Aston Villa striker Emile Heskey has announced his retirement from international football.

The powerful forward, who won 62 caps but scored just seven goals during his England career, has decided to call time on his spell with the Three Lions following their miserable World Cup campaign.
Heskey started the first match against the USA in South Africa and made a dream start, setting up Steven Gerrard's early opener.
The 31-year-old was again selected by Fabio Capello for the dismal goalless draw with Algeria, before being replaced by Jermain Defoe for the victory over Slovenia and 4-1 thrashing by Germany, coming on as a substitute in both games.

World record crowd watch Clijsters beat Serena

A world record tennis crowd at King Baudouin Stadium has watched Kim Clijsters beat Wimbledon champion Serena Williams 6-3, 6-2 in an exhibition umpired by Martina Navratilova on Thursday.
The crowd of 35,681 surpassed the previous record of 30,472 set in 1973 in Houston for the Battle of the Sexes between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.
Clijsters was originally meant to play compatriot Justine Henin, but Henin withdrew after injuring her elbow at Wimbledon.
Top-ranked Williams agreed to replace Henin despite a foot injury.

NORM: CityCenter's Aria springs some leaks

Mother Nature sort of rained on CityCenter's parade last week.

Barely a month old, the pristine $8.5 billion project sprang some leaks during a week of record rainfall that surpassed last year's total of 1.59 inches.


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Large trash cans were spotted under leaks in the lobby at Aria, the 61-story centerpiece that houses 4,000 rooms and the casino.



The lobby leak was plugged after about 15 minutes, a source said.



BROOKS SALUTES A LEGEND



Garth Brooks fans were treated to a yesteryear flashback Friday at Wynn Las Vegas.



Brooks made sure it was a special night for country Hall of Famer Roy Clark and his wife, Barbara. The Wynn headliner led the crowd in singing "Happy Birthday" to Clark's wife.



Brooks performed last May on Clark's behalf at the Hall of Fame induction, singing Clark's lone No. 1 single "Come Live With Me."



Clark, who turns 77 in April, made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry stage at age 17 when he was opening for Hank Williams. His popularity soared when he co-hosted "Hee Haw" with Buck Owens, starting in 1969 when Clark again hit the Top 10 with his classic "Yesterday When I Was Young."



THE SCENE AND HEARD



Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh, who hand-picked Las Vegan Gina Carano to star in his new film, "The Knockout," has surrounded her with a strong cast. On board for the spy flick: Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, and Channing Tatum. She leaves Tuesday for Ireland to start principal photography. ...



Kissy Simmons, who stars as Nala in "The Lion King" (Mandalay Bay), will be a guest singer with Santa Fe and The Fat City Horns in their new home at the Tropicana.



SIGHTINGS



Cincinnati Bengals passer-receiver combo Carson Palmer and Chad Ochocinco, with their wives at Julian Serrano Restaurant (Aria at CityCenter) on Friday. ... Actress Kathy Najimy, surprising her husband, Dan Finnerty, of The Dan Band, with a weekend stay at The Palazzo for his 40th birthday. Guests at a kickoff cocktail party Friday at Lagasse's Stadium included Ricki Lake, Camryn Manheim, Adam Carolla, Helen Hunt, Cheri Oteri and Nia Vardalos. Suzanne The Duchess, The Venetian's opera singer, serenaded Finnerty with "Happy Birthday" in Italian Opera. The party moved to Tao Asian Bistro, where they were joined by Meg Ryan. Many of them joined Finnerty and Najimy at Dos Caminos for brunch Saturday. ... Miss America contestants, taking the traditional ride at The Venetian on Friday. ... A cub in Cougartown: Tropicana headliner Dirk Arthur had his hands full with cougars -- the two-legged kind, women over age 40 who are on the prowl for younger men -- and a real cub Friday. With the Tropicana serving as host site of the Las Vegas Cougar Convention, it figured that a pack of cougars would show up to see his cat-centric "Xtreme Magic" show. Word has it the cougars tried to adopt Saber, a 2-month-old white tiger cub being groomed for Arthur's "Xtreme Magic" show. ... Orel Hershiser, Jason Giambi and Lauren Conrad, playing in a poker tournament at Bellagio on Friday. ... Avril Lavigne, having the words "Abbey Dawn" tattooed on her left bicep during a visit last week at Mario Barth's Starlight Tattoo at Mandalay Bay. She got the nickname from her father when she was a child. She launched her Abbey Dawn clothing line in 2008. ... Oakland Raiders quarterback Brad Gradkowski, with friends at Moon Nightclub (Palms) on Friday.

Kohli and Rohit help India recover

Virat Kohli anchored the chase with a composed knock and Rohit Sharma injected the momentum with an attacking innings as India reached 122 for 2 by the half-way mark in the chase in Bulawayo.

Nearly all the Indian batsmen, barring Sharma, who had moments of rash impetuousness, eschewed flamboyance for a risk-free approach. They had, it seems, learned from the way Sri Lanka tackled the conditions: start slow, build partnerships, and reserve attack for the latter part of the innings. If Sri Lanka had Tillakaratne Dilshan and Angelo Mathews who took control, India had Kohli and Sharma to take on that responsibility. Especially Kohli.

