TOP 100 SPORT SITES
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| Cardinals get another chance at Packers in late Sunday playoff game The Arizona Cardinals will play the late Sunday playoff game next weekend in the first round of the National Football League playoffs. bizjournals.com |
Two for Tuqiri and Tigers take control Leicester 34-8 WaspsWith time up on the clock the ball came back to Danny Cipriani and he dropped it. The sad thing is, it looked as if he might even have done it on purpose. He hoofed the ball into the stand in disgust, and the whistle blew on a horrible afternoon for Wasps. But where there is misery for Wasps there must by definition be joy for Leicester. This was pretty comprehensive – a walloping, you might say.Wasps could complain that the try that broke them just after the break, the first of a brace for Lote Tuqiri, should not have stood. And they would be right. Replays showed that Tuqiri dropped the ball has he went to touch down one-handed in the freezing cold. But no one spotted it live, because he had scythed through the Wasps defence so imperiously that the try felt scored before he had touched it down. That the executioner slipped in the last split-second went unnoticed in the general uproar by both the baying mob and the presiding official.In the event of an argument, Leicester and 24,000 of their incandescent fans would counter that the try Wasps scored in the third minute should never have stood, the officials missing what looked like a fairly clear forward pass from Dominic Waldouck in the build-up. Mark van Gisbergen profited, but Cipriani had created the chance with a dashing break. All seemed well with the world of the Wasp, a try to the good in the lair of their arch rivals on what had ended up being a nice sunny afternoon that not even they could claim was unfit for purpose, however cold.Their defence was handling whatever Leicester could throw at them, which was a lot, and they looked sharp when they had the ball. But the lot that Leicester were throwing began to take its toll. Their domination of the set piece was total, and if their heavy runners were punching only dents, not quite holes, in the first half, they were storing up problems for Wasps later in the game.Crane was driven over for what looked a good try with five minutes to go to the break, but the video referee denied it. It was, though, a suspended sentence for Wasps. Until then they had done wonders avoiding the need for a scrum, but now they faced a series of them on their five-metre line, and the carnage was predictable.There was plenty of England candidates for Martin Johnson to mull over here, and surely one of them is Dan Cole, Leicester's 22-year-old tight-head. Last week he was credited with destroying Saracens' scrum (and winding up their director of rugby enough to land him a likely ban); this week he and his mates did the same to Wasps.In the siege that followed, Tim Payne, England's incumbent loose-head, saw yellow. Then when Wasps' seven-man scrum managed to twist and turn in such a way as to satisfy the referee they were not cheating this time, Leicester whipped it wide, Tuqiri came into the line and Johne Murphy scored in the corner to level the scores. Toby Flood converted from the touchline, so that Leicester went into the sheds 10-8 up.Maybe that was the moment Wasps were broken. The second half made ugly viewing for their fans. Tuqiri got away with his try that should not have been, but another huge scrum eight minutes later (with Wasps back to a full complement) had the referee running to the sticks to award Leicester a penalty try.Soon, Simon Shaw was hobbling to the touchline with a knee injury to complete the misery for Wasps, and maybe England, and all that was left was for Leicester to claim their bonus-point try, Tuqiri streaking home after a great little break from another young man surely in Johnson's thoughts, Ben Youngs.Cipriani's body language at the end summed it up for Wasps, who must wish this game had gone the way of all the others this weekend. Leicester, meanwhile, should give their groundstaff a pay rise. No fixture headaches for them later in the season and, for now, they are back at the top of the table with their arch rivals severely chastened and 10 points behind them. It is a lovely game when you are doing all the walloping.Guinness PremiershipLeicester TigersLondon WaspsRugby unionMichael Aylwinguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Roque Santa Cruz set for a month on the sidelines Roberto Mancini, the Manchester City manager, expects Roque Santa Cruz to be sidelined for a month with his latest calf injury. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Chicago Cubs likely to stay in Mesa The Mesa City Council is expected to approve an $84 million project for the Chicago Cubs on Monday to keep the team's spring home in Mesa. feeds.bizjournals.com |
South Africa sack entire selection panel • Procter says decision was shock to selectors• No rift between coach Arthur and captain SmithCricket South Africa has sacked the country's entire selection panel, a day after head coach Mickey Arthur resigned ahead of a tour to India. Mike Procter, convenor of the selectors, said that "a meeting held last week with CSA bosses did not go well"."Whatever transpired at that meeting led them to get rid of Mickey and also the selectors," Procter said. "[CSA chief executive] Gerald Majola called me up and told me that the selection panel was dysfunctional. It was a huge shock to us all."He said this selection panel would not be required in future ... I think we had too short a time in the business: as selectors we always gave our own thoughts, we never ended up voting on issues, we talked around issues, we enjoyed each others company and I think we were doing pretty well. The time we had was too short but we did introduce some new players."The former South Africa and Gloucestershire all-rounder disputed earlier reports that Arthur's departure was due to a clash with captain Graeme Smith – reports which also upset Smith."Yesterday was a tough day for me," said Smith, who sat next to Arthur at today's news conference, and at one stage rested his head on Arthur's shoulder."Mickey brought a lot of stability and calmness to the team and, having worked so closely together, it was disappointing, it hurt me, to hear the media telling everybody our relationship had broken down. I can tell you we spoke a few times on the telephone yesterday, so much for our relationship being irreparably damaged, we had a very healthy relationship and I gave him my full support."Other reports had suggested that the surprise resignation of Arthur, together with the dismissal of the selection panel, was linked to the contentious issue of quotas for more black players in the national team.Procter said that only CSA could answer the question of whether quotas and racial transformation of the team was the reason the selectors were fired.An interim selection committee, which will replace the one led by Procter, comprises Majola, high performance manager Corrie van Zyl, who has also been appointed as interim coach, and former captain Kepler Wessels.Craig Matthews, a member of the sacked selection panel, told Cricinfo: "We weren't given any reason for the decision [sacking]."All that was said was that the board felt the selection process was flawed and that they want to restructure it. It might be a transformation issue, but they didn't give us any reasons, all they said was that the process needs to be reworked. I have been part of South African cricket for many years, nothing really surprises me anymore."Arthur later blamed "differences" between himself and CSA for his departure."I've decided to resign as I feel it is of the best interests of me and the team. Differences have arisen between the board of Cricket South Africa and me and I don't believe I can take the team forward under the present circumstances."There comes a time when you have to move on and I know in my own mind that I've taken the right decision."South Africa cricket teamCricketguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |