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Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo swoops double award
AFP
April 22, 2007
LONDON (AFP) - Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo was on Sunday named the PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of
the Year.
The 22-year-old Portugal winger is the first player to win both awards in the same season since Andy Gray in 1977.
Ronaldo has been in incredible form for United who remain on course for a Premiership, FA Cup and Champions League treble.
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Chelsea striker Didier Drogba was second and Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes third in the senior award.
Manchester United veteran Ryan Giggs, last year's winner Steven Gerrard of Liverpool and 19-year-old Arsenal midfielder
Cesc Fabregas also made ths shortlist.
Ronaldo, who has scored 16 Premiership goals so far this season, said it was a big honour to be singled out by his peers.
"It is a special night. It is amazing and a big honour for me to win trophies like this in the English Premier League.
I am very proud.
"My colleagues have voted for me and that is fantastic because the players know the qualities of players.
"I want to keep working hard and getting better because these trophies have now given me more motivation.
"At this moment, I am consistent. I am more mature now and I am playing better.
"Everything is right this season and I am really enjoying it. I am still young and I am learning more every day."
Fabregas finished runner-up in the young player category as well, with 20-year-old Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon third.
Ronaldo's team-mate Wayne Rooney was also shortlisted, as were Reading striker Kevin Doyle, 23, and 18-year-old defender
Micah Richards of Manchester City.
Manchester United took centre stage with eight of their players making it into the Premier League team of the year and
manager Sir Alex Ferguson being honoured with the PFA Special Merit Award.
Ferguson paid tribute to Ronaldo, who joined United from Sporting Lisbon in August 2003 on a 12.2 million pound deal.
"At this moment in time, I think he is the best player in the world and his season has been incredible," he
said.
Ronaldo wins young player award
First Published: Apr 22, 2007
Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo has completed the first half of an expected double award triumph on Sunday night when
he was named PFA Young Player of the Year.
The 22-year-old Portugal winger, who is also favourite to win the Player of the Year accolade later Sunday, beat off competition
from second-placed Cesc Fabregas of Arsenal and Tottenham's Aaron Lennon, who was third, to claim the honour, voted by the
members of the Professional Footballers' Association, the players union.
Ronaldo has recovered from the controversy of last summer's World Cup to enjoy his best ever season as United battle for
a sensational treble going into the final weeks of the campaign.
Warriors Beat Mavericks Again;Heat Ousted From NBA Playoffs
By Erik Matuszewski and Larry DiTore
April 30 (Bloomberg) -- The Golden State Warriors moved within a victory of eliminating the Dallas Mavericks from the
National Basketball Association playoffs, while the Chicago Bulls completed a four-game sweep of the defending champion Miami
Heat.
Baron Davis scored 33 points last night to lead the Warriors to a 103-99 upset of the Mavericks, who received the top
seed in the NBA playoffs after logging a league-best 67-15 record during the regular season.
Golden State, which was 42-40, now has a three-games-to-one lead in the best-of-seven playoff series. The Warriors could
advance to the second round for the first time since 1991 by winning Game 5 in Dallas tomorrow.
`We can't get overconfident,'' Davis, who added eight rebounds, said in a televised postgame interview. ``We have to go
in there with the same mentality, the hunger, the aggression. I think we can pull it out.''
Ben Gordon scored 24 points yesterday as the Bulls beat the Heat 92-79 to reach the second round for the first time since
1998, when Michael Jordan was still with the team.
Miami is the first defending NBA champion to get eliminated in the opening round since San Antonio in 2000.
In last night's other NBA playoffs, the Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 113-100 and the New Jersey Nets beat
the Toronto Raptors 102-81. The Suns and Nets hold 3-1 leads in those series.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will today try to complete a sweep in Washington, while the Denver Nuggets host the Spurs and
the Utah Jazz visit the Houston Rockets. The Spurs and Jazz hold 2-1 series leads.
Eighth Seed
The Warriors will try to become the first eighth-seeded team to eliminate a No. 1 seed after closing their win over the
Mavericks with a 22-11 run.
Jason Richardson scored 22 points for the Warriors, while Stephen Jackson had 19 and Mickael Pietrus added 16.
Jerry Stackhouse had 24 points to lead the Mavericks, who lost to the Heat in last year's NBA Finals. Dirk Nowitzki added
23 points and 15 rebounds, while Josh Howard had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Jason Terry scored 19 points.
In Miami, the Heat became the first defending champions to get swept out of the playoffs since the 1957 Philadelphia Warriors.
The Bulls advanced to a second-round meeting with the Detroit Pistons.
Luol Deng had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls, the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, while Ben Wallace added
13 points and 11 rebounds.
