Muhammad Ali writes letter to people of Norway

OSLO — Legendary boxer Muhammed Ali has spoken of his devastation over the deadly attacks in Norway on July 22, in an open letter published Tuesday, rejecting the fears of multiculturalism that lay behind the massacre.

"I am heartbroken, not only due to the senseless deaths of so many innocent victims, including many young people, but also because of the alleged reasoning behind these heinous acts," the American sporting icon wrote in a letter published by the VG daily.

"Fears of multiculturalism demonstrate a lack of understanding of the commonality that exists among people across ethnic, racial and religious lines," added the former three-time world heavyweight champion.

Muhammad Ali, now 69 and suffering from Parkinson's disease, is himself a convert to Islam, the religion reviled by Anders Behring Breivik, who has confessed to carrying out the attacks which he called part of a "crusade" against a "Muslim invasion" of Europe.

The man who confessed to carrying out the massacre, Anders Behring Breivik, has said the attacks were part of a plan to start a cultural revolution and purge Europe of Muslims while also punishing politicians who have embraced multiculturalism.

Ali, a Muslim, said those who commit unspeakable acts in the name of race and religion "fail to understand that we share far more with our fellow beings than those aspects that set us apart."

He went on to say that the best way to honor the victims in Norway is to reach out and embrace others in a celebration of common human values and aspirations.

"The collective power of such individual proactive acts can have a tremendous aggregate impact and provide a lasting honor to those who are no longer able to take such action themselves," Ali wrote.

Ali's spokesman, Craig Bankey, said the former heavyweight champion, who suffers from Parkinson's, communicated his thoughts in the letter to his wife.

Norway takes home 3 biathlon gold from Whistler

While there was no owning the biathlon podium in Vancouver, Norway made another statement as the country to beat at the Winter Olympics.

The Norwegians lost the medal battle to France, 6-5 at Whistler Olympic Park, but three times they stood atop the podium as gold medallists.

Ole Einar Bjoerndalen stood out with silver in the men's 20-kilometre (behind rising Norwegian star Emil Hegle Svendsen) and skied the anchor leg in a gold-medal finish in the 4x7.5km relay.

The 36-year-old legend now has 11 medals at four Olympics and has said he would attempt to break the Winter Games record of 12 — held by cross-country skier Bjorn Daehlie of Norway — in 2014 at Sochi, Russia.

Tora Berger won Norway's other gold medal, collecting the country's 100th gold medal of all time, dominating the women's 15km pursuit with a time of 40 minutes 52.8 seconds.

Germany's Magdalena Neuner was dominant on the women's side, earning three of her country's four medals: gold in the 10km pursuit and 12.5km mass start, along with silver in the 7.5km sprint.

She chose to sit out the 4x6km relay, citing fatigue and stress, to give her teammates a chance to taste success. They went on to place third behind Russia and France.

The Russians repeated as champions in the women's 4x6km relay while Evgeny Ustyugov, who was knocked off the podium in the 20km individual race, breezed to the finish in the 15km mass start.

Canada failed to medal in any of the 10 events, but there were some positives:

Quebec City's Jean-Philippe Le Guellec set a new Canadian men's standard with a sixth-place finish in the 10km sprint.
Marc-Andre Bedard of Valcartier, Que., gave the Canadians a short-lived lead entering the prone shooting stage of the second leg in the 4x7.5km relay en route to a 10th-place finish.
Other Canadian biathletes that competed in Whistler include: Robin Clegg (Edmonton), Brendan Green (Hay River, N.W.T.), Megan Imrie (Falcon Lake, Man.), Zina Kocher (Canmore, Alta.), Rosanna Crawford (Canmore) and Megan Tandy (Prince George, B.C.).

Anastazia Kuzmina picked up Slovakia's first gold medal of Vancouver Games, clocking 19 minutes 55.6 seconds in the women's 7.5km sprint. She only missed one of 10 shots at the shooting range.

Source:cbc.ca/

Round-up: Everton give trial to Norway defender Knut Olav Rindaroy

Everton are giving a trial to Norway left back Knut Olav Rindaroy.
The 24-year-old Molde star is due on Merseyside for a three-day training stint with a view to a move, although Everton boss David Moyes may have the player on loan at first.
Elsewhere Fulham have taken Lincoln’s Scottish centre back Graham Hutchison, 16, on a four-week trial.
Bolton, Birmingham and Fulham are weighing up a move for Monaco striker Frederic Nimani.
The 6ft 4in France Under 21 forward has been told he can leave on a cut-price deal and is in England for talks.
Portsmouth striker John Utaka is wanted by Celtic boss Tony Mowbray, who is ready to launch a cut-price £2.5m move for the Nigerian.
Newcastle want to take Villa’s Marlon Harewood back on loan after missing out on Leeds’ Jermaine Beckford.

