Topics: Basketball | Give Your Two Cents »

Ryan Anderson scored 27 points and California hung on to hand No. 9 Washington State its first home loss of the season, 69-64 on Thursday night.

Cougars star Derrick Low had a 3-point attempt in the closing the seconds that could have tied the score, but it rimmed out with a tick left on the clock.

It was a fitting end for the Cougars (17-3, 5-3 Pac-10). They finished 5-for-20 from 3-point range. Cal was 9-for-20.

Patrick Christopher added 16 points for Cal (12-7, 3-5), which broke a three-game losing streak.

Ryan Anderson, the Pac-10’s leading scorer at 21.3 points per game, was 9-for-13 from the field, including 5-for-7 on 3-pointers. He added nine rebounds.

Cal center Devon Hardin, who was averaging 10 points and 8.2 rebounds, did not make the trip to Pullman because he was ill. Jamal Boykin, a recent transfer from Duke, started in his place and scored 12.

Kyle Weaver scored 15 for Washington State, which had not lost at Friel Court since March 1, 2007. Taylor Rochestie added 14. Low, WSU’s leading scorer at 14 ppg, was only two for 11 from the field and missed all nine of his 3-point attempts. He finished with five points.

The game was played in Pullman even though the area was paralyzed by a storm that dumped a foot of snow, forcing classes to be cancelled the rest of the week and the governor to declare a state of emergency.

Boykin scored his team’s first three baskets after halftime and Anderson followed with a pair of 3-pointers for a 47-39 lead.

Rochestie converted a three-point play and Daven Harmeling added a 3-pointer for a 56-55 WSU lead with 10:40 left.

With Anderson out after picking up his fourth foul with more than 10 minutes left, Christopher scored the next three baskets to give the Bears a 61-56 lead.

Washington State scored the next six points, with Rochestie’s two free throws giving them a 62-61 lead with 3:54 left.

Christopher’s stuff put Cal back on top 63-62.

Washington State kept missing from long range, making only one field goal for a nine-minute span before Low’s layup gave them a 64-63 lead with 1:06 left.

Anderson replied with his first basket since coming out with foul trouble, for a 65-64 Cal lead with 40 seconds left. He added two free throws at the 20-second mark for a 67-64 lead.

Rochestie missed a 3-point attempt, but WSU was awarded the out-of-bounds ball with 9 seconds left. Low’s 3-point attempt in the last second rimmed out to seal the Cal win and the Bears added a couple of free throws.

In the first, Anderson’s long 3-pointer gave Cal a 28-25 lead with 4:40 left. Weaver’s 3 tied the game at 35 with 40 seconds left.

Anderson had 14 in the first half for Cal, while Weaver had 12.

[via AP]

Topics: Basketball, Sports, General | Give Your Two Cents »

Greg Paulus scored 22 points, including a burst of three 3-pointers early in the second half, to help third-ranked Duke rally past North Carolina State 92-72 on Thursday night.

Freshman Kyle Singler added 19 points for the Blue Devils (18-1, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who trailed by nine at halftime for the second straight game before turning up their intensity to stay atop the league standings.

Gavin Grant scored 26 points for the Wolfpack (13-7, 2-4), who turned in one of their best performances of the year in the first 20 minutes before wavering against Duke’s pressure.

In fact, the Blue Devils made this one look at lot like Sunday’s win at Maryland. In that game, Duke allowed Maryland to shoot 62 percent in the first half to build a 51-42 lead at the break before rallying for a 93-84 win.

This time, Duke shook off a spirited effort by Grant and the Wolfpack, who shot 58 percent to take a 46-37 halftime lead. Paulus led the way, assisting on a 3-pointer from Singler before knocking down consecutive 3s to erase N.C. State’s lead just 4 minutes into the half.

After following with another 3 two possessions later, the junior point guard sent the rowdy home crowd into a frenzy when he flipped a pass behind his head on the break to a trailing Singler for the dunk and a 59-55 lead with 13:55 left.

