Sir Andy’s pledge of allegiance to Queen’s: World No1 Murray commits to Aegon Championships for rest of his career January 11, 2017 Queen's Club has received a major boost after world No1 Sir Andy Murray committed to playing the Aegon Championships, the west London venue’s traditional Wimbledon precursor, for the rest of his career. Murray is the current champion and a five-time winner of the tournament, which he has traditionally used to acclimatise to grass courts in [...]
Manchester City charged by Football Association over anti-doping rules January 11, 2017 Manchester City have been slapped with a Football Association (FA) charge of infringing anti-doping rules. The two-time Premier League champions, who have until 19 January to respond to the charge, are accused of breaching FA rules concerning players’ whereabouts for the purposes of facilitating drug-testing. Clubs are required to provide the FA with up-to-date details [...]
It’s a massive series for England one-day captain Eoin Morgan where only runs will silence critics and banish scrutiny January 11, 2017 It's a big series for England’s limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan and only scoring runs will silence those who have criticised him for pulling out of the tour of Bangladesh in October because of security fears. There will undoubtedly be increased scrutiny of Morgan during the three one-day tussles with India, which start on Sunday in [...]
Prop Joe Marler’s broken leg deepens England’s Six Nations injury crisis January 11, 2017 England’s pack for their Six Nations defence has been further weakened after Joe Marler was ruled out of the start of the championship with a broken leg. The Harlequins prop was withdrawn from Saturday’s match against Sale after feeling discomfort during the warm-up. It was initially thought he had a calf problem but scans have [...]
NBA Global Games 2017: “The actual location of a game is less and less relevant”, says NBA European chief Ben Morel ahead of London visit January 11, 2017 As far as sales pitches go, the case for the NBA can rarely have had more ammunition to draw on than in recent years. The basketball league today brings a fixture to London for the seventh successive year when the Denver Nuggets play the Indiana Pacers at the O2 Arena – part of ongoing efforts [...]
Manchester United 2, Hull City 0: Jose Mourinho questions celebrations, while United agree to sell midfielder January 10, 2017 Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho believes his side are within touching distance of Wembley despite admitting his irritation at over-zealous celebrations after their opening goal against Hull in their EFL Cup semi-final first leg. United took a significant step towards the first major final of the Mourinho era courtesy of second-half strikes from Juan Mata and [...]
Lord Coe set to defy select committee request over Russian corruption scandal January 10, 2017 World athletics chief Lord Coe is set to defy a request to reappear before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee despite being summoned to answer further questions regarding his knowledge of IAAF corruption and Russian doping. Chairman Damian Collins called for Coe, president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), to face the [...]
Fifa president Gianni Infantino insists inclusion – not $1bn revenue boost – is behind World Cup expansion January 10, 2017 Fifa president Gianni Infantino insists the decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams is motivated not by a projected $1bn revenue boost but by a desire to make the competition more inclusive. The football governing body’s council on Tuesday unanimously voted to approve controversial but highly lucrative proposals to increase the number of [...]
Why I think expanding the World Cup to 48 teams is a good idea January 10, 2017 Wembley, October 1987: I remember playing for England as we thrashed Turkey 8-0 in a European Championship qualifier, Gary Lineker scoring a hat-trick. It was our second eight-goal win in three years against Turkey, who at that stage had made it to just one major international tournament. Those days are gone. Turkey have reached the [...]
Kempton Park Racecourse to close as part of Jockey Club’s £500m plans January 10, 2017 Kempton Park Racecourse, home of the King George VI Chase, looks set to be sold off for housing as part of a Jockey Club plan to re-invest £500m back into British racing over the next decade. The 300-acre estate has been submitted for redevelopment consideration with any future housing works beginning in 2021 at the earliest. This follows [...]