After a long wait for his first Grand Slam title, Andy Murray saw the best chance to claim a title slip out of his grasp against Novak Djokovic in Melbourne yesterday. Previously undefeated against the 23 year old Serb, Murray was simply outclassed from start to finish, and Djokovic proved how far away Murray actually is from being a true tennis great.
Monday, 31 January 2011
Sunday, 5 September 2010
Sport round up!
It has been a very busy week in the world of sport, with Colin Montgomerie choosing his 3 wild cards for his European Ryder Cup team, 3 members of the Pakistan cricket team being accused of match fixing, the start of the US open in Tennis and much, much more.
Firstly, I will start with the Challenge Cup final in Rugby League, which happened last Saturday. It was said to be one of the most anticipated finals in recent years, with an estimated 80,000 tickets having been sold for the match at Wembley. The match pitted Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves together, but it was by no means an even match. The Wolves eased themselves to victory, eventually winning 30-6 after being 14-0 in the lead at half time. Chris Hicks scored the first Cup final hat-trick since the Leeds wing Leroy Rivett ran in four tries in the last final at the old Wembley, in 1999. Ryan Atkins collected a couple against the club that rejected him as a boy, and at the other end Richie Mathers saved three tries with last-ditch tackles that helped the Wolves on their way to victory.
We have seen perhaps the biggest story of the year unveil before our eyes, when the News of the World reported that 3 members of the Pakistan cricket team were involved in a match fixing scandal, where they would deliberately bowl no-balls. The facts are that in the first three Tests of this series, Mohammed Amir bowled three no-balls in 105 overs. In the Lord’s Test he bowled 28 overs with four no-balls. Surely this proves that the players are in a bit of a mess? It has definitely caused controversy in the world of cricket, with almost every important figure in the cricketing world having their say of the matter. Andrew Strauss and Ricky Ponting, the England and Australia captains respectively, both believe that they should get lifetime bans if found guilty.
Elsewhere in Sport, the Belgian Grand Prix saw Englishman Lewis Hamilton finish in 1st place, with Red Bull's Mark Webber finishing in a close second place, after starting 6th on the grid. The result's of this grand prix mean that both Hamilton and Webber are 1st and 2nd respectively in the overall leaderboard. In Football, we saw the passing of the infamous Transfer Deadline Day. The biggest coup of the transfer window was arguably Tottenham Hotspur's purchase of Dutch winger Rafael van der Vaart with only minutes left in the transfer window. It was seen to be quite a steal as well, with the London based club getting the world cup finalist for a mere £8 million! Manchester City and Robinho also parted ways after a difficult two years between the pair. Robinho has joined AC Milan on a £23 million deal, with it being reported that City will gain a profit of £10 million on the £32 million they paid for him in August 2008, due to wages and bonuses'.
The US Open, after 6 days of play so far, has seen the likes of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray all progressing to the 3rd round. However, ninth seed Andy Roddick saw his hopes of claiming a second US Open title end early with defeat by Janko Tipsarevic. Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych was another to suffer a surprise defeat as he lost to France's Michael Llodra.
Finally, in golf, we saw Colin Montgomerie pick his 3 wildcards for his Ryder Cup team next month. Padraig Harrington, Eduardo Molinari and Luke Donald all made the cut, with world number 9 Paul Casey missing out. This was a shock to most fans, but most believe if it wasn't for Molinari's hat-trick of birdies to win the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, then he would've been in the squad. It will be interesting to see whether this European side will be able to regain the Ryder Cup this year.
Firstly, I will start with the Challenge Cup final in Rugby League, which happened last Saturday. It was said to be one of the most anticipated finals in recent years, with an estimated 80,000 tickets having been sold for the match at Wembley. The match pitted Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves together, but it was by no means an even match. The Wolves eased themselves to victory, eventually winning 30-6 after being 14-0 in the lead at half time. Chris Hicks scored the first Cup final hat-trick since the Leeds wing Leroy Rivett ran in four tries in the last final at the old Wembley, in 1999. Ryan Atkins collected a couple against the club that rejected him as a boy, and at the other end Richie Mathers saved three tries with last-ditch tackles that helped the Wolves on their way to victory.
We have seen perhaps the biggest story of the year unveil before our eyes, when the News of the World reported that 3 members of the Pakistan cricket team were involved in a match fixing scandal, where they would deliberately bowl no-balls. The facts are that in the first three Tests of this series, Mohammed Amir bowled three no-balls in 105 overs. In the Lord’s Test he bowled 28 overs with four no-balls. Surely this proves that the players are in a bit of a mess? It has definitely caused controversy in the world of cricket, with almost every important figure in the cricketing world having their say of the matter. Andrew Strauss and Ricky Ponting, the England and Australia captains respectively, both believe that they should get lifetime bans if found guilty.
Elsewhere in Sport, the Belgian Grand Prix saw Englishman Lewis Hamilton finish in 1st place, with Red Bull's Mark Webber finishing in a close second place, after starting 6th on the grid. The result's of this grand prix mean that both Hamilton and Webber are 1st and 2nd respectively in the overall leaderboard. In Football, we saw the passing of the infamous Transfer Deadline Day. The biggest coup of the transfer window was arguably Tottenham Hotspur's purchase of Dutch winger Rafael van der Vaart with only minutes left in the transfer window. It was seen to be quite a steal as well, with the London based club getting the world cup finalist for a mere £8 million! Manchester City and Robinho also parted ways after a difficult two years between the pair. Robinho has joined AC Milan on a £23 million deal, with it being reported that City will gain a profit of £10 million on the £32 million they paid for him in August 2008, due to wages and bonuses'.
