Sarah is one of the unsexiest women alive

Britney Spears' frequent show of skin and more notwithstanding men find her one of the Unsexiest Woman Alive. Topping the list of celebrities who don't turn on men is 'Sex and the City' actress Sarah Jessica Parker.

The 'Sex and the City' actress, who is most famous for her role as sex columnist Carrie Bradshaw in the hit US TV show, was given the dubious honor in the online poll by men's website maxim.com.

In a scathing attack on the 42-year-old actress, Maxim.com writers - who compiled the poll - likened Sarah Jessica to famous US racehorses Barbaro and Secretariat and insisted they would rather get up close and personal with her 'Sex and the City' co-star Chris Noth.

One Maxim.com writer said: "How the hell did this Barbaro-faced broad manage to be the least sexy woman in a group of very unsexy women and still star on a show with "sex" in the title?

"Pull your skirt down, Secretariat, we would rather ride your co-star Chris Noth!"

Troubled British singer Amy Winehouse - whose beehive hair and prominent eyeliner has been copied by teenage girls worldwide - finished in second place.

Another Maxim.com writer revealed: "When we first heard this chick boast about her reluctance to go to rehab we thought, now there is a girl we can party with! But upon beholding her openly hemorrhaging translucent skin, rat’s nest mane and lashes that look more like surgically attached bats, we were the ones screaming, 'Nooo, nooo, nooo!' "

'Grey's Anatomy' star Sandra Oh is in third place, while 49-year-old "menopausal" singer Madonna finished fourth and was ridiculed for her adoption of Malawi boy David Banda.

The survey said of Madonna: "Madonna traded pioneering sexuality for, like other old Jewish women, self-righteous bellyaching and rapid postnuptial deterioration.

"Combine a Paris Hilton-like pet accessorizing fetish - only for dirt-poor foreign babies - with a mug that looks Euro-sealed to her skull, and you've got Willem Dafoe with hot flashes."

Britney Spears - whose behavior has spiraled out of control this year with her wild partying, drug taking, shaving her head and bizarre performance at the MTV Video Music Awards - rounded up top five.

One Maxim.com contributor claimed: "Britney has lost the ability to perform, but gained two kids, two useless ex-husbands, and about 23 pounds of pudge."

Maxim.com's Five Unsexiest Women Alive poll:

Sarah Jessica Parker
Amy Winehouse
Sandra Oh
Madonna
Britney Spears

Jennifer wants to have an affair with Daniel

The former 'Friends' beauty has a crush on the James Bond actor and fantasizes that she is a government spy who gets up close and personal with special agent 007.

Jennifer said: "I'd be a spy, a very glamorous spy who plays poker and lives in Monaco. And has affairs with Daniel Craig."

Jennifer - who split from husband Brad Pitt in 2005 - is keen to move to New York to get away from the constant scrutiny she's under in Los Angeles.

The 38-year-old actress - who was recently rumored to have purchased a Manhattan apartment - said: "I can actually visualize it again, for some reason. I don't know, I'm just tired of Los Angeles. In New York, you're not just in that same car, looking at that same dashboard, driving down the same street.

"In New York, if you can get away from the paparazzi and they don't know where you are, you can actually walk, walk, walk!"

Jennifer has also decided not to worry what the public think of her.

She added to Harper's Bazaar magazine: "I used to care a hell of a lot more about what people said or thought. But that had to change when my life was under a microscope being scrutinized and my personal life was being talked about. You have to go, 'This is not acceptable in any way,' whether it's about me personally or in business, success versus failure. It's so negative. It's such bizarre negativity."

I gave Tendulkar out wrongly against England: Umpire Dar

Mumbai, Oct 19 (IANS) Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar has, for the first time, admitted he gave Sachin Tendulkar out wrongly in the deciding seventh One-Day International against England in London last month.

"Immediately after I gave Tendulkar caught by wicket-keeper Matt Prior off Andrew Flintoff I realised from his reaction that I had given a wrong decision," Dar told IANS in an interview here.

Tendulkar, who scored 30 off 46 balls, was visibly stunned and he uncharacteristically stood in his crease for a few seconds, suggesting he had not snicked the ball, before returning to the dressing room.

Batting first, India were reduced to 59 for four with Tendulkar's dismissal and eventually lost the match by seven wickets at Lord's and with it the series 3-4.

Dar, who was here to officiate in the India-Australia One-Day Internationals, said that the mistake had occurred because of a brief lapse in his concentration.

"On that ball Flintoff was very close to bowling a no ball and as I was looking at his foot my concentration was disturbed," said Dar, widely considered one of the best umpires in the world.

Asked if he felt like taking his decision back to enable Tendulkar to continue batting, the 39-year-old member of the International Cricket Council's Elite Panel said that he had never recalled any player.

"Since I had never called any batsman after giving a decision I did not call him back. So, if I were to call Tendulkar I would also call the last man if given wrongly out," reasoned the man from Lahore.

"I knew that match was the decider. And I was upset after giving that decision. It was tough match (for me)," he said, referring to the 3-3 series score before that match.

Dar, however, showed his regret and tried to show his feelings to Tendulkar immediately after the match.

"After the game when players shake hands with the umpires, Tendulkar also shook my hands on the field. As he did that I said to him 'hard luck'," disclosed the affable official, who became the first Asian to officiate in 100 ODIs here Wednesday.

"Players also know that how good an umpire is. They understand that mistakes are not made deliberately and they respect good umpires."

A former first-class player himself, Dar revealed that if he is not satisfied with one of his decisions early in a match it bothers him.

"If I give an erroneous decision early in a match it plays on my mind. But I try not to let that decision affect me for the rest of the match," he said.

Dar, who also officiated the final of the 2007 ODI World Cup, was recently short-listed among the three umpires for the annual ICC's Best Umpire Award, which eventually went to Australian Simon Taufel.

He is thankful to his parents and his wife for their sacrifices to enable him to be away for long periods and concentrate on his job. His work entails him being away from home for seven-eight months a year, which forces him to miss his three young sons.

That is why Dar, who has also officiated in 39 Tests, has decided to quit umpiring at 50, 10 years before the retirement age prescribed by the ICC.

Cricket: 6 Ducks with Highest Score 7

If you are wondering if this is individual player statistics.. You are mistaken.. It's the total team statistics..

WestIndies Under-19 were wrapped up for 18 in match against Barbados with 6 ducks and highest score of 7.

The second highest score is extras (6). The complete batsmen score read 1,0,0,0,0,7,2,0,2,0 and 0 not out.

Barbados player Pedro Collins produced a record spell of 7 for 11.

This created the new lowest score in domestic circuit. The previous record of lowest score was 23, set 23 years ago. (Middlesex Vs Yorkshire,1973).

Well, No prize for guessing who won the match.. Yes..

Indian cricket board is worth nearly Rs.10 bn

Mumbai, Oct 17 (IANS) Irrespective of the national team's performance, the Indian cricket board is getting rich each year and its current total assets stand at a whopping Rs.9.6 billion ($245 million; 120.6 million pounds), thanks largely to its marketing policy and investments by sponsors.

In addition, the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) has made investments worth nearly Rs.7.5 billion ($190 million; 93.5 million pounds) and its 'current assets, loans and advances' stand at almost Rs.2.1 billion ($53 million; 26.2 million pounds), as per its 2006-2007 annual report, a copy of which is with IANS.

Out of its total assets of Rs.9.6 billion, the board has 'fixed assets' of Rs.71 million ($1.8 million; 891,268 pounds) at the end of the 2006-2007 fiscal year. The worth of the fixed assets has shot up from Rs.16.3 million ($416,007; 204,657 pounds) during the previous fiscal year.

BCCI's marketing committee, headed by vice president Lalit Modi, is credited with bringing in most of the money during 2006-2007. Income from grant of media rights alone stood at Rs.3.1 billion ($80 million; 39.3 million pounds).

The BCCI spent Rs.37.5 million ($956,301; 470,459 pounds) on its brand new, all-glass headquarters, 'Cricket Centre', built on the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) land inside the Wankhede Stadium, venue of the seventh India-Australia One-Day International Wednesday. This amount is an additional expenditure during the year and is in "excess of the budget", says the report.

The prominent fixed assets include 'improvements to leasehold premises' worth Rs.26.1 million ($664,299; 326,805 pounds); furniture and fixtures worth Rs.13.9 million ($354,646; 174,470 pounds); 'intellectual rights' under intangible assets worth Rs.3.9 million ($99,390; 48,896 pounds); office equipment worth Rs.8.5 million ($217,685; 107,091 pounds); air conditioners, refrigerators and water coolers worth Rs.7 million ($179,453; 88,283 pounds); 'buildings' representing the National Cricket Academy Indoor School constructed on land owned by the Karnataka State Cricket Association in Bangalore, worth Rs.3.7 million ($95,229; 46,848 pounds) and trophy replicas and cricket memorabilia worth Rs.1 million ($26,413; 12,994 pounds).

I want to leave a mark on this world: Hilton

Socialite heiress Paris Hilton has supposedly grown up and is vowing to change her image by using her name and fame for good causes.

Her first stop is Rwanda where she will visit schools and health care clinics as part of a five-day charity mission. She will be accompanied by a children's charity called Playing for Good.

Dailysnack.com reports her as saying: "I'm scared, yeah. I've heard it's really dangerous. I've never been on a trip like this before.

I love having everything documented. It shows people what everyday life is like for me, how hard I work. There are a lot of misconceptions about me."

Hilton was in jail for 23 days for breaking her violation in a drunk and reckless driving case.

Commenting upon her reckless lifestyle, she said: "There are a lot of bad people in LA.

Before, my life was about having fun, going to parties - it was a fantasy. But when I had time to reflect, I felt empty inside. I want to leave a mark on the world."

II, III or IV?

The part Cherokee, part Irish and part German actor has a simple enough birth name -- John Christopher Depp II.

He performed a wee bit of surgery on his name when he reached Hollywood, slicing off those undesirable Roman numerals.

By the way he almost didn't reach movieland because of a childhood obsession with music. Right till his late teens Depp was in and out of garage rock bands where he played the guitar until he landed a role in a Fox TV production.

Photograph: Johnny Depp attends the Tim Burton Golden Lion For Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony in Venice at the 64th Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy. Photograph: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

A Wonderful name

Stevland Hardaway Judkins (later Morris) aka singer Stevie Wonder (I just called to say I love you), who was born blind, was a child star.

He earned the moniker Little Stevie Wonder when he was signed on by Motown at the age of 12.

By 13 he was a star with a song called Fingertips and had dropped the 'lil' bit.
Photograph: Stevie Wonder performs at Century Park in Century City, California. Photograph: Michael Buckner/Getty Images

The power of a name

Meet Demetria Gene Guynes...

Er, now known as Demi Moore. Actually, Demi Kutcher.

The Ghost actress's parents' names were ordinary enough -- Virginia and Charles. But her mom decided to name her after a beauty product she saw in a magazine, possibly the Demetria Clark herbal lotion line. And the name Guynes came from her stepfather whom her mom married after her birth.

When she married singer Freddy Moore, she became just plain Demi Moore.

By the way, in between she was nicknamed Gimme Moore because of the demands she made on producers while filming.

Photograph: Demi Moore poses for photographer after the screening of her film Flawless during the 55th San Sebastian International Film Festival. Photograph: Rafa Rivas/AFP/Getty Images

A town like Winona

Actress Winona Ryder's birth name reflects a rather eccentric childhood.

Mom was a Buddhist and a writer (Mainline Lady: Women's Writings on the Drug Experience, Shaman Woman).

Dad Michael Horowitz sold valuable old books and was an author too.

She was named Winona after a town in Minnesota near where she was born. And Laura was her middle name in honour of English writer, and author of Brave New World, Aldous Huxley's wife with whom her mom was buddies. But Winona Laura Horowitz was considerably tamer than the names her siblings got stuck with: Yuri, Jubal, Sunyata.

And where did Ryder come from? Winona, who grew up on a television-less, electricity-less, remote Californian commune, happened to be listening to a record of music by Mitch Ryder when a director called up to ask her what she wanted her screen name to be.
Photograph: Winona Ryder arrives at the 35th AFI Life Achievement Award tribute to Al Pacino held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. Photograph: Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images

When Mr Zeiger met Mr Dwight

Sir Elton John was 20 when he legally changed his name.

Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in Middlesex, southern England, the singer took on the name Elton because of his deep respect for saxophonist and jazz musician Elton Dean and John in deference to British blues singer Long John Baldry at the start of his musical career.

And can you spy Lawrence Harvey Zeiger in this pic? Yes, he's better known as the talk show host, Larry King.
Photograph: Sir Elton John (right) on the Larry King Show. Photograph: Rose M. Prouser/AFP/Getty Images

The name's Spidey

Tobey Maguire spliced different parts of his original name -- Tobias Vincent Maguire -- to become a star.

Incidentally, Vincent Maguire was his dad's name. His parents divorced when he was very young and Maguire spent his childhood hopping between Oregon, Washington state and California.

He was all set to become a chef when his mom persuaded him to take drama classes.
Photograph: Toby Maguire poses for a photocall of Spider-Man 3 Photograph: Michael Kappeler/AFP/Getty Images

You know my name?

The When Harry met Sally star was all set to become a journalist under the byline Margaret Mary Emily Hyra (her given name) but success in a few television commercials while in college, at New York University, led her to change careers and her name.

She appeared in Rich and Famous in 1981 as Meg Ryan and never looked back. For a time she was Mrs Dennis Quaid but she and the Traffic actor split up after 10 years of marriage in 2001. Her daughter's name is Daisy True; Daisy was adopted from China in 2006.
Photograph: Meg Ryan at the 2006 National Magazine Awards at Lincoln Center in New York City. Photograph: Evan Agostini/Getty Images

Unravelling Shakira's name

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll is more commonly known as just Shakira, the hip-waggling Colombian singer.

Shall we unravel that name? Well Shakira is of Spanish-Italian-Lebanese extraction.

Take a load of this: her mom's name was Nidia del Carmen Ripoll Torrado and her dad's William Mebarak Chadid. Shakira (which means thankful in Arabic) got away lightly with four slightly more easy to handle names, no?
Photograph: Shakira performs during the Live Earth concert in Hamburg in July 2007. Photograph: Roland Magunia/AFP/Getty Images

My name is fame
To make it big in Hollywood/Bollywood or showbiz, it does not help to have a clunky, double/triple-barrelled or boring name like -- yawn -- Rajeev Bhatia (Akshay Kumar) or Spangler Arlington Brugh (Robert Taylor).

In the early days of Hollywood, in the 1920s, actors invariably found themselves a sexy, captivating screen name hoping it would catapault them to fame.

So Rodolpho d'Antonguolla became Rudy Valentino and American moviedom's first sex symbol.

Hispanic actress Margarita Cansino Carmen could never have been Hollywood's love goddess. But as Rita Hayworth she was.

And who can remember Issur Danielovitch Demsky? But we all loved triple-Academy-Award-nominated Kirk Douglas (Michael Douglas ke papa) in It Runs In The Family..

Actors or singers these days don't find it that important to adopt screen names or funky titles. So we have folks like Cameron Diaz (yes, that's her real name) and Halle Berry making it big on their original names, even if they are mouthfuls or a bit strange sounding.

But there are a few, intriguing exceptions:

Ever heard of Thomas Cruise Mapother IV? Yup, Tom Cruise was born with that whopper of a name. Mapother has been handed down to him courtesy his Welsh ancestry. Incidentally from his mom's side, he is related to George III of England.

By contrast his wife Katie's screen name is not very different from what she was born with -- Katherine Noelle Holmes.

But hey. why did name their child Suri? We thinks that if she follows in her parents' footsteps, she is going to need a snappy screem name like her dad.
Photograph: Tom Cruise with wife Katie Holmes and daughter Suri on the sets of the film Rubicon in Berlin in which Cruise is starring as Count Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg, an aristocratic Nazi officer who mounted a failed plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944 as Germany was losing World War II. Photograph: Sebastian Willnow/AFP/Getty Images

I'm not stupid like Hilton and Lohan: Reid

Actress Tara Reid, infamous for her partying ways, compared herself to Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan and said she was not as stupid as them because she followed the rules.

"I think the reason I never ended up in as much trouble as Paris or Lindsay is that I'm not stupid, so I'd never do a lot of the things those girls do," pagesix.com quoted Reid as saying.

She added: "You'll never read a story about me going out and partying when I'm supposed to be working, showing up on a set drunk or missing a day, never.

But when I'm not working, why shouldn't I have fun? Am I supposed to stay at home and live in a cage? I was a party girl, but I played by the rules."

I don't miss Twenty20 cricket: Sourav Ganguly

Mumbai, Oct 16 (IANS) Sourav Ganguly's explosive batting style - which he rediscovered in the Nagpur ODI against Australia - would have made him a successful batsman in Twenty20 cricket, but the former Indian captain says he doesn't miss the newest and fastest version of the game.

