| Jets owner apologizes to female TV reporter for treatment at practice New York Jets owner Woody Johnson told USA TODAY Monday he offered his "apology" to a female TV reporter whose treatment Saturday at Jets practice ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Richard Williams: Herne Hill revival would be perfect The children who use the last remaining active venue from the London Olympics are the Harrises and Wigginses of the futureLook at that drain, Simon Inglis said, and pointed to a cast-iron pipe running down the side of a dilapidated grandstand. It's a relic, he explained, from the 1948 Olympic Games.We were at Herne Hill, the open-air velodrome in south London. It was the first week of April this year, the rain had been inundating the shallow bankings of the 120-year-old concrete bowl since late morning, and the annual Good Friday track meeting was about to be cancelled.Inglis, who occupies an important place in the nation's life as the historian of its sporting architecture, is compiling a book about London's various arenas and was there to research his entry on Herne Hill, the last remaining active venue from the 1948 Games. I was there to watch some bike racing. He had better luck, coming away with photographs of the historic drainpipe still doing its job. I ate a water-logged cheeseburger and went home to watch a DVD of Fausto Coppi's greatest races.Now it seems as though the days of Herne Hill's historic Good Friday festival are numbered. Last week it was announced that the event, which dates back to 1903, will be held from next year at Manchester's velodrome, the home of British Cycling's all‑conquering track team. Three consecutive years of bad weather, culminating in the total loss of the 2010 meeting, proved too much for the organiser. His patience had already been worn away by the reluctance of the Dulwich Estate, the owner of the freehold, to grant a lease long enough to make it worthwhile to undertake the necessary refurbishment of the grandstand, which is closed for safety reasons, and the 450‑metre track itself.But it was here that Reg Harris won the silver medal in the 1,000m sprint at the 1948 Games. Ten years later Coppi attracted a crowd of 12,000 on his only appearance in Britain. It is also the place where the young Bradley Wiggins, destined to become a triple Olympic champion, cut his teeth as a competitor, and among the 500 local children who still use the track on Saturday mornings, under the supervision of the VĂ©lo Club de Londres, are the Harrises and Wigginses of the future.Few of them mind that it no longer meets the Olympic specification, which calls for a high-banked 250m indoor track. Like Edinburgh's Meadowbank velodrome, a similarly timeworn track saved from immediate closure a couple of years ago after a campaign fronted by Sir Chris Hoy, this is the kind of place that can still inspire the next generation of champions.A campaign to save Herne Hill is being run by local people who recognise that they have a potentially superb amenity in their midst. They may have lost the Good Friday meeting, at least for now, but their long-term vision is a broader one. "It's not just about keeping the place open," Hillary Peachey, one of the organisers, told me yesterday. "We're looking at the longer-term prospects of redeveloping the site to create a velo park, with a cafĂ©, a BMX track and other facilities."Peachey, whose two young children use the track at weekends, speaks of acquiring charitable status, getting local schools involved, pitching for Lottery funding and drawing up the sort of plans that would persuade the Dulwich Estate to give them a 25-year lease. "Here's an opportunity to encourage kids to get healthier," she said. "It's a perfect example of what David Cameron's Big Society is supposed to be about."The relevant website is www.savethevelodrome.com and there will be a public meeting at the nearby Dulwich College on 6 October. They hope to get Wiggins along, or at least to receive his endorsement. And the opposing argument that a gleaming new Olympic-spec velodrome will be ready for general use on the north side of London after 2012 won't wash in a city with a population of 7.5 million, an ever increasing number of whom are taking to two wheels. The Olympic legacy is not supposed to be a zero-sum game and the Austerity Games of 1948 deserve their legacy, too.CyclingBradley WigginsChris HoyRichard Williamsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Rollins' grand slam helps Phillies roll past playoff-hopeful Braves Jimmy Rollins' grand slam capped a five-run sixth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies beat Atlanta 11-5 on Friday night to keep Bobby Cox and ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Davydenko sets sights on Shanghai win • Russian back to defend his title after a troubled season• Injured wrist ruined his chances of a World Finals placeNikolay Davydenko's English lends itself to chuckles and he acknowledges his season has dwindled away to irrelevance – but Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer know the erratic Russian will be one dangerous joker in the Shanghai Masters this week.He beat Nadal to win this trophy last year – and went on to beat the Spaniard and Federer in the World Tour Finals in London, as well as in Doha at the start of 2010, completing a rare double over the two best players of his era. David Nalbandian is the only other player to manage that feat in two separate official tournaments.Davydenko's season, though, has veered between promise and serial disappointment and, although holding on to sixth place in the ATP world rankings, three months out with an injured wrist spiked not only his chances in the major tournaments but any hope of returning to the O2 next month.He had his Chinese audience amused and bemused when he admitted in broken English fractured into further shards, no doubt, en route to Mandarin: "I know I will not qualify for London this year [so] just enjoying now my last couple tournaments what I play this year and take rest before early, just practising, preparation for the next season in December."If that translates roughly as don't put your rickshaw on my winning here, it would be as well not to take Davydenko seriously; he will be dead keen to resurrect something from the ashes of a wretched summer.He expressed mild surprise that Federer, who has not played since losing to Novak Djokovic at the US Open, had not arrived early to practice for a tournament he has played nine times.The Swiss will need no incentive beyond pride, though, to get his game back to working order when he does arrive tomorrow. He is burning to reclaim his No1 position and a fifth victory here would convince him it is not an unreasonable ambition.Nadal, who beat GaĂ«l Monfils to win in Tokyo today and is on the crest of a surreal wave of form, is another late arrival, along with Andy Murray.The tournament organisers plan to showcase the top four – Federer, Nadal, Murray and Djokovic – on what they are billing as Super Wednesday. Davydenko does not figure in those plans and instead will be the warm-up act on Tuesday – probably against the Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky. While Davydenko has reached the quarter-finals only three times in 12 tournaments since the Australian Open in January, a semi-final here against Nadal is not a laughable proposition.TennisRafael NadalRoger FedererKevin Mitchellguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Report: Favre admits leaving voicemails By 2010-10-24T17:35:48ZNEW YORK (AP) -- Brett Favre reportedly has admitted leaving voicemails for the former New York Jets game hostess to whom a website says he also sent lewd photos.... hosted.ap.org |