Thursday, 30 May 2013
Thursday, 9 May 2013
Tottenham v Chelsea 5 May 13
Tottenham
v Chelsea 5 May 13
Gylfi Sigurdsson Tottenham’s captain got an amazing
late 80th minute equaliser to draw the game 2 – 2 with Chelsea on
Wednesday 08/05/13.
Tottenham came twice from behind to draw the game,
keeping England’s final two Champions League spots up for grabs.
Tottenham lost their control of finishing in top
four, but they are still finishing in really good position which is fifth in
the ladder just one point behind the fourth position Arsenal and Chelsea is
coming third.
Sigurdsson 80th minute goal flushed
Ramires’ hard working 39th minute goal down the drain. Which would
have earned Chelsea 3 points and that would have certainly secured them a place
in Europe’s top competition for an 11th straight season.
Chelsea is leading Tottenham by 3 points, so one
more win for Chelsea from the remaining 2 games against Aston Villa and Everton
will secure the 3rd position for them.
Chelsea had lots of chances to win this game and
they did their best to do so, but Tottenham’s strikers wouldn’t give up without
a fight and finally Tottenham drew the game with 2 all.
John Tomic headbutting incident
Bernard Tomic's father, John Tomic has come under scrutiny again after he allegedly headbutted Bernard's practice partner, Thomas Drouet who is a French tennis player. Thomas Drouet sustained some facial injuries including a broken nose, fractured vertebrae and stitches, and has since wished Bernard the best of luck despite his father's behaviour. John Tomic, who was Bernard's coach has now been stood down and is banned from all ATP events until further notice. Todd Woodbridge, head of men's professional tennis in Australia has said that they will help Bernard out and provide coaching assistance until they find a possible long term coach.
John Tomic denies the allegation saying he did it out of self defense and Bernard has since supported his father in his claims. John will likely face court today in Madrid, and is currently being held in custody at a Madrid hotel. Interestingly this incident comes just days after a Monte Carlo news outlet alleged that John Tomic had attacked his son Bernard previously. To add salt to the wounds, Bernard Tomic has subsequently lost his round 1 tennis match at the Madrid Masters to Czech Radek Stepanek 6-3 6-2.
By Kailaesh Raveendran
CHELSEA 2-2 TOTTENHAM: ALL SQUARE IN LONDON
CHELSEA 2-2 TOTTENHAM: ALL SQUARE IN LONDON
It took yet another late equalizer
for Tottenham to rescue a point handing the initiative to Arsenal and Chelsea
in the final two games of the season. Gylfi Sigurdsson scored an 80th minute
goal set up by a fantastic back heel by Emmanuel Adebayor. It was
arguably Adebayor’s best performance this season as he scored a wonderful 25 yard
strike and set up Sigurdsson for the goal.
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| Oscar's tap in header |
The goals began early
after Oscar scored an easy tap in header after Gary Cahill towered above
the Tottenham defense to set up a goal for Chelsea on 11th minutes
from a corner. Adebayor’s strike cancelled out Chelsea’s early lead but it was
not to last long. Quick passes and movement on the right wing by Chelsea led to
a Ramires goal on 39 minutes. It
looked like it was all over for Tottenham going into the 75th minute.
André Villas-Boas made two substitutes of Clint Dempsey and
Sigurdsson, which proved to be the decider as Sigurdsson went on to score.
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| Adebayor's incredible top corner finish |
This result puts a Top 4 finish and Champions league
qualification out of Tottenham’s hands as they sit 1 point behind Arsenal in fourth
and 3 points behind Chelsea in third with two games remaining. The remaining
fixtures for Arsenal include Wigan and Newcastle both of whom sit in the bottom
four of the league. Chelsea travel to Aston Villa on Saturday knowing a win
will secure a top 4 finish next season. Tottenham head to Stoke City which
could be a difficult fixture as recent history shows it is not an easy place to travel to especially in the mix of a relegation battle.
Whatever happens in the final two games will surely be exciting and nerve-racking
for the fans of these clubs. As a Tottenham fan it may be a bit disappointing
to see Tottenham not make the Top 4, but it has definitely been a successful
season for the manager and the club.
