LYON, France: France rubber-stamped their Davis Cup final place in style by completing an emphatic 5-0 victory over Argentina in their semi-final here on Sunday.

Leading 4-0 after Gilles Simon's 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 defeat of Eduardo Schwank earlier in the day, France secured the whitewash when Arnaud Clement beat Horacio Zeballos 7-5, 6-1 in the final singles rubber.

It was France's second straight 5-0 win in the competition, following a quarter-final demolition of defending champions Spain.

They also defeated Germany 4-1 in the first round.

France will face either Serbia or the Czech Republic, who meet in Belgrade this weekend, in the Davis Cup final on December 3-5.

Sunday's two singles matches were rendered dead rubbers by the straight sets victory of Clement and Michael Llodra against Schwank and Zeballos in Saturday's doubles match, which gave France an unassailable 3-0 lead.
...

http://d.yimg.com/hb/ng/co/afp/20100908/04/982373543-argentina-edge-brazil-in-south-american-thri ller.jpg?x=213&y=302&sig=3J1lf6VXAbZKcfRSUtl46A--



Argentina held on through 13 lead changes and 11 tied scores to beat Brazil 93-89 here Tuesday to set up a date with Lithuania in the world basketball championships quarter finals. Brazil and Argentina were inseparable through the opening quarter with no team leading by more than four points. It was fitting that the quarter ended with scores tied at 25, which also made it one of the highest scoring opening quarters in the tournament to date.
Argentina were able to claim a slight advantage in the second quarter, leading by as much as points but Brazil kept coming back with Marcelo Huertas scoring his sides' last six points of the half to give them a 48-46 half-time lead.
Huertas led all scoring in the first half with 18 points while the tournament's leading scorer Houston Rockets' Luis Scola was the best of the Argentineans with 15 points.
...

British ski cross racer Peter Whelan got his season off to a great start with a win in a race in South America.

Whelan was competing at Chapelco in Argentina alongside a number of Winter Olympic racers. The 21-year-old finished first and second in two South America Cup races, the level below World Cup standard. He said: It was an amazing day and a good start for the 2011 season beating Davey Barr .

Ski cross made its Winter Olympic debut at the 2010 Games and was an instant hit as Switzerland's Michael Schmid and Canadian home favourite Ashleigh McIvor took gold. Whelan who only broke into the British ski cross team in January added: The results have given me confidence for the upcoming World Cup season. His British team-mate Emily Sarsfield also had a fine start, registering a third and fourth place. She just missed out on a Winter Olympic call-up for Vancouver after battling back from...

Luis Scola, weeks removed from agreeing to a fat
contract with the Houston Rockets, has received
clearance to play for the Argentine national
team this summer at the 2010 FIBA World
Championship. He has also received clearance
to look dreamily toward the East on the
Argentina national team's website.

The Argentines will still miss the team's
longtime talisman, Manu Ginobili. But
Andres Nocioni, Argentina's presumptive
starting small forward, told Olé he
expects Milwaukee Bucks wing Carlos Delfino
to fill in admirably and make fans forget about Manu.

That's impossible, though it's worth noting
Delfino isn't just good at the NBA, but
he's had a good international career as well.
He's not nearly the ball-handler Ginobili
has been at all levels, but Delfino's smart
...

http://viprasys.org/xfs/index.php/image/direct/Bw6N93HMks/7-26-2010-33167-l.gif
Diego Maradona's future as Argentina coach is set to be decided on Tuesday.

The 49-year-old met with Argentine Football Association president Julio Grondona on Monday for over two hours.

AFA spokesman Ernesto Cherquis Bialo said: They analysed the current state of the team and his future. A decision will be taken on Tuesday.

I can't say if an agreement was reached. The president has drafted a report and will present it to the AFA executive committee on Tuesday.

He added that the meeting would be held at 1930 local time (2330 BST).
Maradona said on Sunday that he wants to continue as Argentina coach - but only if he can keep his entire backroom staff.

While Grondona had said he hopes a new four-year deal can be agreed, he has also criticised one of Maradona's assistants, former Argentina defender Oscar Ruggeri.

