Jones and Henderson focus on England June 9, 2011 ENGLAND Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce insists Phil Jones and Jordan Henderson have not been distracted by their big-money moves to Manchester United and Liverpool, respectively. England begin their European Championship campaign on Sunday against Spain and Pearce said: “They’re fantastically focused players and pleasures to work with.” EURO STARLETS | ONES TO WATCH THIAGO ALCANTARA [...]
Bolt back to his blistering best June 9, 2011 ATHLETICS: Olympic champion Usain Bolt claimed a convincing win on his 200m return at the Diamond League meeting in Oslo. The Jamaican world record holder clocked a time of 19.86s in the rain to finish a comfortable 0.57s ahead of nearest challenger Jaysuma Saidy Ndure. Bolt had not run competitively over 200m in 13 months due [...]
Surinam chief reveals cash gift June 9, 2011 FOOTBALL: Fresh evidence that Caribbean football officials were given “gifts” of US$40,000 in cash has been revealed. The president of the Surinam FA Louis Giskus confirmed that he was handed $40,000 dollars, in $100 bills, at a special meeting of the CFU in Trinidad last month. Giskus said: “We went up to a room and were [...]
Hamilton keen to forget Ali G row June 9, 2011 FORMULA ONE: McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton is optimistic he can put the “Ali G” controversy behind him with a good result in Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix. The Englishman ran into trouble by quoting the spoof character as he criticised stewards in Monaco. “I wrote a letter to the FIA to apologise and spoke to the other drivers. [...]
Shah returns to haunt Middlesex June 9, 2011 CRICKET: Former England batsman Owais Shah hit a magnificent 78 not out off just 50 balls as he returned to Lord’s to help Essex claim a comfortable five-wicket win over his old county Middlesex in the Friends Life t20.
Night Carnation will be hard to beat in Scurry Stakes for in-form Balding June 9, 2011 WITH Royal Ascot on the horizon, unsurprisingly this weekend’s racing action isn’t the hottest. But that isn’t to say that there aren’t some good betting opportunities to try to get some money in the bank ahead of next week. Sandown hosts a competitive card tomorrow and the highlight is the Listed Scurry Stakes at 3.30pm. [...]
The Moore winners the merrier June 9, 2011 THE Royal Ascot ante-post markets are really starting to warm up and it’s going to be a fascinating first day with the likes of Canford Cliffs, Goldikova and Frankel all lining up. All of the jockeys will be desperate to get a winner on the board early and RYAN MOORE will be trying to win [...]
RISKY GAME: WAGES NEAR DANGER LEVEL June 8, 2011 Top-flight clubs have never had it so good but are splashing more than ever on salaries, says Deloitte THE SYMPTOMS have not been hard to spot. First Yaya Toure, an effective if unspectacular journeyman midfielder, charmed Manchester City into lining his pockets to the tune of £185,000 a week. Then some expert brinkmanship from Wayne [...]
Spain at risk of following Scotland if Barca and Real allowed to maintain stranglehold June 8, 2011 SPANISH football is riding the crest of a wave. The national team are world and European champions, while Barcelona dominate the club game, and Real Madrid, home to Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho, are no slouches either. Yet beneath the surface all is not so rosy. The same individual selling of broadcast rights that has [...]
Urgent action needed in dire Championship as TV revenue shows signs of drying up June 8, 2011 AS WORRYING as the situation in the top flight is, it is far worse in the Championship, where £4 is spent for every £3 earned. Financial results for England’s second tier worsened for the sixth successive year in 2009-10, according to Deloitte, while the average wages-to-turnover ratio is an eye-watering 88 per cent. It could [...]