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North Korea

Midfielder An Yong Hak is looking forward to facing Portugal, Brazil and the Ivory Coast at the 2010 World Cup and has targeted second place.

Group G was immediately named The Group of Death on Friday after the draw in Cape Town and few are giving North Korea, playing in only their second World Cup and their first since 1966, a chance.

An, who was an ever-present in the team’s qualification campaign, knows that it will be tough but is excited about the challenge.

“When I saw Group G, I smiled a bitter smile,” An told Goal.com.

“As I said before, I want to play against the big teams because there are no weak teams in the World Cup. But I'm excited that we will play against Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast. If we don’t play these teams at the World Cup, when can we?”

The 31 year-old agrees that Brazil should top the group but is ready to fight to make it to the second round.

“I think, even Brazil will not have an easy time but they will finish first. Then North Korea will compete with Portugal and Cote d'Ivoire for second place in the group, hopefully.”

“There are so many star players so I can't say just one. Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Robinho, Deco and the Toure brothers.

"I know that playing against such players is not easy task but I will never give up and I will do my best to keep the ball off them.

(source)

The Manor GP team are to be rebranded Virgin Racing ahead of their Formula One debut next season.

The effective confirmation, which has long been an open secret in F1 circles, came on Monday as the FIA announced its entry list for the 2010 World Championship.

An announcement from the team will come on Tuesday when team boss John Booth and Virgin supremo Sir Richard Branson officially reveal their plans.

The FIA's entry list reveals the names of 12 teams, with the name Virgin Racing amongst the newcomers, joining Lotus F1 Racing, Campos Meta 1 and US F1 Team.

The 13th entry remains unresolved, although Sauber are widely expected to be granted a place on the grid following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Monaco on December 11.

Last week, Peter Sauber regained control of the team he founded, four years after selling out to BMW.

The German manufacturer, which announced its withdrawal from the sport in July, reached a deal with Sauber having pulled out of an earlier agreement with Qadbak Investments.

However, the deal will only go through if Sauber is awarded the 13th and last place.

"I am very relieved about that development," said the 66-year-old Swiss. "It would have been a crying shame had one of the best Formula One factories closed down.

"Regarding the slot on the grid, I am very confident we will be given a final confirmation very shortly."

If they are granted the place, Sauber will rejoin at the expense of Toyota, which in turn announced the withdrawal of its team at the end of last season.

Complicated

The situation is complicated by the fact that Toyota withdrew despite having earlier signed up to the sport's latest Concorde Agreement, which in effect committed it to F1 until 2012.

There remains speculation of a potential takeover, yet it is unclear whether a buyer would automatically be granted an entry on the basis of Toyota's prior commitment.

The Formula One Commission are due to discuss the matter in Monaco on Wednesday.

An FIA statement said: "Toyota Motorsport GmbH remains formally bound by the Concorde Agreement to put forward a team for participation, though it has indicated that it will not be in a position to do so.

"An announcement will be made regarding this entry in due course."

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has been named the European Footballer of the Year.

The Argentinean won the Ballon d'Or by a record margin from last year's winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Argentinian won an unprecedented treble last season as the Catalan side won the Champions League, the Liga title and the Copa del Rey.

Messi was the top scorer in last year's Champions League with nine goals, including a goal in the 2-0 final defeat of Manchester United in Rome.

Messi, who tallied 473 of a possible 480 points, largely dominated the voting and won with a record-margin of 240 points. Real Madrid winger Ronaldo had 233 and Xavi had 170.

"Honestly, I knew that I was among the favourites because Barcelona had a fruitful year in 2009," he told France Football magazine.

"But I didn't expect to win with such a margin. The Golden Ball is very important to me.

"All the players who won it were great players, and some great players never won it."

Barca teammates were also recognised with midfielder Xavi taking third place with 170 points while Iniesta was fourth on 149.

In fifth place was Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o, who left Barca to join Inter. He was Barca's other scorer in the 2-0 final win over United.

Votes cast

1. Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona) : 473 points

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Manchester United then Real Madrid) : 233 pts

3. Xavi (Spain, Barcelona) : 170 pts

4. Andres Iniesta (Espagnol, Barcelona): 149 pts

5. Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon, Barcelona then Inter): 75 pts

6. Kaka (Brazil, Milan then Real Madrid): 58 pts

7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden, Inter then Barcelona): 50 pts

