Olympic Success Buoys Five Decades of Jamaica's Independence

Pauline Brown waves her country's flag at the 50th anniversary of Jamaica's independence celebration in Miramar, Fla. Aug. 6, 2012

Jamaicans donned their national colors Monday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their country's independence from Britain.

 

Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller joined thousands of spectators at the National Stadium in the capital, Kingston, for a lavish ceremony marking the historic day, along with foreign dignitaries such as South African President Jacob Zuma and former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.  

 

The celebration for the Caribbean island of three-million people got a boost from the London Olympic victories of Usain Bolt in the men's 100-meter dash on Sunday, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the women's 100-meters the day before.

 

Athletes such as Bolt and Fraser-Pryce are held in the same esteem among Jamaicans as legendary reggae musicians such as the late Bob Marley.  But the popular tourist destination has also been beset by political instability and economic stagnation.  

Phelps Golden in His Final Individual Olympics Swimming Race

Michael Phelps of the U.S. celebrates winning gold in the men's 100m butterfly final during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre, August 
LONDON — Superstar American swimmer Michael Phelps won what he has made clear was the last individual Olympics race of his storied career. 

What more can be said or written about Michael Phelps?  The media and fans alike are running out of words to describe his performances and achievements.

His final individual race at the London Games, the men’s 100-meter butterfly, was a thriller.  Coming off the wall after the first length of the pool, he was seventh of the eight swimmers, and it appeared certain there was no way he could win, and probably not even get a medal.

But somehow he dug deep into his reserve, passed everyone in front of him and touched the wall first for the gold medal in a time of 51.21 seconds.

"I’m just happy that the last one was a win," he said. "That’s all I really wanted coming into the night and so we can smile and be happy and, yeah, I don’t know, it was fun."

Prince William and Kate Middleton let their hair down at the Olympics

When it comes to Prince William and Kate Middleton, we’re mostly used to seeing them looking pretty bored at formal events, or politely smiley at charity do’s. Always elegant, always a bit stiff upper lip. We like them like that.

Little did we know we’d totally ADORE them when they let themselves go loose a bit at the Olympic velodrome yesterday. After cheering on Andy Murray at the tennis in Wimbledon in south-west London, they zipped across town to the cycling in east London and really got into the spirit of things.

As well as taking part in (perhaps not the most patriotic of activities) Mexican waves, they jumped up and down and cuddled each other as Sir Chris Hoy, Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny stormed through the team sprint and won a gold medal for Team GB.

Prince Harry was also there, looking cheeky and taking photos of the match on his phone. David Cameron was also there getting down with the yoof and looking smug. 

Another little detail we noticed was -  just like everyone else who goes into the VIP bits in the Olympic park - they had to wear little lanyards with IDs on them. Except, of course, theirs said ‘The Duke of Cambridge’ and ‘The Duchess of Cambridge’ and ‘Prince of Wales’ and not ‘Mr so-and-so’.

But yeah, apart from that, totally just like everybody else. We love how the Olympics has shown us normal, relaxed, huggy side to the royals. Don’t you?

US-China Rivalry Plays Out at Olympics

China's Ye Shiwen poses with her gold medal on the podium during the women's 400m individual medley victory ceremony at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre
observers say doping accusations against a young Chinese swimming superstar are the latest chapter in what has become a sometimes tense geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China. 

After six days of Olympic competition, China and the U.S., the world's two largest economies, are locked in a close race for the most gold medals, with each country so far winning 18.

One of the biggest stories has been the success, and consequent criticism, of Ye Shiwen. The 16-year-old Chinese swimmer's stunning performance has earned her gold medals in both the women's 200-meter and 400-meter events.

Ye's world record-shattering race last Saturday was "unbelievable" and "disturbing," according to top U.S. coach John Leonard. His comments reflected the concern of many who are aware of China's history of doping. Nonetheless, the speculation set off a firestorm of criticism from the Chinese media.

 'Western prejudice'

A commentary in China's official Xinhua news agency said the doping accusations against Ye, who has passed drug tests, are the result of a "stubborn prejudice" by Western media who are "exerting every effort to blacken the performance of Chinese athletes."

But the paper said the issue is larger than just a sports rivalry. The West, it said, is "upset with the rise of China" and is unwilling to recognize that it has become the world's second largest economy.

"As long as China made progress in science and technology, economic and social development, the Western world was busy making up stories of 'cheating' or 'violating international rules,'" the paper said, an apparent reference to recent squabbles between Washington and Beijing over various trade and economic issues.

Projection of national power 

Beijing, which views the games as an important indicator of its progress on the world stage, has made huge investments in recent years to ensure that it becomes a global sporting powerhouse, says Phil Lutton, a reporter for Australia's Brisbane Times.

So he says it should come as no surprise that Chinese athletes such as Ye have achieved a good deal of success during this year's Olympic games.

"China's poured an enormous amount of resources post-Beijing (Olympic games) into their sporting programs and athletics programs. You see them dominating in a number of fields at the Olympics, including weightlifting, and swimming is one of them," says Lutton.

New rivalry brewing?

