TOP 100 SPORT SITES
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| NYRA CEO jockeys to keep 40-day meet next year The New York Racing Association Inc. netted $3 million from an extra four days of horse races at this summer’s meet in Saratoga Springs. feeds.bizjournals.com |
Browns' Jake Delhomme still in walking boot, not cleared to play Jake Delhomme still can't trade his walking boot for cleats. Cleveland's starting quarterback, who injured his right ankle in his Week 1 debut ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Weekly NFL picks from USA TODAY's analysts USA TODAY's NFL analysts make their picks for each week's NFL winners. rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Murray beats Chinese wild card Bai Yan • Scot kicks off Shanghai Masters with 6-2, 6-2 win• World No4 has suffered headaches and tiredness for weeksAndy Murray, uptight and monosyllabic at the start of the week, is as content as he has been for a little while. Not only has he a got a first-up win under his belt in the Shanghai Masters to move within a couple of results of qualifying for the World Tour Finals in London next month, but he has shaken off a virus that threatened to ruin his season.He revealed last night he has endured severe headaches, a sore throat and tiredness for several weeks rather than risk taking an unknown remedy that might cause him to fail a drugs test and wreck his career. Instead, he stuck to non-prescription anti-inflammatory tablets, pain-killers and a lot of vitamin C.The world No4 said he had only just recovered from the unspecified illness that has dogged him since Stanislas Wawrinka embarrassed him in the quarter-finals of the US Open and which seriously restricted his preparation and on-site workouts in Beijing last week."When I started training again," he said, "I got sick again. I had a really bad throat and sore head in Beijing. I felt really tired so I only practised 45 minutes a day. The cardiovascular work you do is very important when you play long rallies against the best players, and that takes some time to get back."But I'd rather be feeling sick for a few more days than risk failing a drugs test. I feel OK now. My throat is fine."Murray – who was similarly inconvenienced last year – played so poorly losing to Ivan Ljubicic in the quarter-finals of the China Open last Friday that his season was in danger of imploding.Today all was well, from head to hands and feet, as he disposed of the promising young Chinese wild card Bai Yan, 6-2, 6-2 in the second round of the penultimate Masters 1000 tournament.Murray served well, hit his ground strokes cleanly and felt comfortable enough to experiment with several drop shots – so much so he murdered one point in the second set by extending the rally when he had Bai at his mercy."I feel pretty relaxed about qualifying for London," he said. "I want to enjoy the last few tournaments of the year now that there's not as much pressure. If I make the quarters, it should be pretty much good enough."Bai, who shocked everyone by beating the experienced Radek Stepanek in the first round, said: "At certain periods, I put pressure on [Murray], but he is very strong. I was a bit slow getting into the game and he won pretty easily in the end. But I learnt a lot. The gap is fairly obvious in terms of physical conditioning and tactics."The Scot was full of praise for Bai. "I was told he'd been out for 18 months with a bad illness and some injuries. I guess he would be inside 400 after this week. I thought he was good. He's only played eight or nine tournaments this year. If he was from the UK, I'm sure we would be very, very excited about him."Murray plays the Frenchman Jérémy Chardy in the last 16 tomorrow and has legitimate ambitions of a semi-final against Rafael Nadal, who got past Wawrinka 6-4, 6-4 without looking totally convincing. The world No1 plays Jürgen Melzer next.Andy Roddick had to retire with a groin strain when a set and a break up against Guillermo GarcÃa-López, and will struggle to make London.Roger Federer, back after a long, post-US Open break, took only 62 minutes to beat John Isner 6-3, 6-4. The Swiss looked as commanding as ever.Andy MurrayTennisKevin Mitchellguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Harrison returns to Steelers after cooling-off day By ALAN ROBINSON 2010-10-21T15:23:03ZPITTSBURGH (AP) -- Linebacker James Harrison has returned to the Pittsburgh Steelers, one day after he threatened to retire because of the NFL's stricter enforcement of dangerous hits.... hosted.ap.org |