New Zealand, for so long starved of greatness, found themselves

TORONTO -- Sebastian Giovinco had his second three-goal game of the season to take over the MLS lead and power Toronto FC to a 4-1 victory over the New England Revolution on Saturday night.Giovinco has 15 goals, two more than New York Citys David Villa.Toronto (10-7-6) moved within a point of Eastern Conference-leading New York City. Toronto has won four straight, all at home, and is unbeaten in nine games in row at BMO Field.Giovinco opened the scoring in the 20th minute, putting the rebound off of Michael Bradleys strike past goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth. The Atomic Ant struck again in the 29th, curling a shot into the far corner from just outside the area. The Italian completed the hat trick in the 76th, beating Shuttleworth on a penalty kick after Darrius Barnes took down Jonathan Osorio in the area.Teal Bunbury scored for New England (6-9-8) in the 88th minute.Jozy Altidore added a goal for scored for Toronto in stoppage time.RAPIDS 2, WHITECAPS 0COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- Marlon Hairston had a goal and an assist in Colorados victory over Vancouver.The Rapids (11-3-8) rebounded after their franchise-record 15-game undefeated streak was snapped in a 5-1 loss at New York City last Saturday.Hairston opened the scoring in the 44th minute with a close-range finish on Marc Burchs cross. Dominique Badji finished Hairstons low cross to give the Rapids a 2-0 lead in the 60th minute.Colorado moved within three points of MLS-leading FC Dallas and remained in second place in the overall standings. The Whitecaps (8-10-6) lost their second in a row and are winless in their last four.IMPACT 1, DYNAMO 0MONTREAL -- Matteo Mancosu scored in his first MLS start to help Montreal beat Houston.Starting at striker in place of suspended scoring star Didier Drogba, Mancosu took down a long pass over the top from Italian compatriot Marco Donadel and slid a low shot inside the left post in the 77th minute. Drogba missed the game after receiving a red card last week in a 1-1 tie at D.C. United.Mancuso has two goals and an assist in first games since signing with the Impact on July. Montreal (8-5-9) is 4-1-5 in its last 10 games. Houston (4-10-8) is winless in five games.UNION 2, UNITED 2, TIEWASHINGTON -- Steve Birnbaum scored in the 94th minute to pull D.C. United even with Philadelphia.Birnbaum headed Patrick Nyarkos diagonal cross into the far corner of the goal. It was the fifth shot on goal that United (5-8-9) attempted after the 88th minute.The Union (8-8-7) took a 2-1 lead the 57th minute when Chris Pontius scored against his former team. Taylor Kemp opened the scoring for United in the 16th minute, and Tranquillo Barnetta tied it for Philadelphia with a long free kick in the first minute of first-half stoppage time. Custom Dallas Mavericks Jerseys . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. Dirk Nowitzki Jersey .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. http://www.mavericksteamofficial.info/jason-kidd-mavericks-jersey/ . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. Steve Nash Mavericks Jersey . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. Jose Juan Barea Jersey .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. The magician Wasim Akram, England v Pakistan, 1992 In sport its often a single moment that hooks a fan for life - a stunning goal, a breathless rally, a mazy try. Test cricket can seduce someone over a series, finding an impressionable child and ensuring cricket never leaves them. In 1992, Wasim Akram was the master of my destiny.Now, Akram had lots of wonderful series. Few bowlers can match his list of series-shaping hauls. He had already viciously stung Australia in 1989-90 and was unplayable when West Indies toured Pakistan in 1990-91. But his otherworldly performance in 1992 changed the perception in England of what a fast bowler could do.In the series he had already picked up his 150th Test wicket, hit the winning runs at Lords and bowled with venom to take a five-for (among 32 no-balls) at Old Trafford before he saved his brilliant best for the decider at The Oval.His 6 for 67 on the first day was a magician going through his entire repertoire. Levitation, rabbits out of the hat, sawing bodies in half, a spot of mind control. England were mesmerised, their batsmen operating in a world seconds behind the one Akram was bowling in. The Test was gone before it had started.The English press reacted with ignorance, accusing him and Waqar Younis of ball-tampering. But from suspicion often comes learning, and the more judicious English coaches took note. Without that series, without Wasim and Waqar playing county cricket, reverse swing may have passed the likes of James Anderson, Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones by. In that one series, Akram took English cricket into the future, and brought a new generation of fans along for the thrilling ride.The giant Curtly Ambrose, Australia v West Indies, 1992-93 For anyone brought up on Roald Dahl, the sight of Curtly Ambroses limbs vaulting towards the crease couldnt fail but bring to mind images of the BFG galloping towards Giant Country. Instead of little Sophie in his hands, Ambrose had a cricket ball, and on West Indies tour of Australia he did some very, very unfriendly things with it. On the field, Ambrose was certainly no nice, jumbly giant.English fans had got a first-hand taste of Ambroses menace earlier, in 1991. It was hard to forget my first impressions of this enormously high man. At 6ft 7in, he is the same height as Steven Finn; in my childhood memories he is at least a foot taller.He took 28 wickets on that tour of England, though that was against a team embarking on a decade of feeble collapses. His 33 wickets in Australia were against a side embarking on a decade of dominance.With no broadcast or internet, I followed Ambroses progress on Ceefax. A five-for in the draw in Brisbane; let down by his batsmen in the loss in Melbourne; tight on a flat deck in Sydney; then Adelaide: after six wickets in the first innings, it was his burst