Saturday, September 18, 2010

Latest Sports Buzz

Latest Sports Buzz

Chennai Vs Victoria Bushrangers CLT20 Results: Drop Out of Sync Hayden

Posted: 18 Sep 2010 10:20 AM PDT

Chennai Vs Victoria Bushrangers

Chennai Vs Victoria Bushrangers

Chennai Super Kings have opted to bat first at St George's Park and have replaced Mathew Hayden who has been completely rustic in all the previous games. Albie Morkel is also unavailable due to injury and the post of all-rounder has been filled for the time being by Justin Kemp.

Victoria Bushrangers have been grappling with dampening injuries as well but they were more than pleased to have Brad Hodge into their side. Chennai is clearly the dominant side as far as the stats show but Victoria are reputed as the slow starters and can't be underestimated at this juncture.

Victoria though has a nagging loss to Eastern Cape Warriors at the back of their mind and would want to win this game against Chennai to secure a semi-final berth. It's a 3 way race between Chennai, Victoria and Eastern Cape Warriors. The Bushrangers got lucky enough to win against Central Districts but it would take more to beat the formidable Super Kings who are confident enough to miss out Hayden.

It is a one match gap between them and Semis for the Chennai Super Kings and they aren't expected to take it easy in any case. On the plus side for Victoria, their star player Brad Hodge is back in action after sitting out due to injury. He is the record holder for most 50 and above scores in T20 matches and is an asset too precious to lose.

Current update: Chennai Super Kings: 162/6 in 20 overs
Run Rate: 8.10

Stoke City vs. West Ham United: Hot favorites Stoke City to take on West Ham United in Premier League

Posted: 18 Sep 2010 06:44 AM PDT

Share

Stoke City vs. West Ham United

Stoke City vs. West Ham United

Stoke City is all set to take on West Ham United in the Premier League Football Championship today afternoon. The latter has emerged the hot favorites to win the game and collect all the three valuable points with an added home advantage.

Stoke is free of any injury worries and Tony Pulis is bringing in no changes in the team line-up. However, Striker Eidur Gudjohnsen will not be a part of the playing squad and will be seen on the bench.

Meanwhile, West Ham United has certain injury concerns. Danny Gabbidon will be absent following a hamstring problem, while Thomas Hitzlsperger too remains doubtful owing to a thigh injury. Manager Avram Grant and defender Tal Ben Haim too won't be present at the game due to the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur.

Nats` Morgan Has Seven-Game Ban Tossed; Still Must Sit Eight Games

Posted: 18 Sep 2010 03:11 AM PDT

AHN Sports Staff

Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Washington Nationals outfielder Nyjer Morgan had a seven-game suspension for allegedly exchanging dialogue with a fan and throwing a baseball in the stands tossed by MLB Thursday. A

n eight-game ban he received in part for sparking a brawl stood and he was also fined $15K.

Morgan, 30, was slapped with the ban for sparking bench-clearing brawl on September 1 at Sun Life Stadium against the Florida Marlins.

MLB previously suspended Morgan seven games for throwing a fan in Philadelphia last month, but the outfielder filed separate petitions to reduce the penalty and he had that ban lifted.

Morgan will sit beginning with the Nats series vs. the Phillies Friday.

Morgan is batting .260 with 23 RBIs, 56 Runs, and 33 stolen bases this season.

The Nationals (61-84), who are out in the National League wild card playoff race, only have 16 games remaining in their season.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Florida Coach Meyer Defends Program Over Players` Legal Issues

Posted: 18 Sep 2010 03:11 AM PDT

Share
John Nestor – AHN Sports Correspondent

Gainesville, FL, United States (AHN) – Urban Meyer is not happy about the arrest record of his Florida Gators but insiste he does not run a dirty program.

Asked about the rash of arrests and the perception of his program after practice Thursday, Meyer admitted changes need to be made.

Florida received more unwanted attention last week when receiver Chris Rainey was arrested and charged with aggravated stalking. The Rainey incident was the 30th arrest of Meyer’s tenure in Gainesville.

“I’m real upset about that. After a while, enough is enough,” Meyer said of the arrests. “If there’s something we can improve on, we’re certainly looking into that. It’s like if our graduation stinks, then we’ve got to improve that. If there are other issues in a program that’s our job to get it better. People making stupid mistakes, that’s something we’ve got to correct.”

Meyer has a pretty long leash at Florida having won a pair of national championships in six seasons. However, he does not like the perception that he is running a renegade program only concerned with victories and championships.

“We do our best to win games. Dirty program? It’s not a dirty program,” Meyer said. “We follow the rules and some guys make mistakes and we’ve got to correct those mistakes. We follow the rules. We do it the right way at Florida and we have to do a better job with correcting some of the people making mistakes.”

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Foot Injury To Cost Pens` Jordan Staal Start Of Season

Posted: 18 Sep 2010 01:19 AM PDT

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

Pittsburgh, PA, United States (AHN) – Pittsburgh Penguins center Jordan Staal, one of the most reliable defensive forwards in the league, will miss the start of the upcoming NHL season, as he recovers from the latest procedure performed on his infected right foot.

The 22-year-old Staal, who has never missed a regular-season contest in his four NHL seasons, will be sidelined from five to six weeks.

This summer, Staal has done little skating due to the injury.

Staal sustained the injury on April 30 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series when Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban stepped on his foot and sliced it.

Known for not only for his defensive skills, but also for his resiliency, Staal returned to play in Game 4 of the series after undergoing surgery.

After the Penguins were eliminated, Staal had to go through two additional procedures as the injured area developed an infection during the offseason.

As a result, Staal missed Game 2 of the said Eastern semifinals series against the Canadiens, the first tilt he missed in a Penguins uniform since his rookie season in 2006.

It halted a streak of 358 consecutive contests played including the playoffs.

Staal, regarded as one of the NHL’s premier penalty-killers, both for his strong defensive skills, along with his scoring threat, tallied 21 goals and 28 assists last season.

He was named one of three finalists for the Selke Trophy for the best defensive forward in the league.

Staal, expected to move to the Penguins’ No. 2 line this season, would form a formidable scoring line along with Evgeni Malkin to complement Sidney Crosby’s No. 1 line.

Pittsburgh is slated to open the regular season on Oct. 7 against Philadelphia.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

MLS: Gritty FC Dallas Overcomes Injuries, Ejection; Ties New York

Posted: 18 Sep 2010 01:19 AM PDT

John Tranchina – AHN Sports Correspondent

Frisco, TX, United States (AHN) – After a gutsy performance Thursday night, FC Dallas is proving it is a team to be reckoned with.

Despite a couple of key injuries and allowing an own goal by defender Jair Benitez in the 82nd minute, FC Dallas managed to escape with a 2-2 draw against the New York Red Bulls at Pizza Hut Park.

The tie extends Dallas’ franchise-record unbeaten streak to 15 games (8-0-7), now the second-longest streak in MLS history in one season, trailing just an 18-game span by Columbus in 2004.

New York, 3-1-1 in their its last five, edged to within three points of the first-place Crew in the Eastern Conference standings.

In front of a rabid, season-high crowd of 15,105, the resilient FC Dallas squad played a man down from the 29th minute after midfielder Brek Shea was ejected with a red card.

“A lot of emotions in the game, for the coaching staff, for the fans, and particularly for our players,” FCD coach Schellas Hyndman said, “because we came very close to pulling off an upset of a team at that level playing down a man for that long – it was quite a character test.”

“You’re rather happy to get the tie in a way,” said New York coach Hans Backe. “If you look at the number of chances Dallas had in the second half, there were probably two or three really good ones and we didn’t create that much. Not happy with the defending. But we were able to get a point away and at the end of the second half which was okay for us.”

Rookie Eric Alexander enjoyed a big night for Dallas, finding the back of the net in the 68th minute to lift FCD into a 2-1 lead and adding an assist.

He also hit the goalpost in the 53rd minute and earlier in the match, cleared a sure goal against off the line.

“What a great goal by Eric Alexander,” Hyndman said. “He hit the post on his first shot, the second one, he just dribbled through the backline, kept so calm. Eric did a tremendous job.”

But New York evened it up again when Joel Lindpere sent a cross from the left wing into the middle, where Benitez, covering Red Bull forward Juan Pablo Angel, inadvertently headed it into his own net.

Dallas went ahead 1-0 in the 23rd minute on Milton Rodriguez’s second goal of the season but when Shea was ejected for taking down New York defender Chris Albright, the complexion of the match changed.

It appeared as if Dallas would escape the first half with the lead, but NY forward Mehdi Ballouchy, who was acquired from Colorado on Tuesday, drilled home a pass from Lindpere seconds before the whistle for his fourth goal of the year.

“I’ve had two training sessions before we had to travel here, but I feel good,” Ballouchy said. “The more I get used to the guys, the more I’ll play well. (On the goal), Joel got the ball wide, and I know he likes to cross the ball and I made the run and I was fortunate the ball came, it was a great ball, it was a tap-in for me, really.”

Not only did the goal from Ballouchy even up the contest in dramatic fashion, it also snapped FC Dallas’ franchise-record scoreless streak at 415 minutes.

After four consecutive shutouts, Dallas starting goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, the reigning MLS Player of the Month, was forced to leave the match following Ballouchy’s goal because of an injured MCL in his right knee.

He suffered the ailment when Red Bull star Thierry Henry attempted to triumphantly drill the ball back into the net after the play but caught Hartman’s foot along with the ball.f

“I’m not real sure exactly how it happened,” Hartman said diplomatically. “We’d given up the goal, obviously, and it was just one of those things where he wanted to get the ball back to midfield or whatever. Henry went to hit the ball and I tried to intercede, and unfortunately got hurt. I’m pretty bummed about it.”

“You obviously want to play as much as possible and to have to come out because of an injury that happens pretty much in dead time is disappointing.”

The game’s referee didn’t see the need to penalize Henry.

“Basically, from I what I see, right after they scored the goal, they both go to kick the ball at the same time,” said referee Hilario Grajeda. “They never connect knees or anything. They just nailed the ball at the same time. It happens you know.”

Henry also brushed off the incident as an unfortunate accident.

“The ball was there and like I do sometimes, I just wanted to kick the ball back in the net,” said the French star, who just joined the Red Bulls last month. “He put his foot out there and that’s how he got injured. That was unfortunate. I went to apologize at halftime because I didn’t mean to hurt him. He put his foot out there and I just wanted to smash the ball back in the net. A pure accident.”

“I told him I was sorry. He accepted it. It was one of those stupid things.”

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Bucs` Talib May Have Violated Suspension; Reportedly Attended Game

Posted: 18 Sep 2010 01:19 AM PDT

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

Tampa, FL, United States (AHN) – Buccaneers cornerback Aqib Talib is the subject of a NFL probe after he allegedly violated the terms of his suspension attending Tampa Bay’s season-opening game Sunday as a spectator.

According to reports, the third-year pro watched the game from a suite at Raymond James Stadium as the Buccaneers topped the Cleveland Browns, 17-14.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello indicated to the St. Petersburg Times that the league would look into whether Talib violated the terms of his punishment, saying, “Suspended players cannot attend games, even as a spectator.”

The Times reported the 24-year-old cornerback, selected in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft by Tampa Bay, signed autographs for fans seated near the suite.

When asked by the paper Wednesday about his whereabouts during the game, Talib answered he watched the tilt at home on TV.

Because it failed to sell out, the Bucs-Browns clash was blacked out in the local Tampa area, according to NFL rules.

Talib was meted a one-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. It stemmed from an altercation with a cab driver in August 2009.

He also forfeited two game checks, amounting to a total of $177,187.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Jays` Outfielder Wells Receives Branch Rickey Award

Posted: 18 Sep 2010 01:18 AM PDT

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

Denver, CO, United States (AHN) – Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Vernon Wells was recognized with the 19th annual Branch Rickey Award for humanitarian works for 2010, the Rotary Club of Denver announced Thursday.

