TOP 100 SPORT SITES
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| Bengals beat Chiefs 17-10, win AFC North CINCINNATI (AP) -- Five days after burying a teammate, the wrung-out Bengals had barely enough to win a title.... hosted.ap.org |
Bowden goes out a winner in Gator Bowl, 33-21 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Bobby Bowden rode only a few bouncy steps on his players' shoulders, then hopped off.... hosted.ap.org |
Cavendish condemns return of Ricco • 'It's like a parasite coming back into the sport'• Ricco may line up against Cavendish in Milan-San Remo raceMark Cavendish has condemned the imminent return to cycling of Riccardo Ricco, the Italian rider who was ejected from the Tour de France two years ago and given a 20-month ban from the sport after testing positive for CERA, the third-generation form of the human growth hormone EPO."It's like a parasite coming back into the sport," Cavendish said at his HTC-Columbia team's training camp in Majorca. "It's not the fact of what he did, because everyone can make a mistake. But he doesn't see it as a mistake. He's not even sorry about it."The 26-year-old Ricco, a specialist climber, won mountain stages of the 2008 Tour at Super-Besse and the Col'Aspin. Four days after the latter it was revealed that he had given a positive result from a dope test taken after the fourth stage, when he had tried to evade testers. He was expelled from the race and his Saunier-Duval team left with him, firing the Italian from the squad the following day. The original two-year ban, handed down by the Italian Olympic committee, was reduced by four months on appeal to the Court for Arbitration for Sport on the grounds of his co-operation.Now he plans to return with a small Italian team, Ceramica Flaminia. His ban ends on 10 March and he could find himself facing Cavendish 10 days later in the Milan-San Remo one-day classic, which the British rider won last year, and in the Giro d'Italia a few weeks later."The passion that I and other riders have for a beautiful sport, and for someone not to give a shit about it, it's incredibly demoralising to have to compete against people like that," said Cavendish, who has made his home in Tuscany for several years and has embraced - and been embraced by - Italian cycling culture. "It's hard for me to say whether he should have been given a life ban. What upsets me is the lack of regret for everybody and everything they've damaged."Another rider who was forced to leave the race along with Ricco was Cavendish's "good friend" David Millar, the Scottish rider, who served a two-year ban and has since made a successful return to the sport both as a rider and an outspoken campaigner against doping. "David is deeply sorry for what he did," Cavendish said. "It's the people who don't care about what they've done, that's what gets me."CyclingMark CavendishRichard Williamsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Eddie Butler: Perpignan just an appetiser for Saints The fixtures computer has been harsh on Saints, but there is much to relish in clashes against two champions inside six daysThis is an economy preview, with two for the price of one. It's just that Northampton find themselves squeezed without much consideration into the Heineken Cup schedule. This afternoon they face Perpignan, the reigning Top 14 champions of France, at Franklin's Gardens, and on Friday play the reigning Magners League champions, Munster, at Thomond Park in Limerick.The snow that spared the Saints a trip to Bath eight days ago couldn't have fallen at a kinder time, but it's still an alarming prospect to face so many champions so few days apart. On the other hand, there is always the consolation of knowing that Perpignan will not be at their most rabid, having lost away to Treviso in round one, and twice to Munster in rounds three and four, and having declared their interest in this year's Heineken Cup "over".They arrive without their front-row of internationals: Perry Freshwater of England, Marius Tincu of Romania and Nicolas Mas of France. There's no Nicolas Durand at scrum-half and no pairing of David Marty and Maxime Mermoz in the centre. Jim Mallinder, coach of Northampton, can resist complacency by saying that Perpignan will be dangerous whoever is selected, but this could have been a whole lot more arduous.The protection against taking matters lightly needs to be applied not just because of the less-than-scary appearance of Perpignan on paper. There is also Northampton's form over the past two-and-a-half months. They have forgotten what it feels like to lose, their last upset coming at the hands of Leicester on the last day of October. Since then they have gone unbeaten in the Guinness Premiership and beaten Treviso home and away in Europe. Their most recent outing was at Worcester, where they produced a storming final quarter to go home 26-6 winners, with Ben Foden and Chris Ashton outstanding.During their development as contenders on all fronts, with a large, mean pack and daring three-quarters, it is perhaps surprising to find players who have missed out. But Shane Geraghty took a while to recover from his travails with England in the autumn and had to give way to Stephen Myler at fly-half.Geraghty, however, starts today, with the former league player on the bench. To have two quality players jostling for starting berths could not suit Mallinder better. Both were selected earlier in the week in the England Saxons squad, part of Northampton's contribution of seven players to the two senior England squads. Phil Dowson was a third Saxon, while Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes, Foden and Ashton were named in the elite squad. These are fruitful times at Northampton.Of course, Munster loom ahead. After perhaps laying it on thick with regard to the threat still posed by Perpignan, Mallinder will have to brace his players for the trip to Thomond Park, an altogether more demanding test of his powers of selection and preparation.For a time the Heineken Cup champions of 2006 and 2008 looked like a team on the brink of serious trouble. Take October for example, which opened for Munster with a 30-0 hiding in the Magners League at the hands of their arch rivals Leinster. They then lost to Northampton 31-27 in a thriller at Franklin's Gardens, gave away early tries before recovering at home to Treviso, and ended the month by losing away to Edinburgh.The Munster players then departed on Ireland duty before reconvening in early December and losing to the Ospreys. They were struggling, to which they responded in typical fashion by doing the double over Perpignan. The second leg was a remarkable 37-14 taming of the Catalans in their distant stronghold.Northampton won't have too much time to dwell on their bum hand, the pair of arduous fixtures dealt them in six days, but they might be aware that Munster always seem to end up on the last day of Heineken Cup qualifying rounds with a juicy do-or-die game against an English club at Thomond Park. Sale, Wasps, Gloucester and Leicester have all gone to Limerick and only the Tigers have come away with a win. The others all left chastened, to put it mildly.Northampton will know that the Leicester pack paved the way for that rare upset. And they will nod and say that they themselves don't mind a whole load of the hard graft. And they'll be aware that chances will be rare beyond the confines of the forward mill. And they'll nod again and say that they have players who will remain alert and hungry for a scrap until the last seconds of the last quarter.Anyone with an ounce of soul and powers of persuasion and/or loads of euros, should go to Thomond Park on a big-match day, or night. Friday promises to be one such, and it doesn't really matter how corrupt the computer programme was that spat out the fixture list. Northampton have been dealt a rotten hand, but it could be the very decomposition that makes their already fruitful season break records of abundance.Heineken CupRugby unionNorthampton SaintsMunsterPerpignanEddie Butlerguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Shani Davis won't skate 5 events at Olympics U.S. speedskating star Shani Davis won't be competing in all five individual races at the Vancouver Olympics.... hosted.ap.org |