By Riyaz
Monday, 6 May 2013
Waterhouse-Singleton Stoush
It has been a bout a week since the big race in the Group One All Aged Stakes at Randwick and the controversy still continues. John Singleton, the high profile millionaire owner of the horse More Joyous has accused bookmaker Tom Waterhouse that he had secretly given information about More Joyous to his friends, concerning an injury. Singleton's claims are that the horse's trainer, Gai Waterhouse revealed this information to her son Tom, who then allegedly passed this information onto his friends and colleagues. More Joyous, who was one of the favourites of the race ended up finishing second last due to the injury.
John Singleton, so far refuses to name any sources as to where he got his allegation from but has mentioned hearing things from friends, a former top jockey and "internationally known figures." Both Tom and Gai Waterhouse deny the allegations and Tom has said he is considering legal action. The spat between Singleton and Waterhouse continued throughout the week, with Gai calling Singleton "an old...drunk" and "an absolute sham." Gai has also sworn "on the bible" that she had not spoken to her son until after the race.
There are currently calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the alleged Waterhouse leaks and all those involved in the spat must attend. This includes rugby league legend Andrew Johns, who allegedly told a number of people More Joyous could not win the All Aged Stakes. Meanwhile Singleton has split from Gai Waterhouse and is taking horses from the trainer's stable and is keeping them in his private farm in North Sydney.
By Kailaesh Raveendran
John Singleton, so far refuses to name any sources as to where he got his allegation from but has mentioned hearing things from friends, a former top jockey and "internationally known figures." Both Tom and Gai Waterhouse deny the allegations and Tom has said he is considering legal action. The spat between Singleton and Waterhouse continued throughout the week, with Gai calling Singleton "an old...drunk" and "an absolute sham." Gai has also sworn "on the bible" that she had not spoken to her son until after the race.
There are currently calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the alleged Waterhouse leaks and all those involved in the spat must attend. This includes rugby league legend Andrew Johns, who allegedly told a number of people More Joyous could not win the All Aged Stakes. Meanwhile Singleton has split from Gai Waterhouse and is taking horses from the trainer's stable and is keeping them in his private farm in North Sydney.
By Kailaesh Raveendran
Barclays Premier League - 7th May 2013
Chelsea
move one step closer to a Top 4 finish
It was a massive 3 points for Chelsea who managed to grab a late
goal against Manchester United in Sunday’s epic 0-1 match at Old Trafford. Juan
Mata’s 87th minute goal coming at a time when it looked like Chelsea
was going to drop 2 points in the race for top 4 football and Champions league
qualification.
 |
| Mata's 87th minute goal against Manchester United |
Chelsea now sits rather comfortably in third place three
points above Tottenham Hotspurs in fifth and a point off Arsenal in forth, yet
with Chelsea only having played 35 games to Arsenal’s 36 games; Wednesday’s
clash against Tottenham becomes ever so important to both teams. A win could
seal a top 4 place for Chelsea as Tottenham have a significantly lower goal
difference than the Blues (Chelsea). Manager Rafael Benitez was pleased with the
result and had this to say "we are in the driving seat now, if we can win
(against Tottenham), we can be there (in the Champions League)".
 |
| Gareth Bale shot from outside the box against Southampton |
Cheslea’s London rivals Tottenham managed a late
1-0 win against Southampton who outplayed Tottenham for most of the game. It
came down to a wonder strike from none other than Gareth Bale on 85 minutes to
seal a victory for Spurs(Tottenham). Arsenal played an already relegated Queens Park
Rangers side that has nothing to lose. The Gunners(Arsenal) scored an
incredible goal within 14 second of the game by Theo Walcott. The win sees
Arsenal extend their unbeaten streak up to 8 games at the most important time
of the season.
With all three teams winning this weekend and
games running out, it adds further pressure to Wednesdays clash between
Tottenham and Chelsea. Both teams know this is essentially a final and a win
for either one could boost their top 4 challenge significantly with two games
remaining.
 |
| Thursday, 9th May 2013 - 4:45 am (AEST) |
By Riyaz
Friday, 3 May 2013
NBA Oklahoma City Thunder vs Houston Rockets
In one of the latest games in the NBA, it was Oklahoma City Thunder against the Houston Rockets, which Oklahoma City triumphed in, with a score of 104-93.
Matthew Lee
Ok, so a recap of the game.
The two top scorers for the Thunders were Kevin Durant and Kevin Martin who scored 27 points and 25 points respectively. After trailling in the game to the Rockets, Oklahoma City opened up the fourth quarter strongly with a big run to take the lead and win the game.
Kevin Martin was able to give the Thunder someone to take scoring pressure off Durant for the first time since All-Star Russell Westbrook had season-ending knee surgery. He had 21 points by halftime and Westbrook's replacement, Reggie Jackson had also helped out by scoring 17 points. In the fourth quarter Derek Fisher and Durant both hit 3-pointers in that stretch. Houston missed six shots, including two layups, and had two turnovers as the Thunder built the lead. Harden made a 3-pointer after that, but the ball was stolen from him on the next possession and Durant took it down and finished with an exclamation point dunk, and Houston didn't threaten after that
This match was played in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,357 and this win for Oklahoma City sends them to the second round playoffs for a third season straight.
Matthew Lee
Thursday, 2 May 2013
Diving in football?
Diving in football?
The term “diving” or simulation as it is referred to by
FIFA, refers to the act of falsifying an injury in order to deceive the referee
into gaining an unfair advantage for your team. The advantage could be a free kick
or most commonly a penalty in the box. The increasing presence of diving in today’s
game has led to controversial decisions which have seen teams eliminated from
major competitions and seen players receive severe punishment for their
actions. Most notably Australia’s 2006 World Cup exit to Italy in the Round of
16, where Fabio Grosso dove in the penalty box after Lucas Neil tackled for
the ball. Replays have shown there was no contact on Grosso yet he fell to the
ground, thus leading to a penalty for Italy in the 90th minute of
the game, and eventually Australia’s exit. Italy went on to win the World Cup
with Grosso.
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| Lucas Neil and Fabio Grosso- the penalty incident |
This unsporting behavior leads to yellow/red cards and fines.
Recently the A-League and MLS football leagues introduced severe punishment for
players caught diving such as long term suspensions. Players and coaches alike
know the consequences of an obvious dive yet continue to do it. Not only is it
unethical but it creates another problem, the problem of telling whether or not
a player is feigning an injury or not. This can have serious consequences as,
if a player is really injured and the referee does not call a foul, medics
cannot get to the injured player. This makes it even more difficult for the
referees to get the right call in determining a genuine injury and call a foul.
According to FIFA Law 12- Fouls and Misconduct, if the
referee believes a player was in the act of simulation he can then banish a
yellow card as a caution. On the spot referees are under intense pressure to
make a decision and therefore do not always get it right. Let’s not forget a
referee has only one view of an incident with no replays whereas we have
several. The man with the whistle is also influenced by the surrounding players
and environment within the stadium. Yet even with all these pressures referees
mostly make the right decisions.
Diving can never be eradicated from the game; however it is
down to the players and coaching staff to set an example and promote fair play.
Even though diving sometimes looks genuine, in some circumstances it’s blatantly
obvious and humorous.
Just take a look at these dives and judge for yourself.
By Riyaz
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Australian Champions Trophy squad announced
Just over a month away from the start of the ODI champions
trophy in England and Wales, Australia have announced their 15 man squad. The
squad involves a few new faces in Mitchell Marsh, Nathan Coulter-Nile and James
Faulkner. While James Faulkner did play in some limited over matches earlier in
the year, Mitchell Marsh hasn’t played one day cricket for Australia since late
2011 as a 19 year old. Additionally Nathan Coulter-Nile is yet to debut for
Australia in one day cricket, and his selection was the result of very good
domestic season for Western Australia.
