Bryan Robson fears Man Utd's Ashley Young could get 'diver' tag

Former Manchester United captain Bryan Robson fears Ashley Young could develop a reputation as "a diver".

Young was criticised for going down too easily to win penalties in recent victories over QPR and Aston Villa.

Robson told BBC Radio Manchester: "He's going to have to be careful because people are scrutinising it now.

"The thing is, it could be in a really important game where there's a blatant penalty and he'll not get it because he gets a reputation for the diving." The 55-year-old, who spent 13 years with United and is now an ambassador at Old Trafford, continued: "He's a sensible lad and he'll stand there, look in the mirror and think 'I've got to be a bit more careful and stay on my feet a little bit'."

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admitted he thought Young "overdid" his fall to earn a spot-kick against Villa on Sunday, although he said referee Mark Halsey was correct to award a penalty.

That incident came exactly a week after QPR captain Shaun Derry was sent off by Lee Mason for a challenge on Young inside the box, a decision criticised by Derry and his manager Mark Hughes in the aftermath of Rangers' 2-0 defeat.

Meanwhile, former United goalkeeper Alex Stepney believes diving will remain part of football, unless the authorities clamp down on offenders.

"There are players in every team that do it," Stepney, who played more than 500 times for the Red Devils between 1966 and 1978, told BBC Radio Manchester's Red Wednesday programme.

"The only people that can stop it are the referee, the Premier League and the FA.

"They have got to put strong punishments for diving and the only way you can do that at the time is by video.

"The way they're doing it is not riding the tackle. They're throwing their feet into the other player to get the penalty.

"If any player did that in our day, they would have got seen to."

Meanwhile, Stepney is pleased Ferguson has kept faith with young goalkeeper David De Gea.

The 21-year-old endured a shaky start to his career at Old Trafford following his £18.9m move from Atletico Madrid last June. Anders Lindegaard was preferred to De Gea at the turn of the year, but after a month out of the first team, the Spaniard returned to the starting line-up and has been in sparkling form.

He has kept five clean sheets in his last six appearances for United and has helped the club build a five-point lead over rivals City at the top of the Premier League.

"The game in Spain is a completely different game to the Premier League," said Stepney, who was part of the United side that won the European Cup in 1968.

"Let's be honest, we all know what happened after Peter Schmeichel finished and the amount of goalkeepers that were given a chance.

"When Edwin (van der Sar) had to retire, the media were going to jump on it. That's the way life is today.

"If United go on to win the title, that will help him. In my first season, we won the title and it gave me more confidence. That's why I stayed at the club for 12 years."

Manchester United still the world's richest football club - Forbes

 Manchester United remain the world's most valuable football club, according to Forbes magazine.

The study estimates the Premier League champions are worth £1.4bn, which puts them top of the list for the eighth year in a row.

Real Madrid are ranked second, valued at £1.17bn, while Barcelona are third with an estimated value of £816m.

"Manchester United's global fan base of 330m helps make them the most valuable team in any sport," said Forbes.com. 

Bayern Munich and Arsenal make up the top five in the rankings, with Chelsea and Liverpool ranked seventh and eighth respectively.

Tottenham Hotspur are just outside the top 10 in 11th place, with Manchester City up to 13th in the list.

Forbes also revealed Manchester United are worth more than both Major League Baseball's New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League, while the club's run to last year's Champions League final, where they lost to Barcelona, commanded a £50m payout from Uefa.

The research added: "The top teams on the pitch are going to continue to get richer. This year's Champions League payout will be higher than 2011 for the 32 tournament teams."

Pat Summitt’s Signature: Success and Dignity

It was at once a moment expected and inevitable and yet one with no way to prepare. As Tennessee’s women’s basketball season marched on, it became clear Pat Summitt could not sustain her role as head coach much longer as she battled early onset Alzheimer’s and it became one long goodbye party, but one no one could acknowledge. And when the goodbye was finally uttered on Wednesday, with Summitt abdicating the throne she occupied for 38 years, the reality washed over everyone who is in some degree in her debt. And that would be everyone in the sport.

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Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Pat Summitt after Tennessee defeated DePaul in the second round of the N.C.A.A. tournament in March.

Summitt’s announcement on Wednesday that she was stepping aside, taking on the title of head coach emeritus while her longtime assistant Holly Warlick became head coach, was as soft a landing as she could muster, her former assistant Mickie DeMoss described it. Summitt found a way to do it with dignity and class, David Climer writes in The Tennessean, as she always has. John Adams writes in The Knoxville News-Sentinel that Summitt always made the right choices to stick by her program, so this made total sense. She will turn her star power now on the fight against Alzheimer’s, writesDan Wetzel on Yahoo.com and if Summitt showed anything in her farewell season, it’s that she can teach people how to fight, Ann Killion writes on SI.com.

