Sports Category
Sports news, commentary and scores with wit and added value. We compare and contrast the best and worst sports reporting in the mainstream press, blogs, TV and online. We love the English Premier League (Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, Manchester United and Manchester City) and all things football but we cover cricket, rugby, the Olympics, tennis, golf, F1 and highlights of the sporting year.
Real Madrid v Manchester United: Ronaldo and Van Persie most likely to score when other team tires
GAMBLERS gearing up for Real Madrid v Manchester United in the Champions’ League, listen up. The Sun’s Antony Kastrinakis has news. He’s looked at the data and can reveal the “stats” that “show when they’re at their deadliest”. They are Robin Van Persie and Cristiano Ronaldo. And news is that RVP is “most likely to score in the 49th minute“. Ronaldo will get his goal on the 50th. Only, that’s not quite right. In fact, its nonsense.
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Chelsea FC: The truth about Rafa Benitez’s magic dossier
ON Monday, the Daily Mail had a scoop on Chelsea FC:
“REVEALED: How Rafa dossier worked a treat against Wigan”
Neil Ashton had the story of a “detailed document handed to Sportsmail. Chelsea’s interim coach stresses the strengths and weaknesses of Roberto Martinez’s team ahead of their Barclays Premier League clash. With remarkable accuracy, the report identifies Wigan’s vulnerabilities and urges Chelsea players to take full advantage of their anxiety.”
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Real Madrid v Manchester United: Redknapp says flop Modric is better than all United’s midfield
AS the media heats up for the big Champions’ League match between Real Madrid and Manchester United, the Daily Mail produces the bilge of the day.
On Page 79, the paper employs Martin Keown and Jamie Redknapp to create a “dream team” from the two clubs. The conclusion: “United just edge it.” Having picked more United players than Real ones – De Gea over Casillas; Carrick over Khedira – Redknapp wonders why there is no room for Luka Modric, who would “certainly get in the United team” – ahead of Carrick, who is, erm, better than Modric and every other Real midfielder bar Alonso, who appears in the dream team as his equal.
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Chip in For Gaza: The cynical Sun hijacks England and Paul Gascoigne
HAVING turned Paul Gascoinge’s health into a pun-heavy campaign – “Chip in For Gazza” – the self-promoting Sun leads with more news of its “HELP FOR HERO“. For the fifth day in week, Gazza is on the Sun’s front page:
“England’s £40k For Gazza”
ENGLAND stars and FA chiefs last night answered The Sun’s call to arms by giving £40,000 to help save stricken Paul Gascoigne’s life.
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Champions League: Mourinho makes Real Madrid’s free-scoring strikers misfire?
EUROPEAN football only matters to the tabloids when a foreign club is playing a British side in the Champions’ League. Thus, all eyes are on Real Madrid, who face Manchester United. The Sun’s “European football correspondent” – “World Football Uncovered” – Antony Kastrinakis has the lowdown on the Spanish side. In a piece about how Jose Mourinho has upset his side with his “autocratic rule”. Kastrinakis writes:
“Strikers Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema are fed up with being rotated and are struggling for form.”
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How they queue for football tickets in Japan (they write their names on a line)
I ONCE queued at Highbury, Arsenal’s old stadium, 14 hours for football tickets. When the gates finally opened, everyone at the back dashed for the front. It was mayhem. In Japan, they do it differently. The punters write their names on a strip of tape. They then go away, returning when the ticket office opens to claim their place in the line. Could this work in the UK? No. Of course not. The process would requite a booking fee, use of the official “Queue Pen” and the kind of order and decorum that goes against everything we love about the game |(well, before Sky got hold of it):
Posted: 11th, February 2013 | In: Sports, The Consumer | Comment
The self-promoting Sun adopts ‘dying’ Paul Gascoigne as a cause: England ‘legend’ up and walking
PAUL Gascoigne is getting the full treatment on the Sun’s front page. For the fourth day in a week, the former Spurs, Newcastle United, Lazio, Everton, Middlesbrough, Rangers, Burnley, Gansu Tianma (China) and Boston United player’s “REHAB FIGHT” is the lead story. Today the “LEGEND” is being treated by Arsenal star Jack Wilshere – he’s donated £5,000 to the Gazza fighting fund. Says Jack: “I want to do anything I can.”
Wilshere joins Chris Evans, Gary Lineker, Piers Morgan and Ronnie Irani is being high-profile donors to the Gazza cause. TalkSport presenter Irani’s giving made it onto the TalkSport news bulletins. Is charity about giving or self-promotion? For the Sun it’s very much a case for the latter – the paper is advocating “CHIP IN FOR GAZA”, the words illustrating a pin-sized photo of the player in his England pomp, all underscored with the “THE SUN” branding.
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Posted: 11th, February 2013 | In: Sports | Comment (1)
Mansfield Town owner gives manager second-hand cars as win bonus: Carolyn Radford approves
JOHN Radford owns Mansfield FC. He’s given his Aston Martin to the club’s manager, Paul Cox. It’s reward for Mansfield tonking Barrow 8-1 last Saturday in the Conference Premier League. Last March, Mansfield beat Barrow 7-0. Radford had asked his team to improve on that.
