yet another England footballer scandal

... to be broken by News of the World at 2215 GMT. Front and back page apparently. You think these overpaid prats would learn one day.

Nope, it's Ashley Cole again, allegedly shooting someone. Speculation that it's anyone from a Chelsea backroom staff member to a 21yo fan. And with something as 'soft' as an air rifle.

So next information to break will be that they were out paintballing or something lame like that?Posted byScott Fergusonat22:01

Football – Andrew Luck will return for another year in Stanford

by Stephen Lars on Jan.07, 2011, under Football, Sports News

Rumor has it that had Andrew Luck would end up being the No.1 pick in the NFL draft had he decided to step away from Stanford and take a go at the Pros. The second part of the rumor, and perhaps the part which should interest you a bit more, is that the Carolina Panthers, who own the No.1 pick in the draft, had stated earlier this week that they would be very interested in hiring Luck if he decided to drop school.

The official announcement states that Luck’s decision to stay at Stanford is strictly academic. According to the press release, the talented quarterback said the he was committed to finishing his degree in architectural design at Stanford University. Something he expects to have had accomplished by the spring quarter of 2012. Just in time for next year’s draft.

Still, one can help but to wonder if Luck just simply didn’t want to end up being stuck with the Panthers for his rookie year. On the other hand, his announcement could also change the mindset of head coach Jim Harbaugh and the whole uncertainty that has risen in regards to his stay or his very possible departure from Stanford. Just like with his starting quarterback Harbaugh has been getting distinct proposal for making the big jump into the pros.

Still, Stanford could work its way up into yet another impressive year. Luck has guided Stanford through a 12-1 season, possibly finishing in the BCS top 5 at the end of the season. That would be the first time this happens since the 1940’s. Andrew Luck finished the season with 3,338 passing yards and 32 touchdown-passes completing over 71% of his passes while rushing for 513 yards. Sure, he was second to Cam Newton in the fight for the Heisman Trophy, but the 50 million dollar contract for the No.1 pick in the draft was going to Luck, not to the star of the Auburn Tigers.

Isildur Crushes Another Poker Pro

Fans of the game and those using the betfair poker freerolls will be delighted to see that the enigma is back in high stakes action. When he first burst onto the scene the rail bird attendances soared as he took on anyone and everyone and at all stakes. It seemed this enigma was fearless and aggressive and the only thing on people’s minds were why didn’t he call himself Sauron (a much bigger and cooler baddass name) and who the hell was he?

When Tom Dwan created the Durrr Challenge, those focusing on the poker sign up bonus note how only one person was exempt from participating and that was Phil Galfond. This is what JMan was saying about Isildur1 back then.

yet another US track star busted for doping

Unfortunately it always seems that the positive tests don't seem to come out until AFTER their careers are finished. In the 80s it was still a Cold War thing and positive tests were swept under the carpet. It has only been the last 20 years that American athletes, the really good American athletes not just lower-ranked scapegoats, have started being busted for steroid abuse (or other banned substances). Yet the hysteria and suspicion still lies with the 'unknown' or the evil enemy, namely Russia or China.


Former US Champion Clay banned for doping violations

(Reuters) - Former U.S. 200 meters champion Ramon Clay has been suspended for two years for using steroids and other banned substances from 2000-04, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said Friday.

So in recent years from the US, we've had Marion Jones, Justin Gatlin, Antonio Pettigrew, C.J. Hunter, Tim Montgomery, Kelli White, Jerome Young....

For a full list of doping cases in athletics, visit Wikipedia

Repeated doping violations in the US, and the ridiculous amount of time it takes to catch these cheats, just darkens the legacy of champions like Edwin Moses and Michael Johnson.

At least some sports have recognised major issues with doping, namely weightlifting, and have been prepared to dish out extreme penalties - banning whole nations for repeated positive drug tests. Will we ever see it in athletics for the USA or biathlon for Russia? There's more chance of a man swimming across the Atlantic unaided....Posted byScott Fergusonat21:06

USA: Gio Ponti leads another Grade 1 bonanza

AFTER the fireworks of 11 Grade 1s and victories from horses like Zenyatta and Lookin At Lucky last weekend, America plays host to another slew of major Breeders' Cup trials on Saturday - most of them shown live on ATR.

RELATED LINKS Shadwell Turf Milecard Jamaica Handicapcard First Lady card Frizette Stakes card Breeders Futuritycard Champagne Stakescard Betting - Turf Mile Betting - JamaicaHandicap Betting - First Lady Betting - FrizetteStakes Betting - AncientTitle Free bets  Keeneland's short, sharp ‘Fall' meeting kicks off witha handful of Grade 1s, while Belmont hosts the biggest two-year-old races of the year in New York.

