Cristiano Ronaldo scores four in Real Madrid victory

Cristiano Ronaldo stole the show with a four-goal haul as Real Madrid walloped Racing Santander 6-1 at home to restore their one-point La Liga lead.

The winger struck twice in each half, with his fourth goal coming from a 55th-minute penalty, with Gonzalo Higuain and Mesut Ozil also netting.

"I am really happy because I have never scored four goals," said Ronaldo.

Earlier, a Lionel Messi brace helped Barcelona beat Real Zaragoza 2-0 as they temporarily assumed top spot.

Messi's double, however, was eclipsed at the Bernabeu at the end of a week when Manchester United's Wayne Rooney had been linked with a January transfer window reunion with Portuguese winger Ronaldo.

Anelka ready to extend Blues career

Striker Nicolas Anelka has told Chelsea he is ready to pledge his future to the club.

 Anelka scored his 50th goal in Chelsea's colours in the 2-0 Champions League victory over Spartak Moscow in midweek and is in the best form of his career.

The former France international has scored eight goals so far this season and is so content at Stamford Bridge that he is already looking to extend his contract at the end of the season.

CURRENT DEAL

"It is the first time I have scored that many for any club but it is the first time I have spent more than two-and-a-half years at a club as well," said Anelka.

Chelsea moved five points clear at the top

Chelsea 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0
Scorer: Malouda (23) Scorer: Kalou (81)
Attendance: 41,752	FT (16:49)

Chelsea moved five points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League thanks to goals from Florent Malouda and substitute Salomon Kalou.

Malouda put Chelsea in front in the 23rd minute when he finished off a cross from Yury Zhirkov.

Wolves wasted a number of chances to equalise before Kalou completed a move he began by slipping Michael Essien's pass under Wolves goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann 10 minutes from time.

The defeat left Wolves still looking for their first win since the opening day of the season and second from bottom.

Mick McCarthy's visiting side earned a corner as early as the second minute but Nenad Milijas' flag-kick was punched clear by Petr Cech.

Their bright start continued but another corner from Matthew Jarvis was headed straight at John Terry by Christophe Berra.

Chelsea struggled to find any kind of continuity in midfield and John Obi Mikel twice gave the ball away in dangerous positions. Fortunately for Chelsea, Ashley Cole managed to recover the situation before any damage could be done.

But Chelsea almost went in front in the 13th minute when Jose Bosingwa, playing his first match for over a year at home, burst into the penalty area but saw his angled drive tipped around the post by Hahnemann.

Wolves responded with a chance of their own in the 19th minute. Kevin Foley crossed from the right wing but a header from Dave Edwards was safely gathered by Cech.

Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Everton

Rafael van der Vaart returned to rescue Tottenham Hotspur from defeat once again but this time they were unable to complete the comeback as Everton held on for a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane.

Suspended for Wednesday night's Champions League defeat at Inter Milan, Van der Vaart scored his fifth goal in as many matches to send Spurs third in the Barclays Premier League.

The Holland midfielder's effort cancelled out Leighton Baines' brilliant free-kick - his first goal for almost 14 months - while Peter Crouch missed more than one chance to seal what would have been Tottenham's fourth comeback win in five league matches.

The match kicked off barely 48 hours after Spurs got back from Milan and, once again, the words 'European hangover' lingered in the air in north London.

But with third place - and even second - up for grabs for 24 hours at least, there was no shortage of motivation for Redknapp's men.

DELIGHTFUL FREE-KICK

It looked as if they were really going to have to work for it, though, as Everton, without Mikel Arteta, chased and harried all over the pitch.

Spanish League Results On Saturday

Saturday, 23 October 2010 Real Madrid Higuain (10) Ronaldo (15, 27, 47, pen 55) Ozil (63) 6-1 (HT 3-0) Racing Santander Papakouli Diop (74) Bookings: Canales (77) Arbeloa (83)   Bookings: Cisma (49) Arana (65) Real Zaragoza 0-2 (HT 0-1) Barcelona Messi (42, 66) Bookings: Lanzaro (26) Fernandez Gabi (32) Lafita (72) Braulio (87)   Bookings: Pique (88) Sent off: Leonardo Ponzio (47)   Valencia Soldado (pen 36) 1-2 (HT 1-2) Mallorca Castro (pen 7, 29) Bookings: Albelda (27) Banega (41) Costa (59) Aduriz (70) Soldado (76) Facundo Costa (90+1)   Bookings: Ayoze (17) Eduardo Ratinho (18) Crespi (73) Nunes (76) Monday, 18 October 2010 Hercules Valdez (29) Trezeguet (40) 2-2 (HT 2-1) Villarreal Capdevila (35) Borja Valero (63) Bookings: Pamarot (10) Drenthe (25) Trezeguet (45) Valdez (45+1) Matias Fritzler (87)   Bookings: Borja Valero (42) Rossi (49) Santi Cazorla (77) Capdevila (90+3) Sent off: Trezeguet (45+1)   Sent off: Borja Valero (81) Mussachio (83) Sunday, 17 October 2010 Athletic Bilbao Iraola (12) Llorente (24) 2-1 (HT 2-0) Real Zaragoza Braulio (90+4) Bookings: Susaeta (30) Ustaritz (41) San Jose Dominguez (56)   Bookings: Leonardo Ponzio (21) Carlos Diogo (31) Sinama Pongolle (45) Pinter (45+1) Braulio (82)   Sent off: Pinter (53) Deportivo La Coruna 0-0 (HT 0-0) Osasuna Bookings: Lopo (42) Dioni (90+1) Aranzubia (90+3)   Bookings: Monreal (84) Kike Sola (88)   Sent off: Camunas (35) Levante Del Horno (60) Caicedo (65) 2-1 (HT 0-0) Real Sociedad Sarpong (79) Bookings: Del Horno (2) Nano (20) Gomez Juanlu (90+5)   Bookings: Jon Ansotegui (31) Antoine Griezmann (43) Eizagirre (67) Mallorca 0-1 (HT 0-1) Espanyol Luis Garcia (pen 32) Bookings: Ramis (30) Marti (54) Crespi (57)   Bookings: Luis Garcia (14) Callejon (51)   Sent off: Osvaldo (37) Racing Santander Munitis (33) 1-0 (HT 1-0) Almeria Bookings: Torrejon (18) Henrique (39)   Bookings: Acasiete (39) Sporting Gijon Gaston Sangoy (6) Diego Castro (51) 2-0 (HT 1-0) Sevilla Bookings: Gaston Sangoy (13) Ivan Hernandez (37) Rivera (62) Jose Angel (75) Diego Castro (83) Novo (85)   Bookings: Alexis (37) Guarente (62) Saturday, 16 October 2010 Atletico Madrid Codina (og 38) da Silva Diego Costa (73) 2-0 (HT 1-0) Getafe Bookings: Perea (41) Valera (60)   Bookings: Maestre Pedro Rios (21) Boateng (36) Miguel Torres (37) Cata Diaz (55)

Maria Sharapova engaged to Lakers basketball star

Russian tennis player and model Maria Sharapova and Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Sasha Vujacic are engaged, Vujacic told sports reporters on Friday.

Vujacic said before a Lakers exhibition game in San Diego that the three-time grand slam champion had said "yes' to his "old-school" proposal, adding that they were both "really happy."

Vujacic, 26, proposed on the couple's one-year anniversary of meeting at a friend's barbecue. No date has been set for the wedding.

Sharapova, 23, who moved to the United States when she was a child, won the Wimbledon tennis title in 2004, the U.S. Open crown in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008.

She has also carved out a career as a model and regularly appears on lists of the world's most beautiful women.

Federer survives early service break to win in Stockholm

World number 2 Roger Federer overcame an early break of serve to defeat Croatian Ivan Ljubicic 7-6 6-2 in the semi-finals of the Stockholm Open on Saturday.

The Swiss will meet German Florian Mayer, who beat Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 4-6 6-4 7-6, in Sunday's final.

The big-hitting Ljubicic started strongly before Federer broke back to take the first set on a tie-break.

He then gained an early advantage in the second when a lucky bounce off the net cord helped him convert a break point.

"It was mentally very difficult to deal with that," Ljubicic told Swedish TV.

