Sports

Ronaldo delivers big performance to match the hype

GENEVA: Cristiano Ronaldo lived up to expectations he could be the player to dominate Euro 2008 with his match-winning performance in Portugal's 3-1 victory over Czech Republic on Wednesday.

Deflected goal caps worst night of Mueller's career

BASEL: Patrick Mueller was in despair after co-host Switzerland became the first side to be eliminated from Euro 2008 when he deflected in Turkey's stoppage-time winner on Wednesday.

Boonen out of Tour over cocaine investigation

SAINT-PAUL-EN-JARREZ, France: Former world champion Tom Boonen, under investigation for suspected cocaine possession, has been barred from competing in the Tour de France, race director Christian Prudhomme said on Wednesday.

Italy likely to overhaul team

ZURICH: World champion Italy, smarting from the 3-0 drubbing by Netherlands, is likely to overhaul its team and maybe its formation for Friday's Euro 2008 match against Romania.

France must wake up to survive

VEVEY, Switzerland: France needs to wake up from a dismal start to avoid being overrun by a confident Dutch side in its second Euro 2008 game on Friday in Berne.

Sports

Lakers beat Celtics to get back in title hunt

LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles Lakers battled back into NBA title contention by beating the Boston Celtics 87-81 to trim their deficit in the Finals to 2-1 on Tuesday.

Disgraced ref claims NBA match fixing - Yao a possible victim

NEW YORK: Lawyers for disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy claim that other referees altered the results of playoff games in 2002 and 2005 in a letter filed on Tuesday.

Special supplement: AkzoNobel unveils new brand strategy

AkzoNobel's CEO said its new corporate brand "symbolizes the company's fundamental transformation and determination to lead change."

Sports

Van Basten did perfect Italian job

BERNE: Marco van Basten believes Holland has earned the right to dream of glory at Euro 2008 after its 3-0 demolition of world champion Italy kicked the tournament into life.