HEAD TO HEAD
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RAFA IN DA HUNT
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Misbah recalled because Younis unavailable - Mohsin
Pakistan recalled Misbah-ul-Haq to the Test side and installed him as captain primarily because Younis Khan was not cleared for selection by the PCB, the chief selector Mohsin Khan has said.
"We needed a senior player to strengthen our batting line-up," Mohsin told the News. "Our first choice was Younis Khan but we didn't get any clearance [from the PCB], after which we discussed the option of recalling Misbah and decided to go for it."
Another factor that went in Misbah's favour was his non-controversial record and fitness, despite being 36. "In a team where many of the players have had serious disciplinary problems, Misbah is one guy who has a neat and clean background," Mohsin said. "He is a thorough professional and one of the fittest players in our country, which is another big plus point.
"I know that Misbah has just managed to score runs on and off in his international career but he is the kind of player who can click anytime. He has done well in the Pentangular Cup and the National One-Day Cup which is a good sign."
Pakistan had dropped both Misbah and Younis following the winless tour of Australia in 2009-10. While Misbah was cast aside because of poor form, Younis was banned along with several other Pakistan players on disciplinary grounds. Younis appealed against his punishment, like the others did, and was cleared as well, but the PCB have not picked him in the squad since.
Misbah will lead Pakistan in the two-Test series against South Africa in Abu Dhabi in November. He becomes the fourth man, after Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi and Salman Butt, to captain Pakistan in Tests in 2010 alone.
India stay in touch after Ponting half-century
Australia 285 for 5 (Ponting 77, Watson 57) v India
Neither side can find a way to dominate this series and after another absorbing staring contest the teams finished with the honours relatively even. In a topsy-turvy opening on a cloudy day in Bangalore, Australia dominated the first session, slipped to the Indian spinners after lunch and then worked their way back through Ricky Ponting's 77.
But just as Ponting seemed ready to go on to his second century in India he lost focus, falling lbw to Suresh Raina's part-time offspin, and the scales were back in balance. At the close Marcus North had battled his way to 43 in another of his regular career-defining innings, and the side was 285 for 5 when bad light ended play.
India has always been a problem venue for Ponting, but he was succeeding in his most uncomfortable environment in what is almost certainly his last five-day match there. He has struggled with the bat, averaging 25 in 14 Tests in the country, and has never captained the side to a victory in India while wearing a baggy green. With the contest at a delicate stage he produced a committed performance - mostly fluent, but still short of his peak standard - to lift his men after they wobbled to 132 for 3.
DJOKOVIC QUALIFIES FOR BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS
US Open finalist Novak Djokovic has qualified for the 2010 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 21-28 November. Djokovic clinched his place in the season finale after advancing to the final of the China Open in Beijing with a 7-6(1), 6-2 win over John Isner on Saturday.
The Serb, a winner of the season-ending event in 2008, has been a model of consistency throughout the season, reaching the quarter-finals or further at each of the four Grand Slams, as well as capturing his 17th career title in Dubai in February.
“I was really happy to hear the news. It's four consecutive years for me to get to the Finals, so this achievement means a lot. Of course I will do my best to get even further than I did last year to try to pass the group stage, but there's still a way to go. It was incredible how many people came out and watched us last year. I really look forward to playing in front of that crowd in The O2 again.”
Djokovic joins Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as the first three players to qualify for the event. Only five more places are up for grabs as the likes of Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and Robin Soderling continue to battle for South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings points in order to secure their places in the coming weeks.
Nadal digs deep to reach Tokyo final
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World number one Rafa Nadal saved two match points to beat Serbia's Viktor Troicki 7-6 4-6 7-6 and reach the final of the Japan Open on Saturday.
The Spaniard will play Frenchman Gael Monfils in Sunday's final of the $1.2 million Tokyo tournament after the fifth seed overpowered Czech Radek Stepanek 6-3 6-3.
Nadal took a tight first set on a tiebreak 7-4 with two thunderous forehands but was broken at the start of the second after some aggressive play from the risk-taking Troicki.
