Today In Sport

Welcome to the brand new Wembley Stadium for the 2009 edition of the FA Cup.  This one promises to be an interesting affair with two teams trying to grab the last piece of silverware.  Everton and Chelsea, one team having gone above expectations and one team below.  Lets get down to the pitch.

Well it’s a bright, bright sun shiny day here in London.  Hopefully the heat doesn’t affect the play too much.  Now it’s over to a bunch of black people in white suits (and one white guy trying to fit in) to sing Abide with Me ably led by the Right Reverend Ian Wright.

The players come out to a thunderous reception.  They line up and are introduced to former Head Banana of the UN, Kofi Annan.  He and his hangers on shake hands with all the players and then retire to a some deck chairs near the sideline.  Mr Annan orders a Pina Colada.

The game is ready for the kick off.

1st min - Everton kick off and are on the attack.  A cross comes from the left and is not dealt with by Mikel.  Louis Saha latches onto the ball and slams it past keeper Cech.  It is 1-0 to Everton after 25 seconds.  Kofi Annan coughs up most of his Pina Colada.

4th min - Bosingwa passes back to Cech.  Cech only just gets to it.  He gives Bosingwa a dirty look.

8th min - Malouda runs onto a long ball down the left but is ankle tapped by Hibbert.  Referee Webb races over to produce the first yellow card of the match.  Kofi Annan notes this incident down for possible further sanctions from the UN. (continue reading…)

This is the final we have all been waiting for.  The two biggest and best clubs in the world at the moment battling it out in Rome in a gladiatorial contest to decide who is the best in Europe.

The two teams are serenaded onto the pitch by Italian crooner Andrea Bocelli.  He is excited, you can see it in his eyes, which ironically he can’t see out of.  The players nervously wait for the pre match drudgery to be over.

Kick off - The final is on and Manchester go on the attack.  The tension can be cut by a fictitious knife.

2nd Min - Man U have a free kick 32m out.  C. Ronaldo steps up and powers the ball at an astonished Victor Valdes who was busy looking for girls in the capacity crowd.  He mis-controls it and it falls to Park Ji-Sung who was looking at the same girls and misses with his shot.

4th min - Apparently UEFA have produced a new ball for the final, complete with little dimples all over it so Mr. Bocelli can keep up with the action. (continue reading…)

Get out the brooms!  The Pittsburgh Penguins completed a 4-0 sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes today winning game 4 of their 7 game NHL Eastern Conference series by a score of 4-1.

All they have to do now is rest up and wait for Chicago and Detroit to finish beating each other up.  Hopefully it takes a while and is a draining series although with Detroit up 3 games to 1 it might be over sooner rather than later.

But the Pens are playing awesome hockey at the moment.  Captain Sidney Crosby and his First Officer Evgeni Malkin have been tearing this years playoffs apart.  They have been taking over games in such a way that it reminds you of Lemieux and Jagr in 1992.

Goaltender Marc Andre Fleury is playing very solidly with a lot of help from his defencemen.  He still has issues when he goes behind the net to retrieve pucks but for the most part he has been really good.

Is this the year the Pittsburgh Penguins win the cup again?  I sure hope so.

Here are some other recaps of the game and the series.

ESPN - Penguins v Hurricanes

NHL.Com - How Sweep It Is

I was going to call this post “Oh My God, did you just see that?” but thought better of it. The past week has seen a few pieces of skill that just makes you sit back and say “Well that just happened.”

First off here is Pittsburgh Penguin Evgeni Malkin in game 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference finals against Carolina. This is the 3rd goal of his hat trick in the game.

Crazy skill with just a hint of luck. (continue reading…)

Simulation.  Gamesmanship.  Faking.  Whatever you want to call it, the art of trying to waste time and deceiving the referee is cheating and a blight on the world game.

Let’s not be naive about this, trying to con the referee has been around long before even Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal.  It would seem though that over the last four or five years the instances of time wasting whilst in the lead with ten or sometimes twenty minutes of the game remaining has risen alarmingly.

How many times have we been frustrated by an opposition player rolling around on the pitch with what seems like a career ending injury after engaging in an aerial contest that happens 50 times a game without incident.