He tells BBC Radio Five Live:
“It’s worth a bob or two. It’s my old Aston Martin so it’s not brand new. It’s a couple of years old. You have these things and you’ve got to give people targets and things like that, so he fancied the car and I thought I’m about ready for a change and he did the job.”
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Waiting for Paul Gascoigne to die: The Sun plumbs the depths
PAUL Gascoigne is unwell. The Sun has been tracking the former Newcastle United, Spurs, Lazio, Rangers and Everton footballer’s illness with a series of front-page shockers:
“GAZA IN LAST CHANCE SALOON” – February 6, 2013 (front page)
Never let a man’s horrible alcoholism get in the way of a good pun.
That was preceeded by the news that Chris Evans, Piers Morgan, Ronnie Irani and Gary Lineker were funding Gaza’s treatment in the US:
“EVANS SENT” – February 5, 2013 (front page)
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Posted: 10th, February 2013 | In: Sports | Comment (1)
Spurs: Andre Villas Boas and Gareth Bale owe it all to Harry Redknapp?
HOW much does Spurs wonderboyo Gareth Bale owe Harry Redknapp? Bale is having a fantastic season. He’s a match winner whose getting better. Redknapp didn’t sign him for Spurs from his old club Southampton (corrected). Martin Jol did. Adrian Durham tells Daily Mail readers:
“There are some Spurs fans who refuse to credit Harry Redknapp. Instead they point to Harry’s alleged wish to send Bale out on loan.”
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Posted: 9th, February 2013 | In: Sports | Comments (11)
BBC predicts Chelsea to beat Wigan 40-1
BBC Sport “football expert” Mark Lawrenson uses his expertise to forecast the weekend’s Premier League results. The more serious you take this guessology, the better. But then along comes Hulk Hogan to tell us that Stoke will beat Reading “because they are at home and their girlfriends will be watching” and Chelsea will beat Wigan 40-1.
Bang on, we reckon.
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Patrice Evra says Manchester United’s never lost to Barcelona in the 2009 and 2011 Champions’ League finals
WE’RE all for up-beat, positive thinking. And so too is Partrice Evra, the Manchester United defender. In readiness for his side’s Champions’ League match against Real Madrid, Evra tells media:
“I’ve been waiting for a big European tie like this for a long time and it’s probably the biggest European game since Barcelona in 2008.”
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Posted: 8th, February 2013 | In: Sports | Comment (1)
Beitar Jerusalem get the bigoted fans they deserve
THIS is pathetic. People have torched the club house of Israeli Premier League side Beitar Jerusalem. Why? Police say it’s because the club signed Zaur Sadayev and Gabriel Kadiev, two Chechen Muslim players.
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Posted: 8th, February 2013 | In: Sports | Comment (1)
Beyonce Knowles Super Bowl derp and Mr Microphone show in photos
DID you stay up to see Beyonce perform in New Orleans? It was tough going. In the UK, the show was broadcast in the early hours of the morning. To make it harder to stay up that late, the event was squashed between something called the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game, a contest between the lycra-clad San Francisco 49ers and the shoulder-heavy Baltimore Ravens. Staying awake was testing for any metrosexuals not into 1980s fashions. But if you put in the hard yards, Beyonce was there. You got to see Destiny’s Child reunited – shame the extra ladies lost their voices whenever Beyonce sang ,or their Mr Microphones had failed at the last – and the birth of the Beyonce Derp meme. How committed to the show was Beyonce? Get a load of the game face. She was all in:
Spotter: PandaWhale
Posted: 8th, February 2013 | In: Celebrities, Key Posts, Sports | Comment
Surfer take a tumble in Nazare, Portugal: can he swim to safety? (video)
OK, we never measured the allegedly 100-ft wave Garrett McNamara rode off the coast of Portugal. But it was huge. (In 2011 McNamara rode a 90-feet wave, but it was measured again and became a href=”http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2012/5/video-78-foot-wave-surfed-by-garrett-mcnamara-confirmed-as-largest-ever-ridden-41598/”>world record at 78 feet.)
Other surfers have also taken on the swell by Nazare, Portugal. They were there when McNamara rode the biggest one. It was caught on video. You get an idea just how massive the waves are around the 1:50 mark, when a surfer takes a dive. Can he get out of the way before wall of water lands on him?
Great use of high definition and slow motion. (via @alexismadrigal)
Posted: 8th, February 2013 | In: Sports | Comments (2)
Mario Balotelli is AC Milan’s tame ‘crazy nigger’
MARIO Balotelli is black. Many Italians have noticed. When Super Mario scored for Italy against Germany at Euro 2012, Tuttosport produced the pun: “Li abbiamo fatti neri.” Literally that translates to “we made them all black”. It’s more akin to “we wiped the floor with them”. But the use of the word “neri” was not accidental.
Elisabetta Povoledo wrote about his time in Italy before joining Manchester City:
While he was still playing in Italy, Mr. Balotelli, like other black athletes who play here, was subject to racist episodes. When newspapers reported that he had revealed in June after a visit to Auschwitz that one of his adoptive parents was of Jewish heritage, an Italian extreme right group posted unprintable slurs on its Web site.
