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But 10 years after completing a £30 million deal to sign Ferdinand from Leeds United , United are now ready to reward the defender by opening talks for a one-year contract extension before the turn of the year.

“Rio is adapting really well to the challenge of making sure he is fit and fresh to play in the games we need him,” Ferguson said. “I think it’s all down to how he feels physically within himself and what he is doing at the moment is good.

“he has no issues at all. from time to time, he gets the odd tweak in his back and we have to manage it and look after it. but it hasn’t surprised me in the sense that he’s still young for a centre-back.

“in normal terms, you would expect a centre-back, with his athleticism, to play well into their thirties anyway. but he had the back problem, so we’ve had to manage that and by managing it properly, he has adapted really well to it.

“So if you look to last week – I didn’t want to play him against Bilbao but, with Jones calling off with ’flu, I played him and he also played on the Sunday against Wolverhampton.”

With captain Nemanja Vidic sidelined since December with a cruciate ligament injury, Ferdinand’s readiness to guide youngsters such as Evans, Jones and Smalling through recent months has impressed Ferguson.

And with Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes approaching the end of their careers, the United manager admits that Ferdinand has shown the qualities to take on their mantle.

Ferguson said: “I keep thinking that I signed Rio Ferdinand three or four years ago because I forget he’s been here for 10 years now almost, so he has taken on that role of the influential person in the dressing room.

“He’s great with the players. If you can keep the players long enough for the influence to spread – because in the modern game, as we know, it’s difficult to keep players for more than five or six years – it makes a difference. Younger players can take an example off older players in terms of the example set. They learn from the older players.”

Manchester United could be boosted by the return from injury of Portuguese winger Nani against Fulham, who were defeated 5-0 at Craven Cottage by Ferguson’s team in December.

And Ferguson admits that Michael Owen, out since November with a calf injury, is close to making what could be a decisive return to action.

Ferguson said: “he is certainly making good progress. he came back into our training a couple of weeks ago and then after one of the sessions did some physical work with the sports science team and overdid it.

“it knocked him back a few days, but he’s back in synch again and he should be joining us this week.

“If you think about ever needing a player to score an important goal for you is there anyone better than Michael Owen?”

Video •Adult fans of “Hunger Games” who want an especially twisted version of the upcoming movie (in theaters March 23) might consider checking out the violent and brutal Japanese action movie, “Battle Royale.”

Released on video for the first time in the U.S., “Battle Royale” is a vicious cult hit about a group of junior high students who are forced to fight each other to the death on a remote island. Released in 2000, long before Suzanne Collins made it big with her Hunger Games triology, “Battle Royale” is a perverse and suspenseful adventure for fans of Japanese pop cinema.

The Blu-ray and DVD versions include director’s and theatrical cuts of the movie in both Japanese and English languages as well a bevy of extras about the making of the movie.

Copyright 2012 the Salt Lake Tribune. all rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Jennifer Lawrence has the intense starring role as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, but she was far more relaxed (and downright charming) when she stopped by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to talk about the movie. My girl-crush intensified as Lawrence admitted that she’s not so comfortable with things like flying first class (slipping in a funny Harry Potter reference), and then when she joked about being a little hesitant to take on some of the stunts for the “very physical” movie.

Watch the interview after the jump.

Photo courtesy of NBC

Jennifer Lawrence has played a tough chick throughout her young career; In Winter’s Bone she got her butt kicked by her hillybilly relatives and sawed off her dead father’s hand so that her family could collect insurance money, in Burning Plain she accidentally burned her mother and the man she was having an affair with alive after trying to smoke them out of their love shack, and in the Hunger Games she will fight to the death to save her people and start a revolution.

As we reported in a previous article, Lawrence went through intense training to prepare her for the role of Katniss Everdeen. throughout the process she has become a biological weapon of Lara Croft proportions and unfortunately HG co-star Josh Hutcherson was on the receiving end of her playful death blow.

Hutcherson revealed on the “Late show with David letterman” on Wednesday that he was goofing around with Lawrence on set and she ended up giving him a mild concussion: “We were just goofing around, and like doing some shadow boxing for fun. She throws this beautiful kick, but it landed right on my temple and literally knocked me to the ground. I was down. I was seeing stars and she was freaking out, crying.”

Apparently Lawrence doesn’t know the power of her own strength.

Hutcherson tried to comfort Lawrence and patted her on the back as the production called in the number 1 neurologist in the state to make sure he was okay.

Hutcherson said he was so dazed that the next day he started giving someone his address from when he was nine.

The young man was in good spirits earlier this week and thinks the entire incident is hilarious.

LAKELAND, Fla. — Justin Verlander grew up in Virginia watching Braves games on television, featuring the great Chipper Jones. Getting to face him in a bases-loaded, no-out jam might not have been something he aspired to, but it’s something he nonetheless appreciated.

“There’s always a little bit of fun in there,” Verlander said. “He’s going to be a Hall of Famer.”

The same might be said of Verlander someday.

If there’s one bright side to Verlander’s first relatively rough outing of the spring, at least by his standards, it’s that he got the feel for pitching in tight situations. That’s how he tried to look at that situation.

The jam was a chance for him to tune up his fastball from his usual spot in the mid-90s up to the upper 90s.

“The one time with the bases loaded, I tried to go to another level,” Verlander said. “That’s the first time I’ve done that. Obviously, it wasn’t quite right, but it was good that I had the opportunity to work on that. The velocity was getting up there. it was a little harder to control for me, but the more I do it, the better I’ll get.”

Verlander retired Jones on a 2-0 fastball at 95 mph, jamming him into a popup between first and second base. he didn’t have the same result on his 1-0 fastball to Eric Hinske, who lined it to left field for a two-run single.

Verlander’s final out of the inning might have been the most impressive, and it had nothing to do with velocity. With runners at the corners, Verlander sent down Lakeland native Matt Diaz swinging on three pitches, all of them different.

“Fastball, curveball, changeup,” Verlander recited.

LAKELAND, Fla. — Wednesday marks one week since the Tigers shut down Jacob Turner from throwing with shoulder tendinitis. They should have a pretty good idea in the next day or two how close he is to pitching again.

“Turner’s still making progress,” manager Jim Leyland said. “He played catch with [pitching coach Jeff Jones] today, but he hasn’t thrown an all-out bullpen [session] or anything, no.”

The next couple days will actually mark the second turn through the rotation that Turner has missed. Andy Oliver will start for the Tigers on Wednesday, pushing Rick Porcello to a Minor League start to get his innings. Drew Smyly will pitch in a Minor League game on Thursday, while the rest of the Tigers enjoy their lone off-day of the spring.

LAKELAND, Fla. — The Tigers cleared out more space in camp Tuesday morning by sending out four non-roster players. Outfielder Jerad Head, catcher Bryan Holaday, utility man Eric Patterson and outfielder Matt Young were all assigned to Minor League camp.

Head, Patterson and Young are expected to be the veteran component of the lineup at Triple-A Toledo. none of them were expected to contend for a spot on the Opening Day roster, though Patterson made an early splash with his two-homer game on March 9. His playing time had diminished in the days since. Patterson finished up his big league camp going 6-for-18 with a double, a triple, the two homers and four RBIs.

“Those guys were all guys that we think have a chance to play in the big leagues,” Leyland said. “Some of them have had some big league experience, and we tell them the same as we tell everybody: If they’re the guys that are doing good, and that’s who the Triple-A manager or the organization says to bring up, that’s who we bring up.

“I think they all made a good impression. we got a feel for their track record and what they can do. If they’re doing good and we have an issue up here, then whichever one of those guys they recommend, that’s who we’ll take.”

Holaday, who spent last season at Double-A Erie, could end up sharing catching duties with the Mud Hens alongside Omir Santos.

17:36, Thursday, 22 March 2012

Actress Jennifer Lawrence has poked fun at her part in The Hunger Games, saying she looks like "a troll" in the movie.

During an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, the 21-year old – who plays heroine Katniss Everdeen - says she is still coming to terms with her newfound fame which has resulted from her starring role in the flick.

Lawrence joked: "I am a troll. I hate myself. I think the movie is great, but their biggest mistake was [casting] me,

"Out of the four premieres, I’ve tripped in two or three of them. like, massive trips. It’s so scary and then I end up getting so nervous that I get really hyper.

"so then I go do interviews and I’m like, ‘I’m like a Chihuahua. I’m shaking. I’m peeing!’ And then afterwards I’m like, ‘I just talked about peeing on the red carpet!’"

Jennifer’s co-star Liam Hemsworth – who is tipped to be the new Robert Pattinson – has also commented on the attention he now receives since appearing as Gale Hawthorne in the movie, stating his fans can sometimes be "overwhelming."

