NEIL Henry will leave Canberra at the end of the 2008 season, clearing the way for the Raiders coach to join North Queensland.

The Raiders board met earlier Monday morning, and agreed to a mutual release of his current contract.

Raiders CEO Don Furner said the club was disappointed to be losing Henry, who they had hoped would stay with the club long-term.

“The board agreed not to stand in Neil’s way and decided he would remain Coach of the club until the end of the 2008 season,” Furner related. “Neil has agreed to see out the rest of the season, and will remain head Coach of the Raiders until October 31 this year.

“I am fully convinced that Neil will be focused on the rest of this season, and has the full support of the players until seasons end.”

Henry said the decision to leave Canberra was extremely tough, but he was focused on his remaining time at the club.

“This has been the most difficult decision I have to make,” Henry said. “I am grateful for the opportunity that the club has given me, I’m relieved the firmness is out of the road, and we’re now focused on beating the Titans this weekend.”

North Queensland have made no secret of their desire to take Henry to Townsville as a replacement for outgoing Cowboys coach Graham Murray.

MIAMI — Alejandro De Aza’s uncanny run of bad luck from a year ago has carried over into the start of 2008.

The Florida Marlins placed the outfielder on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with a high left ankle sprain, an injury that could keep him out four to six weeks. He suffered the injury in the ninth inning of Saturday night’s exhibition-season finale against the New York Yankees, when he collided with John Raynor while trying to run down a flyball and needed to be carted off the field.

Marlins conductor Fredi Gonzalez wasn’t second-guessing himself with respect to having De Aza in the eventual inning of a meaningless game.

“It’s one of those things,” Gonzalez related. “You hate for stuff like that to happen, but he needed to play, he needed some at-bats and we didn’t have any more options.”

De Aza — who batted .361 in Grapefruit League play — would have been part of a platoon in center field, and he was the Marlins’ opening-day starter at that position a year gone. Full story

MIAMI — Mike Pelfrey walked slowly into manager Willie Randolph’s office this morning, expressive the moment of truth had finally arrived.

Exactly one minute later, Pelfrey walked out with a dapple in the New York Mets’ rotation.

The Mets made Pelfrey their fifth starter as they finalized their 25-man opening-day roster. He had some hard moments in spring training, but showed Randolph enough to get the spot.

“He’s a big, strong kid and has a bright future ahead of him,” Randolph said. “It’s time concerning him to step up and really get his career going. He’ll get an opportunity to do that and I have confidence in him. He’s got great stuff. He’s had a nice spring, he really has. He’s had a couple bumps and bruises there, but that’s spring training for everyone.”

MINNEAPOLIS — Scott Baker passed his last spring test for the Minnesota Twins, pitching six sharp innings in a minor league game.

Baker was bothered by a sore back and then a bad bout with the flu, a setback to his throwing schedule. The Twins wanted to make fully convinced he was strong enough before formally including him in the rotation, so they left him in Florida to pitch in the minor league game. Baker gave up five hits and one run while striking out three and throwing 71 pitches.

“He said he was feeling really, really good,” manager Ron Gardenhire said after the rest of the team worked out at the Metrodome. “Kind of expected him to observe all right.”

Baker will make his first start on Friday, when Minnesota hosts Kansas City. Baker took a perfect game into the ninth inning against the Royals last August.

The Twins open the give relish to on Monday against the Los Angeles Angels.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants designated reliever Steve Kline for assignment and placed shortstop Omar Vizquel on the 15-day disabled list in a flurry of moves the team made to get down to the 25-player obstruction.

A day after optioning backup catcher Eliezer Alfonzo to Triple-A Fresno, San Francisco kept busy by trimming seven more players from the roster.

Starting pitcher Noah Lowry, projected third in the Giants rotation judgment undergoing surgery on his left wrist in early March, was also placed on the 15-day DL along with right-hander Vinnie Chulk and infielder Kevin Frandsen. All the moves are retroactive to March 21.