From there, Duke’s lead would only grow.

Singler knocked down a runner over Brandon Costner followed by a jumper over Ben McCauley. DeMarcus Nelson blew by a defender to throw down a two-handed slam, and Paulus found Jon Scheyer for a 3-pointer that gave Duke a 70-58 lead midway through the half.

Duke kept pouring it on, shooting 21-for-32 (66 percent) in the second half while allowing the Wolfpack just 18 field-goal attempts after the break.

Paulus went 5-for-8 from 3-point range to go with six assists and three steals in 33 minutes. He also proved to be a pesky presence to the Wolfpack all night, jawing with Grant and freshman point guard Javi Gonzalez while raising Costner’s ire with a hard first-half foul.

Nelson and Gerald Henderson each added 18 points for Duke.

N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe couldn’t have asked for much more from his Wolfpack — in the first half, anyway. Grant scored 16 points on 6-for-6 shooting in the first half. Costner came off the bench to score 12. N.C. State also committed just nine turnovers despite sending inexperienced point guards Gonzalez and Marques Johnson against Duke’s aggressive perimeter pressure.

When Johnson beat Taylor King into the lane for a spinning layup with about 20 seconds left, the Wolfpack headed into the locker room with plenty of momentum. But Duke erased all of that by scoring on six straight possessions to open the half, ending with Paulus’ back-to-back 3s.

In an unusual sight, many of the “Cameron Crazies” and other Blue Devil fans sported bright green Duke T-shirts as part of a daylong event to raise awareness of global warming.

[via AP]

Topics: Basketball, Sports, General | Give Your Two Cents »

Super Bowl ticket, check.Hotel room, check.

Rental car, check

Uh-oh.

The game is still two days away and that wad of cash you came with is mostly gone. There’s only thing to do: Count out every last dollar and dime and str-r-r-r-etch it until kickoff.

Tough but not impossible in this town — even on a $20-a-day budget. Here’s how:

9:30 a.m. — Take a short drive east of downtown to 16th Street and Roosevelt. Pass a row of taquerias, park at the Ranch Market. Part grocery store, part paper-plate restaurant, it’s a festival of Hispanic flavors. Breakfast today is a plump hojaldra de manzana — that’s an apple turnover because, as every fan knows, big games always come down to turnovers. Add a ripe banana and a cafe con leche. Sit at any of four long tables; overhead are two newly installed flat-screen TVs, tuned to the NFL Network. Total: $2.35.

11 a.m. — Feeling lucky? Hop on the 101 and drive 20 minutes into the desert, to Casino Arizona on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community reservation. There’s an autographed Troy Aikman football for auction in the lobby. TVs are set to ESPN, and are showing highlights of the Giants beating Denver in the 1991 Super Bowl. I skipped right past the two-cent “Game of Life” slots and went to a nickel package. Hit on the “Deal or No Deal” machine and walked out a dime richer.

1 p.m. — Lunchtime. Head 15 minutes to the Arizona State campus in Tempe and hit The Chuckbox at 202 East University. Smoky, mesquite grill, tree stumps for chairs. Grab their version of the quarter-pounder, called the Little One. A big one, 299-pound Giants lineman Grey Ruegamer, fondly remembered the hangout from his days at ASU. “Great hamburgers,” he said. Friendly spot, they gave me an iced tea for free. Total: $2.93.

2 p.m. — The sun’s out. Ride 15 minutes up to Scottsdale and a true treasure, The Phoenician hotel. Time for a local tradition, favored by the younger set at fancy resorts — pool hopping. Park for free, find a side door, dress like a cool guest. Hint: Do not ask which way to the pool; there are nine, including one with mother of pearl tiles. Instead, casually inquire whether the towels are at the cabanas. Enjoy, and feel free to lounge like Joe Namath and make a poolside prediction.

6 p.m. — Take a quick detour to get gas at the Sinclair station off Camelback Road. The cute green dinosaur logo is now found only in the West and Midwest. Two gallons will cover these two days. Total: $5.98.

6:45 p.m. — A real treat for dinner: In-N-Out Burger. Located only in California, Nevada and Arizona, one bite can hook a person for life. Former Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith swore by them when Ohio State played out here. Go for the No. 1 combo — a double-double burger, fries and a medium drink. Total: $5.83.

8 p.m. — It costs $1,700 to get into John Travolta’s party this weekend and $100 for the Paris Hilton/50 Cent bash. Save your money, park for free about a half-mile from the Suns arena and walk to the NFL souvenir stand next to the Convention Center. Pass on the $1,100 black leather jacket with team logos on the sleeves. Buy the silver mini-helmet with the Super Bowl XLII insignia. Total: $3.

First day total (minus the dime I won): $19.99.

10 a.m. — Matt’s Big Breakfast is a perfect place to start, downtown at McKinley and First Street. Only seats 24, low slung brick building, easy to miss — even with the pretty but prickly cactus garden in front. “Our locals are very protective of our place,” said Erenia Pool, Matt’s wife. Go with the Five Spot — a roll with two eggs, two slices of thick-cut bacon, American cheese and grilled onions. Some days, they make fresh sun tea. Total: $8.55.

11 a.m. — Walk three blocks to the Westward Ho, a gem of the Southwest when it opened as a 16-story hotel in 1928. John F. Kennedy stayed there, as did Fred Astaire, Jimmy Cagney and Al Capone. Big, red block letters at the top spell out the building’s name; there are stucco faces above the entrance and ornately tiled floors inside. These days, it’s a home for the low-income elderly. A longtime resident, Erling Eaton, loves to give tours.

Noon — Lunch back at Arizona State. It’s almost a straight shot, 20 minutes east to Dave’s Doghouse. The owner of this popular hot dog emporium grew up outside Boston — fittingly, the TV was tuned to ESPN2 and showing Tom Brady this week. Buttered, grilled buns hold the house specialty: the Boston dog, with mustard, relish and onions. Throw in the fries, wash it down with a soda. Total: $6.50.

1 p.m. — Ready, set, hike! Go 15 minutes north to Echo Canyon Road, pull out a pair of rugged shoes and climb Camelback Mountain. It’s not for mere amateurs, but well worth it. The views of the Superstition Mountains are spectacular, especially from 2,700 feet at the top. Bring water and be alert: rattlesnakes are known to frequent the trail.

5 p.m. — A 20-minute hop west to the uptown section, for dinner at a local pizza chain called Streets of New York. Posters of the Big Apple on the wall, a television keeping tabs on the Giants. One slice of the New York combo is plenty, topped with sausage, pepperoni, meatballs, mixed bell peppers, mushrooms, onions and black olives. Dessert is free — there are orange trees in the parking lot, full of fruit. Total: $4.12.

6 p.m. — Party time. Head downtown, taking the nearest parking spot without a meter. Stroll toward the Hyatt Hotel — there’s an elevated ESPN radio booth outside that’s sure to attract stars and celebs. Lots of athletes are buzzing by — Terrell Owens, Deion Sanders and Andre Tippett have been spotted. The TVs show the NFL nonstop, and it’s easy to get into a football debate — who’s better, these Patriots or the great 49ers teams or the Steelers dynasty? Doesn’t cost a dime to argue all night.

Second day total: $19.17.

That’s it, you’re home free with plenty to spare. Heck, you can even put aside that extra 84 cents you saved — it’s bound to come in handy next year for the trip to Tampa.

[via AP]

Topics: Sporting Events, Football, Professional Sports, Super Bowl, Sports, NFL, General | Give Your Two Cents »

So, you were one of the lucky ones. You got chosen to buy a Super Bowl ticket.Congratulations, that’ll be $700.

