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.
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.
When the rumours about Sir Alex Ferguson retiring first surfaced on Twitter late on Tuesday evening, sparked by Daily Telegraph journalist Mark Ogden, I was sceptical.
End of an era | Some commentators have dubbed Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement the “fall of the footballing Berlin Wall”. (Image | The Guardian)
After all, Ferguson had planned to retire back in 2001, only to recant. The venerable Scot was such a fixture in British football that the thought of him no longer prowling the Old Trafford touchline, while incessantly chomping on a stick of chewing gum, seemed a too absurd a prospect to countenance.
The Red Wings celebrate after clinching a playoff spot for the 22nd year running. (Image | Getty Images)
There was a stage in this season’s NHL when the one-time unthinkable was about to happen. The Detroit Red Wings, having stumbled and stuttered through the season and even suffering a 3-0 season sweep at the hands of the frankly dire Calgary Flame, were on the brink of not making a 22nd straight Playoffs appearance.
‘The Streak’, as it is known to Wings fans. dates back to 1989 and is the longest post-season appearance streak in the history of American sports.
Joe Root (left) will captain the Lions squad, with Yorkshire teammate Jonny Bairstow set to feature in the lineup (Image | Action Images)
More than one Lions squad was announced recently. The ECB released their team for the tour matches against New Zealand.
Lions matches traditionally don’t attract as much attention, but they are useful to see who is likely to feature heavily in the internationals. Places are up for grabs.
There was perhaps little surprise in former Wales coach Warren Gatland naming Sam Warburton as his Lions captain (Image | MSN)
In June 2013, the cream of home nations rugby union talent will travel to Australia for a tour that culminates in a three-match test series after a warm-up series against the country’s club sides. At midday today, on April 30th, 2013, the full squad was announced in London by tour manager Andy Irvine and head coach Warren Gatland.
Mario Gomez, Franck Ribery and Thomas Muller were instrumental in Bayern Munich’s astounding triumph tonight (Image | EPA)
As I sat, as open-mouthed as the rest of Europe’s football fans, watching Bayern Munich ambush Barcelona in the Allianz Arena tonight, one question flickered through my mind: could this result happen next season?
It may seem a little early for pondering the future, but this article wouldn’t have been penned tonight had it not been for Arjen Robben and Thomas Muller, with his second of the night, putting the tie almost undeniably beyond the reach of Tito Vilanova’s crestfallen men.
After nearly 30 matches in the IPL, one thing is clear. The flashy teams have largely failed to fire, while those with grit have got the results.
Warm glow | Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Cameron White celebrates with Amit Mishra (left) after the latter’s third IPL hat-trick against Pune Warriors. (Image | The Hindu)
Surprise package of the tournament so far are the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Their name and orange uniform aside, they are one of the most dour sides in the competition. However, at this stage, the Sunrisers lie in second.
The Sunrisers have only scored more than 130 in an innings once across seven matches. Yet they have not needed to. What the Sunrisers lack in big-hitting batsmen they make up for with strong team efforts in the field.
In case any of you were too busy watching the relegation battles on Tuesday night, you may have missed the news that, after three straight years of play-off heartache, Cardiff City were promoted to the Premier League after a 50-year absence from the top flight.
Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan celebrated his club’s promotion along with fans at Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday (Image | football365.com)
The achievement has been heralded as a landmark moment in the history of Welsh football. Ten percent of next year’s Premier League teams will be Welsh… but is there really much that Welsh footballers stand to gain?
Why are semi-finals, the veritable warm-up before the main event, played at Wembley Stadium, once only a home to winner-takes-all matches such as domestic and European cup finals?
I think we’re alone now | Too often in its relatively short life, Wembley has seen swathes of empty seats at major football matches, a fate which again befell one of the recent FA semi-finals. (Image | The Guardian)
After all, a host of newspapers across all political and style divides have published articles in the past few weeks arguing that it detracts from the final and has a detrimental effect on both domestic cup competitions.
A poll by the Guardian newspaper found that 86% per cent of fans believe that FA Cup semi-finals should not be played at Wembley. That is a fairly conclusive figure by anyone’s standards. So why are they?