Source:dailymail.co.uk/

Svendsen of Norway wins 2nd straight biathlon World Cup race, Burke loses ground

RUHPOLDING, Germany — Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway won his second straight biathlon World Cup race by shooting cleanly in the 15-kilometre sprint.

Svendsen covered the distance in 39 minutes 19.5 seconds to leave World Cup leader Evgeny Ustyugov of Russia trailing by 5.1 seconds on Saturday. The Russian had one miss in four rounds through the shooting range.

Simon Eder of Austria was third, 9.9 seconds back, while Jean-Philippe Le Guellec of Shannon, Que., was 22nd in 40:50.9.

Ustyugov leads the overall standings with 412 points. Svendsen has moved up to second with 384.

In the women's 12.5-kilometre mass start, World Cup leader Helena Jonsson of Sweden was the only one to shoot cleanly among the top finishers and beat four Germans.

Jonsson needed 40:58.7 to cover the distance and left Simone Hauswald 23.1 seconds behind. Magdalena Neuner was third, 35 seconds behind after five missed targets.

Zina Kocher of Red Deer, Alta., was 17th in 43:29.8.

Source:AFP

ASTON VILLA v Blackburn: John Carew doubtful for Carling Cup clash

Aston Villa striker John Carew is a doubtful starter for the Carling Cup semi-final second leg meeting with Blackburn at Villa Park on Wednesday.

The Norway international suffered a knee injury during training on Monday and is battling to be fit to face Sam Allardyce's side.

Midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker is still sidelined with the ankle problem which caused him to miss Sunday's goalless home draw with West Ham in the Barclays Premier League.

Manager Martin O'Neill is again likely to operate with number two goalkeeper Brad Guzan which has been his policy in the majority of cup fixtures this season.

Provisional squad: Friedel, Guzan, Cuellar, L Young, Beye, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Milner, Downing, Petrov, A Young, Sidwell, Delph, Agbonlahor, Carew, Heskey, Delfouneso, Clark, Albrighton.

Source:dailymail.co.uk/

Nordic Combined: A second win for Moan

Norway's Magnus Moan won the second Nordic Combined event in as many days at Chaux-Neuve, France on Sunday, in a sprint finish against World Cup leader Jason Lamy-Chappuis of France.
Austria's Mario Stecher finished third. Lamy-Chappuis remains at the top of the World Cup rankings, with Austria's Felix Gottwald second, while Moan's two victories have propelled him into third place overall.

Cross Country: Hattestad second
Biathlon: Relay Silver for Norway
Dakar Rally: Ullevaalseter in second
Biathlon: Another gold for Svendsen
Cross Country: Bjørgen is back
Nordic Combined: Season's first for Moan
Nordic Combined: Season's first for Moan
Biathlon: Relay 3rd for Norway
Biathlon: Double for Norway
Alpine skiing: Norwegians made history
Ski Jumping: New Holmenkollen Hill ready on time
Rally Dakar: Ullevålseter in second
Biathlon: New top placing for Bjørndalen
Tour de Ski: Northug second
Tour de Ski: Northug second
Nordic Combined: Moan 2nd at Val di Fiemme
Nordic Combined: Moan 2nd at Val di Fiemme
Nordic Combined: Moan 2nd aat Val di Fiemme
Biathlon: Flatland third at Oberhof
Norway wins Biathlon relay

Source:norwaypost.no/

Golden day for Norway at cross-country World Cup

Canadian Alex Harvey crosses the finish line at third place followed by Maxim Vylegzjanin of Russia who finished 4th in the men's 50 km Mass Start race at the FIS Cross Country World Cup in Trondheim March 14, 2009. Norway's Petter Northug seized first place in the overall rankings.Photograph by: Ned Alley, AFP/Getty ImagesROGLA, Slovenia - Saturday was a golden day for Norwegian cross-country skiers. Petter Northug won the men's sprint event, while Marit Bjoergen topped the women's field at the fifth stop of the World Cup circuit. Northug, who leads the World Cup standings with 340 points, finished the 1.1-kilometre race in a time of four minutes 9.9 seconds. Tobias Angerer of Germany was second, 1.2 seconds behind Northug. Jesper Modin of Sweden was third, 1.8 seconds off Northug's pace. Alex Harvey of Saint-Ferreol-Les-Neiges, Que., the only Canadian in the men's field, finished 35th, missing the qualification line by 1.5 seconds. Devin Kershaw of Sudbury, Ont., did not compete due to a cold. In the women's event, Bjoergen, the overall World Cup leader with 362 points, finished the 1.4-kilometres race in 4:28.8 for her 32nd victory on the World Cup circuit. Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland was second, just four 10ths of a second behind Bjoergen. Petra Majdic of Slovenia finished third. Sara Renner of Canmore, Alta., finished 37th overall after failing to make it out of the qualification heats. Chandra Crawford, another Canmore skier, finished 55th. Source:calgaryherald.com/

