World Cup Football

“That,” defender Rachel Buehler said, “was a very intense moment in the game.”

Buehler motored in to save the day, knocking an opposing striker off the ball. the Americans had survived another dicey moment. it took a while, but eventually they wore down a heavy underdog and earned their spot in the Olympics.

The United States booked its way to London on Friday night with a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in the semifinals of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament, a game more suspenseful than most anyone expected.

“There were moments where I think Costa Rica were outplaying us, and it just shows you how important it was to all of us,” forward Abby Wambach said. “Nobody wanted to make that mistake. And luckily we didn’t.”

Tobin Heath scored in the 16th minute to give U.S. all the offense it needed, and goals by Carli Lloyd (72nd) and Alex Morgan (89th) put the game away.

“We know that sometimes under big game circumstances players can get a little tight,” Wambach said. “And you’ve just kind of got to deal with it. … it was almost as if we scored that goal and nobody wanted to get stuck into a tackle. We were kind of playing a little bit soft, and we fixed that in the second half.”

The top-ranked Americans were certainly not as crisp as they were when they were beating teams by a combined 31-0 in their previous three games and drawing criticism for running up the score. Sloppy passes led to giveaways in the first half, forcing goalkeeper Hope Solo to work harder than she has all tournament.

“When you play games that matter, everybody’s a little bit nervous. … We gave away the ball way too often,” coach Pia Sundhage said.

Costa Rica is ranked No. 41 in the world, has never qualified for an Olympics or a World Cup and has never scored on the U.S. in eight meetings. Las Ticas proved to be scrappy opponents, however, occasionally frustrating the Americans with physical play and just missing on two solid scoring chances in the first half in the London-or-bust match. As the possibility of an upset lingered deep into the second half, the plucky team in red gained the rousing support of the Canadian fans at BC Place.

“We put together three great games in group play,” said Solo, who played despite a slightly pulled right quadriceps that had been bothering her all week. “You can’t play four, five, six. Not every team is going to play perfectly every single game, but we got the job done.”

The U.S. will be the two-time defending champions in London, having taken gold in Athens in 2004 and in Beijing in 2008. it will be the third straight Olympics in which the Americans will be trying to make amends for World Cup disappointment from the previous year. they finished second at last year’s World Cup in Germany, losing to Japan in the final.

The victory also puts the Americans into the tournament final Sunday, a bragging-rights-only game against Canada, a 3-1 winner over Mexico in the second semifinal.

The U.S. had scored so easily in the tournament that it seemed odd to see the game scoreless until the 16th minute, when a set piece produced the first goal. Lauren Cheney’s corner kick was headed down at the far post by Shannon Boxx. Goalkeeper Erika Miranda made the save but deflected the ball to Heath, whose looping header was her fifth career U.S. national team goal.

Costa Rica, outscored 34-0 in the seven previous games against the U.S., nearly tied the game after a giveaway by Buehler set up Fernanda Barrantes with a clean look from 15 yards in the 20th minute, forcing Solo to the ground to make the save.

Then, in the 27th, came the play that nearly changed the game. Carol Sanchez launched the 30-yarder that clanged off the frame at the intersection of the post and the crossbar. with Solo on the ground, Buehler fought off Barrantes to keep the striker from getting the rebound with a clean shot at the net.

“I just did everything I could to get back there, get in front of that girl and just prevent the goal,” Buehler said.

Costa Rica finally had its hopes deflated in the 72nd, when Wambach’s chip shot was cleared off the line by Daniela Cruz and out to Lloyd, whose left-footer from the top of the 18-yard box doubled the lead.

Morgan, back in her usual role as second-half super-sub, chipped in the insurance goal shortly before the final whistle.

Even with the closer-than-expected result, the Americans have evoked the good old days at this tournament with their mostly lopsided scores. While that’s hardly surprising given the slow development of women’s soccer in parts of North and Central American and the Caribbean, it’s also indicative the U.S. still have the deepest, most talented team in the world.

But Sundhage’s team arrived in Canada with a bit of apprehension. the Americans, having become somewhat complacent from years of uncontested success in the region, were stunned in a World Cup qualifier by host Mexico in November 2010, forcing them into a home-and-away playoff with Italy just to get for the World Cup. also, the format for Olympic qualifying is such that everything hinges on one game — the do-or-die semifinals — regardless of how a team performs in the rest of the tournament.

