MIAMI, May 25 (Reuters) – United States head coach Juergen Klinsmann hopes that his forward Clint Dempsey gets a move to a Champions League club after his fine season with English side Fulham.

Dempsey scored 17 goals in 37 league appearances for Fulham this season and has made it clear that he would relish the chance to play with a bigger club in Europe’s top competition.

That is a feeling that is shared by his national team coach, the former German international striker who is preparing his team for Saturday’s friendly against Scotland.

“If you play consistently at the highest level then offers will come in. I think everybody is aware of that. His goal is the right goal, we have often discussed it,” the former Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur striker said on a conference call.

“If he has the opportunity to go to a Champions League team, that’s the creme de la creme of club soccer then you have to do that, with all the respect obviously to Fulham, as he often mentions.

“But you want to play in the biggest club competition in the world and that’s the European Champions League and hopefully something will happen over the next couple of weeks,” he said.

“If it doesn’t happen then he has to keep pounding away and knocking at the door.”

MIAMI (Reuters) – There has been a nasty edge to the playoff series between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers and after more blood in Tuesday’s latest encounter, the Heat’s Dwyane Wade said the physical clashes were getting close to crossing the line.

Wade was left with bleeding above his eye after being struck by Tyler Hansbrough in the second quarter of the Eastern Conference semi-final.

That incident may have motivated a worse foul when Miami’s Udonis Haslem slammed both his arms into the face of Hansbrough in the game’s second flagrant foul.

“I thought I got fouled once and the next thing I know I took a hit,” said Wade, whose 28 points helped Miami to a 115-83 victory to give them a 3-2 lead in the series.

“Obviously my face is not the ball. I thought it was uncalled for. No-one likes to see their own blood, I tried to stay in the game (mentally),” added Wade.

Hansbrough had no doubt that Haslem was looking for him on the later incident.

“It was a hard foul. He came at me, it was pretty clear. We will take it from there,” he said.

MIAMI (Reuters) – With LeBron James and Dwyane Wade on fire, the Miami Heat pounded the Indiana Pacers 115-83 on Tuesday to take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff semi-final.

James had 30 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while Wade put up 28 points as Miami took command of the best of seven series.

The build-up to the game had featured plenty of tough talking from the Pacers, in particular from forward Danny Granger, but just as in game three, Miami showed they are at their best when provoked.

Miami led 49-40 at halftime, ending the half with two emphatic baskets from James, a sign of things to come.

Key man Granger had to hobble out of the game just after halftime with a sprained ankle sustained late in the second quarter, and without him Indiana were unable to cope with an inspired James.

In one stunning play, as Miami ran away with the game in the third quarter, James took a long pass from Mario Chalmers one-handed and, falling backwards, lobbed a pinpoint cross-court pass for Wade to dunk.

Miami were deadly on fast breaks and there was never a hint of a repeat of the Pacers’ Game Three road win which had raised questions over whether the Heat could advance without the injured Chris Bosh.

MIAMI (Reuters) – The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) has elected Antiguan Gordon Derrick, an official reprimanded in a FIFA ethics probe, as their new president a year after Jack Warner relinquished the post amid corruption allegations.

Derrick replaces Haitian acting president Yves Jean-Bart, who assumed the role following Warner’s suspension by FIFA last year for an alleged role in the ‘cash for votes’ case involving former Asian soccer chief Mohamed Bin Hammam.

The 43-year-old Derrick was also reprimanded and fined in November by FIFA following their investigation into alleged “ethics violations” relating to the Bin Hammam case.

Derrick, who has been Antigua and Barbuda Football Association general secretary since 2004, defeated three rivals — Luis Hernandez of Cuba, Ronald Jones of Barbados and Harold Taylor of Trinidad and Tobago in the vote held in Budapest ahead of this week’s FIFA congress.

The controversial Warner had been at the helm of the CFU since 1983 and also dominated CONCACAF, the regional confederation for the Caribbean and North and Central America.

CONCACAF will also elect a new president at their congress in the Hungarian capital on Wednesday.

Cayman Islands Football Association president Jeffrey Webb is the only candidate to have been nominated for the post.

MIAMI, May 22 (Reuters) – The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) has elected Antiguan Gordon Derrick, an official reprimanded in a FIFA ethics probe, as their new president a year after Jack Warner relinquished the post amid corruption allegations.

Derrick replaces Haitian acting president Yves Jean-Bart, who assumed the role following Warner’s suspension by FIFA last year for an alleged role in the ‘cash for votes’ case involving former Asian soccer chief Mohamed Bin Hammam.

The 43-year-old Derrick was also reprimanded and fined in November by FIFA following their investigation into alleged “ethics violations” relating to the Bin Hammam case.

Derrick, who has been Antigua and Barbuda Football Association general secretary since 2004, defeated three rivals – Luis Hernandez of Cuba, Ronald Jones of Barbados and Harold Taylor of Trinidad and Tobago in the vote held in Budapest ahead of this week’s FIFA congress.

The controversial Warner had been at the helm of the CFU since 1983 and also dominated CONCACAF, the regional confederation for the Caribbean and North and Central America.

CONCACAF will also elect a new president at their congress in the Hungarian capital on Wednesday.

Cayman Islands Football Association president Jeffrey Webb is the only candidate to have been nominated for the post.

MIAMI (Reuters) – With All-Star Chris Bosh out indefinitely with an abdominal strain the question facing Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was how his team would handle the loss of one-third of the “Big Three.”

The swift answer from Game Two of their best-of-seven second round playoff series with the Indiana Pacers was clear as Miami lost 78-75 and the Heat’s third-leading scorer, after LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, had just five points.

Bosh averaged 18 points and shared the team lead with 7.9 rebounds per game during the regular season and the Heat went 4-5 in the nine games he missed.

In the playoffs, Bosh averaged 14.7 points and 6.8 rebounds from six games and Miami simply failed to replace his production on Tuesday as the Pacers tied the series 1-1 with the next two games being played in Indianapolis.

“Chris is missed,” Wade said after Tuesday’s game. “No doubt about it. Our team is set up for him to be in there. It’s his presence, his scoring ability. Anytime he’s on the court, you have to be aware of where he is.”

There is no individual replacement for Bosh so Miami have had to hope that there is a collective solution, with lesser known players all giving that little bit extra.

That did not happen on Tuesday.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (Reuters) – American Matt Kuchar won the Players Championship on Sunday by two shots to secure the biggest win of his career and a $1.71 million pay check.

To the delight of his watching family, Kuchar shot a final round two-under 70 to finish 13-under for the tournament, two clear of Briton Martin Laird (67) and Americans Zach Johnson (68), Rickie Fowler (70) and Ben Curtis (68).

Overnight leader Kevin Na had a disappointing finish, making six bogeys in a 76 that saw him slip back into a tie for seventh, a day after being heckled by spectators for his slow play and constant practice shots.

Tiger Woods ended well down the field at joint 40th after shooting a 73 to finish one-under.

England’s Luke Donald finished strongly with a 66 that elevated him to sixth, four strokes behind Kuchar, but not enough for him to regain top place in the world rankings from Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, who missed the cut.

Kuchar, who tied for third at the Masters, consistently avoided trouble on the final day on a course that severely punishes inaccuracy.

While his challengers stumbled at various hurdles, the American kept out of water and greenside sand throughout a confident 18 holes.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (Reuters) – Tiger Woods has called on the PGA Tour to punish slow play with penalty strokes rather than the current practice of handing out undisclosed fines.

The pace of rounds has become a growing issue on the tour and came to the fore at the Players Championship this week where Kevin Na’s constant practice strokes and ‘waggles’ annoyed the crowd.

Former world number one Woods believes a shot penalty for a ‘bad time’ when a player is on the clock would be a far bigger deterrent than cash punishments which are believed to be around $5,000 (3,110.42 pounds) to $10,000.

“Very simple. If you get a warning, you get a penalty. I think that would speed it up,” Woods told reporters after carding a final round 73 to finish 12 strokes behind winner Matt Kuchar.

“Strokes is money. One shot can be the difference between first and second. How much is the difference between first and second? $800,000?

“I would take the five grand over the 800k. That one shot, that’s the difference, that’s what people don’t realise, that one shot is so valuable,” added the 14-times major winner.

Woods expressed some sympathy for Na who on Saturday owned up to his difficulty in being able to release his stroke due to a lack of balance, among other problems.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida, May 13 (Reuters) – Matt Kuchar had already achieved his goal of becoming one of the most consistent players on the PGA Tour. On Sunday he achieved another goal when he won one of the toughest tournaments of the season, the Players Championship.

Kuchar enjoyed a stellar amateur career before he burst on to the professional scene with an early win, in 2002, at the Honda Classic, but then inconsistency started to creep into his game.

Four years later, he lost his place on the PGA Tour and was demoted to the second-tier Nationwide Tour. He set about remodeling his game to make sure his natural ball-striking talent was allied to a solid game without the huge fluctuations in form.

With 25 top ten finishes since the start of the 2010 season, a record equalled only by world number two Luke Donald, there is no doubt the Floridian has achieved that goal.

What was missing though, since the 2010 Barclays, was a tournament victory to seal his status among the tour elite.

“I never wanted to be the guy that won once a year and missed ten cuts a year,” Kuchar told reporters.

“Back when I was thinking about this, Tiger Woods was either winning or finishing second or third every week and I wanted to figure out how do I get to be like that?

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida, May 13 (Reuters) – American Matt Kuchar won the Players Championship on Sunday by two shots to secure the biggest win of his career and a $1.71 million pay check.

To the delight of his watching family, Kuchar shot a final round of two-under-par 70 to finish the tournament at 13-under, two clear of Scotland’s Martin Laird (67) and Americans Zach Johnson (68), Rickie Fowler (70) and Ben Curtis (68).

Overnight leader Kevin Na had a disappointing final day, making six bogeys in a 76 that saw him slip back onto a tie for seventh.

Tiger Woods finished in equal 40th place after shooting a one-over par 73 to end the tournament at one-under.

England’s Luke Donald finished strongly with a 66 that elevated him to sixth place, four strokes behind Kuchar, but not enough for him to regain top place in the world rankings from Rory McIlroy, who missed the cut.

The key to Kuchar’s victory, which comes after he finished tied for third at the Masters, was the way he consistently avoided trouble on a course that severly punishes inaccuracy.

While his challengers stumbled at various hurdles, Kuchar kept out of sand and water throughout a confident 18 holes.