad is not here. Mom, I love you".

Asked if his breakthrough win at last year's Travelers Championship had helped him at Torrey Pines, Watson replied, "No. It's hard every time you look at it",

"You've got Phil, you've got the guy who won last week, Vegas. All I thought about today was keeping my head down. And I did that".

Mickelson, a three-times champion here, closed with a 69 to secure second place while PGA Tour rookie Vegas, winner of last week's Bob Hope Classic, bogeyed the last for a 68 and a tie for third at 13 under with American Dustin Johnson (66).

The Bad - Andy Murray

Andy Murray once again froze on tennis' biggest stage, but instead of shedding tears as he did last year he simply shrugged off his failure in last night's Australian Open final.

Murray embraced Novak Djokovic at the net after his straight sets thumping, but then echoed the defeatist body language he had displayed in the match by saying he would not lose any sleep over his latest flop.

Murray has now lost three major finals, failing to win a set in any, and Britain's wait for a first men's grand slam singles champion since Fred Perry in 1936 continues after a display in which the Scot only became animated when yelling at his box to "Be quiet".

After the match Murray seemed to handle the heart breaking loss well, especially after being reduced to tears in last year's Melbourne final against Roger Federer.

Murray went on to say that a grand slam title might not be the be all and end all for him.

"It's not something I lose sleep over at night", said the 23-year-old Scot, also thrashed by Federer in the 2008 U.S. Open final.

"It's going to be tough for a few days. I want to try and win one, of course. But if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen".

The ... Overstatement - Tony Mundine

Australian boxing great Tony Mundine has made the extraordinary claim that Sonny Bill Williams can be the next Muhammad Ali.

His startling appraisal came after rugby star Williams' unanimous points decision victory over Sydney brawler Scott Lewis at the Gold Coast Convention Centre on Saturday night.

Mundine said he should think long and hard about making boxing his primary occupation following this year's Rugby World Cup.

"I said to (Williams) in 12 months time he could be the second Ali. He could be anything", Mundine said.

"I saw him about 12 months ago, I really thought he moved like Ali",

"He needs more fights ... If he keeps on boxing seriously, he will be the second Ali".

Mundine Snr could hardly have made a bigger call about Williams' potential, comparing him to the charismatic fighter many consider the greatest.

Maybe Mundine's comparison was ego based rather than talent based, or is it possibly that Williams could one day float like a butterfly and sting like a bee?

Your Mate ... (28/01)

The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India)

India is no stranger to suffering sporting humiliation, but when it’s most famous ground, Eden Gardens, was declared unfit to host matches in next month's World Cup, their cricketing foundations were shaken.

After a renovation program at Eden Gardens had fallen months behind schedule, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said another stadium would have to be found to hold the India-England clash on February 27.

"Regrettably, Eden Gardens has not made sufficient progress to justify the level of confidence required to confirm that the venue would be ready in good time", ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said in a statement.

Three other fixtures in the World Cup, which runs from February 19 to April 2 in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, are also scheduled to take place at the ground.

The decision was a major blow for India's image and the estimated 64,000 spectators who were expected to pack in to the legendary stadium.

"All venues had ample time in which to prepare for World Cup matches", said Lorgat.

"We had been understanding and had provided extensions to the deadline dates but unfortunately we are now at a point where we must carefully manage our risks".

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which oversees the multi-billion-dollar sport in India and is seen as dominating the game worldwide, distanced it from the failure to rebuild Eden Gardens on time.

"I don't think the BCCI should be blamed for this", BCCI spokesman Rajiv Shukla said in a brief statement.

"These things happen. I am sure the organising committee will choose a suitable venue soon for that game. But there is no doubt the remaining matches in Kolkata will be held on schedule".

The Good, The Bad and The...(25/01)

The Good - Lleyton Hewitt

After years of growing up and feeling more patriotic disliking Lleyton Hewitt rather than supporting him, it is with great pleasure I finally put him under the heading of "The Good".

Over this past month Hewitt has shown his tactical nous, his strong opinions and his great tennis brain are finally paying dividends...as a special comments man.

Hewitt has added a great insight into the mentality of the current day tennis player, as opposed to the old school Jim Courier and his fellow colleagues.

Although still very much learning the caper, Hewitt has shown throughout the Hopman Cup and the Australian Open that a career in the tennis media should be a certainty once his agonising tennis career ends.

The Bad - Kevin Muscat

Melbourne Victory skipper Kevin Muscat's horror weekend tackle should be his last A-League act, after the match review panel deemed it worthy of at least a six-match ban.

