Ashton double hands Saracens Ulster home tie January 20, 2013 SARACENS boss Mark McCall hailed the return to form of Chris Ashton after he scored twice against Edinburgh to send his side into the Heineken Cup quarter-finals. Yesterday’s 40-7 victory was a fine way to bid farewell to a snowy Vicarage Road with the bonus point ensuring the Aviva Premiership side a last eight home [...]
Resilient Chelsea lift top four hopes and dent Arsenal’s January 20, 2013 CHELSEA 2 vs ARSENAL 1 CHELSEA manager Rafael Benitez has warned club captain John Terry that he cannot expect to walk straight back into the side, after a resilient defensive performance against Arsenal tightened the Blues’ grip on a top four place. An early strike from Juan Mata and a Frank Lampard penalty gave the [...]
Spellbinding Djokovic reminds us all exactly why we love sport January 20, 2013 IT’S sometimes important to put these things in context. This column, in its original form, was all about the current descent into mediocrity of Australian sport. How the ridiculous anointing of Bernard Tomic as the successor to Rod Laver died a horrible death on Saturday night when Federer showed him who was boss. Three straight [...]
I couldn’t have argued if I had lost, says Serb January 20, 2013 WORLD No1 Novak Djokovic was left almost speechless after prevailing in a five-set marathon against 15th seed Stanislas Wawrinka to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open yesterday. The Serb came from a set down to lead 2-1 and then drew on the experience of his five grand slam wins to see off the dogged [...]
Snow prevents England seamer Broad from returning to India January 20, 2013 THE WEEKEND’S heavy snow has prevented England seam bowler Stuart Broad from flying out to rejoin his colleagues on the final stage of their tour of India, it was revealed yesterday. In a tale familiar to many frustrated travellers, England’s new one-day international coach Ashley Giles explained that Broad’s trip was thwarted by cancelled flights [...]
Abu Dhabi win for Donaldson January 20, 2013 WALES’S Jamie Donaldson is set to move even further up golf’s world rankings after pipping England’s Justin Rose to the Abu Dhabi Championship, yesterday. Donaldson finished 14 under par to beat Rose by one stroke, overcoming a two-shot deficit. The Welshman is ranked 47th in the world after winning the Irish Open last year, when [...]
US will forgive cheat Lance, says Johnson January 20, 2013 DISGRACED cyclist Lance Armstrong will be forgiven by the American public within “a few months” now that he has admitted cheating his way to seven Tour de France wins, says former sprinter and fellow doper Ben Johnson. Armstrong ended years of vehement denials last week when he confessed to chat show host Oprah Winfrey that [...]
Selby claims Masters title January 20, 2013 England’s Mark Selby defeated defending champion Neil Robertson in last night’s Masters final at Alexandra Palace. Selby, nicknamed the Jester from Leicester, beat the Australian by 10 frames to six, despite a valiant fight-back from Robertson producing a dramatic end to the final. Selby is enjoying an excellent run of form, having won the UK [...]
Cisse leaves QPR for Qatari team January 20, 2013 QPR have loaned pacey striker Djibril Cisse to Qatari club Al Gharafa until the end of the season. Cisse was considered surplus to requirements after QPR captured French international Loic Remy from Marseille for £8m.
Spurs can slow down United’s title charge January 17, 2013 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR MANCHESTER UNITED Sunday 4.00pm THERE’S no doubting who the Premier League’s form team is at the moment. Having taken 28 points from the last 30 available, Manchester United sit seven clear at the top of the table and the bookies have all but given up on the chasing pack. Sir Alex Ferguson’s outfit [...]