Green light for plastic pitches March 24, 2014 PLASTIC pitches can return to mainstream English football next season after the Football Association ruled them permissible for use in the FA Cup. QPR were the first of several clubs to lay a synthetic surface in the 1980s, but they are currently banned from the first round of the FA Cup onwards and in the [...]
Warnock turns down Forest March 24, 2014 FORMER Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock pulled out of the race to become Nottingham Forest’s new manager yesterday after the club had earlier sacked Billy Davies. Forest, seventh in the Championship, have fallen to their lowest place in the league table since December and a 5-0 defeat to fierce rivals Derby on Saturday proved the [...]
Cellino’s Leeds takeover bid runs aground following yacht offence March 24, 2014 LEEDS United’s future was plunged back into doubt yesterday after the Football League blocked Italian businessman Massimo Cellino’s attempted takeover. The League said its board had unanimously voted to forbid Cellino from completing his purchase of 75 per cent of the second-tier club following his conviction last week of a tax offence. Leeds, who are [...]
Khan: My fight with Mayweather will still happen March 24, 2014 FORMER world champion Amir Khan is adamant his sought-after meeting with Floyd Mayweather will come to fruition after being added to the undercard of the American’s forthcoming fight with Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas. Khan previously held titles at light-welterweight level, but will make the step up to welterweight for the first time on 3 [...]
Golf Comment: Old habits die hard for Scott despite Major breakthrough March 24, 2014 I THOUGHT that winning the Masters last year might have seen Adam Scott finally shake off his tendency to squander winning positions, but the latest signs are that it hasn’t. Scott was seven shots clear at the halfway point of the Arnold Palmer Invitational and carried a two-shot advantage into Sunday’s final round. Seeing out [...]
Holland humiliated by record low score March 24, 2014 NETHERLANDS set Sri Lanka a target of just 40 runs to win their World Twenty20 Group One match in Bangladesh yesterday, after posting the lowest score in international T20 history. Only Tim Cooper (16) reached double figures as all 10 Dutch wickets fell for 39 runs in 10.3 overs. Sri Lanka took just five overs [...]
Lee shocks Darwish in round one March 24, 2014 SQUASH: Hong Kong qualifier Max Lee sprung a surprise on the opening day of the Canary Wharf Classic, beating former world No1 Karim Darwish in straight games. Britain’s world champion Nick Matthew took 39 minutes to see off Scotland’s Alan Clyne, Londoner Adrian Grant suffered a 3-2 defeat to No8 seed Miguel Angel Rodriguez and [...]
Froome well placed in Catalunya March 24, 2014 CYCLING: Tour de France champion Chris Froome finished safely among the peloton on stage one of the Volta a Catalunya yesterday. Slovenia’s Luka Mezgec holds a lead of four seconds, with Britain’s Froome 10 seconds off the pace. Sir Bradley Wiggins withdrew from the race to concentrate on next month’s Paris-Roubaix event.
England beaten in T20 opener March 24, 2014 CRICKET: England suffered defeat to West Indies by nine runs in the opening match of the women’s World Twenty20. The West Indies fell from 87-0 to 133-7 at the conclusion of their 20 overs in Sylhet. But, in reply, England could only muster 124-9, with captain Charlotte Edwards scoring 44.
Bristol sign former Wales captain March 24, 2014 RUGBY UNION: Wales forward Ryan Jones has signed a two-year deal with Championship leaders Bristol. Jones has won 75 international caps, including 33 as captain, but missed this year’s Six Nations with a hamstring injury. The 33-year-old will leave Ospreys at the end of the Pro12 season.