Sports in brief

Times staff, wries
Thursday, January 13, 2011

soccer

st. petersburg native goes fifth in mls draft

From his start as a preschooler in St. Petersburg's Southside youth league, Zac MacMath wanted to play professionally. Now the goalie has the chance. He was taken fifth overall by Philadelphia in the MLS draft Thursday in Baltimore.

"I honestly don't know if it's really hit me yet," MacMath, 19, said. "I've been at soccer fields seven nights a week for the last 16 years working for this. It's a dream come true."

MacMath played for the Clearwater Chargers club team and Bradenton Academy, and is now at the University of Maryland, where he earned All-ACC honors. He also is on the U.S. under-20 national team.

Former Gaither High standout Eddie Ababio, a senior fullback at North Carolina, was taken 18th overall by reigning champion Colorado. USF junior midfielder Bernardo Anor was picked by Columbus in the third round.

Taken first overall by expansion Vancouver was Omar Salgado, 17, s forward on the U.S. under-20 team. In the second round, New York took John Rooney, younger brother of Wayne Rooney, a star forward for Manchester United of the English Premier League and England's national team.

FC tampa bay: Defender J.P. Rodrigues, a member of the Guyana national team and a former Land O'Lakes High standout, signed.

English Premier League: Liverpool wing Ryan Babel has accepted a Football Association charge of improper conduct for criticizing a referee in a Twitter post, and he has a disciplinary hearing Monday. He could be fined or suspended. Babel posted a digitally altered picture of Howard Webb wearing a Manchester United shirt because he was mad about the referee's decisions in Liverpool's 1-0 loss in the FA Cup on Sunday. Babel also wrote: "And they call him one of the best referees. That's a joke."

World Cup: Two members of the sport's governing body's executive committee, Nigeria's Amos Adamu and Tahiti's Reynald Temarii, appealed their suspensions after corruption allegations surrounding World Cup hosting votes last year. An appeals committee will hear the cases.

tennis

Clijsters in final at Sydney International

Kim Clijsters rallied from in the final set to beat Alisa Kleybanova 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1) to reach the Sydney International final in Australia. She plays Li Na, who beat Bojana Jovanovski 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.

In the men's draw, Gilles Simon advanced to the semifinals by beating Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 6-3. He meets Ernests Gulbis. Florian Mayer plays Viktor Troicki in the other semi.

Heineken Open: David Ferrer plays David Nalbandian in the final after they won their semifinals in straight sets today in Auckland, New Zealand. Ferrer, who defeated defending champion and Tampa resident John Isner in the quarters, beat Santiago Giraldo, and Nalbandian beat Nicolas Almagro.

Australian open: Rafael Nadal begins his quest for a fourth straight major title with a first-round match against Marcos Daniel in the tournament that begins Monday. The draw today put Nadal in the top half with fifth seed Andy Murray and fourth seed Robin Soderling. No. 2 seed Roger Federer, third seed Novak Djokovic and eighth seed Andy Roddick are in the bottom half. In the women's draw, top seed Caroline Wozniacki faces Gisela Dulko in the first round. Wozniacki is in the top half with fourth seed Venus Williams. Third seed Kim Clijsters and second seed Vera Zvonareva are in the bottom half. Defending champion Serena Williams is out with a foot injury.

et cetera

autos: Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa said they're afraid the latest Formula One rule changes for cars have made driving too complicated.

Marc Topkin, Eduardo A. Encina and Greg Auman, Times staff writers; Times wires

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/sports-in-brief/1145408

Taxonomy Protest World Cup 2022 Slovakia Marcus Bent New Castle United