And that’s just the beginning. You might also want to start shoring up that bank account, maybe put the rest of your 2008 vacation plans on hold. This journey to the center of the sports universe will take its toll in cold, hard cash (and credit cards, too).

The total cost: $5,033. That’s more than $1,675 for each of the three Super Bowls the Patriots have won so far. Or $280 for every game they’ve won this year. Or a touch over $100 for each of the 50 touchdowns Tom Brady threw for. It comes to $83.88 a minute, or about $41.94 for each play in Sunday’s game. Or the cost of 125 white rose bouquets delivered to Gisele Bundchen.

About 24,000 of the 73,000 tickets at University of Phoenix Stadium were awarded to average fans through the lotteries the Giants and Patriots held among their pool of season-ticket holders.

They all had a chance to sell those tickets to brokers for around $4,000 a pop — kind of like winning the real lottery — but those who want to live the dream, see the Super Bowl in person, might be keeping an eye on their credit scores as they watch the scoreboard.

The breakdown:

_Airfare, $775. That was the price Jan. 22 for a round-trip ticket from Kennedy airport in New York to Phoenix (with a stop in Atlanta on the return). On Monday, that same ticket was going for $1,123.

Airfares from Boston were similar. The Patriots are in their fourth Super Bowl in the last seven years and there are some stories circulating about fans who made their plans weeks, if not months ago, betting the Patriots would make it to Phoenix. They bet right and may have saved about $500. On airfare, at least.

_Hotel, $1,100. It could be worse. Because of a deal the NFL cuts with Super Bowl host cities, there are caps on the prices hotels can charge and still be “affiliated” with the Super Bowl experience. Most hotels require at least a four-night stay. A La Quinta near the airport averages $259 a night starting Thursday, up for the normal $109. Add tax to get to the final figure.

_Rental car and parking, $510. No use in bothering with cabs in one of America’s most sprawling cities. An intermediate-sized rental car at Enterprise was running $90 a day. If you were lucky enough to get a parking pass for the game at $60, you’re set. If not, drive to downtown Glendale and park, then take a short, $5 shuttle ride to the stadium.

_Food, $700. Phoenix is a great place for Mexican food, which is usually relatively cheap. So dinner at the Tee Pee on 42nd Street and Indian School might run about $40 for eats and a couple of margaritas. Meanwhile, if you can get in at the Pink Pony Steakhouse — a kitschy old spring training haunt for Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio and that set — the dinner bill will probably be double.

You’ll probably do lunch on the run, or at the golf course ($15 a day), and spend about $5 a day at Starbucks trying to fight those hangovers. Throw in $50 for hot dogs, beers and other overpriced fare at the game and a few bucks for antacid on the way home.

_Golf, $225. It would be expensive this time of year, Super Bowl or no. At the Phoenician Resort, on the morning of Super Bowl Sunday, there were a few tee times available, though if you get one, you’ll have to hustle from the 18th green to the game. Remember to tip the bag boys and the cart girl. But if you wait until the last minute to make golf plans, you’ll be driving a long way to a course on the outskirts of town — or watching golf instead of playing.

_FBR Open golf tournament, $100. Actually, general admission tickets for the PGA Tour’s regular stop in Phoenix — a golf tournament that happens to be held in the middle of the party and boozefest at the TPC Scottsdale — are surprisingly cheap. It’s only $25 to be one of the 150,000 at the course on any given day. But at this event, it’s not so much about the golf. The beer stand is never too far away. Also budget for souvenirs, beers and — who are we kidding here? — the cab ride back to the hotel.

_Other entertainment, $617. Let’s say you blow $100 at one of the area’s casinos, splurge and spend $400 for a ticket to Snoop Dogg’s Friday-night Super Bowl party at Axis, $17.50 for a ticket into the NFL Experience street party and find something else to do after the game for another $100.

