Hayden announces his retirement

Matthew Hayden, Australia's most successful opening batsman, has ended a dire home Test campaign by deciding to step down from the team before he was pushed. Hayden, who was dropped from the limited-overs squads last Thursday, had initially hoped to quit after the Ashes, but confirmed his retirement at the Gabba on Tuesday morning.

Asked if he ideally wanted to go on until after the Ashes he said: "If it was, I believe I would be going on that tour. This is the point where I want to step off."

He will be given a public farewell at tonight's Twenty20 international at the Gabba, where he will appear at the innings break. Hayden said his retirement was from all representative cricket, effective immediately. He reached his decision on Saturday and said he had no concerns about what was to come in the next stage of his life.

"There's absolutely zero fear," Hayden said. "I've got zero regrets. I've tried to, rightly or wrongly, extract every ounce of whatever ability that I've been given and turn it into performance.

"At one stage on Saturday I was picking a crazy bush of wild tomatoes and talking with [his daughter] Grace. I think I've had enough, I want to be here. She said: 'Daddy, one more Christmas.' [I said]: 'This is time'."

Hayden, 37, had a difficult summer and managed only 149 runs at 16.55 from five Tests while hearing pleas for a significantly younger player to replace him. He was hindered by a heel injury in the off-season and never regained his spark, which was a shame considering his major contribution to the game in Australia over the past decade.

The first of Hayden's 103 Tests came in South Africa in 1993-94, when he replaced the injured Mark Taylor, but it was not until 2000 that he was finally able to secure a regular spot in the national side. He went to India and scored an Australia-record 549 runs in three matches and his place was not in danger until the 2005 Ashes tour. Ending that series with a century at The Oval, he produced four hundreds in consecutive games for the second time in his career.

No Australian opener has scored more Test runs than Hayden's 8625 - at an average of 50.73 - and his 30 hundreds place him behind Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh on the local list. The final time he reached three figures was against India in Adelaide 12 months ago. In the one-day arena there were 161 matches, 6133 runs, 10 hundreds and two World Cups.

Calls for Hayden to step down grew louder through the Australian summer and by the time he reached Sydney he was under immense pressure to make a decision on his future. He was given a standing ovation when he walked off the SCG, having made an unconvincing 39 in the second innings, but gave no hint on which way he would go.

With Hayden's departure, Australia need to decide on a new partner for Simon Katich for the upcoming Test tour of South Africa and then the Ashes. Contenders will include Phil Jaques, who will play grade cricket this weekend after recovering from back surgery, and there has also been support for Victoria's Chris Rogers and Phillip Hughes, a 20-year-old left-hander from New South Wales.

As Hayden made his announcement he was watched by the Australian Twenty20 squad, which lost him from its ranks last week, the former Queensland captain Jimmy Maher, Cricket Australia's general manager of cricket Michael Brown and the rugby union international David Croft. His wife Kellie stood at the back of the room, coming forward to collect her son Thomas after he went to sit with his Dad.

"I'm really excited, it's going to be great," Kellie said. "It's sad, it's been a great journey. I'm glad he's made the decision."

Vs India - average of 59.00
Vs England - average of 45.65
Vs Pakistan - average of 46.75
Vs South Africa - average of 43.70
Vs Sri Lanka - average of 51.07
Vs West Indies - average of 51.54

Vs Bangladesh - average of 33.60
Vs New Zealand - average of 36.55

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Cancer free baby

Doctors at University College London said the girl and her mother were doing well following the birth this week.

The embryo was screened for the altered BRCA1 gene, which would have meant the girl had a 80% chance of developing breast cancer.

Women in three generations of her husband's family have been diagnosed with the disease in their 20s.

Paul Serhal, the fertility expert who treated the couple, said: "This little girl will not face the spectre of developing this genetic form of breast cancer or ovarian cancer in her adult life.

"The parents will have been spared the risk of inflicting this disease on their daughter.

"The lasting legacy is the eradication of the transmission of this form of cancer that has blighted these families for generations."

Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) involves taking a cell from an embryo at the eight-cell stage of development, when it is around three-days old, and testing it.

This is before conception - defined as when the embryo is implanted in the womb.

Doctors then select an embryo free from rogue genes to continue the pregnancy, and discard any whose genetic profile points to future problems.

Using PGD to ensure a baby does not carry an altered gene which would guarantee a baby would inherit a disease such as cystic fibrosis, is well-established.

But in 2006, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said doctors could test for so-called susceptibility genes, such as BRCA1.

Everybody carries a version of these genes - in fact a properly functioning BRCA1 protein helps stop cancer before it starts - but some particular variations of the genes greatly increase the risk of cancer.

Increased chance

Carrying the key BRCA1 mutation in this family's case would have given the increased chance of breast cancer and 50% chance of ovarian cancer later in life.

However, carrying the gene does not make cancer inevitable, and there is also a chance the disease could be cured, if caught early enough.

The couple, who wish to remain anonymous, wanted to eradicate the gene flaw from their family.

The husband's grandmother, mother, sister and a cousin have been diagnosed with the disease.

If the 27-year-old woman and her husband had had a son, he could have been a carrier and passed it on to any daughters.