The biggest problem that football has now is how to police it.  They have cracked down on players staging for free kicks and penalties after being lightly touched or not touched at all by issuing yellow cards. (continue reading…)

The Australian Test cricket squad for The Ashes series against arch enemy England was named today.  The team is a mixture of time tested experience and youthful exuberance.

Coming back in to the squad are quicks Brett Lee and Stuart Clark along with spinner Nathan Hauritz who has impressed recently.  The experience of Lee and Clark will be invaluable for the likes of Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle.

Andrew McDonald and Shane Watson take the All-Rounder spots at the expense of troubled genius Andrew Symonds.  Marcus North can also fill an all-rounder role if needed.

On the batting side young star Phil Hughes gets his first taste of Ashes cricket after his superb form against South Africa.  The opener joins with the resurgent Simon Katich at the top of the order.

Out of sorts middle order batsman Michael Hussey retains his spot in the squad.  Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin gets his chance to prove he can perform on the big stage.  His back up is the uncapped South Australian keeper Graham Manou.

Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke are the captain and vice-captain continuing the great leadership that has served Australia so well.

This is the complete 16 man squad.

• Ricky Ponting (captain)
• Michael Clarke (vice-captain)
• Stuart Clark
• Brad Haddin
• Nathan Hauritz
• Ben Hilfenhaus
• Phillip Hughes
• Michael Hussey
• Mitchell Johnson
• Simon Katich
• Brett Lee
• Graham Manou
• Andrew McDonald
• Marcus North
• Peter Siddle
• Shane Watson, subject to fitness

The young fast bowling group of Mitchell, Siddle and Hilfenhaus get to try their tricks for the first time on English soil in test conditions.  Twenty year old Phil Hughes has been tearing it up with county side Middlesex giving him a great feel for English pitches.

Make no mistake, this is a very inexperienced squad but it is full of guys who want to cement themselves in the team for years to come.  What better way to prove themselves than in the biggest Test cricket showdown of the year.

I can’t wait for The Ashes to start.

With Manchester United picking up their 18th English Football Premiership title and also having a record 11 FA Cups it would be a brave person to suggest they are not the greatest club in England (Liverpool people are a brave bunch though).

But who are the greatest players to have played for the club in its 131 year history?  Here is my top ten for you to debate over.

10 - BRYAN ROBSON

The longest serving captain in United’s history.  He moved from West Bromwich Albion in 1981 and “Captain Marvel” quickly made the midfield his own.  His leadership abilities were second to none. (continue reading…)

Once again Manchester United sit atop the English Premier League tree after toughing out a hard, defensive match with Arsenal.  They only needed one point to take the title and that’s what they got after a 0-0 draw.  A relentless pursuit by Liverpool has fallen a few points short.  I guess The Reds only have themselves to blame after throwing a few points away in the middle of the season.

The all conquering Red Devils have endured a long season where they have travelled halfway round the world for the World Club Cup (which they won) and with European and domestic cup games to deal with they have played about 376 games (well closer to 70 but you get the point).  (continue reading…)

Here is a team that is made up of the AFL players who at some point this season have been or still are injured.  I am sure you will agree that it’s a pretty good team….if they were fit.

B:  Max Hudghton (Saints)     Dustin Fletcher (Bombers)    Tom Harley (Cats)

HB: Josh Hunt (Cats)     Nathan Bock (Crows)    Luke Hodge (Hawks)

C: Mark McVeigh (Bombers)     Rhys Palmer (Dockers)      Brad Dalziell (Lions)

HF: Brett Burton (Crows)    Matthew Richardson (Tigers)    Brent Harvey (Roos)

F: Alan Didak (Pies)    Brad Ottens (Cats)    Nathan Brown (Tigers)

R/R: David Hille (Bombers)      Gary Ablett (Cats)      Ben Cousins (Tigers)

Bench: Leon Davis (Pies)     Paul Chapman (Cats)      Daniel Wells (Roos)    Stephen Salopek (Power)

There are probably a few other players who could come into this team.  I am sure we haven’t seen the last of the big names on the injury list.  I might have to re-do it later in the season.