The tackle left Melbourne Heart winger Adrian Zahra with partial tears in several knee ligaments, wiping him out for the rest of Heart's inaugural A-League season.

Muscat's fate will be decided by a disciplinary committee hearing in Sydney on Thursday night.

The panel met on Monday and declared the tackle which ended Zahra's season an act of serious foul play.

They believed it warranted at least an extra five-match sanction, on top of the mandatory one-game ban for a red card offence.

Muscat is a passionate and loyal Melbourne Victory player, but what he did not only hurt his club, it hurt the image of football in Australia and most importantly his already tarnished image.

The...Bigots - Richard Keys and Andy Gray

British broadcasters have been caught in a sexism scandal after making comments about a female assistant referee during the Premier League clash between Wolverhampton and Liverpool.

Sky Sports commentator Richard Keys and special comments man Andy Gray made the "unacceptable remarks" about Sian Massey after believing their microphones had been turned off.

The pair told of their surprise that Massey had been appointed to the match, and blasted her knowledge of the game.

Keys said, "Somebody better get down there and explain offside to her",

Gray replied, "Can you believe that? A female linesman. Women don't know the offside rule",

Keys then replied, "Course they don't. I can guarantee you there will be a big one today. Kenny [Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish] will go potty. This isn't the first time, is it? Didn't we have one before?".

The pair have since sent out a statement expressing their regret and have apologised for the comments, but is that really enough considering the highly sensitive atmosphere we live in at the moment?

Dominant Tomic through to second round

Promising Australian youngster Bernard Tomic has claimed the biggest scalp of his short career to reach the Australian Open second round for the third successive year.

After gaining entry into the Grand Slam event through a wildcard, Tomic played impressively in gunning down world No.44 Jeremy Chardy 6-3 6-2 7-6 at Melbourne Park's Hisense Arena.

Tomic gained control of the match early on and showed more poise than his experienced French opponent throughout, breaking Chardy three times and not dropping his own serve.

The two-time junior grand slam champion unveiled a highly improved serve and evidently stronger ground strokes, and seemed pleased with his performance.

"It is the greatest feeling just to play in this tournament", a clearly ecstatic Tomic said.

"It got a bit scary in the third, but I'm glad I pulled it off in three. Anything could have happened in that fourth set".

Tomic's task now gets harder, booking a second-round date on Thursday with Spanish No.31 seed Feliciano Lopez who defeated Columbian Alejandro Falla in straight sets.

Last second fight taints Clippers beating Lakers

Although the Clippers were just a few seconds away from finishing off the Lakers and their seven-game winning streak, Blake Griffin and Lamar Odom refused to stop wrestling for one last rebound.

That competition in final seconds led to a short confrontation, leading to a minor shoving match, which then led to a major scrum and four ejections as the Lakers lost to their cross town rivals.

While Randy Foye made a free throw to put the Clippers ahead 99-90, Griffin slammed aggressively into Odom’s back while seeking position for a possible rebound. Odom then grabbed Griffin’s jersey and verbally expressed his displeasure.

“Maybe I over reacted, but I just feel like if you’re up 9 (points), a ram in the back at that point?” Odom asked.

“Any other time, I get it. You play hard, you’re strong, whatever, but the ram in the back (while) up 9? I don’t get it, so I’m just going to have to react”.

Griffin ducked his head and tried to walk away from the confrontation, and that’s when Griffin's team mate Baron Davis shoved Odom firmly in the chest, leading to both teams circling under the hoop.

“I was just helping my teammate and being a backup”, Davis said.

“People take shots at Blake (Griffin), and they’ve been doing it all season, but it wasn’t nothing. It was just playing tag”.

Although no punches were thrown and order was quickly restored, the officials held a conference before ejecting Odom, Griffin, Davis and Ron Artest, with the decision visibly baffling Griffin and Artest, whose offense wasn’t clear.

“I have no idea how they make their decisions, whimsically, I think”, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

“I can see Lamar and Griffin (getting ejected), but Ron, it was just ridiculous”.

The Lakers have now split the two games between the two rivals this season.

Chelsea eye Pienaar

Chelsea are poised to sign Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar for about $5.5 million, foiling Harry Redknapp's hopes of taking him to Tottenham Hotspur for nothing at the end of the season.

The South Africa midfielder, who is out of contract at the end of the season, would have preferred a move to White Hart Lane but the Merseysiders' desperation for funds to reinvest in the transfer market will force a straight cash deal to the league champions.

