Casey Stoner makes flying start by topping Qatar MotoGP

DOHA: Australian Casey Stoner won the floodlit Qatar MotoGP season-opener for the fourth time in five years on Sunday ahead of Spaniards Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa.

Starting from pole position after dominating all three practice sessions, Stoner beat Yamaha’s world champion Lorenzo by 3.44 seconds at the Losail circuit in a dream debut with the works Repsol Honda team.

The Australian, who raced for Ducati last year, has now won 24 Grands Prix in the top category.

Spain’s Pedrosa, Stoner’s Honda team-mate, was struggling with a painful arm and looked exhausted after finishing just over five seconds behind the Australian, despite taking the lead on the opening lap and fighting an entertaining duel to the halfway point.

Valentino Rossi of Italy, winner of nine world titles across the classes but struggling with a shoulder injury, finished well off the pace in seventh in his first race with Ducati after leaving Yamaha.

Leaders Milan prepare for life without Ibrahimovic

ROME: Serie A leaders AC Milan enter the final quarter of the season with a severe handicap for the next three games as star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be watching on from the stands.

Alexandre Pato

A moment of madness against rock-bottom Bari last week, when he slapped Marco Rossi in the ribs, earned the big Swede a straight red card and three-game ban.

He will miss today’s trip to Palermo but then perhaps crucially the top of the table Milan derby against Inter as well.

Without their top scorer and attacking focal point, Milan will have to show greater variety than they have otherwise demonstrated throughout much of this season, where Ibrahimovic has time and again made the difference.

However, he has scored only once since the end of January, and that a penalty, and some may feel that Milan have already been coping admirably without their talisman’s usual input.

But now it will be up to the likes of Alexandre Pato (pic), Antonio Cassano and Robinho to step up to the plate and show their worth.

Chelsea face Red Devils in repeat of 2008 final

LONDON: Chelsea were given the chance to avenge their shattering penalty shootout defeat to Manchester United in the 2008 Champions League final after being drawn to play them in the quarter-finals of the competition yesterday.

One of the most dramatic finals of all time played in driving rain in Moscow ended with United winning 6-5 on penalties after Chelsea captain John Terry blew the chance of winning the European Cup when his penalty hit the post.

United then took their chance to win the shootout and become European champions for the third time.

Yesterday’s draw also paired favourites Barcelona against Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine while nine-time winners Real Madrid will play Champions League debutants Tottenham Hotspur, the highest scorers left in this season’s competition.

Loew drops 6 German World Cup players

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Germany coach Joachim Loew dropped six World Cup players from the 23-man squad to play Kazakhstan in a Euro 2012 qualifier and Australia in a friendly next week.

As expected, Loew also did not select former captain Michael Ballack, who still has not reached top form after a long injury layoff.

Loew picked one newcomer, midfielder Sven Bender of Bundesliga leader Borussia Dortmund.

Andre Schuerrle of Mainz, with one previous appearance, was also included, along with fellow midfielder Toni Kroos of Bayern Munich. Dortmund midfielder Mario Goetze, with two caps, and teammate and defender Marcel Schmelzer, with one, also return.

Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira and Mesut Oezil are both in the squad.

But the coach dropped six players who were on the team that finished third at the World Cup — Marko Marin, Cacau, Serdar Tasci, Piotr Trochowski, Marcell Jansen and Stefan Kiessling. All are struggling with form in their clubs.

Loew selected only two strikers, Bayern Munich teammates Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose. Gomez leads the Bundesliga with 18 goals, but Klose was getting little playing time. Lukas Podolski of Cologne was also included, but was listed as a midfielder.

Germany plays Kazakhstan on March 26 in Kaiserslautern, and Australia three days later in Moenchengladbach.

Loew's team leads Group A of qualifying for next year's European Championship in Poland and Ukraine with four wins from four games.

Loew has said he will give some of the reserves and newcomers playing time against Australia, the Asian Cup runner-up.



Germany:

Goalkeepers: Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen), Manuel Neuer (Schalke), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen).

Defenders: Dennis Aogo (Hamburger SV), Holger Badstuber (Bayern Munich), Jerome Boateng (Manchester City), Arne Friedrich (Wolfsburg), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Marcel Schmelzer (Borussia Dortmund).

Midfielders: Sven Bender (Borussia Dortmund), Mario Goetze (Borussia Dortmund), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Oezil (Real Madrid), Lukas Podolski (Cologne), Andre Schuerrle (Mianz), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Christian Traesch (Stuttgart).

Forwards: Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich).

Messi fit for Argentina friendlies

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina coach Sergio Batista says his Barcelona star Lionel Messi has recovered from a knee injury picked up in the Spanish league last weekend and will be ready to play upcoming friendlies against the United States and Costa Rica.

Batista said Friday he had talked with Messi and had been assured the world's best player was ready to go.

Argentina will play the United States on March 26 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Costa Rica on March 29 in a new stadium in San Jose.

Batisita also said that starting goalkeeper Sergio Romero of AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands would miss the matches. He said the club notified Argentine officials, although Batista did not explain why Romero would be absent.

He said Mariano Andjuar of Italian club Catania would start in goal and Agustin Marchesin of Argentine club Lanus would be the backup.