Vanhelg

LONDON (AFP) – Marks & Spencer, a retail icon and key barometer of consumer sentiment, said on Tuesday that quarterly sales at its stores fell 4.2 percent as recession-hit shoppers spent less on clothing and food.

The data for sales at its stores that have been open for at least one year beat analyst expectations of a seven-percent drop. The better-than-expected results for the 13 weeks to March 28 sent the share price of M&S soaring 10 percent at the start of trade.

It later stood up 8.6 percent at 287.25 pence on London's FTSE 100 index, which climbed 1.62 percent to 3,823.96 points.

"While the outlook remains uncertain, we are confident that we are doing the right things for our customers and for our business," M&S chairman Stuart Rose said in the company's earnings statement.

Marks & Spencer earlier this year announced plans to cut up to 1,230 jobs and shut 27 stores amid the first recession since 1991.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Memphis has given Kentucky permission to speak to coach John Calipari about the Wildcats' head coaching position. Athletic director R.C. Johnson said in a statement Monday that Calipari could meet with Kentucky representatives, but stressed Memphis will do whatever it can to retain the coach.

Calipari did not immediately return a text message from The Associated Press. Several Memphis players did not respond to e-mail messages left by the AP.

Kentucky spokesman DeWayne Peevy would not confirm or deny an ESPN report that Wildcats officials had already met with Calipari and were prepared to offer him the job. Athletic director Mitch Barnhart did not respond to AP requests for comment.

The school fired Billy Gillispie Friday after two seasons.

The Commercial Appeal newspaper reported on its Web site that Calipari met with his players Monday morning.

Calipari just concluded his ninth season at Memphis and has a 137-14 record over the past four seasons in which the Tigers were the only team to earn either a No. 1 or 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. He guided Memphis to a national runner-up finish last season, and the Tigers (33-4) were ousted in the West Regional semifinal on Thursday night.

He currently has the top-rated recruiting class in the country headed to Memphis, but his latest recruit 6-foot-10 DeMarcus Cousins committed verbally within the past month and could follow Calipari to Kentucky if the coach leaves.

Landing Calipari won't be cheap. He has four years left on his contract paying him $2.35 million annually. He also has an annuity averaging $1 million over the deal through 2013.

Throw in whatever settlement Kentucky negotiates with Gillispie, the Wildcats could have near $10 million invested in the head coach of its basketball program next year.

That doesn't matter to one of college basketball's most ardent fan bases, which seemed to electrified by the possibility of getting Calipari. A Facebook group called "Bring John Calipari to UK" had swelled to more than 9,000 members as of Monday afternoon while a popular Kentucky message board had over 15,000 people on it during the lunch hour.

Barnhart stressed the need for finding a coach who can embrace all the things that come with leading college basketball's winningest program. Gillispie went just 40-27 in two seasons and seemed uncomfortable with the celebrity that came with the job.

Calipari, never one to shy away from a camera, would seem to have the charisma to match Louisville coach Rick Pitino. Pitino was named the Wildcats coach 20 years ago, winning a national championship in eight seasons at Kentucky.

Pitino and Calipari used to spar when the Cardinals battled the Tigers in Conference USA. Having two of the nation's most high-profile coaches 70 miles apart could add another layer to one of the country's most bitter rivalries.

The two met in the 1996 Final Four when Pitino was at Kentucky and Calipari was at Massachusetts. The Wildcats won 81-74 on their way to a sixth national championship.

Pitino left for the NBA a year later, and Kentucky has been in steady — if small — decline ever since.

Gillispie was hired to bring some of the swagger back and instead the Wildcats failed to make the NCAA tournament this year for the first time since 1991. He was let go last week after Barnhart said the match of coach and program wasn't a "good fit."

Barnhart stressed the need to find a leader who can thrive under the unique spotlight coaching the Wildcats provides. Calipari doesn't lack for charm, though his past NCAA transgressions could be problematic for a program still sensitive of its image following the recruiting scandal left behind by Eddie Sutton in the late-1980s.

Massachusetts had to vacate its '96 Final Four appearance after star Marcus Camby admitted to accepting gifts from a sports agent.

Calipari moved on to the NBA before landing at Memphis in 2000. The Tigers have not had any troubles during his tenure while developing into a national powerhouse.

Kentucky, however, is hardly the first program to flirt with Calipari, who often has received a bigger paycheck from Memphis as a result of the interest.