Highlight at Keeneland is the Shadwell Turf Mile (10.45pm), where dual turf champion Gio Ponti (Christophe Clement/Ramon Dominguez) steps back in trip with a view to taking on Goldikova at the Breeders' Cup.

Connections of the five-year-old, runner-up in last year's Breeders' Cup Classic, did not have much choice if they fancy a return visit to next month's meeting - the Classic on dirt is no good for him, and he does not stay 1m4f.

After four Grade 1 wins last term firmly established Gio Ponti as America's foremost grass horse, he has stuttered this season, landing only the Grade 1 Man o'War from five starts.

Gio Ponti is a shade of odds-on with Coral, but this won't be easy with rivals headed by Breeders' Cup Milerunner-up Courageous Cat (Bill Mott/Pat Valenzuela) and Get Stormy (Thomas Bush/Javier Castellano), winner of seven of his last eight in lesser grade.

Coral: 10-11 Gio Ponti, 9-2 Get Stormy, Courageous Cat, 11-2 Enriched, 12 Society's Chairman, 33 Acting Zippy

Also on Saturday

Belmont Park: Jamaica Hcap (Grade 1) 1m1f, turf, 3yo (9.11pm BST, live on ATR)

Only recently upgraded to the top level, the Jamaica will produced a maiden Grade 1 winner as none of the 11 have previously scored in such exalted company.

Kiaran McLaughlin will surely fancy his chances with his twin assault via Grade 3 winners Krypton (Edgar Prado) - placed in top turf races- and Lethal Combination (Alan Garcia).

Admiral Alex (Leon Blusiewicz/Channing Hill) ought to find this more to his liking than the Travers, a race he contested after just one previous outing for his eccentric owner-trainer.

Beau Choix (Barclay Tagg/Cornelio Velasquez), Center Divider (Christophe Clement/David Cohen) and Turf Melody (Graham Motion/Alex Solis) all represent stables noted for their turf runners, while Team Valor's Fantastico Roberto (Todd Pletcher/John Velazquez) won acouple in Italy before joining his powerful new connections.

Keeneland: Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (Grade 2) 6f, AW, 3yo

NCAA Football – Oklahoma and Texas in yet another Red River Rivalry

These two teams have been the Big12 dominant forces when it comes down to NCAA football. The series is considered to be one of the greatest rivalries in American sports. When it comes to the Big12 perhaps only the Rivalry that the Texas Longhorns hold against the Texas A&M Aggies, and the Rivalry between the Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys can match the media attention and the crowds this event carries on.

Since 1945, the two teams have managed to arrive on this date ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation, which makes this even significant not only among the Big12 conference teams, but an important and nationally televised sporting event. Now, six of the last 10 Red River Rivalry games have included at least one team playing in the Bowl Championship Series, including the national titles won by the Sooners in 2000 and the Longhorns in 2005.

If placed under a National scenario, perhaps only the Navy-Army game and the Michigan-Ohio State series have a major impact on NCAA sports. It is always a game that attracts a lot of wagering action, as the teams are known to go out and give on the best show they possibly can.

As of press time, the Sooners are a -3

Just Another Day at The Office for Stuart Attwell

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It’s fair to say that being a referee isn’t the easiest job under the world. With cameras covering the game from seemingly every angle and television pundits queing up to scrutinise the performance of referees, it is one of the most high pressure jobs in the world. Except for this weekend. For one week, 99.9% of referees got a free pass – it didn’t matter who they sent off or who they didn’t, what penalty they gave or what they didn’t, any “mistake” the referee made was going to be swept under the carpet.

The reason for that is the performance of Stuart Attwell at Anfield. Whether or not you agree with the goal that he awarded with Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt, it’s fair to say that it’s a talking point which is going to overshadow any other decision made by a referee over the entire weekends football card. For those of you who didn’t see it, Attwell allowed a goal after Fernando Torres onto a Michael Turner ‘free-kick’, squaring to Dirk Kuyt as the Sunderland defence stood motionless. A simple tap-in later and those in Liverpool shirts were ahead. Turner had simply been leaving the ball for his goalkeeper to come and take the goal kick.

Of course, the role of Torres in this is not blameless. Everyone in the ground knew what was going on, so it raises major questions about the Spaniards view of sportsmanship. Attwell, however, should have blown his whistle and stopped such a ridiculous situation from happening. He has unsurprisingly been defended by the top brass who claim that he was ‘technically’ correct to award the goal, but once we stop applying common sense to football the game is in serious trouble.

As if that decision wasn’t bad enough, Attwell also erred by failing to award Sunderland a penalty when Danny Welbeck was floored by Pepe Reina in front of the Kop. He should also have sent off Steven Gerrard after an elbow which Steve Bruce correctly stated ‘would have resulted in a red card if it had been Lee Cattermole’.

Were this a one-off blip for Attwell, it could perhaps be forgiven but sadly for the young referee who was fast-tracked through the system, controversy seems to follow him around. Nobody will ever forget the “phantom” goal he gave Watford at Reading, a goal which was frankly ridiculous and he has been involved in a spate of controversy over the past few weeks, feeling the wrath of Owen Coyle after Gary Cahill’s harsh red card at Arsenal.

Such is the seeming level of support for Attwell within the FA, it wouldn’t surprise me if he ended up being England’s Euro 2012 referee, but in my opinion he should be immediately demoted to the lower leagues until he learns how to keep himself out of the headlines.

Fortunately for footballing karma, Sunderland recovered from the massive injustice and were able to earn a very creditable 2-2 draw thanks to a double for free-scoring Darren Bent, a striker who must be a serious contender for a starting spot in the England national team.

Written by Colin Hill, a sports writer who runs a football boot blog.

winter sports season around the corner and another Russian 'busted' for drugs

Shame it wasn't one of their leading female competitors, at least I can post a gratuitous photo then.

Russian cross country skier Nicholas Pankratov has been busted by Swiss customs officials for possessing intravenous equipment and 22 capsules of the drug actovegin, derived from calf blood. Actovegin is not on the WADA banned list, but has been in doping authorities' spotlight for several years.

The original article can be found here in Norwegian, use Google Chrome to translate it.

Sergei Korolev, who is head of Russia's winter sports federations, told RIA Novosti that Pankratov's possession of actovegin with the equipment for blood transfusion is a cause for sanctions unless he can prove that he has a legitimate reason to use it.

News agency reports that Pankratovs case will be handled by the International Ski Federation (FIS') anti-doping panel.

- He may be excluded for two years. If he can prove that there were health reasons to use the drug, he may go free, but it's unlikely, says Korolev.Posted byScott Fergusonat03:10

NFL – Drew Brees Could lead the Saints back to another Super Bowl

by Stephen Lars on Aug.14, 2010, under Previews

Remember those many years where the New Orleans Saints were stacking up a losing season after the other. Their record was so obnoxiously low that even the home fans were at one point calling them the New Orleans Aint’s. Let’s take a quick look at their losing years. The Saints were founded back in 1966 as an expansion team. They played at the Tulane Stadium until 1974. It would take the franchise two more seasons to finally finish a regular season with a .500 average.

As if that was not enough, the people of New Orleans had to wait even longer, until 1987 for the team to see its first successful years, but the spell did not last too long and by 1992, the Saints were again on the losing end of the spectrum. Want to talk about playoffs wins? Well, then you would have to wait until the first postseason of the new millennium to see the Saints win their first ever Playoffs game against the then defending Champions the St. Louis Rams.

And then came Head Coach Sean Payton, and quarterback Drew Brees. It was the spring of 2006 and even before the game began, the fans were starting to believe that good things would follow after Payton and Brees. For the first time in franchise history, the Saints owner, Tom Benson, announced that the team had sold out the entire season on the Louisiana Superdome, with season tickets alone. Just to be clear here, there are 70,001 seats in the that Arena after the latest modifications.

The first home game was somewhat of a national event. The city was finally making its first steps since Hurricane Katrina devastated half of the city. It was a magical moment not only for the team but also for the NFL and the city of New Orleans. The people were showing their support not only to the team but also for what it represented: a city that could get back on its feet, a team that could start making a difference.

2006 was a key season. The Saints made it to the NFC Championship game were they lost to the Chicago Bears. That was their best performance yet. 2007 and 2008 went by without too much success. Then came their year. In 2009 the Aints became the Saints. They played it smart, and although they went on and sacrificed the perfect season, the team was able to win its first ever Super Bowl and bring back the Vince Lombardi Trophy to New Orleans.

Brees is got the keys

Now, for the first time in his professional career, and despite having had some great seasons in the past, the hard working and dedicated Drew Brees is finally joining Peyton Manning and Tom Brady a top of the NFL’s superstardom. Not only is he up for an enormous contract extension, he has received the respect of his fellow players as well as the fans.

He has a very difficult task in front of him. Two in a row is not such a common denominator when it comes to Super Bowl success. As of press time, the Saints are among the top three ranked teams in the Odds to win XLV Super Bowl. Sports betting industry leader Instant Actions Sports has already set up the lines for the first week of the NFL.

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