` spain's bUl-rUnning fiesta `

Bull running fiesta is one of the famous festivals in Spain. It is the highest profile event of the San Fermin festival, which is held every year from July 7–14 in Pamplona. Every day it begins at 8am, On 7th July the first bull runs followed by one on each of the following mornings of the festival. The participants must be 18 years old, run in the same direction as the bulls, not irritate the bulls, and not be under the influence of alcohol.

Former IPL boss Modi loses court battle

MUMBAI: Suspended Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi was dealt a fresh blow Thursday after a court dismissed his plea to stay disciplinary proceedings initiated against him by India's cricket board.

The Bombay High Court also rejected Modi's demand that a three-member panel set up by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to probe a raft of allegations against him be reconstituted.

He has accused the current members -- lawyer and politician Arun Jaitley, businessman Chirayu Amin and junior federal minister Jyotiraditya Scindia -- of being biased against him.

The court's order means Modi, 46, will have to appear before the panel here on Friday to answer allegations of corruption, indiscipline and money-laundering in the hugely successful Twenty20 league.

Modi's lawyer Mehmood Abdi, however, said his client was out of the country and the next step would be decided after receiving the court's order.

"It is not a setback," Abdi told reporters outside the court. "The certified copy of the order will be with us by the end of day or early tomorrow morning and only then we will be able to plan our next step.

"I cannot comment on our strategy and further plan at the moment. Give us time to think about the next step we have to take."

BCCI chief-executive Ratnakar Shetty welcomed the court order.

Shahid Afridi to retire from Tests

July 16, 2010

	Shahid Afridi's decision to retire came soon after Pakistan lost at Lord's © AFP

Shahid Afridi made the decision that seemed inevitable from the day he took over as Test captain, by announcing his Test retirement immediately after leading his side to a 150-run loss against Australia at Lord's.

Afridi has been a reluctant Test player over the years and this Test was his first in four years. A poor personal performance, capped by a four-ball 2 on the last day - out slogging to deep midwicket - didn't help matters and the second Test against Australia at Headingley, starting on Wednesday, will now be his last. Afridi's participation at Headingley, however, will depend on whether he passes a fitness test for a side strain in the days leading up to the match.

Salman Butt, the vice-captain, is likely to take over the leadership for the England series though that is not set in stone until the PCB makes a final decision. Whoever does take over will be Pakistan's fifth Test captain since the start of 2009.

"I was not very keen to play Test cricket but the board asked me to see how I felt," Afridi told Sky Sports. "My temperament is not good enough for Test cricket and we need a proper batsman or a proper bowler.

"I injured my side in the Asia Cup and I'm still struggling. I can't carry it in Test cricket, where you need to be at full fitness. I'm enjoying one-day and Twenty20 so I'll concentrate on that. It's very difficult playing Tests after four years so it's better to leave this cricket."

Yawar Saeed, Pakistan's manager, confirmed the decision to Cricinfo, though he insisted he wouldn't call it a retirement. "Afridi had a side strain and felt that he shouldn't keep a specialist out of the side. Temperamentally he feels not comfortable with the format so Leeds will be his last Test," Saeed said.

Saeed said that Butt is likely to take over, but that any decision would have to be made in consultation with the board. Ijaz Butt, chairman PCB, is in England currently. "Salman Butt was appointed vice-captain for the tour and he will take over unless the PCB meets and decides otherwise. But as per procedure, he will take over," Saeed said.

The development will bring into sharp focus the PCB's decision to appoint Afridi as Test captain in the first place. He had already retired from the format once before, in 2006, only to return, ironically, for the tour to England that summer. He played a couple of Tests before pulling himself out of the format again.

Since his appointment recently, his hesitancy towards the format has surfaced repeatedly. In an interview toThe Wisden Cricketer before the series began, Afridi hinted he might not play Tests for long. "I'm confident I am fine fitness-wise," he said then. "But I came back to Tests because I am doing it for the team only. If I think I am fit to do it, I will continue playing Tests. Otherwise I will not burden the side."