The 31-year-old All-Star centerfielder, a native of Shreveport, Louisiana, became the second Blue Jays player to receive the award named after the late Branch Rickey, who was credited with helping break the color barrier in the Majors.

Wells, a three-time All-Star and Gold Glove Award recipient, was selected winner of the illustrious award for 2010 by a 300-member national selection committee composed of sports media, past award winners, baseball executives and Rotary district governors.

MLB teams annually nominate their candidates for the award either from the player’s ranks, the coach or executive level.

The winner must personify Rotary International’s motto, “Service Above Self.”

Wells, who has played exclusively for the Blue Jays since debuting in 1999, made a $1 million donation to the Jays Care Foundation upon signing a seven-year contract extension with the club in 2007.

Wells, along with his wife, Charlene, also focused in supporting and protecting single mothers and disadvantaged children in need through the establishment of the Perfect 10 Foundation in 2009.

In April, the Foundation, in partnership with The Arms of Hope, started the construction of eight homes on the campus of the Boles Children’s Home in Quinlan, Texas.

The two quadraplex homes at the Boles Children’s Home will be home to single mothers and their children who are in need of financial assistance and emotional support.

Wells will receive the award and will be inducted into the Baseball Humanitarians Hall of Fame on Nov. 13 during a banquet at the Marriott City Center Hotel in Denver.

Hall of Famer Dave Winfield was the first Blue Jays to be honored with the award and the first recipient of the Branch Rickey award in 1992.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

Report: Kenyan Volleyball Team Denied Access To Top Facilities

Posted: 18 Sep 2010 01:18 AM PDT

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

Nairobi, Kenya (AHN) – The Kenyan women’s volleyball team has reportedly been denied access to the high standard facilities at the Kasarani Indoors Arena, mainly due to high gym fees.

With only a month to prepare for the World Championships, the team have been limited to either the open air Nyayo National Stadium or in Karura, at the Kenya Pipeline gym.

Both the said venues ranked poorly compared to the Moi International Sports Center that has a capacity of 60,000.

The multi-purpose stadium in Kasarani, funded by the Chinese government in 1987 for the All-Africa Games staged in Nairobi, is currently used mostly for football matches.

Apart from being called home by the Kenya national football team, the national facility also features a 5,000-seater Gymnasium and an Aquatic complex.

The Sports Stadia Management Board reportedly charges 25,000 shillings a day for the use of the facility, the allAfrica.com reported.

According to the Kenya Volleyball Federations, it would have been forced to pay Sh2.3 million for the three months the volleyball team has been training.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved

2012 European Table Tennis Championships To Be Held In Denmark

Posted: 18 Sep 2010 01:18 AM PDT

AHN Sports Staff

Herning, Denmark (AHN) – The European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) awarded Denmark the rights to host the 2012 European Table Tennis Championship, multiple sources reported Thursday.

The ETTU Executive Board unanimously voted Denmark as the host for the next European Table Tennis Championship during their meeting in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

The 2012 European Table Tennis Championship will be staged in Herning City, a Danish metropolis in Region Midtjylland.

Reports indicated the Herning local government and Sport Event Denmark were able to impress the ETTU Executive Board with their comprehensive and exciting set of events lined up for the championships.

MCH MultiArena, an indoor arena with a seating capacity of 12,000 people, will hold the all table tennis matches, from the preliminary round to the gold medal game.

Herning City Mayor Lars Krarup expressed his appreciation to the ETTU executive committee for awarding them the hosting right for the 2012 European Championships.

Sport Event Denmark Chief executive Lars Lundov considers the European table tennis event as their platform to host an even greater sports event in the future, such as the World Table Tennis Championship.

The 2012 European Table Tennis Championship is scheduled in October 2012, just two months after the London Olympics.

Elite table tennis players from 45 European countries are expected to compete for gold medals and the bragging right to be called European champions.

In 2005, the Danish city of Aarhus also held the European Championships, where their men’s national table tennis team captured the gold medal.

Article © AHN – All Rights Reserved
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)