The decision to denominate the left-handed Kline for assignment probably means the end of his two-year stay in San Francisco. The Giants have 10 days to either trade the 35-year-old reliever or expose him to the waiver wire, where he’ll likely garner notice from teams looking for bullpen help. San Francisco is responsible for his $1.75 million salary if not he’s claimed.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

LOS ANGELES — The way the Dallas Stars were struggling, another loss to the downtrodden Los Angeles Kings would’ve forced them to work even harder to nail down a playoff berth.

After a big offensive outburst, now they’ve got some momentum to take into the final four games of the regular season.

Loui Eriksson scored twice less than 3½ minutes by itself during a four-goal second period, defenseman Stephane Robidas had a goal and two assists, and the Stars connected three times on power plays to rout the Kings 7-2 on Saturday.

The victory was only the Stars’ second in 10 games, a stretch that included a 4-2 loss to the Kings at Dallas.

“This is something to build on, and we indigence more of the like. We’re in a lockdown mode,” goaltender Marty Turco said. “The comeliness of the whole game was not the score, but how the game went down — just the relentlessness of every period and each facet of the game. It’s great to see. But that’s what we expect, really. Today was a great example of what we need to do every shift from now on.”

Eriksson, Robidas and Brenden Morrow all scored through the man advantage. Stu Barnes, Jere Lehtinen and Niklas Hagman also had goals and Mike Ribeiro had three assists for the Stars, who earned a split of the eight-game season series after winning all eight meetings with the Kings highest season.

“It was a heck of a series and it was hard-fought all year long,” Barnes said. “They’ve got some very dangerous players on that team. But obviously, we needed the win to stay in the playoff race and get our game in shape.”

Kevin Dallman and Michael Cammalleri scored for the Kings, who were outshot 35-14.

“Our team hit a wall today,” coach Marc Crawford said. “You’re playing against a team that is desperate, and that’s what happens when those two paths cross. You never want to play like that in front of your fans, but we ran out of gas. We squeezed a doom out of our team, playing three games in 3½ days.”

The Kings (31-41-7) began the day tied with Tampa Bay for the fewest points in the league standings. The only time they finished a season with the league’s worst record was in 1969-70. Dallas coach Dave Tippett, who was an assistant coach with Los Angeles, has empathy for the organization that prepared him for his first head coaching job in the NHL.

“That organization treated me very well, so hopefully they can get it turned around and get it going in the right direction,” Tippett said. “The year we went to the playoffs, this was a very enjoyable place to be. I don’t know what’s transpired in-between, but obviously they’re in a rebuilding custom right now.”

Dallas outshot Los Angeles 16-3 during the second period, grabbing a 2-1 lead just 16 seconds after the first intermission. Barnes chipped the pug past defenseman Tom Preissing at the Kings’ blue line and attempted a centering pass for Steve Ott that caromed off Dallman’s skate and into the net.

Morrow added his 31st goal about six minutes later, extending his goal-scoring streak to four games as long as Raitis Ivanans was serving an interference penalty.

“The reality of it is that they don’t have much to play for,” Turco said. “I mean, they’re a talented team so you’ve got to be super-cautious against them. But when guys are playing that hard and that intense and that focused like we did, it’s pretty hard for the other team to generate much.”

Eriksson made it 4-1 midway through the second while Scott Thornton was serving a double-minor for high-sticking. Eriksson got his second of the game and 14th of the season at 13:53 of the bound.

“We need every point we can get, so we had to play it like a playoff game,” Eriksson said.

Ersberg, who beat Phoenix 4-0 on Thursday night for his second NHL shutout, didn’t have to stop a shot the during the primitive 8 1/2 minutes against Dallas. But the Stars tied it at 13:29 of the orifice period on Robidas’ first goal in 31 career games against the Kings.