Federer said he had enjoyed a slice of luck but added he had felt his opponent had tried to force his game too much and had started to make too many errors.

"(In the first set) I had a tough service game that didn't really work well. I missed a couple of shots, next thing you know you're down break point.

"I missed another stupid forehand because I was still lacking rhythm and that's how it goes against big servers.

"He was serving well when he had to, doing all the right things and he really made it hard for me. He gave me a couple of chances, I was able to take them and then played a really good tie-breaker."

In the other semi-final, Mayer saved five set points on his serve in the first set before Nieminen finally converted the sixth.

Mayer, ranked 47th in the world, then upped his game to take the second and set up a tense climax in the third.

SODERLING QUALIFIES FOR BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS

Robin Soderling has qualified for the 2010 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Soderling, who reached the semi-finals of the season finale in London last year, becomes the fifth singles player to qualify for this year’s event - to be played at The O2 21-28 November. The Swede joins a blockbuster line-up comprised of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

Soderling, who fell in the quarter-finals of this week's If Stockholm Open, is guaranteed to finish among the world's top eight following today's release of draws at next week's ATP World Tour 250 tournaments in Vienna, St. Petersburg and Montpellier. 

“I’ve always dreamed about playing at the World Tour Finals. I had some really good memories from last year. Hopefully I can take that experience and do even better this time. There are only eight players and you play against the world’s best so every match you play could be like a Grand Slam final. I will have to be ready from the first match,” said Soderling.

Azarenka, Baghdatis reach Kremlin Cup finals

Second seed Victoria Azarenka reached her first Kremlin Cup final with a 6-3 6-3 win over Spain's Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez on Saturday.

In Sunday's final, the powerful Belarussian will face sixth-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko, who thrashed compatriot Vera Dushevina 6-1 6-1 in the second semi-final.

World number 10 Azarenka dominated eighth-seeded Martinez Sanchez from the baseline, breaking her serve in the fifth game to take the opening set and twice more in the second to seal a first victory over the Spaniard in three attempts.

"I had the right tactics against Sanchez," said Azarenka, who had already secured a place in next week's season-ending WTA championships in Doha when American Serena Williams pulled out with a foot injury.

"I didn't allow her to play aggressively, the way she likes, and also come to the net."

Azarenka must now get past 24th-ranked Kirilenko who has been playing some of the best tennis of her career having dropped only five games in her three previous matches in Mosco been playing some of the best tennis of her career having dropped only five games in her three previous matches in Mosco w.

Lindsay Lohan avoids jail, sent back to rehab

Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan avoided more jail time on Friday and was ordered back to a drug and alcohol rehab program until January, after failing a random drug test last month.

Prosecutors wanted Lohan to be sent back to jail for six months for violating her probation on a 2007 offense for drunk driving and cocaine possession.

But Beverly Hills Superior Court Judge Elden Fox ruled she should return to the program that she entered voluntarily three weeks ago, and stay there until Jan 3.

Lohan is currently being treated at the Betty Ford Center in southern California in what is her fifth stint in rehab in three years.

"You're staying there past the New Year -- there's a reason for that," Fox told Lohan, who cried on hearing his decision.

Celine Dion, Matt Damon welcome new babies

Singer Celine Dion and actor Matt Damon both welcomed new additions to their families, representatives for the two entertainers said on Saturday.

Grammy-winner Dion, 42, gave birth to twin boys on Saturday by Caesarean section shortly after 11 a.m. at a Florida hospital, while in New York, "Hereafter" star Damon welcomed a baby girl with his wife, Luciana, earlier this week, his spokeswoman told Reuters.

Dion, the Canadian-born singer and husband Rene Angelil also have a 9-year-old son.

"Celine, Rene and their son Rene-Charles are thrilled," Dion's representative told People magazine. The twins were born healthy but premature and will spend a few days in an incubator. The singer was "resting," the magazine said.

Liam Neeson replaces Mel Gibson in "Hangover 2"

Mel out. Liam in.

Actor Liam Neeson has been given the cameo role lost by Mel Gibson in the sequel to comedy "The Hangover" after a revolt on set against the scandal-plagued Oscar star.

Hollywood showbusiness papers said on Friday that Neeson, star of "Love Actually" and "The A Team", would play a tattoo artist in "The Hangover 2", the follow-up to the raunchy 2009 hit comedy.

Neeson told Variety he "just got a call to do a one day shoot on 'Hangover 2' as a tattoo artist inThailand, and that's all I know about it."

Astronomers find oldest galaxy yet

Astronomers have spotted the oldest galaxy ever seen, one born just 600 million years after the Big Bang.

Their report, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, confirms that the distant smudge first spotted by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope is the farthest and thus oldest object ever imaged.

The galaxy has the unglamorous name of UDFy-38135539, the team of European researchers said.

"Here we report the detection of ... photons emitted less than 600 million years after the Big Bang," they wrote.

Light travels at a speed of 186,000 miles a second, or about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion km) a year. Astronomers can use light-speed as a kind of time machine, and seeing light emitted from objects very far away shows them as they were in the past.

In this case, the galaxy's light first started traveling 13 billion years ago, right after the Big Bang.

The distance is measured using what is called red shift, a kind of Doppler effect of light. Just as a train's whistle seems to change in pitch as the train approaches and passes, light's color also shifts.

This galaxy has a red shift of 8.55, making it the farthest and oldest ever seen.

At this time in the early universe, a haze of hydrogen gas was everywhere, but radiation from primeval galaxies was causing a process called ionization that changed the nature of the hydrogen.

The report "represents a fundamental leap forward in observational cosmology", Michele Trenti of the University of Colorado, Boulder, wrote in a commentary.

Apple will no longer pre-install Flash on Macs

Apple Inc said on Friday it will no longer ship Mac computers with Adobe Systems Inc's Flash player pre-installed, as the company continues to erect barriers to the software.

Apple's decision does not ban Flash software from its computers -- as it has from the iPhone and iPad. Users will still be able to download and install a Flash player, which is widely-used to view videos on the Web.

Apple has been publicly hostile toward Flash and Steve Jobs has criticized it as a buggy battery hog. Adobe has responded by calling Apple overly restrictive.

In addition, Apple had effectively banned developers from using Flash to build applications for its mobile devices, but the company relented last month in the face of scrutiny from U.S. regulators.

Apple unveiled on Wednesday an updated version of its ultra-thin MacBook Air laptop. The computer is shipping without the Flash software installed, as will all Mac computers in the future, Apple confirmed.

Google says its cars grabbed emails, passwords

Google Inc admitted for the first time its "Street View" cars around the world accidentally collected more personal data than previously disclosed -- including complete emails and passwords -- potentially breathing new life into probes in various countries.

The disclosure comes just days after Canada's privacy watchdog said Google had collected complete emails and accused Google of violating the rights of thousands of Canadians.

"If in fact laws were broken...then there's some serious question of culpability and Google may need to face significant fines," said Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington DC-based privacy advocacy group.

Regulators in France, Germany and Spain, among others, have opened investigations into the matter.

A coalition of more than 30 state attorneys general in the United States also have launched a joint probe.

It remains unclear how many people may have been affected by the privacy breach.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who is leading the multi-state investigation, said in a statement on Friday that Google's disclosure about the types of data it collected "validates and heightens our significant concerns," and noted that the investigation is continuing.

Google in talks to unblock access to TV websites

Google Inc is actively negotiating with three television networks that have blocked access to their websites on Google TV, a source familiar with the matter said.

Three of the biggest U.S. television broadcasters have blocked the Web-based versions of their shows from Google's new Web TV service, throwing a wrench into the company's plans to expand from computers to the living room.

Representatives from Walt Disney Co and NBC Universal confirmed on Thursday that the companies blocked access to the broadcast TV shows available on their websites from Google TV. Disney owns ABC network and cable TV business ESPN.

News Corp's Fox is also considering blocking access to shows on its website, but a decision has not yet been made, a source familiar with the matter said.

CBS has blocked access to full-length episodes of their programs, including popular shows like "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

Messi Vs Ronaldo freestyle

Wayne Rooney signs five-year Manchester United deal

Wayne Rooney has made a shock U-turn and agreed a new five-year contract at Manchester United just days after announcing his intention to leave.

