Spain named top seeds for Euro 2012

Defending champions Spain will head the list of group seeds in next month's draw for the Euro 2012 finals.

The 2010 World Cup winners will be in Pot 1 along with the Netherlands and co-hosts Poland and Ukraine on December 2, European football's ruling body UEFA announced on Wednesday.

Poland, 28th in the European rankings, will be in Group A and 15th-placed Ukraine in Group D for the 16-team tournament, the last before an expansion to 24 nations.

Pot 2 comprises three-time champions Germany, 1968 winners Italy, England and Russia -- who as the Soviet Union won the first tournament held in 1960.

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Greece, the 2004 champions, are the only qualifying group winners in Pot 3, which also features the best runners-up Sweden and playoff winners Portugal and Croatia.

Denmark and two-time champions France won their qualifying groups, but face the prospect of being drawn with two other major nations after being put in Pot 4 due to a low coefficient rating for results over the past few years.

Playoff winners the Republic of Ireland and the Czech Republic are also in the bottom pot.

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Meanwhile, Turkey coach Guus Hiddink has agreed to stand down from his position after failing to qualify from the playoffs.

Tuesday's 0-0 draw in Croatia meant a 3-0 aggregate defeat for the 65-year-old Dutchman, who won just seven of his 17 matches in charge.

Hiddink ruled out a return to the Netherlands, where he had been wanted by Ajax, but has been linked with a possible position at his former English club Chelsea.

"I'm not ready to retire, I like to be involved with a team on a daily basis, but maybe I am ready to step out of the limelight a little bit, away from the cameras," he told Dutch website Voetbal International.

"Hopefully I will still be involved but perhaps it will be as an adviser or a consultant."

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Arsenal thrilling win against Chelsea

A Robin van Persie hat-trick earned Arsenal a thrilling 5-3 win over their west London rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the English Premier League on Saturday.

Chelsea started the match strongly taking the lead in the 14th minute when Juan Mata delivered an inch-perfect cross for Frank Lampard to guide a header past Szczesny in the Arsenal goal.

The home side continued to dominate possession but Arsenal hit back in the 36th minute when Aaron Ramsey threaded the ball through to Gervinho who selflessly squared the ball back for van Persie to side-foot past Petr Cech.

Chelsea had a goal disallowed two minutes later with Ramires being ruled offside, but earned a deserved halftime lead when John Terry bundled the ball home from a corner kick in the 45th minute.

Arsenal were far from finished though and hit back four minutes after the break as Alex Song played in Andre Santos who squeezed a shot underneath Cech to level the scores at 2-2.

Six minutes later, Theo Walcott gave the Gunners the lead -- unleashing a fierce shot inside Cech's near post after outwitting three Chelsea defenders.

A 25-yard strike from Mata restored parity for Chelsea in the 80th minute, but van Persie put Arsenal ahead again five minutes later, pouncing on a mistake by John Terry to slot home his second before lashing home his third in injury time to seal a remarkable win.

Manchester United bounced back from the 6-1 battering from their city rivals last weekend edging past Everton 1-0 at Goodison Park.

Havier Hernandez was on hand to side-foot home from a Patrice Evra cross in the 19th minute to give United the lead after they had made a bright opening to the match.

Everton battled their way back into the match and came close to an equalizer -- Leighton Baines hitting the crossbar from a free-kick, while David De Gea saved smartly from Leon Osman.

But despite the pressure, United held firm to cement second place in the table behind leaders, Manchester City who enjoyed a comfortable 3-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Edin Dzeko opened the scoring for City in the 52nd minute with Aleksandar Kolarov adding a second 15 minutes later.

City's Belgian defender Vincent Kompany was sent off in the 75th minute for a challenge on Kevin Doyle -- the resulting penalty was converted by Stephen Hunt.

But Adam Johnson (who came on for Dzeko midway through the second half) netted in injury time to ensure Robert Mancini's side maintained their five-point lead at the top of the table.

First half goals from Charlie Adam and Andy Carroll proved enough for Liverpool who beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 at The Hawthorns.

Liverpool were awarded a penalty in the 9th minute when Luis Suarez was bundled over in the box -- Adam making no mistake with the spot kick.

Suarez was involved again in the second, setting up Carroll who poked a shot past advancing West Brom keeper Ben Foster.

Despite a host of chances in the second half Liverpool couldn't extend their lead, but the win lifts them to fifth. West Brom are 13th with 11 points.

Norwich City came from two goals down to earn a 3-3 draw at home to Blackburn Rovers -- a result which keeps Steve Kean's side in the bottom three. Norwich are in eighth place.

Sunderland also came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa.

Goals from Villa's Bulgarian midfielder Stiliyan Petrov (20th minute) and Richard Dunne (85th minute) were canceled out by Connor Wickham, who scored seven minutes before half time and Stephane Sessegnon who stole a point for Sunderland seconds before the final whistle.

Swansea City continued their promising start to season with 3-1 over struggling Bolton Wanderers. The result moves them up to 10th place.

Bolton, meanwhile, are second from bottom with six points, one point ahead of Wigan who suffered their third home defeat of the season losing 2-0 to Fulham.

Goals from Clint Dempsey and Moussa Dembele lift Martin Jol's side up to 15th.

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St. Louis Cardinals Wins the World Series

The St. Louis Cardinals finished their improbable run Friday night with a convincing 6-2 win, beating the Texas Rangers and giving the franchise another World Series championship.

Instead of the furious comebacks the Cards have been known for this year, the Cards grabbed a commanding lead in the fifth inning Friday and held on.

"We got it. It is unbelievable," outfielder Allen Craig said. "This is an unbelievable group of guys. I am just glad to be a part of this."

Craig, who caught the last out of the game, was more than a part of it. He hit a home run in the third inning of Friday's game and stole a home run from Ranger Nelson Cruz leaping over the wall to bring the ball back.

Another one of the stars of Friday's game was Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, who had two hits and knocked in two RBIs. Another St. Louis star was hurler Chris Carpenter, who continued his undefeated postseason run by stymieing the Rangers for six innings Friday.

Rangers pitchers were plagued with wildness Friday and throughout the series.

In the fifth inning, the Cardinals were able to get two runs and jump to a commanding 5 to 2 lead without getting a hit, capitalizing on Rangers' walks.

The win gives the Cards their 11th World Series championship. The Cardinals last won the championship in 2006.

Friday's win may have seemed a little melodramatic compared to the instant-classic World Series game Thursday, when the Cardinals displayed their never-say-die attitude.

The Cardinals were pushed to within their last strike in the ninth and 10th innings only to come back and erase two-run deficits both times.

They finished the comeback in the 11th inning beating the Rangers 10 to 9 on David Freese's walk-off home run.

Freese was named the most valuable player of the series.

"This is a dream come true," Freese said. "This is why you keep battling."

Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa said the fans, cheering and supporting, helped his team to the muster the strength to comeback so many times.

"It is amazing, incredible," La Russa said. "This is for you, fans. Thank you so much."

Comebacks are nothing new for the Cards, who made a furious dash just to reach the postseason. The team erased a 10.5-game deficit with the Atlanta Braves in the last month of the regular season just to make it to the playoffs. They punctuated that comeback by taking the must-win last two games of the season and stealing the National League wild card from the Braves.

Once in the playoffs, the Cards defeated division champs Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies. Both feats defied oddsmakers.

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