“It was a crazy way to win it with a suspended game but we did and it’s over and we’re very excited,” 45-year-old Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer said. “It has been a long wait, but it’s worth it.”

In a cold winter day Phillies fans returned to Citizens Bank Park to see the city claim what they were looking for more than 20 years now, the World Series Championship title.

“Bundled in parkas and blankets the fans could taste it just as much as we could” said series MVP Cole Hamels.

This game will for sure feature as one of the wackiest ending in history; instead of the traditional best of seven series it turned to be a best of three and half showdown thanks to the bottom of the sixth inning.

“It’s over. It’s over, man.” Said Jimmy Rollins

“I always thought we’d win the World Series. I knew we could beat anyone in the league,” Manuel said.

Mike Schmidt, Phillies MVP said that this title unites a town behind one team and that people enjoy being associated with winning.

“Getting the World Series Championship title is just the icing on the cake for this city and its fans”

Even thou Tampa Bay lost their chance it was not all harmful for them, since last decade the  Rays didn’t had a good season like the current one, and they should feel proud for that.

The Hammers are now in the bottom half of the Premier League and it took only 14 minutes to Ronaldo dictate the faith for West Ham.

Just before Kickoff the Manchester United midfielder received a trophy of FIFPro player of the year, and that surely inspired the player on the game.

However this is a team game and of course Cristiano Ronaldo cannot play alone or even score goals by himself.

Dimitar Berbatov created the goal from a seemingly lost cause, when everybody was counting that the ball would go out for goal-kick, Berbatov believed he could do something and chased it and with a dazzling turn he kept the ball and rolled across for Ronaldo to score.

With this victory Manchester United was moving towards its sixth unbeaten streak, the last game that they lost was against Liverpool.

Alex Ferguson wanted to win the match and he bet everything on it, the line up had clearly a great attack with Berbatov alongside Carlos Tevez, and the duo had two Portuguese players to back them up, Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani.

Luis Boa Morte tried to change West Ham’s luck after a injury of Behrami, but the Red Devils had a good defence.

Fifteen minutes to end the match Wayne Ronney jumped out of the bench and almost scored a goal, Tevez also gave too much trouble to Hammers goal keeper but the Scoreboard set by Ronaldo in the First half never changed.

2-0 was the final result and even with some desperate shots by Craig Bellamy West Ham couldn’t do anything to change their faith.

Chris won on points in a unanimous 118-110, 118-110, 117-111 decision in his fifth mandatory title bout, a 12-round match held at Korakuen Hall.

He scored most of his points in the first five rounds, thanks to a combination of solid defending and aggressive attacking.

Despite having a shorter reach — 175 centimeters to Enoki’s 177.5 — Chris managed to land most of his jabs and uppercuts, giving the home favorite little room to exercise his typically aggressive technique.

Enoki, born on the same day as Chris — Sept. 14, 1979 — changed his tactics in the sixth round to launch close-range attacks and block a flurry of punches from Chris.

Enoki grew in confidence to dominate the seventh and eighth rounds, repeatedly cornering the defending champion.

In the 10th and 11th rounds, Chris regained control of the fight and maintained his upper hand until the final bell.

With this victory, Chris extends his unbeaten run to 42 wins (22 KOs) and 1 tie, and ends Enoki’s unbeaten run of 27 wins (19 KOs) and 2 ties.

“Enoki has strong punches and some of them hit me so hard and left a cut in my right temple in the fifth round,” Chris noted “Fortunately I managed to maintain control of the fight until the final round”.

“I predicted a tough fight against Enoki. And it was. But from the very beginning, I believed I could beat him,” he said.

It gave Johnson the top starting spot, and put the 11 drivers chasing him for the title right on his bumper. Greg Biffle, who trails Johnson by 149 points with four races to go, will start second.

Jeff Burton, who is 152 points out, starts third in Sunday’s race.

“It makes it sort of boring, takes the excitement out of it because the 12 guys are starting right there,” Biffle said. “A lot of times we’re talking about, `well, this guy is starting 30th, and this guy is 18th.’ Other than that, it’s kind of uneventful for us.”

It’s the ninth pole of the season for Johnson, and four of them have been handed to him because of rain. But that starting spot is critical at this time of the season, when Johnson is closing in on his third straight Sprint Cup title.

By starting from the pole, Johnson gets the first stall on pit road and has a rather easy shot at leading the first lap and earning a five-point bonus that will pad his already comfortable lead in the standings.

He successfully led the first lap the past two weeks at Charlotte and Martinsville, en route to pulling away from the other title contenders.

“I have mixed emotions about it. It’s great to have that guaranteed pit stall and start where we are, but at the same time, everybody else is right there,” Johnson said.

“There’s certain guys that I am racing in the points who are very good qualifiers, others who are not. In one respect, I am excited with starting on pole. Then on the other side of me, I say `Well, I still think I could have been top 10 in qualifying and maybe some of the others could have been further back.

