Real Madrid abandon pursuit of self-proclaimed world's best Cristiano Ronaldo

By Tim Rich

A shoo-in? Cristiano Ronaldo is the European player of the year according to Cristiano Ronaldo Photo: AP

"It [a deal for Ronaldo] is not possible. That matter is over," Madrid president Ramon Calderon said. "We talked about that last season. Manchester decided they did not want to sell the player and we don't want to do anything against a friendly club like Manchester.

"We accept that Ronaldo decided to stay at Manchester. It is forgotten. Not only for January but, I think, for ever."

However, he maintained that should United put the 23-year-old up for sale, Real would consider coming in with an offer.

"Only if Manchester decided to sell will we be talking about it," he said. "But I would like to say clearly that Madrid is not doing anything to disturb a nice and friendly club like Manchester.

"That is the final word and we are happy."

Few will disagree with the United winger's statement that he is the clear favourite to win both the Fifa World Player of the Year award and the Ballon d'Or but for him to state it so openly appears either a sign of arrogance or supreme confidence. Perhaps both.

"I am completely confident," he told the Italian sports paper, Gazzetta dello Sport. "If you assess what I did over the course of the season; I think I did more than anyone. What more could I have done to win the Ballon d'Or and the Fifa award?"

The Ballon D'Or is better known by its former title of the European Footballer of the Year; an award that no Manchester United player has won since Denis Law, Sir Bobby Charlton and George Best were awarded it once each between 1964 and 1968. The last two Englishmen to win it were Michael Owen seven years ago and Kevin Keegan in 1979. Ronaldo was voted runner-up to AC Milan's Kaka last year and has already been presented with the Golden Boot – as Europe's leading marksman – in a ceremony in his home island of Madeira.

Ronaldo's performances in a season in which he scored 42 times for Manchester United were even more remarkable because for the last two months of the campaign he played through the pain of an ankle injury.

"At times it was like having a knife in my ankle," he said. "I had to grit my teeth but I don't regret it because it was worth it. But mentally and physically it was torture."

Having won his first European Cup – which earned him the award of Uefa's Champions League player of the season – Ronaldo said he believed Manchester United were capable of retaining the trophy; something no team has achieved since AC Milan in 1990.

"I want a second Champions League," he said. "Manchester United have everything it takes to do it. I don't see anyone capable of rivalling us."

Calderon also endorsed AC Milan's interest in signing former Real midfielder David Beckham on loan from LA Galaxy.

"He is a very well-known player. He is a player who can give a lot to the club he signs for," Calderon told Sky Sports News.

Beckham spent four seasons at the Bernabeu and Calderon added: "I have heard he is going to go to AC Milan.

"We wish David Beckham all the best. He performed fantastically. He decided to leave and now he has a new offer and it is up to him.

"He is a fantastic player, a nice person and we have a lot of good memories. The Real Madrid fans like him very much and he is always welcome at Real Madrid in any sense."

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Omahan sues fellow golfer for tee shot in the head

BY TODD COOPER
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

This one may require a deposition on the pin position.

An Omaha man, Matthew J. Miller, has sued a fellow golfer for nearly hitting a hole in one.

The problem: The hole the golfer almost hit was Miller's ear.

The lawsuit, filed this month in Douglas County District Court, says golfer Joseph Hammon hit his tee shot into Miller's head, just above the ear, as Miller was walking off the second green at Pacific Springs Golf Course on June 24, 2006.

Miller's attorney, James Knowles Jr. of Omaha, said the golf ball knocked Miller out momentarily, causing him to fall and strain his neck and shoulder.

It also has led Miller, 33, to suffer from recurring migraine headaches, Knowles said.

Though the lawsuit isn't the first in the state to involve golf, it could make a divot in legal theory.

Namely, the lawsuit poses the question: How much inherent risk does a golfer assume when he steps on the course?

An attorney for Hammon said the risk of a golfer getting hit by a golf ball is no different from the risk of a fan getting hit by a ball at a baseball game. In essence, the attorney said, it's the price of admission.

Knowles acknowledged that golfers may be at risk of errant shots.

But two factors — rooted in the protocol of the gentlemen's sport — make this case different and make Hammon negligent, Knowles said.

First, Knowles argued, Hammon hit his tee shot on the par 3 second hole without waiting for the players in front of him to clear the putting green.

Miller says one of his playing partners was still putting the flagstick in the hole and Miller was on his way from the green to his golf cart when he was hit.