Lutton says he sees an athletic rivalry developing between the U.S. and China, much like the 1970s and 1980s Olympic rivalry between the U.S. and Soviet Union that mirrored the Cold War.

And while the U.S. and China typically excel at different sporting events, resulting in relatively few head-to-head matchups, Lutton says the competition has helped make the games more exciting, particularly in the swimming competition.

"I think it's a good rivalry, (and) we need good rivalries in swimming and sport," he says. "It only adds another layer of intrigue to what's happening around the Olympic pool."

US First Lady Greets Olympic Athletes

First lady Michelle Obama poses with members of Team USA, 2012 Summer Olympics, London, July 27, 2012.

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama has visited U.S. Olympic athletes in London ahead of the Games' opening ceremony, telling them they are an inspiration to Americans.

 

Mrs. Obama spoke at a breakfast for the athletes, shaking hands and sharing hugs with many of them. She told the athletes their country is proud of them and rooting for them.

 

The first lady is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony later Friday, after a visit with schoolchildren and a reception hosted by Queen Elizabeth.

 

Also in London for the ceremony is U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who tried to backtrack Thursday from comments he made that seemed to question Britain's ability to host the Olympic Games.

 

NBC News aired an interview with the presumptive Republican nominee Wednesday in which he said that last-minute concerns about London's security staffing for the games were "disconcerting."

 

But after meeting with top British officials, including Prime Minister David Cameron Thursday, Romney said he expects the games to be "highly successful."

 

Romney next travels to Israel and Poland on a tour aimed at boosting his foreign policy credentials.

US NBA Players Face French NBA Players at Olympics

United States players, from right, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, James Harden (12), Kobe Bryant (10) and Kevin Durant gather for a men's team basketball practice at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 28, 2012, in London.
The professional  players on the USA men's basketball team at the London Olympics go up against some of their NBA colleagues when they play France Sunday. 

Miami Heat star LeBron James and Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant face off against a French basketball team that includes San Antonio Spurs Tony Parker and Boris Diaw and Portland Trail Blazer Nicolas Batum.

Sunday is the second full day of competition at the 2012 Olympic Games.

The women begin their gymnastics competitions Sunday.  Other fields also slated for Sunday include badminton, beach volleyball, diving, fencing, table tennis, and  swimming.

Celebrated U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps entered unfamiliar territory Saturday -- losing.  He failed to beat fellow American Ryan Lochte to win the 400-meter individual medley.  Lochte clinched the gold.  Phelps came in fourth, the first time since the 2000 Games he has failed to win at least a bronze medal in an Olympic race.

U.S. high school senior Lia Neal also took home an Olympic medal Saturday.  She and her teammates on the women's  4 by 100 meter freestyle relay won the bronze, finishing behind the gold medal winners from Australia and the silver medalists from  the Netherlands.

In men's road cycling, Kazakhstan's Alexander Vinokourov won the gold, ruining Britain's favored chances for a victory in the 250-kilometer race.

In archery, the U.S. team shocked South Korea to move into the gold medal match against Italy.  Italy later won the gold, beating the U.S. team by one point on the final shot.

In men's under-60 kilogram judo, Russia's Arsen Galstyan upset the top two seeds, including two-time world champion Rishod Sobirov of Uzbekistan.

The heavily favored U.S. women's basketball team stretched its Olympic winning streak to 34  games by defeating Croatia 81-56 Saturday.  The U.S. women have won four straight Olympic gold medals.

The 17-day competition in 26 sports runs through August 12.

Spain overpower Italy to win UEFA EURO 2012

Spain saved their best until last at UEFA EURO 2012, a final-record 4-0 victory in Kyiv completing an unprecedented hat-trick of major tournament wins.

Against a flagging Italy side whose thrilling knockout campaign looked to have caught up with them, Spain were in control from the moment David Silva broke the deadlock with a rare header on 14 minutes. A barnstorming second with half-time approaching from the indefatigable Jordi Alba, his first international goal, left the Azzurri with a mountain to climb. The sight of Thiago Motta, their third substitute, being carried off on a stretcher ended all hope, leaving Italy to play out the last 28 minutes with ten men – and Spain replacements Fernando Torres and Juan Mata fully capitalised.

This was billed as a meeting of great creative minds, of conductors in their prime, of Xavi Hernández against Andrea Pirlo; but for much of the opening stages it was a one-man show. Spain's No8 picked up the baton from the off, in harmony with Andrés Iniesta, dictating La Roja's now familiar staccato movement as Italy were forced deeper and deeper. The olés had already begun among the sizeable Spanish contingent in the 63,170 crowd when, just before the quarter-hour, the pair combined to such devastating effect.

Xavi, who had fired just over moments earlier, fed Iniesta and his finely weighted ball allowed Cesc Fàbregas to easily outstrip Giorgio Chiellini on the inside-right channel. There was still plenty to do but how easily Spain made it look as Fàbregas pulled a sharp ball back for Silva, all 170cm of him, to glance his header in. It proved a disappointed Chiellini's last real action as he soon succumbed to the thigh problem that has hampered him throughout his time in Poland and Ukraine.

