Mike Brown is an outstanding defensive coach but too often his team relies on LeBron to make something happen at the end of close games.You can’t even say that the Lakers have that big of an edge in experience since LeBron, Shaq, Anderson Varejao, Powe, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas have all played in the NBA Finals.While Vegas still has the Lakers as favorites I can’t say that that’s the case.But that’s not such a bad thing if you’re a Lakers fan. Reserves Andre Miller and Juan Howard account for 50 of the 109 games, or 45 percent of Portland?s entire playoff experience.Advantage Houston.. UFC President Dana White has said that “If the winner of the interim title fight is hurt, then Cain Velasquez will fill the slot otherwise it will be the winner of that fight.” In that situation of the interim title fight winner fighting Lesnar, where would that put Velasquez? In my own opinion I think Velasquez should get the first shot at the champion. Well,I’ve already said how great of a wrestler Molly is,listed tons of her accolades,and pretty much marked out.So,need I explain?Runner-up:Victoria. Heading into my writing of this on Friday, it was a very slow news week. I thought they fought hard for them, but for whatever reason USC came up with most of them. Ferry, then, managed to improve the roster without surrendering forward J.J.

Lewis’ carries, yards, touchdowns, yards-per-carry, receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns have all gone down since 2007. Princeton, which has won 11 out of their last 12 games will be hosting Cornell in New JerseySaturday night in what should be a very hyped upmatch-up. Although Princeton hasn’t beaten any of the top teams like Cornell has (Alabama, St. Federer however managed to race through the 3rd set 6-2 to seal a straightforward 6-2 7-5 6-2 victory and claim the 13th Grand Slam title of his career.. It provides an ideal environment to shake off the cobwebs and rust accumulated in the off-season and to test one’s conditioning and training against the best athletes in the world.With the shortened track and its tight, banked curves and the constant re-configuration of the track’s features, the indoor season is not unlike a traveling circus. Does someone have to have an edge in this category? Both teams are undoubtedly pass first and only run the ball when forced to in order to “keep the defense honest.” The Colts were dead last in the NFL in rushing yards per game while the Saints averaged a respectable 131 per contest. He’s started off strong though, passing for nearly 20,000 yards and already winning a Super Bowl There’s no question now he’s a BOOM.. Roll Tide, and that they have.They won a undisputed NC last year and their first Heisman to go along with the 7 consensus national championships they already had (‘61, ‘64, ‘65, ‘73, ‘78, ‘79, ‘92).Bryant-Denny stadium holds 83,000+ and is never more crazy than when Auburn comes to town.They sit sixth in all time victories and boast arguable one of the top coaches that ever coached the game in Paul “Bear” Bryant.They played their first game in 1892, and over the next decade could move up this list with more of their recent success..

Two teams with players that fit the bill are the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes. The trade speculation surrounding 29-year-old F Alexei Ponikarovsky of the Toronto Maple Leafs has been there since the horrid start to the season and is nothing new for this soon-to-be UFA. Though after GM Brian Burke pulled the trigger on a seven player deal with Calgary Sunday, there may be a lot more validity to the rumors. It’s a similar situation with Carolina who had a less than stellar performance this season due in good part to injuries. Hurricane’s 37-year-old F Ray Whitney has been productive, scoring 16 goals adding 25 assists for 41 points in 54 games. Whitney is a UFA at the end of the season and could be the piece of the puzzle that gets a team over the hump through the last part of the season and eventually in the playoffs. Kevin Allen said through his twitter said that Pittsburgh is not involved in any dealing with either player yet. Ingram is a guy who showed that he had what it took to make it big at the next level during his days at Florida, and probably would have been a first round pick last year were it not for an untimely knee injury that cost him his senior season. True, Michigan had quite a few disappointments in Carr?s final years like the loss to Appalachian State and three straight Rose Bowl losses, but I?d bet there are at least a few Michigan fans who would give anything for Carr to come back, especially with the way things have gone the last two years.I?ve never bought the argument that Rodriguez struggled his first year because he didn?t have enough talent. 7?Big Ben had a great year statistically, but a disappointing year in the win column. Rooney burst onto the scene this season with his consistently good performances for the Jets.

Quite a few articles have gone on record and said that if Jericho brought this out ten years ago, he could have retired from the ring and gone big with Fozzy That’s how good this CD is. It was an outstanding defensive play that has vaulted Porter into the highest of places in Saints history.Being a lifelong Packers/Brett Favre fan, I have seen all types of interceptions: the ones where the receivers serve it on a silver plate, the phantom linebackers, you name it.There are many factors that go into making an interception. a long ball game.Little does he apparently realise that channelling the ball along the floor with a series of short or long ground passes and through balls along the floor is the best option.Why is it the best option to use? Because team after team come up against Gillingham, use that tactic and seal a deserved win; and also because the ball-over-the-top focus of play clearly is not working.On current results and performances, it does not seem likely that Stimson will realise this in the near future.Football is a results-based business and sport, and with Stimson unable to grasp successful tactics at this level, a new tactician is needed quickly if Gillingham is to beat the drop. No Fan SupportStimson gets verbally abused weekly by the Gills fans, with the section of supporters in the KM Medway Stand at the krbs Priestfield regularly sharing their less than happy thoughts with Mr Stimson.And following yet another away defeat on Saturday at Brentford, the fans let Stimson know how they felt as he came over to them and applauded their support.Stimmo was met with an air of disdain as his team put in yet another poor display, with the manager not once getting out onto the technical box and publicly showing everyone his desire to spur on his players.On the lips of almost every Gillingham fan, and on almost every Gillingham forum on the Internet, the words “Stimson Out” have become synonymous with the situation the Gills are currently facing. So the message to London-based businessman Paul Scally is: as chairman of Gillingham Football Club, do the right thing, sack your current manager (Mark Stimson), and go for a new approach to save this club from despair.The club’s debts, whilst perhaps controllable, are still there and will not go away until the performances and subsequently results on the pitch improve; that is the only way this club will move forward and eradicate it’s financial burden.In the words of Mark Stimson, “Will the chairman stand by me? Who knows?”If he knows anything about football, he won’t stand by you Mark You’re not the right man for the job, simple as that.. It is the 10th time the city, which last hosted in 2007, will play host to the championship event.W is for Work Stoppage: The NFL could be on the verge of one of the best games in the history of the sport. It basically means that when one talks, the chin getswobbly, and sometimes one stumbles getting words out the right way. His late entry was nothing more than a set up for Edge’s return and a quick toss of gas on the fire to reignite their fued.

Other than the United States’ blowout in the afternoon, all the games that took place Thursday were tightly played and exciting That is how Olympic hockey should be afterall. I don’t really know what he was talking about by giving me those reasons. Mays  9)      BUF-  Trent Williams OTUnless Colt McCoy turns into the next Joe Montana, and Tim Tebow becomes Steve Young, the Bills won’t be addressing their QB need in the first round. Any team that gives up over 40 sacks needs to improve their blocking. But McCann is special folks, and special players take it to special levels when the time is theirs. Sanchez came in with that Crest smile and cool, Southern Cali swag.Sanchez had the faith to sit down in front of cameras on the campus of Southern California and tell America, when his ballyhooed coach just got done telling the country why he shouldn’t do what he’s doing, that he believed in himself, believed in his decision, and that he was going to work like heck to become a good pro. I’m as big a sucker as anyone for a young athlete that carries himself with confidence. The receivers will no longer be young freshmen but will return in 2010 as veterans.

Any way I look at it, this game figures to be high-flying and high-scoring.But let’s get real here: This game could go either way, perhaps on the basis of intangible factors. Believe it or not, Alabama fans were disappointed, despite landing a top five class We can?t give them the nod. Take the playoff teams for instance, starting with the championship teams The Vikings have some guy named Favre The Saints have future HOF Drew Brees The Colts? Some schmuck named Peyton. All the Leafs fans out there say it looks like a toilet bowl.This logo is untouchable and it ranks as one of the best in professional sports.. He already has a title and some highlight-reel KOs to is credit.

This will not be chalked up to yet another “learning” experience.It’s now or never.Andy, you are either an excellent tennis player, or you are a great tennis player It’s as simple as that. As the game wound to a close, one began to get the sense that he wasn’t going to lose this game So Kentucky won’t go undefeated. He still went through the match and received physical contact to the affected area and still showed up the next day Don?t doubt The Deadman.). WWE seems to think that having gimmick themed PPV’s is the way to go and with the buyrates of last year, they may be right The fatal four way PPV should be exciting. Prescription for Success! The 09 Saints are probably the most well-rounded team we’ve seen in a long time that actually play to win for the right reasons, i.e. He is projected as high as early second round on some draft boards.

Arlington is a lefty-hitter-friendly park, so lefty pitchers can be expected to get better HR/FB luck there than righties, all other things equal.Holland’s got a decent low-90’s fastball and a pair of impressive breaking pitches. Atlanta (Last Week: 6) One-time Eastern leaders, the Hawks still have 33 wins this season and are 21-6 at home Atlanta is also 6-4 in their last 10 games 7. He will have to exceed that number to reach 1,750 yards in 2010.Devine has averaged 6.5 yards per carry in his career. Gavin mostly used his left uppercut to tag McDonagh, over and over. The Colts finally got into the end zone as RB Jerry Hill scored on a one-yard run with 3:19 left in the game.The Colts then recovered an onside kick and proceeded to drive the field. The musical acts following Janet and Justin have been: Paul McCartney (2005), The Rolling Stones (2006), Prince (2007), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (2008), Bruce Springsteen (2009), and now The Who.The musical acts preceding the Wardrobe Malfunction included Christina Aguilera (2000), Britney Spears (2001), No Doubt (2003), Nelly and Kid Rock (2004).

“As an organization we believe in building a team through the draft and being very selective in free agency; I think that’s how you build it,” Browns president Mike Holmgren told the News-Herald. Again, it is almost too much of a perfect fit for a team in Texas to keep Shipley at home.With Roy Williams on one side, Jason Witten, a top tight end, and Austin streaking down the field, the middle could be wide open for a speedy, sure-handed slot receiver such as Shipley.3. It could just be me, but for my own personal taste, a creature as rustic and as symbolic of the open plains of our nation’s Heartland as a steer need not be tampered with.With its majestic horns and laid-back demeanor, the steer should remain right where it’s at. He was excellent in run support as well, helping TCU to a top 10 finish in rush defense.The Horned Frogs should get more help from their offense in 2010, but a good pass rush is the great equalizer. The Beavers are still hoping that the top prospect in the state, Owamagbe Odighizuwa, chooses Oregon State, but with the staying-in-state trend currently tilting negatively (OSU has only landed two in-state recruits so far), Corvallis may be a bit light this year.More Beavers angst: RB Giovanni Bernard, at one point allegedly considering Oregon State, committed to UNC, and since then, there’s been no movement for the Beavers in terms of high profile commits. Making stridesGeorgia. At 6′8″, Marcus serves as a huge mismatch to most college small forwards and his long wingspan makes him even bigger.

Still, American Tony Benshoof sat in seventh overall and had a chance to medal with one heat remaining. Included in the training trip were stops at Tiger Muay Thia in Phuket, Thailand to work stand-up, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Dallas, Texas with Carlos Machado, and a few weeks of work in Las Vegas with Shawn Tompkins and Robert Drysdale.Saturday night, Elvis Sinosic will step into the Octagon for the eighth time in his career. Of course, we’re also talking about him just four days after the man who handily beat him at UFC 100 was written off by Dana White himself. The Saints were the underdogs from early on and the line just kept growing and growing. He may not ever be as good as Aldridge or say…Andrew Bynum inside but he is good enough, and what he does on the outside more than makes up for any deficiencies inside which are lessening each year he continues to play in this league…Bargs and Bosh are as good as any one-two combination at center and power forward as there is in the NBA. Miller won 30 out of 48 games backstopping the Sabres to the Eastern Conference Finals against Carolina.

His size and ability to catch are prototypical of Iowa tight ends, and he should continue the trend of Hawkeyes playing tight end in the NFL.Next in line looks to be incoming recruit C.J. This list is as of February 11th stats. Leinart is getting his perennial “second chance” with the future hall-of-famer exiting for post-career bliss. He?s also set to be a free agent at season?s end.The Twins have been working to sign Mauer to a long-term deal for most of the winter and? despite considerable hype?have yet to accomplish that feat.The club is no doubt aware of Mauer?s importance to the Twins chances in 2010 and the long-term success of the franchise.If the club is unable to work out a long-term deal, Mauer would undoubtedly become the hottest commodity on the trade market and could reap a huge return for the club.There is no way that the Twins could withstand the public backlash the club would receive if the biggest star since Kirby Puckett were allowed to simply walk away at season?s end.Luckily for Twins fans, the common belief is that a deal will get done and is more a matter of when and not if.. Before 6′9″, 255-pound Zdeno Chara was dominating at both ends of the ice in the NHL, he was just plain beating guys up in the junior ranks in Prince George while playing with the Cougars of the WHL.Fast forward 13 years later, and the 32-year-old Slovak has racked up 352 points thus far in his 827 games in the NHL, along with an impressive 1,282 minutes in penalties..