"I don't think I miss Twenty20 cricket. I don't know what it would have been if this kind of cricket was introduced during my younger days. But now I don't think I would have really missed it," Ganguly told IANS in an interview here.

Ganguly along with Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid - known as the 'Big 3' of Team India - made themselves unavailable for the Twenty20 World Cup. Their non-availability put wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on the hot seat of captaincy. Dhoni led a bunch of young players to victory at the inaugural world championship of the newest form of cricket in South Africa.

That win gave India some of its future stars, who rose to the occasion when it mattered the most. They beat Pakistan in a nerve biting finish at the final, and the squad is now tipped to be the future of Indian cricket.

"I think this team has all the ingredients to be the world champions. The new guys are really good and they all are talented and will do the country proud in the coming days," said Ganguly, who won the best captain in 75 years of Indian Test cricket award.

Ganguly beat some of the biggest names of Indian cricket like Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Sunil Gavsakar and the late C.K. Nayudu and late Vinoo Mankad for the prestigious award.

"It is a great honour to be adjudged as the best captain of 75 years of Indian Test cricket. My best success as a captain, I think, will always remain beating Pakistan in their home in 2004," said Ganguly.

India defeated Pakistan for the first time on their soil to win a Test series in March 2004. The series was also memorable because Virender Sehwag became the first Indian to score a triple century with a solid knock of 309.

Ganguly had words of praise for Dhoni and said the 26-year-old should be given more time to click.

"I am sure he will take India to new cricketing heights. The only thing he lacks is experience and he should be given more time to gain it," said Ganguly.

On his role in the Indian team as a senior player, Ganguly said: "The only thing I have to do is to keep on performing. I have to keep on scoring runs.

"Performance and not age should be the criteria for selection in the team," he said.

Wanna Cool Bath?

Sachin back into top 10 ODI batsmen rankings

DUBAI(ANI): Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar has moved back into the top 10 of the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings for One-Day International (ODI) batsmen. In the latest rankings issued on Monday, Sachin moved up three places to sit at joint 9th, alongside Chris Gayle of the West Indies.

He is the only Indian batsman in the top 10. Vice-captain Yuvraj Singh is at 15th place, while captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni occupies the 16th position.

On the debit side of the ledger, however, former captain Rahul Dravid has slipped seven places and is now lies in 22nd place. India's highest-placed bowler in the relevant table is Harbhajan Singh, down in 29th position.

Australia's Andrew Symonds is within touching distance of top spot in the ODI batsmen rankings.

The powerful right-hander, who bludgeoned a brutal 107 from just 88 balls against India in Nagpur on Sunday, has rocketed up six spots to second place and is now just eight rating points behind his captain and team-mate Ricky Ponting.

That rise is a reflection of his outstanding form during the ongoing series as he is the leading run-scorer from either side with 365 runs at an average of 91.25 and a strike-rate of 110.94 runs per hundred balls.

Symonds, who has reached a career-high tally of rating points, forms an impressive Australian 1-2-3 at the top of the batting table, behind Ponting but ahead of Matthew Hayden, the winner of the ODI Player of the Year award at the ICC Awards in September and the second highest run-getter in the current series.

Three other Australians are in the top 11 - Michael Hussey (5th), Michael Clarke (8th) and Adam Gilchrist (11th).

The news is just as good for Ponting's men in the bowling list with left-arm wrist spinner Brad Hogg breaking into the top 10 on the back of being joint leading wicket-taker (alongside team-mate Mitchell Johnson) in the India series with 11 victims.

Hogg is one of three Australia bowlers in that top 10 with Nathan Bracken (3rd) and Brett Lee (9th) also featuring.

I am not pregnant: Pamela Anderson

Pamela Anderson, a newlywed of less than a week, is shooting down rumours that she is pregnant with husband Rick Salomon's child.

"Please tell everybody - categorically - I am not pregnant," Anderson told Las Vegas celebrity blogger Robin Leach.

"It's just not true. I would tell you if it was," the mother of two told Leach, who interviewed her at a party for airline magnate Richard Branson.

To underscore it, Anderson was "celebrating her marriage last weekend with bottles of expensive Cristal champagne" at the party, people.com quoted Leach as saying.