Today's other stories in brief
Eagles upset the Giants
AMERICAN FOOTBALL:The Philadelphia Eagles advanced to the National Football Conference championship game after beating the defending Super Bowl champions the New York Giants 23-11 yesterday.
Donovan McNabb rushed for a one yard touchdown and threw a one yard score to tight end Brent Celek for Philadelphia amid wind gusts as high as 16 miles per hour and freezing temperatures at the Giants Stadium in New Jersey.
The sixth-seeded Eagles (11-6-1) will play the Arizona Cardinals next Sunday for the right to go to the Super Bowl after the Cardinals upset the second-seeded Carolina Panthers 33-13 on Saturday.
"This is beautiful,"McNabb said after the game. "The city of Philadelphia is buzzing, the team is buzzing. We're looking forward to going to Arizona, where it's a little warmer than it is here."
O'Sullivan has narrow escape
SNOOKER:Ronnie O'Sullivan survived a major scare in his opening match at the Masters at Wembley yesterday.
The tournament looked set to lose its star attraction on day one, but opponent Joe Perry could not finish off O'Sullivan, who came back from the brink of defeat to win 6-5.
Perry knocked O'Sullivan out of the UK Championship last month, and the 34-year-old was poised to hand O'Sullivan another painful defeat when he led 5-4 and had match ball in the 10th frame, but Perry inexplicably left the pink in the jaws of a corner pocket and handed O'Sullivan a reprieve.
The decider was tense but O'Sullivan had the better of it, and Perry was left needing snookers on the colours.
Ryder back to open for NZ
CRICKET: Jesse Ryder has been recalled by New Zealand for tomorrow's deciding, one-day international against the West Indies after a late night of drinking cost him his place in the last match.
Ryder was dropped after missing a team meeting and training session following a night out in Auckland.
New Zealand coach Andy Moles said he had no hesitation in recalling the powerful left-handed batsmen for the series decider in Napier.
"Jesse is a match-winner opening the batting," Moles said. "He and Brendon (McCullum) are a formidable pair."
Last February Ryder had to have surgery on his hand after punching a window in the door of a Christchurch nightclub. That ruled him out of a tour of England in May.
"Jesse assures us it's a thing of the past and we have to move on with that in mind," Moles said.
Mathew Sinclair, who replaced Ryder in Auckland, drops out of the squad.
The series is locked 1-1 with two of the four matches washed out.
Croatian Cilic wins in India
TENNIS:Third-seed Croatian Marin Cilic beat Indian wildcard Somdev Devvarman 6-4 7-6 to win the Chennai Open yesterday and claim his second title.
Cilic took exactly two hours to see off Devvarman's resolute challenge, clinching victory as he took the second-set tie-break 7-3.
Devvarman, who grew up in Chennai, was playing in his first ATP final after being handed a walkover in the semi-finals by German Rainer Schuettler.
Tokyo Olympic bid venues approved
OLYMPIC GAMES: Tokyo's 2016 Olympic bid has been given a boost after the city's proposed venues were approved by the 26 international sports bodies.
"We are pleased to have developed a plan that suits their needs," Tokyo bid committee sports director Toru Hirakata said. "The quick approval process reflects the exacting nature of Tokyo's technical plan."
The 26 federations have given the thumbs-up on operational and logistical aspects for each venue, according to Japanese officials.
Tokyo, which staged Asia's first Olympics in 1964, faces competition from Chicago, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro in the race to stage the 2016 Summer Games.
Many facilities used in 1964 would be renovated and used should Tokyo win. The city's waterfront bid topped the IOC's evaluation last June.
The IOC will announce the 2016 host city on October 2nd in Copenhagen.
New boy Warner smashes Australia past Proteas
CRICKET:MCG debutant David Warner clubbed the second-fastest Twenty20 international half-century as a new-look Australia side defeated South Africa by 52 runs.
Warner, who is yet to make his first-class debut, had the home fans in a frenzy as he smashed 89 off only 43 balls.
He spearheaded Australia's charge to 182 for nine before the Proteas, aided by 78 from 48 balls from the unflappable Jean-Paul Duminy, were dismissed for 130.
The Proteas were unable to recover after losing wickets in each of their opening three overs as Australia bounced back from their Test series defeat.
And it was Warner, only the third Australian in 158 years to represent his country before making his first-class debut, who stole the show with his man-of-the-match performance.
In just over an hour, Warner smashed six sixes and seven fours to become owner of the joint fifth-highest Twenty20 international score.
He also posted the sixth-fastest international half-century in all forms of the game with his 50 coming off just 19 balls.
Only Yuvraj Singh has hit a faster half-century in Twenty20 internationals, reaching the mark off 12 balls against England in Durban in 2007.
Warner's heroics enabled Australia to set a challenging run chase despite losing seven wickets for 42 runs in the final 38 balls.