• Daniel Taylor made his NHL debut, replacing Ersberg after two periods and becoming the 11th goalie the Kings have used from that time the start of last season. He surrendered Lehtinen’s goal on Dallas’ first shot against him.
• Dallas D Mattias Norstrom, who spent parts of 11 seasons with the Kings and was their captain for the previous five, will play in his 900th NHL regular-season game Sunday at Anaheim.
• Richards had two assists, giving him 500 career points in the NHL.
• Kings C Patrick O’Sullivan, who has 20 goals in his first full NHL season, played in all eight games against the Stars free from one.

WESTERN Force are planning to join Australian rugby’s push into Asia.

And there ambitions reach as high as playing the Japanese national team.

The Force fully support ARU chief executive John O’Neill’s vision of closer ties between Australian and Japanese rugby.

The Perth-based Super 14 outfit has already established good relations with several Japanese clubs.

"We are looking towards Asia," chairman Geoff Stooke said.

"We want to twitch building ties in Asia because we see it as important.

"It ties in well with our sponsors, who have a presence in Asia, including our naming rights sponsor (Emirates Airline)."

The Force’s big-picture thinking comes at a appropriated time when the team can justifiably lay claim to being the country’s greatest number successful Super 14 club, on and away the field, after RugbyWA declared a profit of towards $1million.

Stooke stressed that any plan to play Japan was only at the conceptual stage.

"We already have a relationship with a number of Japanese clubs," Stooke said.  "Four teams from Japan have visited us. They have played the Force Gold lateral.

"We may look at playing a round-robin of games. It’s something we are working on. For the Super 14 team, we have to get the right quality of games for the players.

"The Japanese club teams are quite competitive, but they are not the answer to the third tier competition we are looking for.

"Playing Japan or Japan B are things we are looking at. It’s only at the concept stage. We are also looking at some type of fixture in Dubai.

"Hopefully, one of the South African teams will play us in a trial game."

RugbyWA declared a trading surplus of $966,131 for the 2007 financial year.

In comparison, the ACT and NSW recorded profits of around $200,000 each, while Queensland is expected to declare a loss.

WA’s outstanding result was achieved despite having to incur net costs of $466,000 to fund Perth Spirit’s participation in the defunct Australian Rugby Championship.

Stooke said the result enabled RugbyWA to provide a boost for grassroots rugby in the state.

RugbyWA is moreover committed to relocating from Perry Lakes to new facilities adjacent to Challenge Stadium.

The WA Government is contributing $18m to the project, while RugbyWA will state in about $3m.

"We have performed well, but we don’t take anything for granted," Stooke said. "We have to keep working hard."

With a $22m turnover, RugbyWA’s next financial design is to build up its cash reserves.

"We have a healthy cash flow, but we need reserves to at least cover ourselves in case the taps (revenue streams) are turned off in the place of six months," Stooke said.

The bullish nature of RugbyWA is reflected in the performance of the Force, who acquire gone from wooden-spooner to semi-final contender within three years.

The fourth-placed Force are Australia’s top-ranking team this season, ahead of the Brumbies (sixth), Waratahs (seventh) and Reds (10th).

After a loss to the Crusaders, the Force are capable of winning their five remaining home games, starting with the Stormers at Subiaco Oval, which would almost certainly guarantee a first top-four finish.

And if the Force can beat the Hurricanes in Wellington in the second-last round, it will put them in a position to host a semi-final.

THIS week’s WAFL action sees the fiercest of battles renewed as teams look to get an early advantage over their arch-rivals.

The round kicks off tonight, with Subiaco hosting Claremont at Medibank Stadium, before the derbies take place on Saturday between East and South Fremantle, and West and East Perth. Peel and Perth furthermore do battle on Saturday.

MEDIBANK STADIUM, FRIDAY NIGHT: SUBIACO v CLAREMONT
SUBIACO and Claremont have done battle for the minor premiership in recent seasons, but the Lions have had the undoubted edge in September, winning three of the finally four grand finals, with the Tigers losing three of the last four.