A heavy-legged Italy could ill afford the double blow, but impressively they fought their way back into it. Pirlo, inevitably, was their driving force, the beating drum that pulled the strings at the back and sounded the horn to attack. Not that there was much of that. In fact, Pirlo's most telling contribution of the first half was a superb last-ditch block on Iniesta. Yet try as he might – and he did try – the 33-year-old could not be everywhere.

Spain's second was a little too easy, though. Standing on the touch line near halfway, Fàbregas headed Iker Casillas's clearance to Alba who turned the ball into Xavi before haring forward. The Azzurri back line did not seem to notice but the erudite Xavi did, advancing forward before slotting his new FC Barcelona club-mate in. The composed left-footed finish that followed would have pleased even David Villa, watching in the stands with Carles Puyol.

It seemed nothing could now deny Spain a first competitive victory against the Azzurri in 92 years – at least over 90 minutes – but Italy were not done yet. Antonio Di Natale, scorer in the 1-1 draw between these sides three weeks ago, came on for Antonio Cassano and within six minutes he could have scored twice. His first chance, a header, was far from simple but the striker could have done better when Riccardo Montolivo's pass found him in space. He snatched at the chance, though, and the advancing Casillas blocked.

Yet Italy's slender hopes of mounting a comeback disappeared when Thiago Motta did likewise down the tunnel. It was left for Xavi to resume his conducting, slowing things down until, with six minutes remaining, he upped the tempo for a rousing crescendo. First he robbed Pirlo in midfield and set up Torres for a goal to add to his UEFA EURO 2008 showpiece effort – a feat no one has managed before – then he combined with Torres to release Mata, just on, to set seal on an emphatic win. It has been an emphatic four years.

Centurion Alonso sends Spain into last four

Xabi Alonso celebrated his 100th cap with a goal in either half as Spain beat France in a competitive game for the first time to book a UEFA EURO 2012 semi-final against neighbours Portugal on Wednesday.

Les Bleus may have been the last team to eliminate Spain from a major tournament – in the 2006 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals – but that mantle must now be taken up by somebody else if Vicente del Bosque's charges are not to retain their title. Alonso, one of five Spain starters also involved from the off in that Hanover defeat six years ago, showed no battle scars and duly made the difference with an emphatic first-half header and a late spot kick.

Laurent Blanc is no soothsayer by trade, but the prescience of his Friday press conference was impossible to ignore. He had called on his side to ride out the opening 20 minutes or risk a stern punishment dished out by their opponents; Les Bleus fell barely 90 seconds short.

Blanc had also dubbed Del Bosque's team "a delight to watch" but he must have found their poise in possession more painful than joyful. Short, sharp and purposeful on the ball, La Roja looked capable of unpicking the French lock whenever they pleased. Alonso chanced his arm from range early on but that is simply not his, or their, style – Spain were never going to batter the door down, simply shimmy it open.

A reinforced France right – Anthony Réveillère and Mathieu Debuchy – looked an unlikely weak spot, but Andrés Iniesta has always seen things others do not. Réveillère had drifted inside from full-back and Iniesta threaded the ball through to Jordi Alba, who shrugged off Debuchy and crossed for Alonso to head down and across Hugo Lloris.

Though the goalscorer, considering the occasion, was a worthy centurion of this particular red army, his midfield cohorts were no less influential. France, by contrast, were compact as demanded but blunt and lacking in numbers getting forward. Yohan Cabaye's first-half free-kick was Iker Casillas's only notable save.

His France counterpart, Lloris, meanwhile, should have been tested when Gerard Piqué headed over having been found in space from a corner. Debuchy made the same mistake from an almost identical position 15 minutes into the second period after Franck Ribéry had wriggled free on the left and crossed precisely.

'Faux' centre-forward Cesc Fàbregas came off and traditional No9 Fernando Torres came on, but the pattern continued. Spain did not have the two-thirds possession the cerebral Blanc had predicted, but they had enjoyed more than their fair share and, most importantly of all, used it with characteristic wisdom.

As if to prove the point, a typically intricate move led to the added-time penalty, dispatched consummately by Alonso, which iced the cake. Spain, though, look to have plenty more in the tank – Paulo Bento's side have been warned.

Germany overpower Greece in Gdansk

Greece's hopes of repeating the miracle of 2004 vanished with a 4-2 defeat against Germany, who marched on to the UEFA EURO 2012 semi-finals on the back of a fourth straight victory at these finals.

Germany took a deserved 39th-minute lead through Philipp Lahm and although Giorgos Samaras's equaliser ten minutes after the restart hinted at something unexpected, Joachim Löw's men reasserted their authority as Sami Khedira, Miroslav Klose and Marco Reus all found the net prior to Dimitris Salpingidis's late spot-kick.

It was a world-record 15th consecutive competitive win for a German side bidding to end a 16-year wait for a major honour, and should leave their confidence levels sky-high entering their Warsaw semi-final against England or Italy next Thursday.

For Greece, by contrast, this is the end of the road. They had entered the game without the suspended Giorgos Karagounis and José Holebas, and with worries over the fitness of left-back Giorgos Tzavellas – hardly the most promising backdrop to their biggest game since the final of UEFA EURO 2004, a victory famously overseen by a German coach, Otto Rehhagel.