No one got the chance, as a steady rain kept cars off the track for all but a few minutes late Friday. The track was deluged in water, causing a drainage issue that created a handful of “weepers” between turns and three where the water settled and could not be dried.

Once the rain stopped, NASCAR drilled holes in the surface in an attempt to drain the water. Late in the afternoon, Kevin Harvick took a ride in the pace car to inspect the surface, and deemed it clear for cars.

About 15 drivers went out for a quick practice session, but it was halted shortly after it began because of a slow drizzle.

Talks are continuing over the 33-year-old joining the Serie A side for three months from January so that he can stay in contention for an England squad place during the MLS close season.

The 33-year-old Beckham joined LA Galaxy from Real Madrid in 2007 in a five-year deal, in a move many expected to bring down the curtain on his European club career.

But following a return to the England squad in November last year, Beckham has found renewed hope that his international career may yet bring him a swansong at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Some pundits have said Beckham could affect the balance of Milan’s side but Ancelotti is untroubled.

“Champions are a resource, never a problem,” he said. “Beckham is a great football player and can play anywhere, in the middle or on the wing.”

Beckham’s official website put out its first official statement about the issue late on Friday.

“We can confirm that talks are taking place with Milan with regard to a short-term loan move at the start of next year,” it said.

“David very much remains a Galaxy player, and he will be in Los Angeles for the start of the 2009 MLS season (in March).

Internazionale president Massimo Moratti has accused his city rivals of living in the past by courting Beckham and signing Ronaldinho when not at his best.

“Beckham to Milan? It’s a Ronaldo type deal. Milan has this philosophy which started when they bought Vieri, it continued with Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and now Beckham.

I guess there is nothing wrong in signing these players as it could be fun for their fans. Ancelotti hit back by saying Brazilian Ronaldinho was wonderful to coach.

“He works like a madman, he is humble and his team mates and fans adore him,” he said. “He is timid. He will improve further but I’m already satisfied.”

Darren Fletcher’s well-taken goal had given the visiting champions the lead at half-time, but Marouane Fellaini’s second-half header earned the home side a share of the points.

United went ahead on 22 minutes after the highly impressive Ryan Giggs’s through ball found Fletcher in the Everton box.

The Scotland international good first touch saw him take the ball on the run before firing a low shot across goalkeeper Tim Howard for his third goal of the season.

Everton struggled to offer much of an attacking threat in the first half, but toothless as they were before the break, they came out after half-time with a lot more purpose and got their just reward on 63 minutes.

Former United stalwart Phil Neville sent in an inviting cross, and 64 midfielder Fellaini rose above Nemanja Vidic to glance a header past Edwin van der Sar to bag his second goal for the club and give the Toffees a well-earned point.

Champions United missed out on the chance to move within three points of leaders Chelsea and Liverpool - who play each other on Sunday - while Everton temporarily move two points above the relegation zone.

Everton’s full-blooded resurgence in the second half was reflected in their three second-half bookings, including one for captain Neville for a lunge on Cristiano Ronaldo after referee Alan Wiley had already blown for a foul on the Portuguese winger.

Former Everton striker Wayne Rooney - who was looking for his 100th club career goal at the ground where he started his career - also received a yellow card for a foul on Mikel Arteta.

The England forward reacted to jeers from his hometown fans by grabbing the Manchester United crest on his shirt, provoking a reaction from the crowd and a rebooke from the referee.

United manager Alex Ferguson swiftly substituted him for Nani.

Soderling, seeded seventh in the indoor event, won both tiebreak 7-5 to win in one hour and 23 minutes.

Both players held serve throughout a match in which Roddick fired 22 aces but showed signs of nerves at times, notably when he double-faulted in the second set tiebreak.

Soderling, who won the tournament in 2004, now leads the American 2-0 in career meetings after beating the former world number one in February in Memphis.

“I love it here and I feel capable of winning it again because I’m playing really well at the moment,” warned the Swede, ranked 27th in the world.

Soderling now meets Gilles Simon, who beat wildcard Josselin Ouanna 6-3 7-5 in an all-French quarter-final.

Fourth seed Simon, in his first tournament as a top 10 player after beating Spain’s world number one Rafael Nadal on his way to the Madrid final last week, showed more composure when it mattered.

On a good day for French tennis, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Julien Benneteau also reached the last four, where they will face each other.

Australian Open finalist Tsonga, seeded third here, stepped up a gear after a close first set to oust former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 7-6 6-1.

Benneteau then thrilled the home crowd by crushing Belgian Steve Darcis 6-3 6-2 in the day’s last match.

Roddick, sixth in the ATP Race standings, did his chances of making next month’s season-ending Masters Cup—featuring the world’s top eight players in Shanghai—no favours with the defeat by Simon.

“He played better than me in the rallies but this was a good preparation for Bercy,” said Roddick, looking forward to the Paris Masters Series tournament starting on Sunday.