The task quickly becomes how to quantify Summitt’s legend, which isn’t as easy as counting victories (1,098) or national championships (eight), writes Gene Wojciechowski on ESPN.com. She changed the sport so profoundly and became such an icon that reaction to her stepping down drew reactions from people ranging from Peyton Manning to LeBron James. She was as much a force of nature as anything, an example of all the right ways to handle success and failure and everything in between, writes Gary Parrish on CBSSports.com.

It was hard not to appreciate how rare that is in sports, particularly with the maelstrom of everything else. Up in Wisconsin, Coach Bo Ryan was showing the ugly side of college sports’ control over its unpaid players, throwing every road block in his power in front of transferring player Jared Uthoff, as Jeff Goodman writes on CBSSports.com. Southern Methodist, meanwhile, was continuing its out-of-this-world crazy courtship of coaching vagabond Larry Brown, Pat Forde writes on Yahoo.com.

And if you’re looking for dignity and class, please don’t even pause at the N.H.L. these days. Yes, its three playoff games transpired without any players being hospitalized (after all, Gary Bettman wants us to think positively!! :) ), but the matter of how punitive a suspension the league will hand Phoenix head-hunter Raffi Torres for his brutal hit on Chicago’s MarianHossa still hangs in the air. It sounds good that he’s suspended indefinitely until you realize it’s just because they haven’t announced it yet, having pushed back his hearing until Friday. Yes, Torres will miss at least one game waiting for his hearing, and it won’t be a tough decision to throw a shelf-full of a books at him, but the N.H.L. usually falls on its face in such matters, so it’s best not to presume anything. Dave Shoalts of The Toronto Globe and Mailreminds us that this butchered set of offseason discipline is the product of a shiny new system of justice that produces the same old rusty results.

If you are looking for progress, Game 4 between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh produced a pebble of it. The referees decided to regain control by calling everything including crosswise glances which made the penalty box look like a mall parking lot on Christmas Eve. That didn’t prevent all boneheadedness — the Flyers’ Zac Rinaldo upheld that fine tradition with a vicious crosscheck, writes Adrian Dater on SI.com — but at least the ambulances weren’t necessary. The only alarms going off were in the heads of the Flyers, who responded to their chance to sweep the Penguins with a goalie meltdown of epic proportions, writes Phil Sheridan in The Philadelphia Inquirer. A 10-3 loss served to highlight the flailing of the Flyers goalies, writes Scott Burnside on ESPN.com, and sparked the debate whether this is a momentary lapse or the start of a momentous collapse, writes Greg Wyshynski on Yahoo.com. What we do know is, Sidney Crosby responded to everything by shutting his mouth and playing, a definite improvement writes Ron Cook in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and that we are going to find out a few things about the Flyers now, writes Rich Hofmann in The Philadelphia Daily News.

We found out a few more things Wednesday night in the Rangers-Senators game, namely that the Rangers let an overmatched opponent back in the series with an inexplicable lapse, writes Allan Muir on SI.com. We discovered that Vancouver’s off-the-mat victory over the Kings has probably settled the Canucks’ goaltending question in favor of Cory Schneider once and for all, writes Iain MacIntyre in The Vancouver Sun.

But what we mostly discovered on Wednesday was what we already knew about Pat Summitt, that the end of her reign was near and that the goodbye would be done well.

Fabrice Muamba might play again - Bolton boss Owen Coyle

Bolton manager Owen Coyle says it would not surprise him if Fabrice Muamba played football again, but stressed the midfielder will need time.

Muamba was discharged from hospital on Monday having collapsed during an FA Cup tie with Spurs on 17 March.

"Knowing Fabrice and how much of a battler he is, it wouldn't surprise me if he comes back," said Coyle.

"God willing, if he ever comes back to play then of course, that will be a huge boost to everybody."

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“I understand, because of the interest in Fabrice, that everybody thinks he's released from hospital so that's it, he's singing and dancing down the street”

Owen CoyleBolton manager

The 24-year-old collapsed after 41 minutes of the FA Cup quarter-final tie and was given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and 15 defibrillator shocks before he arrived at the intensive care unit of the London Chest Hospital.

He is now spending time at home with his fiance and son as he continues his recovery, but Dr Richard Cooke, a consultant cardiologist at London Bridge Hospital, told the Manchester Evening News  Muamba might be back within six months.