Interestingly George Bailey was promoted as vice captain to
skipper Michael Clarke after Shane Watson’s resignation as vice captain. This
decision was expected as George Bailey is the twenty20 captain and has had some
good captaincy experience in the one day format earlier this year when Michael
Clarke was injured. George Bailey was preferred over the other potential vice
captain, Matthew Wade due to his experience. Some notable players who missed
out on selection were James Pattinson, Ryan Harris, Steven Smith and Aaron
Finch, some of whom will be in England anyway preparing for the Ashes with an
Australia A tour.
Champions
Trophy squad Michael Clarke (capt), George Bailey (vice-capt),
David Warner, Shane Watson, Phillip Hughes, Adam Voges, Matthew Wade, Glenn
Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, James Faulkner, Xavier Doherty, Clint McKay, Mitchell
Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Coulter-Nile.
By Kailaesh Raveendran
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
PENRITH PANTHERS v PARRAMATTA EELS Monday 29 Apr
PENRITH PANTHERS v PARRAMATTA
EELS
Panthers have broken a five game losing streak with
thrashing Eels 44 – 12 on Monday 29 April.
Parramatta took to the field after tough week of news head
line and things looked promising early in the game. Jarryd Hayne taped the ball
running down towards the goal gained some meters, after Parramatta kicked the
ball trying to score, Travis Robinson defuse the bomb.
Travis Robinson did exactly like Jarryd Hayne taped it and
run, there was nobody to stop him from running 80 meters and scored a try in
just 2 minutes in the game. But not long after Jarryd Hayne provided a try for Parramatta
with perfect pass from Chris Sandow.
Vai Toutai the powerful winger scored a try for Parramatta to
narrow the margin down to 4 points.
It didn’t stay that way dough Travis Robinson scored another
try and that give a lead of 8 points to Panthers in half time.
Things didn’t get easier in second half for Parramatta as Tim
Mannah got injured and carried off the field. Second half was just Panthers
game as they kept Parramatta scoreless and ended the game with 44 to 12.
Najibullah Saedi
Saturday, 27 April 2013
NFL Jesse Williams
For this post, it will be about the NFL and Jesse Williams. For those who don't know who Jesse Williams, nicknamed "Tha Monstar", he is a Brisbane boy who has been selected in the NFL draft and he was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks.
Williams also has a interesting background story, as he is an Indigenous Australian. He started playing American Football at the age of 14 for the Queensland team the Bayside Ravens. In his first year, he went on to be on the team that would win the Australian National Championships. Williams then went on to become the first Australian Indigenous to receive a football scholarship in the United States and went on to play college football for Arizona Western College. After junior college, Williams then enrolled and played for Alabama.
Recently Williams was in the NFL draft and he was picked by the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday's fifth round as the 137th overall pick. However William's who reportedly can bench press 270kg and already has two college championship rings had to wait a little longer than expected to be picked. As many experts thought he would be snapped up by the Baltimore Ravens or San Fransico 49ers.
Finally the wait is over for Jesse Williams and his dreams are coming true.
Matthew Lee
Thursday, 25 April 2013
A LEAGUE GRAND FINAL
Last Sunday was the A League's grand final between the Central Cost Mariners and the Western Sydney Wanderers.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/football/gallery-fndm8bqv-1226625365085?page=2
Played from Allianz stadium in Sydney, the Mariners became the A League Champions after a 2-0 defeat over the Wanderers. This marked an end to the Wanderers 13 match unbeaten run.
As the match unfolded, despite the intimidation of the Western Sydney fans, the Mariners were still able to create the better of their chances in the first half. The Mariners mounting pressure eventually paid off just before half time when 38-year old Patrick Zwaanswijk rose to meet a corner and slammed the ball into the goal to score for the Mariners in front of 42,102 fans. In the second half, in the 67th minute, a handball by the Wanderers lead to a penalty which Daniel McBreen scored smoothly which leads the Mariners to be 2 up on the Wanderers. McBreen's and Zwaanswijk's decisive goals make them both the oldest players to score in an A-League grand final.
This win for the Mariners means that their nightmares are finally over after three failed attempts in the grand finals and that finally Australia's smallest A-League club are the champions.
