grand slam sport – Page 17 – Betting News & Reviews

HIGGINS EASES THROUGH

Posted on 27/03/2008 by admin

World champion John Higgins impressed in the Far East as he became the first player through to the quarter-finals at this week’s Honghe Industrial China Open.

And the Scottish cueman was joined in the last eight by two-time world champion Mark Williams, Englishman Nigel Bond and compatriot Stephen Maguire.

All four players progressed to the business end of this season’s £250,000 week-long tournament at the Beijing Sports Gymnasium,

Having been taken the distance by Belfast professional Joe Swail in his first-round match earlier in the week, Higgins was doubly happy with his emphatic 5-1 demolition of Romford’s Mark King.

“I finished the match well,” reflected the world number one. “I gave Mark a lot of chances early on so I’m pleased to win.

“My match with Joe (Swail) was bad but I got some confidence from making a good break in the last frame.

“I gave Mark some chances and he didn’t take them. My next opponent is sure to take them so I will have to play better.”

Higgins started with an impressive 88 break before King levelled proceedings with a fine 62 run.

But from there it was one-way traffic as Wishaw-based cueman Higgins ran away with the match.

The Scot added further breaks of 50, 71, 62, 39 and a cool 116 in the final frame to complete a comfortable victory in just one hour and 20 minutes.

Victory will see the two-time world champion face either Mark Selby or Marco Fu in this year’s quarters, with the pair duo to contest their last-16 match later today.

Leicester’s Selby is arguably the season’s best player having already won two titles, while Fu won the Aberdeen Grand Prix ranking event towards the back end of last year.

Unbeaten juvenile Bruges is unlikely to head for the Stan James 2000 Guineas after scoping badly earlier in the week.Having beaten subsequent Group Three scorer Norman Invader on his debut at the Curragh, the Marju colt went on to take the Listed Golden Fleece Stakes at Leopardstown in impressive style.David Myerscough’s colt was then snapped up by leading owner Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum and although he is as short as 33-1 for the Newmarket Classic, he is set to miss out.

Myerscough said: “We’ve had a bit of a hold up with him as he scoped badly earlier this week.

“He almost certainly won’t make the first Guineas at Newmarket and I’m not sure when he will be out.

“I haven’t spoken with Angus Gold (Maktoum’s racing manager) yet so we have no running plans at this stage.”

CAPELLO HUNTS FOR PRIDE OF LIONS

Posted on 27/03/2008 by admin

Fabio Capello insists his most important challenge is to restore pride to England.

The England manager, who took over in December after Steve McClaren’s sacking, has guaranteed David Beckham his 100th cap against France at the Stade de France and handed Rio Ferdinand the captain’s armband.

But the Italian spelled out what matters most from his second friendly in charge, following on from England’s 2-1 win against Switzerland at Wembley last month.

Capello said: “We’re all on trial, not just the players.

“We need to get back to being a great team that plays openly against any opponent. It’s not about being on trial, but about the pride of wearing the shirt.”

Beckham will become the fifth England player to reach the century mark when he takes the field, most likely as an impact substitute in place of Blackburn’s in-form wide man, David Bentley.

And Capello believes Beckham can go on to pass Bobby Moore’s record of 108 caps for an outfield player by making it all the way to the World Cup in 2010.

Capello, who managed Beckham at Real Madrid, said: “The David Beckham I know can certainly get to 2010 if he carries on training and working hard.

“I know what he can give me and I think he can make the difference in some respects. As for the future, we will have to see. Nobody knows what the future holds.

“But I’ve managed him previously and he’s always been a very good professional. Only people who are so professional can last and be at the top for so long.”

The international future for Michael Owen does not appear so rosy, despite his recent goalscoring form for Newcastle.

Owen was left on the bench against Switzerland and with Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney expected once again to fill the primary striking role against France, Capello was coy on whether the Newcastle striker would be given a chance to impress this time.

FUNDING RISK TO OLYMPIC HOPES

Posted on 27/03/200827/03/2008 by admin

Britain’s chances of featuring high up the medals tables in the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London may be at risk because of uncertainty over funding arrangements for elite athletes, a report warned.The National Audit Office (NAO) said that plans to raise £100 million from the private sector as part of a seven-year £700 million package of support for elite sport may not materialise because of delays in beginning fund-raising and competing demands for sponsorship.And the spending watchdog warned that Government and National Lottery funding for sportsmen and women hoping to compete in the 2012 Games must not be spread too thinly if the GB team is to maximise its medal haul.Following the 2004 Athens Olympics, when the GB scooped nine gold medals, UK Sport adopted a “no compromise” policy of focusing funding on sports and athletes with a real chance of making it to the winner’s podium.

But after London was awarded the Games, the agency and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) agreed a broader goal of funding all Olympic and Paralympic disciplines to a level which would allow them to deliver “creditable” performances in 2012.

As a result, some 16 sports are now receiving money from UK Sport for the first time, and only Olympic football and tennis get no cash.

The NAO report noted that a “step change” in performance by athletes would be required if UK Sport and DCMS were to achieve their goal of fourth place for Britain in the Olympic medal table and second in the Paralympic table in 2012.

And it warned that the new goal “may distract UK Sport’s focus and funding from its primary goal of winning medals”.

To reach fourth place, the GB team would probably have to almost double its Athens tally to 17 golds in London.

“In the light of uncertainty about funding levels, UK Sport should avoid distributing too high a proportion of the extra funding to those sports with no medal potential at the Games,” said the report.

The NAO welcomed the DCMS’s decision to appoint a specialist fund-raising partner, but noted that the post was not put out to tender until November last year, 16 months after the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee identified the need for outside expertise.

It warned that elite athletes would face stiff competition for private sponsorship in the run-up to 2012 from other parts of the event, such as arenas and other new facilities.

CALZAGHE: I’LL LEARN FROM HATTON

Posted on 27/03/2008 by admin

Joe Calzaghe says he will learn from Ricky Hatton’s mistakes when he fights Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas on April 19.

Hatton struggled to keep his cool before and during his fight with Floyd Mayweather in December when he was dramatically knocked out in the 10th round.

Yet Calzaghe is sticking to his usual training routine in Wales as excitement builds ahead of the big fight on both sides of the Atlantic.

“Perhaps it got to Hatton a bit but you’ve got to keep your discipline and stay cool, calm and collected,” Calzaghe told the Western Mail.

“I’m excited about the fight now – and I’ve been told that the buzz is already there around it in Vegas – but I’m doing nothing different.

“My training doesn’t change and I don’t change. I feel under no more pressure than usual and it’s important to stay calm.

“I’ll get more focused as the fight nears and when I go over to Vegas I’ll keep away from the hustle and bustle of the strip.

“I’m relaxed, confident and I’m just going to do my business in the ring.”

Calzaghe says he made his mind up to fight in the United States when he went out to support Hatton in his bout with Mayweather in December.

“When I went out to Vegas for the Hatton fight that was what swayed my mind to make this happen.

“I saw the reception Ricky got and thought it would be shame not to sample that before I retire. It’s the challenge I wanted. I could easily have stayed at home and defended my title in Wales, but I wanted the challenge to test myself.

“That’s why I’m all about, to go outside my comfort zone and fight in the States where things might not go to plan with the judges or whatever.

“But my plan is to dominate Hopkins and make sure it’s not a close fight.”

THACKRAY LEAVES RHINOS

Posted on 27/03/200827/03/2008 by admin

Super League champions Leeds Rhinos have agreed a parting of the ways with former Great Britain prop Jamie Thackray.Twenty-eight-year-old Thackray joined the Rhinos in 2006 from Hull on a three-and-half-year contract but has not played for the first team this year and will leave the club with immediate effect.Thackray, who recently had a spell on loan with National League Two club Doncaster, was a member of Leeds’ championship-winning team in 2007 when he made 27 appearances.

Leeds chief executive Gary Hetherington said: “Unfortunately things have not worked out for Jamie, but we wish him all the best for the future.”

Meanwhile, coach Brian McClennan has recalled prop Kylie Leuluai for Friday’s trip to St Helens. But winger Lee Smith and second rower Carl Ablett have both been ruled out with muscular strains.

Leuluai was concussed in last Thursday’s win over Bradford but has passed a head test to clear him to return to action in the Grand Final re-match.

Youngster Ben Jones-Bishop has been drafted in to the squad as cover. The 19-year-old full-back was a member of the Rhinos senior academy squad who reached the Grand Final last season and was recently promoted to the first-team squad.

New Zealand Test prop Jason Cayless has been named in St Helens’ initial squad and could make his first appearance since October’s Grand Final, after recovering from major knee surgery.

MIAMI BYE FOR MURRAY

Posted on 27/03/2008 by admin

Andy Murray has been handed a bye in the first round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.The tournament starts on Wednesday but the British number one, seeded 13th for the tournament, will not be in action until the second round, where he will face the winner of Gilles Simon’s match against Mario Ancic.

World number one Roger Federer, who is in the other half of the draw from Murray, has also been given a bye.

Murray’s fellow Briton Alex Bogdanovic failed in his bid to qualify, going down 6-4 3-6 6-1 to Serbia’s Viktor Troicki.

FERRARI COULD BE AN OPTION FOR ALONSO

Posted on 27/03/200827/03/2008 by admin

Former world champion Fernando Alonso has admitted that he can leave Renault at the end of the season – with rivals Ferrari a possible destination.

Alonso rejoined his former team Renault during the winter after a torrid season alongside Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, but has struggled with an uncompetitive car in the first two races of this season.

Now the Spaniard, who won back-to-back world championships with Renault in 2005 and 2006, says that if the car remains as it is he will have to look elsewhere, with Ferrari the obvious destination.

“I’m at Renault because we won in 2005 and 2006 and I want to get back to that, if not this year then next year,” he told Spanish newspaper AS.

“But as I have a clause that allows me to leave I will try to be in the best car possible, and it’s clear that Ferrari is one of the best.”

Rumours were rife at the end of last season that the Italian team was his preferred destination, but with current world champion Kimi Raikkonen and second driver Felipe Massa under contract until the end of 2010, his path to the ‘Scuderia’ was blocked.

But now he admits Massa’s under-par performances so far this season, which have seen him retire from both races, plus the fact that Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has made no secret of his admiration for Alonso, has meant speculation linking him to the Italian team has resurfaced.

“It’s early to talk about moves and rumours, but Massa has had two bad races with mistakes and that has sparked speculation,” Alonso said.

“It’s logical, but like I said it’s too early.”

With regard to this season, the 26-year-old has little hope of mounting any kind of championship challenge with Renault after just two races, and has told his fans not to expect anything.

“Take a sabbatical, or enjoy the season for the spectacle of Formula One and not for my chances of success,” he said.

He added sarcastically: “The first place (in the world championship) has got 14 points, and after two more or less average races I’ve picked up six.

“Plus I’m only five points off Raikkonen.”

JACKSON PRAISE FOR OSPREYS

Posted on 27/03/2008 by admin

Saracens star Glen Jackson has placed the soaraway Ospreys in exalted company – by comparing them with Super 14 giants Canterbury Crusaders.

Jackson and his team-mates were grounded by the Ospreys in last Saturday’s EDF Energy Cup semi-final – in which they suffered a 30-3 Millennium Stadium mauling.

It put the Ospreys, whose squad is packed with more than a dozen Wales Grand Slam stars and overseas talent like Jackson’s fellow New Zealanders Justin Marshall and Marty Holah, into next month’s Twickenham final against Leicester.

But the Welsh region are also chasing a much bigger prize this season – Heineken Cup glory.

Saracens now block their path again on April 6, when they host the Ospreys in a quarter-final clash at Vicarage Road.

Saracens face a huge task, avenging their defeat in Cardiff – which was largely inspired by the brilliance of Wales backs Shane Williams and Gavin Henson.

Fly-half Jackson has no doubt the Ospreys are among the best sides he has played against – in northern and southern hemispheres.

He said: “They went into the game on a high following the Grand Slam. But that aside, I still think they are one of the best teams I have played against – both here and in New Zealand.

“They are very well-drilled and they have excellent players across the pitch.

“I would liken them very much to the Canterbury Crusaders. You play up against a very well-organised wall all day – and then when you make a mistake, they take full advantage.”

The Crusaders won five Super 12 titles between 1998 and 2005, and they also landed the inaugural Super 14 crown in 2006.

PANESAR SPINS ENGLAND TO VICTORY

Posted on 27/03/200827/03/2008 by admin

Monty Panesar delivered a career-best performance as England completed a comprehensive 121-run victory over New Zealand to end a three-year wait for an overseas Test series win.

The left-arm spinner claimed six for 126 as New Zealand were finally dismissed for 431 shortly after lunch on the final day of the third Test after being set an unlikely victory target of 553.

England’s victory parade was briefly held up by Kiwi debutant Tim Southee, who delighted the crowd with a whirlwind 40-ball 77 not out at the end.

Panesar’s figures eclipsed his previous Test best of six for 129 against West Indies at Old Trafford last summer, and it was his seventh five-wicket haul in 26 appearances.

His efforts ensured England completed a 2-1 series triumph, their first overseas since beating South Africa in 2004-05.

It was also the first time they had come from behind to win a three-Test series since Sri Lanka seven years ago.

New Zealand had initially frustrated the tourists after resuming at McLean Park on 222 for five with Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum adding 54 runs in the first nine overs of the day.

But the introduction of Panesar in the seventh over changed the situation as he struck with his 12th ball to end a spirited 104-run partnership.

Taylor, unbeaten on 34 overnight, looked particularly defiant and hit three boundaries in the first over from man-of-the-series Ryan Sidebottom, who was withdrawn after his opening three-over spell cost 31 runs.

Taylor took just three overs to bring up his half-century with a clip off his legs off Sidebottom and McCullum looked equally comfortable at the crease.