The Boston Celtics capped the greatest single-season turnaround in National Basketball Association history by winning their record 17th championship with a 131-92 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers. Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 14 rebounds for the Celtics, who won the best-of-seven NBA Finals four games to two for their first title in 22 years. The Celtics have now won 9 of 11 NBA Finals matchups against the Lakers, whose 14 championships are the second-most in league history. The two franchises have combined for half of the NBA’s 62 titles. Rajon Rondo added 21 points, 8 assists and 6 steals for Boston, which last won an NBA championship in 1986 with a team led by Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. This year’s club was led by the All-Star trio of Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Allen scored 26 points and Pierce 17.

After losing Game 5 in Los Angeles to send the series back to Boston, the Celtics outscored the Lakers 34-15 during the second quarter at TD Banknorth Garden to open a 23-point halftime lead. Garnett’s eight baskets at halftime were as many as the Lakers scored as a team during the first half. Boston extended its lead to as many as 42 points in the second half to finish 13-1 at home during the postseason. NBA Most Valuable Player Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 22 points on 7 of 22 shooting.

The Celtics’ championship capped a campaign in which they won a league-best 66 games during the regular season. It was a record-setting turnaround for the franchise, which had the second-worst record in the NBA last season at 24-58 and finished in last place in the Eastern Conference. Boston was given 75-1 odds to win a championship after last year’s NBA Finals. The Celtics’ odds dropped after the offseason addition of All-Stars Garnett and Allen, who joined Pierce to spark the team’s 42-game improvement, the biggest one-year turnaround in NBA history. The Celtics finally won on the road in the next round to capture the Eastern Conference title against the Detroit Pistons in six games and set up another meeting with the Lakers in the NBA Finals. Boston won the first two games at home and after losing Game 3 in Los Angeles, took control of the Finals by rallying from a 24-point deficit to win Game 4 on the road. It was the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history.

Germany coach Joachim Loew is suspended for his side’s Euro 2008 quarter-final match against Portugal, Europe’s governing body UEFA said on Tuesday. The disciplinary code of the tournament states that any player or officials sent off is automatically suspended for one game (Article 9 of Disciplinary Regulations), in this case Thursday’s knockout match in Basle, Switzerland.

UEFA director of communications William Gaillard told a press briefing in Vienna that the organization’s disciplinary committee will be looking into the sending off of Loew on Wednesday. Loew and his Austrian counterpart Josef Hickersberger were sent off during the first half of Monday’s Group B game between Germany and Austria, which the three-time champions won 1-0 to advance to the quarter-finals, while Austria were knocked out. Loew protested his innocence and rather attacked the fourth match official for interefering all the time.

If Loew’s suspension stands, he would have no access to the players after they arrive at the stadium for their quarter-final against Portugal. He will not be allowed to communicate with the players at all in the stadium. He could though, participate in the pre- and post-match news conference. Loew said he had no explanation for the sending off and for his part issued sharp criticism on the fourth official Damir Skomina of Slovenia.

Germany take on Portugal in the first quarter final of Euro 2008 on the 20th of June. Match will be shown live on ESPN from 00.05 IST onwards.

Sania Mirza might have suffered a first-round exit in her comeback match but she managed to retain her ranking of 33 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) list Monday.

Sunitha Rao, who reached the quarterfinal final of the DFS Classic in Birmingham last week, jumped eleven places to a career-high 149. This has been a good year for Sunitha, who in May achieved her career high doubles ranking of 108. She along with Hungarian Melinda Czink won the ITF doubles title in Croatia last month and also made a quarterfinal appearance in the DFS Classic.

In the men’s section, Mahesh Bhupathi, who has not been in his best form losing early in French Open and Gerry Weber Open in Germany, maintained his 13th position in the ATP rankings. Leander Paes entered his first final of the season at Gerry Weber last week with new Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy. But the doubles ranking of the Indian tennis ace remained at the 23rd spot. Rohan Bopanna climbed two places to break into the top-50 rankings in d

England batsman Kevin Pietersen’s reverse-handed shot that took New Zealand by surprise two days ago was cleared by cricket’s rule-making body today. In his match-winning innings of 110 not out, Pietersen launched New Zealand medium-pacer Scott Styris for two sixes after switching his stance from right- to left-handed at the last moment. His performance ignited a debate about the shot, which had already come under scrutiny from the International Cricket Council at a meeting in Dubai in May.