And Maradona insisted in an interview with El Show del Futbol on America TV: If they touch a hair of...

It will be a case of deja vu for the Argentinians as they will face the same team that eliminated them from the 2006 World Cup, Germany.
Last time, the Germans eliminated Argentina in a penalty shootout. Going into Saturday’s matchup, Argentina is listed as a -111 favorite while the Germans are +195 underdogs.

Germany and Argentina have met a number of times in past World Cups, sometimes in the championship game.

Argentina took the 1986 World Cup in a 3-2 win over Germany and the Germans returned the favor in 1990, beating the Argentinians 1-0.

Both Argentina and Germany cruised through their Round of 16 matchups with the Argentinians beating Mexico 3-1 and the Germans hammering the English 4-1.

The winner takes on the victor of the Paraguay vs. Spain match in the semifinal of South Africa 2010.

We’ll look at the other two matchups in tomorrow’s article.

...

A German fan shows a banner after the World Cup round of 16 match between Germany and England at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa. -Photo by AP

Germany, superior in speed, tactics and skill, tore apart pedestrian rivals England 4-1, while Argentina had to work harder to defeat Mexico 3-1.

The first refereeing blunder came in the opening match when Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda ruled out a Frank Lampard shot that had clearly crossed the goal line and would have put England level 2-2, before Germany took them apart in the second half.

In the Argentina v Mexico match, a first goal from Carlos Tevez looked clearly offside and sparked a brief clash between rival substitutes at half time which was quelled by officials including Argentina coach Diego Maradona.

Argentina made sure of the match when Gonzalo Higuain exploited a defensive error to neatly go round...

Argentina were one of only two nations to qualify from the group stages with a perfect record, but while any errors were previously correctable, the gauntlet of knockout football means that Diego Maradona’s men cannot allow their concentration to waver even for a second. Their first obstacle is Mexico, and sterner challenges will follow should El Tri be successfully negotiated.

Though packing a squad full of highly talented individuals, los Albiceleste have been dismissed in some quarters due the eccentric Maradona. The coach has attracted great attention for his quips and media-friendly soundbites, and this may simply have acted to ease some of the pressure on a team expected to go deep into the competition.

So far the signs have been good. A pedestrian 1-0 success over Nigeria kicked the Argentines off before a strong victory over South Korea in their second game booked a place in the last 16. Top spot in Group B was secured as a team of fringe players defeated Greece 2-0 in their final pool...

CAPE TOWN: In the FIFA World Cup third quarter-final today, Argentina will take on Gerrmany in Cape Town at 1930 hours. The fourth quarter-final between Spain and Paraguay will be played in Johannesburg at Midnight tonight.

On Friday, five-time champions Brazil made a shocking exit losing to the Netherlands 1-2, and Uruguay defeated Ghana 4-2 in a pulsating penalty shoot out.

In the first match in Port Elizabeth, Brazil took a 10th minute lead through Robinho and dominated the first half against a Dutch team which initially looked outclassed. But Felipe Melo scored an unfortunate own goal in the 53rd minute, which was a killer blow for Brazil.

Then Dutch midfielder Sneijder headed home the match-winner in the 68th minute to break the Brazillians’ hearts. Shortly afterwards, Melo was sent off for stamping on Arjen Robben. With the...

Cape Town is the setting for what promises to be a thrilling World Cup quarter-final on Saturday afternoon.

England supporters plotting their side's course through the tournament would have been licking their lips at the prospect of a clash with Diego Maradona's Argentina.

But the Three Lions are now back home following a shambolic campaign that ended with a 4-1 defeat to Germany in Bloemfontein last weekend.

Germany displayed all the verve and vitality in beating England that has transformed them from outsiders to genuine contenders in the minds of many onlookers.

But Joachim Low's men are not the only team to have received plaudits for their attacking style, with Argentina moving impressively into the last eight with four straight wins.

Argentina swept through their group with a perfect record before producing a classy performance to overcome Mexico 3-1.

Both sides benefited from controversial decisions in the last 16, with Carlos Tevez lucky to see his...