Lance Armstrong will retire for good after the 2011 season and will do everything in his power to win an eighth Tour de France title in the next two years, the American said on Thursday. The 38-year-old American, who returned to cycling in January after three and a half years in retirement, has set up his new Radioshack team and taken most of his former Astana team-mates with him, except great rival and Tour champion Alberto Contador.
IMAGES from soccer matches played across Europe on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
He also finished the season five goals clear of the next leading scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus.
World soccer great Diego Armando Maradona, who died on Wednesday less than a month after his 60th birthday, was worshipped like a god for his genius with the ball, but his demons almost destroyed him.
This year's Tour de France had been advertised as an exciting battle royale between four great riders yet it panned out as an underwhelming contest as Chris Froome's rivals failed to live up to expectations.
Cristiano Ronaldo was described as a different species and even earned praises
A federal jury has found five people guilty of conspiring to obtain fraudulent work visas for nearly 90 Indian nationals in exchange for at least $20,000 per visa, the US Attorney's Office said.
A stunning left-footed strike by Eugeneson Lyngdoh earned Bengaluru FC a 1-1 draw and a crucial away goal in their AFC Cup first leg semi-final match against defending champions Johor Darul Ta'zim, in Johor Bahru, on Wednesday.
Froome in control as Contador drifts, Van Garderen out of Tour de France.
Tour de France winner Alberto Contador found the time he spent off the road with Astana team mate Lance Armstrong tougher than the race itself, the Spaniard said on Monday. The 26-year-old picked up his second Tour title in Paris on Sunday, finishing ahead of Luxembourg's Andy Schleck and Armstrong who came third.
Alberto Contador emerged as the new cycling boss on Sunday when the Spaniard wrapped up his second Tour de France title on the Champs-Elysees on Lance Armstrong's return to the race. Seven-times champion Armstrong, back from 3-1/2 years in retirement, finished third overall 5:24 off the pace.
Lance Armstrong promised on Tuesday not to try to overhaul his Astana team mate Alberto Contador as overall race leader but still allowed himself to dream of an eighth Tour de France victory. The 37-year-old American, back in the saddle after three-and-a-half years in retirement, is second overall, one minute 37 seconds behind the Spaniard after the 16th stage.
France will look to boss the midfield in a bid to limit supply to the lethal 31-year-old, who has struggled to impose himself in the tournament.
Lionel Messi was back in scoring business for Barcelona on Sunday, leading them to a resounding 4-0 win at home against Villarreal in a near-perfect La Liga opener for the Catalans under new coach Ronald Koeman.
European champions Spain beat Belgium 2-1 while England overcame Belarus 3-1 to maintain their undefeated record in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
Barcelona's eight-game winning run was halted following a 2-2 draw with Valencia, Atletico Madrid lost 1-0 at Real Betis and a resurgent Real Madrid secured their fourth win in a row by beating Alaves 3-0.
Boualem Khoukhi's early strike and an eighth goal of the tournament from striker Almoez Ali gave Qatar a 2-0 halftime lead with Hassan Al-Haydos and Hamid Ismail completing the rout in the last 10 minutes.
List of major transfers in the top Premier League ahead of the 2019-20 season (all transfer fees as reported by British media):
In the men's draw, Belgian Xavier Malisse has pulled out, also with a wrist injury, while Spaniard Alberto Martin has ruled himself out because of an elbow injury.
Roger Federer erased miserable memories by gliding into the second round of the French Open with a clinical 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Spaniard Alberto Martin on Monday.
'Every strongman leader is faced with the same opportunity: Harness the increased societal panic to amass more power,' warns Mihir S Sharma.
Two goals by Alberto Gilardino helped Fiorentina to a 4-1 win over 10-man AS Roma in Serie A on Saturday.
The best and the worse styles...
Seven-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was full of praise for his new Astana team mate Alberto Contador on Thursday.
Raja Sen analyses the contenders for the Best Director category at the Oscars.
Arsenal's future looks to be in safe hands after a largely teenage side produced a sparkling display to thrash Championship (second division) Sheffield United 6-0 in the third round of the League Cup on Tuesday. Manchester United needed two late goals to beat 10-man Middlesbrough 3-1.
A brace from Jorge Ortiz helped FC Goa script a 3-0 win over Jamshedpur FC in an Indian Super League match at the Fatorda Stadium, in Margao, on Thursday.
Alberto Contador proved time was on his side when he outclassed seven times champion Lance Armstrong and the rest of the peloton to seize the Tour de France lead in the Alps on Sunday. The Spaniard surged ruthlessly with six kilometres left in the 207.5-km 15th stage to the Swiss ski resort of Verbier to collect the stage laurels and his first yellow jersey since his 2007 victory in Paris.
Bengaluru FC will begin their I-League title defence against Shillong Lajong at home at Kanteerava Stadium in the inaugural game of the new season on January 7.
ASEAN's dialogue partners are -- Australia, China, the EU, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the US.
Atletico Madrid cruised to a 3-0 home win over Real Sociedad on Tuesday to close the gap behind La Liga leaders Barcelona to five points.
The comic book legend has been hit with allegations of groping and more by multiple women.
Inter Milan produced a masterclass of attacking play when they moved to the top of Serie A with a 3-1 win at Torino on Sunday.
Barcelona dropped their first points of the La Liga season as their star-studded forward line misfired in a 0-0 draw away to Malaga on Wednesday.
Argentina named David Nalbandian and teenager Juan Martin del Potro to play in the singles in their Davis Cup world group semi-final against Russia.
India will get active cooperation of the Portuguese for development of the game at grassroots level.
Britain's Andy Murray has his best chance of winning the French Open this year, according to American great John McEnroe.
Olympique de Marseille were the fall guys on a hectic opening night of Europa League group stage action as German club Eintracht Frankfurt returned from the south of France with a surprise 2-1 victory on Thursday.
Veteran Indian star Mahesh Bhupathi and Julian Knowle defeated Leonardo Mayer and Alberto Ramos to move into the second round of the men's doubles at Wimbledon on Wednesday. The eighth seeded Indo-Austrian pair scored a 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2 win.
