TOP 100 SPORT SITES
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| Auburn outlasts Northwestern in Outback Bowl TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Pat Fitzgerald reached into Northwestern's bag of tricks one more time, hoping to pull out the perfect play to give his team a dramatic victory over Auburn in the Outback Bowl.... hosted.ap.org |
Patrick Vieira confirms Manchester City move Patrick Vieira is expected to complete his move to Manchester City in the next 24 hours after confirming that he is leaving Inter Milan to join Roberto Mancini at Eastlands. feeds.timesonline.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 |
Ogilvy hopes Woods speaks publicly before returning Former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy is hoping Tiger Woods will speak in public away from the course before playing in a pro golf event. rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Ricardo Fuller heads off challenge from vulnerable Arsenal This is an FA Cup full of surprises - Manchester United, Liverpool and now Arsenal, all gone by the end of January - but the manner of this defeat was less of a shock. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |