NEW YORK – A nagging knee injury has forced Venus Williams to skip the rest of the 2010 tennis season, including next month’s Fed Cup final between the United States and Italy.

Williams, a seven-time grand slam winner, has been troubled by the problem since July when she was knocked out of the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

The world number three has not played since last month’s U.S. Open Tag heuer replica watches, where she lost in the semi-finals to the eventual champion Kim Clijsters.

She was to due to play this week’s China Open but withdrew because of her knee problems, raising doubts about her chances of playing in the Fed Cup final and the WTA Championships.

"I am very disappointed to announce that I will be unable to play in the season-ending WTA Championships and Fed Cup Final Omega replica watches," she said in a statement on Wednesday.

"I have been getting treatment and therapy on my knee and have been making progress but unfortunately must continue to keep weight off my knee for the short term and won’t be ready to return to competition in 2010."

MANILA, Philippines – Boxing promoter Bob Arum said Saturday that Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao should step up his training to dodge the "very, very unique dangers" posed by Tijuana’s tornado Tag heuer replica watches, Antonio Margarito.

"He better step up his training because this guy (Margarito) poses very, very unique dangers Rolex replica watches," Arum said as soon as he arrived in Manila on Saturday morning.

Arum, who was scheduled to watch Pacquiao’s sparring session on Saturday afternoon, said that Margarito is currently in "tremendous shape," and he expects the Tijuana Tornado to push himself to the edge during the last stages of his training for the November 13 super welterweight fight in Texas.

"If you are Margarito and this had happened to you, you’ve been suspended in boxing for a relatively long time and now you get the opportunity to be in this world stage, you’re gonna kill yourself to prepare," the boxing promoter said.

Arum added: "He is in the best shape I have ever seen. He would be a big danger for any welterweight in the world."

However, the boxing promoter said that despite Margarito’s current condition, he still believes that Pacquiao’s speed and punching power will prevail during the fight.

"Pacquiao is something special. No matter how big they are, Manny Pacquiao can handle them," Arum said. "Manny has to be able to utilize that incredible speed that he has together with his ability to punch with two hands." – Report from Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA, Philippines – Two major oil players in the country announced on Monday price cuts in their respective liquified petroleum gas (LPG) products effective Tuesday.

Roberto Kanapi, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. spokesman, told media in a text message that the local oil giant will implement a P0.40 per kilogram (P4.40 per 11-kg cylinder) reduction in the price of its Shellane LPG products effective 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.

Petron Corp Replica Watch, in a separate message Replica Watch, said it will implement a P0.40/kg (exclusive of Value-Added Tax) price cut but effective 6 a.m. Tuesday.

The 2 oil companies said their respective price reductions are due to the decline in international contract prices.

* Investors snap up dollar, euro vs won on stop losses
* Slides in peso, rupiah prompt intervention

By Kevin Yao
 
SINGAPORE – The South Korean won tumbled to its lowest in seven months on Thursday as investors scrambled to buy dollars to cut losses, leading other Asian currencies lower amid nagging worries over the euro zone’s debt crisis.

The euro fell again after a brief rebound in the previous day, edging back towards a four-year low. Investors were nervous because of policy disarray in the euro zone following Germany’s move to ban naked short-selling in some securities.

Investors have dumped Asian stocks and bonds in recent weeks as part of a broad retreat from risky assets.

"This year started with global investors upbeat on Asia and we saw large inflows into Asia all through 2009 and early 2010," said Bratin Sanyal, head of Asian equities with ING Asset Management in Hong Kong who oversees $2.4 billion.

"With global turmoil and growing risk aversion we are seeing some money being pulled out and flowing back into home markets.

We can see that in the strengthening dollar, the declining local currencies and in the exchange data in the last couple of weeks."

He expected fund outflows from Asia to stabilise once investors see improvements in Europe’s debt problems.

Thai markets were closed.
    
 WON

The won lost as much as 2.6%  to 1,196.7 per dollar, the weakest since Oct. 2009, as investors scrambled to buy dollars to cut losses.
 
"I cannot find dollar offers," said a dealer in Seoul.

 Implied volatilities in South Korean won  jumped across tenors as the spot won tumbled, with one-month volumes hitting 20%, the highest since July 2009.

"Dollar/won broke 1,180, triggering stop-loss buying," said a trader in Singapore.

Traders said funds had joined the rush to buy the euro against the won, adding pressure on the currency.

"We see heavy short (dollar) covering from offshore. Guess it’s from euro/Asia short covering — euro/won jumped against won today," said another trader in Seoul.

The won slid to 1,481.27 to the euro  from 1,446.26 late on Wednesday.
    
PESO

The Philippine peso  shed just over 1%  to 46.13 per dollar Fake Watches, even as the central bank was seen intervening to support the currency.
 
"The peso continues to track the moves in Asia. We see quite a lot of buying interest in dollar/peso at the moment," said a second trader.

Some traders estimated dollar sales of about $200 million by the central bank to smooth out the peso’s decline.

Dollar/peso climbed along the curve, with one-month contracts rising to 46.50 from 45.90 late on Wednesday.

The peso’s fall was limited by renewed foreign buying of local bonds after news that the Philippine budget has swung into a surplus in April.

 "We’re actually seeing good buying interest for local bonds right now," said a bond dealer.
    
 RUPIAH

The Indonesian rupiah  lost nearly 1.6% to 9,295 per dollar as investors dumped risky assets, prompting the central bank to sell dollars in support Fake Watches, traders said.

 "The central bank intervened at various level, but the the amount its dollar sales is small," said a trader in Jakarta.

 The high-yielding rupiah has lost more than 3 percent against the dollar dollar in the past month.

MANILA, Philippines – Second-running Adamson University (AdU) wants to finish the first round with a bang when the Falcons battle dangerous University of the Philippines (UP) today in UAAP Season 74 men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

"That’s really our goal, to finish No. 2 after the first round," said Adamson coach Leo Austria, whose crew takes the court at 1 p.m.

La Salle (3-3) and University of Santo Tomas (3-3) dispute fourth spot at 3 p.m.

Adamson has a virtual lock on the No. 2 position regardless of what happens against the Maroons. This is because of the Falcons’ previous victories over the teams that could forge a three-way tie for second to fourth spots, Far Eastern U (4-3) and either La Salle or UST.

Still, Austria prefers a triumph rather than an ambush.

"UP is very dangerous because they have nothing to lose," he said. "They have a big man who can pick up points in the paint in (Alinko) Mbah, a good, tall point guard in (Jelo) Montecastro who’s playing well, and (Mike) Silungan and (Jett) Manuel who are very consistent. They are also playing as a unit."

Austria admitted to not liking to be on the receiving end of UP’s upset axe.

"I don’t want to be beaten by a team at the bottom. I was there before so I know how much they want to upset the teams in the Top 4, how they double their intensity," he said.

UST coach Pido Jarencio Cartier replica watches, meanwhile, said the Tigers will go all out for a win against the Green Archers.

"We’ll go for broke so we’ll be over 50% (win-loss) going to the second round. Being 4-3 is really our purpose so we’ll have a shot at a Final Four by picking up wins," he said.

Jarencio said he likes UST’s chances for a Last 4 this season.

"Ateneo and Adamson are pretty solid but the other contenders, FEU and La Salle Tag heuer replica watches, are within reach," he said.

MANILA, Philippines – Floyd Mayweather Sr. claims that he can improve Manny Pacquiao’s boxing skills if he trained him, but it still would not be enough to defeat his son, Floyd Mayweather Jr.

"I can improve him," Mayweather told On the Ropes Boxing Radio.

"But improving him, he’s still not at the status where he can beat little Floyd, because he doesn’t have the agility to do what it takes to beat little Floyd."

According to Mayweather, Pacquiao is not the type of fighter who can beat his son, saying that the Filipino boxing champ is "a shorter man," "ain’t got no reach" and "ain’t no jabber."

"It’s not a guy like Pacquiao who can beat Floyd," he said Breitling replica watches, adding, “He just comes in throwing punches like a woman.”

Mayweather claimed that he can change Pacquiao "totally as a fighter" if he was allowed to train him. He stressed, though, that he has no plans of doing so.

"I would have him jabbing a lot more, and I would have him moving his head," he said.

"I’m not training him right now Rolex replica watches, so it don’t make a difference. And I’m not going to train him."

MANILA Tag heuer replica watches, Philippines – Eight-division boxing champion Manny Pacquiao kicked off his preparations for his May 7 fight against former world champion, “Sugar” Shane Mosley.

The "fighting congressman" of Sarangani is currently in his hometown in General Santos City doing stamina work by playing his favorite sport, basketball.

“[I do] Stretching, basketball warm up, jogging… para [sa] stamina,” Pacquiao said.

His co-trainer and best-friend, Buboy Fernandez, said this is just the first phase of Pacquiao’s stamina work.

The real training will start in Baguio City.

“Ngayon first day natin… Dadahan dahanin natin, hindi natin bibiglain,” said Fernandez.

Pacquiao will be staking his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title against the aging Mosley in Las Vegas.

The Filipino superstar will stay in General Santos City until March 12. He will start his training camp in Baguio City on March 13 He will be joined there by his boxing coach Tag heuer replica watches, Freddie Roach.

After more than three weeks in Baguio, Pacquiao will fly to Los Angeles on April 9 to continue training in Roach’s Wild Card Gym.

Pacquiao, meanwhile, said he is planning to get a hair cut.

He said his hair style, which some say resembles that of pop superstar Justin Bieber’s, is starting to bother him, especially when he plays basketball.

“Oo nga, eh, istorbo… Baka pagupitan ko na ito,” said Pacquiao. – With a report from Jay Dayupay, ABS-CBN News SOKSARGEN

MANILA, Philippines – Ginebra forward Rudy Hatfield is out again after resurfacing from a long vacation and playing three conferences in his return stint with the Kings.