Determined to take nothing for granted, the Americans had been full throttle for every game. they set a U.S. team record for goals in a game in a 14-0 win over the Dominican Republic, then nearly matched the feat in a 13-0 rout of Guatemala. Then came a 4-0 win a much anticipated rematch with Mexico to set up the semifinal against Costa Rica.

And even though the vital game didn’t go quite as planned, the outcome was all that mattered.

“We,” Sundhage said, smiling, “are going to London.”

Canadian women’s soccer team tops Mexico, earns Olympic berth

SAN DIEGO — The tougher South Course at Torrey Pines suited Kyle Stanley just fine Friday in the Farmers Insurance Open.

Stanley overcame a double bogey early in his round by running off four birdies on the front nine for a 4-under 68, giving him a one-shot lead over Brandt Snedeker going into the weekend.

Snedeker, who first gained notoriety as a rookie at Torrey Pines when he shot 61 on the North Course, had a 64 on the North to make a swift climb up the leaderboard. he is coming off hip surgery at the end of last year and made his season debut at the Humana Challenge last week by getting into the hunt. he tied for eighth, and here he is again.

“I’m certainly surprised that I played this well this fast,” Snedeker said. “Normally, it takes me a while to get the rust off. But my practice at home went really, really well. I was actually chomping at the bit to get out here because I knew I was playing well.

“Hopefully, that can happen through the weekend.”

Stanley, long off the tee and as polished as any of the PGA Tour rookies who won last year, was at 14-under 130.

A tournament already missing Tiger Woods will have to do without hometown star Phil Mickelson on the weekend. he shot himself out of the tournament with a 77 on the South in the opening round, and didn’t make nearly enough birdies on the North to make the cut. Mickelson had to settle for a 68, missing the cut for the first time in 10 years at Torrey Pines.

“We’re going to have perfect weather out here at Torrey, and I’d love to be playing,” Mickelson said.

Sang-Moon Bae, a PGA Tour rookie who is no. 34 in the world, had a 67 to match the best score on the South for the second round. that put him two shots behind at 12-under 132, along with Martin Flores, who also had a 67 on the South.

Hunter Mahan shot 65 on the North, while FedEx Cup champion Bill Haas had a 71 on the South. they were three shots behind.

The cut came at 2-under 142, and there will be another cut Saturday because more than 78 players are still around. that group includes Geoff Ogilvy, who birdied his last hole on the North for a 70, and Ernie Els, who was at 3-under 141.

Stanley goes about his work quietly. he prefers boring golf of fairways and greens, though there was a little too much excitement when his 7-iron from the rough jumped on his and went over the green, down the slope and into the hazard. he chipped to 5 feet and missed the putt, taking double bogey, effectively wiping out the two birdies he had made.

he followed that with a bogey from the bunker on the par-3 16th.

“I got off to a good start, and it was tough to take,” Stanley said. “But you’ve just got to be patient out here.”

that he was. he had birdie putts on the last 11 holes he played and birdied all the par 5s. As a testament to his length, he hit his tee shot 346 yards on the par-5 ninth, and hit 2-iron from 270 yards.

“Not a very good one,” he said, though it left him an up-and-down from the bunker for one last birdie.

The South played three shots more difficult in the warm sunshine along the Pacific, but at least everyone knows where they stand going into the last two rounds.

Stanley likes his chances, for no other reason than the South is long, and he is hitting his drives where he’s aiming at the moment.

A native of the Seattle area who went to school at Clemson, Stanley was on the verge of joining the cast of rookie winners last year when he had a one-shot lead playing the last hole at the John Deere Classic. he made bogey from the bunker, and in the final group behind him, Steve Stricker made an improbable birdie for a one-shot win.

“I wasn’t very discouraged,” Stanley said. “I think I made more money that week than I had thus far, so it was good. It was nice to really get in contention with a few holes left. That’s kind of the goal for this year, to just keep working hard and keep trying to get myself back there.”

Snedeker knows the feeling. he played in the final group as a rookie at Torrey Pines, but couldn’t keep Woods from another win on this public course along the Pacific. even so, third place was enough to send Snedeker to keeping his card, the immediate goal of most rookies.