He signed a contract extension in April 2008 that pushed his deal through the 2012-13 season giving him a $500,000 a year raise with a $5 million bonus if he finishes the contract. That pushed his annual salary to $2.35 million.

He got that deal after taking Memphis to an NCAA Division I record 38 wins and the national championship game — the program's first Final Four since 1985 and first NCAA final since 1973. The Tigers lost 75-68 in overtime to Kansas.

"What this contract has done is wiped out 99 percent of that stuff, and I told them that I appreciate that. It's not only the base salary, but it's also the longevity bonus which wipes out the others. There are no other places. This is the place," Calipari said at a news conference when the contract was signed.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – One big man was last year's national player of the year. The other appears poised to take his place.

Now, Tyler Hansbrough and Blake Griffin will go head-to-head with a lot more at stake than any individual honor.

Hansbrough has led top-seeded North Carolina to within a victory of a second straight Final Four. But to get there the Tar Heels will have to go through Griffin and Oklahoma on Sunday in a clash of low post stars.

"You have everything that's right about college basketball with these two kids," Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said. "Tyler staying in school for four years and breaking every record at North Carolina and in the ACC. And then Blake, you know, turning down the money last year and coming back. Both of them have been great ambassadors for college basketball."

Hansbrough was The Associated Press player of the year in 2008, and when he and three key teammates decided to stay in college another year, the Tar Heels became immediate favorites to win this season's national title. Along the way, some other contenders joined them — including Griffin and his Sooners, seeded No. 2 in the South Regional.

Griffin, a 6-foot-10 sophomore, is averaging 22.7 points a game and 14.4 rebounds after passing on last year's NBA draft. In Friday night's win over Syracuse, he was Boomer Sooner personified, plowing over Jonny Flynn en route to one layup, then rising so high for a dunk he hit his head on the bottom of the backboard.

"He's really explosive. You know, that's pretty obvious," Hansbrough said. "You watch some of his games and his highlights — he's pretty explosive, and he's a good offensive rebounder."

The 6-foot-9 Hansbrough can score inside as well, and he's improved his outside shooting. The result: He's now the Atlantic Coast Conference's career leader in scoring.

Hansbrough said he doesn't watch much college basketball when his team isn't playing, so he hasn't seen Griffin play much. Griffin, on the other hand, has seen plenty of Hansbrough, who has been hard to miss while playing four years at one of college basketball's most prominent programs.

"I've seen him play a lot since his freshman year," Griffin said. "I've seen him play a lot of games every season."

Both players sought to downplay their personal matchup, and with good reason. Their supporting casts are impressive. Tony Crocker scored 28 points against Syracuse, and guard Willie Warren can score in streaks.

As for the Tar Heels, Hansbrough might not even be their best player. Ty Lawson scored 19 points with nine assists in Friday night's win over Gonzaga, and backcourt mate Wayne Ellington has scored 67 in the team's three NCAA tournament wins.

Lawson has been bothered by a toe injury this month, but it didn't seem to slow him against Gonzaga.

"My toe is feeling good," Lawson said Saturday. "It didn't really swell up last night. It's not much pain in it. It's getting better."

Lawson, Ellington and Danny Green all decided to stay at North Carolina along with Hansbrough, setting aside the NBA for the time being. The Tar Heels (31-4) are now on the verge of a record 18th Final Four. UCLA has been to 18, but the Bruins' 1980 appearance was later vacated by the NCAA because of rules violations.

"Last year in late May, early June, whenever it was that we were anointed," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "I said at that time no team in college basketball is going to go undefeated anymore. It's just not going to happen. ... I couldn't be any happier — could not be one degree happier with the way our kids have tried to do things for our team and not be concerned about themselves."

Oklahoma (30-5) is trying for its first Final Four appearance since 2002. Capel made it clear the Sooners would not try to run with the speedy Tar Heels for 40 minutes.

"They're going to score," Capel said. "The thing we have to do is, as best we can, is try to control tempo. We can't play at their pace. No one can."

There's plenty of historic significance to this matchup. Capel grew up as a North Carolina fan but ended up playing for Duke. His buzzer-beating shot from about 35 feet tied a 1995 matchup between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils, but Duke lost in double overtime.

INDIANAPOLIS – Terrence Williams spent part of Saturday restating the lessons Louisville learned from its last regional final.

