Revenue allocation row: What next for Governors
Ndiritu further blamed Treasury and the Controller of budget for their failure to disburse 50% of the equitable share to Counties to enable them run their operations.Also Read PSC to challenge Maraga’s advice to dissolve Parliament over gender ruleMutua was the first Governor to heed to the directive from the Council saying Machakos County Government will shut down its operations in accordance with the instructions.“As it stands right now, Machakos County will not be in a position to pay salaries of staff, including health workers due to lack of money from the exchequer. The slowdown of the economy due to COVID-19 has meant that the revenue we collect has been heavily affected.” He said.Mutua further urged the Senate to stop the bickering saying the law is clear that should there be a stalemate on the revenue sharing formula, the existing one should take effect until the impasse is solved.Also Read SRC moves to address pay disparities Senators however dismissed the directive to shut down Counties and withdraw services saying the Council of Governors Chairperson Wycliffe Oparanya has no basis in law to issue such a directive.The legislators warning Governors against implementing the directive from the Council saying they will be held personally liable of any death occasioned by the withdrawal of health services.A point of law that seems to resonate with Constitutional Lawyer Ashford Mugwuku who says the Council of governors has no authority under the law to issue such a directive saying it points to a lack of leadership in the Council.Also Read Women leaders welcome CJ’s decision to dissolve ParliamentMugwuku accused Oparanya of behaving like a trade unionist by taking advantage of the stalemate in the Senate to issue unconstitutional orders.The constitutional lawyer says devolution is meant to benefit the people and ordering a withdrawal of services to those it is designed to help goes against the tenets of the concept.He says the Senate has failed as an institution even as he urged the Government not to use the revenue sharing formula to settle political scores.According to Mugwuku, the Government should release funds to Counties based on the current formula, or even disburse 50% of the equitable share in accordance with the Supreme Court advisory opinion. He said the blame lies squarely with the Senate for its failure to agree on a formula as well as to pass the County Allocation of Revenue bill 2020 based on the existing formula.Get breaking news on your Mobile as-it-happens. SMS ‘NEWS’ to 20153 Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi has endorsed the Council of Governors’ move to shut down services delegated to devolved units accusing institutions such as the Senate of failing in their respective mandates.Muriithi joins other governors including Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua to threaten to withdraw key services as advised by the Council of Governors until the impasse on the 3rd basis revenue sharing formula is resolved.Muriithi says while services in the Counties will be affected by the decision, county administrations will endeavor to prioritize critical and lifesaving services.
May 8, 2007MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – After an impressive regular season and a Gulf South Conference championship, West Florida struggled in the first round of the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament on Monday. West Florida shot a nine-over 297 to stand in fourth place after the first day of competition. The event is being held at the Robert Trent Jones at the Shoals Fighting Joe Course.Host school North Alabama has the early lead after shooting a first round, two-over 290. Florida Southern is two strokes back at four over, while Barry is in third place after a first round eight-over.Matthew Galloway (Valrico, Fla.) is one of three golfers tied for the lead. Galloway shot a one-under 71 on Monday to tie for the first round lead with Barry’s Hernan Borja and North Alabama’s Jonathan Henderson. Leonardo Di Marino (Laferrere, Argentina) is also in the top 10 after shooting a one-over 73.Also for West Florida, David Lingmerth (Tranas, Sweden) is tied for 17th after a three-over 75. Matthew Berzovich (Longwood, Fla.) shot a six-over 78 to place for a tie in 37th, while Federico Damus (Posadas, Argentina) is in a tie for 43rd after shooting an 11-over 83.Second round action continues on TuesdayPrint Friendly Version Argonauts Stand in Fourth at Regionals; Galloway Tied for First Share
February 23, 2019 Police Blotter022319 Decatur County Fire Report022319 Decatur County EMS Report022319 Decatur County Jail Report022319 Decatur County Law Report022319 Ripley County Police Blotter
West Lafayette, In. —– The newest class of Stamps Scholars has been announced, with representation at nearly 40 universities nation-wide. Sarah Preston from Oldenburg Academy has been named one of the incoming Stamps Scholars at Purdue. She will also be a member of the Purdue Honors College.The Stamps Leadership Scholars Program covers a student’s full cost of attendance (tuition, room, and board) and connects students with a national network of dedicated peers. Funded by the Stamps Family Charitable Foundation, the award also gives scholars access to an academic enrichment fund of up to $10,000 to finance activities such as academic conferences, study abroad experiences or internships.Eligible students are automatically considered for Stamps award upon applying to Purdue. Stamps Scholars demonstrate academic merit, strong leadership potential and exceptional character. The Stamps Foundation welcomes and supports students from all backgrounds and areas of study. The Stamps Scholarship program was created by Penny and Roe Stamps, originally at the University of Michigan and Georgia Tech. It has since grown to award multi-year merit scholarships across the United States.Preston plans to study Health Sciences/Pre-Medicine while attending Purdue University. Assistant Principal Jonathon Maple commented, “we are so proud of Sarah and this outstanding accomplishment – Sarah works hard and truly demonstrates academic merit, strong leadership and exceptional character that will allow her to excel. We are excited to see her future dreams become a reality!” Preston will graduate from Oldenburg Academy on June 2, 2019.
Mark William Hendrix, age 67 of Batesville, Indiana passed away on Monday October 28, 2019 at The Waters of Batesville. The son of Russell and Viola (nee: Drake) Hendrix was born on September 4, 1952 in Connersville, Indiana.Mark worked as a crane operator for a construction company for many years.He is survived by his daughter Barbara Rowe of Sunman and son Mark R. Hendrix of Batesville; grandchildren, Dustin and Nicolas Rowe; and great-grandchild, Mason Rowe.In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother Jan R. Hendrix and his sister Laura B. Hendrix.His wishes were to be cremated. There will be a private graveside service on Monday November 4, 2019 at Maple Grove Cemetery in Brookville, Indiana.Online condolences can be made at www.meyersfuneralhomes.com
ORVC Weekly Report (December 9-14)Players of the Week.Girls Basketball: Elloe Foley – Southwestern and Cionna Bailey – MilanBoys Basketball: Peyton Wert – Milan and Damian Breeck – Switzerland CountyORVC Report(December 9-14)2019Courtesy of ORVC Recorder Travis Calvert.
Brenda L. Jones, 74, of Dillsboro, Indiana, passed away Friday January 3, 2020 in Rising Sun, Indiana.She was born February 19, 1945 in Barbourville, KY, daughter of the late Albert Carl Partin, Sr. and Emma Jean (Bays) Brown.She loved to crochet, knit and was an avid reader. Brenda enjoyed YouTube, coffee, and camping. She loved nature. She loved her dogs, Simon, Bella and Sammy Boy. Family was very important to Brenda and she will be greatly missed by her family and friends.Brenda is survived by her children, Randy Jones of Rising Sun, IN, Bryan (Marcia) Jones of Lawrenceburg, IN and Deanna Jones of Lawrenceburg, IN; grandchildren, Cullen Jones, Seante’ Jones, Ashley Jones, Alex Jones, Leah Craft, Carly Utter; siblings, Carl (Vi) Partin, Jr. of Taylor Mill, KY, Gary (Nancy) Partin of Florence, IN, Dale (Lee) Partin of West Harrison, IN, Pam (Kurt) Lyttle of Rising Sun, IN, Sandy Partin of Lawrenceburg, IN, Lori (Paul) Haneberg of Lawrenceburg, IN.She was preceded in death by parents and her step father, Marvin Brown.Services will be held at the convenience of the family.Contributions may be made to PAWS. If unable to attend services, please call the funeral home office at (812) 926-1450 and we will notify the family of your donation with a card.Visit: www.rullmans.com
Lucy Lunsford, 73, of Cincinnati, Ohio, formerly of Milan passed away Friday, April 3, 2020 at Mercy Hospital in Batavia, Ohio. Lucy was born Thursday, July 11, 1946 in Knox County, Kentucky, the daughter of the late William and Annie Mae (Mills) Bright. She married Robert Lunsford and he preceded her in death. Lucy was a member of Mt. Carmel Baptist Church and worked for Steelcraft Corporation Manufacture in Blue Ash, Ohio. She enjoyed watching hummingbirds and cooking.Lucy is survived by her daughter Brenda (Mike) Stout of Batavia, Ohio; brother Clifford Bright of Blue Ash, Ohio; and sister Lorraine Scarborough of Mt. Carmel, Ohio. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Robert, son Jesse Gamble, three sisters, and four brothers.There will be no services. Memorials may be given in honor of Lucy to the Ripley County Life Squad. Laws-Carr-Moore Funeral Home entrusted with arrangements, Box 243, Milan, IN 47031, (812) 654-2141. You may go to www.lawscarrmoore.com to leave an online condolence message for the family.
RelatedPosts Pirlo not out to copy anyone after Juventus’ comfortable opening win Juve’s Pirlo gamble makes new Serie A season the most open for years Pirlo bags UEFA coaching badge Cristiano Ronaldo has added another mansion to his array of properties and this time it is in his country home Lisbon with reports claiming that the new house cost a staggering £6 million from the Juve star’s money pouch. The Portuguese star was reported to have acquired the real estate mansion in July 2018 after beating two other millionaires who were also in the bidding for the luxury apartment. According to a local report, the mini-estate is located in Avenida de Liberdade area of Lisbon and it incredibly boasts 288 square metres, with 3,100 square feet. With eye-catching features including a spa and indoor swimming pool, the £6 million-worth luxury apartment also has an exciting gym, latest electro domestics and three large bedrooms. The privacy-giving apartment was reportedly built 10 years ago when the Juventus star was at Manchester United. And because of its proximity to the neighbourhood where Ronaldo began his football career as a young ambitious footballer in Portugal, the site was said to have become a tourist place for local footballers. The former Real Madrid star added the luxury empire to his collection of landed properties with the hope of using it as a place of retirement after he stops playing professional football.Tags: Cristiano RonaldoJuventus
RelatedPosts Ighalo: My best moment as ‘Red Devil’ EPL: Crystal Palace stun sloppy Man U EPL: Red Devils attack Palace A mob of furious Manchester United fans attacked the home of Ed Woodward on Tuesday night, as anger towards the club’s executive vice-chairman took a sinister turn. In appalling scenes that drew condemnation from United, shocking footage emerged of a gang of around 20 hooded supporters throwing flares and a smoke bomb at Woodward’s £2 million Cheshire mansion. Some of the group are believed to be members of United’s notorious “Men In Black”. The incident is believed to have happened around 8pm on Tuesday night. Woodward and his wife, Isabelle, and their young twins were not at home at the time. Greater Manchester Police are investigating. United issued a strongly worded statement in which they condemned the behaviour and said they would work in conjunction with the police to identify the culprits. As well as potential prosecution, anyone found responsible would be banned for life by the club. “Manchester United Football Club have tonight been made aware of the incident outside the home of one of our employees,” the club statement read. “We know that the football world will unite behind us as we work with Greater Manchester Police to identify the perpetrators of this unwarranted attack. Anybody found guilty of a criminal offence, or found to be trespassing on this property, will be banned for life by the club and may face prosecution. “Fans expressing opinion is one thing, criminal damage and intent to endanger life is another. There is simply no excuse for this.” Woodward and the Glazer family, United’s maligned owners, have been the target of sustained abuse from supporters at games in recent weeks over their running of the club. But that verbal abuse – which has included a series of foul mouthed chants and threats to kill Woodward and the Glazers – took a more violent, threatening turn. The gang congregated outside Woodward’s house in a quiet village near Knutsford and rang an intercom on the large gates at the entrance of the property. When no one answered, the thugs graffitied the property by spraying red paint before launching smoke bombs into the grounds and throwing a series of flares. It remains to be seen if United react by beefing up Woodward’s security on match days and in general but his wife is known to have been left upset and shaken by some of the abuse her husband has been receiving. Woodward is understood to have received death threats in the past. Gary Lineker, the former England striker and a friend of Woodward, responded to the sickening footage on social media by condemning the disgraceful scenes. The attack came shortly after United finally achieved a breakthrough in their protracted negotiations with Sporting Lisbon for Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes and 24 hours before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are due to face Manchester City in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final. Woodward had been coming under growing pressure from fans to make a signing given United’s injury problems and the lack of quality cover in midfield and attack. But despite widespread unhappiness at Woodward’s handling of the club, many fans joined in the chorus of condemnation for the attack. It was not the first time angry United fans have targeted homes, though. In October 2010, a mob of 30 fans turned up at Wayne Rooney’s former mansion in Prestbury, Cheshire after then England striker had spoken of his desire to quit Old Trafford. Rooney was warned not to sign for rivals Manchester City and soon after he signed an improved contract to stay with United. Woodward – who is the highest paid director in the Premier League with an annual salary of £3.16 million – was targeted before United’s game at home to Liverpool in October when fans chartered a plane over Old Trafford trailing a banner which read: “Ed still failing – Woodward out!”Tags: Ed WoodwardManchester United
RelatedPosts Pirlo not out to copy anyone after Juventus’ comfortable opening win Juve’s Pirlo gamble makes new Serie A season the most open for years Pirlo bags UEFA coaching badge Nigeria’s King Udoh has become the first professional football player to be diagnosed with Coronavirus in Italy. The Italian-Nigerian footballer plays for Pianese, a Tuscan club playing in Serie C (third division). The information was given by daily newspapers La Naziones and La Gazzetta dello Sport before being widely relayed on social media networks. The 22-year-old footballer, who is currently in the infectious disease department of La Scotte hospital in Siena, is in good condition. This player had placed himself in quarantine during the last weekend, after feeling feverish. He was scheduled to play for his team on Sunday against Juventus’ 23-year-old team (1-0 loss), but ultimately did not take part in the game. Although not approaching opposing players, Juventus decided to take certain measures to observe its players. As for the entire Pianese team, it is now in quarantine as a precaution. Italy is the European country most affected by the epidemic.Tags: JuventusKing UdohLa Gazzetta dello SportLa NazionesLa Scotte hospitalPianese
RelatedPosts Senate Queries NTA over 11 years non-profitable venture with StarTimes DSS invites 10 APC leaders for ‘important meeting’ Shaibu raises alarm: Oshiomhole plotting to assassinate some top individuals in Edo As sports enthusiasts anticipate the 20th National Sports Festival, tagged: “Edo 2020,” the Nigeria Television Authority and its marketing partner, HotSports have announced live transmission of the games. The live transmission on NTA network services will spice up the festival, which opens in Benin City on March 22 and runs till April 1. Edo 2020 will feature 32 sports, including 27 compulsory events, and have 11,000 athletes competing for laurels at 17 venues. According to the President/CEO of HotSports Nigeria Limited, Taye Ige, marketing windows that interested brands could explore include three-hour live transmission of each of the opening and closing ceremonies, two-hour daily live transmission, live transmission of the football and athletics finals as well as a well packaged one-hour daily highlights. “The National Sports Festival is our national asset, and this being an Olympic year, we must all rally behind our athletes to deliver great results and be ready to win medals in Tokyo 2020,” Ige said. NTA and HotSports have become reputable for bringing the best of sporting moments to Nigerians in the comfort of their homes and relaxation spots. They both delivered all the matches of last year’s Africa Cup of Nations live from Egypt as well as the qualifiers for the next edition. The two partners, in conjunction with African International Television, also broadcast the international friendly between Nigeria and Brazil last October. The trio are set to conclude live transmission of the remaining four matches of the Super Eagles for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, scheduled to hold in Cameroon next January.Tags: Benin CityHotSports Nigeria LimitedNational Sports FestivalntaTaye Ige
The result at the Britannia Stadium brought a three-game losing streak to an end for the Potters, but Pulis was frustrated that the hosts – who have only 27 goals to their name from their 30 top-flight matches this term – had not been able to find the net. Asked if he was worried about the side’s lack of goals, Pulis said: “Yes, very much so. The final third at times has been the problem, but it is something we have to get on with.” Stoke manager Tony Pulis admitted that their lack of goals is becoming a major concern to him following his side’s 0-0 home Barclays Premier League draw with West Brom. Press Association
He added: “We got into some fantastic positions and that final ball, or the movement, didn’t lead to the goal we need. That was disappointing. “I thought it was a very competitive game without many chances in it. “At the end Kenwyne has probably had the best chance of the game and unfortunately for us, he has ended up hitting it straight at (goalkeeper Ben) Foster. “When things are going for you, that would have nestled in the corner. But it has got us off 33 points, which has been a millstone around our neck – and fingers crossed, now in our last eight games we can push on.” Albion boss Steve Clarke – whose team remain eighth – gave a blunt assessment of the encounter, summing it up by saying: “Poor game, good point. “It was a game of very few chances and probably very little entertainment for the people watching. It is a good point away from home. We want to try to improve our away record and although we always like to try to win games, sometimes it is not possible. “This is a difficult place to come and we knew it would be a tough game and one of few chances, which is how it turned out to be. The clean sheet for us is important – it is always important to defend well, especially away from home. We will take it as a good point.” 
With a year left on his current deal beyond this season, speculation has already started as to the possibility of Reds skipper Gerrard signing up to a further extension. Rodgers refused to disclose whether talks have already started with Gerrard about a new contract, stating it is “private between Steven, I and the club”. Rodgers has, however, made it clear he wants Gerrard – who turns 33 at the end of next month – to stay on at Anfield. With Gerrard now approaching 15 years’ service as a professional with Liverpool, Rodgers said: “He’s 32 years and super fit at the moment. He’s played every minute of every (Premier League) game.” Brendan Rodgers is determined to keep Steven Gerrard at Liverpool for the rest of his career as he believes the mercurial midfielder can remain one of Europe’s top players for another five years. Press Association
He added: “We’ve worked very hard on his individual plan to make him as fit as he possibly can be, and the rest has been down to him really. “It’s about his responsibility on the field, how he manages himself off it. He’s been first class, and as a captain he’s been brilliant this year. “So he’s 32, 33 in May, and I still see another three to five years left in him yet as long as everything holds up with his body, which this year has been nigh-on perfect. So that (a new contract) is something we will sort out in due course.” Rodgers has no doubts he can envisage Gerrard playing at the highest level through to the age of 37 or 38. “Why not?” said Rodgers. “He’s a brilliant professional. Look at the likes of (Javier) Zanetti at Inter Milan (currently 39) and (Andrea) Pirlo (currently 33) who are still talked about as top European players. “Steven currently is that at the moment, and I can see him being that for the next number of years. As I’ve said, he’s had a fantastic season this season up until now and he wants to finish it strongly. “His priority is always Liverpool, which is real humbleness from the guy. He is more worried about the football club than himself. I, as a manager, want to make sure he stays here because he’s very, very important for what I want to do.” 
Mourinho said: “If to say that my colleague in Man United is a great coach, he deserves success, he deserves time to work, he didn’t win trophies at Everton because it’s difficult to win trophies there… If to speak good about him is to play mind games, what do you say if I speak bad about him? “The best thing is not to speak, and if I don’t speak nobody says nothing.” Like Moyes, Mourinho believes it is better to sign players early in the transfer window. But, unlike United, Chelsea have already recruited Andre Schurrle, Marco van Ginkel and Mark Schwarzer this summer. “He’s right,” Mourinho said. “The sooner you have the players, the better. “You know the squad you have, you know what you have to work with, you have time for that.” The Portuguese warned Chelsea’s Premier League rivals of the dangers of doing late business in the transfer window, which this season closes on September 2. “Many clubs are waiting to the last moment to make their decisions,” Mourinho said. “The problem is that those decisions affect not just one or two clubs, but a lot of them. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has refuted the suggestion he is playing mind games with Manchester United counterpart David Moyes. Press Association “The one who sells has to go and buy, then they have to buy to replace, so no club is safe. “Until the last minute somebody can go there and steal a player. I don’t mean steal a player, but steal the balance that a manager has when he’s working with a team. “In that aspect, we are lucky because we don’t have players to sell, so none of my players is leaving under any circumstances. “That’s good for me, but many teams will be until the last moment under pressure, without knowing how the squad is going to be.” It was put to Mourinho on his arrival in Jakarta, where Chelsea on Thursday play an All-Star XI, that his compliments towards Moyes were a calculated act designed to destabilise the Barclays Premier League champions. Mourinho’s sole remaining transfer target is a Manchester United player and Chelsea last week had a bid for Wayne Rooney rejected by United, who say the striker is not for sale. 
But, in a series of interviews with Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse in 2012 that have just been published, Ferguson indicated such triumphs did not occur by accident. “I am a gambler – a risk taker – and you can see that in how we played in the late stages of matches,” said Ferguson, who it has been announced is to receive the honorary freedom of Trafford borough.. “If we were down with 15 minutes to go, I was ready to take more risks. “I was perfectly happy to lose 3-1 if it meant we’d given ourselves a good chance to draw or win. “So in those last 15 minutes, we’d go for it. We’d put in an extra attacking player and worry less about defence. “We knew that if we ended up winning 3-2, it would be a fantastic feeling. “And if we lost 3-1, we’d been losing anyway.” In a unique insight into his managerial philosophy, the 71-year-old, who retired in May having won a remarkable 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies within a record haul of silverware, admitted it was unlikely any manager would benefit from being allowed four years to win his first trophy, as he was in 1986. So often did United score in the latter stages of matches it was almost a surprise when they did not manage it. The epic 1999 Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich, when United scored twice in stoppage time to turn the game on its head, was the most obvious example. Ferguson also stressed the need for any manager to maintain control of the dressing room, something he managed to do at United, often at the cost of the biggest names. “There are occasions when you have to ask yourself whether certain players are affecting the dressing room atmosphere, the performance of the team, and your control of the players and staff,” he said. “If they are, you have to cut the cord. “There is absolutely no other way. “It doesn’t matter if the person is the best player in the world. “Some English clubs have changed managers so many times that it creates power for the players in the dressing room. That is very dangerous.” The last observation would seem to point at Chelsea, although they have been United’s closest challengers for the past decade. In addition, Ferguson claimed one of the best decisions he ever made about his own managerial style was during his time at Aberdeen, when he decided to take a more hands-off attitude towards training, unlike his United successor David Moyes. Sir Alex Ferguson believes it is his natural gambler’s instinct that led to so many late wins for Manchester United down the years. Press Association
“We can score more goals because we have got two prolific strikers,” Moses told LFC TV. “We can score two or three goals in every game because we have got enough quality players to do that. “We’ve been doing well so far, we just want to keep working hard in training and the games to score as many as we can. “We’ve got enough quality players to win games this season. Everyone is working hard together as a team. That’s what we need. We’ve got a good keeper as well, who has been helping us. “We just hope everyone is fit for every game that we play. Hopefully we can win as many games as we can to stay in the top four.” Moses has found himself playing both out wide and centrally behind the striker under manager Brendan Rodgers. Having lost his place in the starting line-up the forward, named Nigerian player of the year this week, is happy to play wherever and whenever he can. “Wherever the manager is willing to play me, I’m excited to play there,” he added. “I can play out wide, as a striker or anywhere up front, as long as the manager puts me in there to play. I’m ready to do the job for the team. “I’m enjoying it here, it’s a massive club. We’re doing well at the moment; we just want to keep the momentum going. “I want to keep working hard in training and doing what I’m good at, which is working hard for the team.” That is even more significant considering Liverpool have only league matches to play until the FA Cup begins for them in January. “I just want to score goals. I wanted to score around 20 goals this season,” said the 22-year-old, whose best scoring run was last season when he got 12 while playing league, European and Africa Cup of Nations matches. “We’ve still got lots of games to go so hopefully I can get up to that target. “I think I’ve got the ability to do that so I’m looking forward to every game. “When I first came, I was starting. Now, the manager has got a different view and he wants to mix things around a little bit. “I just have to be patient until my time comes. I’ll kick on from there and help the team.” Liverpool, as a side, are averaging two goals per game with Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge having registered nine apiece already. However, the pair cannot be expected to shoulder the burden on their own and contributions need to come from elsewhere within the team. The Nigeria international scored on his debut for the Reds against Swansea in September soon after completing his temporary move from Chelsea. He has not scored again in a further eight games and with his last three appearances coming as a substitute he needs to get himself back in the side if he is to have a chance of getting close to his projected goal tally. On-loan Liverpool forward Victor Moses set himself an ambitious 20-goal target for the current season and he is still hopeful he can come close to delivering. Press Association
Leinster surrendered their unbeaten record in this season’s Heineken Cup as Northampton Saints won a low-scoring but absorbing contest at the Aviva Stadium. Press Association But Northampton – bottling the hurt caused by their collapse at Franklin’s Gardens – landed an early blow with North’s sixth-minute try and should have been further in front than 7-3 at the break. North, Samu Manoa and Tom Wood helped the territorially-dominant Saints boss the physical stakes, turning the tables on the Irish province who were error-strewn during the first 40 minutes. An Ian Madigan penalty in the 11th minute put four points between the sides, with the visitors’ scrum- half Lee Dickson held up over the try-line and his half-back partner Stephen Myler missing a late shot at the posts. Leinster resumed on the front foot with Madigan reducing the arrears to a single point. Myler and Madigan exchanged penalties in the final quarter before Northampton held their nerve superbly at the finish, as Kahn Fotuali’I dropped a goal and winger Elliott ran in an intercept score in injury time. The result, which brought back memories of Northampton’s round 5 win at Ravenhill last December, keeps Saints in the pool reckoning and leaves Leinster licking their wounds approaching Christmas – something they had to do 12 months ago when beaten at home by Clermont Auvergne. Both sides were forced into late switches with a dead leg ruling out former European Player of the Year Sean O’Brien. Shane Jennings joined the Leinster back row, while Dom Waldouck’s absence in the Northampton back-line saw North pair up with Luther Burrell in the centre for the first time. Northampton had the first glimpse of the whitewash, springing teenage winger Tom Collins free from a solid scrum and Rob Kearney cynically bringing him down as they chased a kick. Saints went for the line-out option and after second row Lawes was held up, Dickson and Burrell combined to release North for a close range try converted by Myler. Luke Fitzgerald wriggled into space to set up field position for Leinster, with Madigan getting them off the mark in the 11th minute. But dropped balls and misjudged kicks made for a sloppy start from the hosts. Leinster were forced on the defensive again as Wood wielded influence at the breakdown, before Brian O’Driscoll was invited forward by a short Jack McGrath pass. Saints continued to force the issue though, with North intercepting a Fitzgerald pass and a dogged drive from the forwards almost led to a pushover try for busy scrum-half Dickson – Mike Ross held him up. Rob Kearney, who was particularly busy in defence, tried to lift Matt O’Connor’s men with two terrific touch-finding kicks – but the Northampton line-out was well-oiled with Christian Day in stellar form. Myler misjudged a last-minute kick from the left hand side, failing to reward an advancing scrum, and Saints had to weather a Leinster storm in the opening minutes of the second half. McGrath and Fitzgerald had Leinster within a metre of the try-line, Northampton’s defence holding firm until Madigan put the minimum between the sides. Saints went in search of a second try, winning consecutive penalties inside the 22 as they continued to back their line-out. An important tackle by Jennings on Manoa forced a relieving knock on. A weaving run from the electric Fitzgerald brought Leinster downfield and as play continued to break up, North’s deft hands released Ken Pisi for a raid into the 22 and Elliott was just unable to collect the final pass. Three points from the boot of Myler were a decent reward for Saints’ unrelenting endeavour. Leinster then bludgeoned into scoring range with captain Jamie Heaslip and Gordon D’Arcy carrying well. The province’s hard graft earned a central penalty which Madigan dispatched with eight nerve-jangling minutes left. Northampton displayed their resilience again when replacement scrum-half Fotuali’i clipped home his drop-goal, making up for a wayward 52-metre penalty from Meyler. Leinster piled forward in the dying minutes, their forwards scrambling to make the try-line. Northampton’s defence almost gave way amid intense pressure, but a Heaslip fumble in the 22 allowed Elliott to gather and race away for the clinching score. Tries from George North and Jamie Elliott bookended this fifth round clash, as Jim Mallinder’s men recovered resoundingly from last week’s 40-point hammering from the Irish province. Leinster had the opportunity to move 10 points clear at the top of Pool One, drawing a 47,370-strong crowd to the home of Irish rugby. 