That rivalry will be renewed on Friday night as a new-look Claremont looks to get revenge for last year’s 41-point grand final overthrow to the Lions. It is a vastly different Tigers side, though, with Roger Kerr replacing Ashley Prescott as coach and key players Daniel Bandy, Rory Walton, Tom Matson and Troy Carlon moving without ceasing.

The Tigers recorded a strong 14-point win over West Perth last week, though, and it was largely on the back of young players that Kerr has vowed to put his faith in. Captain Anthony Jones is still missing with injury this week, but the forward-line receives a big boost with the return of West Coast’s Chad Jones.

Fremantle midfielder Andrew Browne also returns after a reserves hit out last week, with Lewis Stevenson and Nic Chidgzey the unlucky pair to make way.

Subiaco has made no changes to the team that beat South Fremantle by 40 points last Thursday night, meaning veterans Adam Hay, Chad Cossom, Allistair Pickett, Caine Hayes and Chris Hood haven’t been able to break in, with Ben Randall and Chris Hall still out injured.

Subiaco’s midfield was superb last week led by Phil Read and youngsters Daniel Rich, Adam Cockie and Kyal Horsley; Blake Broadhurst led the potent forwards with six goals and Darren Rumble, Aidan Parker and Greg Broughton formed a potent defence.

Subiaco – No make some change in..
Claremont – In: C Jones, Browne. Out: Stevenson, Chidgzey.

Prediction: Subiaco by 20 points.

EFTEL OVAL, SATURDAY: PERTH v PEEL
PERTH made an impressive twitch to the season last week with a 48-point over East Fremantle and desire be looking to repeat that at home again this Saturday against Peel Thunder.

The Demons throw away Chris Mayne from that side, but Carlton recruit Ross Young contributed well to the midfield in his WAFL debut and could be joined by the agency of his brother Seamus this week.

Speaking of brothers, Peel will regain West Coast’s Matt Rosa after the Eagles dropped him and he will play alongside older brother Simon for the first period in Thunder colours.

Perth was well served by West Coast-listed ruckman Will Sullivan in the win over the Sharks and if he can repeat that form, it gives the Demons a big favorable opportunity with Peel still without its No. 1 ruckman Zac Beeck.

Peel weren’t disgraced against Swans last week going down by 32 points and will be confident of a good showing against a side it has a good recent record against. Despite missing Beeck and Daniel Haines, Hayden Ballantyne was superb with five goals, with key forwards Al McDonald and Dean Buszan booting six between them, so the Thunder aren’t without a chance of causing an upset.

Perth – In: McDonald, S Young, Welburn, White, Ryan, Power. Out: Armstrong, Selwood, Mayne.
Peel – In: Harper, Triplett, Green, Nye, M Rosa. Out:

Prediction: Perth by 30 points.

EAST FREMANTLE OVAL, SATURDAY: EAST FREMANTLE v SOUTH FREMANTLE
DISAPPOINTING Round 1 performances gives this Saturday’s Fremantle derby at East Fremantle Oval even more spice as both sides will be desperate to get on the board with a win.

South Fremantle began the season losing to Subiaco by 40 points and East Fremantle was the big disappointment of the opening round, losing to Perth by 48 points.

The Sharks lose Chris Masten and Rhys Palmer this week and the pair will make their AFL debut, but new coach Shane Woewodin has been impressed with Clinton Rudd and Chris Basile over the pre-season, and the pair should make their WAFL debuts against the Bulldogs.

South Fremantle will also be strengthened with Fremantle’s Scott Thornton and former Docker Andrew Siegert returning. The Bulldogs certainly weren’t terrible last week against the Lions and it will be interesting to see how form against Subiaco stacks up against another side in the competition.

The derbies were superb encounters again in 2007 after South Fremantle had dominated them for most of the decade and there is every indication of a terrific battle again on Saturday. Last time they met at East Fremantle Oval was Foundation Day last year when almost 10,000 people showed up, and a South Fremantle side including Jeff Farmer, Ashley Sampi, Paul Duffield, Ryan Murphy and Daniel Gilmore just shook off a young Sharks unit.