“It’s a long season,” he added. “Whoever tells you he’s not tired is lying.”

Simon, who was ninth in the ATP Race at the start of the week, still has a chance of earning a Masters Cup slot.

Vince Carter scored 20 points for the Nets, who avenged a loss in New Jersey earlier this week. Devin Harris and Bobby Simmons each added 16.

Patrick Ewing Jr., whose father is the Knicks’ career scoring leader, provided a bright spot for New York with seven points in the fourth quarter, fueling a late rally from a 21-point deficit.

Players learned before the game that authorities were called to Thomas’ house, where police said a 47-year-old man was taken to the hospital and treated for an accidental overdose of sleeping pills early Friday morning.

However, there were conflicting reports as to whether it was Thomas, a team consultant and adviser, or another family member who required treatment.

Donnie Walsh, who replaced Thomas as president and then fired him as coach, would only say that someone in the organization had spoken to Thomas and there was “some kind of a family issue and he’s asked that we respect their privacy, which I intend to do.”

Jamal Crawford had his best game of a poor preseason with 30 points for the Knicks, who may have been distracted after having to answer questions about Thomas from an unusually large media contingent for a preseason game.

“There’s a concern, I’m sure everybody I would think is wishing for the best for his family but again … I don’t really know a whole lot,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said before the game.

Like many home games under Thomas last season, the Knicks were booed after falling well behind in the third quarter.

New York had a 3-second violation and a shot clock violation in the period while the Nets were turning a five-point halftime lead into a 90-69 bulge.

Ribeiro had a goal and a career-high five points, Eriksson scored twice, and Morrow had a goal and two assists in the Dallas Stars’ 5-3 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

“Things weren’t going well earlier, and there was some frustration,” Morrow said. “It felt good getting back together.”

Krystofer Barch also scored for the Stars, who went 2-1 against the three New York-area teams this week.

Dallas beat the Rangers 2-1 on Monday and lost 5-0 at New Jersey on Wednesday. Marty Turco rebounded from a bad night by stopping 24 shots.

Turco was pulled in the second period Wednesday against the Devils after allowing three goals on 17 shots.

“One of the big differences between last night and tonight was Marty made some big saves early,” said Morrow. “It gave us a bit of confidence.”

The Stars pushed their lead to three with 98 seconds left in the period, just as their second power play expired. Eriksson scored from in-close, and Ribeiro set up the goal with another primary assist.

The Islanders had many scoring chances in the second period, including a two-man advantage for a full two minutes, but they were blanked.

They were also given another power play during that advantage, but again went scoreless. The Islanders finally broke through at 10:16 when Guerin banged in a rebound to get New York within 3-1.

Dallas went back up by three at 13:05 when Barch found the puck on his stick and ripped a shot past DiPietro off another assist by Ribeiro.

Ribeiro finally scored one of his own when he fired a pass from Mike Modano by DiPietro during a power play with 93 seconds left in the second period.

Streit connected for his first goal of the season, a power-play tally, at 3:28 of the third period. Sim scored the final goal with 2.1 seconds remaining in the game.

Chris Coste and Greg Dobbs, manager Charlie Manuel’s choices to serve as DH for the Philadelphia Phillies, each stranded five base runners in the first two games of the 104th World Series. The inability to deliver in the clutch has become contagious.

The Phillies are a staggering one for 28 with runners in scoring position, but rather remarkably escaped Tropicana Field with a split.

The Phillies fell 4-2 Thursday night, their first run coming on an eighth-inning home run by Eric Bruntlett, who was pinch-hitting for Dobbs and had hit just two home runs in 212 at-bats during the regular season.

The second came in the ninth and was unearned, the result of an error by Rays rookie third baseman Evan Longoria.

Phillies cleanup batter Ryan Howard, who has struck out four times with runners in scoring position, rolled out to second to end the game against rookie left-hander David Price, who also caught Howard looking at a called third strike with two runners on to end the seventh.

“I don’t think anybody’s panicking, or anybody’s worrying, but we just know we’ve got to do a better job,” said Howard “I’m not sure exactly what it is – 0 for 20-something with runners in scoring position – but we’re 1-1 and going home.

We’ve got to look that as a positive thing.” Dobbs came up for the first time with runners on second and third with one out and looked at a called third strike.

In the fourth, the Phillies had runners at first and third and one out when Dobbs went down swinging. In the sixth, he blooped a two-out single to center, sending Shane Victorino, who had singled, to third, but Feliz hit into a force play to end that threat.

“It’s not like they haven’t played,” said Manuel, whose pitcher, Brett Myers, had four hits during the NL playoffs, matching the number of hits he had in the regular season, but had the bat taken out of his hands here.

“We had more guys on base than they had,” We’ve had more chances to score than they had, but we just didn’t execute and score the runs.” Finished Manuel