“He fractured his tibia and his fibula and they were displaced, so we weren’t able to put them back into place until Monday. “He had surgery (on Monday) night when a rod was put through his tibia, which means he will come back stronger than before. “It was a clean break and that means that there are no pieces of bone. “Sometimes when there are small fragments of bone in the area, it can be difficult to deal with. “But these are clean breaks, so they will put the bones back into position and it will heal well from there. “We will be working hard to get him back as quickly as we can.” Everton defender Bryan Oviedo has undergone a successful operation on the double fracture to his left leg. The Costa Rica international broke his tibia and fibula during Saturday’s FA Cup fourth-round victory at Stevenage. “Bryan’s surgery was a big success and he is in a comfortable and stable condition,” the club’s head of medical services Danny Donachie told evertonfc.com. 
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In 2004, the Roman Abramovich-owned club were reckoned to be the biggest payers in world football as Chelsea spent heavily to challenge United’s dominance. Ten years on, and Manchester City are now easily the biggest payers in the Premier League, and Chelsea’s accounts lodged with Companies House show that they are now in third spot in the ‘wages league’ below United as well. Chelsea’s wage bill in 2012/13 was £176million compared to £182million for Manchester United in the same season, while Manchester City’s was £233million. Chelsea’s salary bill for the season also includes £4million paid during the course of the year to former manager Roberto Di Matteo – the accounts say the sum is for “termination payments and compensation in relation to changes in the first-team management structure”. The increasingly-prudent approach to wages at Chelsea reflects the club’s commitment to complying with UEFA’s financial fair play rules, where clubs in European competition can only record losses of 45million euros (£37.5m) during the first two-year accounting period. Chelsea have also benefited from signing the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata before they were established superstars demanding huge salaries, which also has taken the pressure off the wage bill. Wages at the Stamford Bridge club actually fell overall in 2011/12, and the rise last season was around three per cent compared to an 11.6% increase at United. In terms of UEFA’s spending rules, Chelsea Football Club Ltd’s accounts state: “The introduction of UEFA’s financial fair play regulations from the 2011/12 season provides a significant challenge. “The football club needs to continue to balance success on the field together with the financial imperatives of this new regime.” The latest figure are in stark contrast to 10 years ago when Deloitte’s annual football finance review estimated Chelsea’s wage bill of £115million in 2003/04 as “almost certainly the highest in world football”. In that year, Roman Abramovich’s first full season of ownership of Chelsea, the club registered a 110 per cent increase in wages. Chelsea’s wage bill has been overtaken by Manchester United’s for the first time in more than a decade, it can be revealed. 
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Press Association The Spain international had long been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge and now the Blues have confirmed they have met the buy-out clause for the 25-year-old. “Chelsea Football Club can confirm an agreement has been reached with Atletico Madrid for the transfer of Diego Costa, with Chelsea meeting the buy-out clause for the Spanish international,” read a statement on the club’s official website. Brazil-born Costa netted 35 goals for Atletico last season as they won the Spanish title and reached the Champions League final, where they lost in extra-time to Real Madrid. The 25-year-old emerged as the leading summer transfer target for Blues manager Jose Mourinho, who was determined to add some firepower to a squad which came up just short behind Manchester City and Liverpool in the Barclays Premier League and were knocked out of Europe in the semi-finals by Atletico. It is believed the transfer fee will be in the region of £32million. Defender Ashley Cole has left Chelsea this summer at the end of his contract, along with England midfielder Frank Lampard. However, former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas was signed from Barcelona on June 12, the day before Spain crashed to a 5-1 defeat to Holland in their opening World Cup match in Brazil. Earlier on Tuesday, Chelsea announced goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer had signed a new one-year contract. The former Australia international, 41, headed to Stamford Bridge last summer on a free transfer from west London neighbours Fulham to offer back-up to Petr Cech and went on to make 12 appearances – including the semi-final against Atletico after injury to the Chelsea number one. In a statement on Tuesday night, Atletico said Costa had sought a move to Chelsea but the club had insisted on receiving his full buy-out clause. “Diego Costa communicated at the end of last season his will to be transferred to Chelsea and today the two clubs have reached an agreement for which the London club must pay the full amount set as the buy-out clause in the contract between the player and the club,” the statement said. 
Chelsea have reached an agreement to sign striker Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid, the Barclays Premier League club have announced. 
Hull left-back Joe Dudgeon has signed a new one-year contract at the KC Stadium, the club have announced. “It was good to get those games in and I’ve been building on that through the off season. Hopefully now I have a good foundation for pre-season and I can kick on from here. “It’s all about focussing on the future now. You can’t keep thinking about the past. You can learn from it but you have to move on. “This is a fresh start now and I want to show everybody that I still want to be here and I want to play.” Press Association
Dudgeon, who joined the Tigers in 2011 from Manchester United, is looking to get his career back on track having made only two first-team appearances – both in last season’s Capital One Cup – in the past 18 months due to a knee problem. “I managed to get fit for the last couple of months of last season and I got a few behind-closed-doors (games) under my belt,” the 23-year-old told www.hullcitytigers.com. 
Paddy Power is not making a call between his mother Sabena’s two runners in Saturday’s Darley July Cup. Paddy Power said: “Slade Power is very straightforward and in great form. “Presuming that he gets there safe and sound, that straightforwardness will help as you can put him anywhere in the race and he is adaptable and the great thing is he goes on any ground. “Sole is a bit more tricky as the less rain there is, the better it is. But we’re very lucky to be going there with two live chances and it’s fingers crossed.” Asked which of the two he prefers, he said: “The ideal result is definitely a dead-heat! “But the one-two either way around will do just fine and I will be doing all my usual reverse forecasts. “I honestly don’t know which to opt for – but one thing is for sure, I will be roaring ‘Come on Power!’ during the race.” John Gosden has warned Gregorian will only take his chance if the ground is soft. The five-year-old has yet to run over the big-race distance of six furlongs and has done all his winning from seven furlongs to an extended mile. The bookmaking family will take both their Royal Ascot-winning sprinters to Newmarket at the weekend, with the younger Slade Power shorter in the market as he attained his first Group One win over six furlongs in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes. Veteran Sole Power, who carries the first colours, is a five-furlong specialist and retained his King’s Stand title last month. His latest success came on the July Course in the Group Three Criterion Stakes over seven furlongs when heavy rain turned the going to soft. “He’s happy over a stiff six, he’s happy over seven and that’s probably his best trip,” the Newmarket trainer told Racing UK. “If we did get the ground we got for the Criterion then he would run. If we get normal summer ground, fast ground, he won’t run and we’d wait. He’s ground dependant. “Gerald Mosse said last year not to be frightened of sprinting with his horse when he rode him in France. “He’s been a great old horse. He was unlucky in the French Guineas, he was knocked over in the French Derby. He’s won his Group Twos and his Group Threes. If the heavens opened he would run.” Press Association
Press Association The acquisition from Brighton netted a first-half brace and, although Keiran Agard reduced the deficit, Danny Drinkwater sealed the win. A Craig Dawson own goal saw West Brom go down to a 3-2 defeat at Port Vale. Kemar Roofe opened the scoring for the Baggies but Ben Williamson and Tom Pope turned the game on its head before Bradley Garmston made it 2-2. The drama was not over, though, as Dawson’s miscued header five minutes from time fooled Boaz Myhill and handed Vale victory. Summer signing Lukas Jutkiewicz scored his fourth and fifth pre-season goals for Burnley but he could not hand the Clarets a win as goals from Alex Lopez and Nolito secured a 2-2 draw for Primera Division side Celta Vigo at Turf Moor. In the day’s other friendlies, goals from Bobby Zamora and Charlie Austin handed QPR a 2-0 win over Athlone Town, while Alan Hutton scored the only goal as Aston Villa beat Walsall 1-0. Summer signings Emmanuel Riviere and Remy Cabella both got on the scoresheet for Newcastle as the Magpies drew 2-2 with Huddersfield at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Riviere netted his third goal of the pre-season campaign in the 16th minute but Radoslaw Majewski and Jon Stead had the home side in front before Cabella grabbed an equaliser. Leonardo Ulloa opened his account for Leicester in a 3-1 win over Rotherham. 
Liverpool harboured frustrations Hodgson revealed Sterling had complained of tiredness ahead of the Estonia clash, that England eventually won 1-0. Hodgson attended Sunday’s Loftus Road thriller, but left 10 minutes before the end – and the entire calamitous climax. Former Swansea boss Rodgers said he did not know whether England using Sterling sparingly in the last fortnight boosted his performance at QPR. Rodgers said there was no need for him or Sterling to meet up with Hodgson on Sunday. “I haven’t thought on that a lot to be honest, there has been a whole series of things said and written about an unfortunate incident,” said Rodgers. “But we have to move on from that. “I was actually quite busy believe it or not today, so I haven’t had the chance (to speak to Hodgson). “The kid’s played the game and now he’s having a shower – so I don’t think he’ll see him – not unless Roy’s having a shower! “We always talk, there’s no fallout, there’s no nothing. “I’m not a barrier for England, if anything I’m a big supporter of the home nations and every country. I like to think I develop players that will hopefully develop national teams. “So there’s no issue, Roy and I speak and communicate well, we’ll always find time to speak. “He’s a good man: I will always be here to support and help them.” Rangers boss Redknapp was left to lament his impressive side’s shocking luck – and launch a passionate defence of his Loftus Road tenure. The former Tottenham manager said he has no interest in speculation linking the likes of Tim Sherwood to replacing him at the west London club’s helm. “I couldn’t give a monkey’s about speculation, if you think I’m bothered, really, about silly people keeping writing rubbish,” said Redknapp. “I don’t even buy newspapers. “The only time I hear is if some idiot comes up to me and says ‘ooh, have you seen the paper today Harry?’ And I say ‘I don’t know, I don’t read it’. “I’m not interested: they can write what they want. “You only do what you can do, your best, that’s what you can do in life. “If it ain’t good enough, it’s up to other people to make their mind up. “I don’t go home and worry about speculation, I’m 68 nearly. “What am I worried about? I’m not 35 with five kids trying to pay a mortgage. “I do my best every day, I come in early, every morning I’m at the training ground early and I leave late at night. “I love my job, and I do my best: I can’t do any more and there ain’t no one could do any better here at the moment than me, I don’t think. “I hear other names mentioned, but they couldn’t do any better than what I can do, that’s for sure.” Brendan Rodgers hailed Raheem Sterling’s “courage and cleverness” in providing the perfect riposte to “unfortunate” criticism of his England omission as Liverpool tiptoed to a 3-2 victory at QPR. Sterling shook off controversy over claims he complained of tiredness in the build-up to England’s Euro 2016 qualifier in Estonia to mastermind Liverpool’s patchy Loftus Road win. Liverpool boss Rodgers said he has “no issue” with Roy Hodgson, pledging full support for England in spite of club frustrations over the Sterling revelations. Sterling forced Steven Caulker to turn the ball into his own net in the fourth minute of added time as the Reds gazumped luckless QPR to root Harry Redknapp’s men to the foot of the Premier League. Richard Dunne’s own goal gifted Liverpool the lead against the run of play, Eduardo Vargas twice equalised in the game’s frenetic dying stages either side of Philippe Coutinho’s strike, but Caulker’s error denied Rangers a deserved point. “I thought his cleverness and brightness led to the first goal,” said Rodgers of Sterling. “The best players come alive when the game goes dead, whether it’s a throw-in or in the game. “Some players look for a rest or try to get organised, but the bright players come alive. “He spotted it, played it early: it was a great run from Glen Johnson to invite the quick ball, and obviously a great cross that the defender turned in. “And the breakaways for the other two, they are just all about his speed, his technique, his courage to carry the ball, run with the ball. “It was great courage and cleverness from him today.” Press Association
Head coach Joe Schmidt will be desperate for Ulster hooker Best to be fit for Saturday’s Springboks clash in Dublin given Ireland’s raft of front-row injuries. Best went through “modified work” in training on Monday, with his progress to be monitored throughout the week. Ireland must face the big-scrummaging Springboks without props Cian Healy, Marty Moore and Nathan White, while tighthead Mike Ross is still fighting for fitness after groin trouble. “Rory Best has a tight calf that will be monitored all week,” said Kearney. “He will go through modified work today (Monday) and will be monitored as the week goes on. “It’s probably a little bit more difficult to say with Rory, but he will do modified work and be monitored closely. “Mike Ross went through some running and multi-directional work as well as static team work on Friday, and will be introduced to full training over the next few days. “He will be closely monitored but the prognosis is positive and we are reasonably confident he will be available for selection.” Johnny Sexton is expected to train fully all week despite suffering “tightness in his thigh”, with Kearney confirming Racing Metro agreed to limit his French Top 14 action to 40 minutes at the weekend. Gordon D’Arcy, Rob Kearney and Jack McGrath are all expected back in full training this week, while Stuart Olding and Tommy Bowe have come successfully through concussion protocols and will be available too. Ireland team manager Michael Kearney has admitted it is “difficult to say” whether Rory Best will face South Africa after picking up a calf problem. “We don’t have a concern over Johnny, he will be expected to play full part in the sessions over the week,” said Kearney. “It had been prearranged that he would come off at the weekend, he was always going to play a limited part in the Racing game.” Meanwhile, British and Irish Lions scrum-half Conor Murray urged centres Robbie Henshaw and Jared Payne not to become “bogged down” by following Brian O’Driscoll into Ireland’s 13 shirt. Kiwi boss Schmidt has confirmed Connacht’s Henshaw and Ulster’s Payne will battle it out to replace the now-retired O’Driscoll at outside centre. Team manager Kearney said there had been no IRFU talk of retiring the 13 shirt in a USA sport-style gesture of respect to O’Driscoll. Munster half-back Murray then backed Henshaw and Payne to relish the challenge of putting their own stamp on the Ireland back-line O’Driscoll so dominated for 15 years. “There’s been much talk of it, we had all that chat last year throughout the whole season, the long farewell,” said Murray. “We’re pretty much used to that now and there are opportunities for lads to fill into that famous jersey. “There will be pressure on them, but they’re going to have to be their own men, and not be too bogged down by the title of that jersey. “It’s something the public will talk about but within our squad we know the players we’ve got and what we’re trying to do. “So we’re not going to dwell on that too much. “I think they see it as an opportunity, they are two really good players and they bring a lot of different things to the table. “They will be hugely influential if they do get a chance in there. “They are going well in training, swapping in and out, so it’s up to Joe who he gives the shirt to, but whoever gets it, I’m sure they’ll do a great job.” Press Association
Per Mertesacker says Arsenal must heed the lessons of back-to-back collapses against Anderlecht and Swansea and start playing “serious football” to get their season back on track. But Mertesacker said Arsenal can remedy their problems if they learn their lessons quickly and turn 60-minute performances into 90-minute displays. “We played our game for 60 minutes with patience, seriously, and they didn’t have a proper chance,” Mertesacker said. “Then we scored and we thought we didn’t need to keep possession or patience, and then we struggled. “That was our fault and we did the same against Anderlecht. We have to think about it quickly. “We have good ideas on how we can extend the good 60 minutes into 90 minutes. “It’s absolutely necessary in the next couple of weeks. We struggled a bit but we have great potential and you can see that. “Now we have some time to think about the few issues that cause trouble because we made mistakes in areas we have to avoid.” It was groundhog day for Arsenal and their supporters at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday afternoon following Alexis Sanchez’s 63rd minute goal – the Chilean’s 12th of the season and sixth in his last four games – looked like claiming three Barclays Premier League points. Gylfi Sigurdsson and Bafetimbi Gomis struck late on to give Swansea a 2-1 victory and leave Arsene Wenger’s side with another hangover just five days after they had wasted a 3-0 Champions League lead against Anderlecht to draw 3-3 at the Emirates Stadium. German defender Mertesacker said Arsenal’s second Premier League defeat of the season was a result of letting their standards slip for the second time in the space of a week. “The game was completely in our hands, especially in the second half when we scored,” Mertesacker told the official club website. “Then we have to play serious football and not lose the ball but they got us on the break, and that’s completely unbelievable in our situation. “We have to play simple, even if we are 1-0 up – even more then. We played through the middle but we need to keep possession and keep patient, something that we did all the way through until the 60th minute and we had the game in our hands completely. “That’s what I mean by serious football. “When you get such a result (like against Anderlecht) normally you come back quickly and after such a setback normally we bounce back immediately. “But that was not the game and we have to take the (international) break now really seriously and work hard on the issues.” Arsenal’s defeat dropped them to sixth place and Wenger admitted after the Liberty loss that no-one in the Premier League is capable of challenging leaders Chelsea for the title right now. Press Association
Coventry slipped to their sixth successive defeat after a 3-1 defeat to Belfast. Elsewhere, Matthew Myers, Doug Clarkson, Joey Haddad, Joey Martin and Andrew Hotham were all on-target as the Cardiff Devils crushed the Fife Flyers 5-0. After a goalless first two periods, the game exploded into life when Cody Brookwell opened the scoring, with Darryl Lloyd doubling the Giants’ lead soon after. Although the Blaze pulled one back through Justin DaCosta, David Phillips sealed victory for the Northern Irish side soon after. 
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Alan Pardew could be on the verge of bringing his tumultuous four-year-old reign on Tyneside to an end and agreeing terms to take over as the new manager of Crystal Palace. Press Association Pardew made 128 appearances for Palace between 1988 and 1991 and scored the winning goal in his side’s famous FA Cup final win over Liverpool in 1990. Despite a mounting campaign for his dismissal from a large section of Newcastle supporters, Pardew retained the faith of Magpies owner Mike Ashley and guided them to ninth place in the Premier League table. But with relations with the fans still strained and little prospect of major investment in the January transfer window, it is easy to see why Pardew may have been tempted by the vacancy at Selhurst Park. And the 53-year-old stoked the speculation over his future by failing to attend the post-match press conference following his side’s 3-2 win over Everton on Sunday. Pardew is scheduled to host his regular pre-match press conference ahead of the visit of Burnley at Newcastle’s training ground on Tuesday afternoon – at around the same time Palace preview their next match against Aston Villa. However, Palace chairman Steve Parish may act swiftly following the departure of Neil Warnock, with Keith Millen taking charge in a caretaker capacity for the second time. Millen made clear his desire to be considered for the position after Sunday’s goalless draw at QPR when he said: “I’m ready for it. “I think the players respect me. I’ve done it enough times, I’ve managed before and I enjoy working for the club. Several leading bookmakers suspended betting on the next Premier League manager to leave his post on Monday after reports that Palace have agreed compensation terms with Newcastle. Neither club has been willing to confirm suggestions that the Eagles will pay £2million to land Pardew, who still has five years left on his St James’ Park contract. “The chairman may feel he needs more experience or wants to see what names are available because it’s a vital time now.” Reports in Australia claimed Palace had also approached former Palace defender Tony Popovic – currently in charge of Western Sydney Wanderers – about the job, while Tim Sherwood, Chris Hughton and former boss Tony Pulis have also been mentioned in connection with the vacancy. The draw at QPR saw Palace drop into the relegation zone ahead of the trip to Villa on New Year’s Day. Defender Joel Ward has insisted the players cannot afford to let the managerial issue become a distraction from their fight for survival. “We’ve been in this situation before on various different occasions and we’ve just got to get on with the job at hand, focus on the games and not let it affect us,” Ward said. “The main focus is to pick up points and to stay in the Premier League. That is all we are going to focus on. “I’m not going to comment on anything else about the decision that has been made. “The expectations after last season are high. We set our bar high and we want to get back to that.” Mile Jedinak has been one of his side’s star performers so far this term but the Eagles captain will miss the Villa match as he departs to play for Australia in the Asia Cup. Jedinak believes his team-mates will give their all while Millen is in charge and admits it would be best for all concerned if a new manager is appointed as soon as possible. “Of course we would like to see someone appointed quickly but we’ve been in this position a few times before and we know that decisions can’t always be made straight away,” Jedinak said. “Whatever that decision is you need to respect it and until then you keep working hard for each other, for Keith, for everyone else involved so that when someone else does come in it’s business as usual and we can keep that ball rolling.” 
The Foxes chief took exception to being asked what criticism of his players had upset him over the season. He was facing the press after Leicester’s defeat to Chelsea, which left them a point above the Barclays Premier League relegation zone. It was not the first time Pearson had been involved in a spat with a journalist this season, calling one a p***k after Leicester’s 0-0 draw with Hull in March. Pearson hinted he felt his players had been given unfair criticism this season, despite only climbing out of the relegation zone for the first time since November at the weekend. He was asked what in particular had upset the manager only to be met with angry responses. Pearson said: “Have you been on holiday for six months? Have you been away for six months? “I think you must have been either ‘head in the clouds’ or away on holiday or reporting on a different team because if you don’t know the answer to that question your question is absolutely unbelievable, the fact you do not understand where I am coming from. “If you don’t know the answer to that question then I think you are an ostrich. Your head must be in the sand. Is your head in the sand? Are you flexible enough to get your head in the sand? My suspicion would be no.” Pearson continued to talk at the writer despite a member of Leicester’s media team trying to wrap up the press conference. He added: “Listen, you have been here often enough and for you to ask that question, you are either being very, very silly or you are being absolutely stupid, one of the two because for you to ask that question. I am sorry son, you are daft. “You are wrong. No, you are wrong. You have been in here, I know you have so don’t give that crap with me, please don’t give that crap with me. I will smile at you because I can afford to smile at you. Now do you want to ask a different question or do you want to ask it differently. Come on, ask it. Ask it or are you not capable?” Boss Nigel Pearson launched into a bizarre rant against a journalist – calling him an ostrich – after Leicester’s 3-1 defeat to Chelsea.
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Press Association Roberts moves for an undisclosed fee, but Press Association Sport understands City will pay in the region of £5million up front for the 18-year-old with a further £6million in add-ons. Roberts is City’s fourth summer signing, and the third Englishman following the arrivals of Raheem Sterling from Liverpool, Fabian Delph from Aston Villa and young Turkey striker Enes Unal from Bursaspor. City announced the signing via Twitter with a picture of Roberts putting pen to paper but offered no details of the deal. Fulham simultaneously announced the deal, saying: “The club can confirm that Patrick Roberts has joined Manchester City for an undisclosed fee. We wish him the best of luck in the future.” Roberts played just 22 times for the Cottagers after he made his debut as a second-half substitute against City in Fulham’s 5-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium in March last year . The Cottagers had been keen to keep Roberts, but it is understood he handed in a transfer request in order to seal a move to the Premier League club. Roberts has represented England at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-19 levels. He also led the Cottagers to the 2014 FA Youth Cup final where they lost 7-6 on aggregate to Chelsea. City urgently needed to add homegrown players to their ranks after the departures of James Milner, Frank Lampard, Dedryck Boyata, Scott Sinclair and Micah Richards left them with only Joe Hart and Gael Clichy before their flurry of moves in the past week. 
Manchester City have completed the signing of Fulham teenager Patrick Roberts in a further move to boost their homegrown ranks. 
Smith said: “His experience stood to him, and he jumped brilliant. Mark gave him a great ride. It’s great to get a winner here, and that’s my first at the Festival although I’ve only had a few runners. “He wasn’t doing a stroke in front but when the other horses came to him, he kept on well. He’s entered up on Sunday, and we’ll have to have a look at it.” Matthew Smith’s 12-1 chance was given a fine ride from the front by Mark Enright, at one stage holding a big advantage on the field. As the pack closed he looked like being swallowed but dug deep to hold all-comers, passing the line two lengths ahead of Guitar Pete. Empresario produced a performance full of guts to take the Latin Quarter Beginners Chase at Galway. 
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Starting on the left side of City’s attack, Sterling had few opportunities to get into the area in the first half but really should have scored when Fernandinho played a first-time pass to set him on his way five minutes before the break. However Sterling looked hesitant and tried to place his shot too close to Boaz Myhill. That was one of only two real sights at goal, with the other a shot straight at Myhill from a tight angle early in the second half, and he was replaced by Samir Nasri with City 3-0 up after 74 minutes. TEAMWORK City’s tendency to camp in West Brom’s final third and try to patiently break down the defence left little space for Sterling to exploit his pace. He linked up nicely with David Silva a few times but struggled to find a way through the deep-lying defence. He looked like a man still trying to find his exact role in City’s evolving attack, although this was far from the finished article all around with Sergio Aguero starting the evening on the bench. CROWD REACTION The West Brom crowd booed his every touch in the first half – before switching their attention to referee Mike Dean after the break – but that only encouraged the City fans to get behind their new man. OVERALL It was a fairly subdued debut for Sterling, who had one golden chance to crown it with a goal but otherwise operated as no more than a competent cog in a City machine which was operating very nicely indeed in the opening game of the season. Press Association Here, Press Association Sport assess whether Raheem Sterling began to repay any of his £49million transfer fee in the 3-0 City win at The Hawthorns. GOAL THREAT 
The most expensive Englishman in footballing history made his competitive debut for Manchester City against West Brom on Monday night.
Louis van Gaal admits Memphis Depay has not lived up to expectations since his £25million move to Manchester United. “I don’t have any problems with players but sometimes they are out of the team because their competitor is in that moment in a better shape but that doesn’t mean that I have a quarrel with the player. It’s a matter of form.” Six players will miss United’s trip to Watford on Saturday lunchtime. Martial is suffering from a foot injury he sustained against England on Tuesday, but could be back for next Wednesday’s Champions League game against PSV. Rooney will also miss the trip to Vicarage Road through illness. With Fellaini still sidelined by a calf problem, Van Gaal admits he has a “big problem” selecting an attack for Saturday. The inexperienced James Wilson, who has started just two league games under Van Gaal, is lacking match fitness following an injury. Fellaini would have started up front had he recovered from the calf problem that ruled him out of international duty. “Fellaini is injured and that’s a big blow because Rooney is ill, so we have a big problem, I think,” Van Gaal said. “It was a big surprise because I thought Fellaini (would have) recovered after the international break.” United do not have the option to recall Adnan Januzaj from his loan at Borussia Dortmund, Van Gaal revealed. “I don’t think that (he can come back in January),” Van Gaal said of the Belgium forward. It came as something of a surprise when Januzaj joined Dortmund on loan in August. The 20-year-old was expected to challenge for a first-team place at Old Trafford, but Van Gaal loaned him to the Germans on deadline day. Januzaj has only started two league games for the club and Van Gaal admitted the forward was taking a risk by moving to Dortmund. “In a club like Borussia Dortmund, all the players there are also of a certain level and I said in advance: ‘that’s a big risk for you because you have to compete with other players of a higher level’ and that is not so easy,” Van Gaal said. “It’s the same thing as in Manchester United. He has to compete with higher level players and I want him to play all the matches and that is why I want to play him also in the Premier League but he chose for Borussia Dortmund.” Antonio Valencia (foot), Luke Shaw (leg) and Michael Carrick, who hurt his ankle playing for England in Spain, are out. Van Gaal will check whether Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger, who were playing at the Stade de France last Friday when the Paris terrorist attacks occurred, are ready to feature at Watford. He said: “It’s a question if the players want to play. I always look in the players’ eyes after training and make my decision.” Earlier this summer, Van Gaal hailed Depay as the “greatest talent of his age”, but the Dutch forward has looked nothing like the man who topped the Eredivisie scoring charts with 22 goals for PSV Eindhoven last season. When asked if he expected more of his compatriot, Van Gaal said: “Of course, because otherwise he was still in the team. “Otherwise I don’t look for another solution and (that is why) I have kept Jesse Lingard and Andreas Pereira, for that option.” Depay’s confident persona is said to have not gone down well with some at United, but Van Gaal insists the forward is applying himself correctly in training. “Now he has to fight back and he does it, so I am satisfied (with him),” Van Gaal said. “There is always a chance (he will play on Saturday). I have to see and compare players. “He is always looking very good. “Jesse Lingard has played very well, but it’s a question if he is consistent and that we have to wait and see. Press Association With Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial and Marouane Fellaini unavailable, Van Gaal could ask Depay to lead the line for United at Watford on Saturday. Should he be restored to the starting XI, it will be the first time Depay has started a Barclays Premier League game in seven weeks. 
They say this is five miles more than the operational estimate and makes Hurricane Michael a Category 5.Scientists say Hurricane Michael is the first hurricane to make landfall as a Category 5 storm since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 in South Miami, and only the fourth on record. Other Category 5 storms include the Labor Day Hurricane in 1935 and Hurricane Camille in 1969.They go on to say the Category 5 winds were likely experienced over a very small area at and near the coast.They say the change in estimated wind speeds is “of little practical significance” when talking about impacts from the storm.Hurricane Season 2019 begins June 1st. The damage left behind by Hurricane Michael, which was classified as a Category 4 storm speaks for itself.Scientists at NOAA’s National Hurricane Center have now upgraded Hurricane Michael to a Category 5.Scientists say after analyzing all data on Hurricane Michael, they determined the storm made landfall with wind speeds of 160 miles per hour when the eye made landfall near Mexico Beach and Tyndall Air Force Base. JUST IN: NOAA: Post-storm analysis of Hurricane Michael, which slammed into the Florida Panhandle in October, has been upgraded to a Cat. 5 landfall — the first since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. pic.twitter.com/zRXoXTXKqJ— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 19, 2019
Officials in Oakland Park are currently investigating the death of a man they say was struck by two drivers who then left the scene of the accident.The incident occurred around 4:30 am Saturday at the 1800 block of West Oakland Park Boulevard.According to the report, the pedestrian used a designated crosswalk to walk from north to south along the boulevard. He then entered the eastbound lanes of Oakland Park and then walked north where he stood near a median. That’s when he was struck by a vehicle heading west in the far left lane.The driver of that vehicle believed to be driving a Mazda 6 sedan made between 2009 and 2011, left the scene. The victim was then struck by another driver in a Honda Civic.The victim, who has not yet been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene by authorities.Investigators were able to locate the driver of the Honda Civic who is now cooperating with police, however, they are still searching for the first driver.While it was reported that the force of the impact knocked the victim out of his shoes, officials also reported that excessive speed was not considered a factor in the crash.If you have any information about this incident, you are asked to contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477).
A deputy bloodhound followed the scent of a missing Florida three-year-old with autism, leading police to the boy in less than thirty minutes, police said.According to the boy’s mother, he went missing Sunday Pace, near Pensacola, when his grandmother briefly left him unsupervised to use the restroom.While unsupervised, the boy, identified only as Aedric, wandered out the front door of his family’s home and into the woods.After investigators searched for two hours, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office released their bloodhound.The dog led authorities to the boy in about 28 minutes, deputies said during the news conference.The boy had a few bug bites and minor scratches but was otherwise uninjured, according to deputies.The woods where the boy was found were so thick that crews needed a machete to reach him.He was found about 200 yards from his home.“The most terrifying words a mother can get on the phone is your child is missing, get home right now,” said the boy’s mother Audra Hughes, who was working when Aedric went missing. “And then a couple of hours later, the best news I’ve ever heard in my life. We found your kid.”Hughes also said that a lot of her neighbor’s helped search for Aedric.
Early Tuesday, a Florida deputy helped deliver a baby after he pulled a vehicle for what he thought was going to be a routine traffic stop.Collier County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Robert Pounds was on patrol in Naples when he clocked a speeding car going 63 mph in a 45 mph zone around 4:30 a.m.Deputy Pounds approached the vehicle and quickly realized the passenger was about to give birth.He immediately called for EMS and backup, then grabbed a blanket.According to CCSO, the Naples deputy delivered “a beautiful baby girl and made sure the mom was OK, and the infant was breathing.”“Once EMS arrived they cut the cord, checked out the mom and baby and transported them to the hospital,” CCSO said.
An Ohio man received about 55,000 copies of the same exact letter from College Avenue Student Loans.Dan Cain of Twinsburg told WOIO that he knew there was a problem as soon as the clerk at his post office told him that he had too much mail to walk through the front door with.Cain said there was about 79 trays of letters with about 700 letters in each.In a statement obtained by WOIO, the college loan company said the letter was in regards to Cain’s daughter’s student loan being due /The company blamed the mistake on a computer glitch.
Palm Beach County is currently leading Florida in the number of coronavirus deaths.As of Wednesday, the Florida Department of Health information reported a total of 16 coronavirus deaths in Palm Beach County. This number surpassed Broward and Miami-Dade counties.Palm Beach is currently third in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state, following Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Miami-Dade has over 2,000 confirmed cases, Broward has 1,200 cases, and Palm Beach has more than 500 cases.Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday he expects those numbers in confirmed coronavirus cases in Palm Beach County to rise with the addition of a testing site in West Palm Beach.On Wednesday, Gov. DeSenatis announced he will be singing an executive stay at home order for the state of Florida.Gov. Ron DeSantis issues stay at home order for Florida There are 87 deaths in total for the state of Florida.
School board members will decide on Wednesday when they officially vote on a reopening plan for the 2020-21 academic year.sAccording to the school board’s agenda, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Donald Fennoy is recommending that all schools in the School District of Palm Beach County start the year with online distance learning.The new school year in Palm Beach County is currently slated to start on Monday, Aug. 10. WATCH LIVE COVERAGE:
Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony and his deputies have begun cracking down on house parties in his county, as the coronavirus continues to spread.Tony said the issue is not just that the virus is spreading at these gatherings, but that many of the events are also turning violent.The sheriff says he is specifically targeting District 5, which is in Central Broward.“We’ve seen a slight increase in violent crimes,” explains Tony. “We’ve seen several shootings take place, several homicides take place, specifically as it relates to this district where we are going to be focusing.”He adds that residents can expect to see an increase in deputy presence in the days ahead.BSO will be conducting a large scale operation aimed at deterring and preventing incidents like the recent violent crimes that have occurred in unincorporated Central Broward. Residents can expect to see an increase in law enforcement activities. More at: https://t.co/Bo8KzgIr5m pic.twitter.com/R4SyjrJaBk— Broward Sheriff (@browardsheriff) July 17, 2020 “We’ll be out here. There will be no warnings,” according to Tony. “We will enforce the laws; we’ll hold people accountable.”The sheriff believes that cracking down on house parties will prevent crime as well help to curb COVID-19.“If we’re cutting down on these large gatherings, which is producing crime, shootings, homicide et cetera, then we’re taking the people off the streets to put them into compliance with what the CDC is recommending,” he goes on to say, “so they’re both, you know, connected to each other.”In addition, Tony says the public can also help by reporting any large gatherings they may come across.
Police have arrested a 34-year-old woman for fatally shooting a man Sunday morning outside a Sunoco gas station in Mangonia Park.Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Teri Barbera said Latisha Smith was arrested Tuesday on charges of second-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm.Deputies said Smith shot and killed Jonathan Coleus, 29, of Loxahatchee, in the parking lot of the Sunoco on 45th Street.A motive was not immediately known.Smith was booked into jail and being held without bond. She was expected in court Tuesday morning.
This is placeholder textThis is placeholder text Hancock County Court News Nov. 3 thorugh Dec. 11 – January 22, 2015 admin House fire in Winter Harbor – October 27, 2014 Latest posts by admin (see all) Bio Latest Posts LEE — Righthander Erika Hutchins pitched a four-hitter, striking out nine, and Chelsea Engh drove in three runs with a double and two singles as the Mariners downed the Lee Academy Pandas 7-4 on Friday.Emily Cormier also drove in two runs with a pair of singles and Janelle Ciomei singled twice for the Mariners. State budget vs. job creation – January 22, 2015
Latest Posts Bio Ellsworth’s Cooper Holmes swims in a double-dual meet with George Stevens Academy and John Bapst on Thursday at the James Russell Wiggins Down East Family YMCA. Holmes took first in four events.Rachel DesfossesPHOTO BY TAYLOR VORTHERMSGeorge Stevens Academy’s Rachel Desfosses swims in a double-dual meet with George Stevens Academy and John Bapst on Thursday at the James Russell Wiggins Down East Family YMCA. Holmes took first in four events.PHOTO BY TAYLOR VORTHERMS12PreviousNextELLSWORTH — The Ellsworth boys’ swim team beat John Bapst in a double-dual meet with George Stevens Academy on Thursday at the James Russell Wiggins Down East Family YMCA.The Ellsworth boys won nine of 12 events to beat John Bapst 57-35, and the John Bapst boys beat GSA 64-26.“Several more state qualification times were achieved by several swimmers to add to the ones already achieved,” Ellsworth coach Jim Goodman said of the Eagle boys. “Unfortunately, the girls were hampered by sickness, and a third of the girls’ team did not swim due to that.”The Ellsworth girls lost to John Bapst 68-25. The John Bapst girls also beat GSA 60-34.This is placeholder textThis is placeholder text“But with only six EHS girls available on deck, they still performed well, and all the swimmers achieved some of their best times to date,” Goodman said. “The quality of swimming continues to improve for all our new swimmers, as their times continue to drop.”The Ellsworth boys took first in the following events:200-yard medley relay: Jack McKechnie, Cooper Holmes, Sam Alvarado and Brian Whalley, 1:58.31200-yard freestyle: Talor Hamilton, 1:50.98200-yard IM: Cooper Holmes, 2:13.0650-yard relay: Hayden Sattler, 25.97100-yard butterfly: Cooper Holmes, 58.73100-yard freestyle: Sam Alvarado, 54.84100-yard backstroke: Talor Hamilton, 54.39100-yard breaststroke: Hayden Sattler, 1:08.87400-yard freestyle relay: Cooper Holmes, Hayden Sattler, Sam Alvarado and Talor Hamilton, 3:38.15.“GSA also swam very well,” Goodman said. “Especially since a lot of their swimmers are new to the sport.”For the girls, GSA won the following four events:200-yard IM: Ava Sealander, 2:27.73100-yard butterfly: Ava Sealander, 1:05.54500-yard freestyle: Maya Pelletier, 6:20.84400-yard freestyle relay: Emma Larson-Whittaker, Ava Sealander, Maya Pelletier and Emma Richardson, 4:37.16.“John Bapst is such a spirited team, and always fun to swim against,” Goodman said. “They have great swimmers, and the meets with them are overall fun to swim and fun to watch.”Ellsworth and GSA will face Bangor High School in a double-dual meet at 6 p.m. on Friday at Husson University. Latest posts by Taylor Vortherms (see all) Part 1: Invisible, incapacitating concussions are sidelining high school athletes – July 19, 2016
EHS names new boys’ soccer coach – July 13, 2016 Taylor VorthermsSports Editor at The Ellsworth AmericanTaylor Vortherms covers sports in Hancock County. The St. Louis, Missouri native recently graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism and joined The Ellsworth American in 2013. Part 2: When the injury is inside your head, some “don’t get it” – July 26, 2016
ELLSWORTH — The Down East Family YMCA Dolphins defeated the Waldo County YMCA Bluefish 708-161 on Saturday in the season’s first dual meet.The win was the team’s largest margin of victory ever. A total of 106 DEFY swimmers participated in the meet. Of those, 33 DEFY swimmers placed first in at least one individual event, and 11 placed first in two or more events. The Dolphins also finished first in every contested relay event.Colin Aponte qualified for the New England YMCA Championships in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 1.7 seconds, and Sean Hill joined him by posting a time of 56.79 seconds in the same event. Hill also qualified in the 200-meter freestyle by posting a time of 2:04.77.Hill’s performance in the 200 free was also good enough to qualify for the Maine Swimming Junior Olympics. Joining him there will be Caroline Mazgaj and Jessalyn Parks. Mazgaj qualified for the 50-meter backstroke with a time of 36.38 seconds, and Parks advanced in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 34.66 seconds.This is placeholder textThis is placeholder text
Madrid: Atletico Madrid will prepare for next week’s UEFA Super Cup clash with rivals Real Madrid with more doubts than certainties, after losing 0-1 to Inter Milan in the final match of the International Champions Cup.Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez, who was close to being signed by Atletico earlier this year but who opted to play for Inter Milan, scored the winning goal on Saturday, with a spectacular scissor kick in the 31st minute, stunning the home side at Wanda Metropolitano, reports Efe.Atletico Madrid played with a 4-4-2 formation, with keeper Jan Oblak, Juanfran, Diego Godin, Jose Jimenez and Filipe Luis on defense; Thomas Partey, Koke, Saul and Thomas Lemar at midfield; and Angel Correa and Diego Costa in front.Antoine Griezmann stayed on the bench for most of the match, replacing Correa in the 61st minute.Inter Milan opted for a standard 4-2-3-1 formation, with keeper Samir Handanovic, Danilo D’Ambrosio, Miranda, Milan Skriniar and Dalbert on defense; Matias Vecino and Kwadwo Asamoah as defensive midfielders; Matteo Politano, Marcelo Brozovic and Lautaro Martinez as offensive midfielders; and Mauro Icardi as forward.Lautaro had an early chance to score in the 11th minute, after an assist by Icardi, but his shot from outside the box was blocked by Oblak.None of the teams found decent chances until Lautaro’s acrobatic goal from the right of the box in the 31st minute, connecting a superb pass over the top and from the left by Asamoah.A goal in the 43rd minute by Correa off a pass from Koke would have tied the match, yet the VAR determined that the Atletico forward was offside.The International Champions Cup ended with Tottenham in first place, tying at seven points with Dortmund and Inter Milan, though the English team had a better goal differential. IANS
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday announced a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh and a government job for Swapna Barman, India’s first-ever Asian Games gold medal winner in heptathlon.State tourism minister Gautam Deb visited Swapna’s residence in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal on Thursday morning and made her mother speak to the CM.”I travelled from Kolkata this morning on the instruction of CM. She wanted to speak to Swapna’s mother. They had a fairly long conversation. We, on behalf of the government will extend whatever support that is needed to help her prosper further,” Deb told IANS.”I have a few plans in my mind to further help the family as they are in need. I will share them with the chief minister and then take it forward,” Deb added.The state Athletic Association, meanwhile, is also planning a felicitation ceremony when the 21-year-old returns around September 4. IANS
IPL Auction:Jaipur: With the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction underway, former India skipper and head coach Anil Kumble and ex-Australian batsman David Hussey have expressed their views on the purchase made by different franchises so far.Indian pacer Mohammed Shami attracted an intense bidding war between defending champions Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab. However, with a limited price purse, the former lost the player to Punjab for Rs 4.8 crore.Commenting on Shami’s price, Kumble said: “That is a big buy for Kings XI Punjab, I thought they would have gone slightly higher up to Rs 6 crore, good for Shami and good pick-up for Kings XI, well spent.””He is one of the better fast forwards and they needed a fast forward for the team and they took it early,” Hussey was quoted as saying by IPL’s official broadcaster Star Sports.After losing Shami, Chennai once again started bidding hard for medium pacer Mohit Sharma, whose base price was Rs 50 lakh, and eventually pocketed him for a whopping Rs 5 crore.”That is a fantastic buy. Mohit Sharma, he was one of our picks, bowls in all conditions, can change pace and is a good fielder,” Kumble pointed out.Hussey said: “A predicted buy from Chennai Super Kings, they have taken back their own player.”The auction also saw Mumbai Indians purchasing Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga at his base price of Rs 2 crore.Speaking on Malinga’s buy, Kumble said: “At some point Mumbai Indians will look to rest Jasprit Bumrah and at that point they will need the experience of Lasith Malinga and he could probably be in the starting line up.” IANS Also Read: Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami leave Australia limping
Nottingham: After being blasted apart by West Indies in their opening game, Pakistan will look to make amends, especially in their batting, and aim for a comeback when they take on hot-favourites England in their second World Cup fixture at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Monday.Playing against Windies, Pakistan was not just able to deal with the short balls, with Andre Russell and Oshane Thomas both having them hopping around, but they managed to score only 103 runs and seemed to be in all sorts of trouble. None of their batsmen showed temperament and the ability to handle the short-pitch deliveries, and even rash shots by some of their batsmen didn’t help Pakistan’s cause.There is good chance that a number of short balls at very decent pace will be heading their way as England have the likes of Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and Liam Plunkett in their pace battery.The only silver lining for Pakistan was in the form of Mohammad Amir, who bowled superbly against the likes of Chris Gayle and Shai Hope and picked up all the three wickets.England, on the other hand, seems to have all their bases covered. Their batting clicked against South Africa with Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes all scoring half centuries and making sure they went past the 300-run mark against South Africa.Their bowling has also been bolstered with the inclusion of Archer who bowled with sheer pace and gave a hard time to the Proteas batsmen at the Kennington Oval.England would definitely be the more confident side going into the match and would want to replicate the performance they came out with against Pakistan during the five-match ODI series where Sarfaraz Ahmad’s men were whitewashed before the World Cup. IANSAlso Read: SPORTS NEWS
TAROUBA: Keemo Paul snared the first four-wicket haul of the tournament and Shimron Hetmyer smashed a 44-ball 71 as Guyana Amazon Warriors logged their first win of the Hero Caribbean Premier League, beating St Kitts & Nevis Patriots by three wickets in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago.Hetmyer smacked three sixes and eight fours in his entertaining knock, helping his side chase down a modest target of 128. Warriors won the toss and sent the Patriots to take the strike first. It was a shaky start though Evin Lewis (30) scored fast, including helping his team to 18 in Naveen ul Haq’s second over. But the introduction of Imran Tahir helped as he dismissed Chris Lynn (16). Then some smart bowling by Chris Green and great wicket-keeping from Nicholas Pooran saw Lewis stumped for 30 and Patriots ended powerplay at 54/2. Joshua Da Silva’s exclusion seemed to hurt as his replacement Nick Kelly fell early to Keemo Paul when Hetmyer held a sharp chance. As Warriors bowled tightly not yielding any boundaries for 18 balls, Patriots were frustrated. The pressure told, as first Denesh Ramdin was strangled down the leg-side off Paul and then Jahmar Hamilton fell to the googly from Tahir. As Patriots reeled at 83 for 5, Ben Dunk (29) and captain Rayad Emrit (17) scored a few but boundaries were still hard to come by. The runs came slowly but wickets fell at regular intervals and Patriots ended their 20 overs for 127 for eight. As the Warriors began their chase, last year’s prolific scorer Brandon King began with a straight drive and square cut. But Sheldon Cottrell broke through dismissing King. In came Hetmyer and he showed his class with a flurry of early boundaries, including a six that nearly took out the scoreboard. Warriors cruised to 54/1 at the end of the Powerplay. Hemraj was run out in the eighth over failing to beat a powerful throw from Dominic Drakes but the chase was well under control. Hetmyer was dropped by substitute Kieran Powell at cover, and Hetmyer celebrated with a straight hit for four the next ball. For Patriots Rayad Emrit tried a fightback with two wickets in two balls including Pooran for a first-ball duck. Hetmyer was dismissed with a great catch by Dunk off Drakes, but the job was done safely with three overs and three wickets still left. In another match, Jamaica Tallawahs defeated St Lucia Zouks by five wickets to start their CPL 2020 campaign on a winning note. Jamaica Tallawahs first restricted St Lucia to 158 for seven after electing to field and then rode on Glenn Phillips (44) and Ais Ali’s (47 not out) fine knocks to chase down the target comfortably with seven balls to spare. Brief Scores: *Guyana Amazon Warriors 131/7 (Hetmyer 71, Hemraj 19; Emrit 3/31, Cottrell 1/24, Drakes 1/28) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 127/8 (Lewis 30, Dunk 29; Paul 4/19, Tahir 2/18, Green 1/24) by 3 wickets. Agencies Also Watch: Guwahati: Mega Cong Joining Event on Rajiv Gandhi’s Birthday
ELECTRONICS Store, Gizmos and Gadgets, is sounding its voice in the sport arena with its recent sponsorship of Caribbean Gold medallist and table tennis player Kaysan Ninvalle. Kaysan, the son of Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) president and AIBA executive Steve Ninvalle, bagged gold in the 11-and-under Boys’ singles at the Caribbean Table Tennis Federation (CTTF) Pre and Mini Cadet Championship, contested at the national indoor sports arena, Kingston, Jamaica.In an invited comment, Kaysan said, “I feel good because it’s the first time going out of the country representing Guyana and winning a gold in the Under-11 category.”“November we (are) going out of the country to Washington DC to play for Guyana again,” he said, adding, “I was focused on winning during the tournament.”He says he plans to repeat the results in future tournaments.The company handed over a brand new Samsung Galaxy S7 to Kaysan, and manager Sophia Dolphin said the company was moved by the youngster’s gold medal performance.“Because he did extremely well with the gold, we are bringing on young people doing extremely well and so on, so we decide to give him a smart phone and people might ask why Gizmos gave him a luxurious phone because it is a S7 edge which is the newest phone.”She continued, “It is much easier because he intends to travel a lot and he already has a laptop so we didn’t want to give him another laptop; we decide to give him the S7 edge to manoeuvre around.”GTTA president Godfrey Munroe added, “Kaysan represents one of our brightest prospects. I think he played unbeaten in the Under-13 and Under-11 team events and then he went down to the 11 years-and-under championships where he won the singles event, so it just underlines the potential he has because he plays far beyond his years.”
