St Nicholas Abbey dies after illness January 14, 2014 HORSE RACING: Three-time Coronation Cup winner St Nicholas Abbey died yesterday after suffering a colic, his owners confirmed. A statement from Coolmore read: “Surgery revealed a strangulating colon torsion that was unviable and he had to be euthanized on humane grounds.”
Townsend close to Spurs return January 14, 2014 FOOTBALL: Tottenham winger Andros Townsend, who has missed the last six matches with a hamstring injury, scored during a 45-minute cameo appearance as Spurs beat Newcastle 4-1 in an Under-21s Premier League match yesterday.
Premier League: Arsenal back on top with Villa victory January 13, 2014 ASTON VILLA 1 vs ARSENAL 2 ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger has told his players to forget what is going on elsewhere and focus on winning after they returned to the top of the Premier League last night. Two first-half goals in less than a minute from midfielder Jack Wilshere and striker Olivier Giroud were enough [...]
Ronaldo beats Messi to world player award January 13, 2014 A TEARFUL Cristiano Ronaldo paid tribute to his Real Madrid and Portugal team-mates upon receiving the Ballon d’Or for 2013 yesterday, ending Lionel Messi’s four-year reign as governing body Fifa’s world player of the year. The 28-year-old gained 1,365 points in the vote cast by national captains and coaches, plus members of the global football [...]
Three hours: How long it took for Murray to be sole Brit at Oz Open January 13, 2014 BRITISH tennis No1 Laura Robson refused to blame a recent wrist injury for her first-round exit at the Australian Open on a sorry day for the nation’s female stars at the year’s first grand slam. Less than three hours into the opening day Andy Murray was the only Briton left in the tournament, after Robson’s [...]
Matic set for Chelsea return with De Bruyne poised to exit January 13, 2014 CHELSEA are closing in on the £21m signing of midfielder Nemanja Matic, less than three years after his departure from Stamford Bridge. The 25-year-old was used as a makeweight in the £21m deal to sign central defender David Luiz from Benfica in August 2011. But the Serbian has since shot to prominence and was named [...]
Kvitova, Errani and Venus crash in Melbourne January 13, 2014 FORMER Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova was at a loss to explain her shock exit after becoming the biggest casualty of the first day at the Australian Open yesterday. Sixth seed Kvitova fell to Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 in one of several upsets in the women’s draw, which also saw Venus Williams and Italian [...]
Golf Comment: Super Swede the man to beat as Euro stars begin Gulf Swing January 13, 2014 ALL eyes will be on 2013’s indisputable star Henrik Stenson this weekend as the European Tour begins its Gulf Swing with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. The golf world will be fascinated to see whether the Swede can maintain the form that saw him win both the European and US tours last term in his [...]
England women close on Ashes defence and leave men in shade January 13, 2014 ENGLAND’S women restored some pride to the national cricketing set-up yesterday by taking a major step towards retaining the Ashes in Australia. Their 61-run triumph in the sole Test of the series means they only need to win two of the six limited-overs matches to retain the urn. England bowler Anya Shrubsole took three wickets [...]
Welfare lesson for rugby pros January 13, 2014 ALL professional rugby union players in England must complete an online concussion education programme ahead of the 2014-15 season. Players and coaches at teams playing in the top two tiers of English rugby, plus those at regional academy teams, will complete the programme amid growing concerns over player welfare as a result of sustaining concussion [...]