There was just one shot in anger when Kohli put away a short googly from Ajantha Mendis to midwicket boundary. For the main part, he dealt in nudged singles as he used his wrists to ping the vacant spaces. He used the width of the crease well, going either fully back or leaning forward, to tackle the different lengths.

Unlike Kohli, Rohit took more risks. Some appeared needless. He rushed down the track for a slog against Thissara Perera, nearly hit Ajantha Mendis for a catch to long-on and drove Suraj Randiv uppishly on a few occasions. However, he survived those iffy moments to settle down to play a few, typically, stylish hits. Two stood out for their skill and beauty: He sashayed down the track and lifted Randiv inside-out over covers. He then flicked Perera from just outside off stump wide of mid-on for a gorgeous boundary.

Sri Lanka had three main attacking options today: Nuwan Kulasekara, Randiv and Mendis. Kulasekara used the new ball expertly, causing problems with his incutters; Mendis was introduced within Powerplays; and Randiv came just after the restrictions were removed. And just as the half-way mark approached, they introduced Perera who impressed with his bouncing leg cutters.

Kulasekara trapped M Vijay lbw with an incutter, though the snickometer showed that there was a thin inside edge, and Mendis, introduced in the ninth over, struck in his first over as Dinesh Karthik picked the googly but pulled it straight to midwicket. It was 47 for 2 at that stage and Sharma looked slightly shaky in the initial stages but settled down and, along with Kohli, pushed India to a solid position.

Japanese spikers reign supreme, Malaysia last

PETALING JAYA: Japan reigned supreme in the Eighth Asian Youth (Under-18) girls’ volleyball championship after beating China 3-0 in the final at the KL Badminton Stadium in Cheras yesterday.

Japan, undefeated throughout the championship, won 25-21, 25-20, 25-14.

Thailand finished third after seeing off South Korea 3-1 (25-13, 26-24, 21-25, 25-17) in the third-fourth placing playoff match.

Thailand will join China and Japan for the World Youth Under-18 Championship in Turkey next year.

Five NBA Teams Crazy Enough To Take a Shot

Those four words may be very key to a handful of NBA general managers and coaches who are searching for a missing piece down low.

What teams, exactly, will even be considering such a notion?

Would any team be crazy enough to take a shot at signing the big guy next season?

Let’s break it down to five squads that truly need help in the paint and under the glass—and how Shaq’s presence can make a positive impact on the team.

Where Shaquille O’Neal will actually land in 2010-11 is anyone’s guess; and for all we know, he could be on the verge of retirement.

Regardless, let’s take a look at who might hook the 7’1” center—carrying with him 17 years of NBA experience.

Anelka finally gets his chance to play in a World Cup

TIGNES (France): France striker Nicolas Anelka has no intention of letting his chance to finally shine at the World Cup slip after not getting selected for the last three Finals.

Anelka has long been an enigmatic player for France, scoring twice in a stunning performance against England way back in 1999, but then refused to play under former coach Jacques Santini and spent three years out of the national team until Raymond Domenech called him back up nearly five years ago.

Nicolas Anelka Now firmly part of Domenech’s plans, Anelka is in contention for a starting place in South Africa where he thinks France can repeat their victory from 1998.

“It’s a very big competition for any player, I have never taken part in it before and I am very happy to get the chance,” the Chelsea striker said on Tuesday. “There’s no point playing just for the sake of it. We will only be happy if we’ve played well and if we’ve won it. Why not?”

France scraped through to the World Cup after knocking out Ireland in a tense playoff, but Anelka is confident the French can improve significantly.

“We think we can win it and we have the players to do so,” the 31-year-old Anelka said. “We have been working well physically and tactically and we can’t wait to see what it brings out on the field.”

Having won two English League and Cup doubles, with Chelsea this season and with Arsenal 12 years ago, the Premier League’s Golden Boot in the 2008-09 season, the European Championship with France and the Champions League with Real Madrid in 2000, Anelka’s last-remaining ambition is to be a World Cup star.

He was overlooked by Aime Jacquet in 1998 because the coach thought he was too young.

Anelka won Euro 2000 under coach Roger Lemerre, who subsequently did not pick him for the 2002 World Cup because he took Djibril Cisse, Thierry Henry, and David Trezeguet – the top scorers from the French, English and Italian Leagues.

Domenech’s decision to snub Anelka in 2006 was more surprising because he had recalled him from his international exile in November 2005. But even when Cisse broke his leg on the eve of the World Cup, Domenech called up Sidney Govou.

Ironically, it was precisely because Anelka did not want to be a replacement for the injured Govou for a friendly against Yugoslavia in Novem­ber 2002 that he had turned his back on Santini’s team.

Anelka then told Paris Match magazine that he would only return if Santini got on his knees and begged.

But Anelka’s unselfish attitude for Chelsea this season has won him many admirers, and his reputation has greatly improved since the days English fans mockingly nicknamed him Le Sulk for his surly attitude.

His abrupt nature has made him few friends in a topsy-turvy career, but Anelka always speaks his mind. He even criticised Domenech’s lack of tactical awareness when France lost 2-0 to European champions Spain in March.