Diego Maradona Linked to Iran Coaching Position

Filed under: Argentina

The future of Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona's coaching career has been juicy water cooler gossip in recent months, with the 50-year-old throwing his name in the ring for seemingly every high-profile opening, from Aston Villa in August to Boca Juniors just last week.

If you're to trust the motions of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's noggin, however, Maradona just might end up plying his trade in the Middle East.

The headline, "President Ahmadinejad: Maradona might be head coach of the national team," was plastered on the front page of Iranian daily Ebtekar on Monday after Ahmadinejad nodded in response to a question about Maradona becoming Iran's new coach, according to a Reuters report.

Ahmadinejad was present at a ceremony honoring medalists from the recent Asian Games in China when he was prodded about Maradona.

An admirer of Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, Maradona likened Ahmadinejad to the two controversial politicians in 2007 when he sent an autographed shirt to Iran.

"I've already met Fidel and Chavez ... now I need to meet your president. I'd like to meet Ahmadinejad," he said at the time, according to Reuters.


Maradona with Castro (left) in 2005 and Chavez (right) in 2010

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Iran has qualified for three World Cups: 1978, 1998 and 2006.

A polarizing figure with an image marred by drug use and public outbursts, the 50-year-old Maradona has been actively pursuing coaching vacancies since guiding his native Argentina to the quarterfinals of this past summer's World Cup in South Africa. The Argentine Football Federation declined to renew his contract after the tournament.

He is widely considered one of the greatest players of all-time, having captained Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title.

 

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Source: http://soccer.fanhouse.com/2010/12/06/diego-maradona-linked-to-iran-coaching-position/

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Kyle Busch Wins Nationwide Race, Danica Patrick Leads Lap, Finishes 19th

by Bob Zeller

Filed under: Nationwide Series, NASCAR

As Kyle Busch motored to a comfortable victory in the Nationwide season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway Saturday, Danica Patrick led her first lap in NASCAR racing before settling for a 19th-place finish, nonetheless her best ever in the series.

Busch dominated the event before winning by about a second over Kevin Harvick. Series champion Brad Keselowski was third, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Trevor Bayne.

It was Busch's record-settiing 13th victory in the Nationwide series this year, and it clinched the owner's championship for Joe Gibbs Racing, even though Keselowski won the driver's title. Busch did not run in every race this year and thus did not compete for the driver's title.

"That says it all right there, boys!" Busch shouted on his radio as he took the checkered flag. "You guys are the stuff. I can't do it without you guys. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

"This is fun," he added while still circling the track. "This is what it is all about. I wish I had something for tomorrow, but we'll play with teammates tomorrow and try to get them one."

Kyle Busch Wins Nationwide Race, Danica Patrick Leads Lap, Finishes 19th originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 19:27:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Source: http://nascar.fanhouse.com/2010/11/20/kyle-busch-wins-nationwide-race-danica-patrick-leads-lap-finis/

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Flames Seek Elusive Win Streak

Filed under: Flames, Lightning, Western

With the holiday season upon us, let's hope the Calgary Flames have more success stringing up Christmas lights than they have had stringing wins together.

The struggling Flames, who are treading water in the Western Conference cellar with an 11-14-2 record, haven't posted consecutive wins since Oct. 24-26 - that's six weeks! - which is a suicidal rate.

"Unfortunately, we've had a hard time, to say the least, to get those back-to-back wins,'' said Flames captain Jarome Iginla. "But now we stay with it. We have to stay positive and work through this. Teams go through tough stretches, but if we can find ways to get back to .500 ...

"We need to put two wins together, first of all, and now we need the first one again.''

 

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Source: http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2010/12/07/flames-seek-elusive-win-streak/

Julie Benz Julie Berry K. D. Aubert

Sharks Show Resilience Despite Tough Start Against Flyers

Filed under: Flyers, Sharks

It hasn't been a normal year so far for the San Jose Sharks. Each of the last four seasons they have finished the year with at least 105 points and 49 wins. This year, the Sharks aren't on pace for one of their "usual" finishes, but with 30 points in 26 games are on pace for 94 points. To add to that, the Western Conference is as tight as can be with only nine points separating the second-place team from the worst. Wednesday night, the Sharks showed why their regular-season experience from the last few years still makes them a very tough team to beat in the Western Conference.

Traveling cross-country in the middle of December against a very tough Philadelphia Flyers team, this was the easiest game in the book in which to roll over or take a night off. This is the time in the season that separates the tough teams from the soft ones and the Sharks were in the middle of an East Coast road trip. Make no mistake, the Sharks made a lot of noise in the hockey world tonight in a nationally televised game on Versus -- and not just because of a disallowed Flyers goal.

Down 4-1 early in the third period with a trip to Buffalo later that night, it would have been easy for the Sharks to give up. You could argue the deficit should have only been 4-2, as the Sharks had a second-period goal disallowed for "a distinct kicking motion" that was a very tough call that could have gone either way. Packing it in and starting to think about a struggling Sabres team on Thursday night seems like an option a lot of teams or players might have taken.

 

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Source: http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2010/12/09/sharks-show-resilience-despite-tough-start-against-flyers/

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Join Us: Live Ford 400 Race Chat

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR Live Blogging, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

NASCAR's 36-race season culminates today at Homestead-Miami Speedway when Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick battle to take home the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

It's bound to be a thrilling finish of NASCAR's closest points battle in the Chase for the Championship era.

Join the FanHouse team as we keep you updated live on the race's progress. Don't miss out at 1 p.m./ET.

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/11/21/join-us-live-ford-400-chat-at-1-p-m-et/

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Roger Clemens Trial Delayed Until July

WASHINGTON -- Roger Clemens' trial on perjury charges related to his denials in front of Congress that he used performance-enhancing drugs won't begin until July, a U.S. District Court judge ruled in a hearing on Wednesday.

"Wonderful," was the only word the seven-time Cy Young Award winner uttered as he hopped into a waiting SUV to escape the frigid temperatures and the dozen media members. Clemens' attorneys minutes earlier secured a delay of his trial -- originally set to begin in April -- so they could sift through the thousands of pages of evidence turned over by prosecutors.

"The government has had this evidence for two and a half years," Rusty Hardin, one of Clemens' attorneys, said as he lobbied for a September start date. "We need (more) time. We haven't yet retained any expert witnesses."

Those experts could those well versed in the examination of medical evidence, the existence of which was reference again during the 30-minute-long hearing. Those items could include the syringes and vials Clemens' former friend and personal trainer Brian McNamee turned over to federal authorities.

Jury selection is now set to begin on July 6. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Durham said in court that his side of the case could last as long as four weeks and Hardin said the defense could take up to two weeks.

 

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Source: http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/12/08/roger-clemens-trial-delayed-until-july/

Kelly Ripa Kelly Rowland Kerry Suseck