European champion Spain remained No. 1 in FIFA’s rankings Wednesday, followed by Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. The United States dropped to No. 24, tops in its regional group. England advanced to No. 10 among the world’s soccer elite, moving up four places. Coach Fabio Capello’s team fell from the top 10 in July after failing to qualify for the European Championship.
Tony Parker scored 22 points, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili each added 21 and the San Antonio Spurs took advantage of a rare poor performance by Chauncey Billups since he arrived in Denver to whip the Nuggets 108-91 on Thursday night. The Nuggets had won 12 of 15 since acquiring Billups from Detroit in the Allen Iverson trade.
Joe Thornton scored the go-ahead goal with 12:19 to play, and the NHL-leading San Jose Sharks shook off a terrible start to earn their ninth straight victory, 3-2 over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night. Captain Patrick Marleau scored and Jeremy Roenick added his second goal in 26 games for the Sharks, 14-0-1 at home.
Freshman Isaiah Thomas scored 18 points and rugged Jon Brockman pounded Oklahoma State inside with 16 points and 11 rebounds as Washington beat the slumping Cowboys 83-65 on Thursday night. Brockman got his fourth double-double in seven games this season for the inconsistent Huskies (4-3), who had their most impressive showing of the young season in their only remaining test before the Pac-10…
The Ultimate Fighter season 1 winner, Diego Sanchez, is healthy again and looking for a fight, but despite…
Legendary trainer Angelo Dundee is back in the saddle one last time.
University of Washington athletic director Scott Woodward had no comment on Thursday night on a report that the Huskies had offered Southern California assistant head coach Steve Sarkisian the job of head football coach. ESPN.com, citing unidentified sources, has reported that Sarkisian will be hired to replace fired coach Tyrone Willingham.
Nothing can stop James Harden right now — except five fouls. Arizona State’s star guard had 22 points and eight rebounds as the 19th-ranked Sun Devils defeated Jackson State 81-60 on Thursday night, despite fouling out with 4:10 to play. Harden led the Sun Devils in scoring for the 31st time in 41 career games.
When I received an email from SoccerPro offering to let Premiership Talk review products for free, I immediately jumped at the offer. One of the first products that I received and used was an Umbro Beanie cap (pictured). Being from the Boston area, and being a football (soccer) player myself, I was glad that I’d have something to keep my head warm in my next match.
Martin Hanzal had his first three-goal game in the NHL, and Steven Reinprecht added a pair of third-period goals in the Phoenix Coyotes’ 6-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on Thursday night. Todd Fedoruk also scored, and Derek Morris and Ed Jovanovski each added a pair of assists for Phoenix.