MAGICAL MAGYARS: Hungary scored three in 15 minutes to defeat Italy on a night when Argentina, the Netherlands and England were also beaten
World champions Italy were upset by Hungary in a soccer friendly, joining Argentina, the Netherlands and England in defeat on Wednesday.

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England manager Steve McClaren said he would take his time to reflect on goalkeeper Paul Robinson's error before deciding whether to drop him.

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LOPSIDED LOSS: Texas' Marlon Byrd and Travis Metcalf both hit grand slams as the Rangers dealt Baltimore the worst defeat since Chicago beat Louisville 36-7 in 1897
The Texas Rangers became the first team in 110 years to score 30 runs in a game, setting an American League record in a 30-3 rout of Baltimore on Wednesday.

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AMERICAS BASKETBALL: Mexico downed Puerto Rico 100-89, Uruguay overcame Panama 88-84 in overtime, and Brazil held off Canada 75-67
Carmelo Anthony scored 17 points, Kobe Bryant added 14, and the US rolled to a 112-69 victory over Venezuela on Wednesday in its opening game of the Americas basketball championship.

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Top seeds Nikolay Davydenko and Svetlana Kuznetsova survived scares at the Pilot Pen and Lindsay Davenport returned to the court on Wednesday after taking almost a year off to have a child.

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The head of the Japan Sumo Association said yesterday he was open to letting mentally troubled grand champion Asashoryu return home to Mongolia to recuperate.

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ANGRY TIRADE: It is the decision not to allow Gabriel Heinze to leave Manchester United, stopping Liverpool buying the defender, that has upset Rafael Benitez most
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez launched an astonishing attack on the English Premier League on Wednesday, laying into the organization in a wide-ranging blast.

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Real Madrid and Barcelona have been busy buying up talent from abroad this summer spending more than 130 million euros (US$176 million) between them as they prepare to do battle for the Spanish championship.

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Pakistan's new coach Geoff Lawson wants his side to become the best team in the world despite their ignominious exit from cricket's World Cup earlier this year.

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Australian spin legend Shane Warne would be a welcome guest of Germany's cricket team whether or not he decides to apply for a German passport, says the national side's coach.

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On the defensive at home and in society, teenage girls are nonetheless pressing forward on the soccer pitch in the impoverished, mainly Muslim Central Asian state of Tajikistan.

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Half-centuries from Graeme Smith, Gulam Bodi and AB de Villiers steered South Africa to a five-wicket victory with 19 balls to spare in the first one day international against Zimbabwe at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Wednesday.

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■ OLYMPICS
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