Now, he’s looking for yet another win.

“I’m driving the ball as good as I’ve ever driven it in my career, which isn’t saying a lot, but it’s saying enough for me right now,” Snedeker said. “I’m still putting the ball really, really well. so I’m excited with where I am after the first two days. I feel like as good as I’ve played, I’ve left a few out there, which is a good feeling to know my game is where it needs to be.”

Divots

• Ryo Ishikawa ran off three birdies over his last five holes for a 69 on the North to finish at 6 under. The Japanese star was coming off a missed cut at the Sony Open.
• Chris Riley, playing on a sponsor’s exemption, was at 7 under.
• Hunter Mahan heads to Qatar next week. his wife, Kandi, will be joining him, then will go to Uganda for mission work geared toward helping children in a tiny village with nutrition and education.
• Vijay Singh holed out with a wedge for eagle on the par-5 18th on the South Course. A San Diego newspaper reporter wanted an interview on the shot, and Singh turned and said, “It was a wedge and it went in. what more do you need?”

About 20 people were still missing from the late Wednesday collapse of three adjacent office buildings – 20, 10 and 4 storeys high – in the heart of the city, near Cinelandia Square. At the time of the collapse, most of the occupants had already left work.

Fire Department chief Ronaldo Alcantara said the bodies of the remaining victims would most likely be retrieved within just a few hours. Rescue teams believe they found early Friday a spot under the rubble where several bodies are buried.

‘We think we have reached the room where a training session for computer technicians was taking place, which is where the greatest number of people was concentrated at the time of the accident,’ Alcantara said.

Some 100 members of the Fire Department continued to look for the missing Friday. Uninterrupted efforts went on overnight despite the rain, but they were slow, and chances of finding survivors were regarded as very slim.

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes said 15,000 tonnes of rubble – 80 per cent of the total – had been removed from the site by early Friday. there are still no ‘definitive answers’ as to the cause of the accident, although an explosion following a gas leak has virtually been ruled out by experts, Paes said.

Investigators were reportedly focusing on possible structural defects in one of the buildings involved, most likely the tallest of the three, due to illegal works carried out by occupants to alter at least two floors.

‘We are collecting information from the experts who were at the site, and everything will be verified. nobody can say yet whether it was caused by structural damage. there are several hypotheses that will be assessed and analyzed,’ Paes stressed.

Sydnei Menezes, head of Rio’s Council of Architecture and Urban planning, noted that there had been no sign of structural problems in the buildings prior to the accident.

‘There was a sudden collapse of the structure. It was an unprecedented event,’ he said.

Menezes said it was unlikely that water infiltration in the ground below the buildings caused the collapse.

‘The other buildings around the site of the disaster were unaffected, even the Municipal Theatre which was built in 1904,’ he said.

the accident perplexed Brazil and renewed concerns about safety in Rio de Janeiro, which is to host the Football World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016.

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Rio de Janeiro – the death toll from the collapse of three buildings in central Rio de Janeiro climbed to seven, the authorities confirmed Friday after more bodies were recovered overnight.

About 20 people were still missing from the late Wednesday collapse of three adjacent office buildings – 20, 10 and 4 storeys high – in the heart of the city, near Cinelandia Square. At the time of the collapse, most of the occupants had already left work.

Fire Department chief Ronaldo Alcantara said the bodies of the remaining victims would most likely be retrieved within just a few hours. Rescue teams believe they found early Friday a spot under the rubble where several bodies are buried.

‘We think we have reached the room where a training session for computer technicians was taking place, which is where the greatest number of people was concentrated at the time of the accident,’ Alcantara said.

Some 100 members of the Fire Department continued to look for the missing Friday. Uninterrupted efforts went on overnight despite the rain, but they were slow, and chances of finding survivors were regarded as very slim.

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes said 15,000 tonnes of rubble – 80 per cent of the total – had been removed from the site by early Friday. there are still no ‘definitive answers’ as to the cause of the accident, although an explosion following a gas leak has virtually been ruled out by experts, Paes said.

Investigators were reportedly focusing on possible structural defects in one of the buildings involved, most likely the tallest of the three, due to illegal works carried out by occupants to alter at least two floors.

‘We are collecting information from the experts who were at the site, and everything will be verified. nobody can say yet whether it was caused by structural damage. there are several hypotheses that will be assessed and analyzed,’ Paes stressed.

Sydnei Menezes, head of Rio’s Council of Architecture and Urban planning, noted that there had been no sign of structural problems in the buildings prior to the accident.

‘There was a sudden collapse of the structure. It was an unprecedented event,’ he said.

Menezes said it was unlikely that water infiltration in the ground below the buildings caused the collapse.

‘The other buildings around the site of the disaster were unaffected, even the Municipal Theatre which was built in 1904,’ he said.

the accident perplexed Brazil and renewed concerns about safety in Rio de Janeiro, which is to host the Football World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016.

Sebastian Polter, 20, somewhat ridiculed the latest shopping spree of VfL Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath when he rose from the club’s junior ranks to score the winner in the last two games.

Matthias Ginter turned 18 last Thursday, scored the winner on Saturday and was swiftly awarded with a professional contract by his club SC Freiburg on Monday.

Schalke’s scorers on Saturday were Julian Draxler (18), Kyriagos Papadopoulos (19) and Joel Matip (20).

German legends Franz Beckenbauer, Uwe Seeler, Uli Hoeness and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge also rose to stardom early but never has there been such a large number of talented youngsters at the same time in the Bundesliga.

Germany’s winless debacle at Euro 2000 is seen as the origin of the trend as it prompted the national federation DFB to revamp its talent scouting and training system at the national and regional level, with the clubs doing their share as well.

several international titles of junior teams followed and the German system was envied for good in England and elsewhere when Mesut Oezil, Thomas Mueller, Sami Khedira and company stormed to third place with attacking football at the 2010 World Cup.

but even the World Cup youngsters can not afford a let-down as Dortmund made all the headlines the following season with a remarkable run to the Bundesliga title with teenager Mario Goetze and other youngsters including Kevin Grosskreutz and Sven Bender.

‘This generation of young players is very well prepared. many of them have developed far. They are ambitious but also modest,’ says Germany coach Joachim Loew.

German under-19 coach Horst Hrubesch agreed: ‘I have been DFB coach for 12 years and you can see what has grown in this time. We are heading in a very good direction.’

DFB sports director Matthias Sammer simply names the development ‘outstanding.’

it helps the cause of all parties involved that the youngsters see plenty of playing time in the Bundesliga and are not left on the sideline by foreign or older players.

every club has its own reasons for fielding the youngsters, though.

while Mueller and Holger Badstuber could blossom at Bayern Munich thanks to the faith of then coach Louis van Gaal, Dortmund had to rely on local and young talent because they could simply not afford expensive players after almost going bankrupt a few years ago.

Dortmund’s success and place in the Champions League have now allowed them to spend 17 million euros on another young star, 22-year-old Marco Reus of Borussia Moenchengladbach – who of course has also already worn the Germany shirt.

These examples have encouraged other clubs to look at young talent as well. the average Bundesliga squad age of 25.57 years is the youngest in 22 years, but there was far less class in 1990.

Of the older players, Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller admits in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that there are ’several generations between us,’ but that ‘we get on really well on the pitch.’

the game has also become much more fast-paced with the youngsters, demonstrated almost to perfection by Dortmund on Sunday in Hamburg where they pressed from Hamburg’s penalty area onwards en route to an emphatic 5-1 victory.

‘We are young, and that’s why are fit,’ said Grosskreutz.

However, there have been plenty of examples from the past that young glory doesn’t automatically lead to a glittering career, and clubs remain as cautious as they can.

‘It is one story to get into the Bundesliga, use the euphoria to score a goal or two. the other is to develop and confirm the status. you can fall very deep as well. the young players have to be helped by the club and the coaches,’ says Hertha Berlin coach Michael Skibbe.

A prime example in this case is Ginter, who left on Saturday without a word as the club tried to prtect him by not allowing interviews.

‘Matthias has his final high school exams in three months time. We are trying to prevent a hype and the people leave him alone so that he can have good exams,’ said coach Christian Streich.

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Frankfurt – the national team started the trend at the 2010 World Cup, Borussia Dortmund followed suit and were awarded with the 2011 Bundesliga title, and now virtually every German top flight club can pride itself with at least one top youngster.

Sebastian Polter, 20, somewhat ridiculed the latest shopping spree of VfL Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath when he rose from the club’s junior ranks to score the winner in the last two games.