The Serb went on to the level the match and had Nadal on the ropes at 6-5 but this year's triple grand slam winner dug deep to force another tiebreak.
Nadal saved another match point and took the breaker 9-7 to advance to the final with a heavy forehand that the 54th-ranked Troicki could not control.
"I lost my concentration after the first set," Nadal told reporters. "It's a long season and there is a lot of pressure so it's easy to lose your concentration."
"I'm very motivated," said the beanpole Frenchman. "I know it's going to be hard against Nadal but if I have a small opportunity I will take it.
"I'm playing better and better. I change my game every day. Some days I'm defensive, some days I'm aggressive."
Taylor Swift's ex-manager sues over contract dispute
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Did Taylor Swift's father conspire to cheat her former manager out of millions of dollars earned by launching the Grammy-winning country star?
That's the question before a federal judge in New York in a case brought by Dan Dymtrow, a music manager who claims he's owed millions in commissions because he discovered Swift, signed her in April 2004 when she was 14 and played a key role in building her career before being dumped in July 2005, just before Swift signed with Big Machine Records and became an international sensation.
Dymtrow says his management deals with Swift and parents Scott and Andrea Swift provided that he be paid between 5 percent and 10 percent commission (or more) from Taylor's music career. But after developing Swift and introducing her to industry heavyweights like Big Machine CEO Scott Borchetta, Dymtrow says he was strung along by the family and then fired to avoid paying him.
"They delayed and delayed and got rid of my client and subsequently signed the deal and kept his commissions for themselves," Dymtrow attorney Fernando Pinguelo said.
In response, the Swifts claim that because Dymtrow failed to obtain the required court approval of his management contract with Taylor, then a minor, she legally disaffirmed the deal in 2005, months before she signed the Big Machine deal and a full year before she released her debut single, "Tim McGraw."
"For him to claim that her success and her major contracts were procured by him is ludicrous," said Swift's lawyer, Paul LiCalsi of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp. "And even if there were some merit to his claims, paying him on the contract would defeat the whole purpose of the law in New York, which is to protect minors who sign contracts."
Pinguelo retorted: "What the Swifts fail to realize is that the law also protects managers like Dan Dymtrow against minors and parents who take full advantage of his services without paying him what is owed."
The two sides have been battling under the radar since 2007, when Dymtrow, who also has represented Britney Spears, sued Taylor Swift and her parents, claiming they breached a management contract by paying him only $10,000 for his work launching Taylor's career. In March, U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan shot down six of Dymtrow's claims against the Swifts and Big Machine, leaving an unjust-enrichment claim against the Swifts intact.
On Wednesday, the two sides submitted a joint letter to the court seeking documents they hope will prove their cases.
Eminem says foul language has no place at home
He is well-known for using foul language in lyrics, but rapper Eminem says bad words have no place in his own home with children around, he told television news magazine "60 Minutes."
Early in his career, the Grammy-winning artist was often the object of complaints about violent, explicit, misogynistic and homophobic lyrics in songs from his albums such as "The Slim Shady LP" and "The Marshal Mathers LP."
But at home, Eminem will have none of it. "Profanity around my house? No," he told "60 Minutes" correspondent Anderson Cooper.
"I'm not saying there's not glimpses of me in the music, there's not truth in...things that I say, but this is my music, this is my art," he added.
Eminem said he does not feel comfortable using profanity in front of his daughter Hailie, now 15, and his two other adopted daughters, Lainey and Whitney.
"I'm a parent, I have daughters. I mean, how would I really sound, as a person, walking around my house 'Bitch, pick this up.' You know what I mean? I don't cuss," he said.
During the interview, which airs Sunday October 10 on the CBS television network show, Eminem also discusses his childhood, his rise in the music industry, being white in the predominantly black rap world, and his drug addiction.
Additionally, Eminem takes Cooper through the rhyming process and to his hometown of Detroit, Michigan.
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