NHL lockout officially over

Play ... A shortened NHL season will resume on January 19. Source: Al Bello / AFP

The NHL's four-month lockout finally ended on Saturday following another tough negotiation that nearly delayed training camps even longer.

The league and the players' association completed a required memorandum of understanding that had to be signed before training camps were cleared to open. That will happen on Sunday with a 48-game regular season to begin on January 19.

The signing of the memo also paved the way for the NHL to release the long-awaited revised schedule.

Twenty-six of the 30 teams will play on opening day. All games during the season will be played within the two respective conferences.

In all, 720 games will be played over a 99-day regular season. There will be at least one game on each day of the season, that will end on April 27.

The playoffs will begin on April 30. The latest the Stanley Cup finals will end is June 28.

Teams will play 18 games within their division: four games (two home and two away) against two of the teams in the division, five games (three home and two away) against another team in the division, and five games (two home and three away) against the remaining divisional opponent.

To complete the 720-game schedule, clubs will play three games against each of the 10 remaining non-divisional opponents in their conference.

Outside the division, a team will face five clubs twice at home and once away, and play once at home and twice on the road against the other five teams.

It took another lengthy negotiation to end the four-month lockout. The sides worked on the final deal all week, after a tentative deal was reached last Sunday morning - the 113th day of the lockout.

The NHL hoped to open camps on Sunday, and that prospect seemed in jeopardy on Saturday until the document was signed at 10pm eastern US time.

The new deal is for 10 years, but either side can opt out of it after eight. The previous agreement was in effect for seven seasons.

While this negotiation was long, the sides were able to rescue at least part of the season. The NHL also played a 48-game campaign following a lockout in the 1994-95 season.

The 2004-05 was completely cancelled because of a lockout. This one forced the cancellation of 510 regular-season games, the Winter Classic and the All-Star game.

No preseason games will be played in the seven days before the regular season gets underway.

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Late night lands Lake in trouble

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Trouble ... Brian Lake fined for public drunkedness in Sorrento. Source: Nicole Garmston / News Limited

Hawthorn star Brian Lake's drunken antics have landed him in trouble with the police and his club.

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The former Western Bulldogs defender was fined $563 for being drunk in a public place outside a pub in Sorrento.

He was leaving the pub with his wife when the pair were arrested at 10.10pm and thrown in the slammer for four hours.

The pair had been at the Portsea Polo during the day.

In a statement the club said: "The club considers Lake's conduct to be unprofessional and he will be required to address the leadership group."

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said police arrested a 30-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman, both from Caroline Springs, on the Point Nepean Highway.

Lake, 30, was traded to the Hawks in a bold move to help Alastair Clarkson's side jag another premiership with their current squad.

The 197-game veteran joins an extraordinary list of players traded during the off-season who have found trouble with alcohol before playing a game with their new clubs.

New Tiger Aaron Edwards was locked up after a boozy day just 24 hours after North Melbourne traded him.

Former Demons Ricky Petterd (now at Richmond) and Jared Rivers (Geelong) were also scrutinised after they were pictured drinking heavily on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

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Late comeback win for Sydney FC

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Tussle ... Alessandro Del Piero tackles Nicholas Kalmar at Allianz Stadium. Source: By Joosep Martinson / AAP

On the brink of yet another defeat, Sydney FC scored two goals in the final 10 minutes to snatch a dramatic 2-1 A-League win over Melbourne Heart at Allianz Stadium on Sunday.

Richard Garcia put the visitors in front midway through the first half with veteran Brett Emerton levelling the scores in the 85th minute and Rhyan Grant netting the winner in the 93rd.

Coach Frank Farina said it was essential the Sky Blues followed up with another victory.

"I said that these next two home games we have to take maximum points,'' he said. "The first part of the jigsaw is in so if we can beat Wellington next week then we can maybe talk about a possible push (for the finals).''

Sydney beat the table-topping Central Coast in their last home clash and came back from being behind twice to steal a point in their 2-2 draw against Perth last week.

And while he admits they played "ugly'' football on Sunday, Farina feels his messages might just be getting through to his players.

"I've tried to drum into these players 'you've got to play for 90 minutes and if you do that you'll always have a chance','' he said.

"It's a slow process but I think they're starting to see that against Perth, against the Central Coast and again here now if they're prepared to really work hard and keep going even when you're down the rewards can come.

"If they buy into that mentality, you've got a formidable side on your hands.

"We ground out a result again and it was purely down to the players not dropping their heads and giving up.''

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Re-live the action from Sydney's dramatic win over Melbourne Heart with our A-League Match Centre, featuring video highlights and all the important stats.

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The Sky Blues were outplayed for most of the match but managed to come from behind to snatch the three points and climb off the bottom of the ladder - where they have sat for eight of the competition's 15 weeks.

Sydney are now in ninth place but equal on points with eight-placed Brisbane while the Heart remain in seventh.

It took less than two minutes for the Heart to penetrate the fragile Sydney defence with Nicholas Kalmar forcing a save from gloveman Vedran Janjetovic.

Garcia broke the deadlock in the 24th minute thanks to some superb lead-up work from Kalmar, the Heart midfielder beating Grant in the air to head home.

Farina took Ali Abbas off in the 39th minute to bring Blake Powell on.

The usually placid Iraqi International appeared furious over the decision and exchanged some heated words with Alessandro Del Piero, with many suspecting he felt the Italian had called on Farina to make the change.

Sebastian Ryall had the 13,125-strong crowd on their feet when it looked like he'd levelled but the desperate Sky Blues were denied by a correct offside ruling.

The hosts had their best chance to equalise when speedy Panamanian Yairo Yau sent a perfect pass in the box for the waiting Emerton with 20 minutes to go.

Emerton, one-on-one with the Heart 'keeper Andrew Redmayne, had the perfect chance to bring the hosts level, but in what will go down as one of the misses of the season, he sent his shot way over the crossbar.

Emerton made up for the miss when he got on the end of a great Terry McFlynn pass to slot home with his right foot.

The goal seemed to spark the Sky Blues into action with Del Piero setting up Grant with a superb pass. He made no mistake, slotting home the winning header in the final 90 seconds of the match.

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'Win is Sydney's defining moment'

Turning point ... Sydney FC are still in the A-League finals hunt. Source: Gregg Porteous / News Limited

Sydney FC come from the clouds to snatch victory against Melbourne Heart while Melbourne Victory and Central Coast Mariners showcase their title credentials. Former Socceroos Mark Bosnich and Craig Moore review another exciting round in the A-League.

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Adelaide United 3-2 Perth Glory

Moore says: Adelaide are certainly playing their best in patches. When they're hot, they're very hot. Jeromino comes on early after an unfortunate injury to Bruce Djite and isn't it great when you bring on a player and he scores the two goals. I believe Adelaide United have a really good squad, they're highly competitive.

Bozza says: You go through Perth's squad and they definitely need some freshening up. You go back to what (Moore) said about competition for places. I'd like to see the likes of Nicky Ward, Zahra, Berger the young guy Makeche given a chance. It's like last year when they went through a rough patch and Ian Ferguson changed it up and they ended up making the grand final. I feel that needs to happen again because there are too many players playing in their comfort zone.

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Melbourne Victory 1-1 Central Coast Mariners

Mariners defender Pedj Bojic joined the boys to discuss the draw with Melbourne Victory and said Graham Arnold's half-time spray was a turning point.
He did go off his head. I think that's what sparked us up. He was satisfied and happy with the second half. To get the equaliser and push on and almost get a winner he was happy with that. I think it was a fair result, a 1-1 draw. In the first half they dominated and in the second half we had our chances and could have snathced it at the end.

Moore says: (Arnold's sending off) For me that shows you've got a manager that's passionate. I don't have a problem with it.

Bozza says: Melbourne Victory did everything in that first half but finish off.

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Newcastle Jets 1-0 Brisbane Roar

Bozza says: Newcastle were going through a tough spell, now they've got two clean sheets in a row and a really good attacking performance. It's good to see young players like Houle, Chapman, Gallaway and I've made my thoughts on Goodwin known. Credit must go to the coaching staff because when it's tough it can be hard to throw the young guys in. It's a good sign when they have the bravery and boldness to put them in and a special mention to Ruben Zadkovich, he is inspiring this team.

Moore says: There's a few problems in Brisbane. A couple of visa problems, guys that are never going to play and it takes two spots away from young guys. There's a lot of speculation about Erik Paartalu - will he stay or will he go - he played like he's going to go. There's a bit of short term pain for Brisbane. As a player I played my best when I had someone breathing down my neck and Brisbane Roar don't have that. Mike Mulvey will be deperate to get that in place. That need that competition for places. There's plenty of time. They've got the players who can turn it around.