"It would seem highly likely that he would have had a defibrillator put in," Cooke said.

"There are some footballers who do play with them and have had a similar history, so as long as he makes a full neurological recovery, from a heart perspective there is no reason why he couldn't resume his professional football career.

"I understand he has made a surprisingly good recovery and all being well, I would not be surprised if he was back playing football in six months."

The Bolton boss spoke to Muamba on the phone after training on Thursday.

"You can always tell from the sound of somebody's voice and he sounded in a good place," said Coyle. "It was great to hear from him and he sounded terrific.

"That's a huge boost given where he's come from - we've all seen the sad events in Italy," he added, in reference to the death of 25-year-old Livorno midfielder Piermario Morosini from a heart attack while playing at Pescara on 14 April.

But the Trotters boss was keen to stress that the Bolton midfielder would need time.

"I understand, because of the interest, that everybody thinks he's released from hospital so that's it, he's singing and dancing down the street. But people have got to understand there's room for continued improvement.

"His little lad hadn't been able to see him for a period so it's important we give them that time to be together."

Coyle also said he would leave it to Muamba to decide whether he wanted to visit his Bolton team-mates before the end of the season, as they fight to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

"That would be Fabrice and his family's decision. He'll not come under any pressure from us," Coyle said.

"Once he feels he's up to it then all good and well. If it's next season, great."

Bangladesh postpone Pakistan tour over security concerns

Pakistan officials are "surprised" and "disappointed" by a court decision to postpone Bangladesh's planned tour of their country by at least four weeks.

The Bangladesh High Court made the ruling because of security concerns.

Bangladesh's MK Rahman, additional attorney general, told the BBC: "The team cannot travel unless there is another order from the Supreme Court."

Pakistan Cricket Board's Zaka Ashraf said: "Everything was being put into place as far as security is concerned."

The court's decision has put in jeopardy the two-match tour which was set to be the first by a Test-playing team in Pakistan since the attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in 2009.

PCB chief Subhan Ahmed told the Reuters news agency that if the four-week delay was enforced, Pakistan would not be able to host Bangladesh because of other commitments.

PCB chairman Ashraf added: "We are surprised that a purely cricketing matter has been dragged into the courts.

"We are deeply disappointed and sad that Bangladesh is not coming after confirming the tour.

"It is a big setback for Pakistan cricket and Pakistani cricket fans who were ready to welcome the Bangladesh team."

The latest court order followed a petition by a lawyer and a university teacher against the tour.

A statement from the PCB added: "It is astonishing to note that a matter lacking any legal issue has been dragged in the court by petitioners who appear to have vested interest and want to jeopardise Pakistan-Bangladesh cricketing relations."

The Bangladesh court has given its country's cricket authorities four weeks to explain why the tour was planned despite its existing concerns.

Bangladesh had been scheduled to play a one-day international and a Twenty20 match in Pakistan later this month.

The UAE has served as Pakistan's temporary home, and played host to England earlier this year, while Lord's and Headingley were the venues for two Tests against Australia in 2010.

Bharat Chetri To Lead Hockey Team In 21st Azlan Shah Cup

Goalkeeper Bharat Chetri will lead an 18-member Indian hockey team in the 21st Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Tournament to be held at Ipoh, Malaysia from the 24th of next month. Star midfielder Sardar Singh will be Bharat Chetri's deputy in the squad. The team was announced by Hockey India after conducting selection trials. The seven-nation tournament will feature Argentina, Great Britain, India, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand and Pakistan. All the participating teams in the Azlan Shah Cup would also be seen in action in the London Olympic Games in July this year. India will open their campaign on May 24 when they play against New Zealand. India has won the Azlan Shah Cup title on five earlier occasions.

Cricketer Yuvraj Singh Returns Home

Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh has returned home on 9th April 2012 to a rousing reception from adoring fans in the capital. Yuvraj Singh comes back after undergoing three cycles of chemotherapy in United States for a rare germ cell cancer between his lungs.

Yuvraj Singh,who was received by his mother Shabnam at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the capital,came on a British Airways flight this morning after spending some days in London to recuperate from the after-effects of the chemotherapy.

The cricketer Yuvraj Singh flashed a victory sign and a smile on his arrival, making his way through hordes of fans and waiting media personnel after coming out from back gate of the airport.

A friend who accompanied him London during the treatment said, the cancer is completely out of his system and Yuvraj Singh is better now. The Man of the Tournament from last year's World Cup, which India won after 28 years, had gone to the United States for treatment in January.