CALAMBA CITY, LAGUNA — Four months ago, the seeds of grassroots football program for schoolers were planted at the seven-hectare lot next to the world’s tallest monument of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal.

MANILA — Producing four world champions and the first Filipino to qualify in the London Olympics, there was no doubting Philippine sports in 2011 belonged to both billiards and boxing.

MOSCOW — Alex Ovechkin grabbed two goals to help his Washington Capitals defeat the Florida Panthers 4-0 and take the lead in the National Hockey League (NHL) Southeast Division.

MOSCOW — Spartak Moscow's victory in the off season Copa del Sol gives the team a massive psychological boost ahead of the final part of the Russian Premier League season, coach Valery Karpin said Wednesday.

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan — Preparations have finally begun for this year's Palarong Pambansa, the biggest and most colorful yearly sporting event under the auspices of the Department of Education (DepEd) slated May 6 to 12 to be hosted by the province of Pangasinan.

BACOLOD CITY — San Carlos City is hosting an All Visayas Football Festival for girls’ Under-13 and boys’ Under-14 on Feb. 23-26.

LONDON — Talking about the upcoming European Championships, Ruud Gullit, once remarkable Dutch footballer, said here he hoped that Holland and Germany could get through to the final.

NEW YORK — New York City held on Tuesday a massive ticker-tape parade in honor of the Super Bowl XLVI champions New York Giants.

RIO DE JANEIRO — In his customary humoristic style, Joel Santana commanded his first practice as the head coach of Flamengo on Tuesday, although the practice was marked by team captain Ronaldinho Gaucho's absence.

MOSCOW — Zenit St. Petersburg’s injured midfielder Danny said Wednesday that the club has enough talented players to cope with his absence without signing Arsenal's Andrey Arshavin.

HAIKOU — The inaugural World Ladies Championship will kick off from March 2 to 4 in Haikou, capital city of South China's Hainan Province.