That summer they kept upsetting the odds but in the first half there seemed zero likelihood of any surprise against opponents they have still never beaten. Germany's vibrant display certainly justified the team selection of coach Joachim Löw, who had sprung a surprise by introducing Reus and André Schürrle in the wide positions previously occupied by Thomas Müller and Lukas Podolski, as well as Klose for Mario Gomez at centre-forward.

Löw's plan was to provide some unpredictability along with speed and mobility and it worked, with Reus particularly impressive. The first scare for Greece came when Michalis Sifakis failed to hold Khedira's shot, and Klose turned in the rebound only to be flagged offside. If Sifakis collected a cut to the head in the process, very soon the whole Greece team had a headache as Germany, watched by Chancellor Angela Merkel, dominated.

The 23-year-old Reus had already sent one shot wide when, midway through the half, a slick interchange between him and Klose ended with Mesut Özil testing Sifakis. Klose and Reus both threatened again before Lahm struck, with his fifth goal in 90 appearances. Collecting Özil's pass 25 metres from goal he cut inside and sent in a swerving shot that brushed Sifakis's fingertips on its way into the far corner.

Greece have been slow starters in this tournament but they came to life at the start of the second half, equalising when Salpingidis put a low ball across goal and Samaras got there ahead Jérôme Boateng to squeeze it under Manuel Neuer.

Greece had done something similar to Poland in the opening match, but here they were unable to hold on to parity. Within six minutes, Boateng crossed from the right and the unmarked Khedira crashed a volley high past Sifakis. Germany would not let their lead slip a second time and Klose duly made sure by outjumping Kyriakos Papadopoulos and the flailing Sifakis to head the third.

When Sifakis blocked a Klose effort, Reus smashed in the rebound for Germany's fourth. Greece were out but Salpingidis's late penalty after a Boateng handball at least gave their fans one final thing to shout about

Svensson looking ahead with renewed optimism

Sweden veteran Anders Svensson is, at 35, turning attention to 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying with fresh optimism after an impressive 2-0 victory over France. He and team-mate Christian Wilhelmsson admitted the win left a "bitter" taste, however, as they pondered what might have been.
Anders Svensson, Sweden midfielder
First of all it's a disappointment not to progress further. It's nice to end with a good match and a win, but it feels a bit bitter to know that we'd messed it up earlier. It was good to win a match and show the Swedish people that we can play good football, that our work pays off and that we can beat the best teams. But it's bitter, beating the best team in the group and yet not progressing. We wanted to show what we can do. Such an incredible amount of Swedish fans have spent a lot of money to travel here and support us. We wanted to play a good match and win it to repay them with some joy.
It could be a fine ending [to my career], winning a European Championship match. But let's see. I felt during the two matches that I started, that I can still play at a very high level and Erik [Hamrén] and I have talked a bit, so it wasn't necessarily my last international game.
We've changed our style of play since Erik came. We try to play more football. To beat France, who were 23 matches unbeaten before tonight, and to do it by daring to keep possession, like we did against England. We have been criticised for being too naive but we believe in this. If we can improve even more, then we can reach even higher heights. Beating France like we did gives us a lot of confidence going into the World Cup qualifiers.
Christian Wilhelmsson, Sweden midfielder
It was great to finish with a game like this, a bit bitter now, when one more point would have been enough for us to get through. But we will take this game with us to the World Cup qualification. I feel good in this group, and that I've still got things to contribute. As long as I have that, I feel I want to stay and compete for a place, absolutely.
Kim Källström, Sweden midfielder
We made [France] play poorly. Maybe I should not say 'poorly' but we disarmed them well before they got into our defensive third of the field. All in all, it was a good game from our point of view. It was the first time we have managed to win in the tournament, which is a bit frustrating given the fact that we played to a standard worthy of much more than for us to be going home now. On the other hand results that are the most important thing and results don't lie. So we must now pack our bags and go home.
[Signing off with a win] was probably the best thing that could happen for us. We got to show that we are a good football team, that we can keep it tight in defence and that we can score - and that we can play well against good teams. So we need to elaborate on this before the World Cup qualifiers in the autumn. Even if it was a very tough tournament for us in terms of the results, at least we had a very good finish to it.

Shevchenko set for one last hurrah

Andriy Shevchenko said in the aftermath of Ukraine's exit from UEFA EURO 2012 that he will have one last hurrah before ending his international career.
Shevchenko was speaking after Ukraine's 1-0 defeat by England, a result which meant they missed out on a quarter-final place. They were unfortunate to lose to Roy Hodgson's Group D winners and it might have been a different story had Shevchenko not been restricted to a 20-minute second-half appearance off the bench due to a knee injury. Shevchenko, though, is adamant he will have one last chance to bid farewell.
"I'll play one last match – this will be my final match – probably some kind of friendly, I haven't decided yet. I will talk to some people and ask them to organise such a match. I would like to thank all the fans for the support they gave me in this game, during the whole of my career and during the European Championship."
A national treasure thanks to his 48 international goals – including two in the 2-1 defeat of Sweden in Kyiv in their opening Group D fixture – Shevchenko was full of gratitude for the support of his countrymen. "I tried to prepare for this tournament the best way I could as I realised that this would be my final tournament as an international, and also in front of the home crowd," said the FC Dynamo Kyiv striker, a UEFA Champions League winner with AC Milan in 2003.
"I think that is the best present that any football player can get, when they are happy to see you, when they are happy with the work you do. With all my heart, with all the energy I had, I tried my best. That's probably why the fans always welcome me and love me," he added.
"I think it's time to make room for new players. Ukraine has a great future, today's game showed that again. [Andriy] Yarmolenko, [Yevhen] Konoplyanka, [Denys] Garmash and [Yaroslac] Rakitskiy, these are young players and it's great that they got a lot of experience in these matches."

Karagounis fires Greece into last eight

Russia had started the night in Warsaw as Group A leaders but were undone by a goal on the stroke of half-time by one of Greece's survivors of 2004, captain Giorgos Karagounis. It was the 35-year-old who took advantage of a Russian defensive lapse by bursting through to beat Vyacheslav Malafeev with a low drive. It was some way to mark his record-equalling 120th international appearance, and a blow from which Russia failed to recover.

The result of it all was that Greece leapt from the foot of the standings to claim second place and the prize of a quarter-final in Gdansk against the Group B winners. For Russia, by contrast, a campaign that began with an impressive 4-1 win over the Czech Republic ended in sheer frustration.

Greece entered the game under orders to avoid a repeat of their slow starts against Poland and the Czech Republic. There was early encouragement when Karagounis's early corner was met at the near post by Kostas Katsouranis but his shot lacked the height to trouble Malafeev.

It was not long before the game settled into a pattern of Russia dominating possession and Greece sitting back, getting men behind the ball and frustrating them. Ten minutes in, Andrey Arshavin got his foot to an inswinging Alan Dzagoev cross but without sufficient power to bother Michalis Sifakis, deputising for the injured Kostas Chalkias in Greece's goal.

Minutes later, Aleksandr Kerzakhov unleashed a volley from the edge of the box but, typical of his luck in this campaign, the ball flew just wide. Russia had control of the middle of the park though it was from a rare opening down the flank that Yuri Zhirkov sped away from Sokratis Papastathopoulos but his exciting run concluded with a white, not red shirt, on the end of his cross. Kyriakos Papadopoulos did well to cut out another cross, this time by Arshavin, then Kerzhakov missed his kick when teed up by Dzagoev's header before Zhirkov flashed a shot just over.

After all that, an innocuous-looking situation in first-half added time brought the opening goal at the other end from Karagounis, whose second-half booking rules him out of the quarter-final. When a Greece throw-in came down the line, Sergei Ignashevich misdirected his header infield and Karagounis scampered clear, cutting into the box in front of Zhirkov and beating Malafeev with the power of his shot.

Russia coach Dick Advocaat responded by introducing Roman Pavlyuchenko for Kerzhakov but Russian advances continued to crash against the white wall of Greece's defence. Indeed, the Greeks so nearly extended their advantage shortly before the hour as Vassilis Torossidis, surging into the box, put a ball across goal, but Aleksandar Anyukov got there just ahead of Fanis Gekas.

Greece came close again as Giorgos Tzavellas curled a free-kick over the Russia wall and on to the angle of post and crossbar. By the end Advocaat had sent on Marat Izmailov for defender Anyukov but only one more opportunity came Russia's way, Dzagoev nodding Arshavin's cross past Sifakis but beyond the far post. It was the story of Russia's night

Czechs through as Poland check out

Jiráček had struck the joint third fastest goal in UEFA European Championship history in the defeat of Greece on Tuesday which reignited his country's hopes, and although he waited until 18 minutes from the whistle this time around, the VfL Wolfsburg midfielder's second strike of the tournament was even more warmly welcomed. The Czechs will now contest a quarter-final tie in Warsaw next Thursday, while the co-hosts must settle for watching it on television.

The designated home team had won all five previous encounters between the pair, and that trend continued with the Czechs given home status in Wroclaw. The gusto with which the Polish national anthem was sung left no doubt as to which team would enjoy the crowd's favours, however, as did the collective holding of breath when Theodor Gebre Selassie's cross was deflected into the path of Václav Pilař. Beautifully poised in front of goal in the Czechs' opening two matches, the winger was uncharacteristically hurried and did not connect cleanly.

It was the same story at the opposite end for Robert Lewandowski, whose shot squirmed wide off his left boot after Jakub Błaszczykowski had stolen onto a loose Czech pass before feeding his team-mate. The ominous clouds that had gathered overhead finally broke just before kick-off, and the spectacular electrical storm raging above the pitch was then mirrored on it by Poland. Sebastian Boenisch and Eugen Polanski both shot wide when well positioned before Boenisch's dipping long-range effort was expertly turned aside by Petr Čech. For the Czechs, who had taken the collective decision to grow beards until their tournament was over, it was their closest shave for some time.

Missing the creativity of the injured Tomáš Rosický, the Czechs struggled for inspiration. However, as the elements finally relented, it became simultaneously clear that Michal Bílek's men had ridden out their own storm. Jaroslav Plašil's deflected shot was well held by Przemysław Tytoń, and when the Poland goalkeeper then spilled Pilař's low shot, he quickly plunged onto the loose ball ahead of the lurking Milan Baroš.

