Robin van Persie fired Arsenal back to the top of the Premier League on Sunday but Liverpool's title credentials took another hit when they were held at home by struggling Tottenham.
Fernando Torres produced a last-minute header to earn Liverpool a 2-2 draw they scarcely deserved, denying embattled Tottenham boss Martin Jol a win.
Robbie Keane scored twice either side of half-time to give Spurs the lead after Andriy Voronin had opened the scoring for Liverpool.
Rafael Benitez's side are now six points adrift of the league leaders and another uninspiring performance at home will have done little to stem growing skepticism about the Spaniard's leadership in the wake of the midweek defeat by Marseille.
In contrast, Arsenal go from strength to strength as Arsene Wenger's side made it 10 wins in a row in all competitions with a 3-2 win over Sunderland.
Salomon Kalou scored Chelsea's first goal in five league outings to secure a 1-0 win at relegation-threatened Bolton, their first in the league since last month's departure of Jose Mourinho.
Avram Grant's new charges remain seven points adrift of Arsenal.
Another two superb goals by Brazilian Elano helped Manchester City to a 3-1 win over Middlesbrough and kept Sven-Goran Eriksson's side in third place.
An own goal by Chris Riggott provided City's other goal with Ben Hutchinson's first goal for Boro coming once the home side were sure of maintaining their 100 percent league record at the City of Manchester Stadium.
Michael Owen came off the bench for Newcastle seven days after undergoing stomach muscle surgery in Germany and marked his return with a goal as the Magpies beat Everton 3-2.
Nicky Butt's opener for Newcastle was canceled out by Andrew Johnson's first goal since February. A superb long-range effort from Emre Belozoglu and Owen's late header then made the points safe before a late own goal by goalkeeper Shay Given.
Blackburn beat Birmingham 2-1 with a first-half goal from David Bentley and a Benni McCarthy penalty. Cameron Jerome pulled one back for Birmingham.
Reading pulled away from the relegation zone by beating bottom side Derby 1-0 thanks to a second-half header from Kevin Doyle.
Two goals in two second-half minutes from Benjani Mwaruwari and Hermann Hreidarsson gave Portsmouth a 2-0 win at Fulham.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping