PRETORIA, South Africa -- The chief prosecutor laughed scornfully at an answer from Oscar Pistorius during the Olympic athletes murder trial Thursday, mocking the man who shot his girlfriend. The judge sternly instructed the prosecutor to restrain himself and he apologized -- then went right back to trying to pick holes in the testimony of the double-amputee runner. It was a harsh day of cross-examination for Pistorius, challenged relentlessly about his account of the moments just before he killed Reeva Steenkamp, as well as circumstances related to several firearms charges against him, including the firing of a gun in a crowded restaurant. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel often sought to goad Pistorius, accusing him of being self-obsessed and hiding the truth about the death of Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model whom he shot through a closed toilet door in his home. Dressed in a dark suit, Pistorius, 27, responded methodically and in a soft monotone, and only occasionally did his voice rise. He did not break down in tears as he has previously this week in the witness box and did not look at Nel, instead facing the red-robed judge, Thokozile Masipa, on the dais. The prosecutor seized on virtually every opportunity to challenge the star athletes credibility, asserting that he had a string of unlikely excuses for why he wasnt to blame in the gun charges he faces on top of murder. In casting doubt on the Olympians honesty, Nel was pushing the prosecutions argument that Pistorius is also lying that he killed Steenkamp by mistake, thinking she was an intruder, in the pre-dawn hours of Valentines Day last year. Nel briefly erupted in laughter after Pistorius suggested that two witnesses who said they once saw him shoot out of a car sunroof had collaborated and fabricated their accounts. "I apologize for laughing, I wont do it again," Nel said after people in the gallery murmured in surprise at his outburst. Masipa sternly cautioned him: "If you possibly think this is entertaining, its not. So please restrain yourself." The judge will deliver a verdict because there is no jury system in South Africa. Possibly because of her critical role, Masipa has given away little of her thinking during the trial, interjecting only occasionally during testimony and keeping an impassive expression. In the cross-examination, Nel asserted that Pistorius will not "accept responsibility for anything." He reacted incredulously to the athletes explanation of why a gun he was handling went off under a table in a packed restaurant. The incident, for which he was charged with firing a gun in public without good reason, happened weeks before Steenkamp died. Pistorius said a friends pistol, a Glock, went off while he was holding it but insisted that he hadnt pulled the trigger. But a police expert testified earlier at the trial that the Glock could not be fired without pulling the trigger. "We have you in possession of the gun, a shot went off, but you didnt discharge the gun?" Nel said. "You are lying." "I respect Mr. Nels comment," Pistorius replied, "but I didnt pull the trigger on that firearm." Pistorius said he wasnt guilty of another charge against him, illegal possession of ammunition for .38-calibre ammunition found in a safe in his home after he killed Steenkamp. He said they belonged to his estranged father, who had put the bullets in the safe. Nel retorted that Pistorius father, Henke, had "refused" to make a statement to police on the ammunition being his. At another point, Nel said caustically: "Its the strangest day today. You just dont take responsibility for anything." Two contrasting images of Pistorius have emerged in court: the defence-led portrayal of a contrite man worried about crime who made a tragic mistake, and the prosecutions depiction of an overbearing egotist obsessed with firearms who killed his girlfriend on purpose after a heated argument. Pistorius, who faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder, said he did not intentionally fire the four shots that penetrated the toilet door. Steenkamp was struck in the head, hip and arm. "I didnt have time to think about if I wanted to or didnt want to," Pistorius said when Nel asked whether he intended to shoot. Nel also accused him of egotistical behaviour in his relationship with Steenkamp, and described Pistorius courtroom apology to her family on Monday as an insincere "spectacle." "Your life is just about you," Nel told Pistorius. He said the athlete was not "humble enough" to apologize in private to the family and away from the media glare of a murder trial broadcast live around the world. Pistorius said his lawyers had been in touch with representatives of Steenkamps family, and that he believed they were not ready to meet with him. "I completely understand where theyre coming from," he said. "Its not that I havent thought about them." Nel also pressed Pistorius about Steenkamps objection to his playing a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar on a car stereo. Pistorius referred to the song in a cellphone message to Steenkamp that acknowledged her objections and has been included as evidence in the trial. The prosecutor asked if the name of the song was "Bitch, Dont Kill My Vibe," but Pistorius said he couldnt remember the specific song. Nel responded that Steenkamp would have been right to take offence and caustically noted, "We cant ask her." Jim Sundberg Rangers Jersey . 