Alonso slams ‘hot-headed’ rivals March 24, 2010 FORMULA: World championship leader Fernando Alonso has hit back at his “hot-headed” rivals, who say the ban on refuelling has made the sport boring. Jenson Button and past kings Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher, all expressed concerns that the new rule made overtaking difficult during the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. But Alonso said: “I think [...]
Roddick eyes Queen’s record March 24, 2010 TENNIS: Andy Roddick will go for a record fifth title at London’s Queen’s Club this summer after confirming his entry in the Aegon Championships from 7-13 June. Roddick won at Queen’s in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007 and will be looking to dethrone current champion, Britain’s Andy Murray.
Houvenaghel settles for silver March 24, 2010 CYCLING: Northern Ireland’s Wendy Houvenaghel last night claimed a silver medal in the women’s individual pursuit at the Track Cycling World Championships. Houvenaghel, also runner-up at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and last year’s World Championships, lost out to USA’s Sarah Hammer in the race for gold. Sir Chris Hoy must wait for his 10th world [...]
Man United freeze ticket prices March 24, 2010 FOOTBALL: Manchester United are to freeze tickets sales for next season. Under-fire Old Trafford owners, the Glazer family, have been criticised for price increases since their controversial takeover in 2005, but have now moved to dismiss claims of further rises for the 2010-11 campaign. It means matchday admission will stay at between £27 and £49 [...]
Ancelotti: Chelsea won’t sack me March 23, 2010 CHELSEA manager Carlo Ancelotti is convinced he will still be in charge next season, irrespective of whether the team’s Premier League and FA Cup challenges flourish or flounder. It cannot have escaped the self-confessed fan of statistics, however, that Roman Abramovich has dispensed with coaches with better records than his. Ancelotti takes his side to [...]
Blame me: Zola tempts fate March 23, 2010 WEST HAM (1) v/s WOLVES (3) UNDER-FIRE manager Gianfranco Zola urged fans to blame him, not the players, after furious West Ham supporters revolted during a defeat that pushed them closer to the drop. Goals from Kevin Doyle, Ronald Zubar and Matt Jarvis lifted the visitors to relative safety and left the Hammers dangling three [...]
Tigers chief urges salary cap overhaul March 23, 2010 LEICESTER TIGERS director Peter Wheeler last night called for a major review of the salary cap system in order to help English rugby compete with Europe’s elite. The Guinness Premiership has suffered from an exodus of players heading for the bright lights and big wages of the French Top 14 league, including the world’s best [...]
Bresnan issues warning as England close in on victory March 23, 2010 ALL-ROUNDER Tim Bresnan has warned against complacency despite England moving into a winning position in the second Test against Bangladesh in Mirpur. Bresnan earlier nudged his way to a career-best 91 in only his second Test match to help the tourists to 496. And he also contributed with the ball as, despite a series of [...]
Horne named acting FA chief executive but permanent appointment put on ice March 23, 2010 CHAIRMAN Lord Triesman insists the Football Association will not be rushed into appointing a new permanent chief executive before this summer’s World Cup. Alex Horne, the erstwhile chief operating officer, was yesterday made acting chief executive after the shock resignation of Ian Watmore on Monday. But Triesman, who held an emergency board meeting at Wembley [...]
RUGBY CHAT: DID MARTIN JOHNSON’S ENGLAND TURN THE CORNER AGAINST FRANCE? March 23, 2010 DUNCAN BROWN | MINSTER LAW SOLICITORS “I don’t think we were going to ever beat France, but it was a fairly good performance and I felt we turned the corner in many respects. The introductions of Ben Foden and Chris Ashton gave us impetus but Johnson needs to blood more like these.” PETER DAVIS | [...]