Play harder. Be yourselves. Play like a team devoted to winning the national title, and accept nothing less.

On Sunday, Williams and his teammates will finally get a chance to exorcise those demons from last year and deliver on a pact they made to themselves by claiming the school's first Final Four bid since 2005.

"Losing last year, we kind of know what it takes to lose. Meaning that, last year we didn't play 40 minutes," Williams said. "This year, we know that coming out, to get to the Final Four, you have to play all 40 minutes. You have to play your game."

Clearly, these aren't the same Cardinals that ran out of steam against top-seeded North Carolina in Charlotte.

They won the Big East regular-season and tournament titles, earned the school's first No. 1 ranking, the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament and just delivered the most crushing rout since the expansion of the NCAA field in the 1970s, 103-64 over Arizona in Friday night's semifinals. Louisville has won 13 straight and 23 of 25.

Now the season really kicks into gear.

After going 31-5 and earning all those accolades, the Cardinals' season comes down to this: Win and go to Detroit, lose and go home again.

"We don't want to be in the locker room feeling the same way," Williams said. "Especially myself, because I'll be done. What you take from that (loss) is do everything in your power in 40 minutes to not feel that way again."

But in Sunday's Midwest final, they face Michigan State, one of the most successful tournament teams over the last decade.

Coach Tom Izzo has led the Spartans (29-6) to four Final Fours in 10 years, the most of any team in the nation, and he won the national championship in 2000 across the street from Lucas Oil Stadium.

For second-seeded Michigan State, the emotions are just as high.

After winning the Big Ten regular-season title, the Spartans lost in the Big Ten tournament semifinals two weeks ago in Indy and now they're back playing for a chance to go to nearby Detroit.

"It will be the biggest game I've probably ever played in because of what you just said," Izzo said. "For a guy like me, who just loves the state, I've lived there all my life, to have that opportunity to play there is just special. You know, I'm no different than a player."

The contrasts Sunday will be intriguing, too.

Izzo and Louisville's Rick Pitino both have tournament winning percentages that rank among the top four of active coaches. Both have one national championship ring.

Yet they've been successful with vastly different styles.

Pitino has always preferred relentless defensive pressure and an up-tempo pace to take advantage of his usually strong 3-point shooters. The good news is he's 9-0 in regional semifinal games.

The question is whether that style wears down his team.

Louisville has been eliminated on the second day of an NCAA tournament weekend in three of its previous five appearances and has been eliminated on the second day of a conference tournament two other times since 2002, though the Cardinals have shown no signs of weariness in either the Big East tourney or their first three NCAA games.

"I believe sometimes during this time of year, teams can get out of shape because they lay around hotels, they don't work real hard," Pitino said. "We're in very good shape right now. We haven't lost our conditioning."

Another problem for Izzo is the status of forward Raymar Morgan, one of the Spartans' most athletic players.

Morgan, who is second on the team in scoring (10.5) and rebounding (5.4), broke his nose in Friday night's 67-62 semifinal win over Kansas. He'll wear a protective face mask in the final but acknowledges that it may affect his vision.

Still, Izzo will rely on his traditional approach. He prefers to employ half-court offense, an opportunistic defense and tries to overpower teams with strong rebounders and a deep rotation. Michigan State led the nation in rebounding margin this season (plus-9.7) and grabbed a staggering 40.9 percent of its missed shots.

But players don't believe that style is the reason Izzo is 13-2 on the second day of NCAA weekends.

"One thing coach says is if we get through Friday, he'll get us through Sunday," Big Ten player of the year Kalin Lucas said.

It has worked in the past.

THE head of Sydney's newest and most-feared bikie gang last night revealed membership is growing rapidly - mainly young men of Middle Eastern heritage who don't all ride motorbikes.

Allan Sarkis, named publicly yesterday as the president of Notorious, made no apologies for his gang's reputation and said they would not be dictated to by traditional bikies.

"We're not following anybody's existing rules," Sarkis said.

"As far as us being the new age bikies, if that's a problem for somebody, we don't apologise.

"We're a bike club that was formed as a motorcycle club to not be undermined and not be dictated to by existing clubs."

Sarkis said the warring outlaw motorcycle clubs should be sorting out their differences behind closed doors - not in public.

After a week in which one man was bashed to death, there were a string of shootings, arrests of gang members and police launched an anti-bikie crackdown, Sarkis said he was "far from panicked".