My Sports News Digest

F1 Rocks™ in Melbourne kicked off the 2012 season’s official off-track entertainment over the Australian Grand Prix weekend, by staging concerts on Saturday and Sunday evening at the Sidney Myers Bowl with headliners Lenny Kravitz, The Cranberries and Wolfmother. Kravitz’s scintillating performance fired up the packed audience with a collection of his greatest hits, including ‘Fly Away’, ‘American Woman’ and ‘Always on the Run’. He particularly impressed his female followers when he took off his shirt, gyrated across the stage, delivering his showstopper encore ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way?’ Delighted fans were also treated to his tried and tested [...]

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Updated Mar 18, 2012 9:28 PM ET INDIAN WELLS, Calif. Roger Federer is on a roll again, and Victoria Azarenka can’t be stopped, either. They each won titles in straight sets at the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday and earned matching $ 1 million paychecks, the richest in tournament history. Federer defeated John Isner 7-6 (7), 6-3 for his record fourth title at Indian Wells, avenging a loss to the American who beat him in Davis Cup play. Azarenka routed Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-3 in the WTA Tour’s first final between the No. 1 and No. 2 players since 2008. [...]

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Caterham’s Heikki Kovalainen will drop five places on the grid for next weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix after falling foul of the stewards during Sunday’s race in Melbourne. Kovalainen, who retired on lap 39 at Albert Park with suspension issues, was handed the penalty for overtaking cars whilst under safety-car conditions. Under revised safety-car rules for 2012, Kovalainen was permitted to pass other cars to unlap himself, but the Finn breached regulations by doing so before reaching the first safety-car line. The safety-car intervention, the only one of the race, was prompted by Kovalainen’s team mate Vitaly Petrov, whose car stopped [...]

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LAUSANNE, Switzerland – IOC President Jacques Rogge says he has received assurances that the London Olympics remain within budget despite claims of major cost overruns. With the games less than five months away, London organizers delivered their latest progress report Wednesday to the International Olympic Committee executive board. Rogge says “we were reassured” that the public sector budget stands at $ 14.6 billion. That includes a contingency fund of $ 785 million. Last week, a British oversight committee said the Olympics risked going over budget because of rising security costs, which now exceed more than $ 1.6 billion. Rogge says [...]

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By Andy Jasner, The Sports Xchange CHESTER, Pa. – It’s only a two-game sample, but the Colorado Rapids are looking like the MLS Cup champion club of 2010. The Rapids scored two second-half goals and pulled out a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union on Sunday behind goals by Castrillon and Tony Cascio Castrillon scored in the 56th minute and Cascio followed with a goal in the 62nd minute while the Rapids were playing with 10 players. Rapids midfielder Jeff Larentowicz received a red card in the 58th minute and was ejected. < ![CDATA[ .can_ad_slug font-family:arial;font-size:11px;color:#999;text-decoration:none;background-image:url('http://l.yimg.com/d/lib/can_interstitial/icons/adchoice_1.4.png');background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:right;padding:0px 15px [...]

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By The Associated Press Through March 4Singles1. Novak Djokovic, Serbia, 13310 2. Rafael Nadal, Spain, 10415 3. Roger Federer, Switzerland, 8710 4. Andy Murray, Britain, 7450 5. David Ferrer, Spain, 4665 6. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France, 4455 7. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic, 3860 8. Mardy Fish, United States, 2875 9. Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina, 2840 10. Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia, 2710 11. John Isner, United States, 2120 12. Nicolas Almagro, Spain, 2070 13. Gilles Simon, France, 2005 14. Gael Monfils, France, 1970 15. Feliciano Lopez, Spain, 1890 16. Richard Gasquet, France, 1765 17. Kei Nishikori, Japan, 1685 18. Florian Mayer, Germany, [...]

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The Formula 1 cars are about to start the qualifying session in Melbourne today for the Australian Grand Prix, and things are starting to look a little clearer after the three first practice sessions. The Mercedes engines of the Mercedes and the McLarens, and the Lotus are all looking pretty strong, in fact. The Red Bulls do not look as strong as last year – but we all expect Sebastian Vettel to pull a rabbit out of the hat. In the meantime, I think the nose of the Mercedes is one of the ugliest. That big issue of ugly noses [...]

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Sergio Perez will drop five places on the grid for Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix after the gearbox was changed on his Sauber following Saturday’s qualifying session. Perez was unable to complete a timed lap during Q2 because of gearbox problems and thus qualified in 17th. After investigating the issue the team decided to replace the C31-s box. The ensuing penalty means the Mexican will line up in 22nd on the Melbourne grid. Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen, Caterham’s Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov, and Virgin team mates Timo Glock and Charles Pic all benefit from Perez’s drop down the order. For tickets [...]

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