Hatfield bid the team goodbye after they came up short in their title quest in the PBA Fiesta Conference against the Talk n Text Tropang Texters, which took its second straight crown with a 4-2 series victory.

“It’s an agreement when he came back. We know he’s leaving after the second conference,” Ginebra coach Jong Uichico told The STAR.

The Ginebra management sought a new deal but Hatfield opted to assess things first with his family in the United States.

Hatfield’s departure will surely leave a big void in the Ginebra frontcourt especially with Rico Villanueva also in the injured list, recuperating from an ACL surgery.

Uichico Cartier replica watches, however Tag heuer replica watches, hopes they find the right import for the third conference in Curtis Stinson.

The 6-foot-2 guard, a Bronx, New York native, played college ball for Iowa State and has been a fixture in the NBA D-League since 2007. He’s a two-time D-League first team and D-League MVP this season.

Curiously, Uichico saw positive things in their loss to Talk n Text in their title showdown, making him hopeful of another shot at the championship.

“For one, we saw that our young guys can compete. I know now that I can give them playing time that they really deserve,” said Uichico of players like JC Intal, John Wilson and Rob Labagala.

Uichico’s also comfortable with the fact that they’ve always been contending for the crown.

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Azkals prospect Alphonse Areola has extended his contract with French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) up to 2016. 

The 18-year-old goalkeeper Cartier replica watches, which is being reportedly eyed by Azkals team manager Dan Palami to challenge Neil Etheridge as the Philippines’ No. 1 Omega replica watches,  joined PSG through its youth academy. 

Areola signed a professional contract at the age of 16, the youngest to turn pro in French football history.

PSG did not disclose the financial terms of his new contract.

The deal is seen as PSG’s effort to secure Areola to a long-term deal following reported interest on the teen by English Premier League clubs Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Areola has yet to make his first-team debut for PSG and is currently second choice behind the team’s new Italian goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu.

He has earned 4 international caps with France’s under-18 side. He has been tipped to become both PSG’s and France’s future No. 1, according to French media.

Under FIFA rules, Areola can play for the Philippine Azkals as long as he is not yet capped for the senior Les Bleus.

The Clairefontaine-trained goalkeeper had an impressive pre-season with PSG, notching clean sheets in the team’s wins over Italian side AS Roma (3-0) and Argentinian giants Boca Juniors (3-0).

PSG are being tipped as one of the title favorites in the French top league in the coming season.

The club was recently bought by Qatar Sports Investments, which has brought in cash and 7 new players including the 42-million-euro Argentinian playmaker Javier Pastore.

MANILA Replica Watches, Philippines – Actor Robin Padilla has issued a statement regarding reports that he and actress-host Mariel Rodriguez tied the knot in Benguet last Monday.

In a text message sent to ABS-CBN News Replica watches, Padilla said what happened in Baguio was part of their lives as a couple. He added the ceremony will also be used for an upcoming show on ABS-CBN.

"Ang mga naganap sa lupa ng mga Cariño sa Baguio ay isa lamang sa mga nagaganap na yugto sa aming pag-ibig at sa nalalapit na programa sa ABS-CBN," Padilla said.

Despite the Igorot rites, the actor, a Muslim convert, said he remains faithful to Islam. He added that the tribal ceremony is part of Filipino culture and tradition.

"Walang dapat ipangamba ang mga kapatiran, kababayan at katribo sapagkat ang pagsunod namin ay sa Islam, ang pagpupugay namin ay sa Kristianismo at ang pakikiisa namin ay sa kultura at tradisyong Pilipino," Padilla added.

Padilla was also responding to comments and criticisms about an apparent conflict between his Igorot wedding and him being a Muslim.

Some readers of abs-cbnNEWS.com had commented that Padilla disrespected Islam for using pig’s blood during the ceremony.

The wedding

Jimmy Ong, the mamburong who performed the ceremony, confirmed to ABS-CBN News in an exclusive interview on Thursday that the ceremony took place last September 13 at 3 p.m.

Padilla’s youngest son was also present during the event.

Ong said he initially thought he was just attending a shooting, but was caught by surprise when he found the couple wearing traditional clothes of the Ibaloi.

“Tinanong ko si Robin kung kasal talaga ito. Sabi niya, ‘Oo, kasal talaga.’ Kaya sinimulan ko na,” he said.

During the ceremony, he said the couple drank rice wine to symbolize their love for each other.

They also danced Tayao, a native dance, to show that they are officially married, he said.

According to him, Padilla, whose mother is an Igorot, and Rodriguez, had pig’s blood on their faces as part of the ceremony.

“Ang kasal na ito ay legal sa kultura ng mga Igorot….binasbasan ko sila na hanggang kamatayan magsasama sila,” he said.

After the traditional ceremony, the celebrity couple again got married in a ceremony officiated by a pastor and was held in a private home.

It was a whirlwind romance for Padilla and Rodriguez.

The 2 met on the set of the now defunct ABS-CBN noontime show “Wowowee” when Padilla subbed for Willie Revillame early this year.

Rodriguez was one of the female hosts of “Wowowee.”