of three in 19 balls that set up the famous one-run win.Perth. The series decider. A close-of-play search on Ceefax after the first day showed West Indies 135 for 1. Slow day. Must have rained. A closer inspection revealed one of the most astonishing bowling spells in Test history, one that sealed the series. Ambrose - bowling on his Golden Fleece of a wicket with the Fremantle Doctor nudging him on - took 7 for 1 in 32 balls. Now, with the glory of YouTube, that scorecard is brought to life: Mark Waugh edging a perfect length; David Boon fencing, bottom hand off handle, to gully; Allan Border falling first ball, drawn into playing at one that was too quick and seamed away; a loose drive from Ian Healy straight to first slip; Merv Hughes caught at cover; Damien Martyn edging to second slip; Jo Angel, on debut, edging behind. Series done.The reverser Simon Jones, England v Australia, 2005 In a cruel parallel universe, where the Aussies have taken over the world and Shane Warne is Master of the Universe, Simon Jones would be remembered for the drop that cost England the 2005 Ashes.Most England fans can tell you where they where that Sunday morning: shifting uncomfortably in front of the television, resisting all efforts to get on with their plans. Australia, dead and buried overnight, now needed only 15 runs to complete a remarkable victory and go 2-0 up. Then Michael Kasprowicz uppercuts Andrew Flintoff, Jones runs in from third man, time slows, Jones dives, the ball plops into his hands, time slows further, the ball plops out. Ashes lost?Thankfully Geraint Jones eventually spared Simon Jones legacy. Simon Jones played only 18 Tests, a career eaten up by horrible injuries, and ccontributed 26 wickets to Englands victories in West Indies and South Africa in 2004.dddddddddddd. But it is the 2005 Ashes - his final Test series, aged 26 - for which he will be remembered.The spine still shivers to his dismissal of Michael Clarke at Old Trafford. A run-up like a Rocky Balboa jogging montage, the moments beat as he pauses in his leap, Clarke thrusting his front foot forward, bat jabbed upwards in an extravagant leave, the ball reversing, the off stump tumbling backwards like a drunk losing balance, Clarkes position set in disbelieving stone. Mark Nicholas in the commentary box: That. Is. Very. Good.Steve Harimson was the brute, Matthew Hoggard the Labrador and Flintoff the enforcer, but it was Jones who possessed the black magic of reverse swing. Australias top order never got to grips with it, and Jones 18 wickets - he missed the fifth to the injury that ended his international career - defined a series and a career.The metronome Stuart Clark, Australia v England, 2006-07 Glenn McGrath we could take. Shane Warne, well, he was heroic whichever side you were on. Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie? Good blokes, good bowlers. But Stuart Clark? Aw, no mate. Not Stuart Clark.Nothing against him, of course. But getting up in the middle of the night to watch England being destroyed by Warne, McGrath or Lee was one thing; watching a 31-year-old fella on Ashes debut knocking over the heroes of 2005 was quite another. Stuart F***ing Clark, as he quickly became more commonly known, was the bane of England in 2006-07. Even worse, his parents were English. Ugh.He was a carbon copy of McGrath. All of the adjectives were the same. Consistent. Nagging. Accurate. Metronomic. Id rather get it on the right spot than bowl 150kph, he once said, and the universe groaned.There were no match-changing spells, no running through the batting. Just a wicket here, a wicket there, until hed chipped away so effortlessly that the England wall had collapsed: 3, 4, 3, 1, 3, 2, 2, 3, 3, 2, a wicket in all ten innings, 26 for the series, five more than McGrath, three more than Warne. In a close-fought series there would have been respect for his deceptive pace, steep bounce and shaky seam. In a whitewash? We never wanted to see him bowl again.Clark tormented the openers, removing Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss four times apiece, but one wicket lingers in the memory: in Melbourne, with the Ashes long gone. A jittery Kevin Pietersen, on 1, drove expansively at Clark, but the ball nipped back, thudding into off stump. Englands 2005 hero, brash and arrogant, castled by Australias 2006-07 hero, quiet and undemonstrative.Clark played only 15 further Tests after that series as injuries and younger, sexier bowlers took over. But for two months, Stuart F***ing Clark was the unlikeliest best bowler in the world.The speedster Shane Bond, West Indies v New Zealand, 2002 We all wanted Shane Bond to be great. Not just good but great. In 2002, New Zealand, for so long starved of greatness, found themselves a menacing pace bowler who could win them series. Bond had played only four Tests when New Zealand headed to the West Indies. Only two matches were scheduled, but that was enough to alert the world to Bond, Shane Bond.Long legs kicking, like Richard Hadlee, head leaning to the left on delivery, like Darren Gough, Bond was as quick as Brett Lee and as persistent as Glenn McGrath. In Bridgetown he announced himself with his first ball, which whizzed past Chris Gayles stationary outside edge. In his third over, as he regularly touched 90mph, Bond forced Gayle into a loose drive to cover, and then, next ball, was too quick for Ramnaresh Sarwan, who mistimed a pull to mid-on. He saved his best for the second innings, where his 5 for 78 included one of crickets rarer sights: a set Brian Lara beaten for pace. He delivered New Zealand their first victory in the Caribbean, adding Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul to his victims in another five-for in the drawn second Test, in Grenada. With Bond on the verge of becoming great, it looked as if we were all getting what we wanted.The following year, after he had taken 6 for 23 against Australia in the World Cup, a back problem forced him out of the game for a year. Injuries worked their way across his body, and he played only seven more Test series over the next seven years. Like Simon Jones, his career ended on 18 Tests. ' ' '