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Indications are the men’s regular season will go out with a proper bang this week at the Paris Tennis Masters. Today favorites Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin Del Potro and my man Gael Monfils all won rather handily to advance into the third round.

And with Rafael Nadal (who plays Florent Serra Wednesday), Roger Federer (meets Robin Soderling) and Andy Murray (to play Sam Querrey) still to play there’s a lot to look forward to this week in the final stop on the regular tour calendar.

(Read the full post about ‘Roddick, Masked Djokovic Roll in Paris; Federer, Nadal Play Wednesday’…)

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Trinidad & Tobago celebrate their victory. MIDDLESEX MISS OUT ON PAY DAY
Middlesex paid heavily for dropped catches as Trinidad & Tobago were crowned Champions Cup winners at the Stanford Super Series. Shaun Udal’s side were on top when a trio of misses in the field late in Trinidad’s chase of 118 at Coolidge relinquished momentum. It meant that although the English domestic 20-over kings managed to raise the required run rate to nine an over in the second half of the innings, the Caribbean team cruised home in the final over with five wickets intact. Darren Bravo finished things with a straight six off Tyron Henderson as Trinidad won with four balls to spare. (Read the full post about ‘MIDDLESEX MISS OUT ON PAY DAY’…)

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Kurt Gidley - ruled out. GIDLEY MISSES OUT
Australia utility back Kurt Gidley has been ruled out of Sunday’s World Cup pool match against England with a knee injury. Gidley, who was a substitute in the Kangaroos’ 30-6 opening win over New Zealand in Sydney on Sunday, will play no further part in the tournament after scans today revealed he had knocked a small piece of cartilage off the joint surface of his left patella. “It’s a bitterly disappointing way to end the season, especially off the back of our strong performance against the Kiwis on Sunday night,” said Gidley. (Read the full post about ‘GIDLEY MISSES OUT’…)

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West Indies could tour England next year. WINDIES PONDER ENGLAND TOUR
The West Indies Cricket Board are considering an offer to tour England next year. The England and Wales Cricket Board have invited the Windies to play two Test matches and three one-day internationals after scheduled opponents Sri Lanka pulled out as their players were keen to honour individual contracts with the Indian Premier League. WICB chief executive Dr Donald Peters told windiescricket.com: “The WICB has a request to play two Tests and three ODIs in England. “We are examining all possibilities. At this stage it presents some challenges because the West Indies will be hosting a series - including Tests and one-day internationals - against Bangladesh in early May next year. (Read the full post about ‘WINDIES PONDER ENGLAND TOUR’…)

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Arafat - will play for Sussex next season. SUSSEX GIVE YASIR A JOB
Sussex have signed Pakistan fast bowler Yasir Arafat for the 2009 season. It will be the second spell at the club for the 26-year-old who was a pivotal member of the team who won the County Championship and NatWest Trophy double in 2006. Yasir took 41 wickets while filling in for the injured Rana Naved. He spent last season at Kent, where he took 38 first-class wickets in 12 games at an average of 29.07. The Rawalpindi-born player was Kent’s leading wicket-taker in both one-day and Twenty20 cricket, taking 27 wickets at an average of 17.74 runs in the former and 23 at an average of 14.82 in Twenty20. (Read the full post about ‘SUSSEX GIVE YASIR A JOB’…)

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Calderwood - set to replace Smith. SMITH SET TO TURN TO CALDERWOOD
Winger Mark Calderwood is poised for a dramatic call-up for England’s World Cup showdown with Australia in Melbourne. The 27-year-old is the likely replacement for his former Leeds team-mate Lee Smith, who is struggling to recover from a foot injury sustained in England’s opening 32-22 win over Papua New Guinea in Townsville. Coach Tony Smith has not yet ruled out his namesake but he was unable to train with the squad at today’s sessions at Xavier College and hopes have faded. “We’ll see how he is by the end of the week but he’s going to be unlikely,” said Smith. (Read the full post about ‘SMITH SET TO TURN TO CALDERWOOD’…)

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Borthwick - appointed captain. NEW SKIPPER READY TO LEAD ENGLAND
Steve Borthwick is relishing the opportunity to lead England out on home soil after being appointed as captain by new red rose boss Martin Johnson. Borthwick has led England three times before but all away from home - last season’s RBS 6 Nations victory over Italy and the two summer Test defeats by New Zealand. On all three occasions, Borthwick was standing in for Phil Vickery. But Johnson has given the captaincy reins to Borthwick on a permanent basis as England begin to gear up for a demanding autumn international campaign. England’s first appointment is against the Pacific Islands before Australia, South Africa and New Zealand all come to town. (Read the full post about ‘NEW SKIPPER READY TO LEAD ENGLAND’…)

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Andy Murray - ranked number four. LLOYD: MURRAY CAN BE THE BEST
Great Britain Davis Cup captain John Lloyd believes Andy Murray can be the world number one and is “millimetres away” from a grand slam victory. The 21-year-old British number one reached his first grand slam final at the US Open last month and has followed it up with back-to-back trophies at the Madrid Masters and St Petersburg Open. Murray goes into this week’s Paris Masters as the fourth best player in the world - but Lloyd believes he can overtake Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. “Andy is already a great player and now he has a chance to be the one - the number one,” Lloyd told the Guardian. (Read the full post about ‘LLOYD: MURRAY CAN BE THE BEST’…)

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CIS W field hockey championship: seeding & schedule announced

OTTAWA (CIS) – The reigning national champion University of Toronto Varsity Blues have been established tournament favourites for the 2008 Canadian Interuniversity Sport women’s field hockey championship set to get under way on Thursday, in Victoria.

Championship web site: www.cisport.ca/e/championships/w_fieldhockey/2008

The Varsity Blues ended an 11-year gold-medal drought a year ago when they captured their 10th McCrae Cup on home turf, tying them with the Victoria Vikes for second most titles in history, one behind the UBC Thunderbirds.

(Read the full post about ‘CIS W field hockey championship: seeding & schedule announced’…)

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Collins - threw for 193 yards. WHITE STARS FOR TITANS
LenDale White scored two touchdowns and Rob Bironas kicked three field goals as the Tennessee Titans continued their unbeaten start with a 31-21 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday. Kerry Collins was efficient, throwing for 193 yards on 24-of-37 passing for the Titans (7-0), who used ball control and their stingy defense to extend the best start in the organisation’s history. Tennessee took advantage of a good kick-off return and scored on the game’s first possession, taking a 3-0 lead on Bironas’ 34-yard field goal with 9:43 left in the first quarter. (Read the full post about ‘WHITE STARS FOR TITANS’…)

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