_Souvenirs, $206. Never cheap unless you wait until the day after the game. But no use taking the risk of not finding what you want and coming home empty-handed. So … Cute, ladies T-shirt with the SB XLII logo: $21. Two small footballs with logos: $40. Game program: $20. And that nice golf pullover for yourself (our little secret): $85.

_Miscellaneous, $100. That’s for tipping valets, filling up the gas tank, sunscreen, aspirin and other painkillers, a couple bottles of water and Diet Cokes.

This will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but expensive — more than double what it would cost to come to Phoenix a week later.

But the Super Bowl will be packed up and gone by then, replaced by the Arizona National Boat and Watersports Expo. You could be paying credit card bills on this for months, but consider yourself lucky. Had you not won the lottery, and been forced to buy a ticket from a broker, the price could have easily reached five figures.

[via AP]

Topics: Sporting Events, Football, Professional Sports, Super Bowl, Sports, NFL, General | Give Your Two Cents »

Jim O’Brien won an appeal Thursday and can return to the college sidelines after he had been fired by Ohio State and essentially banned from coaching by the NCAA for paying a recruit.The NCAA’s ruling on March 10, 2006, all but prevented any colleges from hiring O’Brien. The governing body of college sports also said seven rules violations took place at Ohio State while he was coach.

A year after the initial ruling, the NCAA threw out three of those violations and part of a fourth because the association’s enforcement staff missed a deadline for filing the charges.

Any further restrictions on future employment were lifted by Thursday’s ruling by an NCAA appeals committee, leaving O’Brien free to return to coaching.

“I am pleased that my 3 1/2-year battle with the NCAA has finally come to an end and resulted in victory,” O’Brien said in a release issued through his lawyers. “I have felt all along that the penalty imposed upon me by the (NCAA’s) Committee on Infractions was both excessive and unjust. … If I choose to coach again, I can do so without restriction.”

O’Brien has dabbled in broadcasting since his dismissal.

He already has won a lawsuit against Ohio State for wrongfully firing him and was awarded $2.2 million plus interest. The university has appealed that decision to the Ohio Supreme Court, which has yet to decide if it will hear the case.

A message seeking comment was left with Ohio State on Thursday.

O’Brien was a well-respected member of the coaching fraternity until his sudden firing on June 8, 2004. Then-Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger said he was dismissing O’Brien for giving a 7-foot-3 Serbian recruit, Aleksandar Radojevic, a $6,000 loan in 1999 for family expenses to help the family during a family illness.

“I am troubled that a rule was admittedly violated and it took us five years to find out about it,” Geiger said at the time.

O’Brien stressed he gave the player the money out of humanitarian concerns — Serbia was then involved in a war — and said the money did not influence Radojevic to later sign a letter of intent to play for the Buckeyes.

Before he enrolled in classes, the NCAA ruled Radojevic had been paid to play by a professional team in Europe and was ineligible to join the Ohio State team.

Thad Matta was later hired to coach Ohio State, leading the Buckeyes to three consecutive 20-win seasons including a 35-4 record and an appearance in the national title game a year ago.

O’Brien also has faced allegations that another of his players, Boban Savovic, was housed, fed, clothed and supported by a Columbus family at the behest of team boosters.

The NCAA compelled Ohio State to vacate all records and wipe out any reference to making the Final Four in 1999, when Savovic was a member of the team. It also paid back about $800,000 in tournament money to the NCAA.

[via AP]

Topics: Basketball, Sports, General | Give Your Two Cents »

Free agent outfielder Luis Gonzalez and the Florida Marlins have reached a preliminary agreement on a $2 million, one-year contract.Gonzalez must pass a physical for the deal to be finalized, a person familiar with the negotiations said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team had not yet announced the deal.

The contract for the 40-year-old Gonzalez includes $1 million in performance bonuses. The agreement was first reported by foxsports.com.

Gonzalez, who has spent most of his career in left fielder, likely will be Florida’s fourth outfielder. Left fielder Josh Willingham and right fielder Jeremy Hermida return as starters.

Gonzalez hit .278 with 15 home runs and 68 RBIs last season for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played in 139 games but became a part-time player in the second half of the season.

He’s a career .284 hitter with 346 home runs, including 57 for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001. The Marlins will be his sixth team.

[via AP]

Topics: MLB, Professional Sports, Sports, General | Give Your Two Cents »

Jesse Jackson criticized Major League Baseball on Thursday for sending investigators to the hometowns of umpires to ask neighbors questions that include whether the ump belongs to the Ku Klux Klan.”Major League Baseball has done a disservice to its progressive social history by equating southern whites with white supremacists,” Jackson said in a statement. “I am surprised the professional league which helped change social attitudes in all sports leagues about segregation, by championing Jackie Robinson, would make such a destructive move.”

World Umpires Association president John Hirschbeck and union spokesman Lamell McMorris said Wednesday that Tom Christopher, the Milwaukee-based supervisor of security and investigations in the commissioner’s office, had asked questions about Klan membership to neighbors of umpires Greg Gibson and Sam Holbrook, who reside in Kentucky. In addition, Hirschbeck said similar questions had been asked to neighbors of umpire Ron Kulpa, who lives in suburban St. Louis.

“In a year with the injustice of Jena Six, nooses hung around the country and the Tiger Woods-Golfweek scandal, Major League Baseball’s false impersonations of friendships and ill-contrived questions further press sensitive racial stereotypes, with no basis for suspicion,” Jackson said. “They have essentially defamed their people in their own neighborhoods.”

Baseball stepped up background checks last August, after it became public that the FBI was investigating NBA referee Tim Donaghy for betting on games. Donaghy pleaded guilty to felony charges of conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting betting information through interstate commerce, and he awaits sentencing.

MLB asked umpires to sign authorizations allowing the sport to conduct financial backgrounds checks, but umps balked.

“We did not anticipate that they would approach neighbors posing as a close colleague and friend of the umpire’s and asking them questions such as: Do you know if umpire ‘X’ is a member of the Ku Klux Klan? Does he grow marijuana plants? Does he beat his wife? Have you seen the police at his home? Does he throw wild parties?” McMorris said from India, where he was taking part in the tribute marking the 60th anniversary of the death of Mohandas K. Gandhi.

“To try to link our umpires to the Ku Klux Klan is highly offensive. It is essentially defaming the umpires in their communities by conducting a very strange and poorly executed investigation. It resembles kind of secret police in some kind of despotic nation.”

Contacted Wednesday, Christopher referred questions to Rob Manfred, baseball’s executive vice president for labor relations. Manfred did not immediately return a call.

“The claims of inappropriate questions by individuals conducting background checks was brought to our attention and looked into,” Jimmie Lee Solomon, MLB’s executive vice president of operations, said in a statement. “It was determined that these claims were inaccurate. Questioning was conducted with a written script consistent with common practice, and there was no inappropriate conduct on behalf of the investigators.”

Alison Rohan, who lives across the street from Kulpa in Maryland Heights, Mo., said Christopher knocked on her door two or three weeks ago and gave her his card.

“He explained they were going to be talking to neighbors and friends because of the problems with the basketball league and that Ron knew about it,” she said. “He listed about 10 different questions, the first one being did Ron live out of his means? For example, does he drive a Rolls-Royce?”

Rohan said she told Christopher that Kulpa lived in a manner similar to that of his neighbors.

“He asked if Ron belonged to any groups or organizations,” she said.

“Groups?” she remembered replying.

“You know, like the KKK,” she said Christopher told her.

“We both laughed and I said no,” Rohan said. “He belongs to a neighborhood Harley-riding group of dads.”

Hirschbeck, who lives in Poland, Ohio, said that shortly before Christmas, he encountered Christopher on a street in his own neighborhood. Hirschbeck said MLB was taking what the WUA considers to be a typical heavy-handed approach to umpires and that it would be brought up in negotiations for the next labor contract. The current deal expires after the 2009 season.

“Once again, baseball’s favorite way of doing things: Ready, fire, aim,” Hirschbeck said. “It’s not a good way to start the season.”

[via AP]

Topics: MLB, Professional Sports, Sports, General | Give Your Two Cents »

Free-agent third baseman Pedro Feliz and the Philadelphia Phillies finalized an $8.5 million, two-year contract Thursday.With the option and performance bonuses, the contract could be worth up to $15 million over three years.

“We said from the beginning of our offseason that we would try to improve the club in any way we could,” assistant general manager Ruben Amaro said in a statement. “We feel that with the acquisition of Feliz, we have helped to solidify an already productive infield. “Pedro is an above average defender who will provide some overall balance to our lineup.”

Feliz hit .253 with 20 homers and 72 RBIs for San Francisco last season.

Last year, Philadelphia’s third-base trio of Greg Dobbs, Wes Helms and Abraham Nunez batted .255 with 11 homers and 76 RBIs. Dobbs and Helms are still on the roster.

Feliz had spent his entire career with the Giants. The eight-year veteran has been a full-time starter since 2004, averaging 21 homers and 84 RBIs.

Feliz, who turns 33 on April 27, is a career .252 hitter with a .288 on-base percentage.

The NL East champion Phillies also added outfielders Geoff Jenkins and So Taguchi and pitcher Chad Durbin as free agents this offseason. They acquired closer Brad Lidge and utility man Eric Bruntlett in a trade with Houston.

[via AP]

Topics: MLB, Professional Sports, Sports, General | Give Your Two Cents »

David Beckham will have to wait for his 100th international appearance.

The Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder was omitted Thursday when Fabio Capello picked his first roster as England’s coach.

While bypassing the former captain for next Wednesday’s exhibition game against Switzerland, Capello said he will consider picking Beckham in the future if the 32-year-old shows good form after the Major League Soccer season opens March 29.

“I know there has been a lot of discussion about David Beckham,” Capello said. “When I spoke with David on the phone yesterday, I advised him that he is still part of my plans and once he is playing regularly in America, we will look closely at him again.”

Beckham would be England’s fifth player with 100 appearances, following Peter Shilton (125), Bobby Moore (108), Bobby Charlton (106) and Billy Wright (105). Beckham has been training with Arsenal to stay fit during the MLS offseason.

Capello instead chose Chelsea’s Shaun Wright-Phillips and Blackburn’s David Bentley as contenders for Beckham’s role on the right of midfield, although one could miss out when the coach trims the roster from 30 to a final 23 on Saturday.

Beckham was dropped from the national team when Steve McClaren took over after the 2006 World Cup, then returned last spring.

After spending the past month watching Premier League and domestic cup games to assess the talent available to him, Capello also selected Gabriel Agbonlahor and Curtis Davies as he starts to build what the Football Association hopes will be a team capable of reaching and challenging for the 2010 World Cup.

Agbonlahor makes the step up from the under-21 team after scoring seven goals in 24 games to help Aston Villa rise to fifth in this season’s Premier League standings. Davies has led Villa’s defense while on loan from West Bromwich Albion.

The roster:

Goalkeepers: Scott Carson (Aston Villa), David James (Portsmouth), Chris Kirkland (Wigan)

Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Curtis Davies (Aston Villa), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United) Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Ledley King (Tottenham), Joleon Lescott (Everton), Micah Richards (Manchester City), Nicky Shorey (Reading), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham)

Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), David Bentley (Blackburn), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea), Ashley Young (Aston Villa)

Forwards: Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Emile Heskey (Wigan), Michael Owen (Newcastle), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

[via AP]

Topics: Football, Professional Sports, Soccer, Sports, General | Give Your Two Cents »