But with respect to what Hernandez has done so far, and with a nod towards the future, we salute the Mariners ace as the one who ultimately will be the greatest No. The 2009 Giants became the eighth team since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to miss the playoffs after starting the season 5-0. It was Clint Hurdle’s final game as manager, and the start of what would become one of the greatest rallies in major league history. Whereas, they have many options in case of injury or bad performance, they lose speed on the bench and, frankly, have an outfield featuring two DHs, which kills the defense.Let’s look at the options.Right now the White Sox are looking at DHing Mark Kotsay and Andruw Jones while Juan Pierre plays left field.In other situations Paul Konerko could DH while Kotsay fills in at first.

Gray, who will be a redshirt junior, has seen limited playing time at Georgia under center.However his athleticism is sufficient enough that he works in other areas with the team, notably punt returns. Nobody ever said that Florida played horrible defensively, got shredded by a good quarterback, got burned repeatedly by deep passes, and were lucky to even be in a position to win, let alone kick a field goal to win.Florida was accused of more favoritism from SEC officials for winning the Mississippi State game, a game in which Mississippi State never threatened to score offensively, and would not have even had the score that close if Florida could have converted just once in the red zone.I wasn?t aware that “mistake by the replay official” was a synonym for “favoritism.” The Dustin Doe touchdown/fumble shouldn?t have counted because he did fumble, but it still would not have mattered. Now in Penn State territory, LSU has plenty of time, and can hope for four to five plays, with a chance to kick the game-winning field goal But we forgot Les Miles didn?t complete Time Management 101. He was the starting quarterback for the Cats? for nearly half of the season before Grant Gregory took over the job.Former Kansas State defensive coordinator Vic Koenning departed to Illinois, Chris Cosh was promoted, Chris Dawson was hired as the strength and conditioning coach and Keith Burns was added to the staff as the Wildcats secondary coach.Prediction:Kansas State will finish (5-3) in the conference with losses to Nebraska, Missouri and Texas, possibly getting to either the Sun Bowl or Alamo Bowl.. |Permalink |Tweet This This article is also featured on JoeSportsFan . Fernando Alonso will drive Ferrari’s F10 car on Wednesday and Thursday after having driven it for the first time last week.

That said, his play has dropped in recent years and he’s been rumored to be a difficult player in the dressing room. He’s slowed down recently, but is still a decent option. Morris Peterson, New Orleans Hornets Mo Pete had 16 points and 10 boards against the Celtics. Despite generally playing off the ball for the last two years, Hinrich can play point guard. It was divine intervention, yet again.No matter, he’s accomplished more than he could have possibly dreamt of. During the fourth quarter of recruiting on National Signing Day, Fisher had his eye on another star by the name of Corey Lemonier.Once again, Coach Chizik and his staff came down with a big time play when Lemonier, ranked by Rivals as the 3rd best weakside defensive end, put on an Auburn hat and signed a Letter of Intent to play with the Tigers. They also had a 26.7 points-per-game average that was the third highest in the National Football League this season.

Chemmy is a born and raised Brit, and basically has spent her entire life on the slopes.She competed in her first race at age three, and by age 11 won her first race. He racked up 60 touchdowns and became just the sixth player in D-3 history to surpass 4,000 yards receiving for his career. – Classy Man Gets Classy Award No jokes on this one, as always with The Great One.Ernie Harwell is being honored with the Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award in Sports Broadcasting by Fordham University on May 5 in New York.Ernie is the third man to win the award after Mr. Yes, another list. UAB and Tulsa are both close to that level, but they are not there yet. He should have the next title shot, but it’s obvious Diaz is ducking him.As for Riggs, he does not seem to fit in the world of Strikeforce.