The US Open, after 6 days of play so far, has seen the likes of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray all progressing to the 3rd round. However, ninth seed Andy Roddick saw his hopes of claiming a second US Open title end early with defeat by Janko Tipsarevic. Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych was another to suffer a surprise defeat as he lost to France's Michael Llodra.
Finally, in golf, we saw Colin Montgomerie pick his 3 wildcards for his Ryder Cup team next month. Padraig Harrington, Eduardo Molinari and Luke Donald all made the cut, with world number 9 Paul Casey missing out. This was a shock to most fans, but most believe if it wasn't for Molinari's hat-trick of birdies to win the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, then he would've been in the squad. It will be interesting to see whether this European side will be able to regain the Ryder Cup this year.
Saturday, 28 August 2010
Is goal-line technology a must in football after events during the summer?
Mr Platini came out last year stating that there was no need for goal-line technology in football, and he also said all referee's had his full belief that they'd do their job properly.
However, on the world's biggest stage this summer, the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, we saw two massive decisions in the last 16 stage which changed two games dramatically. The first, and one which many Englishmen will remember, was during Germany and England's last 16 knockout match, with Germany 2-1 up. England were on top and then, Lampard's shot from the edge of the box struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced down, with the Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda ruling the ball had not crossed the goalline. TV Replays showed the exact opposite, and the ball was yards over the line. The other incident I was talking about was later that day, when Mexico and Argentina met in the last 16. Mexico were comfortably handling the strong Argentinian forward line, until Carlos Tevez seemed to have finally broken through the resolute defence. TV Replays were put on the massive scoreboard at Soccer City and the whole Mexican team saw that Tevez was clearly offside
However, on the world's biggest stage this summer, the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, we saw two massive decisions in the last 16 stage which changed two games dramatically. The first, and one which many Englishmen will remember, was during Germany and England's last 16 knockout match, with Germany 2-1 up. England were on top and then, Lampard's shot from the edge of the box struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced down, with the Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda ruling the ball had not crossed the goalline. TV Replays showed the exact opposite, and the ball was yards over the line. The other incident I was talking about was later that day, when Mexico and Argentina met in the last 16. Mexico were comfortably handling the strong Argentinian forward line, until Carlos Tevez seemed to have finally broken through the resolute defence. TV Replays were put on the massive scoreboard at Soccer City and the whole Mexican team saw that Tevez was clearly offside
The moment which caused controversy around the world
Sepp Blatter has even admitted last month that goal-line technology needs to be discussed at FIFA's next meeting. People argue that it will kill the drama of football, which is understandable, but it is costing team's points. What if Stoke City get relegated by 1 point? They have been cheated out of a point, so it really isn't a topic we can stall about. Lower league teams do not have the equipment that bigger teams have, so wouldn't it be clever to just trial this technology in the major European leagues? Then if its a success, it can go across the world.
We are rapidly moving through a technological era, and this technology will significantly improve the game. It is clear that Rugby has been a success since technology has been introduced, so does football need to get with the times? However, my only argument against goal line technology is will the entertainment value of football be removed?
And now, 2 months on, in only the 2nd week of the Premier League season, we saw Chris Foy, a relatively experienced referee, miss an obvious goal at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke, which left Stoke City going home with no points whilst Tottenham got the full 3. Only a few yards from the incident, it was clear for Chris Foy to see that Jonathan Walters headed the ball into Peter Crouch's stomach, which was in the goalmouth! Tony Pulis was obviously angered, and his team was as well.
Sepp Blatter has even admitted last month that goal-line technology needs to be discussed at FIFA's next meeting. People argue that it will kill the drama of football, which is understandable, but it is costing team's points. What if Stoke City get relegated by 1 point? They have been cheated out of a point, so it really isn't a topic we can stall about. Lower league teams do not have the equipment that bigger teams have, so wouldn't it be clever to just trial this technology in the major European leagues? Then if its a success, it can go across the world.
We are rapidly moving through a technological era, and this technology will significantly improve the game. It is clear that Rugby has been a success since technology has been introduced, so does football need to get with the times? However, my only argument against goal line technology is will the entertainment value of football be removed?
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Nerveless New Zealand clinch Tri Nations crown in dramatic win
New Zealand clinched their seventh Tri-Nations in the last 9 years by beating a very out of form South Africa side 29-22 last Saturday. The tri nations series hasn't finished yet, with New Zealand still to play 1 game, whilst Australia have 3 games and South Africa with 2 games yet to play. However, Australia and South Africa will now have to fight it out for 2nd place as New Zealand showed their superiority in the world of Rugby Union by winning all 5 matches.
South Africa did put up a resolute defensive performance, and were leading 22-17 until the last few moments, when New Zealand clinched an enthralling win by converting 2 late tries. The first of the 2 tries in the 78th minute sparked a lot of controversy, with South African coaches saying that there was a forward pass in the build up to Richie McCaw's try. But it was given, and the try levelled the scores at 22-22, although Dan Carter missed the subsequent conversion from the far touchline which would have given New Zealand a two-point lead.
With a draw seemingly on the cards, the New Zealand substitute Isreal Dagg defied all odds and ensured New Zealand extended their winning run to 14 successive matches when he outsprinted full-back Gio Aplon after centre Nonu carved through the shambolic Springbok defence. And Dan Carter, who missed five of his nine attempts at goal at the stadium formerly known as Soccer City, added the conversion in front of the posts before the final whistle.
It was a cruel blow for the South African captain John Smit, whose 100th test appearance saw his side only lose the lead once in the whole game, and that was in the defining moments of this tense affair. One of the largest crowds ever for a Rugby International were also hit hard by the defeat, having to come to reality that the current world champions were no real match for the All Blacks and slumped to their fourth consecutive defeat, and with only one point, are seemingly resigned to finishing last in the Tri Nations 2010.
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