The match will also pit the youngest WAFL coach, Woewodin, against the most-experienced in John Dimmer, so it will be intriguing to see them clog horns.

East Fremantle – In: McRobb, Rudd, Basile, Anthony, Dalby, Bongiascia. Out: Masten, Palmer, McNamara.
South Fremantle – In: Siegert, Thornton, Wilkie. Out: Fielding, Murphy, Smith.

Prediction: South Fremantle by 15 points.

ARENA JOONDALUP, SATURDAY: WEST PERTH v EAST PERTH
THE Perth derby between West Perth and East Perth never fails to lack passion and fire and this Saturday’s meeting at Arena Joondalup is sharpen to be no different.

West Perth is coming off a 14-point loss to Claremont that was largely its own undoing with gaunt kicking at goal, while East Perth had the Round 1 bye and come in fresh and ready to go.

The Royals also have an overall stronger looking side than the one that bowed out in the first semi-final last year. They have gained AFL experience in Joel Reynolds and Jeremy Humm, recruited defender Trent Martin from Claremont and big man David Dawes from Victoria, after he was initially brought over by South Fremantle.

The Falcons forward-line looks potent with Adam Campbell, Brent LeCras and Troy Longmuir there, while the ruckman is an imposing bunch with Rob Warnock, Brent Connelly and Chris Keunen totality in line for selection this week.

It will also be new Falcons captain Jason Salecic’s 100th game and first as skipper against the Royals, so he will be desperate for a win.

East Perth beat West Perth at Arena Joondalup twice in 2007 and it will be a tough and exciting battle on Saturday to see who comes away with first bragging rights of the new season.

West Perth – In: Keunen, Gobbels, Pearce, Hunt, Fleay, Connelly. Out:
East Perth (from last year’s first semi-final) – In: Martin, Wulff, Pickering, Humm, Webster, Jones, Stirling, Reynolds, Dawes, MacKenzie. Out: Agostino, Mills, Spaanderman, Clark, Lee, Batchelor, Glancy.

Prediction: East Perth by 10 points.

THE Perth Wildcats have met by the Brisbane Bullets’ Joey Wright as part of their hunt for a new head coach.

"We contrive ourselves a time frame of six weeks, and are almost midway through our local and international search for the right person and Joey Wright has certainly been impressive," CEO Nick Marvin related.

"The club will continue the process and is adhering track to announce a decision in late April."

The hunt follows the strike against resignation of popular Wildcats coach Scott Fisher, who is returning with his family to live in the US.

CHRIS Hoy staged the biggest upset on the second day of the world vestige cycling championships in Manchester - eliminating world sprint champ Theo Bos.

Hoy, the former world kilometre champion of Britain set to compete in the keirin and sprint at the Olympic Games in Beijing, next faces Roberto Chiappa of Italy in the semi-finals on day three.

The other semi-final features French riders Kevin Sireau and Mickael Bourgain.

The event has proved hugely disappointing for Australia’s riders, through none featuring in the quarter-finals.

Daniel Ellis missed the cut after the opening round, while national champion Mark French went out in the second.

Olympic champion Ryan Bayley afterwards lost his second-round rematch of the Olympic final against Bos.

Bos won by about half a wheel, forcing Bayley into a repechage in which Sireau claimed the only place up for grabs.

Shane Perkins went into the other repechage, from which Andriy Vynokourov of Ukraine won through to the quarter-finals.

Hoy, who helped Britain to the team sprint gentle behind champions France in continuance day one, looked to exist out after Bos, the reigning world sprint and keirin champion, stunned him by a great tactical move in the first leg of their quarter-final.

But the Scot fought back valiantly to on a par in the second race then pushed the big Dutchman out by the length of a wheel rim with a strong burst to the finish first in the decider.

"I’m really gutted," Bos said.

"I haven’t lost in a world championship sprint or universe Cup since 2005, and I wanted to really keep a hold of the jersey.