Tomorrow we might have some problems in midfield with the absence of Xavi But still I believe we can cope with this Racing side. Wofford has now won 21 games in a season for the first time since the Terriers won 21 games in the 1993-94 season.The Terriers have been red-hot over the last half of the 2009-10 season, having won 13 of their last 14 games, including having won eight straight. He was the leader of a bench corps that outscored Denver’s bench 52-14.Josh Howard scored 20 points on 8 of 11 shooting and his +25 on/off court ratio was tops on the team and the only starter to have a positive court ratio.  He matched up to Federer for one reason: He is left-handed, so he can hit hard forehand shots to Roger’s weaker one-handed backhand and can do it with spin like nobody else  That’s it. In preparation for the game I talked to Sarah, aka TickTock6 of the consistently awesome HornetsHype about the Blazers, the Hornets and what to look for in tonight’s game. The Lakers have almost as many losses without Gasol as they had the rest of the season.  On the other hand without Bryant, the Lakers finally snapped a nine-game losing streak in Portland.The next game they beat a very good team in the Spurs and ended the Jazz’s 9 game winning streak the next game. On Tuesday night, they beat the Warriors without Kobe, making it four straight wins without him, showing how great of a team they still are without Bryant.From all of the evidence I have shown it is pretty apparent that O’Neal’s impact on his teams has always been far greater compared to Kobe’s impact on his team.Bryant can put up 81 points every night, but at the end of the day, really great players make their teams a lot better. When Bryant has been absent, his teams have not missed a beat and sometime have even been better without him.Without Gasol and especially O’Neal he has not been able to take his teams anywhere.

Forsett was more effective this season than Jones (in bursts at least) and fits the Alex Gibbs zone-blocking-scheme (ZBS).But Forsett isn’t really built to carry the ball 300 times in a season.The Seahawks need to find something to offset Forsett’s style. TRIPLE H (IT WAS AROUND THE TIME OF JEAN PAUL LEVESQES BIRTHDAY TOO….HHH BY THE WAY)WITH CHYNA (JOANIE LAURER). This is the second biggest event of the year after all.Dissent between the two members of DX, former Royal Rumble winners Shawn Michaels and Triple H, continued tonight on the final RAW before the 2010 Royal Rumble, this Sunday on PPV.Triple H made it clear that although he realised HBK wanted to get to face the Undertaker, HHH himself wants to win the Royal Rumble just as bad. Come back live to the main desk.Ben Affleck: Tonight, you have the power to help heal this troubled team It is no question what this group needs the most. When Kenseth pulled beside Stewart to show his displeasure, NASCAR made him pass through pit road under green and added a lap penalty when he failed to respond in a timely manner.Kenseth finished 15th, and Stewart placed fifth.Mark Martin’s start in the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway marked his final race in a 19-year run with Jack Roush.

But as evidenced in their loss to Illinois, it can also be their downfall.Now, when Jason Bohannon hits seven treys like he did against Indiana, the Badgers are virtually unbeatable. It was however like Jaw?s softer side; it didn’t come out that often! We will all remember his inspirational victory in difficult conditions in the Hungarian Grand Prix of 2006, which set an end to his wait for a first victory after various podium finishes in preceding seasons. Cornerback Garry PetersThe Heritage High prospect simply knows how to get the job done.As a dual threat quarterback wide receiver and cornerback, Peters showed his athleticism and strength in dominating fashion.Defense was definitely not the most attractive job to the high schooler at first, but he soon realized that his size and speed made him the perfect corner for the college game.Peters is not the only corner picked up by Clemson but is by far the most dynamic.With his skill set, expect him to see time early and often for the Tigers.Overview: Dabo Swinney has certainly taken over in convincing fashion down at Death Valley.The young and charismatic coach has picked up the 16th best class in the country according to ESPN and 18th according to Rivals.The Clemson Tigers are always lurking in the hunt for the Atlantic Division and finally made it to the ACC championship game last season.The upgrade in athleticism might put them on track to finally win the big one and take home the crown as ACC champions. he?s in the 70s on most state lists.So give me some latitude here, because I get the fact that this is just the beginning. On OffenseRunning BackI?ll start with the deepest position in Texas. Also, Primo can learn a lot from Carlito, and the two will no longer be wasted, nor will they be part of those silly five-minute jobbing matches.. (N/R) Kyle Orton, Denver, 27 (84 pts)ESPN?s Sal Paolantonio has reported that the Browns, Bills, and Broncos have expressed an interest in possibly trading for Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. McDermott will likely get another season to prove himself but he made this list regardless.

There are also several former NHLers in the mix who add a lot of balance to this lineup.If you have any doubts about Slovakia, I forgot to mention they have 6?9? Zdeno Chara standing at their blue line.While the Slovakians do not have a lot of depth, their ?big names? might be able to do enough damage to pull off an upset.. Jordan?s career field goal percentage is higher than anything Kobe has been able to reach for even a single season.Despite the impressiveness of Kobe?s 4-2 Finals record, its clearly trumped by Jordan?s 6-0. Losing Blake Lueders and Martin hurt at a position where the Irish are dangerously thin. The Packers beat the Lions, Dallas beat Oakland and the Broncos beat the Giants.On Sunday, the Colts came back from a huge deficit to beat the Texans and stay undefeated and Vince Young led the Titans to a game winning drive capped off by a TD pass to Kenny Britt.In Week 13, the New Orleans Saints were almost knocked off by the Redskins but an amazing play by Robert Meachem to score off an INT and a missed chip shot by Shaun Suisam kept them alive as one of two undefeated teams.The next week would bring about very sad news to the NFL universe. The Stoke City midfielder marshaled the game like a general.

They may well be flat overall but there will be plenty of ups and downs on the way. Getting timing right will be very important, in contrast to the “buy and hold” rule that has held very well for the past two decades until 2000.Don Straszheim comes to much the same conclusion: it will be a traders’ market and a stock pickers’ market. “Buy on the dips,” he urges.The interesting thing about both these position is that they come from independent advisers, not from the mainstream investment banks that have been so dreadfully, almost wickedly, over-optimistic for the past two years. Implicit in both these independent views is that there will be bad news ahead. This could be further terrorist attacks, very weak consumer spending, a really serious banking collapse – who knows? The key point here is that ordinary investors should be prepared for bad news, even if the markets are not.Does the position change if one looks outside the US? Not a lot. Valuations in the UK and in the eurozone are on average more reasonable than in the US, but it really is unlikely that the eurozone will bounce back faster than the States this year.

One of the great lessons of last year was that the size of the eurozone did not protect it from the debris of the US downturn. Yes, conditions for growth should be solid enough but given this experience it would be naive to expect it to outperform the US to any significant extent.In the UK we are exposed to a much slower rise in consumption as and when interest rates have to be raised That will hit profits. As for Japan, well, the balance of probability is that there will be some cathartic event this year, perhaps a banking collapse that will shake the world economy as well as the Japanese one.Pull together these concerns and my guess would be that there will be only a halting, uncertain recovery this year. There may even be a double-bottom to the recession in the US. Economies are self-healing unless policies are really dreadful (Argentina, Japan) so the doubts about this year have to be seen in the context of a real recovery being eventually secured But do not expect it to get under way until 2003.. By hinting that BT was considering morphing into a media company, Sir Christopher Bland, its outspoken chairman, has set the industry’s imagination running wild.

“On the other extreme, we can build a fully integrated model like BSkyB, which makes and distributes its own programmes over its own and other networks and also distributes other content over its system.”That the company was looking into the idea could hardly have come as a surprise since Sir Christopher, the former chairman of the BBC, is steeped in the media industry.Nor is it a secret that BT must come up with new ways to drive growth from its existing assets before the cable companies and other new entrants prise away too many more of its precious 20 million residential customers.The cable companies’ so-called “triple play” packages, where customers are offered telephony, television and high speed internet services, have proved a resounding hit with customers. Indeed, BT already has a cross-marketing deal in place with BSkyB and ITV Digital.How, when and indeed if BT will offer its own trio of services, though, remains to be seen. The answers will undoubtedly depend on whether the Independent Television Commission awards BT a broadcast licence next month.While BT insiders say there are many options and contingency plans on the table, Sir Christopher hinted yesterday that, even if it did gain a licence, becoming a rival “BSkyB” operation was extremely unlikely.”We are more likely to focus on distribution rather than creation or ownership of broadcast content. We are less likely to become a television content owner or creator and more likely to seek to participate in content provision through suitable partnerships,” he said at yesterday’s conference.Steve Trowbridge, a telecoms analyst at SG Securities, said he thought BT’s potential plan to offer “entertainment services” alongside telephony was, nevertheless, “a credible strategy”. However, he said: “I’d rather see them de-risk the process as best they can with partners rather than do everything themselves. I’d rather see them partner, say with ITV Digital, or HomeChoice, or someone like that, just to try to get some expertise and assistance in that area.”Until a year ago, BT had been banned from owning a broadcast licence although it had a temporary one in the mid-1990’s to enable it to trial different high-speed internet technologies in the Ipswich area.