"It's common courtesy to wait," Knowles said. "I would be loathe to tee off if people were on the green and in the zone of danger."

Second, Knowles said, Miller didn't hear anyone yell "Fore!" from the tee box.

Stacy Jo Ferrel, an attorney who initially represented Hammon, said there was a simple reason for that: Hammon looked and believed that the green was clear before hitting his shot. So did his playing partners.

The second tee box at Pacific Spring sits on a hill, about 160 yards from the green below. From the elevated tee box, a large tree partially blocks golfers' view of the left side of the green — where golfers exit the green and head to their carts.

The ball may have bounced off that tree before striking Miller, Ferrel said.

Hammon, a radio host on KAT 103, met up with Miller in the clubhouse, apologized and bought him a beer, Ferrel said.

"He thought that would be the end of it," she said. "(Two) years later, he gets this lawsuit. It seems highly suspect."

Knowles said there's nothing suspect about it.

Miller, who does computer work at Methodist Hospital, went to the emergency room to get checked out that day — and has experienced migraines since. He didn't wait months or cook up some artificial injuries, Knowles said.

He is seeking $6,200 in medical expenses, plus general damages.

Hammon declined to comment on the particulars of the case.

He said he is a bogey golfer who plays about once every two weeks. He said he is not a golf assassin — and has never hit anyone else.

But one time, he said, his ball ended up about 20 yards behind a tree. He intended to wrap the ball around the tree and into the fairway.

Instead, the ball hit the trunk and zipped right back into him, leaving a welt.

In the end, he decided against suing the tree.

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NFL: Rash of Positive Tests Under Steroid Policy

by JOSINA ANDERSON

New Orleans Saints Deuce McAllister stretches out during a training session in Chandler's Cross, England, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008. San Diego Chargers will face the New Orleans Saints in an NFL football game at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday Oct. 26. (AP Photo/Tom Hevezi)

DENVER - There has been a “rash of positive tests under the steroid policy as a result of players taking water pills to lose weight," a highly-placed NFL source said.

The source told FOX 31’s Josina Anderson Friday morning that New Orleans Saints’ running back Deuce McAllister, and defensive end Will Smith were included in the web of positive tests.

“There are about six to ten overall positive tests. Three to four of them are from the Saints organization alone including McAllister and Smith.

There were no Denver Broncos players that were a part of this group as far as the source knew.

McAllister and Smith are in a group of players that have tested positive specifically for a diuretic known as Bumetanide. Some of the players in the group of six to ten tested positive for a different substance.

"Most of them tested positive for Bumetanide," said the league source. "The last few tested positive for another substance that works similarly.”

Experts at the Mayo Clinic describe Bumetanide as a drug belonging to a group of medicines called loop diuretics or “water pills.” Its uses include the treatment of fluid retention and swelling caused by medical conditions such as congestive heart failure, liver disease, and kidney disease.

However, the source told Anderson that Bumetanide has another use which makes it one of the NFL’s banned substances.

“[Bumetanide] can also mask the use of other drugs or steroids.”

Dr. Norman Smith, the lead physician at an internal medical practice in Maryland confirmed this assertion to Fox 31 Sports.

“Bumetanide makes you excrete a lot of salt and water. It dilutes the urine and makes it very difficult to test for illegal substances. There are some patients who use or abuse it where weight is critical,” Dr. Smith said.

Weight loss is the main reason the highly-placed league source identifies as to why this group of NFL players tested positive for this drug. “It seems to be clear that most of these players were doing it to cut weight.”

When the source was asked how they’re more confident these players used Bumetanide as a weight loss agent as opposed to a masking agent, the source replied, “I know that a few of these players have had weight issues.”

The source also suggested some of the players may not have known Bumetanide is on the NFL’s list of banned substances.

“I don’t think many of them are attempting to cheat, or even know it is on the list. We are talking big guys who have likely never seen a steroid in their life. My understanding of the steroid policy is that it was intended to catch cheaters or people using performance enhancing substances to gain a competitive edge. These guys don’t fall into that category,” said the source.

Regardless, all of the players in this group of positive tests, including McAllister and Smith, are subject to a suspension pending an appeal to the league. Under the NFL’s steroid policy, a player’s first positive test results in a four-game suspension.

Smith’s listed agent, Joel Segal, was not immediately available to comment. A representative for McAllister’s agent, Jim Steiner, said the agent would call back.

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