Matthias Ginter turned 18 last Thursday, scored the winner on Saturday and was swiftly awarded with a professional contract by his club SC Freiburg on Monday.

Schalke’s scorers on Saturday were Julian Draxler (18), Kyriagos Papadopoulos (19) and Joel Matip (20).

German legends Franz Beckenbauer, Uwe Seeler, Uli Hoeness and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge also rose to stardom early but never has there been such a large number of talented youngsters at the same time in the Bundesliga.

Germany’s winless debacle at Euro 2000 is seen as the origin of the trend as it prompted the national federation DFB to revamp its talent scouting and training system at the national and regional level, with the clubs doing their share as well.

several international titles of junior teams followed and the German system was envied for good in England and elsewhere when Mesut Oezil, Thomas Mueller, Sami Khedira and company stormed to third place with attacking football at the 2010 World Cup.

but even the World Cup youngsters can not afford a let-down as Dortmund made all the headlines the following season with a remarkable run to the Bundesliga title with teenager Mario Goetze and other youngsters including Kevin Grosskreutz and Sven Bender.

‘This generation of young players is very well prepared. many of them have developed far. They are ambitious but also modest,’ says Germany coach Joachim Loew.

German under-19 coach Horst Hrubesch agreed: ‘I have been DFB coach for 12 years and you can see what has grown in this time. We are heading in a very good direction.’

DFB sports director Matthias Sammer simply names the development ‘outstanding.’

it helps the cause of all parties involved that the youngsters see plenty of playing time in the Bundesliga and are not left on the sideline by foreign or older players.

every club has its own reasons for fielding the youngsters, though.

while Mueller and Holger Badstuber could blossom at Bayern Munich thanks to the faith of then coach Louis van Gaal, Dortmund had to rely on local and young talent because they could simply not afford expensive players after almost going bankrupt a few years ago.

Dortmund’s success and place in the Champions League have now allowed them to spend 17 million euros on another young star, 22-year-old Marco Reus of Borussia Moenchengladbach – who of course has also already worn the Germany shirt.

These examples have encouraged other clubs to look at young talent as well. the average Bundesliga squad age of 25.57 years is the youngest in 22 years, but there was far less class in 1990.

Of the older players, Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller admits in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that there are ’several generations between us,’ but that ‘we get on really well on the pitch.’

the game has also become much more fast-paced with the youngsters, demonstrated almost to perfection by Dortmund on Sunday in Hamburg where they pressed from Hamburg’s penalty area onwards en route to an emphatic 5-1 victory.

‘We are young, and that’s why are fit,’ said Grosskreutz.

However, there have been plenty of examples from the past that young glory doesn’t automatically lead to a glittering career, and clubs remain as cautious as they can.

‘It is one story to get into the Bundesliga, use the euphoria to score a goal or two. the other is to develop and confirm the status. you can fall very deep as well. the young players have to be helped by the club and the coaches,’ says Hertha Berlin coach Michael Skibbe.

A prime example in this case is Ginter, who left on Saturday without a word as the club tried to prtect him by not allowing interviews.

‘Matthias has his final high school exams in three months time. We are trying to prevent a hype and the people leave him alone so that he can have good exams,’ said coach Christian Streich.

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Joseph Mattioli, Pocono Raceway founder and chairman of the board, passed away Thursday at Lehigh Valley Hospital. He was 86.

“Doc,” as he was known to friends and associates, founded Pocono Raceway in the early 1960s and was at the helm of the track ever since. Under his leadership, the track grew in stature and has hosted 68 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. it remains the only independently owned track on the NASCAR circuit.

“His loss has left with each of us an unbearable sadness, which we’ll bear with us for the rest of our lives,” the Mattioli family said in a statement. “Doc was a true leader in every sense of the word. As a visionary, he brought an unknown sport into an alien place, where he along with his unstoppable will and undeniable tenacity built one of the biggest monuments of sports.”

“His passion for his projects was only overshadowed by his deep love for his family, which he gave to all of us hand over fist,” the statement continued.

Mattioli retired as CEO of the raceway last August, ending his professional association with the track he built, opened and managed for more than four decades. He transferred over the CEO title to Brandon Igdalsky, his grandson.

