Ricky Hatton: Manny Pacquiao Gambles With Every Punch, I’ll Make Him Pay

As Ricky Hatton prepares to defend his world junior welterweight title against Manny Pacquiao on May 2, most boxing experts think Hatton won’t be able to withstand Pacquiao’s punching power for 12 rounds.
But Hatton has other ideas. He says Pacquiao takes too many risks with his aggressive, hard-punching style, and that as soon as Hatton makes him miss with a hard shot, Pacquiao will be off-balance and ripe for the taking.
“I think Manny, because he’s so aggressive, he sometimes gambles with every punch,” Hatton said. “He puts everything he’s got into that left cross and he drills the whole right back. I think if you can make him miss, I think sometimes he puts that much into his punch. I think if you can make him miss, he’s very open and he’s off balance, and along with my head move and my hand speed, my footwork and everything will work. And now, if he misses, he’s going to have some big shots waiting for him.”
Hatton also said he has improved as a boxer and he doesn’t believe Pacquiao is going to be adequately prepared for the way he fights.
“Manny’s probably watching videos of Ricky Hatton, all the videos that he’s watching will be the old Ricky Hatton, and then when the new Ricky Hatton turns up, I think he’s going to get a shock,” Hatton said, speaking of himself in the third person. “I think one thing that won’t shock him is my strength and my size, which I think obviously if he’s not preparing for it, he should be. But I think there’s a technical side, the defensive work and the speed is going to shock him more than anything.”
Hatton added that he expects to walk into the ring at about 154 pounds, meaning he’ll have a significant size advantage over Pacquiao, Hatton is the underdog, but he exudes confidence.

Rapper Francis Magalona passes away

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 6) Rapper-TV host Francis Magalona died Friday at the Medical City in Pasig City, his co-hosts at the GMA Network’s noontime show “Eat Bulaga” said. He was 44.
Magalona succumbed to multiple organ failure “secondary to severe sepsis and secondary to pneumonia,” according to a hospital source.
He passed away at 12 noon, said Philippine Daily Inquirer sources.
The acclaimed rapper-musician was rushed to the Medical City on Thursday night, Inquirer sources said. He was “intubated” upon admission and placed in the Intensive Care Unit at 3 a.m. Friday.
He was described as “toxic” during the early hours of Friday, the Inquirer sources said.
Doctors still managed to administer chemotherapy on Magalona. He expired before a bone marrow transplant could be scheduled, they said.
Magalona had been undergoing several chemotherapy sessions since he was diagnosed with leukemia in August last year but was too weak to fight the infection, sources said.
Magalona is the son of popular 1950s movie tandem Pancho Magalona and Tita Duran.
“I don't want a media circus. I want privacy with my family,” Francis said in a phone interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, after reports of his illness broke out.
“What I'd rather talk about is how we can solicit blood donations to replace the supply that I have consumed in the hospital,” said Magalona, the father of eight children.
Francis' wife, Pia Arroyo-Magalona, said her husband started exhibiting symptoms in March this year. “It was very gradual, hindi siya biglaang lumabas [it didn't manifest right away].”
Magalona was supposed to perform “Superproxy” with the Eraserheads in the band’s reunion concert, “The Final Set” at the SM Mall of Asia grounds in Pasay City on Saturday.
He had been in collaboration with Eraserheads and Pupil frontman Ely Buendia for an album to be released this year.
Telecommunications giant PLDT also scheduled in April a golf tournament fund-raiser for Magalona.
Magalona is survived by his wife Pia, and children Maxene, Saab, Unna, Nicolo, Francis Jr., Elmo, Arkin, and Clara.
Magalona started his career as a break dancer in the early 1980s before appearing in several movies, including a lead role in Viva Films “Bagets 2.” He then worked as a disc jockey for the defunct radio station DMZ in the late 80s and then ventured into TV hosting, as a regular of the noontime show “Eat…Bulaga!” and a VJ for MTV Asia. He was also a judge in “Philippine Idol” the original local franchise of the international Fremantle reality singing talent search.
At the same time, he took the musical route as the well-known rapper-songwriter, with his ground breaking hit “Mga Kababayan Ko” in his debut 1990 album “’Yo” that also spawned the hit ballad “Cold Summer Nights.” Several albums followed, “Rap is FrancisM,” “Meron Akong Ano?,” and “Freeman” that further proved his mastery of the genre.
Magalona’s remains lie in state at the Christ the King church in Greenmeadows, Quezon City. According to wife Pia, Magalona’s wake will be open to the public starting at 6 a.m. Saturday.
With Pocholo Concepcion and Marinel Cruz, Philippine Daily Inquirer