Dwyane Wade led the fourth-seeded Heat with 24 points, while Shaquille O'Neal added 16 and Alonzo Mourning had 14.
Nash's Assists
In Los Angeles, Amare Stoudemire had 27 points and 21 rebounds for the Suns, and Steve Nash added 23 assists, one short
of the NBA playoff record shared by Magic Johnson and John Stockton.
Phoenix, the second seed in the West, turned a nine-point halftime lead into a 20-point advantage with 5:25 to go in the
fourth quarter. Nash had 17 points and Leandro Barbosa added 16 for the Suns, who will host Game 5 on May 2.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 31 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. He had only three points in the fourth quarter.
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, the Nets jumped out to a 17- point lead after one quarter and eased to a second straight
home victory. Vince Carter led the sixth-seeded Nets with 27 points, Richard Jefferson added 23 and Jason Kidd had 17 points,
13 assists and eight rebounds.
Andrea Bargnani scored 16 points, while Chris Bosh and T.J. Ford each had 13 for Toronto, which will host Game 5 tomorrow.
To contact the reporters on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net ; Larry DiTore in New
York at lditore@bloomberg.net
Shanahan signs extension with Broncos
DENVER (April 9, 2007) -- Broncos coach Mike Shanahan has signed a three-year contract extension, keeping him in Denver through
the 2011 season.
Shanahan, 54, led Denver to Super Bowl victories in 1997 and 1998. Since becoming head coach
in January 1995, he has led the Broncos to seven playoff appearances and a 123-69 regular season record, best in the NFL over
that span.
Although he's had just one losing season, in 1999, following John Elway's retirement, Shanahan
has just one playoff win in the last eight seasons.
Team owner Pat Bowlen announced the extension in a news release.
After failing to make the playoffs last season, Shanahan has overseen another major roster makeover
this offseason.
The Broncos traded away quarterback Jake Plummer, running back Tatum Bell and offensive lineman George Foster and acquired cornerback Dre' Bly, wide receiver Brandon Stokley, quarterback Patrick Ramsey, running back Travis Henry, tight end Daniel Graham and guard Montrae Holland, among other veterans.
Shanahan's victory total with Denver is 11th-best by one coach with one team in NFL history.
Since he became their coach in 1995, the Broncos have led the NFL in points, total yards and yards rushing.
Shanahan was head coach of the Los Angeles Raiders from 1988-89. He has spent 20 years with
Denver, joining the team in 1984 and also has served as wide receivers coach, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
He ranks third among active coaches with 139 career wins, including eight in the playoffs.
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Ricky Williams applies for reinstatement |
NEW YORK (April 6, 2007) -- Ricky Williams, the former NFL star who played in Canada last season after being suspended for a year for substance
abuse, has applied for reinstatement.
Williams' agent, Leigh Steinberg, said the running back,
who will turn 30 in May, had sent a letter asking that he be allowed to return to the Miami Dolphins.
The NFL confirmed that Williams had sought reinstatement, for which he will be eligible after
April 27, when he will have been suspended for a year. Dolphins spokesman Harvey Greene said the team had no comment because
Williams is not yet eligible for reinstatement.
Williams, a former Heisman Trophy winner at Texas, was originally drafted by New Orleans when
then-coach Mike Ditka gave up all his picks in the 1999 draft to get his rights. He was traded to Miami for two first-round
draft picks after the 2001 season and rushed for 1,853 yards for the Dolphins in 2002 and 1,372 the next season.
But he abruptly retired shortly before training camp in 2004, then returned in 2005 to back
up rookie Ronnie Brown. Williams rushed for 743 yards and a 4.4 yard average that year.
The suspension, handed down last year by former commissioner Paul Tagliabue, was Williams'
fourth.
Williams' previous positive drug tests were for marijuana, which he acknowledged using. The
latest test apparently involved a substance other than marijuana and may have been related to his interest in holistic medicine.
Steinberg said Williams has been teaching yoga in California since returning from Canada last
December.
"He's told me that his interest in eastern philosophy has overcome his desire for mind-altering
substances and has given him another outlet," Steinberg said. "He's in outstanding shape and he hasn't taken a lot of hits
for a running back. I think he's still at the top of his game."
During the 2005 season, Williams laughingly described himself as weird and compared his career
to a roller coaster. But he also dispelled his reputation as an aloof, selfish pothead, winning praise from teammates and
winning the South Florida media's annual postseason Good Guy Award, given to the player most cooperative with reporters.
Williams has gained 7,097 yards in 1,757 carries during his NFL career and rushed for 47 touchdowns.
Last season with Toronto in the CFL, he ran for 526 yards on 109 carries and caught 19 passes
for 127 yards. He missed two months because of a broken arm.
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