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Odell Beckham Jr.’s resume includes one of the most remarkable, one-hand catches you’ll ever see on a football field. It has more than two million YouTube views.   Now, unfortunately, the New York Giants superstar has something else on videotape in a category of its own. You’d be hard-pressed to reference a cheap-shot as egregious as Beckham’s helmet-to-helmet assault on Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman during Sunday’s game at MetLife Stadium. The play drew an official NFL rebuke Monday in the form of a one-game suspension. Sure, there’s an appeal coming. But there’s really no worthwhile argument to justify Beckham’s action. He deserves to sit. The NFL did the right thing. A former NFL defensive back, Merton Hanks, issued the punishment. There was really no choice. This was about as easy a pre-packaged no-brainer (no pun intended) of decision for a suspension as you can imagine. (And just as  Concussion ...

EPL: Leicester City return to summit as Chelsea woes continue   Sublime goals from Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez sent Leicester City back to the Premier League summit after a deserved 2-1 win on Monday over lacklustre Chelsea whose march to the title last season seems a distant memory.  Sublime goals from Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez sent Leicester City back to the Premier League summit after a deserved 2-1 win on Monday over lacklustre Chelsea whose march to the title last season seems a distant memory. The prolific Vardy, whose record run of 11 consecutive Premier League goals came to an end at Swansea City last weekend, beat goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with a crisp volley from playmaker Mahrez's delightful cross after 34 minutes. Algeria international Mahrez curled in a stunning second from the edge of the area three minutes into the second half to put Leicester, continuing a remarkable turnaround after escaping relegation last season, on 35 points, tw...

Australia bring Sridharan Sriram, Michael Hussey on board for World Twenty20   Australia have recruited former India player Sridharan Sriram to help their team prepare for the conditions they will face in the World Twenty20 in India early next year, Cricket Australia said on Wednesday. Sriram, an all-rounder who played eight ODIs for India between 2000 and 2004, worked with Australia A on their tour of India earlier this year and was slated to travel with the Test side to Bangladesh in October before the trip was postponed. The 39-year-old will work with the Australia side during their three warm-up matches against South Africa prior to their arrival in India for the March 8-April 3 tournament.

Brian Lara could play a role in reviving West Indies' morale, says Shane Warne    Legendary Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne believes an intervention from the legendary Brian Lara is warranted in order to save the West Indies' troubled tour Down Under from becoming a full blown crisis. Speaking after witnessing the Windies innings and 212-run defeat inside three days in the opening Test in Hobart, Warne said Lara could play a role in reviving team morale. "Lara is in the country. They need to get him involved, spend some time with the team in Melbourne," said Warne on Tuesday, who snared 708 wickets from 145 Tests. Lara is the highest run-getter for the West Indies in Tests with 11,953 runs in 131 matches, and remains the world-record holder for the highest scores in Tests at 400 not out and first class cricket 501 not out. He is currently in Australia after featuring in a Festival of Cricket Twenty20 match in Western Australia last week...

West Indies cricket victim of excessive politics, says Dwayne Bravo   Former captain Dwayne Bravo has criticized the West Indies Cricket Board over its strained relationship with players and a lack of facilities for the sport in the Caribbean. Bravo, who will play with the Melbourne Renegades in Australia's Twenty20 league, said "too much politics is killing our cricket," and added "we've got the players to be up there with the best in the world but there's a lot of things going on." Bravo was stripped of the West Indies one-day captaincy a year ago and then was left out of the World Cup squad. He retired from Test cricket in January. He is the older brother of Darren Bravo, who was on the team which lost the first Test to Australia last weekend in Hobart by an innings and 212 runs. "Those in charge have to look into themselves," Dwayne Bravo said. "We don't have proper grounds, proper nets or a proper ac...