“This past year there were 59 racial incidents during the Italian soccer championship, almost all of them linked to color,’’ said Mauro Valeri, a sociologist and expert in racism in sport. Fines of more than €400,000 were issued, he said. ‘‘Even though measures have been implemented to halt the violence, the fact racism persists should make you think.’’
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Manchester United website praises Tom Cleveley for Man City ‘keeper Joe Hart’s double save
FOOTBALL clubs love saluting their heroes on international duty. The Sun and Mail gave Manchester United’s Tom Cleverley a 6 out of 10. But on the Manchester United website, Cleverly was a vital performer in England’s 2-1 win over Brazil:
The Manchester United Official Website trills:
Ronaldinho’s spot-kick was saved by Joe Hart, who also stopped the rebound and Cleverley dived in to save a certain goal and concede a corner by thwarting Neymar.
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Posted: 7th, February 2013 | In: Sports | Comments (6)
David Beckham, Jimmy Savile, Ronnie Irani, Maggie Thatcher and Jeffrey Archer: the five biggest charity boasters
THEY do a lot of work for charity, and they DO like to mention it!
When it comes to self-promotion you have to hand it to him. Transfer deadline day arrives and instead of talking about a 22-year-old Brazilian or Portuguese hotshot on his way to Chelsea or Manchester to City, the media is frothing with excitement over a 37-year-old former international whose main purpose these days is to sell merchandise with his name on.
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Posted: 7th, February 2013 | In: Celebrities, Flashback, Key Posts, Politicians, Sports | Comment
Criminal investigation starts with Lance Armstrong, but he’ll keep £7.7m
THE problem with Lance Armstrong, now officially a cheat, is that he was tedious. If Armstrong had any discernible personality or was at all eccentric, all this cheating would’ve been really fun. He’s no Jacques Anquetil is he? There’s nothing about Armstrong that says ‘lovable rogue’ or ‘wild man of sport’. He just cheated so he could win.
And that is why everyone doesn’t like him. He’s tedious, ruthless and ambitious and little else.
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Betting insider lifts lid on football betting scam
SHADOWY goings on the world of football. And shadowy reporting to highlight the allegations that a Champions League game played in England in the last four years might have been rigged. In all, 380 matches are under suspicion, including World Cup and European Championship qualifiers.
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Shakira and Gerard Pique’s son Milan has a massive thumb
AWWW! Gerraload of Shakira and Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique’s son Milan. This is him showcased on the UNICEF website. The parents invite onlookers to dig deep:
“We hope that, in his name, other less privileged children in the world can have their basic needs covered through gifts and donations. Thank you for sharing this unforgettable moment with us.”
Less privileged than Milan the Thumb?
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Posted: 4th, February 2013 | In: Celebrities, Sports | Comment
That creepy Super Bowl Scientology advert for sports fans and other sectarian egotists
DID you see the advert for the Church of Scientology aired during the Super Bowl? If you heard it, you’re probably reciting the mantras word for word in your sleep and at the bank. If you didn’t, here’s your next tattoo from the starriest self-improvement system in Tinsel Town – the one penned by Ron (that’s a name you can trust):
“To the curious, the inquisitive, the seekers of knowledge. To the ones who just want to know about life, about the universe, about yourself. Not cute questions, big questions, one’s that matter. To the rebels, the artists, the free thinkers and the innovators who care less about labels and more about truth. Who believe non-conformity’s more than a bumper sticker. That knowledge is more than words on a page. You’re young, you’re old, you’re powerful beyond measure and the fuel of that power is not magic or mysticism, but knowledge. The things you see, the things you feel, the things you know to be true. Sure, some will doubt you. Let them. Dare to think for yourself, to look for yourself, to make up your own mind. Because in the eternal debate for answers, the one thing that’s true is what’s true for you.”
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Posted: 4th, February 2013 | In: Sports, The Consumer | Comment
Why is David Beckham only playing in France for 5 months: tax
A VERY nice little catch here by The Mirror on why David Beckham is only playing in France for five months:
The star’s contract at PSG runs for only five months.
If he stayed any longer than six he could become liable to a proposed 75% tax on his entire multi-million pound earnings by the socialist French government.
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LeBron James tackles fan after $75k half-court shot!
AS athletes go, they don’t get much more famous than LeBron James. With that, you’d expect him to be something of a professional bore like you see in the English Premier League. Not on your life. See, LeBron jumped all over a fan, while hooting and screaming in celebration.
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Alain Robert – a lie in photos and song
ALAIN Robert usually has neither safety nor permission when he climbs the world’s tallest building. He’s scaled some of the biggest monuments to working in high offices: the Empire State Building in New York, One Canada Square in Canary Wharf, London, Shanghai’s Jin Mao Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. He often dresses as Spider-Man, which makes him look less daring than ridiculous. What Alain needs is to team up with Philippe Petit, his fellow Frenchman who walked on a tightrope between New York’s Twin Towers in 1974. If Alain can get him to the top, Philippe can walk the web.
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