BORIS SYMPATHISES

Former tennis champion Boris Becker says he sympathises with Tiger Woods, whose life is in turmoil after he admitted cheating on his wife.

Becker, 42, who fathered a child with a Russian model after a brief sexual encounter in a cupboard at a London restaurant while his wife was pregnant, said he could identify with the golf star.

"I experienced exactly the same and I can sympathise with him," the German newspaper Bild quoted Becker, winner of six grand slam titles, as telling a TV show to be aired later on Monday.

Becker, who had a messy divorce and became the butt of jokes for his flings, said he believed it would be "damned hard" for father-of-two Woods to save his marriage to Swede Elin Nordegren.

NALBANDIAN COMEBACK

Argentina's former world number three David Nalbandian has targeted the Davis Cup as a main objective as he steps up his return from a seven-month injury layoff at an exhibition tournament in Buenos Aires this weekend.

The 2002 Wimbledon runner-up, who made a winning return to action at an exhibition tournament last week, has been sidelined with a hip injury since May and has been recovering from surgery in August.

"The first issue is to make it through these first four months," the 27-year-old told a news conference. "I have to be careful and time will tell what goals I can set. But obviously the Davis Cup is still a clear objective; after that, the big tournaments."

Nalbandian is set to return to the ATP Tour at the Jan 11-16 Auckland Open to complete his preparations for the Australian Open, starting in Melbourne the following weekend.

REUTERS

WATCHING LESS TV

What happens when people start watching less television? Do they eat less? Exercise more? Sleep better?

To the researchers’ surprise, cutting back television time didn’t have an effect on calorie consumption, nor did it change sleep habits. The group that watched less television did, however, move more, burning an average of 120 calories more a day than the control group.

Although some participants did report getting more exercise by walking their dogs more often or signing up for a yoga class, most of the people didn’t use their television-free time for scheduled physical exercise. One person used the extra time to organize photo albums, others reported reading more or playing board games with their children. Many said they spent the time doing more household chores or paying bills.

But even those minor changes in activity level counted a lot. While the group that reduced television viewing burned off an additional 120 calories a day compared with the previous three weeks, the control group became even more sedentary, moving about 100 calories less than before. The additional activity that resulted from less television time is the equivalent of walking about eight miles a week.

NYTIMES

MURRY'S 'CALL OF DUTY'

Tennis star Andy Murray has been dumped by his girlfriend for spending too much time playing “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2”, at least according to an article in that most trusted and intellectual of ‘newspapers’, The Sun.

Twenty one year old Kim Sears dumped the twenty two year old sportsman because he apparently spends up to seven hours a day playing the recently released shooter on the PlayStation 3, something which “drove her mad”, according to the tabloid. “He would spend all his time glued (to the game),” according to a “source”. “In the end she just got fed up with it. She wanted more out of the relationship.”

The young student has apparently abandoned Murray’s five million pound Surrey mansion to return home to live with her parents, due to his “obsession” with the game. Murray’s addiction to gaming has been well documented in the past, with his former coach Brad Gilbert, apparently confirming “He plays video games seven hours a day.”

STRETCHING: THE TRUTH

For years, flexibility has been widely considered a cornerstone of health and fitness. Many of us stretch before or after every workout and fret if we can’t lean over and touch our toes. We gape enviously at yogis wrapping their legs around their ears.

In fact, the latest science suggests that extremely loose muscles and tendons are generally unnecessary (unless you aspire to join a gymnastics squad), may be undesirable and are, for the most part, unachievable, anyway. “To a large degree, flexibility is genetic,” says Dr. Malachy McHugh, the director of research for the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York and an expert on flexibility. You’re born stretchy or not. “Some small portion” of each person’s flexibility “is adaptable,” McHugh adds, “but it takes a long time and a lot of work to get even that small adaptation. It’s a bit depressing, really.”

FULL ARTICLE: NYTIMES