Dunedin : New Zealand have left out their two main strike bowlers and selected one new batsman in the squad named Tuesday for the opening one-day matches against Sri Lanka. Canterbury's Henry Nicholls, a 24-year-old left-hander, is in line to make his debut in the first ODI on December 26. (New Zealand Beat Sri Lanka in First Test) "He's a player who has class and a player who we want to expose to the international scene sooner rather than later," New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said. "Through the A campaign he was exceptional, certainly the outstanding player in all forms of the game." Nicholls scored 210 for New Zealand A against Sri Lanka A in a four-day match two months ago. The squad named for the first three of five ODI matches against Sri Lanka excludes fast bowler Trent Boult who will be rested after a heavy Test schedule. Fellow new-ball bowler Tim Southee will sit out the first two games after leading the attack in the two Tests ag...

London: Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez fired Leicester back to the top of the Premier League and extended Chelsea F.C.'s miserable season with a 2-1 victory on Monday that heaped renewed pressure on Jose Mourinho. (Click here for latest Football stories) Mahrez created Vardy's 15th goal of the season with a wonderful cross on 34 minutes. Then the Algeria winger scored superbly on 48 minutes to take his own tally to 12 and double the Foxes' lead as their fairytale season continued. Claudio Ranieri's side have lost just once all season and, although Chelsea substitute Loic Remy got one back in the closing stages, the hosts held on for a win that put them two points clear of second-placed Arsenal and condemned beleaguered Blues boss Mourinho to a ninth defeat in 16 league games. Mourinho's men remarkably sit just one point above the relegation zone and, a week after their shock home loss to Bournemouth, inevitably there will be more speculation that...

international participation in IPL: Kohli Four years ago, MS Dhoni hit that magical six - which will be further etched in minds of each and every Indian - to lift the coveted World Cup in front of the home crowd. Five years later, a world championship will be hosted on the Indian soil again as India will host the World T20, starting March 2016, for the first time. With the tournament taking place in India, many feel that the hosts will go in as favourites and try to repeat the heroics of 2011 World Cup in front of the home crowd but India Test captain Virat Kohli feels that India won't have such a big home advantage any more. "So many players from around the world have played the IPL for 8-9 years now so they are familiar with the Indian conditions," Kohli said at the launch of 2016 ICC World T20. When India last hosted an ICC event in 2011, they started the tournament as clear favourites. And they delivered too. But the IPL was three years ...

I thought I could make it but my legs just wouldn't let me': Saina Nehwal   Dubai: Saina Nehwal said her body had let her down as she missed out on an unexpected place in the Super Series semi-finals on Friday. The former world number one from India got the chance to progress against the odds because Carolina Marin, the world champion and favourite to win the Super Series finals for the first time, was pushed to the edge of exit by a second defeat in two days. But when Nehwal was faced with an opponent, the former holder Tai Tzu Ying, who had not won a game let alone a match in her two previous encounters, her physical resources failed her as she fell to a painful 16-21, 21-18, 21-14 loss. Just a handful of extra points in the second game, in which Nehwal repaired an eight-point deficit to reach 16-16, would have scraped her through. Instead it was uncomfortable to watch her attempts at dragging her heavy limbs around the court as the effects of rece...

Vijay Hazare Trophy Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored only 9 runs on his return to domestic cricket but Jharkhand managed to beat a spirited Jammu and Kashmir by 9 runs in the opening group B league match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, in Alur on Thursday.  Batting first, Jharkhand were all out for 210 in 50 overs but then bowled well to restrict J&K to 201 for seven in 50 overs. Dhoni, who played for his home state after eight long years, lasted 24 balls before he tried to hit 22-year-old left-arm spinner Waseem Raza and in the process was caught Parveez Rasool. India's limited overs captain came into bat at the start of the 21st over but the slowness of the pitch made it difficult to play his strokes. Save a solitary boundary, he found it difficult to even nudge around as Rasool (1/30 in 10 overs) and Raza (3/21 in 10 overs) kept batsmen under check. Apart from Ishank Jaggi, who scored 54 opening the innings and Kaushal Singh (53), none of the other Jha...