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Ronald Guzman Rangers Jersey .com) - Its fair to call Mike McCarthy one of the best coaches in the NFL but its also more than objective to point out that the veteran mentor bookended the Green Bay Packers season with two, truly awful game plans in Seattle.MELBOURNE, Australia -- One by one, Serena Williams is matching the feats of tennis greatest legends. Her next challenge comes at the Australian Open, which starts Monday with Williams seeking her 18th Grand Slam title -- an accomplishment that would match Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. "It would mean a lot to be on the same level as such great players," Williams said in a pre-tournament news conference Saturday, quickly adding a dash of humility. "I still have a lot of work to do. I obviously want to reach that level, but Im not there yet." "Hopefully, Ill get there," she added. The No. 1-ranked, No. 1-seeded player is entering the new season after a spectacular year. In 2013, Williams won 78 of her 82 matches including the French Open and the U.S. Open. She earned more than $12 million in prize money, a record for womens tennis. At 32, an age where most professional players are in decline, Williams is playing the best tennis of her career, says Navratilova, who predicts that Williams will win in Melbourne and go on to eclipse Steffi Grafs 22 major titles in the Open era. "If she can stay healthy, theres no doubt she can go into the 20s. The sky is the limit," Navratilova said earlier this week. In terms of Grand Slam titles, no woman playing professional tennis today comes close. In a distant second place is Williams big sister, Venus, who won seven major titles during a career that is now waning because of age, injuries and an autoimmune disease that saps her energy. Venus last Grand Slam win came at Wimbledon in 2008. No. 2 Maria Sharapova, a four-time Grand Slam winner, is coming back after playing just one post-Wimbledon match in 2013 due to hip and shoulder injuries. She sat out the last two months of the 2013 season and says she is still nursing her shoulder with "precautionary" anti-inflammatories at times. "Im happy to be back playing a Grand Slam," said Sharapova, who toree her rotator cuff in two places in 2008, requiring surgery that kept her off the tour for nearly a year.dddddddddddd. "Im happy to get myself back in form and really start well here." The player who is considered the greatest threat to Williams is No. 2 Victoria Azarenka, the two-time Australian Open defending champion. Williams has defeated Azarenka in 14 of their 17 matches -- but Azarenka has excelled more recently in Melbourne where Serena has won five titles but none since 2010. Asked why she has stumbled in Melbourne in recent years, Williams half-joked: "I just wasnt able to stay on two feet. Literally." Last year, Williams tumbled to the court in her first-round match after turning her right ankle. She was then upset in the quarterfinals by Sloane Stephens. "Ive been doing a lot of exercises for my ankles and trying to make sure that theyre pretty stabilized," said Williams. Williams got a strong start to the new season, with back-to-back wins over Sharapova and Azarenka earlier this month in Brisbane. She beat Sharapova in the semifinals and overcame Azarenka in the final. In Melbourne, Williams will only get the chance to play one of them. Azarenka and Sharapova are on the opposite side of the draw from Williams and could end up playing each other in the semifinals. Sharapovas first-round match is against Bethanie Mattek-Sands on Tuesday, when Azarenka faces Johanna Larsson of Sweden. Williams starts her Australian Open campaign Monday against Australian teenager Ashleigh Barty and has 2011 U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur and two-time Australian finalist Li Na in her half of the draw. Barty, who is 17 and ranked 153rd, is bound to have rowdy home crowd support as she steps onto centre court against the worlds top player. "Obviously theyll want Ashleigh to win, (and want) her to do well," Williams said. "Under any other circumstances. Id probably be rooting for her as well." ' ' '