Matthew
http://www.news.com.au/sport/football/gallery-fndm8bqv-1226625365085?page=2
Played from Allianz stadium in Sydney, the Mariners became the A League Champions after a 2-0 defeat over the Wanderers. This marked an end to the Wanderers 13 match unbeaten run.
As the match unfolded, despite the intimidation of the Western Sydney fans, the Mariners were still able to create the better of their chances in the first half. The Mariners mounting pressure eventually paid off just before half time when 38-year old Patrick Zwaanswijk rose to meet a corner and slammed the ball into the goal to score for the Mariners in front of 42,102 fans. In the second half, in the 67th minute, a handball by the Wanderers lead to a penalty which Daniel McBreen scored smoothly which leads the Mariners to be 2 up on the Wanderers. McBreen's and Zwaanswijk's decisive goals make them both the oldest players to score in an A-League grand final.
This win for the Mariners means that their nightmares are finally over after three failed attempts in the grand finals and that finally Australia's smallest A-League club are the champions.
Matthew
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
IPL Chennai Supper Kings v Rajasthan Royals
Chennai Supper Kings
v Rajasthan Royals
In the last game 27th match Royal Challengers
Bangalore beat Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets and 13 balls remaining, due to the
top four batsmen’s did not perform, including SR Watson.This time Rajasthan Royals were not going without a fight; on 22 April 2013 Chennai Supper Kings v Rajasthan Royals, Dravid won the toss and Royals bated first.
Shane Watson’s fantastic inning put Rajasthan Royals in very
good wining position. SR Watson and AM Rahane put 55 runs in Powerplay 1 from 6
overs. Shane Watson’s inning ended with 101 runs from 61 balls.
But when they say, it’s not over till it’s over; that’s true. Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina the game savers as usual put 112 runs for the second wicket which stole the victory for Chennai Supper Kings.
Najibullah Saedi
Sunday, 21 April 2013
Formula 1 - Bahrain GP, Round 4, 21/04/2013
Sebastian
reigns supreme in Bahrain
It was his
second race win of the season and second consecutive win in Bahrain that sees Sebastian
Vettel back in control of the driver’s championship, 10 points clear of his
closest rival Kimi Räikkönen. Sebastian in his Red Bull raced to
a comfortable race victory which saw him lead 70% of the Bahrain GP.
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| http://www.formula1.com/wi/gi/347x231/Bbkh/sutton/2013/d13brn2743.jpg |
"Fantastic race, it was
seamless from start to finish," said Vettel after starting from second on the grid. He
only took 17 laps to take the lead from Nico Rosberg in pole. After jostling
with his fellow German Nico, Vettel used the DRS and Kers systems to his
advantage and managed to take control of the race. It was a day of mixed
emotions for the Red Bull team which saw its sister car of Mark Webber finish
in seventh being passed on the last lap by McLaren’s Sergio Perez. Webber
failed to match the pace of Vettel this whole weekend only managing 4th
in qualifying but a 3 place grid penalty from last week’s Chinese GP saw Mark
start the race in 7th . All in all the Red Bull team now sit top of
both the driver’s championship and the constructor’s championship.
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| http://images.theage.com.au/2013/04/21/4210497/art-353-svBAHRAINF1-300x0.jpg |
It was an
equally strong showing from the Lotus team which managed to finish both its
cars on the podium in 2nd and 3rd, Kimi Räikkönen
and Romain Grosjean showing just how good the Lotus can be in race
conditions. The Lotus was kind on its tires yet a poor display in qualifying
had the Lotus’s starting in 9th and 11th respectively.
One could only imagine what could have been if the Lotus cars started higher up
the grid.
Overall the
race featured some of the best racing seen this season. There was several
passes right back to the end of the grid. The two DRS zones in the Bahrain GP produced
some of the most memorable overtakes. Such was the case with the McLaren
teammates who battled it out for fifth at the time, touching wheels on several
occasions. One can only wait for the F1 championship to resume in 3 weeks’ time
in Valencia as the European round begins.
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