Josephine Quintavalle, of the campaign group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said: "This is nothing personal towards the girl, but I think we have gone too far.

"Underlying all this is eugenics."

Mrs Quintavalle said the message was that "you are better off dead, than being born with this gene".

"I hope 20 years down the line we will have eradicated breast cancer - not eradicated the carriers.

"This testing procedure is being used more and more for less and less significant reasons."

But Kath McLachlan, of Breast Cancer Care, said those with the faulty BRCA1 gene would be very interested in the development.

"There are many complex issues to take into account before undertaking PGD, and the decision will finally come down to an individual's personal ethics."

And Professor Peter Braude, director of the Centre for PGD at Guy's Hospital in London, said: "The decision as to whether PGD is appropriate for a couple will be made after a thorough discussion with knowledgeable genetic counsellors and clinical geneticists.

"It will not be suitable for everyone who has experience of breast cancer in their family, nor where the chances of the IVF needed for PGD has a low chance of succeeding."

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The Tim Tebow Girlfriend Mystery Revealed

Tim Tebow is the talk of the town at the University of Florida these days. So lets dig down into the Tim Tebow Girlfriend issue and clear the air once and for all. Does Tim have a girlfriend? And if so, does he have just one, two or three or more? These are the questions everyone continues to ask about this Heisman Quarterback Trophie Winner that has been able to maintain a 3.7 GPA the entire time while in college.

In the course of the last year, various Tim Tebow Girlfriend pics have been popping up all over the place. Or are these his girlfriends? Our research indicates that Tim is not really officially dating anyone at this time. But as a star trying to maintain a good overall PR image for himself, he's happy to take pictures with some of the women on campus just so they can sport a trophie and have something to brag about to their friends in school.
Literally hundreds of young ladies currently studying at the University of Florida are hot about Tim no doubt. Our research also indicates that hundreds of these same women are groupie women who are playing the same role trying to land a star as their very own. We think in the future we'll see more Tim Tebow Girlfriend photos over the next couple years, since he always seems to be happy to take a picture with any nice girl who asks.

After Tim goes pro and Graduates from the University of Florida, you might not see any more of Tim Tebow Girlfriend pics floating around except for the old one. He might end up getting married then and start raising a family, but of course that's pure speculation and no one really knows Tim's future, we don't even know our future, lol.

And finally for all we know Tim Tebow may just be the type to take pictures with anyone who asks, yes even the pretty college dorm girlfriend types, to anyone who asks after he turns pro, assuming his wife lets him. But these days it's a womens world so I guess we'll all just have to see what his future wife says about it should he decide to settle down and get married in the future. Some understand it's healthy from a Public Relations perspective to do this, but some womens fangs come out when they see their husband in a picture with other women, even if it's a good career move

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Man Sought In Jan. 1 Carjacking, Shooting In Hartford

Hartford police are searching for the man at left, a suspect in a carjacking and shooting that occurred on New Year's Day at the corner of Garden Street and Albany Avenue. The suspect, seen on a gas station surveillance video, is described as a short, heavy set Hispanic male who fled the gas station in a red Ford Windstar mininvan. The windshield of the vehicle, seen at right, has the words "JOHN 3:16." (January 8, 2009)

Hartford police detectives are searching for a man in connection with a carjacking and shooting Jan. 1 at the corner of Garden Street and Albany Ave.

The suspect, who was captured by a surveillance camera at a gas station, is described as a short, heavy-set Hispanic man, fled the gas station in a red Ford Windstar minivan with "John 3:16" in white lettering written across the top front of the van. Two people suffered minor injuries in the incident. One was shot in the ear lobe. The other had a powder burn to the abdomen and a gash to the head, police said.

John 3:16 is a reference to a passage in the Bible. The King James Version reads: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

Anyone with information about the van or the man is asked to call Hartford Det. Andrew Jacobson at 860-757-4203. Anonymous tips can also be phoned to Hartford Crime Stoppers at 860-722-8477. Cash payments are made to people who provide information that lead to arrests.

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Infosys rules out 'tainted Satyam' buyout

The country's second largest software exporter, Infosys, on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of buying Satyam saying the IT major "will not touch any tainted company".

"We have no such interest in looking at buying Satyam... absolutely not... We will not touch any such tainted company that's very very clear," Infosys Founder and Chief Mentor Narayana Murthy said in an interview to a private television channel.

He said that the Satyam incident will not have an backlash on the Indian IT sector.

"Every company, certainly large companies, they have very close relationship with customers. The CEOs and senior management of the Indian industry have a close relationship with the senior management of the customer companies...

"We have a lot of transactions where we have demonstrated class, quality and integrity, so I don't think all of that will be destroyed just because of one bad apple, because there is one Satyam," the non-executive chairman of the company added.

Talking about the course of action following the Satyam fiasco, Murthy said the need of this hour for the regulators is to act decisively.

"The most important first step for regulatory authority of India is to get the bottom of this and take a swift and decisive action to bring the guilty to whatever punishment they deserve," he said.

Murthy said that the IT industry has to communicate to their investors and customers and all potential investors that Satyam is indeed an isolated case of misgovernance and must all be prepared to answer further questions so that the investors get an enhanced level of comfort.

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