ONE-WAY TRAFFIC: There were similar soccer mismatches in Saitama, where Japan humbled Thailand, and in Seoul, where South Korea easily disposed of Turkmenistan
Australia blazed past Qatar 3-0 yesterday in a rip-roaring start for coach Pim Verbeek as they bid to qualify for the World Cup via Asia for the first time.

[ FULL STORY ]

MAKING HEADLINES: The day before scoring a hatful of points in a win over the Celtics, LeBron James entered a `no contest' plea on a charge of speeding in December
LeBron James scored 33 points and barely missed a triple-double as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics 114-113 on Tuesday for the second time in this NBA season.

[ FULL STORY ]

Argentina beat hosts New Zealand 3-1 in a men's Olympic qualifying field hockey match yesterday to remain the only unbeaten team after four rounds at the six-nation tournament.

[ FULL STORY ]

Teemu Selanne gave the Anaheim Ducks' slumping offense a jolt in his first game of the season, leading the Stanley Cup champions to a 3-0 win over the slumping New York Islanders in the NHL on Tuesday.

[ FULL STORY ]

Out of form former French world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo got off to the perfect start in search of a morale-boosting tournament win in Paris on Tuesday with an easy 6-1, 6-2 win over American qualifier Julie Ditty.

[ FULL STORY ]

UNPREDICTABLE: New coach Marc Lieveremont continued to surprise by ringing the changes to a young team that played so assuredly against Scotland
France made six changes to the team that beat Scotland 27-6 at Murrayfield to play Ireland in their second match of the Six Nations championship at the Stade de France on Saturday.

[ FULL STORY ]

England's injury problems worsened on Tuesday when flanker Tom Rees was ruled out of the rest of the Six Nations while wing David Strettle was given only a slight chance of playing again in this year's tournament.

[ FULL STORY ]

India's top tennis star, Sania Mirza, will boycott all tournaments in India this year after a series of off-court controversies, disappointing officials and millions of fans.

[ FULL STORY ]

The cash-strapped Australian Rugby Union (ARU) said it was shocked yesterday at a government decision to scrap funding for a national rugby academy in Queensland state.

[ FULL STORY ]

Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik threatened to sue an Indian family for alleging he married their daughter in a ceremony conducted over the telephone five years ago.

[ FULL STORY ]

While the rest of the world's major teams competed in friendlies yesterday, CONCACAF got its World Cup qualifying under way with a series of first-round matches among the region's smallest countries.

[ FULL STORY ]

Fabio Capello left no doubt about the size of the task facing him as he tries to drag England out of the international wilderness.

[ FULL STORY ]

■ ROWING

[ FULL STORY ]