In a more recent interview to Cricinfo, Afridi said, "If down the line I become aware that I am not a good captain, or not a successful one, and the team is unable to make any use of me as a captain, I will not chase it. If I don't have the ability then I will leave it on my own ... I did not ask anyone forcibly to give me the captaincy, nor will I forcibly captain the team. If I am good I will prove it through my performance. If I am not good I will say khuda hafeez [God be with you]. "

Is Tiger Woods finished?

Tiger Woods: Finished? Photo:

Best Opinion: Sports Illustrated, Mercury News, Waggle Room...

As Tiger Woods struggles to regain his stride on the golf course and put his sex scandal behind him, sportswriters are starting to wonder whether his days of dominating the sport are over. Sports Illustrated columnist Joe Posnanski stirred up the debate this week by declaring that . Woods, Posnanski says, is no longer the seemingly immortal king of his sport — he's just a "balding, 34-year-old man fighting his swing, his putter, his confidence, his past and his history." He has "played stunningly mediocre golf this year after taking off a few months to deal with his personal issues," failing even to come close to winning a tournament. Is it time to "write off" Tiger Woods? (

Woods will never dominate golf again: It's not just the time Tiger Woods has lost to injuries and his personal troubles, Time is just catching up to him. At 34, he "already is older than the average major-winner over the past few decades," and very few golfers have continued winning major tournaments into their late 30s. Woods may win a few more, but at this point he's "just another very good player."


It's foolish to count him out so quickly: "2010 is officially a throwaway for Tiger Woods," . But that doesn't mean his game — especially his putting — will be in "disarray" forever. As he chases the legendary Jack Nicklaus' record for the most major victories, Woods has at least five good years left (Nicklaus "stopped really winning majors" at 40). "Woods will have to change" his game and "become more aggressive," but that doesn't mean it's "time to donate [his] career to Goodwill."


Woods may win again, but he's no longer an "unstoppable force": "Too early to stick a fork in him? Maybe," . But Woods is "not swinging the club well," or putting well, and the guys winning championships these days — Louis Oosthuizen, Graeme McDowell, Lucas Glover — are younger than he is. With 14 majors already under his belt, Woods might still break Jack Nicklaus' majors record (18). But he's not the "unstoppable force" he once was.

World Cup 2010: 10 reasons to remember this year's tournament

South Africa's remarkable championship - from the 'instrument of hell' to the prognostications of Paul the octopus

Blowing up a swarm ... Fifa rejected calls for the vuvuzela to be banned. Photograph: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images

1 The vuvuzela

For many 2010 will always be synonymous with the plastic horn. Fifa rejected calls for the horn – described by a South African journalist as "the instrument of hell" – to be banned. The fact that the collective noise sounded like a swarm of mosquitoes did not stop the vuvuzela from being sold in the UK ‑ and even becoming an iPhone app.

2 The Jabulani

Barely a World Cup goes by without criticism of the official ball, but the Jabulani – meaning "be happy" or "rejoice" in Zulu – came in for particular flak. The "roundest ball ever" was criticised by players and coaches alike in the runup to the tournament. A series of high-profile and costly blunders by players, including one from England's Robert Green, meant the condemnation continued, although, as usual, by the end of the tournament the ball had been accepted.

3 Managers on trend

Before the World Cup, Joachim Low was perhaps best known sartorially for his array of skinny scarves. But once the competition began the German coach and his assistant were dazzling in blue knitwear. "I'm not driven by superstition but the coaching staff want me to wear the blue sweater because we always score four goals when I do," he told the Sun. The sweater's luck ran out in the semi final, when Germany were beaten by Spain.

4 North Korea score against Brazil

Not many people backed the Democratic Republic of Korea – team officials refused to acknowledge the name North Korea ‑ against the five-time winners. But after Brazil went 2-0 up, Ji Yun-nam thrashed home a shot with the kind of velocity North Korea usually reserves for test-firing missiles. The Dear Leader would have been less pleased with the team's performance in their next match, which they lost 7-0.

5 Lampard's goal that never was

After England struggled through the qualifiers, the nation found itself in the next round facing the old enemy. England deserved to lose to Germany, but Lampard's shot crossed the line and would have made the score 2-2 at half-time, if the officials had spotted it. The one positive was Sepp Blatter promising Fifa would reopen the discussion on goal-line technology.

6 Ghana's run

The first World Cup to be held in Africa proved a poor one for African teams. South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Algeria failed to get through their groups. Ghana's Black Stars beat the USA in the last 16, earning pan-African enthusiasm along the way. It looked as if the world's second team could become the first African nation to reach the semi-finals, until they met Uruguay …

7 Hand of God mark II

Luis Suarez executed a textbook, point-blank save in the last minute of extra time, preventing Ghana from scoring a winner. The problem was Suarez is a striker. He was red-carded, but his wild celebrations in the tunnel after Asamoah Gyan missed the resulting penalty, and claims afterwards that he had produced "the best save of the tournament", left a bitter taste.

8 Maradona's fifth World Cup

Many were prepared for the Argentina manager to embarrass himself or his country after an iffy qualifying campaign. While some aspects of his coaching style remained unorthodox, for example ending each day's session by forcing some players and coaches to offer up their backsides for the rest of the team to wallop balls at, the team were a revelation until conceding four goals to Germany. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

9 Robbie Earle's fans

When 36 women clad in orange mini dresses were ejected from the Holland v Denmark match for being part of an ambush marketing effort by a Dutch beer company, the incident wasn't a huge story. Then it emerged that the women had apparently all used tickets allocated to ITV pundit Robbie Earle for the use of his friends and family. Earle was sacked. Two of the 36 were arrested, but charges later dropped.

10 Paul the psychic octopus

The Weymouth-born, German-bred octopus correctly guessed the winner in all of Germany's matches. His psychic abilities came at a price however: Argentinian fans threatened to put Paul in a paella. "There are always people who want to eat our octopus," his keeper, Oliver Walenciak, said. "But he is not shy and we are here to protect him as well. He will survive." He picked Spain to win last night.

Best Snap of the world cup final

Fan punched in the face by a security guard as he tried to place a hat on the World Cup!

Spain beat Holland 1-0 to win World Cup

Spain beat Holland 1-0 to win World Cup

Spain beat Holland 1-0 to win World Cup JOHANNESBURG: Spain won the World Cup for the first time on Sunday, Andres Iniesta netting in extra-time to see off Holland 1-0 in Johannesburg and hand the Dutch their third final loss.

With just four minutes of extra-time remaining, substitute Fernando Torres slid over a cross from the left which was partially cleared as far as Cesc Fabregas and his pass found Iniesta lurking in the area.

The Barcelona star promptly set his sights and fired past Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg.

Five minutes earlier, the Dutch were down to 10 men when referee Howard Webb red-carded John Heitinga for a foul on Iniesta.

A niggly game saw a proliferation of yellow cards and missed chances at both ends - most notably in the first period of extra-time when Spanish substitute Fabregas raced onto a pass from Iniesta only to see Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg block his shot.

Then fellow substitute Jesus Navas looked odds on to score but his shot deflected off Giovanni van Bronckhorst and hit the side-netting.

Fifa World Cup Final Spain v Holland

World Cup Final |Spain v Holland

Dhoni gets engaged to Dehradun girl

The team India captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has exchanged engagement rings with Sakshi Singh Rawat in Dehradun on Saturday night.

The engagement ceremony was organized in Bhagirath resort in Dehradun.

Sakshi has done a course in hotel management from Institute of Hotel Management in Aurangabad.

According to our correspondent Jyotsana, who is present in the engagement ceremony of Dhoni, many cricketers of team India attended the ceremony.

` paraguay's most famous fan promised a show !!! `

First Diego Maradona promised to run naked around the streets of Buenos Aires if he led Argentina to glory at the World Cup.

Now Paraguay's most famous fan has vowed to meet the pledge if her country wins the world cup. The lady is none other than Larissa Riquelme a Paraguayan model who has become the most famous fan of her national team recently.

And asked if she would match Maradona's indecent promise, she told Globoesporte: 'Of course, but with my body painted with the colors of Paraguay.'