| Peacock fumes at 'cowardly' Wigan pair • England captain angry at treatment of Danny McGuire• Thomas Leulaui attempts to apologise to no availJamie Peacock has exposed the bitter resentment simmering beneath the surface of the build-up to the Super League semi-final between Leeds and Wigan next Saturday by accusing two of the Warriors' players of cowardice.The England captain, who has been ruled out of the play-off series with ruptured knee ligaments, was as incensed as his Rhinos team-mates when Mark Riddell and Thomas Leuluai verbally abused the Rhinos stand-off Danny McGuire as he lay on the ground in the last minute of Leeds' dramatic 27-26 win in the first round of the play-offs eight days ago.The Wigan players were furious because they believed McGuire had pulled back their centre George Carmont to deny him a try-scoring opportunity and they were unaware that he had suffered a similar injury to Peacock's, one that is likely to rule him out for at least six months.Leuluai's subsequent visit to the Leeds dressing room to offer an apology does not seem to have appeased anyone in the champions' camp."For me, the most important thing from all of that was Mark Riddell and Thomas Leuluai standing over Danny while he was lying on the ground calling him a cheat," Peacock told the Yorkshire Post. "It has gone unmentioned so far but it was one of the softest things I've ever seen on a rugby field. It doesn't get any more cowardly and there's no place for that in our sport."Their actions prevented Danny getting treatment for a while and if we're talking about unsportsmanlike behaviour, that's probably the worst of any. I'm sure our lads will remember it going into Saturday's game. When someone's lying there with an injury like that, it's harsh and uncalled for."The Rugby Football League is investigating the behaviour of Hull KR supporters in Rovers' play-off defeat at Wigan last Friday, after the Wigan players were driven out of the in-goal area as they waited for a Rovers goal kick because of the danger of being hit by a missile.Three Hull KR players have been included in the latest batch of additions to an England training squad for this autumn's Four Nations series. The uncapped stand-off Scott Murrell and Liam Watts, a 20-year-old prop, are joined by the wing Peter Fox, but there is no place for the full-back Shaun Briscoe, despite his solid performances in last year's Four Nations competition.Eight players have been added from Warrington, the other club whose season ended with play-off defeat at the weekend, including the uncapped wing Chris Riley and forward Ben Harrison. Richie Myler has also been selected by the England coach, Steve McNamara, despite being overlooked by Warrington's Tony Smith in recent weeks.Leeds RhinosWigan WarriorsSuper LeagueRugby leagueAndy Wilsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Jimmie Johnson jumps back into points hunt with Dover win Any aspiring successors to NASCAR's throne got a less-than-subtle reminder Sunday in round two of the postseason Chase. The message came courtesy ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Sachin Tendulkar reaches 14,000 Test runs landmark as India fight back • 'Little master' notches another milestone in Bangalore• Marcus North century puts Australia in strong positionSachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to pass 14,000 Test runs as India fought to gain a foothold on day two of the second Test against Australia in Bangalore.Tendulkar reached the landmark with a cut off the bowling of Nathan Hauritz, bringing spectators and team-mates to their feet at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.The 37-year-old, playing in his 171st Test, finished the day unbeaten on 44 as the home side recovered from 38 for two to reach 128 without further loss at stumps in reply to the tourists' total of 478, to which Marcus North contributed 128.Virender Sehwag got the home side off to a bright start in their reply with 30 off 27 balls before he was caught by Mitchell Johnson at deep square leg off the bowling of Ben Hilfenhaus.Johnson then took Rahul Dravid's wicket for one, caught by North at third slip, which brought Tendulkar out to the middle, where he and Murali Vijay set about rebuilding India's innings.Earlier North, under pressure to retain his place in the Australian line-up for the Ashes, had compiled a fine century which featured 17 fours and a six.Alongside half-centuries from the captain Ricky Ponting (77) and Tim Paine (59), it put Australia in a strong position