Maori Notes

BERLIN: Usain Bolt crossed the finish line, saw his record-setting time on the clock and spread his arms as if he were soaring like a bird. About all this guy can't do is fly. And by saving his celebration until after the finish line this time, he showed how fast a man really can go on two feet. The Jamaican shattered the world record again Sunday, running 100 meters in 9.58 seconds at the world championships to turn his much-anticipated race against Tyson Gay into a one-man show.

That was 0.11 seconds faster than the mark he set last year at the Beijing Olympics - the biggest improvement in the 100-meter record since electronic timing began in 1968. Gay, his closest rival, broke the American mark with his 9.71 performance and still looked like he was jogging - finishing a few big strides behind Bolt in second place. Bolt's only competition these days is the clock. And when he's really trying, not hot-dogging it over the line the way he did in China, even time itself doesn't stand a chance. "I don't run for world records," said Bolt, who crossed the line with a slight breeze at his back. Yet those records always seem to find him. He thinks he can go even lower. "I know I said 9.4," Bolt said, grinning.

"You never know. I'll just keep on working."

DUA jaringan pertahanan, masing-masing yang pertama buat Assou-Ekotto dan Sebastian Bassong untuk Tottenham Hotspur menjelmakan duka pembukaan musim buat Liverpool dalam kemenangan 2-1 di White Hart Lane semalam. Spurs yang sepatutnya mendahului menerusi tiga percubaan awal Robbie Keane akhirnya memperoleh habuan daripada penguasaan babak pertama apabila bek kiri, Ekotto melepaskan rembatan kaki kiri daripada lantunan sepakan percuma, Tom Huddlestone seminit sebelum rehat. Liverpool kemudiannya menyamakan kedudukan pada minit ke-56 menerusi penalti Steven Gerrard tetapi kedudukan itu tidak kekal lama dengan Luka Modric melambungkan sepakan percuma untuk Bassong melonjak tinggi untuk menanduk melepasi penjaga gol, Pepe Reina.

Terdahulu, Wayne Rooney memulakan kempen Manchester United untuk kejuaraan Liga Perdana Inggeris buat kali keempat berturut-turut dengan langkah kemenangan apabila menjaringkan gol tunggal perlawanan untuk kejayaan 1-0 ke atas Birmingham City, di Old Trafford. Penyerang England itu bertindak pantas 12 minit sebelum rehat, menolak bola masuk dari jarak dekat selepas tandukan pertamanya hasil hantaran lintang Nani, terkena palang.
Ia bukan persembahan cemerlang United, dengan Birmingham berjaya mencipta beberapa peluang, terutama sekali apabila pemain gantian, Christian Benitez memaksa penjaga gol, Ben Foster bertindak pantas menyelamatkan keadaan. - Agensi

WEMBLEY: Salomon Kalou menyempurnakan sepakan penalti kemenangan ketika Chelsea menundukkan Manchester United 4-1 menerusi penentuan penalti buat meraih kejuaraan Perisai Komuniti dalam aksi kompetitif sulung Carlo Ancelotti selaku pengendali.