With only Pilař providing drive from midfield, the Czechs looked to their full-backs for impetus after the break. A Gebre Selassie centre from the right zipped invitingly across goal, and, on the left, a burst forward by the excellent David Limberský ended with him stabbing into the side netting. Another defender, Tomáš Sivok, might have provided the breakthrough had he expected a Plašil free-kick to reach him, but instead of heading cleanly, the ball ricocheted off his brow and Tytoń blocked.

With Poland seemingly a spent force, a Czech goal appeared likely, and when Tomáš Hübschman won possession, he sent Baroš haring forward on the break. The veteran forward showed his worth by waiting patiently before releasing the ball to Jiráček, who cut inside before firing beyond Tytoń. Marcin Wasilewski had the opportunity to deny the Czechs, if not save his own side in the closing stages, but headed over, and Michal Kadlec cleared off the line to leave the co-hosts in tears

Miami Beats Oklahoma to Tie NBA Finals

Miami Heat's LeBron James (6) goes to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant (35) during Game 2 of the NBA basketball finals in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, JuneLeBron James scored 32 points to lead the Miami Heat to a 100-96 win over the host Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday in game two of the National Basketball Association championship series.

The Heat's Dwayne Wade scored 24 points, making up for a poor performance in game on, while teammate Chris Bosh added 16 points and 15 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup.

Miami jumped out to an early lead over Oklahoma City, and led for much of the game when the young Thunder staged furious comeback from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter.  Kevin Durant scored 16 of his 32 points in the final quarter, but missed a shot with just seconds left in regulation that would have tied the game at 98-98.

Russell Westbrook had 27 points for the Thunder, and teammate James Harden finished with 21 points.

The best-of-seven NBA Finals is now tied at one game apiece, and moves to Miami for game three on Sunday.

Portugal's unity drives them onwards

Silvestre Varela and João Moutinho celebrate the substitute's late winner
João Moutinho, Portugal midfielder

What we did today is what counts – to play our best until the end, with the same spirit we've had since the beginning. After this match we want more, we want to try and win the game against Holland and get through the group stage, which is our first big goal, and then we'll think about something else.

This was thanks to the unity and the spirit of the team and of the whole group. Because it's not just the ones who played, who won, but also those who were supporting us on the bench and then came on – they all contributed to getting Portugal a good result. This is what we wanted, we played a good game and we ended with the good result, because this is what we were striving for.

Silvestre Varela, Portugal forward
This was a team victory. We fought until the end and the whole team deserve congratulations. Those of us who don't play from the start must be ready to join in at any time and deliver what the manager wants. We should keep on working like this to achieve our aims. [As for the Netherlands, Portugal's last Group B opponents] we'll play to win, as always.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal forward
At 2-0 we thought that the result was practically certain, but we had to score a third to kill the match off, and we weren't able to do it. Then we had some difficulties, but in the end we had the luck which we didn't have against Germany, and we won. With the chances I had, I should have done better. But the most important thing is that the team won, and we're still in the race. 

Nélson Oliveira, Portugal forward
It was a hard-fought victory. Even before the match, we knew it was going to be hard. Denmark have a good team, but we all deserve to be congratulated because we played a great match. It was truly a great goal from Varela. His first attempt was very difficult. The ball came back to him, he hit it and ended up scoring a great goal, which was important for us.

Pepe, Portugal defender
I believe Cristiano is the best player in the world. He shows us that at Real Madrid. In the national team he's showing he's a great captain, a fabulous human being and an excellent professional. He just needs some calm and the goals will come naturally. He has a great responsibility for the team and the whole of Portugal. He couldn't score today but he has helped the team many times in the past.

It's always good to score in a tournament such as this. It's very important in world football, and Portugal did very well, not only myself, but all my team-mates. Today once again we were able to show our quality on the pitch. We were leading 2-0, but Denmark have an excellent team and they were able to draw level; however, Varela was able to help us to get the victory, which was very important

Gomez double leaves Dutch in peril

Mario Gomez celebrates his stylish opener©Getty Images

Bastian Schweinsteiger supplied two fine assists and club colleague Gomez a pair of exquisite finishes. Van Persie halved the Oranje's arrears but it was not enough and the Dutch stay bottom of Group B without a point. They could yet become the first team ever to qualify from a EURO section with three points, but the odds look to be stacked against them. For Germany, the quarter-finals are in sight thanks to their 13th successive competitive triumph.

Germany had beaten the Dutch 3-0 in a Hamburg friendly last year; this was the real thing and they inflicted further punishment once some early scares were behind them. Van Persie twice might have put the Dutch ahead inside 11 minutes but he could only stab Joris Mathijsen's pass straight at Manuel Neuer before dragging wide having latched on to Arjen Robben's pass.

Germany are a team so well choreographed that there never looked to be too much doubt they would come good. Mesut Özil was the star of their first act, unleashing a fierce volley against a post, but there were two men waiting in the wings ready to orchestrate proceedings.

Though Schweinsteiger was conductor and director rolled into one, there was no doubting the protagonist. There were 24 minutes on the clock when Bayern's No7 turned it on for the first time, threading the ball through the eye of a needle for Gomez, who made space with a balletic pirouette before finishing with a flourish; top marks all round.

Holger Badstuber fluffed his lines when his point-blank header struck Maarten Stekelenberg, but only a minute later it was 2-0. The man they call 'Schweiny' caressed a delightful first-time pass down the inside-right channel and Gomez flashed a shot over Stekelenberg without breaking stride. Stekelenberg then kept the Netherlands in the game when he tipped over Özil's deflected free-kick, but Van Marwijk was in need of his supporting cast; Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Rafael van der Vaart were inevitable half-time changes.

Though the unlikely figure of Mats Hummels nearly rendered those changes meaningless soon after the interval, Stekelenberg twice stayed big. The Dutch then came back, with Van Persie's snapshot kept out by Neuer's smart stop low to his right.

That was merely the latest flash of frustration for the Dutch. Tense before the game, they were now positively tetchy – Robben rushed when free in the area and Sneijder shot straight at Jérôme Boateng, but Van Persie clearly had not read the script. In a flash, the Arsenal FC man duly reminded us why he scored 30 league goals this term, receiving the ball wide on the right with his back to goal before cutting inside and letting fly with a rasping drive from outside the penalty area.

It was as good as it got for the Dutch, however, and though the fat lady is yet to sing, the curtain is nearly down
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Stacey Solomon’s boys get in the spirit for Euro 2012

Last night England was celebrating as we drew 1 – 1 against France in our first Euro 2012 match. OK, so we didn’t win but at least we didn’t lose, right?

And one family in particular who were getting stuck into the beautiful game, were Stacey Solomon’s lot.

The X Factor star tweeted pictures of her two sons Zachary, 4, and month-old Leighton as they modelled their new England strips.

We didn’t even know you could buy such a tiny little kit!

Like most women in England, Stacey admitted she was fully aware that she may not get quite as much attention as usual from fiance Aaron during the football season.

“Looks like me and Aaron will be in separate living spaces for the next to weeks #Euro2012 !! Thanks a lot!! Hahaha xxxx,” Stacey wrote on Twitter.

We feel your pain, Stacey…

But she did seem to get in the Three Lions frame of mind later on when she tweeted a picture of Leighton in his kit, saying: “Come on England!!!”

Stacey’s certainly not shy when it comes to posting snaps of her boys on Twitter:

Gomez gives Germany edge over Portugal

Mario Gomez heads Germany's winner against Portugal©Getty Images

Starved of supply all evening, Gomez feasted when Sami Khedira's delicious cross found him five metres out, nodding it back across Rui Patrício. There were still 17 minutes remaining, enough time for Portugal, who had struck the bar through Pepe before the interval, to lay siege to the German goal. They almost broke through the barricades, too, when two minutes from time substitute Silvestre Varela found space at the far post – only Manuel Neuer's quick interventions kept it 1-0.

Caution had been the watchword in the early stages, with both teams content to sit back and invite the opposition to come forward and let their guards down. Not that it was all about soaking up the blows as one by one players had a jab, looking for a weakness. Fábio Coentrão almost found it when he drifted into a central position early on but, as he sought to punch the ball through to Hélder Postiga, Mats Hummels blocked well.

If that meant swift involvement in the game for the centre-back, Germany's other surprise starter Gomez, preferred to birthday boy Miroslav Klose, would have to wait rather longer after an opportunist early header. It was Lukas Podolski, playing on the left, who posed the biggest threat as he drew on his attacking wiles to twice lose his marker even if his finishing belied a man with 43 goals in 99 international appearances.

Germany were gaining the upper hand, but on the cusp of half-time Portugal almost conjured up an almighty sucker punch. Cristiano Ronaldo's corner from the left looked innocuous enough but the half-clearance fell straight to Pepe. The defender cushioned the ball beautifully, set himself and fired in a shot that hit the crossbar, bounced on the line and away to safety. The half-time whistle promptly blew and the players walked off to Madness's One Step Beyond – how Portugal wished Pepe's effort was.

Germany had 15 minutes to dust themselves off and they came out for the second round all guns blazing. It took desperate last-ditch blocks from Coentrão and Raul Meireles to deny them inside the first minute, but the game soon reverted to fractious type. Neither midfield was able to really take the initiative, and though Khedira perhaps had most success, his slack pass almost cost Germany.

