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Lions tour off to a strong start

Filed under: British & Irish Lions, International, Rugby by Tim Greenwood — Leave a comment
8:48 pm

Five matches down and five wins for Britain’s rugby elite. The first half of the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour was promising to say the least, although there are a few areas in which the squad need to improve if they are to challenge Australia fully at the end of the month.

North bound | British and Irish Lions winger George North, scores one of two tries against the Queensland-New South Wales Country XV. (Image | The BBC)

North bound | British and Irish Lions winger George North, scores one of two tries against the Combined Country XV. (Image | The BBC)

British and Irish Lions 58 Barbarian FC 9

The tour kicked off in sweltering conditions in Hong Kong on Saturday, June 1. Facing a slightly stronger Barbarians side than other recent incarnations of the invitation team, the Lions nonetheless outclassed their opponents.

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Premier League 2012/13: The hipster team of the year

Filed under: Football, Premier League by Chris King — Leave a comment
12:55 pm

When the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Premier League team of the year was announced, there was almost universal disquiet at the lack of Michu, Swansea City’s swashbuckling Spanish attacking midfielder, among others.

WORD | Words. (Image | FTB Pro)

Swan shake | Michu took the Premier League by storm last year, but his 18 goals and flamboyant celebration were not enough for the PFA. (Image | FTB Pro)

How, asked many, could a player that scored 18 goals in 35 top-flight appearances, was the lynchpin of a League Cup-winning side, and cost a bargain £2million not be included among the crème de la crème of the Premier League?

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Premier League 2012/13: Team of the year

Filed under: Football, Premier League by Shane Thomas — Leave a comment
1:29 pm

With the 2012/13 Premier League season over, a campaign in which Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down as Manchester United manager and Wigan Athletic triumphed in the FA Cup at Wembley, but still went down, here is the team of the year.

WORDS | Petr Čech has had a superb season in goal for Chelsea during a campaign dogged by uncertainty at the club. (Image | Daily Mail)

Safe pair of hands | Petr Čech has had a superb season in goal for Chelsea amid many changes and continual uncertainty at the club. (Image | Daily Mail)

Goalkeeper | Petr Čech (Chelsea)

It appeared that Petr Čech would never be the same after his horrific collision with Steven Hunt back in 2006. However, he has gradually regained some of his best form, and while not the most eye-catching goalkeeper of the season, Čech been the most consistent.

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José Mourinho returns to Chelsea, the only place he could have gone

Filed under: Chelsea, Football, Premier League by Shane Thomas — Leave a comment
11:16 pm

It is official, José Mourinho has returned. The man whose first press conference in England saw him famously describe himself not as “the special one”, as the press claimed, but “a special one“.

Back for Mour | José Mourinho is back. (Image | The Mirror)

Back for Mour | José Mourinho signed a four-year contract with Chelsea on Monday to return as manager after a six-year absence. (Image | The Mirror)

However, as Mark Twain said: “Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.” For Mourinho returning to Chelsea on Monday is a very good story indeed.

As the most successful manager in the club’s history, adored by the fans and one of few men to win the treble, with Inter Milan, and lift the European Cup twice, what could possibly go wrong?

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King Kevin and the court jester return Palace to the promised land

Filed under: Crystal Palace, English Football League, Football, Npower Championship, Watford by Rob Schatten — Leave a comment
8:36 pm
Veteran striker Kevin Phillips was the toast of his teammates on Monday evening - but will he return to the Premier League next year? (Image | Sportinglife.com)

Veteran striker Kevin Phillips was the toast of his teammates on Monday evening – but will he return to the Premier League next year? (Image | Sportinglife.com)

Kevin Phillips’ 105th-minute penalty on Monday afternoon secured Crystal Palace a win and the biggest prize in football – an estimated £120m windfall to go with their return to the Premier League after an eight-year absence.

In what could have been his final game for the club, Phillips, whose career began at defeated finalists Watford, stayed calm to blast the decisive spot-kick beyond Manuel Almunia.

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The case of Shaun Tuck is both a problem and an opportunity for the FA

Filed under: Football, Football Association by Shane Thomas — 2 Comments
10:19 am

How, you may ask, does the violent murder of soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, South East London, last week, connect with the world of sport.

Abuse | Vile Shaun Tuck. (Image | Ormskirk and Skelmersdale Advertiser)

Tuck shopped | The non-league footballer could be prosecuted by police for his Twitter rant. (Image | Ormskirk and Skelmersdale Advertiser)

One of the most disconcerting and predictable elements of the fallout from the tragic events has been verbal attacks and vicious reprisals against non-whites, particularly Muslims.

Part of this prejudice has come from non-league footballer, Shaun Tuck, whose Twitter feed revealed an alarming amount of his unsavoury views on non-footballing matters before it was taken down.

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The future’s bright for the young Essex Spartans

Filed under: American Football by Emma Webb — Leave a comment
11:33 am

The Essex Spartans youth team are going from strength to strength following a record turnout for junior training last weekend, with 27 players on the pitch aged between 13 and 17 years old.

A youth development | Young Spartans take part in mass training session. (Image | Emma Webb)

A youth development | Young Spartans take part in a mass training session last weekend. (Image | Emma Webb)

Headed up by Steve Mitchell and assisted by hiatus senior player Oli Huke, the youth movement has taken several years to take shape and develop, but has come on leaps and bounds in the past eighteen months.

Growing from a core group of five to six dedicated young players, the Spartans are now in a position to offer teenagers a taste of on-field competitive American football for the first time in the club’s history.

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Sergio, Tiger, and the problems with golf

Filed under: Golf by Shane Thomas — Leave a comment
5:58 pm
Sergio Garcia's concentration has been tested at Wentworth this week (Image | golfdigest.com)

Sergio Garcia’s concentration has been tested at Wentworth this week (Image | golfdigest.com)

Seasoned golf followers have been long aware of the enmity between Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods. The antipathy between the two men recently became common knowledge during The Players’ Championship at Sawgrass. During the third round, Garcia accused Woods of inciting the crowd to make noise, putting off the Spaniard during one of his shots.

Woods went on to win the tournament, while Garcia had a meltdown on the 17th hole in the final round.

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A week: officially a long time in football

Filed under: AC Milan, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, England, Everton, Football, Fulham, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris St. Germain, Premier League, Real Madrid, Swansea City, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Wigan Athletic by Rob Schatten — Leave a comment
7:05 pm
Ben Watson's 90th minute header confirmed the biggest headline in football this week (Image | The Sun)

Ben Watson’s 90th minute header confirmed the biggest headline in football this week (Image | The Sun)

Last week may have seen the first significant news of the football off-season, but it certainly wasn’t the last. Following the retirement of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, and David Moyes’ arrival at Old Trafford as his successor, there has been plenty more big news in the past seven days.

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Next stop Europe: our recap on the F1 season so far

Filed under: Caterham, Ferrari, Force India, Formula 1, Marussia, McLaren, Mercedes GP, Motorsport, Red Bull, Sauber, Williams by Maithri Jayasuriya — Leave a comment
1:27 pm

Vettel was full of apologies following the ‘Multi-21′ controversy, but Webber would hear none of it. (Image | AP)

Formula 1 is back this weekend as the fun and games comes to Europe and the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona after a three week absence following the Bahrain Grand Prix. Whilst it hasn’t perhaps started off with the bang that was last year, the action has been simmering just nicely to really take off over the next few races, and the level of intrigue remains high. So it is perhaps worthwhile recapping what has passed over the course of the first four races.

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