"I have to give credit to Hoy. He beat me fair and square. at once I know there will be some operate to do before the Games."

Hoy, who turned to the individual sprint only recently because his former speciality of the kilometre is no longer in the Olympics, now has a chance to succeed Bos as world champion.

"People see him as invincible, but nobody’s unbeatable - and today I proved that," Hoy said.

"It always rattles your confidence if you expect to go straight through and you are mentally preparing yourself for two rides - it’s definitely a psychological disadvantage. And so much of this game is psychology."

The French meanwhile will be glued to what should be any epic duel between 20-year-old Sireau and Bourgain, his drill partner and roommate at the French national training centre at Hyeres in southern France.

Sireau is hoping to get a good night’s sleep after what he said was a difficult first day of sprinting.

"It’s the first time I’ve been involved in such an intensive sprint competition," he said.

"It’s nothing find to one’s mind the world cup (series)."

 SPRING TRAINING 2008Spring training guides: Grapefruit League | Cactus LeagueSpring preview index: Organizational reports, features and more for each teamDaily schedule: Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues40-man rosters: All the teamsThe next wave: Sports Weekly's 100 Names You Need to Know for 2008
DETROIT (AP) — Miguel Cabrera and the Detroit Tigers finalized their $152.3 million, eight-year contract on Tuesday, the fourth-largest package among present major leaguers.

Cabrera agreed Jan. 18 to an $11.3 million, one-year contract. The new deal adds $141 million over the following seven seasons.

The third baseman gets $15 million in 2009, $20 million in each of the next two seasons, $21 million each in 2012 and 2013, and $22 million apiece in 2014 and 2015, according to contract terms obtained by The Associated Press. He too receives a limited no-trade clause, similar to that of Tigers teammate Magglio Ordonez.

A four-time All-Star, Cabrera will be 32 when the contract expires. After Tigers president Dave Dombrowski mentioned that, Cabrera looked, laughed and said: “Let’s talk about the extension now.”

Detroit acquired Cabrera from the Florida Marlins during December’s winter meetings along with pitcher Dontrelle Willis as antidote to up six prospects. Cabrera averaged 32 homers and 115 RBI while hitting .318 the past four seasons for the Marlins.

Cabrera’s average salary of $19,037,500 is the fourth-highest in the major leagues, trailing those of New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez ($27.5 the masses), New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana ($22,916,667) and Boston left fielder Manny Ramirez ($20 million).

TOUGH BREAK: Granderson to start season on DL with fractured handle

His deal also is the fourth-highest current package. Rodriguez is starting a $275 million, 10-year contract, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is entering the eighth season of a $189 million, 10-year deal and Ramirez is in the final guaranteed season of a $160 million, eight-year contract.

Cabrera, who said he plans on building a home in Detroit, said a factor in his decision were the Tigers strong Latin American connection. He is joined by Ordonez and Carlos Guillen, a pair of fellow Venezuelans, in one of baseball’s most powerful lineups.

“He is part of our foundation now, a young player who have power to only continue to get better,” Dombrowski said.

For the first time, Cabrera will be asked not to play in the Venezuelan Winter League. Cabrera has always played winter league ball, but Dombrowski stressed that the Tigers were against it and Cabrera uttered he would oblige the organization.

Dombrowski said the deal sends an important message,

“The dollars are big,” Dombrowski said. “But if we are not willing to look in the mirror at the time it is time to spend the dollars, we don’t make this trade.”

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights cold. This material may not subsist published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Frank Shamrock steps back into the cage on March 29 to take on fellow San Jose native Cung Le for the Strikeforce organization. Shamrock has been out of action since his June 2007 victory over heated rival Phil Baroni. Now, he returns to the cage against the undefeated yet largely untested Le.

We recently caught up with Shamrock to discuss a wide variety of topics including his thoughts on the fight with the Le, what he thinks about his brother Ken’s recent fight with Buzz Berr, and his views on Kimbo Slice being the front married man for Elite XC’s first appearance in succession network television.

