Fit-again Karlsson triumphs in Qatar January 31, 2010 GOLF: European Ryder Cup star Robert Karlsson carded a blemish-free final round of 65 to win the Qatar Masters by three shots. The Swede finished 15 under par, with defending champion Alvaro Quiros of Spain his closest challenger. England’s Lee Westwood was a further shot adrift as overnight leaders Paul Casey and Bradley Dredge slipped [...]
Higgins claims Welsh open title January 31, 2010 SNOOKER: World champion John Higgins dethroned title-holder Ali Carter with a 9-4 victory in the Welsh Open final last night in Newport. The Scot raced into a 5-0 lead and held a 6-2 advantage going into the evening session, before wrapping up victory and the title with a break of 76. Victory leaves Higgins close [...]
Afridi banned for biting ball January 31, 2010 CRICKET: Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi is set to miss the first Twenty20 clash with England after being found guilty of biting the ball. Afridi was caught trying to alter the state of the ball during yesterday’s one-day defeat to Australia, which sealed a 5-0 whitewash for the hosts. He will miss Friday’s fixture against the [...]
‘Michael who?’ says Russian rookie January 31, 2010 FORMULA ONE: Rookie Vitaly Petrov is set to become F1’s first Russian driver after Renault confirmed his signing for the coming season. Petrov, 25, has never driven an F1 car before but is thought to be bringing £9m in sponsorship money, and said he had rejected an offer from the Campos Meta team. “I only [...]
Calgary and Nozic look good at Donny January 28, 2010 THE SKYBET Chase, formerly the Great Yorkshire Chase, is always one of the trickiest punting puzzles to solve in the National Hunt calendar and tomorrow’s renewal looks as impossible as ever. David Pipe saddles SEVEN IS MY NUMBER who currently heads the betting at 7/1 with Boylesports after his bloodless victory in the Grade Two [...]
the INSIDER January 28, 2010 Legs eleven, black eleven, left wing (eleven), one less than a dozen (eleven) has always been my number but I’m going to have to swap it for seven. SEVEN IS MY NUMBER might be an obvious choice seeing as he has won five out of his last six racecourse visits but looking at Oddschecker the [...]
Arsenal should have the edge in Emirates thriller January 28, 2010 ARSENAL VS MANCHESTER UNITED SUNDAY – 4.00PM, SKY SPORTS 1 THE next few weeks are absolutely crucial for Arsenal in their battle to win the Premier League title for the first time since 2004/05. They were disappointing at Stoke last weekend and although they hit the woodwork twice at Villa Park on Wednesday night, they [...]
Extended ban for Ferdinand January 28, 2010 MANCHESTER United defender Rio Ferdinand has been banned for four matches for violent conduct, meaning he will miss Sunday’s trip to Premier League title rivals Arsenal. Ferdinand received an extra one-game suspension on top of the standard three because the Football Association considered his appeal against the charge frivolous. That appeal allowed the England centre-back [...]
Three red cards mar Egypt win January 28, 2010 EGYPT will meet Ghana on Sunday for the title of African champions after beating eight-man Algeria 4-0 in an explosive semi-final in Angola. A Hosni Abd Rabou penalty and further strikes from Mohamed Zidan, Mohamed Abdelshafy and Mohamed Gedo sent Egypt through while Algeria exited in shame. Ghana beat Nigeria 1-0, Rennes striker Asamoah Gyan [...]
British lion roars on as imperious Murray eyes his place in history January 28, 2010 AUSTRALIAN OPEN ANDY MURRAY believes he can etch his name into British tennis history by landing a maiden Grand Slam victory at the Australian Open. The British No1 recovered from a set down to beat Croatian giant Marin Cilic 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 and set up a Melbourne showdown with either world No1 Roger Federer [...]