Thursday, February 2, 2012
Sports World |
- Brady is a marked man
- Soccer debate on tackling causes confusion
- Mowbray insistent over Williams
- Shock as Oscar Time ruled out of Grand National
- Tevez future still in balance
| Posted: 02 Feb 2012 07:59 AM PST Ahead of Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul's directive is clear – stop New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Pierre-Paul has enjoyed a whirlwind start to his professional career since being drafted by the Giants 18 months ago. The Florida-born rookie has 16.5 sacks so far in his sophomore season. Pierre-Paul realises the Giants must disrupt the flow of the Patriots three-time Super Bowl winner if they are to repeat their shock victory over the same opponents in 2008. The best Super Bowl betting odds reflect this. That victory came before Pierre-Paul's time, but the plan hasn't changed in four years. The defensive end knows closing Brady down will go some way to deciding which team lifts the Lombardi trophy at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Pierre-Paul said: "We have to get after him (Brady), and that's what we have to do. "He can pick our defence. He can throw the ball even if our coverage is very good. That's scary, but as defensive linemen, we just have to get to him fast enough. Our secondary can cover the guys real quick, and hopefully that will help us out." The 23-year-old originally had his sights set on a career in basketball. A twist of fate redirected his career path. He broke his leg in high school and was convinced by his coaches that his physical attributes would make him a star in the NFL. "I never thought of playing football. They dragged me onto the field. I didn't know what I was doing. All they said was rush the quarterback, basically, and that's what I did from there on out," Pierre-Paul added. If Pierre-Paul and his team-mates can stop Brady, he could well be celebrating a first Super Bowl victory in just his second season on Sunday evening.  |
| Soccer debate on tackling causes confusion Posted: 02 Feb 2012 07:11 AM PST The English Premier League is often regarded in a superior light to all other soccer leagues in world soccer, and one of the primary factors behind this is the fast, furious, and unrelenting nature of the game, with no teams holding back from giving each fixture their all, and players all too happy to put their bodies on the line for the sake of their team. However, despite that, there is currently a fierce debate raging in the EPL regarding the art of tackling, and in particular the manner in which referees should respond to players throwing themselves wholeheartedly into tackles, with the lunging two footed tackle currently the biggest bone of contention by quite some distance. With the two footed tackle normally a challenge that involves players jumping in the air, lifting their feet off the ground, and risking a serious injury to their opponent. The punishment, of course, is a red card, which can dramatically alter live soccer betting markets and punters' soccer betting tips. More importantly though you have to consider the risk of serious injury, this particular debate perhaps isn't even worth having, with a number of players in recent years almost seeing their careers brought to an untimely end after such dangerous tackles. However, perhaps one manager who should be philosophically opposed to this sort of tackling more than any other in England is Arsene Wenger, who has seen a number of his players pick up sickening injuries on the pitch, but the Frenchman seems happy to let these challenges stay in the game, suggesting that the argument isn't quite as cut and dry as you may assume. With nobody wanting to see players injured on the field of play, there is another side to the argument that suggests the level of interest in the EPL might drastically lessen if the more physical side of the game was eradicated. Unfortunately for English soccer fans, unlike the more technical soccer on display in La Liga, the EPL wouldn't be able to make up for this reduction in excitement for neutrals with a variety of skills and neat footwork, meaning that the future of the league itself could be placed firmly on the line with the banning of physical play.  |
| Mowbray insistent over Williams Posted: 02 Feb 2012 07:03 AM PST Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray has once again insisted Rhys Williams will not be allowed to leave the club despite the young Aussie being linked with a move to the Premiership. Williams, along with the likes of Matthew Bates and Marvin Emnes, has been heavily courted by a number of top-flight clubs according to live soccer betting markets. However, Mowbray has made it clear none of his squad's key players will be allowed to leave the club, who are looking to secure a return to the Premier League. "I'm pretty sure that anyone we don't want to lose won't be leaving," said Mowbray. "Rhys Williams is not out of contract and talking to him the boy's pretty comfortable here so I don't see that being an issue." "He wants to try and help us get back to the Premier League." The versatile Williams has been an ever-present in the Boro side this season, helping the club to fourth in the Championship. The club are now in a great position to mount a genuine bid for promotion this season and will need their star players such as Williams if they are going to have any chance of getting out of this league. If Middlesbrough fail to secure promotion back to the Premier League, then soccer betting tips suggest they would struggle to hang onto the talented 23-year old. Bolton, West Brom and QPR are among a host of top-flight clubs that have reportedly been tracking the Perth-born midfielder, and will all still be interested come the end of the season. Promotion will be important for Middlesbrough for a number of reasons; hanging onto their star players will be just one of those.  |
| Shock as Oscar Time ruled out of Grand National Posted: 02 Feb 2012 03:00 AM PST Sam Waley-Cohen was understandably very upset at the news that the gallant Oscar Time who carried him into a superb second place behind Ballabriggs in the 2011 John Smith's Grand Nationa has been ruled out of action for the rest of the season after sustaining a leg injury, writes Elliot Slater. Joint-favourite with last year's big race hero at 16/1 in the ante-post horse racing betting list for this year's renewal of the 'world's greatest steeplechase', the Martin Lynch-trained 11-year-old had been trained specifically with a return trip to Aintree in mind and had not been seen in action since contesting a staying novice hurdle at Naas in November where he was far from discredited in finishing fourth behind the very useful Zaidpour. Horse racing betting tips has expected him to reappear following the publications of the weights for the Grand National in mid-February, Waley-Cohen had eagerly been looking forward to being reunited with the horse owned by his father Robert who gave him such a tremendous spin over the awesome fences at the Liverpool track last spring, racing up with the pace for most of the way then coming to challenge at the elbow on the long and tortuous run from the final fence. In the end Lynch's gelding couldn't get by Donald McCain's runner as the pair pulled a long way clear of the rest and went down to a brave defeat by just two-and-a-quarter-lengths. Although he hasn't won since landing the extremely valuable Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown's 2009 Christmas meeting Oscar Time has run a number of other fine races in defeat, notably when second to Bluesea Cracker in the 2010 Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse and when third to The Midnight Club in last season's Grade 2 At the Races Bobbyjo Chase at the same track.  |
| Posted: 02 Feb 2012 08:28 AM PST The future of Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez is still in doubt after both Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain claim that they have ended their interest in the player. City are reportedly looking for a permanent transfer for their asset, who is worth £30 million in their valuation. The Argentine has not played for the club since refusing to come off the substitutes' bench for manager Roberto Mancini in a Champions League tie against Bayern Munich back in September. The Manchester club failed to reach the knockout stage of the competition after finishing third behind the German champions and Napoli. French side PSG were one of the favourites in the live soccer betting football who were actively involved in trying to sign Tevez. The Parisian club are now managed by former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti and have Brazilian Leonardo as their director of football, have decided against making an improved offer. Inter, on the hand, used their official website to confirm they has ruled themselves of the running for Tevez, though the soccer betting tips suggest they may yet come in with a late offer. Club director Tronchetti Provera said: "Does Tevez still interest us? He no longer does as he (Tevez) is looking to take a different path. Inter have rediscovered their champions and we don't need to have him (Tevez) or anybody else. But he (Tevez) remains a great champion." The latest development means AC Milan are now strong favourites to land the player's signature, however, the Italian club may look to initially loan Tevez with the view of a permanent deal in the summer. Tevez joined Manchester City in 2009 from their neighbours Manchester United, after he played 63 games for the Reds including their Champions League final win against Chelsea in Moscow.  |
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