The ball was quickly fed to João Moutinho and he delivered a sumptuous ball into the path of Ronaldo. The Portugal skipper shaped to shoot but, from nowhere, the excellent Jérôme Boateng slid in with the timeliest of interventions. Ten minutes later Gomez turned near despair into triumph and Germany will go into Wednesday's meeting with the Netherlands with a quarter-final place almost in sight. Portugal have it all to do on their return here to face Denmark
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Denmark ride storm to shock Netherlands

Through a combination of sheer defiance and one clinical finish, Denmark defeated the Netherlands for the first time in nine attempts, and 45 years, to throw UEFA EURO 2012 Group B wide open.
To term this a tale of frustration for Bert van Marwijk's side would be an understatement. Boasting eight of the team that started the FIFA World Cup final two years ago – a tournament they began with a 2-0 win against Denmark – the Oranje were at times every bit as stylish as their eventual conquerors in South Africa, Spain.
Chance after chance came and went but that final flourish, that most important of touches, eluded them. Denmark, by contrast, had one clear opening and one fine goal. Michael Krohn-Dehli provided the finish on 24 minutes and, though their backs remained against the wall thereafter, it was enough for Morten Olsen's men to go top of a daunting section also including Portugal and Germany.
The Dutch had outscored Denmark by 22 goals in qualifying and came charging out of the blocks with all the incision and fluidity that got them here. There was, though, one thing missing.
Jetro Willems, at 18 years and 71 days the youngest player ever to grace a UEFA European Championship, let fly early on but it was Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben who led the assault. However, the Arsenal FC man showed none of the devastating finishing that earned him 30 Premier League goals this season.
Glorious opportunities either end of the first half went begging for Van Persie, who let one slip by after an uncharacteristically poor first touch with just Stephan Andersen to beat. Robben was equally culpable when he too could see the whites of the Denmark No1's eyes yet, bizarrely, opted to pass.
The FC Bayern München forward endured disappointment of a different kind on 36 minutes when he seized on goalkeeper Andersen's slipshod pass but struck a post. Robben, Van Persie and Ibrahim Afellay all had further chances but, nestled among this Dutch bombardment, was a moment of Danish delight. Simon Poulsen's deflected cross landed at the feet of Krohn-Dehli, who shrugged off three Dutch defenders with an exquisite dummy before scurrying through and firing between Maarten Stekelenberg's legs.
The Danes had not so much ridden the storm, but somehow emerged on the other side with a suntan. Half-time failed to dampen the Dutch verve and soon enough Van Persie was again in behind, yet this time he could only kick the ground.
Mark van Bommel, tired of the scenic route taken by his more refined colleagues, went direct only to see his rasping shot turned behind. If that was Plan B, Plan C looked to be to go aerial. John Heitinga nodded over from a corner before Robben completed a hat-trick of spurned gilt-edged openings when he headed Sneijder's raking cross wide from eight metres.
Cue the cavalry – Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Rafael van der Vaart – but still it went on. This time it was the outlandish through ball from Sneijder, the impeccable first touch from Huntelaar and the failure to finish. It was a familiar story.

Dzagoev double helps Russia to flying start

Alan Dzagoev scored twice as Russia swept to a convincing defeat of the Czech Republic in Wroclaw and leave his nation atop Group A after the opening games in the section.

Dick Advocaat had reiterated his belief that Russia are contenders to win the tournament in his pre-match press conference. With the way his team performed in their opening game in brushing aside the Czech Republic 4-1, the Dutchman will not have changed his mind. 

After Dzagoev had opened the scoring on the quarter-hour, Roman Shirokov struck nine minutes later to give Russia a healthy lead at the break. Václav Pilař's goal early in the second half gave the Czechs hope, but Dzagoev and Roman Pavlyuchenko scored within three minutes of each other as their opponents crumbled in the closing stages. The gloss those goals gave the scoreline was not merely a flattering one.

Advocaat had promised his side would not abandon the attractive style that had brought them this far, though initially they were not allowed to show it. The Czechs' menace stemmed only from a pair of set pieces, however, and goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev, preferred to Igor Akinfeev, was untroubled, unlike his counterpart at the opposite end.

Petr Čech had already seen Aleksandr Kerzhakov scuff a good chance wide before the FC Zenit St Petersburg forward struck a post with a header from Konstantin Zyryanov's cross. The Czech defence, pulled out of shape by the Russians' sharp movement and still sharper passing, reacted sluggishly as the ball broke for Dzagoev to cap a move he had started by drilling in.

An almost carbon-copy attack might have immediately brought a second had Dzagoev, faced only with the advancing Čech, shown the poise Shirokov then displayed in doubling his team's lead. Though Arshavin's angled pass was intended for Kerzhakov, it ran neatly to Shirokov, whose recent burst of goals was evident in his confident chip over Čech.

The fluidity in Russia's forays merely served to put the Czechs' lack of that precious quality into greater relief when they moved forward. Only Petr Jiráček provided anything like the required impetus, and a scuffed Michal Kadlec shot, which brought a leisurely save from Malafeev, summed up a disappointing opening half.

Michal Bílek's men appeared set for an equally frustrating second period with Arshavin quickly slipping back into his devilishly creative mood. He was upstaged, however, by an old club-mate, Tomáš Rosický, who picked out Pilař's run behind the Russian back four with a sublime pass. The VfL Wolfsburg man confidently rounded Malafeev before clipping home from an ever-tightening angle. 

Arshavin responded to Rosický in kind, flicking nonchalantly through for Kerzhakov, but he was left looking to the heavens after dragging his shot wide of the far post. It was not a night to remember for the 29-year-old, who was substituted soon after firing another opportunity wastefully wide. Fortunately for Russia, his profligacy did not cost them, though Malafeev had to produce an excellent save to stop a Rosický drive before Dzagoev and Pavlyuchenko, who had replaced Kerzhakov, put the issue beyond doubt
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