Norway's Bokko ready for breakout win

Havard Bokko has endured many second-place finishes during his career, but the Norwegian is ready to prove that he can be an Olympic gold medalist. "I'm the perpetual number two," he said during a recent World Cup stop in his home country. Bokko has historically found himself second-best to Sven Kramer and Shani Davis. Can he reverse his result? HAMAR, Norway -- Havard Bokko is tired of winning silver. "I'm the perpetual number two," he said, laughing. A review of the results from championship events in 2009 reveals the many silver medals that Havard is talking about. They include the 5000m and 10,000m at the Allround World Championships, the World Single Distance Championships and the European Championships. Since his success at the 2006 Junior World Speed Skating Championships when he won the 1500m, 3000m and 5000m, Bokko has been relegated to silver status on the global stage, mostly behind two golden skaters: the American Shani Davis and the Dutchman Sven Kramer. "Shani skates very good corners, and he has a very high top speed," Bokko said during an interview at a recent World Cup stop in Hamar, Norway. "He's almost alone at that top speed. I consider myself a fast skater, but I haven't yet gotten to that level. And Sven has developed so dominantly now that he's difficult to overcome in all regards. I have my work ahead of me." That work continues this weekend with a World Cup competition in Calgary, Canada. At the 2009 World Cup opener in Berlin in early November, Bokko found himself in familiar silver territory. He finished second to both Kramer in the 5000m and Davis in the 1500m. Bokko is quick to laugh it off. "I'm bored of hearing those anthems on the podium," he said. "I need to hear the Norwegian anthem up there more." Norway boasts a proud speed skating history. Speed skating is second only to the cross-country skiing in the country's Olympic medal wins, with 79 to 87 for skiing. Bokko is well aware of the regal status placed on star speed skaters in Norway, and he knows that many of his fellow Norwegians would like to see him push beyond being the "perpetual number two." Still, he considers the upside of the situation. "Always getting silver actually helps keep me focused," he said. "It motivates me. I know what the next step up is that I have to take. I know where the barriers are that I need to break. I'm only 22. I think I have another 15 good years skating ahead of me. I'm only beginning." Bokko started competing in speed skating in 1994 at age seven during an illustrious year for the sport in Norway. Fellow Norwegian Johann Olav Koss broke three world records as he won three gold medals at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. Bokko chose to focus on skating instead of skiing in part because of his memories of watching Koss during those Olympics. Koss began coaching Bokko and the Norwegian team last week along with head coach Jarle Pedersen after former head coach Peter Mueller was fired following remarks he made to a female Norwegian skater that Norway's skating federation considered to be inappropriate. Bokko would not comment on the matter. Bokko grew up in rural Hol, Norway, "the type of town where we would skate after school on Mondays and Thursdays, and ski on Wednesdays and Fridays," he says. He still has his first pair of skates and plans to keep them. They remind him of his first successes in skating, when he was best in his age class from seven to twelve years of age. "I could see that other guys in my class were stronger in different ways, and training for speed skating was my way of challenging myself to catch up with them," he recalled. Bokko needed to play catch up a bit earlier this season. Before the second World Cup weekend of this season in Hamar in late November, Bokko missed a week of training after he fell ill with the H1N1 virus. He earned only one podium finish in Hamar, a third place in the 1500m. Bokko shrugged off the disappointment in Hamar and now looks forward to the next World Cup competitions in Calgary (Dec. 4-6) and Salt Lake City (Dec. 11-13) as stepping stones to the Vancouver Games. "The World Cup is great, but this season is a different season," he said calmly. "My focus now isn't on the World Cup. My focus is on the Olympics in Vancouver. Calgary and Salt Lake will be events along the way for me, but I am preparing myself mentally and physically now for the Olympics." Bokko's sense of calm evokes praise from some of his competitors, which include Enrico Fabris, who won gold in the 1500m and team pursuit at the 2006 Torino Olympics. "Physically, he's good in all distances," Fabris said. "But what I really admire about him is how calm and rested he appears. I think his 'no pressure' approach will take him further." Bokko's senior career is not without triumph. He did win the 1500m at the 2009 World Allround Championships and he won a World Cup 10,000m race in December 2007. Source: universalsports.com/