A dentist in the Philadelphia area by trade, Mattioli was introduced to the idea of a racetrack in the Poconos in the 1960s as a private investor. though he lived in Philadelphia, he had roots in northeast Pennsylvania and the Poconos.

After initially being considered a silent investor in the budding operation, he took over the project and built the track himself, opening it in 1968. The first Indy car races were in 1971.

The track scored its biggest victory when Mattioli brought NASCAR to Long Pond in 1974.

In addition to his role leading Pocono Raceway, Mattioli was known for his philanthropic contributions. in 2009, he received the Philanthropic Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals for his contributions to local civic organizations, hospitals, schools and charities.

He served on the board of directors of numerous area organizations.

Nancy Perretta, 71, of Stroud Township, wife of the late Frank Perretta, publisher of the Pocono Record from 1993-96, remembered Mattioli.

“Frank and I met him 29 years ago this may,” Perretta said. “We’ve been the closest of friends ever since.”

A former raceway ambassador, she adds, “They were the greatest people. They just took us under their wing and they treated us like family.”

The Mattiolis took them to the NASCAR banquet in New York for years. “Besides family, we were the only ones they took,” Perretta said.

Check back at PoconoRecord.com for more on this developing story.

23 January 2012

For concise and recent immigration information watch our news.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced this week that Russia would allow visa-free travel for fans at the 2018 World Cup. Putin discussed the visa-free arrangements with FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his UEFA counterpart Michel Platini. “Russia has decided to let in all the fans for the 2018 World Cup if they have tickets,” Putin said during the meeting with top World Cup executives. “What’s more, we are even considering the option of letting fans use their tickets to travel between host cities for free.”

FIFA president Blatter said it would be “tremendous” for fans to be able to bypass the normal Russian visa procedures.

UEFA’s Platini added that he was currently working on allowing for visa-free travel with Poland and Ukraine – the twin hosts of this year’s Euro championship.

“The problem with entry visas is a political problem,” said Platini. “We need an agreement between Ukraine and Poland so that there are no difficulties for the fans.”

If you would like to apply for a visa, WorkPermit.com can help. WorkPermit.com is a specialist visa consultancy with over twenty years of experience dealing with visa applications. we can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details.

(Credit:CBS Miami) (CBS) MIAMI – Defense attorneys are pushing a Florida judge to dismiss a murder charge against former Florida International University student Quentin Wyche, claiming he fatally stabbed another student with a pair of scissors in self-defense.

CBS Miami reports Wyche sat in the back of a South Florida courtroom Monday and listened to witnesses describe what happened the day FIU football running back Kendall Berry died.

Wyche’s lawyers say in March 2010, stabbed Berry in self-defense under Florida’s “Stand your Ground” law – a decree enacted in 2005 by then-Governor Jeb Bush.

Though Berry wasn’t armed, the defense witnesses testified that he did start the fight with Wyche outside the school’s recreation center, with more than a dozen of Berry’s friends and teammates backing him up.

“Berry was walking toward Wyche, squaring up, getting ready to fight…(Berry) was saying ‘oh, you did something to my girl,’” witness Garett Cottom told the court.

Witnesses said that at first, Wyche ran away from Berry and his crew. Witness Anthony Cooper described ‘Q’ running toward the recreation center doors with a group of men chasing him.

Wyche’s attorney David Peckins says Berry’s death was unintentional.

“He just happened to thrust himself against the scissor that the defendant had taken out apparently from his book bag when he was being chased down by this football team,” Peckins told CBS Miami.

Prosecutors believe the running back’s death was no accident, and that the judge should move forward with a murder trial.

“This is murder. this is pure and simple murder….this is someone who brought a knife to a fist fight, and someone is dead because of it,” said prosecutor Abbe Rifkin.

Berry’s family say they would be disappointed to see Wyche go free without a trial. It has been two years since the incident, and Berry’s father Derrick Spillman says “it’s about time (the judge) starts being a judge and starts making things happen.”

The aforementioned judge, Milton Hirsch, gave the defense two weeks to present witness statements in the case before deciding whether Quentin Wyche will stand trial, or be set free.

The U.S. women’s national team played in the two highest- 0 and 0 in the opening rounds of the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Vancouver, Canada.

