Monday, February 21, 2011
Sports World |
- Lievremont admits to “dislike” for England
- Westwood looking to stamp Masters mark
- Will Bautista resigning pay off for Blue Jays
| Lievremont admits to “dislike” for England Posted: 21 Feb 2011 07:51 AM PST France head coach Marc Lievremont kicked off the war of words ahead of their crucial 6 Nations clash against England on Saturday, claiming he "does not like" England. The weekend fixture is being billed as the deciding match in this year's tournament, with both the only remaining teams unbeaten after two games. England faced a similar verbal attack from Wales head coach Warren Gatland before their game in the opening round of the tournament. Gatland focused his attention on England hooker Dylan Hartley, accusing him of "talking too much" while questioning his ability to compete at the highest level. England went on to win 19-26, and the former Wasps coach admitted he had made a mistake in talking to the media before the game. Lievremont admitted he had a dislike of the English, and believes he will have the backing of the other teams in the tournament for the game at Twickenham. He said: "We don't like them (the English) and it's better to say that than be hypocritical." "We appreciate our Italian cousins with whom we share the same quality of life," "We appreciate the Celts and their conviviality and then among all these nations we have one huge thing in common. We all don't like the English." "We beat Ireland yet left Dublin with the encouragement of all the Irish who said 'for pity's sake, beat the English'." he added. The former French U-21 coach said he had respect for England and the way in which they have approached the tournament, and described Martin Johnson's men as "on a different level" compared to when the two teams last met. "This insular country, who always drape themselves in the national flag, their hymns, their chants, their traditions. They are people who one regards as a very proud people," he said. "But we are also very aware, in terms of planning and preparation, that the English are already in 2011 World Cup mode." Earlier in the week Lievremont admitted to the weekend game being a "headache" for him, because of the style of play England have shown so far against Wales and Italy. England captain Lewis Moody looks to winning his race to be fit in time for the game after playing for 23 minutes in Bath's 38-8 win over Northampton on Saturday. Adidas flanker wearer Tom Croft also stepped up his return from injury, featuring in Leicester's 21-12 win over Wasps.  |
| Westwood looking to stamp Masters mark Posted: 21 Feb 2011 06:42 AM PST World number one Lee Westwood will this week compete in the World Match Play Championship, looking to stamp a marker down ahead of the opening major of the year in April. By the time the US Masters comes around, Westwood will be hoping to be on a decent run of form as he desperately attempts to lift his first major and truly announce himself as the world's best player. Westwood hasn't been given any favours in the Match Play tournament following the withdrawal of Toru Taniguchi with a neck injury; the Englishman's opening match will now be against former winner and world number 65 Henrik Stenson. The 2007 champion is something of a match-play expert and will fancy his chances in the tie. The Swede has been a shadow of his former self following a mystery illness and is only just rediscovering his form. Stenson will still prove to be a tough opening test for Westwood and one which could very easily spring a surprise on the world number one. Stenson reached the semi-final stage last year before losing to eventual winner Tiger Woods. Westwood will be out to build up momentum heading into Augusta, where he came so close to success last year. Phil Mickelson took the title last April, three shots ahead of Westwood in second and the Englishman will be hoping to go one step further this year and the US Masters odds suggest he has every chance of doing so. The Englishman's record at Augusta before his second place finish last year had been far from impressive, with only one top 10 finish in 10 appearances at the tournament. Last year's performance will give Westwood confidence that he can handle the tough course and the 37-year-old will be one of the favourites in the Masters odds heading into the tournament. Westwood will be behind leading favourites Tiger Woods and last year's champion Mickelson, who have seven Masters titles behind them. The American duo will be strongly backed but Westwood will be part of a European challenge, with Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy and Paul Casey to name but three.  |
| Will Bautista resigning pay off for Blue Jays Posted: 21 Feb 2011 03:35 AM PST Baseball betting pundits note how The Toronto Blue Jays had a tough decision to make heading into this offseason. What to do with their star-slugger Jose Bautista? MLB Betting experts note how Bautista is coming off a season where he hit a club record 54 home runs, more than tripling his previous career high of 16 set in 2006. The .260 batting average, .378 on-base percentage, 124 RBIs, 109 runs and 100 walks also stand far beyond his past levels of production. Certainly those numbers would warrant a pay raise. So the Jays put up a $64-million, five-year extension to the third baseman/outfielder to avoid arbitration and keep him from free agency in the fall. This is in many ways a gamble for the Blue Jays but one GM Alex Anthopoulos felt he had enough inside knowledge to make the decision sensibly. Going to arbitration with Bautista and waiting until next fall to try and lock up the 2010 home run champion was the safe move. Especially when you are evaluating a player on one spectacular season unlike any other in an otherwise uneventful career. Bautista gets $8 million in 2011, and $14 million in each of 2012-15. The club holds also an option of $14 million for the 2016 season with a $1-million buyout. So what does Bautista have to do in future seasons to make this extension a good move? Can he do enough to even come close? Very few are expecting him to hit 50 home runs again and even 30 home runs seems like a long shot. It is just so hard to tell when a player has one season that is out of the ordinary from previous years. The Jays are taking a gamble and maybe that is what it takes in the AL East. They are stuck behind three teams loaded with talent and two (the Yankees and Red Sox) who spend like no other. Shedding the inflated contract of Vernon Wells was a celebrated move by Anthopoulos and it will help the club move forward right away. But it could very well be the Bautista signing that defines the new GM and how he will turn the Blue Jays into contenders or pretenders.  |
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