“The MCC believes that the switch-hit stroke is exciting for the game of cricket,” Marylebone Cricket Club, the sport’s rule-making body, said in a statement. “It conforms to the Laws of Cricket and will not be legislated against.” The MCC ruling said the shot was legitimate because it did not give an unfair advantage to batsmen, and said it was a risky tactic that “offers bowlers a good chance of taking a wicket.”

Pietersen, 27, known for his flamboyant stroke play, last played the shot in an international match against Sri Lanka in 2006 before stunning Styris with his display in England’s 114- run victory at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, north- east England. “It’s important that we as players are innovative, and if this shot helps make cricket more exciting and entertaining for spectators then that has to be good for the sport,” Pietersen said in a statement.

The second of England’s five-game one-day series with New Zealand takes place in Birmingham and will be shown live on star cricket at 15.15 IST

Holland victorious yet again, saving Italy a seat at the QF

Holland were every bit as professional as coach Marco van Basten promised they would be as they outclassed Romania 2-0 to send Victor Piturca’s side home and hand Italy a Euro 2008 lifeline.

Second-half strikes from Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Robin van Persie at Bern’s Stade de Suisse Wankdorf earned the Oranje - already assured of a quarter-final berth and top spot in Group C - their third win of the tournament.

Defeat for the Dutch would have seen both 2006 World Cup finalists Italy and France eliminated, but even a much-changed Holland line-up were simply too good for Romania.

Italy manage to edge out France 2-0, getting themselves to the QFs

Italy beat 10-man France 2-0 in Zurich to advance to the quarter-finals with a little help from Holland’s victory over Romania.

Andrea Pirlo put the world champions in front with a 25th minute penalty after Eric Abidal had brought down Luca Toni inside the area.

Abidal was shown a straight red, leaving the French with a mountain to climb following the earlier loss of Franck Ribery to injury.

But Italy were still made to suffer before Daniele De Rossi’s 62nd minute free-kick took a deflection off Thierry Henry and found the back of the net.

The turn of events completed a terrible tournament for Les Bleus, who were held to goalless draw against Romania in their Group C opener before being hammered 4-1 by Holland.

Romania’s 2-0 defeat to Holland saw Italy finish second in the group behind the Dutch. They will now take on Group D winners Spain on Sunday in Vienna but the Azzurri will have to do without key players Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso, both among a plethora of cautions against the French.

With the county season less than a few hours away many sides are still trying to come to terms with the impact of the two Indian leagues which are threatening to change the face of England’s domestic cricket. Already a number of players have had their registrations rejected after taking part in the Indian Cricket League (ICL), while the official Indian Premier League (IPL) is sending the powers that be into a frenzy as they try to keep up with the pace of change. So far the IPL has had a limited impact on English cricket but it won’t stay that way for long. Dimitri Mascarenhas, the Hampshire allrounder, is the only English player to be involved in the first IPL after joining the Jaipur franchise following a deal made with his club. Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, has said that England players will be welcome at future events and doesn’t want to clash with the domestic season.

Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, has made it clear that he doesn’t see England’s top players taking part in the IPL but there is a danger that the situation could run away from the board. Andrew Flintoff would be high on the list of any franchise and it has already been reported that the he and Kevin Pietersen have attracted interested. However, Flintoff isn’t interested in any offers at this stage although hinted that it could be an option in the future but Lancashire chief executive, Jim Cumbes, has warned that the English game must act quickly in finding a way of keeping its leading players happy otherwise the IPL will become a greater threat. “At the moment the IPL is standing off English cricket but I cannot see them doing that indefinitely,” he said. “The Indian leagues will have a big impact on cricket here if counties do not move quickly to set up something here - that’s my view anyway.

While the Twenty20 cup 2008 wont be as glamorous as the IPL, It is still going to be a great watch as some of the best players in the game will be taking part. The tournament gets underway on the 17th of June 2008 and will be telecast on Star Cricket from 22.00 IST onwards

Australia won the third cricket Test against West Indies in Barbados by 87 runs to take the series 2-0 after the home team failed to achieve a record victory target. West Indies, set 475 to win at the Kensington Oval, was bowled out for 387 in its second innings. The highest score to win a Test match batting fourth was its 418-7 to defeat Australia in Antigua in May 2003. Top-ranked Australia completes a ninth straight Test series win. It took the opener in Jamaica by 95 runs, while the second match in Antigua was drawn.

West Indies, starting the final day on 235-3, frustrated Australia for most of the morning before Dwayne Bravo and Shivnarine Chanderpaul were dismissed in successive overs. Bravo was the first to go, caught by Phil Jaques at silly point for 69 off the bowling of Beau Casson to end a 122-run partnership. He’d struck three sixes off spin bowler Casson earlier in the session. Chanderpaul became the fourth West Indian to score 8,000 Test runs when he reached 49, though added only 1 more run before being trapped leg before wicket by Stuart Clark.

The home team then lost its remaining five wickets for 84 runs. Jerome Taylor hit a Test-best 31 in a 42-run partnership with Denesh Ramdin, while Sewnarine Chattergoon, playing with a runner because of an ankle injury, made 13. Brett Lee ended the match by claiming his second wicket of the innings when Daren Powell edged to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. Clark was the pick of Australia’s bowlers with 3-58, while Casson, on his debut, took 3-86. Australia had yesterday declared on 439-5 in its second innings after Simon Katich’s Test-best 157.

The Los Angeles Lakers avoided a second straight home collapse, beating the Celtics 103-98 to send the National Basketball Association Finals back to Boston. The Lakers, who surrendered a 24-point lead in Game 4 four days ago, twice blew double-digit leads last night at the Staples Center before pulling out the win to deny the Celtics a chance to celebrate their first championship in 22 years. Boston leads the best-of-seven playoff series 3-2 and hosts Game 6 tomorrow. A seventh game, if necessary, would also be played at TD Banknorth Garden, where the Celtics have a 12-1 record in the postseason.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 25 points, including 15 in the first quarter as Los Angeles opened a 39-22 lead last night. While Bryant hit only 3-of-16 shots the rest of the way, teammates Pau Gasol and Odom picked up the slack. Gasol had 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Odom added 20 points and 11 reboundsAs happened in Game 4, Boston recovered its early deficit. The Celtics cut the Lakers’ 19-point advantage to three at halftime and took a 58-57 lead 2:01 into the third quarter on a free throw by Pierce. The foul shot capped a 34-14 run for Boston.

The Lakers regained a 79-70 lead after three quarters and were up by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter. Boston again responded, with a 16-2 run to tie the score at 90-90, yet wasn’t able to go ahead. With the Lakers nursing a 97-95 lead in the final minute, Bryant stripped the ball from Pierce and scored on a two-handed dunk with 37.4 seconds left. The Lakers added four free throws in the final 24 seconds to seal the win. While Pierce had 8 assists, 6 rebounds and hit 16 of 19 free throw attempts for the Celtics, teammates Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen combined for 29 points and took only 9 foul shots. The Celtics now head back home, where they’ll look to claim a record 17th NBA championship. No NBA team has blown a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

Game six of the NBA finals between Lakers and Celtics will be telecast as a same day delay on ESPN at 14.00 IST on the 18th of June. Those of you who want to catch the game live, you can log on to NBA.com and catch the game live.

Ballack gets Germany into the Quarter finals

Michael Ballack booked Germany’s place in the quarter-finals of Euro 2008 after his thunderbolt free-kick earned a 1-0 victory in a hot-tempered clash against co-hosts Austria.

The Chelsea midfielder has been unhappy with his performances in the tournament so far but returned to the form of the last six months of the domestic season, lashing into the top corner just after the break at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium.

It sets up a last-eight clash against his new club boss Luiz Felipe Scolari, who will fulfil his Portugal duties before being unveiled at Stamford Bridge later this summer.

Croatia chucks out Poland from the Euro Championship

Ivan Klasnic’s second-half goal made it three wins out of three for Group B winners Croatia and in the process ensured an early tournament exit for Poland.

Klasnic struck in the 52nd minute with the only goal of the game to earn a much-changed Croatia a deserved victory and continue their impressive start to the tournament - which has also included triumphs over Austria and Germany and will next see them take on Turkey in the last eight.

For Poland the unlikely task of claiming a quarter-final spot proved mission impossible.

Needing a win and a favourable result from the Austria-Germany game to continue their adventure in their first European Championship finals, they could find no way through against an impressive Croatia.

With Kubica’s win and confidence portrayed at the Canadian Grand Prix, one doesn’t know what to expect at France. Although, luck might have been on his side with Hamilton and Kimi taking a slight detour on route. 

Look at the Driver’s standings though, the top four contenders - Kubica, Hamilton, Kimi and Masa - are sure to have a tough fight at this race. 

Take your guesses now, cause the French Grand Prix is just round the corner. The Qualifying round will begin at 5:27 p.m. on the 21st of June.

The Race day itself starts at 4:30 p.m. on the 22nd. The actual race will start at 5:15 p.m. though if you don’t want to waste time with the pre-race events. And due to the Euro games, Star Sports will be broadcasting this event, thankfully, Live.

Following the briefest of respites, the relentless pace of the MotoGP World Championship resumes as the series heads to Donington Park.

The man leading the way in MotoGP is Valentino Rossi, the rider who has made Donington Park a home-from-home in his eight top cylinder category visits to the British track. The Fiat Yamaha rider will be celebrating his 200th Grand Prix appearance, and has won five MotoGP races at the circuit, including his first 500cc victory back in 2000.

The Italian is on a stellar run of six podium finishes from the first seven races of 2008, including consecutive victories in China, France and Italy. Second place in Catalunya, from ninth on the grid, at the most recent round reflected a performance that was vintage Rossi.

A gap of seven points separates Rossi from nearest rival Dani Pedrosa, the rider who took a comprehensive victory ahead of his rival in round seven. Repsol Honda’s Spanish star has also only once finished off the podium this season, with a 2006 victory at Donington Park in his rookie season adding further credence to his chances of a win there on June 22nd.

Will Rossi keep his position? Or succumb to Honda’s Pedrosa? I guess we’ll just have to wait and watch. The race starts at 4:27 p.m. on the 22nd of June, Live on ESPN India.

West Indies needs another 240 runs to avoid a Test cricket series loss to Australia after benefiting from three dropped catches to reach 235-3 on day four of the final match in Barbados. Australia set the home team a record 475 runs to win at the Kensington Oval after Simon Katich’s Test-best 157 led the top- ranked Australians to 439-5 declared in their second innings. A victory for West Indies would tie the three-match contest and deny Australia a ninth straight Test series win. The highest score to win a Test match batting fourth was by West Indies in 2003 when it made 418-7 to defeat Australia in Antigua.

The Caribbean team’s run chase was aided by the Australian fielders. Xavier Marshall struck 85, his highest first-class score, after Katich at third slip, then wicketkeeper Brad Haddin both failed to hold chances. His fellow opener Chris Gayle was dropped by Beau Casson during his innings of 26. Ramnaresh Sarwan scored 43 in a 95-run second-wicket stand with Marshall before being trapped leg before wicket by Michael Clarke. Spin bowler Casson claimed his first Test wicket when he had Marshall caught by Phil Jacques.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul will resume on 27 tomorrow, with Dwayne Bravo 30 not out. Bravo survived an lbw appeal from a full-length Brett Lee delivery and an appeal for a catch behind. Sewnarine Chattergoon is unlikely to bat on the final day because of an ankle injury. Earlier, Katich added 9 runs to his overnight score before being caught by substitute fielder Darren Sammy on 157. Andrew Symonds made 2, while Clarke finished unbeaten on 48 and Haddin 45 not out.

Catch the final day of the third test match between Australia and the West Indies live on Ten Sports today the 16th of June from 19.30 to 02.30 IST