SPEEDSKATING EARNS SIX MEDALS AT WORLD CUP

Led by Shani Davis’s (Chicago, Ill.) two gold medals in the 1000m., Team USA captured six medals at World Cup 4 held Jan. 21-22 in Kearn, Utah. Heather Richardson (High Point, N.C.) earned a silver medal in the 1000m and a bronze medal in the 500m while Tucker Fredricks (Janesville, Wis.) earned his fifth consecutive world cup podium finish with a pair of bronze medals in the 500m.

The men’s relay quartet of Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, Alaska), Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, N.Y.) and Leif Nordgren (Marine, Minn.) earned a top-10 finish at the men’s 4×7.5 km relay at World Cup 6 in Antholz-Anterselva, Italy. Individually, Susan Dunklee (Barton, Vt.) scored a career-best 17th-place finish in the 7.5 km sprint while Burke earned 12th in the 10 km sprint.

In the mass start competitions, Dunklee, competing in her first-ever world cup mass start event, finished 27th in the 12.5 km race while her teammates Burke and Bailey posted finishes of 20th and 21st, respectively, in the15 km event.

In skeleton, all three Team USA competitors placed inside the top 10 at the men’s world cup in St. Moritz, Switzerland, led by Matt Antoine’s (Prairie du Chien, Wis.) bronze medal run. Kimber Gabryszak (Park City, Utah), posted a career-best effort of seventh place.

In bobsleigh, duo Jazmine Fenlator (Wayne, N.J.) and Hillary Werth (Springfield, Ill.) led with a career-best eighth-place finish at the world cup competition. USA-1’s Steven Holcomb (Park City, Utah) and Steven Langton (Melrose, Mass.) finished fourth in the two-man bobsled race. Holcomb, Justin Olsen (San Antonio, Texas), Langton and Curt Tomasevicz (Shelby, Neb.) also placed fourth in the four-man event.

Paralympic judo athletes Dartanyan Crockett (Cleveland, Ohio) and Myles Porter (Fremont, Ohio) earned gold medals on Jan. 21 at the Pujalahti Games in Nastola, Finland. In the gold-medal matches, Crockett defeated Russia’s Oleg Zykov and Porter defeated Aleksandr Parasyuk. Ron Hawthorne (Kansas City, Kan.) also earned a silver medal.

The quartet of Erin Hamlin (Remsen, N.Y.), Chris Mazdzer (Saranac Lake, N.Y.), Christian Niccum (Woodinville, Wash.) and Jayson Terdiman (Berwick, Pa.) finished second in the luge team relay at world cup competition in Winterberg, Germany. Doubles luge team Niccum and Terdiman finished in fifth place, their best world cup finish of the season.

The U.S. men’s national team opened 2012 play with a 1-0 victory over Venezuela in Glendale, Ariz.

Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, Vt.) and Nate Holland (Squaw Valley, Calif.) both posted victories in the snowboardcross world cup event hosted in Veysonnaz, Switzerland.

John Nunn (San Diego, Calif.) won the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s 50 km race Walk held in Santee, Calif. With a time of 4:04.38, he bested his personal record by nearly 10 minutes and easily beat the previous course record of 4:28.53. Erin Taylor-Talcott (Owego, N.Y.) broke three American Records as the first woman allowed to compete as a guest in the trials.

WINTER YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES

Anna Kubek (Duluth, Minn.) led the U.S. in the 7.5 km pursuit and 6 km sprint with respective finishes of 10th and 13th places. Sean Doherty (Center Conway, N.H.) paced the U.S. in the boys’ competition with a 12th-place finish in the 7.5 km sprint and 14th in the 10 km pursuit.

In the cross-country-biathlon mixed relay, Kubek, Heather Mooney (Peru, Vt.), Doherty and Paddy Caldwell (Lyme Center, N.H.) earned the bronze medal with a total time of 1:05:23.

Codie Bascue (Whitehall, N.Y.) and Jake Peterson (Princeton, Minn.) finished seventh in the two-man bobsled event.

All three skeleton competitors placed within the top-10, led by seventh place efforts by Anthony Herringshaw (Schenectady, N.Y.) and Elizabeth Maxwell (Draper, Utah). Timi Earl (Heber City, Utah) placed ninth.