On Wednesday the 24-year-old striker said concerns over the club's squad strength were behind his original decision not to sign a new deal.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: "I'm delighted Wayne's agreed to stay."

Rooney stated: "I said on Wednesday the manager's a genius and it's his belief and support that convinced me to stay."

He added: "I'm delighted to sign another deal at United. I've spoken to the manager and the owners and they've convinced me this where I belong.

"I am signing a new deal in the absolute belief that the management, coaching staff, board and owners are totally committed to making sure United maintains its proud winning history - which is the reason I joined the club in the first place.

New strain of swine flu emerges

The H1N1 swine flu virus may be starting to mutate, and a slightly new form has begun to predominate in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, researchers reported on Thursday.

More study is needed to tell whether the new strain is more likely to kill patients and whether the current vaccine can protect against it completely, said Ian Barr of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Influenza in Melbourne, Australia and colleagues.

"However, it may represent the start of more dramatic antigenic drift of the pandemic influenza A(H1N1) viruses that may require a vaccine update sooner than might have been expected," they wrote in the online publication Eurosurveillance.

It is possible it is both more deadly and also able to infect people who have been vaccinated, they said.

Flu viruses mutate constantly -- this is why people need a fresh flu vaccine every year. Since it broke out in March 2009 and spread globally, the H1N1 swine flu virus has been very stable with almost no mutation.

Scientists around the world keep an eye on all flu strains in case an especially dangerous new mutant emerges. While H1N1 turned out not to be especially deadly, it spread globally within weeks and killed more children and young adults than an average strain does.

Low-dose aspirin lowers colon cancer risk: UK study

Low doses of aspirin taken to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes can also lower the risk of colon cancer, British researchers reported on Thursday.

They found that aspirin reduced the number of cases of colorectal cancer by a quarter and cut colon cancer deaths by a third.

They said their findings may tip the balance in favor of using aspirin to prevent colon cancer, which is the second most common form of cancer in developed countries after lung cancer.

But their findings, published in the Lancet medical journal, are unlikely to settle a matter that doctors consider controversial.

Many studies have shown that people who take high doses of aspirin are less likely to develop colon cancer and the little growths called polyps that can develop into cancer.

But aspirin itself can be dangerous to many people, causing sometimes deadly bleeding in the stomach and intestines.

Other studies have found that a related painkiller, ibuprofen, can also reduce colon cancer rates among people who take it regularly over the long term.

China unveils its own version of Google Earth

A Chinese government body has released its own online mapping service, designed to compete with Google Earth's popular satellite mapping service, that could spell more trouble for Google's services in the mainland.

Google and China have been at odds since last year, when a serious hacking attack originating from China prompted Google to ultimately withdraw its search service from the mainland.

"Map World" was unveiled by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping on Thursday, and can be accessed via www.tianditu.cn. The home page features an expansive view of the Great Wall of China, capped by clouds in the shape of the continents.

Google had not applied for a Web mapping license in China, the English-language paper said, but Google's mapping service is accessible from computers on the mainland.

Regulations issued by the bureau in May required companies providing online map and location services to apply for a license. In order to apply, firms would have to keep map servers storing data within the country.

Federer To Play 900th Match

 Roger Federer lines up for his 900th tour-level match.

Federer is the first active player on the ATP World Tour to appear in 900 singles matches (tour level only). He’s never retired in a match during his career. Here is a look back at the milestone matches he’s played:

Match    Tournament  Result                            Round
No. 1     1998 Gstaad  lost to Lucas Arnold Ker  First 
No. 100  2000 Stockholm def. Mikhail Youzhny  First
No. 200  2002 Miami  lost to Andre Agassi  Final
No. 300  2003 Halle  def. Fernando Vicente  Second
No. 400  2004 Gstaad  def. Potito Starace  SF
No. 500  2005 US Open  def. Andre Agassi  Final
No. 600  2006 Basel  def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez Second
No. 700  2008 Miami  lost to Andy Roddick  QF 
No. 800  2009 Roland Garros def. Jose Acasuso  Second