Spurs have been leading the chase for Pienaar for most of the season but Chelsea's surprise slump in form has made Carlo Ancelotti look for a quick fix.

Chelsea will sanction the spending on Pienaar, fearing they could slip out of the Champions League places.

Captain invloved in bust up

Two North Melbourne players came to blows yesterday as pre-season tension blew up on the training paddock at Arden Street.

North Melbourne captain Brent Harvey and experienced defender Daniel Pratt locked up in a heated brawl after the latter fell heavily on his teammate.

"He clearly couldn't handle being run down from behind", Pratt told his club's website www.kangaroos.com.au.

"I tackled Boomer and the ball went to ground and I just tried to climb over him to get to the ball. There may have been contact with his head on the way through. He didn't like it".

Teammates were forced to separate the duo, after Harvey said he reacted to what he thought was a cheap shot from Pratt.

"I ran off to defend the incoming play and Boomer came at me from behind and threw me to the ground", Pratt said.

"I thought it was pretty funny, but Boomer didn't".

By the end of the training session, the fighting Kangaroos had made peace, and North Melbourne's 2011 campaign resumed.

No science behind wristbands

Australian authorities say the California-based company behind the wildly popular wristbands and pendants “Power Balance” has no business claiming that they improve balance, strength and flexibility.

And they have even got Power Balance to admit it.

The company released a statement saying; “We admit that there is no credible scientific evidence that supports our claims”, and "we have also agreed to give refunds to customers who believe they were cheated".

The company’s admission has now hopped across the globe since its agreement with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was announced on December 22, and critics railed against the company on Twitter and those who had believed in the bracelet’s power.

It was an answer sought by many who had seen the advertisements and wondered if the colourful silicon bands actually worked.

The company began selling bracelets in 2007 embedded with holograms that were purportedly designed to interact with the body’s natural energy flow.

Since then, the colourful wristbands, have become omnipresent, donned by Los Angeles Lakers’ Lamar Odom, English soccer star David Beckham and many others.

Certified athletic trainer Ralph Reiff said of the bands, “I couldn’t look in the mirror and 100 percent say it’s a product I can put my brand reputation behind”.

Reiff said he believes there’s no reason to think the wristbands could produce a biological benefit, and that any benefit is purely psychological.

“It’s just like a pair of lucky socks”, Reiff said. “It’s a lucky charm, and if you believe in it, then it’s excellent”.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took action after an independent review panel in September found that the Power Balance claims were misleading and breached the therapeutic goods advertising code.

The Therapeutic Goods Complaints Resolution Panel demanded that Power Balance drop claims from its website that the bands improved flexibility, balance and strength.

Opinion: Test Cricket’s player of the decade

For the last decade no wicket in all of cricket has been more highly prized than that of Jacques Kallis. Kallis has been the colossus of the South African team, a figure whose intimidating presence conjures calm in team mates and dread in opponents.

Kallis’ batting exploits often get forgotten amongst the media circus surrounding higher profile batsmen such as Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar, but for the past decade, he has stood broad shouldered above the rest and helped South Africa become the cricket powerhouse it stands as today.

Few contemporary players are a better fit for the idea of the traditional cricketer. Kallis is an elegant yet forceful batsman, who has at his disposal both a sure technique and a mind impermeable to distraction.

Perhaps the biggest compliment one can pay him is that Kallis has been so consistent throughout most of his career, that his runs have almost been taken for granted. In the first three years of his Test career Kallis struggled, but thereafter, his career has taken off stunningly, with his average in the last decade exceeding 62, and accumulating almost 11, 000 runs.

For Kallis’ critics who believe that this average has been inflated by matches against weaker opponents such as Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, even with those matches excluded, Kallis' average over the last decade is the best in the world (59.47), almost four runs clear of the second-placed Ponting.

Not only has Kallis amassed nearly 11, 000 runs this past decade, he has snared 270 test wickets at an average of 32, a highly respectable figure for a full time opening bowler. Though his role as a bowler has diminished with each passing season, he will be remembered as a purveyor of surprising pace and swing.

A fine leader on the field and a mentor to his younger South African team mates, Kallis has brought his country to the top of the game, and helped build a new generation of stars.

Kallis has shouldered the role of the fulcrum around which the wheel must try to turn, and South African cricket has never been running smoother. A key component with both bat and ball, he is arguably the greatest and most influential test cricketer of this past decade, and the all-round legacy of Jacques Kallis should be talked about next to greats such as Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Ian Botham and Kapil Dev.