Question: What are your thoughts adhering the upcoming fight with Sanshou expert Cung Le?

Frank Shamrock: I think it’s going to be a good match. It’s a different style match. I’m more of a grappler/puncher guy, and he’s more of a kicker/wrestler guy. So stylistically, I think it is a very exciting match. And in San Jose, it’s huge.

Q: Why is it that mixed brave arts is so big in San Jose?

FS: San Jose is like a little big city. All the big companies are here, but at the core, it is a small town. And this town loves warlike arts. There are umpteen number of MMA schools here. When you have local martial arts icons going against each other in a fight, it becomes a huge, huge event.

  Frank Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz II to come soon? (EliteXC)     Q: As far as Le goes, he has not fought someone near your caliber in MMA. Do you think he’s ready to take on someone as elegant as yourself?

FS: Personally, no. I be in actual possession of fought everyone for every title. I have been at this in quest of about 14 years now. When I look at Cung, he looks like a young boy, but the beauty of this sport is anything can happen at any time. There are so many different elements to (the fight) that anyone has a shot at winning. But if I were him, I wouldn’t fight me.

Q: Do you expect Cung Le to keep the fight standing? I know he has a wrestling background as well, but his expertise definitely seems to be on his feet.

FS: I believe he will start standing, but once he feels that I understand the striking game, he’ll go back to his roots, which indeed is wrestling. He has a to a high degree good wrestling base. He’ll try to combine the two to pick apart my striking game, but I think he is really underestimating my forcible game.

Q: In your last fight against Phil Baroni — a noted striker — you stood and traded with him for a while before finally getting him to the ground and finishing the fight with a rear naked choke.

FS: Definitely. Everyone thought that was a fluke. But when I first retired from the sport, I really thought the sport would turn to a striking based sport because that is just the easiest way to damage somebody. Since 1999, my main focus and meditate has boxing, kicking, kneeing and elbows — anything based in the striking arts. I think the world is going to accept a blustering wake-up call when it comes to my striking.

Q: Should you make acquisition by Cung Le, one man who has mentioned your name a few times is Tito Ortiz. Is that a fight you’d like to have in the future?

MARK Schwarzer has saved a late penalty to maintain Australia’s unbeaten start to their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 0-0 draw against China.

 The Socceroos overcame a horror injury toll and the lung-busting height of Kunming to claim a vital away point and stay top of their qualification group.

Goalkeeper Schwarzer ended Australia’s saviour after stopping a spot kick from Shao Jiayi in the 89th minute.

Schwarzer had conceded the penalty after referee Ahmad Nasser contentiously ruled the `keeper had brought down speedy lieutenant Qu Bo in the box.

But the 35-year-old made amends by blocking Jiayi’s limp shot to give Australia their second ritually honest sheet in as many games to begin their bid for the 2010 World Cup.

Minutes later, the Socceroos nearly stole victory at the time Mark Bresciano pulled back a ball for David Carney in the box.

But the Australian wing back failed to devise a boot on the chance as defender Sun Xiang rushed in to clear.

It was the second of two persons of rank chances for Australia in the game.

Earlier, Bresciano had the perfect opportunity to give the Socceroos the lead.

But after superb lead-up work from Brett Holman, the midfielder could only blast his 25th minute shot from agree range straight at the `keeper.

China were perhaps favored to end the game with a full compliment of players after a studs-up challenge from Sun Jihai on Luke Wilkshire in the 81st minute.

The referee, though, awarded Australia only a free kick with Jihai not even booked.

The draw was but also more meritorious for the Socceroos given they lost striker Archie Thompson to a calf injury in just the 10th minute.

The Melbourne Victory striker, who was felled in a rough challenge from Feng Xiaoting in the fourth minute, battled on for several minutes with the injury before finally succumbing.

Coach Pim Verbeek lost as many as seven first-team players in the lead up to the game, including Harry Kewell, who was ruled out early today with a groin injury.

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