Nets’ Yi Jianlian targeted in age investigation

BEIJING (AP)—NBA player Yi Jianlian is being investigated by a Chinese-language magazine which claims he is one of many of the country’s athletes guilty of lying about their age on official documents.
Yi, who plays for the New Jersey Nets, has long been reported in the Chinese media to be older than his records show. Earlier this month, China’s Sports Ministry reported that it found 36 players in China’s professional basketball league whose dates of birth may have been changed.
The December issue of the Chinese-language edition of Sports Illustrated said a reporter for the magazine found records from Yi’s middle-school registration in his hometown in southern China that said he was born in 1984.
His official basketball records say he was born in 1987. He is also listed by the Nets as being born Oct. 27, 1987.
A spokesman for the Chinese Basketball Association could not be reached Monday for comment.
Yi could be quizzed again about his age on Monday night when the Nets face the Houston Rockets and fellow Chinese star center Yao Ming in New Jersey.
Players’ ages are sometimes altered to show them as being younger, mainly to qualify for youth tournaments. Those false ages stay with athletes and can result in embarrassment and sanctions when they move on to greater success.
The opposite practice was alleged in the controversy surrounding China’s gold medal-winning women’s gymnastics team at the Beijing Olympics, where China entered athletes suspected of being below the minimum age of 16.
The international gymnastics federation eventually cleared the Chinese gymnasts of amending birth records to make athletes appear older than they were. However, it continues to investigate the ages of Chinese gymnasts who competed in the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Two bombs found on bus in southern Philippines

Two bombs were found on board a bus in the southern Philippines Tuesday, the latest incident in a spate of bombings and attempted bombings that have shaken the region, police said.
The bombs, made out of 60mm mortar shells with timing devices and hidden inside a carton, were found on a commuter bus in the city of Pagadian on the island of Mindanao, said provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Ramon Ochotorena.
A bus conductor spotted the bomb during a routine inspection of the vehicle just before it left the terminal.
A military explosives team disabled the bombs.
Ochotorena refused to speculate on who planted the bombs or whether they were connected to several bombing incidents in Mindanao in recent weeks.
Last week, bombs ripped through two department stores in Iligan City, killing two people and wounding at least 36. An unexploded bomb was found near the scene a day later.
Bombs have also exploded in the cities of Cotabato and Isulan, all in Mindanao, earlier this month.
Officials have blamed Muslim separatist guerrillas for some of the bombings but the rebels have denied the allegations.

Olympic bronze medal winner banned

Norwegian rider Tony Andre Hansen was on Monday banned for four and a half months and stripped of his Beijing Games bronze medal after his horse tested positive for a banned substance.
Hansen was one of four riders in the dock at the Olympics after their horses tested positive for capsaicin.
Monday's ban, which runs from August 21 to January 2 2009, disqualification and 3000 Swiss franc (1900 euros) fine were handed down by The International Equestrian Federation (EFI).
In a statement the EFI said: "The person responsable (the rider) is suspended for 135 days....Camiro and Tony Andre Hansen are disqualified from the Olympic Games and their results annulled."
Capsaicin, which can be rubbed in as a lotion to ease pain and is a derivative of the chilli pepper plant, showed up in four Beijing Games cases.
In addition to its painkilling properties capsaicin can increase sensitivity.
When smeared on the horses they suffer a burning sensation if they fail to clear the showjump bars, the idea being that they will strain themselves to jump higher and in doing so avoid the burning.
Hansen has 30 days in which to lodge an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Owen delays contract decision

England striker Michael Owen will not make a decision about his future with Newcastle United until the end of the season, a statement released by his agent said Monday.
While that means Owen, 29, will stay with Newcastle through the January transfer window, his long-term future remains uncertain when his current 103,000 pounds-a-week (153,969 dollars) deal expires at the season's end.
But the statement did say the former Liverpool and Real Madrid forward, who is now free to talk to other clubs from January 1, would consider a pay-cut if he decided to stay at St James' Park.
"Following speculation about my future at Newcastle United, I have decided today (Monday) to make it clear that I am committed to the club until at least the end of this season, and I have informed them I do not want to make a decision about my future until that time," club captain Owen said.
"I hope this will be seen as a positive step and not seen as being disloyal in any way.
"I am happy here and enjoy the challenge. It is simply a matter of seriously thinking about my future as I was 29 last week and my next career decision is a crucial one.
"My decision is not about money. I told the club some months ago that I would accept a reduction in my wages.
"I have no intention of leaving Newcastle United during the January transfer window and want to assure the fans that under Joe Kinnear's passionate management, I am committed with the rest of the players to ensure that the club ends the season on a high."
However, Owen has left open the possibility he may move to another team where he feels he has a greater chance of winning a trophy and so impressing England manager Fabio Capello, who has done without him in recent matches, even when the player has been fit.
If Owen was to leave at the end of the season, Newcastle would not receive a transfer fee on their highly-prized asset as he would be a free agent.
Kinnear, who offered the striker a new three-year contract last week, responded positively to Owen's comments.
"Michael told me in person about his decision and I fully understand where he is coming from," Kinnear explained to Newcastle's official website, www.nufc.co.uk.
"We have a great relationship as captain and manager and that will certainly continue. He is focused on scoring goals for Newcastle United and helping us keep progressing this season.
"Michael will consider his options in the summer but I am still optimistic that he will stay with us when it comes to making a decision."
He added: "In the meantime I have no doubts whatsoever that he will continue to give 100 percent.
"I'm looking forward to him continuing to score goals for us as they will be crucial in what we do for the rest of the season."
Newcastle did appear destined for relegation from the Premier League earlier this season but have risen up the table since Kinnear took charge following Kevin Keagan's exit and the caretaker spell at the helm of Chris Hughton.
Sunday's 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur left Newcastle four points above the relegation zone in 12th place.
Owen has scored 19 goals in 37 games this year but his time on Tyneside has been beset by injuries with his overall record for Newcastle now standing at 29 goals in 63 games.

