Ally White

Italy, the current world champion, sealed a disappointing 1-1 draw against New Zealand in the Group F of the South African World Cup 2010, this past Sunday and risked its chances to qualify to the second round.

The Portugal's national team crushed North Korea by 7-0 this past Monday at Cape Town. The Lusitanian team had the patience to get into the Asian defense after finishing the first half 1-0. In the second half, Portugal found the spaces and controled the actions in the Green Point with a historical score record.

The Japanese team earned a major victory in their opening debut at the South Africa World Cup 2010, after beating Cameroon, 1-0. In a dull and somewhat close game, Japan found itself ahead 38 minutes into the first half, after a center pass by midfielder Daisuke Matsui was transformed into a goal by Keisuke Honda.

The Boston Celtics are one step from becoming the new NBA Champions after beating Los Angeles Lakers in Game Five, 92-86 in the Finals at the TD Garden on Sunday. The team of Doc Rivers, led by Paul Pierce (27 points), completely surpassed the Lakers.

The coach of the Brazilian team, Dunga, said today that goalkeeper Julio Cesar will play in the debut of Brazil next Tuesday against North Korea in the opening of the World Cup. The goalkeeper was absent this Monday in the friendly game against Tanzania, in which Brazil took a 5-1 victory. Julio Cesar had to be replaced on Wednesday with an injury in his back during the 3-0 victory over Zimbabwe in another friendly game.

Los Angeles Lakers suffered a painful loss to the Boston Celtics, 94-103 in the second game of the NBA Finals. This levels the series for the title to 1 game a piece. Pau Gasol (25 points) played at a high level, but he could not counterbalance the masterful performance of Ray Allen (32 points, 8 triples) and Rajon Rondo, author of a triple-double in the game.

This Monday, the Spaniard Rafael Nadal beat the Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci with a score of 6-2, 7-5, 6-4, and added his 200th victory on clay. This qualified him to the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, where he will again face his Spaniard compatriot Nicolas Almagro who beat seventh seeded Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 earlier that day.

The world number one, Roger Federer, eliminated compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka in the second round of Roland Garros. Federer won on Sunday in straight sets 6-3, 7-6, 6-2, in one hour and 56 minutes in Philippe Chatrier center course of Roland Garros.

Real Madrid took a dramatic win against Sevilla this Saturday. It was the 25th round of La Liga, and the team managed to fight back from being under 2-0 to defeating Sevilla in the end, 3-2. With the victory, the Whites took the top spot from Barcelona; the Azulgranas had tied against Almeria 2-2 – both goals scored by superstar Lionel Messi. (Messi is the top scorer of the tournament, with 19 goals.)

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic won his first title of the season and his second consecutive title in Dubai after beating the Russian Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. The final match was suspended on Saturday due to heavy rain with the score in favor of the Serb, 7-5, 2-0. The game was resumed on Sunday and Djokovic managed an uncomfortable victory in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship.