Sport

The XVIIIth Commonwealth Games were opened officially by Queen Elizabeth II tonight, in Melbourne, Australia in a two-and-a-half hour spectacular Opening Ceremony held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. About 80,000 spectators were in attendance, and hundreds of thousands lined the riverbank of the nearby Yarra River, watching as the Queen's baton made its way to the stadium. The Queen's Baton final runner was John Landy, the current Governor of Victoria, and a Bronze medalist in the 1956 Summer Olympics. The ceremony began with the flags of A

Swedish snowboarder Jonatan Johansson died Sunday during a practice run on Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks. Johansson, who competed in the snowboardcross in the Turin Olympics, was preparing for an upcoming World Cup competition. Even though he collided with no obstacles upon his landing, autopsies reported that the rough fall caused several internal injuries. He was 26.

The owners of the teams of the National Football League agreed Wednesday night at 7:35 p.m. EDT--25 minutes before a final deadline of 8:00 p.m. EDT--to a collective bargaining agreement extension proposal put together by the NFL Players Association. The final vote was 30-2, with Ralph Wilson of the Buffalo Bills and Mike Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals voting no. Faced with a severely limiting salary cap of US$94.5 million in 2006 and the total loss of the salary cap in 2007, potentially ending the era of parity in the NFL, the owners' final

Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe is reported to be feeling much better after suffering from chest pain for some time. The Olympic gold medalist was due to swim in the 100m and 200m freestyle and in three relays at the Commonwealth Games, but due to his complaints his fitness has been in doubt. He has been unable to take the drugs needed to overcome his pain as they are banned from the Games. Thorpe told the media Thursday "It's actually the best I've felt in a while; the antibiotics are starting to work."

In an exhibition warmup to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Iran defeated Costa Rica in Tehran's Azadi Stadium. Iran built up a 3 goal lead in the first 34 minutes and never looked back. The final score was Iran 3, Costa Rica 2. Ali Karimi began by scoring in the 10th minute, Ali Daei in the 16th, and Vahid Hashemian in the 34th. For Costa Rica Carlos Hernandez scored in the 44th minute just before half-time, and Danny Fonseca scored in the 60th, but the visitors were unable to score again to tie the match. This June, both teams will be in Germany

India won the final match of the recent cricket series. Yuvraj Singh made a unbeaten 107 (93b, 15x4)helping India's , chasing 287, achieved with 19 deliveries remaining on a good batting pitch. India have clinched the Hutch Cup ODI series 4-1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (77 not out, 56b, 6x4, 4x6) was another important contributor to the Indian Innings. The Pakistani bowling, apart from a probing spell from paceman Rao Iftekar Anjum, was made to look ordinary. The Pakistani fielding let the side down again. Mohammed Sami lost the ball twice. When o

Teams are preparing for the 2006 Algarve Cup international soccer tournament, March 9, 11, 13 and 15. The annual women's invitational, held in the Algarve region of Portugal, features some of the world's top teams and may foreshadow face-offs in the 2007 Women's World Cup. The United States women's national soccer team, champions in four of the last six Algarve Cups and second ranked in the world, will join the number one ranked Germany at this year's competition. The three "groups" of four teams who will play each other at the beginning of

The following are the medal results for the Sixth day of competition for the Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. Further details of all the Winter Olympics action can be found at Olympic Winter Games 2006 on Wikipedia. Results are courtesy of NBC, the IOC and are updated as necessary. Figure Skating: Men's G Russia PLUSHENKO Yevgeny S Switzerland LAMBIEL Stephane B Canada BUTTLE JeffreyBiathlon: Women's 7.5km Sprint G France BAVEREL-ROBERT Florence S Sweden OLOFSSON Anna Carin B Ukraine EFREMOVA Lilia Sk

The following are the medal results for the Fourth day of competition for the Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. Further details of all the Winter Olympics action can be found at Olympic Winter Games 2006 on Wikipedia. Results are courtesy of NBC, the IOC and are updated as necessary. Skeleton: Men's G Canada GIBSON Duff S Canada PAIN Jeff BSwitzerland STAEHLI Gregor Snowboarding: Women's Snowboard Cross G Switzerland FRIEDEN Tanja S United States JACOBELLIS Lindsey B Canada MALTAIS Do

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that biathlete Olga Pyleva, Russian Federation, has been excluded from the XX Olympic Winter Games after failing an anti-doping test carried out by the IOC. This is the first instance of an athlete being ejected from the 2006 Winter Olympics. Pyleva, 30, tested positive for carphedon, a prohibited substance, on February 13 after the women's 15 km individual, biathlon event, in which she won the silver medal. ITAR-TASS News Agency reports that Pyleva tested positive for cordedon, a stimulant

The following are the medal results for the Fourth day of competition for the Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. Further details of all the Winter Olympics action can be found at Olympic Winter Games 2006 on Wikipedia. Results are courtesy of NBC, the IOC and are updated as necessary. Alpine Skiing: Men's Combined G United States LIGETY Ted S Croatia KOSTELIC Ivica B Austria SCHOENFELDER Rainer Luge: Women's Singles G Germany OTTO Sylke S Germany KRAUSHAAR Silke B Germany HUEFNER Tatjana Speed Skating: Women'

The following are the medal results for the Fourth day of competition for the Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. Further details of all the Winter Olympics action can be found at Olympic Winter Games 2006 on Wikipedia. Results are courtesy of NBC, the IOC and are updated as necessary. Short Track: Women's 500m G China WANG Meng S Bulgaria RADANOVA Evgenia B Canada LEBLANC-BOUCHER AnoukFreestyle Skiing: Men's Moguls G Australia BEGG-SMITH Dale S Finland RONKAINEN Mikko B United States DAWSON TobyLuge: Doubles G Aus