The Aussie actor – who is currently dating Miley Cyrus – added to Access Hollywood: "I’ve been asked to marry a few people, which has been interesting – people I don’t even know, so that’s been fun."

CHECK OUT PICS FROM THE HUNGER GAMES HERE!

VISIT MTV AT THE MOVIES FOR ALL THE LATEST FILM TRAILERS, NEWS AND GALLERIES HERE!

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Kristen Stewart! What are you doing up so early? the Twilight star, who was in town to promote her newest film–Snow White & the Huntsman–at Wonder Con, was spotted catching a flight out of LAX early this morning. hopefully she had a fun time at Wonder Con. The fans sure seemed to love her. 

Rumors have been flying around recently that Kristen and her Twilight crew have got beef with Jennifer Lawrence and her The Hunger Games crew. According to Jennifer, there is no truth to that what so ever. Check out Jennifer’s interview after the jump where she talks about e-mailing Kristen to let her know it’s all made up. I like that Jennifer. She seems funny. 

So friends, now it’s time to play the game: where do we think Kristen is going? I’m gonna say somewhere European. maybe she and Robert Pattinson will be spotted together again. Remember to check out the video after the jump!

Syracuse University just found out that their road to New Orleans will be much more difficult.  Star sophomore center, Fab Melo, has been ruled ineligible to play in the NCAA Tournament.  Details on the reasoning behind the ruling have not been made public at this time.

Melo was suspended earlier in the season for 3 games due to academic reasons, and Syracuse lost their only regular season game of the year to Notre Dame.

The 7ft center finished the regular season ranked second in the big East with 88 blocks, averaging 2.93 per game. he also contributed nearly 8 points per game and and almost 6 rebounds.

Syracuse begins play in the tournament on Thursday vs UNC-Asheville.

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini admits he has spoken to fiery forward Mario Balotelli and asked him to keep his cool during the end of season run-in.

The Italian is set to return from his latest suspension for City’s Europa League clash with Porto on Thursday.

Tonight’s meeting with the Portuguese champions will see him thrust back into the spotlight, with his temperament still a cause for concern for those inside the Etihad Stadium.

A midweek meeting with Porto will also see Balotelli come face-to-face with Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir, a man who brandished a red card in his direction during a European date with Dynamo Kiev last year.

Mancini is keen to ensure that there are no further indiscretions from the 21-year-old this season and has called on him to be on his best behaviour for the remainder of the campaign.

“I spoke to Mario two weeks ago. I said ‘Please, we have 13 games to play in the Premier League plus Europa League matches’,” said the City coach.

“I said to him ‘Try to have good behaviour on the pitch and think only about football.’ Mario is an important player for us, he has good quality.

“I think if his head will be okay in the next two months, he will be an important player for us.”

Balotelli’s return to action has helped to bolster City’s attacking options, with Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero also in contention for a starting berth.

On the firepower available to him, Mancini said: “Now we’ll have three strikers. I think that’s a good thing for me and for this game. It’s difficult to find a good definition for him.

“We know Mario is a fantastic player. He’s young, sometimes he will make some mistakes.

“But for this reason if he can keep his composure for the next few months, he will be an important player for us.

“If we want to get to the final of the Europa League or win the Premier League, it’s important to have all players.

“We need all the players ready and available for all games. Mario is one of them.”

After Monday`s 100-92 victory over the New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets start point guard admitted to ESPN`s Mike Mazzeo that he had the rematch against phenom point guard Jeremy Lin circled on his calendar. The result? A 38-point performance that featured eight 3-pointers at Madison Square Garden.

“I don`t really watch `SportsCenter` and I don`t really watch too many games,” Williams said. “but when I went on Twitter and people were tweeting at me, every three lines was Jeremy Lin destroyed Deron Williams, so I definitely took offense to that from the first game. like I said, I had it circled.”

However, Williams comments were in full respect for Lin`s recent accomplishments that have featured nine 20-plus point performance, including a 24-point night against the Nets, Feb. 4, in a 99-92 victory at New Jersey.

“It`s an amazing story that he was gonna be cut the next day, and to come out and play the way he did against us and keep it going [was neat],” Williams said of Lin. “even [Monday night] he had a great game. It`s going to be overshadowed because of mine, but he`s playing great basketball so hopefully it`s a tremendous story.”

For more Knicks coverage, check out the SB Nation blog Posting and Toasting. for more on the Nets, head over to NetsDaily. for more on both teams, stay tuned to SB Nation New York.