“It’s still open,” Capello said. “He [Beckham] played in the last game, he did well against France, and I sometimes go to see him in Los Angeles.”

Despite leaving the door open for Beckham, Capello insisted his selection would be entirely dependent on him maintaining his fitness. He added: “It depends, there are players who at 33 or 34 take good care of themselves, they understand that the body is not as it was and they take more care. It depends a lot on that.”

Since taking on the role in January, Capello has gradually adapted to English life, although he explained he was still adapting to his new role.

“It’s all new for me,” he added. “I was used to working daily with clubs and now it’s different. The job is very different from that of a club coach. At the moment I have only had the opportunity to train for five days. Only five days. I think I am becoming more integrated every day. I need some time, like in all jobs.

“I read a lot, I travel a lot and I see a lot of football. A couple of weeks ago I saw three games in a weekend - one at Tottenham, one in Liverpool and one in Manchester.”

The Italian also said that while his English had now reached a good level, he was reluctant to speak to the press in the language for fear of being misinterpreted. Capello experienced problems with translation in Spain two years ago, when he mistakenly labelled Fernando Torres, then with Atletico Madrid, a ‘tramposo’ - which translates as cheat.

“I can speak English” he added. “But I don’t want to speak English with the press, because if you get a word wrong it can make big headlines. That happened to me in Spain after a Real Madrid versus Atletico match, when I wanted to refer to Torres and asked the Madrid press officer how to say something and he replied ‘tramposo’. That wasn’t exactly what I wanted to say and it caused a tremendous scandal.”

Capello has been impressed with the Premier League since his arrival in England, although he admits the prominence of foreign players, such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Torres, could pose long-term problems for the national team. Reports today have suggested Capello would like to resurrect the England versus Scotland matches, and he insists the SPL provides a better basis for the national team.

“Some really good football is being played in England. At the moment it is the best league [in Europe], but then you have Arsenal, who play fantastic football and are out of the Champions League,” he said. “Our problem is that we have only 38 per cent of the players. There are Welsh players, Irish and Scots. In Spain and Italy, for example, 70 per cent of the players can be called up.”

The Italian added that the influx of Rafael Benitez and Juande Ramos have helped to improve the standard of football in England and have allied the passion of the Premier League with an improvement in technical ability.

“They have implanted this new philosophy, a new touch system, not only long balls, so that is good for English football,” he added. “Liverpool have never had a player like Torres. He is playing phenomenally well. He could be one of the stars of Euro 2008. He is enjoying a very good spell and he is also finishing better than he did at Atletico Madrid. Fabregas is a brilliant player. He is one of the best midfielders in the world.”

Despite England’s absence from Euroo 2008 this summer, Capello will be keeping one eye on the tournament and has tipped France, Italy and Spain, to win the tournament.

“France have a very good team,” he said. “They have good players and a lot of quality. Italy have a good national team and then there is Spain. I always put them among then favourites. They have a great team.”

source:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/international/article3815024.ece

Some things come easily on the basketball court for George, the tallest player in the country, at 7 feet 7 inches and 360 pounds.

Entering the Bulldogs’ game Wednesday night against top-ranked North Carolina, George leads the nation in blocked shots per game (5.4), and he has become a fan favorite here in his junior year.

Near the end of a recent overtime victory against Buffalo, George received a standing ovation for his 21-point, 10-rebound, 6-block performance. (more…)

The purchase is estimated to have cost about £6m, at roughly £10,000 a share.

The deal means his investment company, Red and White Holdings, has upped its holding by around 2%.

Earlier this week, Arsenal’s annual financial results to 31 May 2007 showed that income had soared 46% to £200.8m, up from £137.2m a year before. (more…)

Woods won seven titles including his 13th major at the US PGA Championship, and is now preparing for the Presidents Cup, which starts on Thursday.

And despite his poor record in the competition, US captain Jack Nicklaus says he is a popular choice as partner.

“Tiger’s record in fourball isn’t good, but the 11 other players probably want to play with him,” said Jack Nicklaus. (more…)

“These results demonstrate we really don’t need any outside investment,” managing director Keith Edelman told BBC Radio 5live.

“We secured all the players we wanted in the summer and manager Arsene Wenger did not spend his budget.”

The Gunners have been subject to takeover rumours after Alisher Usmanov increased his share in the club to 21%. (more…)

Grant, 52, said Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich would not interfere in the football side of the club, despite his breakdown in relations with Mourinho.

Grant, who was the club’s director of football, said his goal was to win titles with attractive football.

“I’m a person of my own. I’ve taken all my decisions in football on my own. If we lose, it’s down to me,” he said.

“I have full respect for what Jose Mourinho did in the past and I want to follow this success and make things of my own. (more…)

The news comes just 24 hours after the disappointing Champions League draw against Rosenborg.

Legard understands that Mourinho has texted senior players, including skipper John Terry, with the news of his departure from Stamford Bridge.

There has been no official word so far from the Premiership club. (more…)

The Finn’s lap of one minute 45.994 seconds was just 0.017secs clear of team-mate Felipe Massa, with McLaren’s Fernando Alonso 0.080secs further back.

Alonso’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who has struggled to match the Spaniard all weekend, was fourth fastest but 0.395secs adrift.

The BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica and Williams’s Nico Rosberg with next up.

Kubica’s team-mate Nick Heidfeld, Red Bull’s Mark Webber, the Toyota of Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen’s Renault completed the top 10. (more…)

At a July hearing, the team were found guilty of fraudulent conduct by the FIA council but were not punished because of insufficient evidence.

But the emergence of new evidence means McLaren must again defend themselves.

If the WMSC decides to punish them, McLaren could lose points or even be thrown out of the championship.

First, the WMSC will examine the new evidence to consider again if McLaren benefited from the 780-page dossier of Ferrari information. (more…)

Gay, the quickest man at the distance this year, won in 9.85 seconds at Osaka’s Nagai Stadium last night to claim his first world championship title ahead of Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas and Jamaica’s world-record holder Asafa Powell.

“I talked with my mother before the race and she really calmed me down,” the 25-year-old Gay said at a news conference. “She told me that everything that happened in the past was for a reason, to mature me for a situation like this.”

The Kentucky-born Gay, whose coach Lance Brauman is serving a prison sentence in Texas for fraud and embezzlement, came into the nine-day event having run a season-leading 9.84 seconds at the U.S. Championships in June. (more…)