Football: Terry sees red as Chelsea fail to go top

Chelsea captain John Terry was sent-off as the ten-man Blues failed to go top of the English Premier League after being held to a goalless draw away to Everton here Monday.

This result at Goodison Park saw Chelsea move to within a point of leaders Liverpool - Everton's city rivals topping the table at Christmas - and ended a run of 11 straight away league wins for the London club.

Chelsea played nearly an hour of the match a man down after England skipper Terry received a straight red card from referee Phil Dowd for a late and dangerous tackle on Everton midfielder Leon Osman.

But, despite the centre-half's expulsion 10 minutes before half-time, Everton - without a recognised striker because of injury - couldn't score and the draw saw them stay seventh in the table.

Everton did almost snatch victory late on when Steven Pienaar had a 'goal' disallowed by Dowd.

The South African midfielder bundled the ball over the line six minutes from time after Chelsea keeper Petr Cech had saved Osman's initial shot.

But having seemingly strayed into an offside position, Pienaar's goal was then chalked off after Dowd ruled that the ball had been kicked out of Cech's grasp, with the goalkeeper clearly having two hands on the ball.

"It's a tough place to come with 11 men," Cech told Setanta Sports. "We were down to 10, but we kept the ball and controlled the game quite well.

"They had the extra man so of course they had chances from set-plays but we can be satisfied.

"It's a pity we couldn't win. We could have been top of the league again but it's a good point."

Czech international Cech, asked about Terry's sending-off, added: "It's hard to say because I was far from it.

"It was hard for the ref to see what happened. He had a split second... he made a decision and we have to live with that."

Everton were without a recognised striker because of injury and manager David Moyes said: "We wanted the win even before the sending-off. We tried to get the goal and the players did everything we could ask.

"Obviously we are short of centre forwards and maybe that was the difference," he added.

Chelsea, who'd seen Liverpool drop points in a 1-1 draw away to Arsenal on Sunday, were going for a Premier League record of 12 straight away wins against an Everton side that had won just once on home turf all season.

Moyes again fielded Australia's Tim Cahill as the lone man up front after the midfielder had scored an injury-time winner at Manchester City last week.

Chelsea made the brighter start, though, and defender Ashley Cole saw a left foot volley pushed behind by United States goalkeeper Tim Howard.

Moyes's team, who suffered a dramatic 3-2 defeat against Aston Villa in their last outing at Goodison Park, responded well and captain Phil Neville's 25-yard effort forced Cech into a fine save.

Chelsea, with Nicolas Anelka once again keeping fellow striker Didier Drogba on the bench, struggled to make any headway against the home side.

Their frustration spilled over in the 35th minute when Terry committed the foul that saw him rightly sent-off by Dowd.

Terry was always up against it in his bid to beat Osman to the ball inside the Everton half and he mis-timed his tackle badly, catching his opponent on the leg in front of the referee and, for the second time this season, Chelsea's skipper found himself dismissed.

Had Everton been blessed with a full complement of strikers, a second-half onslaught on Chelsea's goal could have been expected.

But with their options limited, only a Marouane Fellaini header from Neville's cross, saved by Cech in the 53rd minute, was created by a cautious Everton before Pienaar's attempt.

Meanwhile an off-target 30-yard strike from Frank Lampard in the 75th minute was as close as Chelsea came to scoring.

Everton almost grabbed a winner when Fellaini's back-heel bounced just wide of the far post 10 minutes from the finish, but Chelsea somehow held out to claim what could ultimately prove to be a crucial point.