MILAN SMOTHER BARCELONA March 28, 2012 AC MILAN defied expectations to keep Champions League holders Barcelona at bay and earn a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their quarter-final in Italy last night. Milan’s former Barca striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic (above right) might even have grabbed a surprise win – and set up a likely semi-final against Chelsea – but scuffed [...]
Baseball chiefs hold Olympic Stadium talks March 28, 2012 MAJOR League Baseball bosses are interested in staging matches at London’s Olympic Stadium as part of a first foray into Europe. High-profile basketball and American football contests have already been staged in the capital with great success, and baseball wants to follow suit. “That [London Olympic] stadium, the way it’s built, actually is big enough [...]
Saracens boost to Copthall move March 28, 2012 RUGBY UNION: Saracens expect to receive the green light to move to Barnet’s Copthall Stadium in a matter of days after the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government approved the plans. The decision paves the way for Barnet Council to formally issue planning permission to the Premiership champions, who currently play at Watford [...]
Racing icon Jordan awarded OBE March 28, 2012 FORMULA ONE: Former driver and team owner Eddie Jordan has been awarded an honorary OBE for services to charity and motor racing. The charismatic Irishman, who celebrated with a Guinness yesterday, hours after watching his beloved Chelsea win in Lisbon, said: “I am hugely surprised and greatly overjoyed.”
Kalou fires Chelsea to brink of Euro semis March 27, 2012 BENFICA 0 vs CHELSEA 1 CHELSEA manager Roberto di Matteo is still expecting sleepless nights before next week’s return leg, despite planting one foot into the Champions League semi-finals with a gutsy victory last night in Lisbon. Much-maligned forward Salomon Kalou’s 75th-minute tap-in and his team-mates’ tireless chasing of a talented Benfica side ushered the [...]
Spurs see off Bolton to book all-London Wembley cup date March 27, 2012 TOTTENHAM 3 vs BOLTON1 TOTTENHAM winger Gareth Bale admits they face daunting FA Cup semi-final opposition in Chelsea after his late goal helped vanquish stubborn Bolton last night and set up an all-London date at Wembley. In a match rearranged after the original was abandoned due to Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba’s on-field cardiac arrest, Spurs [...]
England star Hartley lands eight-week ban for biting March 27, 2012 SIX NATIONS rugby chiefs were last night coming under increasing pressure to explain their reasoning after England hooker Dylan Hartley escaped with an eight-week ban for biting Ireland’s Stephen Ferris. The suspension, which leaves Hartley free for the summer tour to South Africa, is four weeks shorter than the minimum stipulated by the International Rugby [...]
Batsmen have let side down, confesses Bell March 27, 2012 ENGLAND cricketer Ian Bell admits he and his fellow batsmen have failed their bowling colleagues too often this year after spin again proved their undoing on day two of the first Test in Sri Lanka. Woefully off-form Bell and out-of-sorts twirler Graeme Swann were the tourists’ unlikely star performers on an eventful day that saw [...]
Murray on course for Nadal clash in Miami March 27, 2012 BRITISH No1 Andy Murray swept into the quarter-finals of the Miami Masters with a straight-sets triumph over Frenchman Gilles Simon last night. World No4 Murray beat Simon for the ninth time in 10 meetings 6-3, 6-4 to set up a last-eight clash against Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic. The Scot profited from a patient approach against Simon, [...]
Pendleton stokes rivalry with Meares March 27, 2012 BRITAIN’S Olympic track cycling champion Victoria Pendleton has branded her arch-rival, Australia’s Anna Meares, a rider who “pushes the rules”, just days before they are due to clash. There has been no love lost between the pair since Meares cut Pendleton off at a race more than five years ago, and nowhere is their duel [...]