FOR 10 consecutive years, Metro Office and Computer Supplies have made significant contributions to the staging of the Kennard’s Memorial Turf Club’s (KMTC) Annual Boxing Day Horse Race Meet and this year it’s no different as the company will be sponsoring the first prize cash award for the winner of the feature event on the day’s eight-race card.Yesterday, Metro’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Avia Lindie handed over a cheque valued $1.2M to the KMTC for the first place finisher of the feature `B’ and Lower Class race over nine furlongs.The day’s activities will get underway at 13:00hrs at the KMTC’s facility, Bush Lot Farm, Corentyne, Berbice.At a simple ceremony held at the company’s head office in Quamina Street, the CEO said this is the 11th year that her company will be supporting the KMTC and it all came about through the friendship of the Kharag-Ramnarrayan and the Kennard’s family.She said Metro is pleased to be associated with the event and pledged Metro’s support in the future.Chairman of the Police Service Commission,Justice Cecil Kennard,in accepting the contribution informed that the Kennard’s and the Kharag-Ramnarayan families are closely associated and went on to state that Deo Kharag-Ramnarayan served as president of the KMTC for over 20 years,starting in 1955 before he migrated to North America. However, since his migration, his son Ron started the Metro Office and Computer Supplies business and he (Ron) has since been supportive of all of KMTC’s activities.Justice Kennard pointed out that after Jumbo Jet Auto Sales got involved with horse racing, he noticed that the prize money for events were raised and he told himself that he would not be left out and with this in mind, he called Ron Ramnarayan in New York and informed him of what’s taking place in the sport.Ron immediately rose to the occasion and thus, the sponsorship has increased.Meanwhile, the second, third and fourth place finishers of the feature event will earn $600,000, $300,000 and $150,000 respectively.
MANY persons are encouraged by the level of maturity that 16-year-old hockey player Kareem McKenzie displays – both on and off the field.“He has great maturity for such a young player. He is so calm and composed under pressure and has great control and deceptive acceleration that get him past opponents easily,” said Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) president Philip Fernandes, who truly admires Kareem’s character.The Christ Church Secondary School student plays for the Bounty GCC men’s team. He’s also a part of the national senior men’s team, and the national Under-19 team. He has represented Guyana at the Men’s Pan American Challenge in Chile, and Junior Pan American Championship in Canada.His maturity, coupled with his skill, gives Kareem all the right ingredients to continue on his path to become one of Guyana’s greatest hockey players. Kareem already has his sights set on representing even higher on the international stage, including at the highest stage – the Hockey World Cup.“I want to make it to the Junior and Senior (Hockey) World Cup in the next few years’ time,” the youngster said.Also, apart from Kareem’s own aspirations, he wants to see hockey in Guyana developed, particularly in the area of better infrastructure. Kareem lamented that Guyana still does not have the right playing turf and this puts players at a disadvantage when they play in tournaments overseas.“I’m hoping that the GHB gets a water-base turf for hockey players in Guyana to get experience on a turf so the Guyana men’s and women’s national teams, and the club teams can get used to the speed of the turf,” Kareem pointed out. He also talked about wanting to see more in terms of sponsorship.“Funding and commitment are two major issues, because the Guyana male and female national teams can go to many tournaments around the world, but we lack funding,” he noted.Kareem had his first experience at an international tournament when he represented Guyana at the Pan American Challenge in Chile. He added experience with the Junior Pan American Championship last year.At the Junior Pan Am Kareem was faced with the struggle of balancing his preparations for that tournament and his academic obligations, as he was in the process of writing his CSEC examinations concurrently.Kareem even had to travel for the tournament a few days after his other teammates, to accommodate his exams and still develop his hockey.“The preparation for Canada I think I did balance it well, but I wasn’t 100% prepared for the competition because most of the practice sessions were in the evenings and Sunday morning when I had lessons,” he recalled.But he’s glad he was still able to be a part of the tournament, because he really loves getting to experience what the competition outside of Guyana is like.“I like to travel and play against other clubs and countries. I get to explore around different countries and play high, intense hockey which allows me to play at a high level and with good composure.” Kareem related.
highlights Will Pucovski smashed 243 against Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield.Pucovski was included in the squad for the two Tests against Sri Lanka.Pucovski has suffered seven concussions in the domestic circuit. Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts said the decision to bring Puckovski into the squad was approved despite suffering similar problems in the past. “It is really important to note the support Will has had around him through the team doctor, psychologist in the team, and also the national network of support we’ve got with player development managers in every state. It wasn’t Will’s wellbeing or his challenges with that that saw him not play in the Gabba Test, it was because we had a bloke called Kurtis Patterson who played supremely well and scored twin unbeaten hundreds. I’m comfortable with how that played out but at the same time I acknowledge not everyone will agree with me,” Roberts told ABC News.Pucovski’s battle with mental health issues is well documented. He had suffered seven concussions during his playing career. He missed six weeks of action in the ongoing Sheffield Shield season in order to work on a mental illness that he was suffering from some time. Yet, he scored plenty of runs in the 2018/19 in the domestic season with his 243 against Western Australia comes at a time when Australia is looking for batsmen to contribute in a side that is struggling to cope with the absence of David Warner and Steve Smith.When being picked up the selection committee, chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said Puckovski’s ability to make centuries was the defining factor. “Pucovski is an exciting young player who is making his mark in the Sheffield Shield. He is another player with a track record of making centuries. We look forward to him joining the squad and congratulate him on his first national call-up,” Hohns had told Cricket Australia’s official website. For all the Latest Sports News News, Cricket News News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Will Pucovski, who made waves in the Australian domestic summer with a brilliant 243 against Western Australia which earned him selection for the two Tests against Sri Lanka, has left the Australian cricket team squad and has returned home to Melbourne in order to cope with mental health issues. Pucovski was not included in the Pink Ball Test in Brisbane while he was also not selected in the second Test at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. In both the Tests, Kurtis Patterson, who smashed two centuries in the warm-up game in Hobart impressed and scored his maiden ton at the Manuka Oval.Speaking about the decision of the 20-year-old to return back to Melbourne, Cricket Australia doctor Richard Saw said the batsman had reported some challenges in coping with his condition in the last couple of weeks. “The decision has been made that the best thing for Will’s welfare is for him to return home to Melbourne. Will has been proactive in this process and while he has made significant progress, he feels this is the best course of action to get ready to play cricket for Victoria. Will’s decision to speak up and continue to ask for assistance in managing his ongoing mental health is extremely positive. We’re handling the situation with care. Will has been really mature about it,” Saw said in a statement. 
AN improved performance in the sport and street tuner class is what competitor Azad Hassan is looking for, come April 2, when the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) stages its first National Race of Champions.Speaking to Chronicle Sport, the driver indicated, “Nothing has been done yet since last November race meeting. However, my chief mechanic indicated to me that he would like to get the car balanced and at the same time shed some weight as the car is about 60lb over the required weight.He added, “There are some points that I need to work on to get faster. That will be done before the race meeting.”He says he plans to get the jump on the competition and utilise what he has been taught by renowned Trinidadian driver Tanko Baboolall.“I am looking forward for the competition as they are talented drivers in my group and I am hoping for a repeat of last November race meeting,” he added.His car is sponsored by GUYOIL, Buddys Entertainment Complex, Toucan Industries, Marvex Bleach, Twins Manufacturing, Leon Dorado Int’l Hotel and is being prepared by Emran & Raymond Automotive Services under theTEAM ER RACING”Meanwhile, the event’s sponsors include Ansa McAl through the STAG Beer brand, ExxonMobil, Fly Jamaica, Seaboard Marine, Tony’s Auto Spares, Japarts, Choke Gas Station, CARICOM Auto Sales, E Networks, S. Jagmohan Hardware Supplies, Truck Masters and Jialing.
DURBAN, South Africa,( CMC), Kirstan Kallicharan’s hundred was not enough to prevent West Indies Under-19s from tumbling to a five-wicket defeat to South Africa Under-19s, in the opening unofficial One-Day International of the five-match series here Sunday.The 17-year-old struck 101 as the Caribbean side, sent in at Chatsworth Stadium, reached 222 for eight off their 50 overs.Jeavor Royal, batting at number seven, chipped in with a breezy 28 off 32 balls but he and Kallicharan were the only ones to pass 20 as the innings struggled to recover from a poor start.Fast bowler Thando Ntini, the son of legendary South Africa seamer Makhaya Ntini, was the leading bowler with four for 56.In reply, captain Raynard van Tonder hammered 131 not out as the hosts coasted to their target in the 42nd over.Wandile Makwetu supported with 35 and Hermann Rolfes got 28 while seamer Darren Nedd (2-40) and left-arm spinner Joshua Bishop (2-50) picked up two wickets apiece.The hosts were tottering on 44 for three in the 11th over before van Tonder anchored two stands to rescue the innings.He struck 18 fours and a six off 133 deliveries, adding 112 for the fourth wicket with Makwetu and another 66 for the fifth wicket with Rolfes.Earlier, the Young Windies found themselves struggling at 33 for four in the 14th over after Ntini made key strikes at the top of the order.But Kallicharan, one of the heroes from the last Youth World Cup in Bangladesh, came to his side’s rescue in an innings lasting 106 balls and including 12 fours and two sixes.He posted 45 for the fifth wicket stand with Alick Athanaze (16), 47 for the sixth wicket with Royal before dominating a 59-run seventh wicket partnership with Bishop who made 16.Kallicharan then found an ally in Mikyle Louis (14 not out) to put on a hasty 38 for the eighth wicket off 24 deliveries and rally the innings late.
THE Guyana Lawn Tennis Association (GLTA) and the P&P Insurance Brokers concluded their annual tennis camp recently on a jovial note with 47 participants at the closing ceremony at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.GLTA vice-president Grace McCalman, in her remarks mentioned that this camp “is significant to the GLTA for tennis development, and we continue to applaud Mr Bish Panday, CEO of the P&P Insurance Brokers for his resolute dedication to the sport of lawn tennis for the last thirteen years.”She also noted that tennis teaches the value of hard work and discipline and these are skills that will help someone through life’s journey. Varsha Panday, daughter of Bish Panday, represented the company and presented the certificates and prizes to the winners of the different categories.Ms Panday expressed joy at seeing once again a large number of children who continually participate in the event, sponsored by P&P for thirteen consecutive years.She applauded the GLTA for its dedication to the continuous development of tennis and in turn pledged the commitment of her company towards next year’s event.This year’s camp attracted participants from age three who benefited from the three-week training programme.The sessions were split into two periods: mornings at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall for the younger children while the older ones were accommodated in the afternoons at the National Racquet Centre.The GLTA is grateful to the National Sports Commission for the Sports Hall facility and seizes the opportunity for tennis to be developed there on a longer term basis.Prizes were awarded to the following young players:Group A: 1st Shivanne Khayyam, 2nd Tivonna George, 3rd Malika Henry, 4th Byanka Younge.Group B: 1st Cameron Siebs, 2nd Nikhel Persaud, 3rd Faatimah Brandt, 4th Naisha Jaikission.Group C: 1st Adesh Khayyam, 2nd Shimron Lewis, 3rd Brandon Jaikaran.Group D: 1st Monifa Wilson, 2nd Adrian Howard and 3rd Abieky Kewley.Most Improved Player awards were given to Alyssa Ramotar for the 6-11 age group and Abieky Kewley for the 12-18 age-group.The GLTA would like to convey congratulations to parents and children for participating in the camp and the association expresses a heartfelt thank you to the sponsor P&P Insurance Brokers Ltd for its continuous support.
RAFAEL Nadal won his third US Open and 16th Grand Slam title with a one-sided victory over South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in New York.The world number one powered to a 6-3 6-3 6-4 victory in Sunday’s final at Flushing Meadows.The Spaniard, 31, has now won two Slams in the same year for the first time since 2013, having won the French Open in June.“It’s just unbelievable what happened this year,” said Nadal.“After a couple of years with some troubles, injuries, sometimes playing not good – since the beginning of the season it has been very, very emotional.”The US Open was the last Grand Slam where he was working alongside his uncle Toni, with Carlos Moya taking sole charge of coaching from 2018.“I can’t thank him enough for all the things he did for me,” Nadal said of his uncle.“Probably without him I would never be playing tennis and it’s great I had somebody like him pushing me all the time.”The result means this year’s major titles are shared between Nadal, at the French and US Opens, and Roger Federer, at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.Federer remains at the top of the men’s all-time Grand Slam list with 19 titles, three ahead of Nadal, who has now won 10 French titles, three US, two Wimbledon and one Australian.Nadal went into the final with a 4-0 head-to-head record against Anderson, and he dominated once again.The 2010 and 2013 champion lost just 15 points on serve in the entire match, did not face a break point and won all 16 points he finished at the net.It was a ruthless demolition job by a man playing his 23rd Grand Slam final, up against an opponent in his first.Anderson, 31, was the tallest player ever to feature in a Grand Slam final at 6ft 8in, and with a tournament-leading 114 aces was always going to rely on his serve to get a foothold in the match.The signs were not good, therefore, when he had to fight through six deuces in his second and third service games as Nadal pressed hard.Anderson clearly felt the need to play to his limits from the outset, attacking the net more than normal to try to keep the points short, but it brought mixed results at best.The pressure told in game seven when the South African pulled a forehand into the tramlines facing a sixth break point.Nadal would break again to seal the set with a wonderful backhand drop volley, and Anderson ended the set with just eight winners from 19 trips to the net.`Anderson made 23 unforced errors in the first set compared with five from NadalThe second set followed a similar pattern, with Nadal again untroubled on serve and this time making the breakthrough in game six with some sharp volleying.By the time he whipped a forehand cross-court winner to take a two-set lead, Nadal had lost just seven points in nine service games.A wild Anderson forehand on break point at the start of the third hastened the end of the contest, and Nadal would clinch the title on his second match point with a clinical serve-volley.(BBC Sport)
___Contingency planning for the men’s Twenty20 World Cup will be among the topics for discussion when the heads of the top cricketing nations hold a specially convened meeting this week about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the sport.The chief executives of the International Cricket Council’s 12 full members and three associate representatives also will discuss the rescheduling of series, the program of future tours and the key factors behind the resumption of international cricket on Thursday’s conference call.The T20 World Cup is scheduled for Oct. 18-Nov. 15 in Australia. It is cricket’s biggest global tournament this year and hasn’t yet been called off.ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney says the organization is continuing to “take advice from experts and authorities” about the T20 tournament. No top league games have been played since March 11.The German league has been more bullish than other major European competitions about the chances of resuming in May or June with widespread coronavirus tests for players. That push is partly driven by fears that several clubs face financial collapse without TV and sponsorship money.German state and local officials could potentially veto games in their areas. Keller says unified rules for soccer around the country would help clubs “quickly and without bureaucracy.”___Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has been using some of his spare time in lockdown to teach British kids how to speak Spanish. More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports,Tampa Bay Lightning advance to face Dallas Stars in Stanley Cup finals, beating New York Islanders 2-1 in OT in Game 6 The Latest: Professional Fighters League cancels season The mixed martial arts promotion was expected to begin competition in May. The competition format includes a regular season, a postseason and a championship event, making it unique in MMA. Last year, the promotion staged six regular-season events, three playoff events and a championship event on New Year’s Eve.CEO Peter Murray says the PFL will pay its fighters a monthly cash stipend to help support them and their families throughout 2020.The 2021 season will be distributed on ESPN platforms in the U.S. and to 160 countries by the league’s international media partners. The PFL said it will produce new programming across ESPN and PFL platforms for the rest of this year.___The Spanish government says it has reached a deal with the country’s soccer league and federation for teams to return to practice. Associated Press The government has not provided a timetable or given any other detail about when practice would resume. It says it will depend on the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic and on decisions by health authorities.The government says strict protocols will have to be followed when teams begin training again. The Spanish league and the federation have created health protocols for the return to training.The league says the competition is not expected to resume until the end of May at the earliest and games will be in empty stadiums at first.Government officials and the presidents of the league and the federation met for nearly eight hours this weekend.The government says the league and the federation have agreed to use part of the money from soccer television rights to help other sports in Spain. It says they will also create a contingency fund of 10 million euros ($10.8 million) to aid more vulnerable athletes. Sawhney says there is a need to “share knowledge and … build a deep understanding of what it will take to resume international cricket.”___The president of the German soccer federation says resuming league play will not mean taking resources away from healthcare workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.Fritz Keller writes in Kicker magazine “we guarantee that resuming play … will not cause a burden for the healthcare system.”He adds that “there will be no use by sportspeople of testing capacity which would be missed elsewhere.” April 20, 2020 The Argentina international has been signed up by the BBC as part of its home-schooling initiative while educational establishments are closed during the coronavirus pandemic.Aguero is teaching kids how to count in Spanish. His lessons became available on a day kids in Britain would have usually returned to school after the Easter holidays.Aguero says “it’s a tough time for children at the moment, and also for parents trying to keep them focused on their education from home.”Aguero hasn’t played a competitive match since March 8 because soccer is shut down in England and across most of the world during the outbreak.___ Share This StoryFacebookTwitteremailPrintLinkedinRedditThe Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The Professional Fighters League has canceled its upcoming season because of the coronavirus pandemic and plans to resume in spring 2021.
The Latest: British government in talks with sports bodies Last-place Norwich, which has nine games remaining, is reportedly budgeting for a loss of between 18-35 million pounds due to the coronavirus pandemic.___More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports,Tampa Bay Lightning advance to face Dallas Stars in Stanley Cup finals, beating New York Islanders 2-1 in OT in Game 6 April 25, 2020 Government medical officials are involved in the talks about the logistics and health procedures required to allow sports competitions to restart.The Premier League last played a game on March 9 and has plans to try to restart from June 8 once pandemic social distancing regulations are relaxed to allow training to resume for teams and there are sufficient COVID-19 tests available.The national lockdown is currently in place until May 7. Cricket authorities have already said their sport won’t resume until July, but horse racing is currently only suspended until June.British Horseracing Authority chair Annamarie Phelps tweeted Saturday about “very welcome support for the resumption of live sport incl horseracing” from Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, linking to a front page report from The Sun newspaper about plans for events to be staged again.Dowden updated legislators earlier this week on his talks with sports governing bodies. Share This StoryFacebookTwitteremailPrintLinkedinRedditThe Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The British government is increasing planning with sports bodies about the resumption of events once the coronavirus national lockdown is eased. ___Despite high-profile reversals by Liverpool and Tottenham, Norwich has defended its decision to place some non-playing staff on furlough during the coronavirus outbreak.The Canaries are one of only two English Premier League clubs using the scheme. Employees receive 80% of wages from the British government up to 2,500 pounds ($3,000) although, in this instance, Norwich is making up the remaining 20%.Newcastle is the other top-flight club to turn to the job retention program while Liverpool, Tottenham and Bournemouth made U-turns on their decisions to furlough staff following heavy criticism.“The decision we made was in the best interests of the club and its staff. We’ve been very transparent that we’re run in a self-financed manner,” Norwich chief operating officer Ben Kensell told BBC Radio Norfolk. “Ultimately, if we had the available cash flow to not have to take up schemes then, like other football clubs have, we would.” Associated Press 
Share This StoryFacebookTwitteremailPrintLinkedinRedditThe Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The Premier League is still hoping to restart its season amid the coronavirus pandemic. Rhonex Kipruto of Kenya ran last year’s race in 27 minutes, 1 second to break the U.S. record in the event.___The 2021 badminton world championships will now start in November to avoid clashing with the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics.The Badminton World Federation says the event will remain in Huelva, Spain, and be held Nov. 29-Dec. 5.BWF president Poul-Erik Høyer says the two main events can now go ahead “with equal fairness for everyone.” The Swiss federation says the financial risks were too great and there is no guarantee the coronavirus outbreak will allow the next championship in May 2021.Switzerland hopes to host again in the coming years but the IIHF has already allocated world championships through 2025.___The 20 clubs in Serie A are in agreement that they want to finish the season if they can do so in accordance with government guidelines and by respecting health regulations and protocols.The Italian clubs met by video conference and all supported a statement issued a day earlier by league president Paolo Dal Pino. Other performers will include Kelly Rowland, Robin Thicke, Gavin Rossdale and Chris Traynor of Bush, Jay Buchanan of Rival Sons, and Lola Ponce.___The Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta is moving to Thanksgiving from its traditional Fourth of July date because of the coronavirus pandemic.The event is the world’s largest 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) race with about 60,000 participants. The first race was held in 1970.The Atlanta Track Club says the Nov. 26 date was selected because families gather for Thanksgiving. It will also minimize the impact on retailers in downtown Atlanta because most businesses will be closed for the holiday. Organizers say the course at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club will open to the public on May 11 as part of the easing of social restrictions.___The three biggest names in men’s pole vault will compete against each other in a rare sporting event during the coronavirus pandemic. And they’ll do it from their own backyards.Video links will connect world record holder Armand Duplantis, world champion Sam Kendricks and former Olympic champion Renaud Lavillenie.World Athletics calls it “The Ultimate Garden Clash” and will stream it on social media. F1 chairman Chase Carey says the season could start July 5 with the Austrian GP. He hopes 15-18 races can take place beginning in Europe before moving to Eurasia, Asia and the Americas.___The European Masters golf tournament scheduled for August in Switzerland has been canceled.Organizers say the decision came after the Swiss government extended a ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people through August.The tournament in the Swiss Alps was scheduled for Aug. 27-30. The Latest: Premier League still hoping to restart season Duplantis will be in Louisiana, Kendricks in Mississippi and Lavillenie in France.Their challenge is to clear the most 5-meter jumps within 30 minutes. The athletes agreed on the format because adjusting the bar is not practical without officials in place.Duplantis broke Lavillenie’s world record in February. He cleared 6.17 meters and then 6.18 on consecutive weekends.World Athletics says it’s looking to hold Ultimate Garden Clash competitions in other events.___ ___The Swiss hockey federation says it won’t seek to host the 2021 men’s world championship after losing this year’s event because of the coronavirus pandemic.The 2020 championship had been due to start next week in Zurich and Lausanne. It was canceled in March.Swiss officials say they had talks with the International Ice Hockey Federation and 2021 worlds co-hosts Belarus and Latvia about Switzerland taking its turn next year.That has now been ruled out. Associated Press The 20 clubs discussed the latest planning under “Project Restart” on a conference call.The league says it is “considering the first tentative moves forward and will only return to training and playing with government guidance.”But the league says the “clubs reconfirmed their commitment to finishing the 2019-20 season.”The British government also held talks with sports bodies about when athletes can start to train again.Decisions by the Dutch and French governments led to their soccer seasons ending. Lower-league professional soccer clubs in England have been told they might not be allowed to have fans at their matches until 2021. May 1, 2020 ___AC Milan and Roc Nation have partnered to create a virtual live event on Sunday headlined by Alicia Keys “to honor and pay tribute to key workers fighting on the front line in Italy and around the world.”Funds raised through the event will benefit Direct Relief and Milan’s philanthropic foundation.Viewers will be able to donate via the “From Milan with Love” official fundraising page and AC Milan’s Facebook page.The hour-long tribute is scheduled for Sunday at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) and will be hosted by Grammy-award winning producer DJ Khaled and Italian TV presenter Diletta Leotta. Dal Pino said it was “only natural that the Serie A league wants to play soccer. It would be against our nature to say the contrary.”___Hungarian Grand Prix organizers say spectators won’t be allowed at this year’s Formula One race if it goes ahead.The race is planned for Aug. 2 but Formula One officials are rewriting the 2020 schedule after the coronavirus pandemic forced cancellations and postponements.Hungarian race officials announced their plan after the government banned large gatherings through Aug. 15. More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports,Tampa Bay Lightning advance to face Dallas Stars in Stanley Cup finals, beating New York Islanders 2-1 in OT in Game 6
May 28, 2020 Share This StoryFacebookTwitteremailPrintLinkedinRedditThe Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The Hungarian soccer federation says matches in the country can once again be held with spectators in the stadiums. Associated Press The other races canceled were the season-opening Australian GP on March 15; the Monaco GP on May 24; and the French GP on June 28.Another six remain postponed.F1 organizers still hope to reschedule those and hold 15-18 races this season, starting with back-to-back races at the Austrian GP in July.___The postponed Belgian Cup final has been rescheduled for Aug. 1. That is one week before the start of the league’s next season. The Latest: Hungary to allow soccer fans in stadiums Bologna says a test carried out on a member of its staff who was suspected of having coronavirus has come back negative.The club says that a “further, definitive test” will be carried out in the next few hours.The players will nevertheless train individually as a precaution.It would be the first positive case in Serie A since the teams started training in groups if it is confirmed. The entire squad would have to go into quarantine.Serie A has been suspended since March 9 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The league is hoping to restart on June 13.
The announcement comes on the back of a government decree allowing the option amid the coronavirus pandemic.Organizers are obliged to keep three seats empty between each occupied seat and no fan may sit directly behind or in front of another. Players and essential personnel on or near the field during matches must recently have tested negative for the coronavirus.The federation says clubs can decide on their own whether they want to play in front or fans again.Tickets for next Wednesday’s Hungarian Cup final between Budapest Honved and Mezokovesd-Zsory at the Ferenc Puskas Stadium in Budapest will soon be sold online.___ Elite sports made a comeback in Australia for the first time since March 22 with the Brisbane Broncos hosting Parramatta in the National Rugby League.Two rounds of matches were played in the NRL in March before Australia and New Zealand went into lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.No fans were allowed into the 52,500-seat stadium in Brisbane because of strict social distancing rules. But at a bone-jarring collision between burly rugby players was broadcast across Australia to signal the return of contact teams sports in the country.Players and all staff and officials had to undergo heat checks before entering the stadium and strict health protocols were put in place on the field.___ ___The Dutch Grand Prix has become the fourth Formula One race to be canceled this season.Organizers of the first Dutch GP in 35 years preferred to wait until next year in hope fans will be able to attend, rather than hold the race without them this time.The race in Zandvoort was set for May 3 and initially postponed.Race director Jan Lammers says “we would like to celebrate this moment, the return of Formula 1 in Zandvoort, together with our racing fans in the Netherlands.” Belgian soccer authorities say the match between Club Brugge and Antwerp will take place in an empty King Baudouin Stadium.Club Brugge has the opportunity to secure a league-cup double after it was awarded its 16th Belgian title this month following a decision to end the current season prematurely because of the coronavirus pandemic.All sporting competitions in Belgium have been suspended until July 31. The new season is set to start on Aug. 7.___More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports,Tampa Bay Lightning advance to face Dallas Stars in Stanley Cup finals, beating New York Islanders 2-1 in OT in Game 6
—The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed running back Wendell Smallwood to a one-year deal, giving the backfield a bit of experienced depth heading into training camp. Smallwood joins a group that includes James Conner, Benny Snell Jr., Jaylen Samuels and rookie Anthony McFarland.COLLEGE FOOTBALL-EARLY STARTTeams allowed to begin season earlyUNDATED (AP) — The NCAA is allowing all major college football teams to begin their seasons as early as Aug. 29. The association confirmed that the football oversight committee had requested a blanket waiver to permit any school to push up the start of its season to the so-called Week Zero. Share This StoryFacebookTwitteremailPrintLinkedinRedditMLB-MARLINS-VIRUS Marlins season suspended through SundayMIAMI (AP) — Major League Baseball has temporarily suspended the Miami Marlins’ season through Sunday because of their worsening coronavirus outbreak. And the three remaining games in this week’s New York Yankees-Philadelphia Phillies series also were postponed because of virus worries. Maxwell began kneeling during the anthem late in his rookie season with the Oakland Athletics in 2017, about a year after San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sparked the protest movement in the NFL. Elsewhere in the majors:— The Kansas City Royals signed former All-Star Matt Harvey to a minor league contract. The Royals announced the move before Tuesday night’s game at Detroit. The 31-year-old Harvey has struggled to recapture the form that made him a key member of the New York Mets when they faced Kansas City in the 2015 World Series. Harvey went 3-5 with a 7.09 ERA in 12 starts for the Los Angeles Angels last year. The right-hander made 28 starts the previous season for the Mets and Cincinnati Reds.MLB-ROYALS-MAHOMESChiefs quarterback joining Royals ownership KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes is joining the ownership group of the Kansas City Royals. The Royals announced the addition of Mahomes, the star quarterback who led the Kansas City Chiefs to a Super Bowl title last season, on Tuesday. Mahomes was once a baseball prospect and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 2014. He says he loves the people of Kansas City and is excited to deepen his roots in the community. Mahomes’ decision to focus on football certainly worked out for him, but his baseball ties run deep. His father Pat pitched in more than 300 big league games, mostly as a reliever.NFL-PATRIOTS-HIGHTOWERPatriots’ Hightower opts outBOSTON (AP) — A person familiar with the situation says New England Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower has decided to opt out of the 2020 season. The source says Hightower’s decision was made out of concern for the health of his fiancée and child, who was born earlier this month. In a statement Tuesday, MLB said it wanted to allow the Marlins time to focus on providing care for their players and plan for a resumption of play early next week. The Marlins remained stranded in Philadelphia, where they played last weekend. The Phillies-Yankees games through Thursday were postponed “out of an abundance of caution,” MLB said, although no Phillies players have tested positive.Dr. Anthony Fauci says the Miami Marlins’ coronavirus outbreak could endanger the Major League Baseball season, but he doesn’t believe games needs to stop now.MLB-WHITE SOX-RENTERIAWhite Sox manager returns after being isolated Associated Press Update on the latest sports CLEVELAND (AP) — Chicago White Sox manager Rick Renteria has returned to the team after being isolated for 24 hours with COVID-19 symptoms. He passed MLB’s virus protocol and arrived at Progressive Field about an hour before the White Sox played their first road game this season and a doubleheader against the Indians. Renteria woke up Monday with a “slight cough and nasal congestion” and went to a Cleveland hospital for tests as a precautionary measure. The 58-year-old had been kept at the team’s hotel awaiting test results and medical clearance. MLB-METS-MAXWELLAP source: Mets to sign C Maxwell, 1st MLB player to kneelNEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets have agreed to a minor league contract with catcher Bruce Maxwell, the first major league player to kneel during the national anthem to protest racial injustice in 2017. That’s according to a person familiar with the deal. July 28, 2020 Two other people told the AP that starting right tackle Marcus Cannon and fullback Danny Vitale have also chosen to sit out the season, citing health concerns.In other NFL developments:— The Tennessee Titans have placed their top draft pick on the COVID-19/reserve list. Coach Mike Vrabel announced that move Tuesday at the end of a 40-minute video conference call with reporters. The Titans drafted offensive lineman Isaiah Wilson with the No. 29 pick overall out of Georgia, and Wilson remains the one member of their six-man draft class that has yet to agree to a contract. — Two people with direct knowledge of the decision have confirmed to The Associated Press that Buffalo Bills starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei is voluntarily opting out from playing this season. The 30-year-old Lotulelei has seven years of NFL experience and was entering his third season with the Bills. He has two years remaining on his contract, which will now run through 2022.— Denver Broncos defensive tackle Kyle Peko has decided not to play this season because of concerns over the coronavirus. Peko is a fifth-year pro who was in his second stint with the Broncos. A year ago, Peko left the Buffalo Bills’ training camp to be with his wife as she battled cancer. The couple later said she was cancer free. The official start of the season had been Labor Day weekend, with a few games scheduled for Aug. 29. That was before the coronavirus pandemic put the season in peril and schedules were remade to deal with potential disruptions of COVID-19. Some schools and conferences are working on delaying the start of their football seasons while others are trying to get a head start. Kansas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 have both recently moved up their opening games against FCS opponents to Aug. 29.In other virus-related sports developments:— A women’s professional tennis tournament that was supposed to be played in Tokyo in November has been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, the latest event scratched from the sport’s calendar. The Toray Pan Pacific Open already had been postponed from September because of the COVID-19 outbreak that has put the WTA and ATP tours on hold since March. Two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka won that title last year.— Real Madrid says forward Mariano has tested positive for the coronavirus. The announcement comes as the team returns to practice ahead of its Champions League match against Manchester City on Aug. 7.
Update on the latest sports PGA-FEDEX INVITATIONALBrendon Todd takes 2-stroke lead with 65 at WGC in MemphisMEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Brendon Todd will carry a two-shot advantage into the third round of the PGA’s FedEx St. Jude Invitational.Todd followed Thursday’s 64 with a 5-under 65 that leaves him two ahead of Rickie Fowler. First-round leader Brooks Koepka (KEHP’-kuh) shot a 1-over 71 that drops him into a third-place tie with Chez Reavie and Byeong Hun An at minus-7.Fowler closed with birdies on his final two holes for a 67. AP Source: Pac-12 sets Sept. 26 start for football scheduleUNDATED (AP) — The Pac-12 has set Sept. 26 as the start of its 10-game, conference-only football schedule, joining the Southeastern Conference in pushing back its season by nearly a month because of the coronavirus pandemic.The Pac-12 announced three weeks ago it would eliminate nonconference games to give its 12 member schools a better chance to manage complications and disruptions caused by the health crisis. The plan approved by university presidents adds an additional cross-divisional game to each team’s slate and moves the conference championship game back two weeks from Dec. 4 to Dec. 18 or 19. NFL-NEWSAntonio Brown suspended 8 games by NFL Today’s game between Milwaukee and visiting St. Louis had to be postponed after two Cardinals players tested positive for COVID-19. The teams are now expected to play a doubleheader on Sunday.The Cardinals are quarantined in their Milwaukee hotel. The team says it learned of the positive tests on Thursday night.Eight teams have been affected in the first nine days of the season. The Phillies and Marlins haven’t played since Sunday and are on hiatus until at least Sunday after 17 Marlins tested positive while staying in Philadelphia. Four other teams had their schedules altered due to the virus.Meanwhile, Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to union leader Tony Clark about the importance of players following the sport’s coronavirus protocols. A person familiar with the conversation told The Associated Press that the two discussed what is needed to be done to complete the season.ESPN was first to report the conversation. The Blazers are within 2 1/2 games of Memphis as Portland seeks its seventh consecutive playoff appearance.In other Day 2 action of the NBA restart:— The Magic picked up their fourth straight win as Evan Fournier scored 24 points and Nikola Vucevic had 22 in a 128-118 dismantling of the Nets. Orlando led by 30 at one point and moved ahead of Brooklyn for seventh in the Eastern Conference. The Nets are missing Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan and Taurean Prince after they tested positive for the coronavirus.— The Suns cruised to a 125-112 win over the Wizards as Devin Booker scored 27 points and Deandre Ayton added 24 with 12 rebounds. The Suns hit 30 of 32 from the line, with Booker hitting all nine of his attempts. Phoenix 52% from the field in propping up its playoff hopes.VIRUS OUTBREAK-COLLEGE SPORTS NBA-SCHEDULEBlazers restart with important winUNDATED (AP) — The Portland Trail Blazers have put a little heat on the Memphis Grizzlies as the two teams battle for the NBA’s final Western Conference playoff berth.CJ McCollum scored 33 points and teamed with Damian Lillard to provide 11 of Portland’s 16 in overtime, leading the Blazers past the Grizzlies, 140-135. It was the first game for both teams since the restart.Lillard finished with 29 points and nine assists, while Carmelo Anthony added 21. Share This StoryFacebookTwitteremailPrintLinkedinRedditVIRUS OUTBREAK-BASEBALLCards-Brewers postponed after 2 St. Louis positive testsNEW YORK (AP) — The coronavirus continues to alter the Major League Baseball schedule. LPGA-DRIVE ON CHAMPIONSHIPKang leads as LPGA returnsTOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — The LPGA has made its return following a hiatus caused by the pandemic. Danielle Kang looked as though she’s been playing every week.Kang was bogey-free at Inverness Club for a 6-under 66 and a one-shot lead in the LPGA Drive On Championship. With no leaderboards or fans at the course, Kang said she had no idea where she stood after closing with a birdie.Jodi Ewart Shadoff also played bogey-free for a 67. Celine Boutier and Lee-Anne Pace also were at 5 under until both made bogey on the closing hole. July 31, 2020
UNDATED (AP) — The NFL has suspended wide receiver Antonio Brown for the first eight regular-season games of the 2020 season under the league’s personal conduct policy.Brown currently is a free agent. He played one game last season for the Patriots before being released. Brown can be signed by any team and would be eligible to participate in all of his club’s preseason activities. The suspension would take effect when teams make their final cuts on Sept. 5. Brown pleaded no contest on June 12 to charges related to a fight with a moving truck driver outside his South Florida home earlier this year. Brown has caught 841 passes for 11,236 yards and 75 touchdowns in parts of 10 NFL seasons. Hurricanes’ Dougie Hamilton out for Rangers series openerTORONTO (AP) — All-Star defenseman Dougie Hamilton won’t play for the Carolina Hurricanes in Saturday’s opener against the New York Rangers in the NHL’s Eastern Conference’s expanded playoff qualifying round.Hamilton has missed multiple practices, though the league has prohibited teams from disclosing whether a player is injured or ill amid the coronavirus pandemic. Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour (BRIHN’-dah-mohr) says Hamilton is “getting better for sure,” and the team hopes he will play in the best-of-5 series.Hamilton broke his left leg in January and was sidelined until the NHL suspended the season because of the pandemic. Associated Press Concerns have been expressed about lax behavior by players on the field — such as spitting or high-fives — and off. The scrambled schedule has also heightened doubts about whether the owners’ desire to play is realistic.MLB-NEWSChapman rejoins YankeesUNDATED (AP) — All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman has been cleared to return to Yankee Stadium following a bout with the coronavirus. He was expected to play catch before New York hosted the Boston Red Sox. Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed Chapman’s return and said he wasn’t sure when the hard-throwing left-hander would be ready for game action. In other NFL news:— Lions safety Jayron Kearse has been suspended by the league for the first three games of the 2020 regular season for violating league policy on substance abuse. Kearse is eligible to participate in all preseason practices and can return to the active roster after the team’s Week 3 game at Arizona. Formerly with division rival Minnesota, Kearse signed a one-year, $2 million deal with Detroit as a free agent. — Bills starting right guard Jon Feliciano is out indefinitely after having surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle. The team did not reveal when or how Feliciano was hurt in making the announcement on its website.— Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick will be the new announce team for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football,” according to a person familiar with the decision. The trio has familiarity working together. They called the late game in last season’s Week 1 doubleheader between Denver and Oakland.NHL-HURRICANES-HAMILTON Chapman had been isolating in his Manhattan apartment since registering a positive test July 11. Also, Yanks right-hander Tommy Kahnle was added to the injured list with forearm tightness. He had an MRI taken Friday.In other MLB news:— The Cubs have signed former Indians closer Cody Allen to a minor league deal and sent him to their team’s training site in South Bend, Indiana. The Cubs’ bullpen struggled in the first week of the season. Closer Craig Kimbrel walked four batters and allowed two runs in his season debut Monday night. — The White Sox have promoted second baseman Nick Madrigal, adding one of their top prospects to the roster. The 23-year-old had been training at the team’s auxiliary site. Madrigal was selected by Chicago with the fourth overall pick in the 2018 draft after a standout collegiate career at Oregon State. TENNIS-US OPENUS Tennis Association says it’s still preparing for US OpenUNDATED (AP) — As coronavirus cases spike in other parts of the country a month before the U.S. Open is supposed to start in New York, the U.S. Tennis Association said Friday it “continues its plans” to hold its marquee event and another tournament beforehand.The U.S. Open usually is the year’s last Grand Slam tournament and its slated to run Aug. 31 to Sept. 13. It’s now the second major championship because of the pandemic.
Share This StoryFacebookTwitteremailPrintLinkedinRedditThe Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___Massachusetts is the latest school from the Football Bowl Subdivision, college football’s highest level, to cancel its fall season. The Latest: UMass cancels football, will try again in spring UMass is an independent in football and its decision affects only that sport. Most of UMass’ athletic teams compete in the Atlantic 10. Athletic director Ryan Bamford said the school will try to conduct a football spring season if possible.“Our job as coaches and mentors is to provide opportunities for our players, and do everything in our power to not take them away,” coach Walt Bell said. “Today’s news was devastating, but we will be resilient and prepared to be our best when our best is required.”UMass joins fellow independent UConn, Old Dominion and all the schools in the Mid-American Conference and Mountain West, a total of 27, in postponing its football season.UMass joined the FBS in 2012 and has not had a winning record since. The Minutemen were forced to try football independence when the Mid-American Conference pushed them out after the 2015 season. The program relies heavily on the revenue it generates from playing road games against Power Five schools and had been due to receive $1.9 million to play Auburn in November, but that game was canceled when the Southeastern Conference decided to play only league games.___ Associated Press 
August 11, 2020 More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Middlesex have clinched the signing of England hopeful Joe Denly from Kent.Denly, who has played one-day and Twenty20 cricket for his country, has been snapped up on a two-year contract.The 25-year-old opening batsman scored 1,024 runs in the County Championship last season – an average of 37.92.AdChoices广告“This is an important stage of my career and I’m really excited about the move to Middlesex, who are a club on the up as shown by their recent promotion,” he said.“I’m committed to becoming the best player I can possibly be and firmly believe that the environment at Middlesex will help me achieve that and one day resurrect my prospects at international level.”Middlesex chief executive Vinny Codrington said: “Joe Denly is a major addition to our squad. He can play all three formats of the game and is a quality player. We are delighted to have captured his signature.”
WITH just three days to go before Guyana’s senior Men’s National football team – Golden Jaguars – ‘roar’ against Belize, head coach Michael Johnson believes that based on the extensive preparation, his team is more than ready to create ‘football history’ at the Leonora Track and Field Centre.A win for Guyana will send them to CONCACAF Gold Cup for the first time, while a victory for Belize will see the Central American island return to the tournament for the first time since 2013.While ‘Lady Jags’ – the country’s senior women’s team – in 2010 became the first team under the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) banner to play at the CONCACAF showpiece (in Cancun, Mexico), the men’s side had never done so, only coming close (one goal to be exact) in 2007.Fast forward to present-day and with a revamped Gold Cup qualification process, thanks to CONCACAF’s president Victor Montagliani, who introduced the Nation’s League, Guyana are now 90+ minutes away from booking their tickets for the June 15-July 7 tournament.“Everybody is in a good place conditioning-wise, now everybody is focussing on the psychological aspect of the game because we all know the magnitude (of the game) so we’re going to discuss it and see where we go from there and just allow the players to focus on getting us to the Gold Cup,” an excited Johnson told reporters at the conclusion of the team’s first training session last Monday.Johnson named three debutants – Jordan Greenidge, Anthony Jeffrey and forward Keanu Marsh-Brown – in his 23-man squad, while adding some familiar players in a team he said is more than capable of bringing success to the country’s men’s programme.The former Jamaican International who turned out for the ‘Reggae Boyz’ in the Gold Cup during his illustrious playing career said that this could possibly be the best- assembled National team in recent times, based on the quality of the players.“We left no stones unturned this time and I’m happy with the way we went about preparing the team, especially with the extensive work we did with the locally based players,” Johnson revealed.Johnson said that there’s very little room for error and as such, the players selected, who are all seasoned professionals in their respective careers, are ready to go. However, the challenge is getting them to play together and gel perfectly before taking the pitch on Saturday.In 2017 CONCACAF, Montagliani introduced the Nation’s League, which is a new national team competition platform they had designed to maximise the quality, quantity and frequency of competitive matches for all Member Associations within the confederation. The opportunity presented was perfect for GFF.The task was artless. They finished in the top ten of the 34-team Nations League qualification tournament and Guyana were in the Gold Cup.Though the team had beaten Turks and Caicos 8-0 after a disappointing 2-2 home draw against Barbados, a 1-2 away loss to French Guiana placed Guyana in a position where it was mathematically improbable for them to reach the confederation’s marquee event since only the teams finishing in the top 10 will advance.Luckily for Guyana, it was later revealed that the Carlisle United and former Bury FC forward Hallam Hope, who had scored both goals against Guyana, did not have the proper clearance from FIFA and the English FA to represent Barbados.In accordance with Articles 55 and 31 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the BFA lost the match against Guyana by a score of 3-0.That result pushed the Guyanese men to 8th position behind Curacao (1), Haiti (2), Cuba (3), Canada (4), Jamaica (5) and Martinique (6) who rounded off the top six teams in the tournament, having picked up full points from their three matches. Bermuda (7th) St Kitts and Nevis (9th) and the Dominican Republic are the other teams in the top ten.Belize, Guyana’s next opponents, are in 13th position with six points (two wins and a loss).GOLDEN JAGUARS SQUAD:Goalkeepers – Alex Murray, Sese Norville and Akel Clarke. Defenders – Sam Cox, Elliot Bonds, Terence Vancooten, Reiss Greenidge, Ronayne Marsh-Brown, Walter Moore and Kevin Layne. Midfielders – Neil Danns, Clive Nobrega, Stephen Duke-McKenna, Anthony Jeffrey, Kadell Daniel, Warren Creavalle and Trayon Bobb. Forwards – Sheldon Holder, Gregory Richardson, Pernel Schultz, Marcel Barrington, Emery Welshman and Keanu Marsh-Brown. Golden Jaguars head coach ready to create history
THE GFF/KFC U-20 Independence Cup East Bank Football Association (EBFA) leg will resume today with the second round after the final first round match between Diamond United and Samatta Point/Kaneville from 12:00hrs at GFF National Training Facility, Providence, East Bank Demerara.Meanwhile Timehri Panthers, Grove Hi Tech, Diamond Upsetters and Soesdyke Falcons are already through to round two. Two matches are scheduled for 14:00hrs and 16:00hrs.Grove Hi Tech will battle Diamond Upsetters in a bid to reach the semi-finals while the latter will be looking to upset their opponents at 14:00hrs.The final match at 16:00hrs will pit Timehri Panthers against Herstelling Raiders. The winners of the Diamond United/Samatta Point/Kaneville clash will earn a place against Soesdyke Falcons on Monday in the lone match from 14:00hrs after which the semi-finalists will be decided.
KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC) – Minister of Health Dr Christopher Tufton yesterday announced that Jamaica will not participate in next month’s prestigious Penn Relays in the United States, as he disclosed that the island has recorded its first case of the new Coronavirus (COVID-19).A decision is also to be taken on the staging of the annual Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships, set for later this month at the National Stadium here, he added.Minister Tufton made the announcements at a press conference where it was disclosed that a Jamaican woman who returned from the United Kingdom last week, had tested positive for the virus yesterday.“I have confirmed that in terms of the Penn Relays, the Ministry of Education, through Cabinet instructions, has advised schools about not participating in the Penn Relays this year,” Minister Tufton said yesterday.“We will comment further on the Boys and Girls champs and any other gathering in the days coming.”The local schools championship is set for March 24-28.The 126th staging of the Penn Relays, the largest relay meet in the world, is scheduled for April 23-25 in Philadelphia, United States.But on Monday, organisers of the three-day event, which usually attracts more than 15 000 athletes and 110 000 spectators, said they were uncertain if it would be held this year because of the COVID-19 outbreak which has touched more than 100 countries and has affected international sports events, some of which have been cancelled, postponed, or held without spectators.They said in a statement that the University of Pennsylvania was consistently monitoring the global outbreak and was “working with experts across campus and coordinating with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other government agencies”.“Penn Athletics has not cancelled any home events or enacted any spectator restrictions due to the current novel Coronavirus concerns at this time. Travellers and visitors to campus are always encouraged to practise good hand hygiene to limit the spread of germs and illnesses. As conditions evolve, the University will continue to review, update, and publicise its travel and event policies,” it added.
As part of efforts to teach the basics of coaching cum techniques of the game, the Lagos State Basketball Association (LSBA) is organising a four-day workshop from October 25 to 28 for coaches in schools and academies. The training is staged in collaboration with Dynaspro with the aim of training the existing developmental Coaches as well as identifies new ones by evaluating their capability to handle children at their sensitive and formative ages.For the chairman of LSBA, Babs Ogunade, Dynaspro would be partnering, while the association would provide technical and managerial support for the partnership.“The LSBBA is saddled with the responsibility of developing the game in Lagos across gender lines.The clinics and trainings we have had speaks for itself, we are however not averse to partnerships and collaboration in improving capacity. We welcome inputs and partnerships from any well-meaning group, and in this case Dynaspro to partner and inject capacity building across all lines in the quest to teach and improve the game of basketball in Lagos State,” Ogunade said.According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dynaspro, Oluseyi Oyebode, among the objectives are; to ensure those saddle/to be saddled with the responsibility of impacting fundamental skills/knowledge are trained, tested and certified.He added that there would be appraisal for trainers in both theory and practical, while certificates and license would be issued to those that are successful based on the results.With a target of 250 participants with resource persons include former national basketball team coach to the London 2012 Olympic Games, Ayo Bakare; Adokie O’Brien, director, Nigeria Institute for Sports (NIS); Oliver Babatunde Johnson of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria; Prof. Clement Fasan of Lagos State University (LASU); Kindsley Ojiagburu, a FIBA Graded Referee; George Berefori of American International School, Lagos; Dr. Adeyeye Festus of University of Lagos (UNILAG); Nelson Peter, Deputy Director, Ministry of Youth and Sports and Prof. Grace Otinwa of University of Lagos.Share this:FacebookRedditTwitterPrintPinterestEmailWhatsAppSkypeLinkedInTumblrPocketTelegram
Earlier in December, Ronaldo also won the France Football magazine’s Ballon d’Or award with both honours recognition for success in the Champions League with Real Madrid and the Euro 2016 with his native Portugal.For the past six years, the world’s best player has received the FIFA Ballon d’Or award.Speaking after receiving the award, Ronaldo admitted that 2016 was awesome for him.Highlights of Ronaldo’s exploits in 2016 include; scoring the decisive penalty in the shootout to win the Champions League for Real Madrid; rescuing Real with a hat-trick in the final of the Club World Cup, captaining Portugal to Euro 2016 glory and being recognised with a fourth Ballon d’Or. He now has something Lionel Messi does not – the honour of being named Best FIFA Men’s Player for 2016.United States of America’s Carli Lloyd was named the world’s best female player despite failing to finish on an Olympic podium for the first time at Rio 2016.Lloyd has continued her exceptional form for both club (Houston Dash) and country.The 34-year-old saw off competition from Brazil’s Marta and Germany’s Melanie Behringer to win the award.For leading Leicester City out of the blues to win the English Premier League, Claudio Ranieri was named Best Men’s Coach for 2016.Ranieri who has also led his side to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League this season won the award ahead of Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane, who lifted the Champions League in his first season in charge, and Portugal’s Fernando Santos, who led his country to an unexpected success at Euro 2016 in France.Ex-Germany boss, Silvia Neid, won the female coach of the year award.Neid who retired in 2016 after capping an 11-year spell in charge of the women’s national team and guiding them to Olympic gold for the first time won the award ahead of USA coach, Jill Ellis and Pia Sundhage of Sweden.He success in Rio added to her extensive trophy collection which includes the World Cup and two European Championships.Penang’s Mohd Faiz Subri received the Puskas award for the Best Goal of 2016.Despite being on the shortlist for best individual player, Griezmann did not make World Best XI.The line-up features five players from Real Madrid, four from Barcelona, one from Juventus (Dani Alves, who was at Barca for the first half of 2016) and one, Manuel Neuer, from Bayern Munich. There was no Premier League player on the World XI.The fan award went to supporters of Liverpool and German club Borussia Dortmund, who together sang a moving rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ – an anthem adopted by both teams – before their Europa League quarter-final in April. The match came the day before the 27th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, in which 96 Liverpool fans died.Colombian side Atletico Nacional were given the fair play award for their part in the aftermath of the plane crash which killed 19 players and staff of Brazilian side Chapecoense.Chapecoense were en route to play the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana final when the plane crashed, killing 71 people. Atletico Nacional said the title should be awarded to Chapecoense. FIFA recognised their “spirit of peace, understanding and fair play.”Share this:FacebookRedditTwitterPrintPinterestEmailWhatsAppSkypeLinkedInTumblrPocketTelegram Duro Ikhazuagbe with agency reportReal Madrid and Portugal forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, 31, was Monday night named the world’s best player at the inaugural Best FIFA Football Awards in Zurich, Switzerland.He defeated Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann to win the prize.
“The two tournaments were very tough than those of last year but the tough training my dad puts me through as well as the experience I got by playing for Nigeria (at the ITF/CAT Championship) early this year helped me to win” he said, on arrival at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos at the weekend.Gabriel’s dad, Richard who is also his coach, said Gabriel was the main target by all the other opponents following his surprise win of the titles last year.“They were prepared for him. They knew he is very good and always want to give their best against him.” Richard credited the Brant Lake Camp for fine-tuning his son’s game and also thanked the VGC Club for supporting the training.He also said Gabriel got commendations from various coaches across America and Europe who came for the tournaments. He defeated Alex Weinberg of the US in both finals of the tournaments held in New York.Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) President, Dayo Akindoju, received Gabriel in Lagos and said the youngster and some other talents have raised the hope of Nigeria producing future stars in tennis reiterating the federation’s focus on talent development.Akindoju stated, “Gabriel and a host of other promising talents will form the foundation of our focus to develop tennis from the grassroots. Kids as young as six years old would be assessed through the years and their evaluation would be followed with recommendations to the ITF for scholarship at the High Performance Centre in order to bring out the best in their talents.”Share this:FacebookRedditTwitterPrintPinterestEmailWhatsAppSkypeLinkedInTumblrPocketTelegram Nigeria’s emerging tennis wonderkid, Gabriel Inyang, has attributed the success of his two-month holiday training at the US to the experience garnered by representing the country at this year’s ITF/CAT tournament held April in Lagos.The 12-year-old from the Victoria Garden City Club, Lekki, Lagos defeated 10 Americans to claim the Baco Junior Tournament in July before rounding off on a memorable note with the Brant Lake Camp tournament title in New York later in the same month to bag a double-double having attained same feat last year.
At least SIPG went out fighting, winning 3-2 on an enthralling night at Shanghai Stadium.Former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager Villas-Boas refused to be immediately drawn on his future, saying: “It’s not the time now to speak about this.“SIPG know my decision and soon you will know about it.”Chinese media hinted that Villas-Boas had to lift at least one trophy in his first season to stay in the job, but SIPG came second in the Chinese Super League (CSL) behind Guangzhou Evergrande and went out in the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League.“For us it’s a pity, we were close to three trophies this season but we couldn’t achieve them,” added Villas-Boas.“I think we are more ready now to face the challenges that lay ahead of us for the future.“We had three knockouts and we failed them all, that’s my responsibility, I was the one that made the promise for this team to achieve success and I failed in this bid.”Hulk and international winger Wu Lei both tested out the away goal and on 15 minutes SIPG took the lead.Oscar crossed and Lu Wenjun was on hand at the far post to steer the ball back across goal.Both sides had half-chances and three minutes before the break a moment of controversy.Shenhua, with former manager Gus Poyet watching from the stands, thought they had scored through Cao Yunding.The away players wheeled away in celebration, failing to spot that the referee had blown up for an infringement by Martins.The 33-year-old forward had given the side now coached by Wu Jingui a slender lead from the first leg, but he was adjudged to have impeded SIPG goalkeeper Yan Junling.But on the stroke of half-time Shenhua did score and it was Cao again, swivelling inside the box to fire the ball past Yun for 1-1 on the night and 2-1 on aggregate.Martins, once of Newcastle United and Inter Milan, looked to have won the tie when he cut in from the right and curled the ball beautifully into the top corner from well outside the box.But Hulk buried a penalty four minutes later, then on 76 minutes SIPG took the lead on the night 3-2 when Shenhua captain Giovanni Moreno put the ball into his own net, setting up a frenetic finale during which SIPG’s Fu Huan was sent off.It was Shenhua’s first FA Cup triumph since 1998 and earns them a place in next season’s Asian Champions League.Share this:FacebookRedditTwitterPrintPinterestEmailWhatsAppSkypeLinkedInTumblrPocketTelegram Veteran Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins scored a cracker as Shanghai Shenhua stunned rivals Shanghai SIPG to win the Chinese FA Cup final on away goals 3-3 on aggregate on Sunday.They did it in thrilling fashion and without Argentine forward Carlos Tevez, whose disastrous 11-month spell in China looks to be over after he failed to appear in either leg of the final.Shenhua went into the two-legged tie as underdogs against an expensively assembled SIPG side featuring the Brazilians Hulk and Oscar, Asia’s most pricey player at €60 million.Portuguese coach Andre Villas-Boas, whose future in China is also unclear having failed to lead SIPG to silverware this season, paid the price for a lack of ambition in the 1-0 first-leg defeat at Shenhua a week earlier — Martins the scorer.
Serena Williams has praised the introduction of more ranking protection for new mothers on the WTA Tour.Players coming back from childbirth or injury can use their previous ranking to enter 12 tournaments over a three-year period.In addition, they will not face a seeded player in an opening round. “I think it’s great,” said Williams who gave birth to daughter Alexis Olympia in September 2017 and returned to action in February 2018.“Women that are younger can go out there and have kids and not have to worry about it, and not have to wait until the twilight of their years to have children, and I think it’s a really great rule.”Williams, 37, was not seeded at the French Open, her first Grand Slam appearance following her return, but was given a seeding of 25 for Wimbledon, despite being outside the top 32 in the rankings. She is now ranked 16th and will be seeded for next month’s Australian Open.The WTA’s rule change comes after the organisation canvassed the opinions of players earlier in the year.World number one Simona Halep and five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova had both offered their support to Williams, but others like Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka and Johanna Konta expressed reservations.Williams added: “I think having gone through the experience myself really opened my eyes. Would have I done it sooner had there been different rule changes? I don’t know. But now there is an opportunity, people don’t have to ask that question.”The 23-time Grand Slam champion will be in action against sister Venus in Abu Dhabi on Thursday in her first match since September’s US Open final defeat by Japan’s Naomi Osaka. That match was overshadowed by her outburst at chair umpire Carlos Ramos, whom she called a “liar” and “thief”.She was docked a game for verbal abuse following a point penalty for racquet smashing and a code violation for coaching. She was subsequently fined for her outbursts.Share this:FacebookRedditTwitterPrintPinterestEmailWhatsAppSkypeLinkedInTumblrPocketTelegram Serena Williams
English Premier League club Chelsea are ready to firm up their interest in Samuel Chukwueze by making a bid for the Nigeria international, according to reports.Berlin based media company Onefootball claims The Blues are planning to make an offer for the Villarreal winger and manager Frank Lampard wants him in his squad for the 2020-2021 season.Chukwueze won’t come cheap though as he has a release clause of 100 million euros (approximately N41 billion) which has to be activated before the Yellow Submarine can shred their agreement with the 20-year-old. Liverpool saw their 35 million euros bid for the Super Eagles rising star rejected in the January transfer window as it was deemed insufficient.It is believed that Chukwueze’s profile increased after he was nominated for the Golden Boy award, CAF Youth Player of the Year and Kopa Trophy.The 2015 U17 World Cup winner has made 68 first-team appearances for Villarreal since debuting in September 2018.Share this:FacebookRedditTwitterPrintPinterestEmailWhatsAppSkypeLinkedInTumblrPocketTelegram
Maurizio Sarri’s side are the only team to win nine consecutive titles in one of Europe’s top five leagues.It extends their own record, which Bayern Munich had matched in June.Ronaldo missed the chance to get closer to Ciro Immobile’s tally of 34 at the top of the Serie A goal charts as he struck a penalty against the crossbar in the final minutes.Share this:FacebookRedditTwitterPrintPinterestEmailWhatsAppSkypeLinkedInTumblrPocketTelegram Juventus Sunday night clinched a record-extending ninth successive Serie A title as they defeated Sampdoria 2-0 in Turin.Mathematically, second-placed Inter Milan can only get to 82 points, one fewer than Juventus’s current tally of 83. Atalanta,Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 31st league goal of the season from Miralem Pjanic’s short free-kick in first-half injury time and Federico Bernardeschi sealed the victory after 67 minutes.
The question swirled around the Wisconsin football team for what seemed like forever: Who would succeed John Stocco as the starting quarterback for the Badgers in 2007?The two main contenders, fifth-year senior in-state product Tyler Donovan and junior transfer from Kansas State Allan Evridge, battled back and forth for all of spring practice and the first three weeks of fall camp, neither taking control of the position because of their sporadic play.After nearly six months of competition, Donovan was announced as the starter late last week. It was a move the UW coaching staff was compelled to make. At the same time, it was a move that may eventually come back to haunt the staff. Either way, it was a decision that will go a long way in determining how history looks back on the 2007 version of the Badgers.Before we get too far, let me preface what I am about to put forth. Neither is Donovan a terrible quarterback nor did the coaching staff make a completely misguided decision. The fact is Donovan entered the competition in the lead, already having four years under his belt at UW and more experience in the offense. And although neither was stunning for extended stretches of camp, Evridge never separated himself enough to jump past Donovan and force the coaching staff to name him starter, something a challenger must do. Likewise, Donovan never was bad enough to warrant losing his lead. The right-handed Donovan and the left-handed Evridge were, for the most part, mirror images.There is no denying the UW football team is exceptionally talented. With a defense that should rival, if not better, last year’s top-five national unit, solid special teams, a good ground game and weapons in the passing game, the Badgers should be a bowl team regardless of who the starting quarterback is. What will make the difference between a 9-3 record and another berth in the Capital One Bowl, and a gaudier record and BCS appearance is quarterback play. More specifically, how the signal caller reacts to tough environments like the Horseshoe and Happy Valley and pressure situations in other high-profile contests will chart the Badgers’ course.That is where the Donovan decision could come back to haunt Wisconsin.Sure, Donovan has been around the block with the UW program and has more time logged in the offense than Evridge. He also has a career 2-0 record as a starter, winning twice at the end of last season when Stocco was out with a shoulder injury. And while he won both games and looked good doing so, neither win came against good teams.Wisconsin and Donovan caught Iowa right as the Hawkeyes season was falling apart. After beating up on low-tier major conference teams in their first four games, the Hawkeyes went on to lose seven of their last nine to finish with a 2-6 record in the Big Ten. Quite simply, Iowa was not a good team last year.The next week, Wisconsin dismantled Buffalo. No explanation besides a 2-10 record is needed for why Buffalo does not constitute a good team.That’s it. That’s the starting experience in the system Donovan has over Evridge: two wins over teams no one would mistake for championship contenders.And it’s not as if Evridge has no starting experience. In 2005, Evridge impressed head coach Bill Snyder so much that Snyder made Evridge the first true freshman quarterback to start a game for him in his 17-year stay at Kansas State, including games in tough environments like Nebraska and Texas Tech. Although Evridge’s record was anything but spectacular, so was the talent around him.The real litmus test for Donovan will likely not come until the second month of the season, when Wisconsin travels to play a talented Penn State team in what is always a crazy environment. Three weeks later, the scene will be Columbus, Ohio, in front of the more than 100,000 that make Ohio Stadium the most feared locale in the Big Ten.In those situations, leadership will be as important as any other factor the quarterback brings to the table.In that category, Evridge has the edge on Donovan. One senior starter expressed some doubt about Donovan’s leadership capabilities, telling me he isn’t “captain material.” Evridge, that same player said, is captain material. If Evridge has made this big of an impact on the minds of his teammates in the brief time he has been around the program, there must be something there.Although Donovan may not be the natural leader Evridge is, he can still become a leader in the eyes of his peers. Coming through with some big plays to right the ship early in the season when the team may be struggling against a lesser opponent would be one way to do so.Earlier during fall camp, well before the quarterback situation was close to being decided, Evridge offered an interesting thought on the topic of leadership. “You can try to fake leadership,” Evridge said. “But eventually you’ll get caught.”He wasn’t talking about his counterpart, but whether Donovan gets caught or not — whether he is faking leadership, or is able to command and lead his offense — will go a long way to determining whether this is a special season in Madison or just another good one.Ben is a junior majoring in political science and journalism. Share your thoughts on UW football by contacting him at bvoelkel@badgerherald.com.
University of Wisconsin pitcher Letty Olivarez didn’t last three innings in starting the first game of UW’s doubleheader Wednesday night. Hours later, Leah Vanevenhoven followed suit, pulled at the same time in the second game. Where the Badgers’ starters struggled though, relief pitching came up big for UW.After allowing four runs on seven hits in just over two innings, Olivarez was yanked in favor of Vanevenhoven, who was playing third base. Vanevenhoven responded by finishing the game and allowing no runs, as well as racking up seven strikeouts.“It was fine, I mean, that’s what my job is, so I just have to be ready for that,” Vanevenhoven said of taking the circle in relief.It was a dominant performance. She allowed no walks and just one hit in four innings. After that hit, a leadoff single in the fifth inning, Vanevenhoven struck out the next five batters she faced. That would begin of a streak of nine batters sent down in a row.“Everything felt really good. I felt in control with all the batters — I was getting them on my drop balls, my changeups,” Vanevenhoven said.Vanevenhoven got the starting nod in the second game, but the success would not carry over. Tired from the innings she pitched in the first game, Vanevenhoven gave up two runs in the third inning after hitting a batter and giving up a two-run homer to Green Bay’s Katie Cooney. Wisconsin chose to give the ball to the only other pitcher on the roster, sophomore Kristyn Hansen. Hansen pitched only 8.1 innings on the season prior to Wednesday, giving the relief appearance even more meaning.“It was very exciting because I haven’t gotten to pitch very many times, being an [underclassman],” Hansen said.The excitement translated into results, as Hansen allowed no runs on three hits and a walk. Even more impressive than her stats was her performance under pressure. With the bases loaded and only one out in the fifth inning, Hansen battled with Kendra Woepse before striking her out on the eighth pitch. She struck out a pinch hitter on four pitches in the next at bat to escape the inning.“It was high pressure. Some pitches I was uncomfortable throwing, but my coach told me to throw them. I was just determined to do well,” Hansen said. “I think after I got the first strikeout, I just took a deep breath and said, ‘I’ll get this next one, and we’ll go hit.’”“The last couple days, she had a good couple practices — she’s learning to pitch,” head coach Chandelle Schulte said of Hansen. “The difference between her and the other kids today is [that] she got into trouble and she got out of it.”Day and nightAfter a lackadaisical performance in the early game, UW responded by having a complete reversal offensively in the late game. Much like the series last week against North Dakota, the Badgers came out and scored runs early in the second game en route to an 11-2 win.Despite a valiant effort by Vanevenhoven in relief in the first game, the offense managed no runs on four hits. UW definitely had its chances, leaving 10 women on base courtesy of the seven walks issued by Green Bay pitcher Amanda Margelofsky.“You know, I was just trying to do my best — I was just hoping the bats would come around,” Vanevenhoven said.The bats wouldn’t come around until the second game, in which UW scored runs in every inning but the fourth. The Badgers scored five runs off of Green Bay starter Cooney in four innings, prompting a Phoenix pitching change. Relief pitcher Samantha Schmeltzer would fare no better, giving up six runs in her 1.2 innings. In total, the Badgers tallied 13 hits, including a towering two-run home run by Olivarez in the fifth. UW’s success was due in part do a more aggressive team mentality.“I think we all had to take a deep breath and realize what we’re doing and who we’re playing, and just knowing we’re going to win and we have to win,” Hansen said. “By doing that, I think we all got on each other’s cases, and by doing that we all got energized and ready to go.”Wisconsin’s 11 runs were the most scored by the team since a 12-13 loss to Boise State on Feb. 8. As per NCAA rules, the game was ended once the Badgers reached an eight-run lead in the bottom of the sixth. This was the first time this season UW mercy-ruled an opponent.
Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves signed two new recruits yesterday to play in the 2009-10 season.[/media-credit]After losing four seniors to graduation and seeing WCHA Player of the Year Jamie McBain skip his final season at the University of Wisconsin, the men’s hockey team welcomed two new recruits for the 2009-10 season Wednesday afternoon.Joining the Badgers are goaltender Brett Bennett — who hails from Williamsville, N.Y. — and defenseman John Ramage of Chesterfield, Mo.Bennett in particular was a necessary addition to head coach Mike Eaves’ squad with three of the departing seniors playing goaltender, including two-year starter Shane Connelly. As of right now, Wisconsin will carry two net minders on its roster next season with junior-to-be Scott Gudmandson and newcomer Bennett.“Brett will come in as a Badger after a super year in junior hockey,” Eaves said in a press release. “We look forward to him bringing his experience to our team. And John, with his experience with the national team development program, he has already played multiple college games and will come in and add that experience to our incoming class.”Ramage skated for the St. Louis Bandits — a North American Hockey League team — where he recorded 11 points in 56 games, including four goals. Ramage’s point totals are a bit off from McBain’s 37 points in 40 games, which led all WCHA defenseman. Ramage also played for the U.S. Under-18 National Team, and the Bandits won the 2008 USA Hockey Tier II Junior A National Championships.In the 2009 NHL Central Scouting draft rankings, Ramage ranks No. 97 among North American hockey players.Like fellow Badgers’ Blake Geoffrion and Patrick Johnson, Ramage comes from a successful NHL family. Ramage’s father, Rob Ramage, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1979 NHL Draft, and the elder Ramage appeared in 1,044 total NHL games.Bennett will come to UW with only two years of eligibility remaining after suiting up his first two seasons for Boston University. Selected in the fifth round by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Bennett spent this season starting for the Indiana Ice of the United States Hockey League.With the Ice, Bennett earned a spot on the First-Team All USHL squad and went 35-17-4 on the year. With four shutouts, the Missouri native posted a 2.59 goals-against average and stopped 91 percent of the shots fired on net.While manning the pipes for Boston University, Bennett went 16-10-3 with a 2.63 goals-against average. This season, Connelly went 19-14-4 for the Badgers and posted a 2.51 goals-against average.
Matt Jansen made it through a tough fifth inning Tuesday night to earn the victory, pitching six scoreless innings for the Mallards.[/media-credit]Behind impressive performances from Matt Jansen, Ben Long and Joe De Pinto, the Madison Mallards earned a 5-1 victory Tuesday to complete a two-game sweep of the Rochester Honkers at the Duck Pond.Jansen allowed six hits and struck out four over six shut out innings to get the win. Long, the designated hitter, drove a two-run home run over the left field fence with one out in the sixth to give the Mallards a 4-0 lead, which proved to be more than enough for Jansen.“I’ve been seeing the ball really well lately,” Long said. “I was looking for a ball on the inner half that I could drive and he gave it to me. I knew it had a chance when I hit it, but I wasn’t sure.”The game began as a classic pitchers duel between a pair of Big Ten hurlers in Jansen (Purdue) and Rochester’s Zach Robertson (Iowa). Through the first five innings, the two starters combined to strike out 13 batters while allowing just two runs on nine hits.“It’s always fun when there’s a good battle and there’s another good guy on the mound against you,” Jansen said. “It was fun going through those first few innings with both teams scoreless and the pressure’s on you to keep the other team’s hitters from breaking through.”Still it wasn’t as easy for Jansen as the box score would make it seem. For whatever reason, he seems to struggle to put opposing hitters away in the fifth inning of his starts. And when the fifth rolled around, last year’s South Division all-star game starter struggled again.The Honkers started the inning by loading the bases on three straight infield hits, mounting their first big challenge of the night. This time, however, Jansen dug deep and retired the next three hitters, including a pair of strikeouts to end the inning.“All spring and the first outing I had with the Mallards the fifth inning has been the inning that has killed me,” Jansen said. “I don’t know what it is, but I was able to get through that today. Hopefully from here on out I won’t have to worry that anymore.”Long’s home run was his third hit of the game after singling in each of his first two at-bats. With a 3-for-4 showing Tuesday night, the junior from UW-Milwaukee improved his average to an impressive .619 (13-for-21) through six games, including three doubles, a pair of home runs and six runs batted in.“Ben Long has been tremendous the last three or four days for us,” manager C.J. Thieleke said. “He carried us again tonight with a big home run. Anytime you can extend that lead — especially with a home run — it breaks a team’s back a little bit.”De Pinto, the Mallards’ shortstop, broke up the scoreless tie in the fourth inning with a leadoff home run to left, just the second hit allowed in the game by Robertson.The sophomore from USC helped the Mallards push across another run in the fifth inning following a leadoff walk by catcher Tyson Blaser. With two outs in the inning, De Pinto singled to left driving in Blaser, which proved to be the eventual winning run. De Pinto finished the night 2-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in.After Long’s home run in the sixth, the Mallards would strike one more time in the inning to go up 5-0 on the Honkers. Blaser doubled off the fence in left center and after a walk, center fielder Kurtis Muller singled to center to drive in another run.Rochester threatened again in the eighth, loading the bases for the second time in the game, but managed just one run on a single to right by second baseman William Arnold.Brad Allen, a sophomore from Elgin Community College pitched a scoreless ninth for the Mallards to close out the ballgame, completing the two-game sweep and extending the team’s winning streak to three games.With the win, Madison improves to 4-2 and sits just one game behind the South Division leaders Battle Creek and Eau Claire. Rochester falls to 2-3 and two and one-half games behind North Division leader Alexandria.“I feel really good about where we’re at and the way we started this home stand,” Thieleke said. “We’ll take them one at a time, but this is a good stretch for us.”The Mallards will look to keep their momentum going Wednesday at the Duck Pond as the Waterloo Bucks (1-5) come to town for the first time this season.
Wisconsin, winners of three games in a row, hopes to carry its hot streak as it travels to face the No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini. Freshman Shannel Blackshear hit her fifth home run and first career grand slam in Wednesday\’s double-header sweep against South Dakota.[/media-credit]On the heels of its first three-game-winning streak since the Blue & Gold Felsberg Memorial tournament in February, the Wisconsin softball team looks to continue its strong play into this weekend, as it travels to Champaign, Ill. to face the No. 19 Fighting Illini.While the Badgers (14-26) did play their first 28 games on the road in five non-conference tournaments and four road series before finally coming back home to Goodman Diamond, Saturday’s game in Illinois will be the first road contest in 20 days.Although the team said it has enjoyed its time home, freshman Molly Spence believes the Badgers are ready for the road trip.“I think we’re ready,” Spence, a Wilmette, Ill. native, said. “We’ve been home for awhile and we’re getting a little bit antsy I feel, [so] it’ll be nice to get out and go see Illinois.”The Badgers concluded a successful week Wednesday, as they swept the Coyotes of the University of South Dakota, winning game one 5-1 and blowing out the Coyotes 10-2 in game two. They also split a doubleheader with Northern Illinois on Tuesday, losing 5-4 in eight innings in game one and defeating the Huskies 4-3 in the second game.It was a record day for the team on Wednesday, as three players entered the program record books. Starting pitcher Letty Olivarez tied a school record with 17 strikeouts, Spence set a school record with seven runs batted in and Jennifer Krueger became the single-season record-holder for stolen bases in a season, stealing her 20th and 21st bases of the year.Olivarez said in post-game interviews Wednesday that the team has been making a concerted effort to try to warm up hard, and the team was able to play especially loose and relaxed.As a result, the team scored 15 runs on the day; the second most recorded on a single day this season, and jacked two home runs. The home runs came off the bats of freshman third baseman Shannel Blackshear, her fifth of the year, and Spence, who blasted her first career grand slam and seventh homer of the year.“We had a really good warm-up before the game, and they worked on being loose and thinking bombs away,” said Olivarez, the beneficiary of Blackshear’s three-run shot and winning pitcher of game one.Hoping to keep the momentum going, the team travels to play a feisty Illinois team that possesses three players hitting over .404 this season and has outscored its opponents by the not-so-slight margin of 225-77.“They’re good. We’re gonna need to go out there and be aggressive on both the defense and offensive side,” Olivarez said. “If we just go attack right away, we should be in the game with them.”The Illini (32-5) are led by infielder Meredith Hackett and pitcher Monica Perry. Hackett, a Corona, Ca. native, is batting a blistering .404, with a team-leading eight home runs and 35 RBIs. Perry, who boasts an impressive 17-4 record and a 2.41 earned run average, has not lost a game since giving up four runs on four hits in two innings pitched in a March 27th loss to No. 2 Michigan.Something else of note is the speed of junior infielder Danielle Zymkowitz, who has a team-leading 30 stolen bases. Speed has been a troubling issue for the Badgers in the past, as both Iowa and Purdue took advantage of the their sometimes-spotty middle infield.If the Badgers hope to contend with the Illini at all, they will need strong contributions from their own speedsters on the top of the lineup, initiating rallies and making it easier to score runs.“It’s a big momentum grabber,” Olivarez said. “When we get [players] on in the top of the order, it’s really nice to have [them] moving around the bases because most teams get nervous when fast runners get on.”Krueger, also the all-time career leader in stolen bases for Wisconsin, is starting to swing the bat with more precision, going 3-4 Wednesday with a walk, two stolen bases and three runs.Her production greatly benefits the offense, and her speed helps shore up the outfield defense.For the team, winning close games against both Northern Illinois and blowing out South Dakota helps prepare it for a tough road trip this weekend.“We did really well, and we kept our heads up even when there was a sticky moment,” Blackshear said. “[Hopefully] this is just progression towards winning more.”
Published on October 27, 2010 at 12:00 pm Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman Comments Facebook Twitter Google+
The players on the Syracuse volleyball team realize the importance of consistency. But this season, consistency has remained elusive for the Orange. Ask any player why that is, and there won’t be any excuses. Instead, it’s just reality. ‘Every team has ups and downs, it’s a long season,’ outside hitter Hayley Todd said. ‘We’re just sort of fighting through that.’ Syracuse (21-5, 3-5 Big East) heads into a weekend with two must-win matches against Pittsburgh and West Virginia. The two wins would keep the Orange’s season alive in the Big East. Coming off a lost Midwest road trip in which it suffered two defeats at the hands of Notre Dame and DePaul, Syracuse needs to right itself for the last stretch of the season. Now’s the time to do that.AdvertisementThis is placeholder text Both the Mountaineers (14-10, 4-4) and the Panthers (10-14, 4-4) come in with even conference records, sitting in seventh and eighth places in the conference, respectively. The Orange leads the Big East with a .288 hitting percentage, while Pittsburgh sits at No. 9 at .188 and West Virginia is No. 13 at .173. On paper, Syracuse is the better team. If the Orange can live up to those statistics on the court, getting at least one win, if not two, shouldn’t be too much of a problem. If it doesn’t, SU will be in for a tough final weekend of the season, when it would have to beat the top two teams in the Big East in Cincinnati and Louisville. ‘If we lose this weekend, it’s going to be tough,’ Orange assistant coach Carol LaMarche said. ‘Pitt and West Virginia are no pushovers, and DePaul has one win in the Big East and that’s against us. Anything can happen.’ SU hasn’t been able to put together a string of wins, instead it has tough losses that keep the Orange’s quest to remain in the top eight of the Big East a daunting task. Syracuse’s crucial victories have been mixed with untimely defeats. The consistency of winning hasn’t been there in conference play. For the Orange, that isn’t necessarily out of the ordinary. That’s what happens when good teams beat up on each other. Any team can get a win in any match, and that team doesn’t have to be the best one on the court. But this weekend, Syracuse has to do both: Be the best team and get the two wins it needs to contend. ‘We have to keep playing defense well,’ middle blocker Lindsay McCabe said. ‘Just keep our hitting consistency, we’ve been having good kill percentages.’ SU continues to have the best overall record in the conference, but its Big East record remains the issue. The Orange now sits in 10th place in a position that is far from where it wants to be. A league record below .500 probably wouldn’t allow Syracuse to get into the top eight to make the playoffs, although there could be a shot. Albeit a long shot. ‘It has to be mathematically perfect,’ LaMarche said. ‘But you know 8-6 is definitely in, 7-7 has a good chance. We’re pushing through these next four games, and hopefully one from Louisville or Cincinnati.’ Two wins this weekend would get SU back to .500 and back to a good spot in the standings. After losses this season, the players have said that not everything came together well enough to get a win. Everything didn’t click the way it should. But as the season goes on, things better start coming together and clicking. Syracuse’s grip on its playoff ambitions loosens with every loss. At least for SU, it knows what it needs to do to turn things around. ‘We just have to finish the plays,’ McCabe said. ‘Last weekend we dug a lot of balls up, had good sets and just struggled to end the play with a kill. That definitely has to be our focus.’ cjiseman@syr.edu
Published on December 1, 2010 at 12:00 pm Comments Iasia Hemingway continued the trend. On Syracuse’s first possession out of halftime, the junior forward caught the ball at the high post and turned to face the basket. Maryland Eastern Shore’s defense overshifted, leaving a gaping hole between Hemingway and the basket. She slashed down the lane as the Hawks center Chena Parker tried to slide underneath the basket. As Hemingway laid the ball up off the backboard, Parker swung for the block. But she whacked Hemingway across the face as the ball dropped through the hoop. As the whistle blew to send Hemingway to the free-throw line, where the Orange had made a living in the first half, the Syracuse junior gave an emphatic fist pump to the SU bench. ‘When I get an and-one, I get really excited because, you know, that’s a tough move,’ she said. ‘So I just do what I can to keep my team pumped. To let them know, ‘I’m here with you. We’re going to get this.” Hemingway ended up missing the free throw, but that was a rarity for the Orange on Wednesday night. Syracuse (5-0) visited the charity stripe 31 times during its 73-50 win over UMES (1-2) in front of 1,011 fans at the Carrier Dome.AdvertisementThis is placeholder text It made 26 of those free throws, good for more than a third of its points in the game. And with the SU shooters struggling to find their range, Hemingway and sophomore center Kayla Alexander powered the Orange to the big win. And they were a big part of SU’s 83.9 percent free-throw shooting. ‘It’s good to keep getting to the line because I think that it takes some of their players off the floor,’ SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said. ‘Obviously, making them is huge, and if we can keep shooting the ball like that from the free-throw line, the way we rebound the ball, we’re going to be very good.’ As the Orange guards struggled to hit shots from the perimeter (1-for-23 from 3-point range), Alexander and Hemingway controlled the game in the paint. Alexander led the team with 27 points on 9-of-9 shooting. Hemingway finished with 20 and missed only two shots from the field. ‘Our shooting was terrible from the outside,’ sophomore guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas said. ‘Getting the ball inside … that was a big part. Because when you get it up on the rim, we can go get it. We can go crash.’ And in getting the ball into the paint, the Orange repeatedly drew fouls from Hawks defenders. Syracuse was in the shooting bonus with 10:51 left in the first half. UMES forward Shanyce Stewart fouled out with two minutes left in the game. Two other Hawks finished with four fouls. And Hemingway and Alexander took advantage. When they weren’t scoring over UMES defenders from in close, they were making their trips to the line count. Alexander went 9-of-10 from the charity stripe while Hemingway finished 6-of-7. ‘That’s just us working hard and going hard,’ Alexander said. ‘Following Coach’s game plan, going to work and playing as a team.’ With the Orange missing its third leading scorer, Erica Morrow, due to a bruised right foot and the shooters struggling from the outside, Alexander and Hemingway rose to the occasion. Alexander turned in a dominant performance from the low post, something that has become typical of the sophomore this year against undersized opponents. Her 27 points broke the career high of 24 she set Monday night against New Hampshire. And Hillsman said he challenged Hemingway to step up with the absence of Morrow. The transfer from Georgia Tech did just that. Much of her scoring came from her 12 rebounds. But she did flash the ability to drive to the hoop and even hit a long jumper from the top of the free-throw circle. ‘I did what I had to do for my team to get a win,’ Hemingway said. ‘With Erica being out, I just had to play hard. And Coach Q told me I had to come out and step up and play a big role. So I did what I had to do to get the ‘W’ for my team.’ zjbrown@syr.edu
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Published on January 24, 2012 at 12:00 pm Contact Kevin: kmprisei@syr.edu Facebook Twitter Google+ Comments
Syracuse has not gotten off to the best start this season, dropping its first two matches on the road. However, head coach Luke Jensen is not ready to panic yet. He knows adversity will only make his team better in the long run.Jensen remains optimistic about the Orange’s ability to overcome the early struggles, pointing to his players’ unwavering confidence on the court.‘You are going to lose. You have to lose before you win,’ Jensen said. ‘If I have to deal with confidence and self-esteem, we’ve already lost.’Syracuse (0-2, 0-1 Big East) opened its season with two road losses to nationally ranked opponents South Florida and Texas Christian. Still, the Orange has its sights set on making the NCAA tournament this season after failing to accomplish that goal last season. With a young roster featuring five freshmen, the poor start could be detrimental to the team moving forward if not for Syracuse’s strong senior leadership.The seniors have been critical to keeping the team together and maintaining confidence during the difficult start. Jensen is quick to praise the efforts of his senior captains, Emily Harman and Alessondra Parra. With a freshman-laden roster, leadership and a sense of direction are crucial to the Orange’s success. AdvertisementThis is placeholder textThe head coach believes Harman and Parra have already exceeded expectations as leaders.‘Our two captains, it’s absolutely phenomenal how much they’ve grown since they were freshmen,’ Jensen said. ‘They’re not screamers and yellers, but they’ve improved every year in both work ethic and structure.’Throughout their four years at Syracuse, Harman and Parra have demonstrated that growth in displaying the qualities that Jensen recruited them for — confidence, self-assuredness and strong character. These traits are needed now more than ever, and their ability to pass them along to the younger players will be pivotal to keeping the team on track. Confidence is a trait that Jensen focuses on from day one of the recruiting process. Jensen looks beyond the tennis court when he decides who he wants in his Syracuse program. By recruiting similar-minded players, he is able to build a team of athletes that complement each other, both on and off the court. That recruiting strategy pays off during times of struggle, such as those the Orange encountered in the last two weeks. The bond the players share allows them to stay hard-working and focused as they prepare for upcoming matches, Jensen said.‘Losing the first two matches was kind of sobering, to be honest,’ Jensen said. ‘The players realize they have to train and work hard, and that they won’t be handed anything. We’re all about adversity here.’The transition to collegiate athletics is difficult in any sport. And on a young team, veteran leadership becomes even more critical.As far as Jensen is concerned, the upperclassmen set a framework for the newer players to follow, whether it is in time management, classes or handling the weather.‘It’s tough here, and some of these kids have no idea what a nor’easter is,’ Jensen said. ‘On a daily basis, our leaders make sure that everyone has the offense, the system and the specifics down. They’re a support system to help us navigate through a turbulent championship season.’Harman is the only player on this year’s team who has reached the 100-win mark over her career, bringing instant credibility in the locker room. She knows that her attitude and outlook will be noticed by everyone around the team, and she doesn’t take the responsibility lightly.The senior captain stresses to her teammates the privileges associated with playing college athletics. By leading by example, Harman hopes to keep the team on the right track and avoid a downward spiral as a result of the two early losses.‘It’s always important to make sure the team is moving in the right direction,’ Harman said. ‘The start is not what we would’ve wanted, but we can get better, and we can improve. The motivation will never cease.’That motivation is something that can keep a team on the right track, especially after a difficult start to a long season. The confidence and motivation present in the locker room — exemplified through the attitude of the team leaders — has Jensen optimistic for this week’s match and beyond.‘Our spirits couldn’t be higher,’ Jensen said. ‘This thing isn’t going to be over until April or May. The wins will come.’kmprisei@syr.edu 
Published on May 8, 2012 at 12:00 pm Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu Comments When Derek Maltz and his Syracuse teammates saw their matchup with Duke flash onto the NCAA tournament bracket during the selection show Sunday, they immediately thought back to April 1.Though the Orange lost to the then-No. 8 Blue Devils 12-10 that day, it finally battled an opponent for an entire game. The week before, Syracuse turned in a lackluster performance against Villanova, and eight days before that, SU was outhustled by a superior Johns Hopkins team.But against Duke, Maltz and his teammates finally came to play for the full 60 minutes. That game serves as proof of Syracuse’s potential to compete with the nation’s elite.‘That game was a big part of our season because we came out, we fought really hard, we showed a lot of big teams that we can compete,’ Maltz said.Now, Syracuse (9-7) gets another chance to prove itself and take down the Blue Devils (13-4) in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Orange will square off with No. 3 seed Duke at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C., Saturday at noon.Since taking on the Blue Devils in April, Syracuse has endured an up-and-down finish to its season. At times, like in a 10-8 loss to Georgetown on Senior Day, the team underachieved as it did early in the season. But at others, like in winning the Big East tournament last weekend to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, SU looked like a force to be reckoned with in postseason play.After a tough regular season that left the Orange in a must-win situation heading into the conference tournament, SU is peaking at the perfect time as it prepares for its first-round matchup with the Blue Devils.‘Pretty much, the slate has been wiped clean,’ SU head coach John Desko said. ‘Although we look back and from the second half of the Notre Dame game until now, I think we’ve played very good lacrosse.’Desko said his team today is far and away better than the one that lost to Duke on April 1.Then, Syracuse had a bevy of holes to fill. Holes in nearly every aspect of the game -from goaltending to the defensive unit to offensive production to faceoffs, extra-man opportunities and ground balls – hurt the Orange at some point this season.But Monday, Desko could list every area as a strength following a dominant performance by his team at the Big East tournament last weekend. The Orange blew away the competition, defeating Villanova 15-6 and St. John’s 12-4.And now the team heads to Durham ready to challenge Duke for a second time.‘You can see the team’s confidence is through the roof,’ SU defender Brian Megill said. ‘But you got to be confident, but you got to stay composed, and you got to stay hungry because when you get confident, sometimes you tend to get lackadaisical.’‘We got to keep that fight, we got to keep that hunger and we got to keep playing a full 60 minutes of lacrosse with everything we got,’ Megill added.For Megill and Syracuse, the first sign of its ability to fight for the full 60 minutes came against the Blue Devils on April 1.Since then, the Orange has slowly developed into a complete team. And as Desko said, this group is a different, better version of the one Duke faced in the first matchup.Tim Desko said the team has finally started to do the little things that win games, like winning faceoffs and picking up ground balls. Maltz, Marasco and John Desko all praised faceoff specialists Ricky Buhr and Chris Daddio for their improvements at the X. And Bobby Wardwell has settled into his role in between the pipes.With SU clicking on all cylinders, the Orange doesn’t feel like a team that snuck into the NCAA tournament. After tearing through its competition last weekend, Maltz and his teammates feel like they can play with anyone in the country again.‘I think a lot of teams are pretty nervous come May that they’re going to have to play Syracuse,’ Maltz said. ‘I can’t imagine Duke is really happy after being a three seed and having to play us, so we’re just really excited and can’t wait for it.’rjgery@syr.edu
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When Holly Carrie-Mattimoe tied the record for most career goals at Syracuse on Friday, she had no idea that she had even accomplished the feat.“Good to know,” Carrie-Mattimoe said when told she had tied the record. “I guess it’s exciting. I don’t know.”Carrie-Mattimoe scored her 35th career goal last Friday against Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, passing former SU stars Stefanie Marty and Isabel Menard to become the program’s most prolific goal-scorer. Carrie-Mattimoe leads the Orange (8-5-1, 3-0-1 College Hockey America) with 12 points and is tied for the team lead with six goals. The senior captain has been crucial to the program as it continues to grow in its fifth year.“Ever since she got here she’s been an important player to our team, so we’re really happy for that,” defender Jacquie Greco said. “Maybe the younger girls are going to strive to beat her now, so it’s really good for our whole program.”Carrie-Mattimoe and Greco have been teammates for four years. Greco said Carrie-Mattimoe brings on-ice leadership to Syracuse.AdvertisementThis is placeholder text“She makes the easy plays, she makes the simple plays,” Greco said. “She knows the game really well. She might not make flashy plays, but it’s the little plays she makes that people who don’t really understand the game don’t really notice.“She’s really important to our team.”For most of this season, Carrie-Mattimoe has played on the same line with Margot Scharfe and Nicole Ferrara. Ferrara said Carrie-Mattimoe’s production has been key for SU.“She’s amazing to play with,” Ferrara said. “Definitely one of the smartest players on the team. She is very poised with the puck. She always can control it and knows how to pick the corners to score.”Ferrara said she’s also learned from Carrie-Mattimoe during her time playing with the now all-time leading scorer at Syracuse.While Carrie-Carrie-Mattimoe didn’t know she had broken a record, many of her teammates did. Ferrara said this is only one part of Carrie-Mattimoe’s great career thus far.“It’s awesome,” Ferrara said. “She deserves it and she is only going to get more. It’s great.”SU head coach Paul Flanagan has watched her grow from a newcomer a few short years ago to becoming a leader and the program’s all-time leading scorer. Flanagan is proud of the progress she has made and he knows she will be key for SU to make a run for the conference title.“Holly has worked extremely hard on all aspects of her game since arriving here four years ago,” Flanagan said in an email. “She has consistently been one of our top offensive players for three and a half years. We will count on Holly’s leadership abilities and scoring prowess to help us continue our quest for a CHA title.” Comments Published on November 27, 2012 at 1:55 am Contact Ryan: rlraigro@syr.edu Facebook Twitter Google+
Published on December 27, 2012 at 4:25 pm Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2 Syracuse University has already paid a portion of its $7.5 million exit fee to leave the Big East, SU Senior Vice President for Public Affairs Kevin Quinn said Thursday.Quinn said the university has paid approximately 20 percent of the exit fee that will allow the Orange to leave the Big East on July 1, 2013. The remainder will be paid over a multi-year period, he said, but he could not give any details as to when the exit fee will be paid off completely, as “the exit agreement was confidential between the university and the Big East.”Syracuse, along with Pittsburgh, announced it would leave the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference in September 2011. Both schools will move to the ACC in July. The Big East’s seven basketball-only Catholic schools have also decided to leave the conference in recent weeks, leaving the future of the Big East in serious doubt.Syracuse’s game against West Virginia in the Pinstripe Bowl Saturday will mark the final football game for the Orange as a member of the Big East. Comments AdvertisementThis is placeholder text Facebook Twitter Google+
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A man tried to swing an ax at a police officer.Someone jumped off a rooftop.Some dragged furniture out of homes and set it on fire.Welcome to Cortaca 2013.Last year, the annual central New York Division III rivalry football game between SUNY Cortland and Ithaca College, played in Ithaca last year, became an afterthought. The parties took center stage in Cortland, where 80 people were arrested, but only 19 of them were Cortland students, Cortland Police Lieutenant David Guerrera said.AdvertisementThis is placeholder textMore than 4,000 people piled onto Clayton Avenue, a street with off-campus student housing, and aimlessly threw beer cans and bottles.“To me, that’s disturbing because there’s only one result out of that,” Cortland senior Avery Giordonello said. “And that’s someone getting hurt.”When Ithaca (7-2, 6-2 Empire 8) travels to Cortland (4-5, 4-3 New Jersey Athletic) on Saturday at noon for the 56th annual Cortaca Jug contest. Cortland has won the last four years in a row, but Ithaca holds a 34-21 edge in the Jug series. The City of Cortland Police Department will have prepared reinforcements on Saturday.Members of the Cortland Police have gone door to door in off-campus, primarily student neighborhoods to discuss what will and won’t be tolerated for Cortaca. Underage drinking laws will be more closely enforced, Guerrera said.For past Cortacas, banners hung from these houses saying things like “Blackout or back out” and “Win or lose, we still booze.” And though the partying has gained extra attention, the game is still one of the biggest rivalry matchups in the Division III football.“Over the years, more and more and more people simply come for the partying outside of the football game,” said Guerrera, who will be working his 23rd Cortaca weekend.The Cortland County Sheriff Department and New York State Police will assist patrolling on Saturday, because the crowd is just too large for the Cortland Police Department to handle on its own, Guerrera said.Cortland senior Andrea Dippolito said she was embarrassed by what happened last year. Students that live in dorms are allowed to have a maximum of one guest, but she still thinks that is not a strong enough stand.Each of the two schools has about 7,000 students and when visitors come on gameday, she said, the campus population essentially doubles and recklessness breaks out. Visitors don’t have anything to lose and don’t mind trashing someone else’s city.“I wish we could do it without having so many people from out of town come for it,” Dippolito said. “It’s a thing that’s between Cortland and Ithaca and that’s what it should be limited to.”While the city of Cortland is responding to last year’s craziness, Ithaca students are experiencing something different.“It’s been somewhat of a mystery as to how the activities will be handled here in Ithaca given that it never got out of control here last year,” Ithaca sophomore Olivia Oppenheim said in an email.Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer’s son, Wolfgang, is a sophomore backup quarterback for Ithaca. If the Bombers go 0-10, but beat Cortland in the last game, it’s a successful season, Wolfgang Shafer said. Cortland has won the last four Cortaca games.Wolfgang Shafer wakes up around 8 a.m. every gameday and drives with his roommate Austin DeGrazia to Hal’s Deli. Normally the Ithaca campus would be empty and quiet. During Cortaca, people are outside tossing a football, tailgating and blasting music.“Driving back up the hill, we just looked at each other like, ‘Man, this thing’s for real,’” Shafer said.For Ithaca and Cortland, it’s the one day of the year that students can feel like they go to a big Division I school. The smell of tailgating saturates the campuses as students eat breakfast and drink beer simultaneously.Throughout the day, Ithaca students roam the streets saying, “It’s a great day to be a Bomber” and “Happy Cortaca,” Ithaca senior Claire Farrell said.This year’s game is at Cortland, but the game will be shown at Ithaca’s campus center. The parties in Ithaca will still occur, but the camaraderie across the campus is what makes it special for Farrell.With everyone uniting against the other school, pride reaches a peak.In past years, students made shirts that said “F*ck Cortland” and “F*ck Ithaca.” At the game, Ithaca students try to mock Cortland by chanting “safety school.” Cortland fans would respond by making fun of Ithaca’s more expensive tuition.“I don’t like kids from Ithaca strictly because they’re from Ithaca,” Cortland senior D.J. Willmott said. “I’ve never met anyone from Ithaca. I just don’t like them because of the Cortaca rivalry.” Comments Facebook Twitter Google+ Published on November 13, 2014 at 12:15 am Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds
Despite 42 shots on goal, Syracuse (6-12-9, 4-4-5 College Hockey America) tied Penn State (13-10-4, 7-4-2) 2-2. Melissa Piacentini had 11 shots and a power play goal, making her tied for first in the country with nine on the season.SU started the game with the first six shots on goal but the Nittany Lions found the back of the net first. Forward Caitlin Reilly scored on an assist from Sarah Nielsen 5:29 into the game. It was Penn State’s first shot of the night.Each team wasted a power play opportunity before roughing was called on SU’s Piacentini and PSU’s center Hannah Bramm simultaneously. Twenty seconds into the four-on-four, Syracuse forward Alysha Burriss tied the game with her tenth goal of the season.The remainder of the first and all of the second went scoreless. In the first two periods, the Orange put 22 shots on net, just one fewer than Penn State’s total for the game and overtime.Less than two minutes into the third, Nittany Lions defender Paige Jahnke was called for interference, setting up Piacentini’s goal, her 14th of the year overall. Down 2-1, Penn State answered a minute later.AdvertisementThis is placeholder textPenn State forward Shannon Yoxheimer had her shot blocked by SU goalie Jenn Gilligan, but forward Emily Laurenzi was there to score on the rebound. Despite 11 shots from the Orange in the remaining 16 minutes, the game went to overtime, 2-2.In the extra period, Penn State won 3-of-5 faceoffs but failed to put a shot on net. Syracuse had five, all of which Penn State goalie Celine Whitlinger stopped.The tie prevented SU from closing the three-point gap between the Orange and Penn State, which currently sits second in the CHA while SU is third. The teams will face off again tomorrow at 2 p.m. in University Park, Pennsylvania.Compiled by Jack Rose, staff writer, jlrose@syr.edu Comments Facebook Twitter Google+ Published on January 30, 2015 at 9:50 pm
USC students, alumni and faculty will soon compete to develop innovative methods of communication for a top prize of $50,000.Young President’s Organization, a global network of young entrepreneurs and U.S. Trust, an investment management company based in New York, are sponsoring the Y-Prize Business Plan Challenge at USC.Contestants are required to submit an idea by Oct. 10. Students, alumni and faculty from the Marshall School of Business, Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism, Viterbi School of Engineering and School of Cinematic Arts are eligible. YPO said it chose these schools because they were best suited for the competition.The competition is intended for students who have a business plan but lack the means to finance it.“It’s for the early stages,” Miller said. “You may have your own business plan but you haven’t gone to professional investors yet. If you have raised outside money, you’re probably too far and don’t qualify for the competition.”Gene Miller, director of the Grief Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, said the competition is one of the largest competitions at Marshall.The awarded team can decide how to divide and use the money, according to the Y-Prize website.Twenty semifinalists will be chosen Nov. 1 and will receive a YPO mentor who will help develop their plan into a feasible business opportunity. The teams will be narrowed down to three Dec. 1 for the finals.Finalists will give a 15-minute presentation to the judges and answer questions for five minutes.The panel of judges will be members of YPO, U.S. Trust or people who have experience in entrepreneurship. The winner will be chosen using the Return on Investment Approach, which compares the money needed to endorse the plan with how it will advance new media.“The idea is to stimulate new businesses,” Miller said. “To stimulate entrepreneurial thinking. That’s the motivation.”The final presentation and award ceremony will be Jan. 26, 2012 at Town & Gown.
When it comes to job opportunities, the class of 2012 could be better off than its 2011 counterpart.According to U.S. News and World Report, employers surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers said they plan to hire 9.5 percent more graduates from the class of 2012 than they did from the class of 2011.The projected increase in hiring also brings positive news about salaries. The NACE Fall 2011 Salary Survey shows this year’s class of graduates will make, on average, about 6 percent more than last year’s graduates, from just more than $48,000 to just more than $51,000.The survey also reported that engineering students from the class of 2012 will make $1,688 more than engineering students from the class of 2011.“The economic recovery has been a drawn out and difficult one and employment has suffered in ways that are deeper and longer from a more typical recessionary cycle,” said Carl Martellino, executive director of the USC Career Center.He also said there are signs of improvement, as demonstrated by the NACE survey.“The recession of 2008 shows signs, small ones, but noted ones, on the hiring front,” he said. “The more jobs available, the better for everyone … This is particularly true for individuals with a college degree. Overall, the unemployment rate for individuals who hold a college degree is about half of the overall national average.”This trend is especially evident at USC, where employers continue to hire through the on-campus recruiting program at the Career Center, he said.“The recent fall Career Fair was a wonderfully positive bellwether, with over 170 organizations attending,” Martellino said. “In fact, this was one of the largest career fairs at USC and the largest since the economic downturn of 2008 … While conditions can always change, this is a very positive indication that things are improving for college graduates.”According to Martellino, USC students can “stand out above others” by using the resources available on campus. He said employers want to see a strong academic background coupled with real world experiences, which students usually gain through internships.Martellino also emphasized the importance of utilizing the Trojan Family when seeking employment.“Attending workshops and presentations where employers and alumni are speaking is an important step in building your network,” Martellino said. “Your classmates are part of your network as are your faculty, family and friends.”Evelyn Larios, a senior majoring in sociology and public policy, management and planning, said she thinks the increase in employment opportunities will affect students in a positive way.“It will give them an incentive to graduate on time because I’ve noticed that seniors sometimes stay another semester to pick up another major because they [think] it’s better to have those when you go apply to the [job] market,” Larios said. “It will actually give more energy to the students and let them know that when you leave college, there’s likely to be a job out there for you.”Josephine Chou, a senior majoring in psychology, on the other hand, is skeptical of the NACE survey results and what they mean for the class of 2012.“The first question that comes to my mind is why they say that they’re going to hire more from the current graduating class,” she said. “I wonder if they mean they’re going to be hiring more during the next year, but I don’t know if that necessarily means that my class will get hired because we have less experience than the class before us.”She said many of her peers are trying to keep other options open.“A lot of people, including myself, are applying for grad school, but on the other hand, we’re also applying for jobs and seeing which offer comes,” she said. “Then we’ll try to make a decision.”Larios, who said she is also considering graduate school, is not particularly worried about employment after graduation.“Once you know what you really want to do and whether the work route really is the route for you or grad school or something else is the route for you, then you kind of become less worried about it,” Larios said.
From 1979 to 1982, Arie Kapteyn worked as an assistant and associate professor of economics at USC.Kapteyn ultimately left for a professorship in the Netherlands, but said he just couldn’t stay away from the University Park Campus: Effective Thursday, Kapteyn will serve as the director of a new research center focusing on economics.New director· Arie Kapteyn, an associate professor of economics from 1979 to 1982, assumed his position as director of a new center Thursday. – Photo courtesy of USC News“There is a little bit of sentiment,” Kapteyn said. “When I was at USC before, I had a really good time and really enjoyed my experience. It is sort of nice to come back to USC, even though it has changed and grown quite a bit.”Kapteyn added that the excitement of new changes on campus was a big draw for him.“There’s a lot going on,” he said. “I really like the current leadership -— it seems to be very open to new things and very entrepreneurial.”As director of the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research, Kapteyn’s first duties will be getting the new research institute off the ground in terms of finances and hiring.“I found that to create a really good research center there’s always one thing that dominates everything else -— you have to hire the best possible people and then provide them with the best possible support,” Kapteyn said.One of the first things the management will have to work on is an official opening date for the center; Kapteyn said he hopes to open the center by spring at the latest.Another goal of the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research is to create more opportunities for interdisciplinary research.“USC is a really big university with a number of really good departments in a number of different schools,” Kapteyn said. “I hope to make many connections with many school departments about things we can do together.”Kapteyn’s background at RAND, a Santa Monica-based non-profit policy and decision-making think tank, provided him with experience and leadership in economics-related research. Before coming to USC, Kapteyn was not only a senior economist and the director of RAND Labor & Population, but also served as director of the Roybal Center for Financial Decisionmaking and associate director of the Financial Literacy Center. He also taught at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, where he advised 25 doctoral candidates on their theses.Kapteyn said that at USC, he will be utilizing the same research methods and skills he used at RAND.“In my current position, most of my time is research and it’s going to stay that way,” Kapteyn said. “That’s the only way I want to do it … I think you’re more effective when you do research yourself. I wouldn’t want to just be a manager.”Kapteyn will continue researching his favorite topic — aging and its relationship to financial behavior.“I want to understand what an aging population means, how people age now and how they age differently than they did in the past,” Kapteyn said. “There are implications for how long they can work or how much money they’ll need when they retire.”Kapteyn is also regarded as an expert in microeconomics, econometrics and public finance.Steve A. Kay, dean of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, said in a statement that Kapteyn’s expertise will help the university and economics department improve its academic reputation.“Arie Kapteyn’s wealth of experience shows he has the skills and talent to continue to propel social sciences research at USC Dornsife to new heights with the founding of the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research,” Kay said.
The following incidents were reported in the USC Department. of Public Safety incident report summary between Tuesday, Oct. 20, and Wednesday, Oct. 21. Crimes against propertyOn Oct. 20 at 10:25 a.m., it was reported that a suspect stole a bicycle on 25th Street.On Oct. 20 at 11:01 a.m., it was reported that a suspect stole a bicycle at Seeley Wintersmith Mudd Memorial Hall.On Oct. 20 at 1:02 p.m., a student reported that a suspect removed an immobilization device from their car at La Sorbonne Apartments during the night.On Oct. 20 at 6:49 p.m., a non-USC woman drove her vehicle into a USC vehicle, which was driven by a student. The collision occurred at the corner of Adams Boulevard and Portland Street, resulting in damage but no injuries to either person.On Oct. 20 at 7:14 p.m., it was reported that an unknown suspect removed a parking sign at the corner of 34th Street and Watt Way.On Oct. 21 at 12:48 a.m., a student reported seeing a suspect carrying her roommate’s bicycle from their apartment complex on 37th Street. When he saw her, the suspect put the bike down and ran away. The suspect couldn’t be found in the surrounding area.Miscellaneous incidentsOn Oct. 20 at 11:15 a.m., a staff member was transported from the Kenneth Norris Jr. Cancer Hospital Research Institute to the hospital for injuries to her knees and wrists.On Oct. 20 at 4:50 p.m., a student reported receiving several annoying phone calls from an unknown source.
USC alumna Krista Tucker will serve as the story editor of Disney Junior’s upcoming animated series “Fancy Nancy.” The show is based on Jane O’Connor’s children’s picture book by the same name. Krista Tucker’s other writing credits include “Doc McStuffins” and “Sofia the First.” (Photo courtesy of DisneyJunior/Matt Petit)“‘Fancy Nancy’ is ultimately about imagination, that you can wake up in the morning and say ‘I want to be this, I’m [going to] try this out,’ particularly when you’re a young person,” the executive producer of “Fancy Nancy” Jamie Mitchell said in an email to the Daily Trojan. “Nancy is a character who on any given day makes a decision to be something extraordinary or different, which makes her a very likable, engaging, and aspirational character.” Tucker said she hopes to deliver a heroine who stays true to the dauntless and imaginative Fancy Nancy, while offering viewers a fresh perspective on females. Inspired by the title character’s defiance of social norms, Tucker hopes the series will encourage its young audiences to live boldly. “We use the book series as a jumping off point and as inspiration for our show. Because ‘Fancy Nancy’ is an animated television series, it allows us to go further with our characters and tell more in-depth stories,” Tucker said in an email to the Daily Trojan. “My vision for the series is that it will entertain our viewers while encouraging them to celebrate their uniqueness. We hope they’ll find their own expression of what it means to be fancy.” Like Nancy, Tucker also explored various career paths that captured her interest. Despite being a screenwriter, Tucker graduated from USC with a degree in theatre. While auditioning for different roles, she realized many of the typical female cast types focused on appearance rather than inner substance. Tucker later wrote plays to craft her own characters, especially non-stereotypical female leads, to inspire her audience.“After graduating I became frustrated with the female roles I was auditioning for… [I wrote] to create juicier characters for me to perform,” Tucker said. “This was when I fell in love with writing … and the rest is history!”Although Tucker is no longer involved with theater or dance, she continues to apply the skills she learned at USC as a screenwriter. She urges USC students to harvest opportunities by showing diligence and seeking out mentors to aid their personal and professional success. “The wonderful theater program helped me learn all about the craft of acting, which I use every day when I write. I learned how to create great characters and make them emotionally real,” Tucker said. “Nothing takes the place of perseverance and hard work. Connections will get you in the door, but you need to have something to offer once an opportunity arrives.”Despite the pressure she has faced as a story editor for the upcoming production, Tucker expressed gratitudefor her work. Similar to Nancy, Tucker wants the story she writes to spark creativity and imagination.“Trust your gut and write, write, write! Don’t be afraid to ‘kill your darlings.’ More darlings always show up, I promise,” Tucker said. “It’s rewarding when a story works and has my co-workers laughing at our table read. Then I know we’ve got something good!”The series is slated for premiere on July 13 on Disney Junior, DisneyNow and Disney Junior VOD.
USC said the safety and well-being of students is the University’s top priority and hazing is not tolerated on campus. Pi Kappa Phi declined to comment specifically on the loss of recognition, which was announced to the fraternity Jan. 10, according to USC. Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity will no longer be recognized by Fraternity and Sorority Leadership Development after an investigation revealed it violated hazing policies. (Sinead Chang/Daily Trojan) Pi Kappa Phi was listed as unrecognized on the Fraternity and Sorority Leadership Development website in January for hazing and safety violations. The organization is no longer recognized by the national organization and cannot conduct chapter meetings, recruitment or socials, according to the website. USC will no longer recognize Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity after an investigation found that the organization violated hazing regulations. “USC expects fraternities to uphold the values of their organization and USC,” the University wrote. “Membership in a fraternity is considered to be a privilege, and with this privilege comes the responsibility of acceptable conduct.” “The University will not tolerate behavior that put students in jeopardy and is inconsistent with our values,” USC wrote. “Hazing is a violation of our university’s community standards and is a threat to student health and well-being,” the University wrote in a statement to the Daily Trojan. The Interfraternity Council did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Despite losing three All-Americans to graduation last year, the USC women’s soccer team entered this season ranked eighth in the country and were expected to reload with young talent.Four games into the season, however, the Women of Troy have a record of 1-3 and have dropped out of the national rankings.Out of rank · Meagan Holmes is one of the few Women of Troy with significant playing experience. The core of the team is young and unproven, part of the reason USC made a quick exit from the national standings. – Carlo Acenas | Daily TrojanUsing a starting lineup featuring six freshmen and sophomores, USC has struggled to find the chemistry and intricate passing game that defined its successes in the past two seasons.USC coach Ali Khosroshahin, while disappointed with the early season results, understands the growing pains associated with having a young team.“You have to give each player the opportunity to grow into it,” Khosroshahin said. “You have to stand up and take responsibility when things don’t go well, and I think they’re doing that. I definitely see improvement every time they step on the field.”The Women of Troy showed flashes of their potential last weekend in their 4-0 rout of Cal State Fullerton. USC struggled again two days later, however, losing 1-0 to Ohio State on a late penalty-kick goal.“I think with any group that’s young and inexperienced, there’s gonna be mistakes,” USC senior goalkeeper Kristin Olsen said. “I think it would be a little more frustrating if we were older, but because we’re so young we’re trying to figure it out. But it’s getting better and that’s what counts.”USC’s young players will have a chance to continue to improve this weekend when the Women of Troy take on Gonzaga and Michigan at McAlister Field.The Zags come into their Friday match against USC with a 3-1 record. Redshirt Midfielder senior Lori Conrad leads the team with three goals while junior midfielder Sheridan Jones has three assists. Gonzaga did lose to USC’s Pac-10 rival Washington State 3-0 last week.Michigan is 3-3 on the season and will face Cal State Fullerton Friday before they take on the Women of Troy on Sunday. The Wolverines scored a combined eight goals in wins last week against Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan. Midfielder Jackie Carron leads the team with two goals and three assists.USC could get a boost this weekend in the form of All-American defender, redshirt senior Meagan Holmes, who may return this weekend from an ankle injury suffered earlier this season. Junior Ashli Sandoval, who led USC in points last season, has filled in for Holmes in defense and will be allowed to return to her normal position in the midfield if Holmes is able to play.“We’d love to have Ashli in the midfield,” Khosroshahin said. “But we need other players to step into those roles and perform.”USC’s game against Gonzaga kicks off at 3 p.m. on Friday, while Sunday’s contest against Michigan is set for a noon start time.
After recording both a win and a loss in each of the last two weeks, the Women of Troy are hoping they can come away with two victories in Arizona this weekend.Extra effort · Junior setter Kendall Bateman has helped lead the Women of Troy to a 14-2 record and an overall ranking of fifth this season. – Tim Tran | Daily Trojan The No. 5 USC women’s volleyball team will play Arizona State tonight before facing No. 25 Arizona on Saturday. Both matches start at 7 p.m.Last weekend, USC lost to then-No. 1 Stanford after winning the first set. The next night they lost a 2-0 lead and just barely squeaked out the win against then-No. 7 California in five sets.When looking back at this inconsistent play, USC coach Mick Haley said one of the main problems is a lack of consistency.“We struggled with lack of rhythm at certain parts of the [match against Cal],” Haley said. “We have to fight through that.”Regardless of the team’s impressive 14-2 record, Haley notes there are still a lot of areas his team has to focus on.“We’ve got a lot to learn in the way of continuing to control matches,” Haley said. “But I believe the real culprit in doing this is still our defense. Our blocking at the net has to continually get better.”To help improve the team’s weaker areas, the Women of Troy have spent the week practicing their transitions after kills, while also participating in competitive serving and receiving drills. But these extra efforts in practice cannot help the players deal with something else that might be distracting them — midterms.“I’m really trying to get them to focus and study at the same time,” Haley said. “They get stronger as they go through it, especially the younger ones.”Haley has six freshmen on his 16 roster team, and with midterms and other distractions standing in the way, he cannot deny he is a bit worried about his team having to travel and play the next two games on the road.“I am real concerned, but there’s not anything I can do about it except keep us very organized, keep life simple and give them time to study that won’t affect their preparation for the matches,” Haley said.First up for the Women of Troy is Arizona State. While the Sun Devils are just 6-11 this season and a mere 1-4 in the Pac-10, Haley is definitely not taking the team lightly.“If [Arizona State] lose[s] twice this weekend, they could be looking at their season being over, and they can’t afford to have that happen. They’re at home. They’ve been playing well. They just haven’t won,” Haley said.Facing Arizona will not be easy either, as the Women of Troy have lost two straight games in Tucson.“I think it’s always difficult to play there,” Haley said. “They’re always ready for us.”Despite USC’s high national ranking and impressive depth, Haley is not getting overconfident, especially when he considers how young his team is and how much room there is for improvement.“I think we’ve really got our work cut out for us. This is not going to be easy at all,” Haley said. “It’s always hard playing at the Arizonas.”