8. Wayne Rooney (England, Manchester United): 35 pts

9. Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast, Chelsea): 33 pts

10. Steven Gerrard (England, Liverpool): 32 pts

11. Fernando Torres (Spain, Liverpool): 22 pts

12. Cesc Fabregas (Spain, Arsenal): 13 pts

13. Edin Dzeko (Bosnia, Wolfsburg): 12 pts

14. Ryan Giggs (Wales, Manchester United): 11 pts

15. Thierry Henry (France, Barcelona): 9 pts

16. Luis Fabiano (Brazil, Sevilla), Nemanja Vidic (Serbia, Manchester United), Iker Casillas (Spain, Real Madrid): 8 pts

19. Diego Forlan (Uruguay, Atletico Madrid): 7 pts

20. Yoann Gourcuff (France, Bordeaux): 6 pts

21. Andrei Arshavin (Russia, Arsenal), Julio Cesar (Brazil, Inter), Frank Lampard (England, Chelsea): 5 pts

24. Maicon (Brazil, Inter Milan): 4 pts

25. Diego (Brazil, Werder Bremen then Juventus): 3 pts

26. David Villa (Spain, Valence), John Terry (England, Chelsea): 2 pts

28. Franck Ribery (France, Bayern Munich), Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast, Barcelona): 1 pt

30. Karim Benzema (France, Lyon then Real Madrid): 0 pt

Previous winners:

1956 - Stanley Matthews, Blackpool

1957 - Alfredo Di Stefano, Real Madrid

1958 - Raymond Kopa, Real Madrid

1959 - Alfredo Di Stefano, Real Madrid

1960 - Luis Suarez, Barcelona

1961 - Omar Sivori, Juventus

1962 - Josef Masopust, Dukla Prague

1963 - Lev Yashin, Dynamo Moscow

1964 - Denis Law, Manchester United

1965 - Eusebio, Benfica

1966 - Bobby Charlton, Manchester United

1967 - Florian Albert, Ferencvaros

1968 - George Best, Manchester United

1969 - Gianni Rivera, Milan

1970 - Gerd Mueller, Bayern Munich

1971 - Johan Cruyff, Ajax

1972 - Franz Beckenbauer, Bayern Munich

1973 - Johan Cruyff, Barcelona

1974 - Johan Cruyff, Barcelona

1975 - Oleg Blokhin, Dynamo Kyiv

1976 - Franz Beckenbauer, Bayern Munich

1977 - Allan Simonsen, Borussia Moenchengladbach

1978 - Kevin Keegan, Hamburg

1979 - Kevin Keegan, Hamburg

1980 - Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern Munich

1981 - Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern Munich

1982 - Paolo Rossi, Juventus

1983 - Michel Platini, Juventus

1984 - Michel Platini, Juventus

1985 - Michel Platini, Juventus

1986 - Igor Belanov, Dynamo Kyiv

1987 - Ruud Gullit, Milan

1988 - Marco Van Basten, Milan

1989 - Marco Van Basten, Milan

1990 - Lothar Matthaeus, Inter

1991 - Jean-Pierre Papin, Marseille

1992 - Marco Van Basten, Milan

1993 - Roberto Baggio, Juventus

1994 - Hristo Stoitchkov, Barcelona

1995 - George Weah, Milan

1996 - Matthias Sammer, Borussia Dortmund

1997 - Ronaldo, Inter

1998 - Zinedine Zidane, Juventus

1999 - Rivaldo, Barcelona

2000 - Luis Figo, Real Madrid

2001 - Michael Owen, Liverpool

2002 - Ronaldo, Real Madrid

2003 - Pavel Nedved, Juventus

2004 - Andriy Shevchenko, Milan

2005 - Ronaldinho, Barcelona

2006 - Fabio Cannavaro, Real Madrid

2007 - Kaka, Milan

2008 - Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United

2009 - Lionel Messi, Barcelona

Tiger Woods was injured early Friday when he lost control of his SUV outside his Florida mansion, and a local police chief said Woods' wife used a golf club to smash out the back window to help get him out.

The world's No. 1 golfer was treated and released from a hospital in good condition, his spokesman said. The Florida Highway Patrol said Woods' vehicle hit a fire hydrant and a tree in his neighbor's yard after he pulled out of his driveway at 2:25 a.m.

Windermere police chief Daniel Saylor told The Associated Press that officers found the 33-year-old PGA star lying in the street with his wife, Elin, hovering over him.

"She was frantic, upset," Saylor said in a briefing Friday night. "It was her husband laying on the ground."

She told officers she was in the house when she heard the accident and "came out and broke the back window with a golf club," he said, adding that the front-door windows were not broken and that "the door was probably locked."

"She supposedly got him out and laid him on the ground," he said. "He was in and out of consciousness when my guys got there."

Saylor said Woods had lacerations to his upper and lower lips, and blood in his mouth; officers treated Woods for about 10 minutes until an ambulance arrived. Woods was conscious enough to speak, he said.

"He was mumbling, but didn't say anything coherent," Saylor said.

The Florida Highway Patrol said alcohol was not involved, although the accident remains under investigation and charges could be filed.

Woods was alone in his 2009 Cadillac when he pulled out of his driveway from his mansion at Isleworth, a gated waterfront community just outside Orlando, the patrol said.

Woods' injuries were described as serious in the patrol's report, though his spokesman, Glenn Greenspan, issued a statement that Woods was treated and released.

Left unanswered was where Woods was going at that hour. Greenspan and agent Mark Steinberg said there would be no comment beyond the short statement of the accident posted on Woods' Web site.

Asked at an evening news conference if the couple could have been arguing, Saylor said he had no knowledge of that. The couple, married five years, have two children.

The accident came two days after the National Enquirer published a story alleging that Woods had been seeing a New York night club hostess, and that they recently were together in Melbourne, where Woods competed in the Australian Masters.

The woman, Rachel Uchitel, denied having an affair with Woods when contacted by the AP.

"I resent my reputation is getting completely blasted in the media," she said during a telephone interview late Friday. "Everyone is assuming I came out and said this. This is not a story I have anything to do with."

Uchitel said she was in Melbourne two weeks ago with clients and never saw Woods the entire time she was there.

A representative of the National Enquirer declined comment.

Patrol spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Montes said the accident was being investigated as a "traffic crash."

"We don't believe it is a domestic issue," she said.

Woods, coming off a two-week trip to China and Australia earlier this month, is host of the Chevron World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, Calif., which starts Thursday. He is scheduled to have his press conference Tuesday afternoon at Sherwood Country Club. Steinberg said he did not know if Woods planned to play next week.

The Florida Highway Patrol said tapes of the 911 call won't be released until they can be reviewed, probably Monday at the earliest.

The accident report was not released until nearly 12 hours after Woods was injured. Montes said the accident did not meet the criteria of a serious crash, and the FHP only put out a press release because of inquiries from local media.

Montes said the patrol reports injuries as serious if they require more than minor medical attention. Air bags in the SUV did not deploy.

Two troopers tried to talk to Woods on Friday evening, but his wife said he was sleeping and they agreed to come back Saturday, Montes said.

She said charges could be filed if there was a clear traffic violation, although troopers still do not know what caused Woods' SUV to hit the hydrant and the tree.

Damage to the front of Woods' SUV was described as "medium" by Saylor.

"Not real extensive, but not real light," he said.

Woods rarely faces such private scrutiny, even as perhaps the most famous active athlete in the world.

He usually makes news only because of what he can do with a golf club. Few other athletes have managed to keep their private lives so guarded, or have a circle of friends so airtight when it comes to life off the course.

His wife was awarded a $183,250 settlement and an apology from an Irish magazine that published a fake nude photo of her, and Woods received a $1.6 million settlement in a lawsuit against the builder of his yacht — named Privacy — for using his name and photos of the boat as promotional material.

Woods is approaching $100 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour, and Forbes magazine reported that combined with endorsements, appearance fees and golf course design, he has become the first athlete to top $1 billion.

Woods' $2.4 million home is part of an exclusive subdivision near Orlando, a community set on an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course and a chain of small lakes. The neighborhood, which is fortified with high brick walls and has its own security force, is home to CEOs and other sports stars such as the NBA's Shaquille O'Neal.

Woods has won 82 times around the world and 14 majors, becoming the first player of black heritage to win a major at the 1997 Masters when he was 21. He attended the Stanford-Cal football game last Saturday, where he tossed the coin at the start of the game and was inducted into Stanford's sports Hall of Fame at halftime.

He won six times this year after missing eight months recovering from reconstructive surgery on his left knee. Even though he failed to win a major, Woods said he considered this a successful year because he did not know how his knee would respond.

(source)

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Basketball star Shaquille O'Neal paid for the funeral of a 5-year-old North Carolina girl after being moved by national news coverage of the case of Shaniya Davis, who police say was kidnapped and killed.

The Cleveland Cavaliers player was touched by the stories he saw and got in touch with the family to see what he could do to help, a spokeswoman for O'Neal said Thursday.

More than 2,000 people attended the girl's funeral Sunday. Her body was found Nov. 16 beside a rural road.

Her mother, Antionette Davis, who had reported the child missing six days earlier, is charged with human trafficking and child abuse involving prostitution. Mario McNeill is charged with murder, rape and kidnapping in the case.

"I was sitting at home watching it on the news and the story brought a tear to my eye," O'Neal told The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper.

Corey Breece, of Rogers and Breece Funeral Home, which handled the service, declined to tell the Fayetteville Observer newspaper how much it cost but added that a child's funeral "averages around $4,500."

A man who answered the phone at the funeral home Thursday told the AP that only the owner could comment and that he was away.

Shaniya Davis' father, Bradley Lockhart, and his family had set up a trust fund in memory of Shaniya to help raise money to pay for the funeral. Lockhart was not available to talk Thursday, said a man who answered the phone at his home.

O'Neal is recovering from a shoulder injury that has sidelined him for six straight games since getting hurt Nov. 12 against Miami.