Blues tipped to struggle without the 'special one'

LONDON: Jose Mourinho's departure from Chelsea sent shockwaves through English football yesterday with fans, pundits and former players virtually unanimous in predicting that the club's fortunes would nosedive as a result.

Yankees close in on Red Sox

NEW YORK: Andy Pettitte won his 200th career game to give the New York Yankees a 2-1 victory against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday, closing the gap on American League East leaders Boston to a game and a half.

Sports

Romania says Scotland has the edge over Italy

EDINBURGH: Scotland is heading for a pool decider against Italy next week and Romania captain Sorin Socol, whose side has lost to both, said on Tuesday the Scots had the edge.

Record breaking Pakistan beats Australia by 6 wickets

JOHANNESBURG: Shoaib Malik and Misbah ul-Haq shared a record partnership to lead Pakistan to a memorable victory against Australia in its Twenty20 World Cup Super Eights match on Tuesday.

Inzaghi and Shevchenko hit 60 mark

LONDON: Holder AC Milan took the first step on the long road to Moscow when it opened its Champions League campaign with a 2-1 victory against Benfica on Tuesday.

IN BRIEF (Page 23)

Sports

Public to decide fate of home run ball

NEW YORK: The man who bought Barry Bonds's 756th home run ball for more than $750,000 is letting the public decide its final resting place.

Serbs ready to bump Aussies from Davis Cup

BELGRADE: Serbia's growing legions of tennis fans have a rare chance to roar on their fast-rising stars this week when Novak Djokovic spearheads his Davis Cup team outing against Australia.

Rooney's return perfectly timed for United

LISBON: Sir Alex Ferguson will let Wayne Rooney off the leash as Manchester United starts its Champions League challenge at Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday.

Sharapova gets the cold shoulder in Russia

MOSCOW: Russia easily recaptured the Fed Cup title from last year's surprise winners Italy by thrashing it 4-0 in the Moscow final over the weekend.