Chelsea Fires Manager Andre Villas-Boas; Oreo Cookie Celebrates 100th Birthday
LU STOUT: It's time now for a sports update. And there was a big NBA showdown on Monday night between the defending champions and the team that's best in the west so far this season. Let's go to Alex Thomas in London with more on that and a look ahead to more Champion's League action -- Alex.</s>ALEX THOMAS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kristie. They may not attract as many headlines as Jeremy Lin, The Heat, or the Lakers, but Oklahoma City has the best record in the NBA's western conference. And their game against the Dallas Mavericks certainly got star billing. The deadly duo of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant often get the Thunder rumbling. And here's Westbrook with three of his 24 points in the game. Oklahoma recovering from a half-time deficit to level it at 52-all. Durant kept up his high standards too, draining this three, part of his 22 points on the night. Although the highest scorer was on the Mavericks' team. Dirk Nowitzki with four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter alone as the German racked up 27 points in the game. It's almost tight right to the end. Dallas up by one when Serge Ibaka was fouled. He makes both of his free throws and the Thunder would stay ahead winning by 95-91, their 13th victory in a row at home. Now to Derrick Rose and the Bulls with the NBA's best overall record looking to avenge a home defeat by the Pacers earlier in the season. Here's Rose with a three as Chicago takes a six point lead. Later in the quarter Rose finds Luol Deng for the deep three and he makes it. Deng leading the Bulls with 20 points. And that's the same amount that Chicago outscored the Pacers by in the third quarter. Rose with another successful three. He had 13 points and a game high 9 assists. The Bulls could afford to showboat a little by this stage. Here's Taj Gibson with a huge slam and Chicago make it seven wins on the trot with a 92-72 victory. Now temporary Chelsea manager Roberto DeMateo admits the club has had a difficult 24 hours, but says the squad needs to move on after the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas. The first task for DeMateo is to lead the team into an FA Cup fifth round replay later against Birmingham City who are in the division below England's Premier League. DeMateo, a former Chelsea midfielder and one of Villas-Boas' assistants says he wants to see passion from his players and staff. AC Milan are expected to book their place in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champion's League later. They've flown into London with a comfortable 4-nil lead from the first leg of the club's round of 16 clash. Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri says striker Zlatan Ibrahimavic, who scored a hat trick at the San Siro, is playing as well as Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo right now -- quite some claim. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger's backtracked slightly, having said his team had no chance in the immediate aftermath of his side's defeat in Italy, Wenger now thinks a comeback isn't impossible, although he only has two recognized midfielders fit enough to start. Tuesday's other Champion's League last 16 match sees Portugals Benfica host Zenit St. Petersburg. Benfica conceding a late goal to lose the first leg 3-2, but those two away goals could yet prove crucial. At the very least, Benfica looking forward to slightly more comfortable contitions in Portugal. Temperatures for the first leg in Russia dropped to minus 17 degrees at one stage. So, Kristie, it'll feel like a Hong Kong summer night by comparison. Back to you.</s>LU STOUT: That's right, putting it into perspective there. Alex Thomas thank you very much indeed. Now it is a fairly simple recipe -- two parts chocolate biscuit, one part cream filling, but who would have thought that the Oreo would become the world's top selling cookie, providing a century of crunchy goodness to desert lovers everywhere. Felicia Taylor has more on Oreo's 100th birthday.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's so much fluffy cream in between.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aren't Oreo kids lucky? Aren't Oreo mothers great?</s>FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been an important part of childhood for generations, the venerable Oreo cookie, a product with such culture longevity that to this day people still talk about their favorite way to eat it.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tilt your head at a 45 degree angle to make sure you lick all the cream off.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And take the cream and I like it down the middle. And there is now a streak that runs through it.</s>TAYLOR: The Oreo is one of the world's most popular brands with $1.5 billion in global annual revenue. It's now sold in over 100 countries. And it all began here in New York City at what is now the Chelsea Market. 100 years ago on this very spot the first Oreo cookie was made. This, of course, was the original Nabisco bakery, the parent company responsible for those classic chocolate wafers joined together by a vanilla cream filling.</s>JOHN GHINGO, SENIOR DIRECTOR GLOBAL BISCUITS, KRAFT FOODS: When Oreos began being sold 100 years ago, they were sold in tins like this in bulk. And the very first Oreo cookie sales were recorded in Hoboken, New Jersey on March 6, 1912.</s>TAYLOR: It's not just Oreos that have stood the test of time, Corn Flakes had been around since 1896, Campbells Soup was founded 1877, and Jell-O, this one is over 110 years old. Marketing experts say it takes skill for a brand to last through good times and bad.</s>ALLEN ADAMSON, LANDOR ASSOCIATES: They've been able to balance consistency and change. It's original. It's authentic. But they've kept it fresh. They've kept pace with the change in times.</s>TAYLOR: Indeed, social media is now an important part of Nabisco's marketing mix. Oreo has its own Facebook page with more than 25 million followers. You made a mess.</s>GHINGO: I did make a mess. I did.</s>TAYLOR: Kraft, the owner of the Oreo brand, works hard to keep the product fresh at its research kitchens in New Jersey.</s>GHINGO: What you'll see here is a variety of different flavors. Ideas, some of them we've heard from our consumers over the years.</s>TAYLOR: Rainbow sherbet.</s>GHINGO: Rainbow sherbet, you have toasted coconut, lemon, orange, tangerine.</s>TAYLOR: Kraft also takes care to cater to each new global market.</s>GHINGO: It's a smaller pack size to fit the size of the smaller stores in China.</s>TAYLOR: But across the world, one thing stays the same, the classic way to eat an Oreo.</s>GHINGO: Twist open the cookie.</s>TAYLOR: Twist open the cookie.</s>GHINGO: You might want to lick out a little bit of the cream. And then if you're a milk fan, you can dunk it right in the milk.</s>TAYLOR: Who knew I'd be making an Oreo cookie.</s>GHINGO: Thumbs up.</s>TAYLOR: This is better than straight of the package for sure. No matter how you make it or how you eat it, one thing is clear to last 100 years you must be one smart cookie.</s>GHINGO: It's a good cookie.</s>TAYLOR: Felicia Taylor, CNN, New York.</s>LU STOUT: Now 100 years ago it was 1912, that means the Oreo was created around the same time the South Pole was discovered and the Titanic sank. Now here's another piece of trivia for you. Apparently about 50 percent of all Oreo eaters, they pull apart their cookies before consuming them, but women are more likely to twist them open than men. So perhaps it's simply a question of patience. And that is NEWS STREAM, but the news continues at CNN. "WORLD BUSINESS TODAY" is next. END