In addition to their bronze medal cross-country-biathlon performance, Heather Mooney finished 13th in the 5 km classic while teammate Paddy Caldwell placed 16th in the 10 km classic race.

Korey Dropkin (Southborough, Mass.) won the bronze medal in mixed doubles with teammate Marina Verenich of Russia after a 6-5 win in the third-place competition. The duo became the first team to score a perfect end in the Winter Youth Olympic Games mixed doubles event. In team competition, Dropkin, Sarah Anderson (Broomall, Pa.), Tom Howell (Brick, N.J.) and Taylor Anderson (Broomall, Pa.) finished with a 7-1 record, good for fifth place overall.

Jordan Bauth (Lancaster, N.Y.) teamed up with skaters from Japan and Belarus to capture gold in the National Organizing Committee NOC mixed team competition.

The U.S. youth Olympic boys’ ice hockey team fell 7-5 to Canada in the bronze- medal game. Team USA closed the tournament with a 2-0-0-4 (W-OTW-OTL-L) overall record.

Summer Britcher (Glen Rock, Pa.) in women’s singles, Tucker West (Ridgefield, Conn.) in men’s singles, and Ty Andersen (Alpine, Utah) and Pat Edmunds (Park City, Utah) in doubles, combined to capture the gold medal in the team relay.

Ben Ferguson (Bend, Ore.) claimed the gold medal in halfpipe snowboarding while Arielle Gold (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) earned her second silver medal of the Winter Youth Olympic Games for her impressive run in the ladies’ slopestyle event.

19-29 – Soccer Vancouver, B.C. CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament

22-29 – Figure Skating San Jose, Calif. U.S. Figure Skating Championships

24- 2 – Skiing (Nordic) Minneapolis, Minn. IPC World Cup

25-27 – Skiing (Alpine) Arte Terme, Italy IPC World Cup

25-29 – Equestrian Wellington, Fla. CPEDI3* Team Qualifying Competition

26-28 – Figure Skating Plymouth, Mich. Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships

26-28 – Figure Skating Hershey, Pa. Eastern Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships

27-28 – Luge Winterberg, Germany Junior World Cup #5

27-29 – Equestrian Wellington, Fla. World Dressage Masters

27-29 – Synchronized Skating Salzburg, Austria Mozart Cup

27-29 – Speedskating Washington, DC 2012 U.S. Junior Short Track Championships

27-29 – Curling Bemidji, Minn. America’s Challenge

28-29 – Luge St. Moritz, Switzerland World Cup #7

28-29 – Speedskating Calgary, Canada Long Track World Sprint Championships

28- 4 – Curling Madison, Wis. U.S. Junior National Championships

29 – Triathlon Butte, Mont. Winter USA Triathlon 2012 National Championships

29- 4 – Bobsled/skeleton Whistler, Canada World Cup

ITV commercial director Jonathan Rogers, a key lieutenant of director of television Peter Fincham, is leaving the broadcaster after 12 years to move to sports rights agency Pitch International.

Rogers has been a key deal driver for ITV, working on high-profile negotiations including the network’s three-year contract with Simon Cowell’s production company Syco, co-producer of The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent, and renewing the broadcaster’s deal with star hosts Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.

He has also been responsible for numerous sports deals including the Euro 2012 Championships and the rights to the Rugby World Cup in 2011 and 2015, since taking on sports rights acquisitions in 2003.

Rogers joined Carlton in 2000, working for Clive Jones, and was part of the Granada and Carlton merger team.

After the merger he managed ITV’s online and digital channels businesses before becoming commercial director.

Announcing Rogers’ departure in an email to staff, Fincham said: “In the last 12 months he [Rogers] has negotiated improved deals for the French Open tennis, rugby World Cup and Euro 2012.

“I’d like to personally thank Jonathan for the fantastic contribution he has made to ITV and I know that you will join me in wishing him all the very best for the future in his new venture.”

Pitch was recently awarded a new six-year deal with the Football Association to represent its European broadcast rights for the 2012-18 period, and a five-year deal to represent the Football League rights globally.

The company’s other clients include Uefa, the RFU, Premiership Rugby, and six Nations.

Rogers said: “I am very excited to be joining Pitch at this stage in its growth. Pitch has already established itself as a leading agency and I look forward to helping the team deliver strong results for its existing clients and pursuing some new interesting opportunities.”

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