World T20 finals: No roadblock in Eden Gardens hosting matches, says ICC inspection team The International Cricket Council inspection team foresees "no roadblock" in Eden Gardens hosting the ICC World Twenty20 finals, even as it's learnt that they want two more dressing rooms in the venue. Led by ICC head of events, Chris Tetley and BCCI tournament director M V Sridhar, a joint team on Thursday did an inspection of the venue and they asserted that there's absolutely "no problem". It's, however, learnt that the ICC has suggested for two more dressing rooms in order to accommodate the women's teams as the World T20 men's and women's finals will be held on the same day but in different sessions. "Today has been extremely positive and we're really looking forward to the World Twenty20 to be played here," Tetley told a news conference after a marathon recce that went on for more than five hours. Asked whether the E...

Rafael Nadal hopes to return to IPTL for next year Refusing to call the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) an exhibition event, Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal says he would be back to compete in it next year too but conceded that tournaments like these don't have a place in the ATP World Tour calendar. Making his first appearance in the IPTL, which is in its second season, Nadal is turning up for the Micromax Indian Aces, which also has on its roster Indian tennis aces Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna among others. "IPTL has been great so far and hopefully I will be back. I have liked the format, the team spirit is good, I think I am going to be back," Nadal told reporters in a press conference after his team's dominating win over Philippines Mavericks here. "I don't think these are exhibition matches, these games are very competitive. The intensity of competition is good. I feel the rules are perfect in the IPTL and it's a great ...

India's Jeje Lalpekhlua scored the only goal to help Chennaiyin FC storm into semifinals of the Indian Super League second season with a 1-0 win over hosts FC Pune City. India's Jeje Lalpekhlua scored the only goal to help Chennaiyin FC storm into semifinals of the Indian Super League (ISL) second season with a 1-0 win over hosts FC Pune City at the Balewadi Stadium on Saturday. With the visitors needing only a draw to progress into the semis, 24-year-old Lalpekhlua scored in the 64th minute to help Chennaiyin reach play-off stages of the ISL with full confidence. After their win, Chennaiyin have climbed to second spot in the points table with 22 points from 14 games, having won seven, drawn one and lost six. With the loss in their last game of the season, Pune are now in the seventh position with 15 points from 14 games, having won four, drawn three and lost seven. Chennaiyin's Elano Blumer and Mehrajuddin Wadoo will miss the firs...

Real Madrid ended a turbulent week off the pitch on a high when Karim Benzema struck twice in a 4-1 victory over Getafe in La Liga. Real Madrid ended a turbulent week off the pitch on a high when Karim Benzema struck twice in a 4-1 victory over Getafe in La Liga on Saturday before leaders Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw at Valencia. Real's performance at the Bernabeu lifted them into second for a couple of hours before Atletico Madrid responded with a 2-0 win at Granada, while Santi Mina's late strike for Valencia rescued a point with new coach Gary Neville in the stands. Neville, who was appointed last week but will not officially take over until Sunday, saw plenty to impress him as the home side recovered from falling behind to Luis Suarez's 59th minute goal to stun the Spanish and European champions. With 14 matches played, Barca lead on 34 points, two ahead of Atletico, with Real a further two points adrift in third. Celta Vigo have 25 p...

South Africa were 72 for 2 after playing 72 overs with Hashim Amla unbeaten on 23 off 207 deliveries and AB de Villiers 11 not out off 91. South Africa made a determined bid to salvage a draw after Ajinkya Rahane set up the match for India with a century in each innings in the fourth and final Test. South Africa's runs came at a snail's pace as they reached 72 for 2 at stumps on the fourth day, chasing an improbable target of 481 after India declared at 267 for 5. Captain Hashim Amla scored 23 not out off 207 deliveries and AB de Villiers 11 not out from 91 as South Africa batted for 72 overs. South Africa, which is playing for pride after conceding a decisive 2-0 lead in the series, needs to bat out another full day for the draw. Amla took 46 deliveries to get off the mark on a pitch that seemed to play slower than it did at the start of the Test, while AB de Villiers scored his first run off the 33rd ball he faced. Scorecard | Day 4 highlights | ...