to square the two-Test series after suffering defeat in the opening match in Mohali.Harbhajan Singh was India's most effective bowler as he dismissed North and then wrapped up the Australian innings when Peter George was stumped by Mahendra Singh Dhoni off his bowling, leaving him with figures of four for 148.Australia resumed this morning on 285 for five and reached lunch 99 runs further on without losing a wicket.North progressed to his century in the afternoon session before Paine was stumped by India skipper Dhoni off Pragyan Ojha after a partnership of 149 and with the score on 405.Ojha struck again to trap Johnson lbw for a seven-ball duck before Harbhajan finally dismissed North as he holed out to Shanthakumaran Sreesanth at deep midwicket.Hauritz added 17 before he was unluckily run out by a direct hit from Cheteshwar Pujara after the batsman lost his bat as he attempted to slide it into the crease, before George's exit at the hands of Harbhajan left Hilfenhaus stranded on 16.Sachin TendulkarIndia Cricket TeamAustralia cricket teamCricketguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Murray to face Federer in Shanghai final • World No4 beats Juan Mónaco 6-4, 6-1 in semi-finals• Scot 'really enjoys' playing Federer, who saw off DjokovicHe walked in reading his mobile phone, and walked out reading his mobile phone. It is fair to say Andy Murray is feeling pretty relaxed about playing Roger Federer in the final of the Shanghai Masterstomorrow.Novak Djokovic, who lost the other semi-final and his No2 ranking to Federer, might have appeared the marginally softer option, but not to Murray.Not long after the Scot had thrashed his old friend Juan Mónaco 6-4, 6-1 in front of a buzzing audience in the splendid 15,000-seater showpiece stadium of the Qizhong Centre today, Murray explained why he is relishing another showdown with Federer.He'd played him in two Grand Slam finals, he said, and, although he lost both times, he had finally come to realise he needed to be more aggressive against Federer and Rafael Nadal. He subsequently beat both of them in the same tournament with that attitude and strategy in the Masters 1000 tournament in Toronto this summer.After two years in the top five, most of that time at No4 with two brief spells at No2, Murray feels comfortable among the game's elite and is by some way Britain's most consistently successful player in the modern era. The way he is playing, after a slump and a virus, he expects his best tennis to come when he plays the best players."I really enjoy playing Roger," Murray said, not a sentiment that would spring to mind among many of his contemporaries. "It's a great experience every time you get to play against him."Still, he didn't half mind playing Mónaco, whom he has known since they were teenage prodigies together in Spain. They went into the semi-final – Mónaco's first at this level, Murray's fifth of the year – 1-1 in career matches, but parity was parked at the door this time.From the moment he took the first game to love until he aced Mónaco with the final shot of the match 85 minutes later, Murray controlled nearly every passage of an entertaining if ultimately one-sided contest.Mónaco, who had seen off Nadal's conqueror, Jürgen Melzer, in a fascinating quarter-final, had little left. The match turned on one remarkable rally in the first set. Mónaco was serving at 4-5 and had Murray pinned way behind the baseline, but the Scot, with a busted string, retrieved three smashes and could hardly believe it when the Argentinian belted the last one long.That single exchange devastated Mónaco. "What happened?" he said, in answer to the obvious. "On the other side of the net was Andy Murray. I lost focus and he made an unbelievable point – with a broken string. I had five [actually three] smashes and I couldn't finish the point. He broke, and won the set."At the beginning of the second set, my legs started feeling very tired, so I had very few chances after that and didn't take any of them. Andy played very well today."Certainly Murray should push Federer more vigorously than did Djokovic today. Federer won 7-5, 6-4, despite dropping serve in the second set. He is on the rise again.Andy MurrayTennisKevin Mitchellguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
10 questions to ponder as the NBA season prepares to tip off From the anticipation of the Big 3 with the Miami Heat to the emergence of Kevin Durant as a full-fledged superstar, the 2010-11 NBA season tips ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |