Sports Round Up

SPORTS ROUND-UP

RUGBY fans are all set for the Six Nations internationals of 2013 with England against Scotland at Twickenham and Wales versus Ireland in Cardiff on Saturday with Italy playing France in Rome on Sunday.

After major upsets in various Cup competitions, it’s back to the bread and butter of League football this weekend as clubs continue to chase titles, seek promotion and battle to avoid relegation.

And there are some intriguing matches ahead including Fulham v Manchester United (a repeat of last week’s cup-tie), ManchesterCity v Liverpool, Newcastle v Chelsea, WBA v Tottenham, CrystalPalace v Charlton and Millwall v Hull and plenty… more!

• In the Australian Open, Andrew Murray, having beaten Roger Federer, was defeated by world number one, Novak Djokovic in the men’s final.  Belarusian Viktora Azarenka retained the women’s title at the expense of China’s Li Na.
• Congratulations to BradfordCity and Swansea who will contest the 2013 League Cup final on February 28.  For the Swans, it will be their first major final after defeating Chelsea 2-0 on aggregate in the semis.  The second leg was marred by the sending-off of Chelsea’s Eden Hazard for kicking 17 year-old ball boy Charlie Morgan, the son of a Swansea director.  Morgan was lying on the ground, clutching the ball, seemingly wasting time. Hazard will serve at least a three-match ban but the police are not taking action.  The teenager had ‘tweeted’ about time-wasting before the game!

• Don’t talk to Aston Villa fans, players or staff about Cup football!  The Premiership club was knocked out of TWO competitions in the space of four nights last week, first by Bradford (over two legs) in the League Cup and by Millwall in the FA Cup.  So what next, I wonder, for manager Paul Lambert?  Villa’s millionaire owner Andy Lerner said “no worries”.  He must be joking!
• Other shocks in the Cup, saw Luton win 1-0 at Norwich to become the first non-League team to knock a top-flight team out of the competition since Sutton beat Coventry in 1989 (the Hatters are 85 places below the Canaries in the League pyramid)… Division One side Oldham eclipsed Liverpool… MK Dons beat gutless QPR 4-2… Leeds k’od Spurs… Brentford held Chelsea… Arsenal, Everton, ManchesterCity and Wigan won away… favourites Manchester United beat Fulham… and the assistant referees at the Macclesfield tie were Mr East and Mr West.
• And Celtic are out of the Scottish Cup, beaten in the semi-final by lowly St Mirren who will meet Hearts in the final
• In the Championship, Blackpool won at fading Wolves for the first time since 1964.
• Wiggle Honda is the new women’s professional cycle team which includes Olympian Laura Trott.
• UK’s Geraint Thomas came third in the gruelling ‘Tour of Down Under’ cycle race.
• Chris Thompson (GB) was fourth in the round the world ‘Golden Globe’ yachting race.
• England’s cricketers, with an Ian Bell century, beat India in the last ODI but lost the series 3-2.
• Mercedes want to dump their main man in formula 1, Ross Brawn.
• England’s Chris Wood eagled the last hole to win his first European tour title: the Qatar Masters.
• England women’s basketball team completed their first whitewash and series victory over the reigning world champions Australia with a 58-51 victory in Birmingham.
• Rowers everywhere were shocked to hear about the death of Team GB’s silver medal winning cox, Acer Nethercott, at the age of 35.
• And the football transfer window closes tonight – watch out for some late deals.