India moved into the second place of the ICC Test Championship table after completing a 3-0 drubbing of South Africa in the four-Test series, which concluded with the fourth match in New Delhi on Monday. Hosts India on Monday notched up a massive 337-run victory over South Africa in the fourth and final Test at the Ferozshah Kotla stadium after dismissing the visitors for 143 in 143.1 overs. The 3-0 series result has helped Virat Kohli’s side gain 10 points, which has lifted it from 100 points to 110 points, ahead of Australia and Pakistan, which have slipped one place each to third and fourth, respectively. Hashim Amla’s side has retained its number-one Test ranking but its lead at the top has been slashed from 16 points to just four points. India has no more Test matches before the annual 1 April cut-off date, but Australia will host eighth-ranked West Indies in a three-Test series from December 10, sixth-ranked New Zealand will go head to head with ...

MUMBAI: MUMBAI: British bank HSBC on Friday said that it will shut down its private banking business in India, an announcement that came amid an ongoing investigation by India's tax department against individuals who had unaccounted foreign currency accounts in the bank's Swiss branch. An HSBC spokesperson said the bank's private banking business will be closed down by the first quarter of 2016 and some of its private banking clients will be moved to its premier banking division. "We w .. Read more at: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/49946831.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst Ashwin wrecks South Africa, India clinch series     Ravichandran Ashwin led South Africa's rout on a spinners' paradise as India romped to a 124-run victory with more than two days to spare in the third test to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series on Friday. The off-spinner claimed seven sec...

Aussie media see pink ball appeal   Sydney: The first ever pink ball Test in Adelaide was warmly received by Australian commentators, with several likening the day-night match to playing under darkened English skies. The first game of its kind in cricket's 138-year history, the opening day of the Australia v New Zealand clash on Friday drew some 47,441 fans -- the biggest crowd at the Adelaide Test since the famous 1932-33 Bodyline series. "The whole thing looked pretty much like Test cricket," wrote Richard Hinds in The Daily Telegraph after the first day saw New Zealand win the toss and bat, only to be all out for 202. Australia were 54 for 2 at close. "Played with a pink ball. Under lights. At Trent Bridge. "The visibility was different. The beaten batsman might say worse. But the conditions were not completely unfamiliar or particularly unfair." Writing in The Australian newspaper, Peter Lalor said at times Austr...

The 23-year-old joined the Saints from Red Bull Salzburg last September and netted 10 goals during his first season in England, which included him scoring the fastest ever hat-trick in Premier League history in the 6-1 thrashing of Aston Villa in May. Mane, who has scored six times so far this campaign, is reportedly attracting interest from Chelsea and Manchester United ahead of the January transfer window. However, Koeman is adamant Mane and other key members of his first-team squad will not be sold in the New Year. "Rumours aren't important: we will sell nobody," the Southampton manager said. "You can ask again about Sadio, Man United, Chelsea, but we will sell nobody in January." Southampton's impressive Premier League stabilisation under Mauricio Pochettino only ended with a host of raids on the club's top talent. Koeman has since fought to stem that tide, though France midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin still joined United last summ...

  New Zealand captain Breden McCullum won the toss and chose to bat first against Austrila in cricket's inaugural day-night test match at Adelaide Oval. Australia, who lead the series 1-0, have already retained the Trans-Tasman trophy following the draw in Perth, but both teams will be eager to etch their names in the record books as the first side to win a test played under floodlights. New Zealand also have a proud record to defend, having not been defeated in seven test series since 2013 under McCullum. Although both teams have played warmups under lights with the specially developed pink ball, the match, the last in the three-match series, is something of a leap into the unknown for the players. Batsmen have reported problems seeing the ball clearly at twilight and the bowlers will hope to exploit that during the later session.