The group, which has refined its claim to controlling the UK’s pizza home delivery market, opened 24 new stores and now delivers from 237 outlets.Mr Hemsley said the focus on accelerating the roll out was necessary because although the ads went out to the whole of the UK’s population, only 35 per cent lived within range of a Domino’s branch. As well as chasing new stores, Domino’s has also spruced up the image of its existing estate, which increased what Mr Hemsley called their “kerbside appeal”.Analysts said the sales burst was also helped by customers opting to eat in rather than go out, fearing an impending economic downturn. Luke Ahern, at Seymour Pierce, said the trend was expected to intensify. “Things will get worse instead of getting better in terms of consumer spending. If a parent can avoid kids screaming for more ice cream and fizzy drinks and cap spending by going for a takeaway option they will,” he said.The research group Mintel has said that more pizzas are eaten outside UK restaurants than within, reflecting the acceleration of the home delivery market – the fastest-growing area of the quick service foods sector.. The row between Ryanair and Lufthansa over the low-cost carrier’s attempt to set up a new European hub at Frankfurt intensified yesterday after the Irish airline lodged a fresh complaint with Brussels over the German flag carrier’s behaviour.

Michael O’Leary, its chief executive, said the German carrier had launched a series of “ridiculous” court actions, seeking to prevent Ryanair from advertising price comparisons with Lufthansa.Mr O’Leary has now submitted a complaint to both the EU Competition Commissioner, Mario Monti, and the EU Transport Commissioner, Loyola de Palacio, about Lufthansa’s tactics.Ryanair first lodged an objection in Brussels against Lufthansa last November after the German airline complained about Ryanair advertising the launch of services from Frankfurt when, in fact, the airport it will fly from, Frankfurt Hahn, is some distance outside the city.Commission sources said, however, the dispute was a matter for the German courts rather than Brussels.Ryanair will begin services from Frankfurt Hahn next month. It intends operating to 10 destinations, including London, Milan, Pisa, Oslo, Glasgow and Shannon, and is aiming to attract one million new passengers.Separately, the Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint about Ryanair’s fares promotion last autumn in the wake of the 11 September attacks. The ASA concluded that the campaign was misleading by not making it sufficiently clear that the cut-price offer did not apply to weekend flights.. Huntingdon Life Sciences, the controversial animal testing group under siege from protesters, yesterday lost its banker and biggest shareholder, Stephens Group, a US finance house.

In the US, both combinations would have roughly the same share of the cruise market, so regulators will either block both of them, or clear both of them. The idea that a combination of the number two and three operators in terms of market capitalisation would create a more powerful competitor to the number one carries no weight at all in US competition case law. Rather the reverse, in fact, since the shrinkage of three powerful players into just two risks creating a cosy duopoly.The issues in Europe are more complicated, but in substance much the same. Because it meets the turnover threshold, the Carnival proposal will be examined by the European Commission, while the Royal Caribbean one falls to national authorities to vet. In the UK, the market position of both combinations would be roughly similar.

In Germany, it’s a bit higher in the case of the Carnival proposal, but not so significantly so as to lead the European Commission to a different view on the alternatives to its German counterpart.If Lord Sterling thought the poison pill arrangement would deter Carnival from entering the fray altogether, and thus improve his chances of regulatory clearance with Royal Caribbean, then he was being naive. No company as successful as Carnival is going to roll over and let its stomach be tickled and, in any battle of the berths, it would always do its utmost to ensure that if Carnival was going to be blocked, then everyone would be blocked Lord Sterling has got himself into a mess. He’s got plenty of explaining to do.Mind the GapTwo High street retailers stick out like a sore thumb amid the warm glow of booming Christmas sales – Gap and the much hyped new arrival from Japan, Uniqlo. December sales figures due to be announced today are expected to show a year-on-year slump of nearly a quarter for Gap, while the company that owns Uniqlo, Fast Retailing, saw its share price plummet on the Tokyo stock market yesterday after issuing a profits warning.In both cases the pain is more to do with what’s happening abroad than here. There may seem to be a Gap on every street corner, but in fact only 3 per cent of the group’s stores are in the UK. None the less, the story is much the same both here and in the US. Gap has overexpanded and lost its way, and you only have to experience the chaos of a Gap checkout counter once to know that this has become a quite poorly managed company.Fast back just two years and the picture could hardly have been more different.