Monday, December 13, 2010
Sports World |
| Warne coy over Aussie comeback Posted: 13 Dec 2010 08:42 AM PST Maybe Shane Warne wanted to take some of the attention away from Australia's embarrassing innings defeat to England in the second Ashes Test last week, or maybe he simply wanted his ego massaged for a while, but either way he was remarkably slow in quashing the rumours that he was in the frame for a shock recall for their next outing. Despite being kept busy with both his work as a commentator for Sky Sports and with his new talk show for Channel 9 in Australia, the spin legend has been touted by some Cricket Betting as a replacement for both misfiring bowler Xavier Doherty and captain Ricky Ponting, with many sections of the media suggesting that the current captain would be better off were he to concentrate solely on his role as a batsman. Peter Fitzsimons, a columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald, led the backlash against Ponting, and following his suggestion that Warne be instated as captain in a three-Test comeback, Cricket Odds of 6-1 were floated by some bookmakers that such a situation may arise, but it appears that Warney has now hushed any rumours of this nature. Despite describing himself as being "flattered" at these suggestions, he has effectively ruled himself out of contention by suggesting Michael Beer be called up instead – and he duly has been. Despite not being neither captain, nor selector, is seems that he still holds a great deal of sway in the future of Australian cricket, but it would appear that for now at least, he won't be letting his fingers do the talking. Plus those Big Macs and hair implants aren't going to sell themselves are they  |
| Venter interview bizarre – but he has a point Posted: 13 Dec 2010 04:28 AM PST We have seen on several occasions in the past sports coaches and managers offer very little to bemused journalists in post-match interviews in an attempt to make point or protest at perceived injustices. In football for example Sir Alex Ferguson refuses to speak to the BBC at all following allegations made by Panorama a few years ago while Rafa Benitez once spoke in riddles and gave the same answer to different questions following a bust up with the board. But the interview given by Brendan Venter, head coach of Saracens, this weekend was bizarre in the extreme and one that pushes this form of protest to new levels in the opinion of those often following the Live match score centre for the latest rugby news. Speaking after his sides 24-21 defeat to Racing Metro at Vicarage Road the South African refused to entertain any of the interviewers questions, being deliberately difficult, dead pan and obstructive. The journo did his best to tease out an opinion from Venter, they were your bog standard post-match questions after all. But he refused to budge, ensuring that the video would become a Youtube hit over night. His stance is in response to the belief that both he and Saracens have been treated unfairly by referees generally and by European Rugby Cup particularly. His ERC fine on the eve of the autumn internationals following a fiery post-match outburst was for, in the ERC's words, being "inappropriately critical of the ERC tournament." More than a hint of 'Big Brother is watching you' there I'm sure you will agree. And while Venter's reaction had been condemned in some quarters, I feel his stance is a valid one. After-all, do we want all post-match interviews to be the same, scripted, media trained nonsense? Or is someone who likes to speak his mind and keeps the authorities on their toes good for the game? Some Livescore rugby pundits believe that Venter may go too far sometimes and I agree you can't have managers publically slating the authorities every week. But the moment the ERC start condemning and hushing up those with an opinion they don't agree with, a dangerous line in being crossed and one that would leave rugby all the poorer.  |
| Posted: 13 Dec 2010 02:22 AM PST The latter stages of the 2011 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championships will be screened live into the home for the first time in 3D. It has been confirmed that the semi-finals and final of the event – which are set to take place on January 2 and 3 respectively – will be broadcast on Sky's new in-home 3D channel. The new broadcasting format has become increasingly popular in pubs across the country and now Sky have developed 3D technology for the home environment too. The semi-finals and final of the World Matchplay over the summer were screened in 3D in around 1,000 venues in the UK and Ireland but the forthcoming World Championship is set to break new ground by broadcasting 3D darts live into living rooms for the first time. 3D differs from standard High Definition broadcasts because it uses an extra 10 3D cameras to get the required coverage. This is in addition to the standard 22 cameras which are used. The massive technical innovation is the two matchbox size cameras which are placed on top of the dartboard so viewers can observe darts travelling towards them. Speaking about the innovation, Sky Sports commentator Sid Waddell said: "At the World Matchplay I was ducking and diving when those darts were coming at me in 3D. "The players were transformed like character from the movie Avatar, and now everyone can see that at home." It is hoped that 3D technology will increase the popularity of darts, which has enjoyed something of a renaissance of late. Phil Taylor is 4/7 favourite with Ladbrokes to pick up his 16th World Championship by successfully defending the title he won last year. He has dominated the sport in recent years, whilst 2010 has been one of his most successful periods ever. As well as winning the World darts Championship, he also won the World Matchplay and the Premier League of Darts. This dominance has led Ladbrokes to quote a price of 50/1 for him to win the 2011 World Championship without dropping a single set.  |
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