Wellington Phoenix 0-2 Western Sydney Wanderers

Moore says: I think it's fair to say we're already at that point, Western Sydney Wanders are title contenders. They've been a huge success and Poppa (Tony Popovic) has got them as good as they can be. Shinji Ono is five or six kilos lighter than when he arrived, which shows you how hard he works them. To have the courage to go to Perth - last year's grand finallists - and make five or six changes. That shows a real confidence and boldness to make the big calls.

Bozza says: I totally agree they're title contenders but there's only so long you can fly under the radar.

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Sydney FC 2-1 Melbourne Heart

Bozza says: It was all Sydney, they drove the game and Melbourne Heart did fade away. I thought when Brett Emerton missed that chance - when it was probably easier to score than do what he did - what's going to go wrong next. It's very easy to say it's just not going to happen. The result can mask a performance whether its good or bad but what matters is the result. They won't be happy with the performance in the first half but what (Frank Farina) will pull out of this is they kept fighting and got the result.

Moore says: In the second half, Sydney came back into it. In the 92nd, 93rd minute they're still going at it and when you're playing in front of that crowd, you finish and you get those three points, it's a huge lift. This could be that defining moment in their season.

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Sri Lanka thump injury-hit Aussies

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Night to remember ... Lahiru Thirimanne scores his maiden ODI to guide the tourists to victory. Source:News Limited

Australia suffered more injury worries and a debutant's dream turned into a nightmare in a sobering eight-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in Sunday's one-dayer in Adelaide.

The tourists squared the five-match series at one-all by cruising to 2-172 in reply to Australia's 170 all out.

Young gun Lahiru Thirimanne scored a classy unbeaten 102 as Sri Lanka won with a whopping 59 balls to spare.

A despondent wicketkeeper Brad Haddin limped from Adelaide Oval during Sri Lanka's innings with an apparent hamstring strain.

And paceman Mitchell Johnson joins fellow quick Mitchell Starc (calf) in being uncertain starters for the rest of the series after becoming the latest injured paceman.

Johnson didn't play because a side strain, forcing Australia to blood two fast bowling first-gamers in Ben Cutting and Kane Richardson, who endured a horror debut.

Richardson made a golden duck and then, after six wicketless overs, was banned from bowling again after receiving a third warning for running on the pitch.

Australia will name its squad for the third and fourth games of the series on Monday, with first-choice gloveman Matthew Wade certain to be recalled.

Haddin, who played the opening two games while Wade was rested, top-scored with 50 during Australia's meagre innings but left the field after the 19th over of Sri Lanka's run chase.

Australia coach Mickey Arthur said regular captain Michael  Clarke, Wade and David Warner would now all return from their enforced rests.

Arthur said Johnson and Starc would also be available for selection for Friday's third game in Brisbane, while the extent of Haddin's hamstring strain would be determined on Monday.

The Lankan batsmen were never troubled with Thirimanne, making his maiden one-day international ton, and experienced opener Tillakaratne Dilshan (57) timing the chase like precision clockwork.

The pair were united after just three balls when Clint McKay dismissed Upul Tharanga for a duck, and responded in style with a match-defining 137-run partnership for the second wicket.

First-gamer Cutting (1-42) ended the union by dismissing Dilshan, after the Queenslander earlier made a handy contribution with the bat.

Cutting partnered Haddin in a 57-run stand after the Australians crashed to 6-83, with four of the top six batsmen failing to reach double figures.

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Re-live all the action with our ODI Match Centre.

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Only David Hussey (29) and stand-in skipper George Bailey (26) contributed amid a middle order collapse of 4-32 which cruelled any Australian hopes of posting a competitive total.

Aaron Finch (four) failed again, Phil Hughes made three, Glenn Maxwell eight and Steve Smith, who surprisingly replaced Usman Khawaja, also managed just eight.

Sri Lankan quick Lasith Malinga claimed 3-32 as the Australians were bowled out in the 47th over.

Sri Lanka's man of the match Thirimanne said the tourists were proud of the way they responded from their Melbourne loss, and were ignoring debate about whether they were playing Australia's 'B team'.

"We won't think about it that way, if it's Australia A or Australia B, it doesn't matter, we just want to win the series," he said.

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Bozza's Save of the Week R16

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Winner ... Mat Ryan has won Mark Bosnich's Save of the Week award for round 16. Source: Gary Graham / News Limited

Central Coast Mariners goalkeeper Mat Ryan has won Mark Bosnich's Save of the Week for his tip over the bar while running backwards in the round 16 encounter with Melbourne Victory.

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It was a tight decision, but Ryan edged the award from Nathan Coe after impressing former Manchester United goalkeeper Bosnich with his judgment and timing to deny Victory twice in the space of a few seconds.

"It was a toss up between this one and Nathan Coe," said Bosnich. "I've only gone for this one because it is technically more difficult than what Nathan did. It was a split hair between them."

Ryan initially springs into action with a low block that ricochets out wide, then pedals quickly back to his line to tip over a chip destined to land just under his crossbar. It was a crucial moment as the Mariners managed to salvage a point against Victory despite a shaky start.

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Click on the video at the top of the page to see Ryan's outstanding save and for more of Bosnich's critique of the round's A-League goalkeeping.

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"Of the double save, it's the second save I'm more interested in," Bosnich said. "One of the hardest things a goalkeeper can do is to go backwards and tip it over and he judged that with absolute aplomb."

Bosnich was also impressed with the way Ryan handled the speculation surrounding a potential move to Europe.

"For somebody with that type of spotlight, is he going to go is he going to stay, and to come out with a performance like really does auger well for the future," said Bosnich.

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Irate Arthur blasts rotation critics

Mickey Arthur ... gets on the front foot to deny claims of a pace rotation policy. Source: Phil Hillyard / News Limited

Critics who believe Cricket Australia has a fast bowler rotation policy are naive and so far off the mark it's frightening, coach Mickey Arthur says.

Arthur says he's "sick and tired" of misinformation that Australia has a pace bowling rotation policy and angry at suggestions that sports scientists are picking the team.

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"It's either very naive or just a little bit stubborn that people don't understand what we're doing," Arthur said on Sunday night.

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"The example I have used is Black Caviar, when he goes and runs a horse race, if they don't feel he's 100 per cent right, they don't release it.

"We have done that with our bowlers."

Arthur said only three times had fast bowlers been rested from playing - Ryan Harris in the West Indies last year, Peter Siddle against South Africa in Perth, and Mitchell Starc against Sri Lanka in the Boxing Day Test.

"We want to play our guys all the time, with the amount of cricket we play these days it's impossible to keep the guys on the park every single game," he said.

"The constant thought that sports scientists are picking the team is so far way off the mark it's frightening.

"They give us information, the information is then left up to us to make that decision.

"When we get that information we will see if that information holds up and if we think that it's not worth the risk - we have thought in three instances where it hasn't been worth the risk.

"Whenever we make those decisions, we make those decisions with a lot of thought into how we are going to use that quick bowler and when we are going to use that quick bowler.

"I really wanted to put that on record because I'm sick and tired of talking about it.

"And I'm certainly sick and tired of seeing some of the articles that are going around in the media at the moment."

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Witness lied in Cronje case

Inquiry ... witness admits to lying in the Hansie Cronje match-fixing case. Source: Anna Zieminski / AFP

Former South Africa cricketer Henry Williams has admitted to lying at an inquiry which banned disgraced national captain Hansie Cronje from the game in 2000, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

Williams testified that Cronje offered him $15,000 to play badly in a one-day international against India.

But his lawyers forced him to lie with team-mate Herschelle Gibbs to strengthen the case against Cronje, Williams told the Sunday Times.

"It's just the truth. It's long gone and I've made peace with the whole story,'' Williams told the paper.

"I can never forget about it, but I forgive what's been done to me.''

Cronje received a life ban from the United Cricket Board of South Africa in 2000 after admitting he had accepted $100,000 from Indian bookmakers and offered other players money to under-perform.

He died in a plane crash two years later.

Williams and Gibbs were fined and banned for six months.

The duo's then-lawyers Mike Fitzgerald and Peter Whelan called the claim "outrageous'', though they knew about foul play in the testimony.

"Mike Fitzgerald and I knew all along that Herschelle (Gibbs) was lying,'' said Whelan, adding that he'd tried to pressure Gibbs into coming clean.

Gibbs declined to comment.

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