| New NCAA head may beef up enforcement staff The incoming president of the NCAA intends to keep putting the squeeze on rules-breakers. rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Saracens 24-17 Northampton Saracens 24-17 NorthamptonNorthampton may yet emerge as the English club with most to offer when the Heineken Cup starts next month but the Saints marched straight into a cul-de-sac in Watford today. Saracens were the only Premiership side to win at Franklin's Gardens last season and they got right under the Midlands side's skin again here, curtailing the visitors' unbeaten record with a highly effective display of no-frills, wet-weather rugby.When the ball is dry and they are on the front foot Northampton are a growing force but on a cold and damp afternoon Sarries reacted significantly better to the first hint of winter. In Derick Hougaard they had the surest of executioners, the sure-footed South African fly-half kicking seven penalties and a drop goal to profit from the referee Dave Pearson's impatience and reward the home pack's sterling efforts.Given that Pearson caused the kick-off to be put back by five minutes, after being delayed on the motorway, it might have suited Northampton better had he never arrived. Jim Mallinder, the Saints' director of rugby, called the 44-year-old official's performance "disappointing" and claimed that neither of the costly yellow cards shown to Calum Clark and Shane Geraghty should have been awarded."I thought Calum Clark just came through and tackled their scrum-half legally," he said. "Geraghty tried to roll away having made a tackle and there wasn't anything cynical about it. It was a penalty at best."The dismay on the Saints' bench was such that Mallinder's assistant, Dorian West, tried to remonstrate with Pearson at half-time, by which time the game had slipped out of Northampton's control. The Saracens director of rugby, Brendan Venter, saw things very differently, going out of his way to praise last year's Premiership final referee as one of the best around."If you analyse his performance properly you will see he is right with 90% of his decisions," Venter said. "He's refereeing the directives that have been given to him."The truth, as ever, will be picked over on tape this week but Northampton, ultimately, will realise they fell below the standards to which they now aspire. For the first 20 minutes everything seemed fine: Geraghty's tactical kicking was posing problems for the Saracens full-back, Nils Mordt, and the home scrum was creaking like an old door. Venter reckoned his team's initial tactical mindset was not quite right, having trained all week in the dry, but they re-adjusted cleverly, helped by the arrival of Petrus du Plessis and Schalk Brits at the interval. Even the powerful prop Soane Tonga'uiha, who caused a fuss last season by opting to stay at Franklin's Gardens after negotiating a move to Sarries, had no answer."It's one of the strengths of our team that our bench is strong," said Venter. He also delivered his weekly sermon of praise for the erstwhile England captain Steve Borthwick, who looks fit and motivated after his relegation from Martin Johnson's 32-man elite squad. The telescopic arm which reached back to snuff out a promising move initiated by Ben Foden as Northampton started to mount a second-half comeback was typical of his influence and Venter remains suitably grateful. "I can't tell you how valuable it is having Steve Borthwick fit and healthy and playing for us again," he said.It was Hougaard's boot which had the most telling impact, hoisting the home side up to fourth in the table and giving the injured Alex Goode food for thought. The former Springbok delivers some of the most teasingly high restarts in the game and he gave a flawless display off the tee, punishing offences both real and imaginary. Saints had been all but chewed up and spat out by the time they launched a late comeback, Paul Diggin diving over with just 47 seconds of normal time remaining to rescue a bonus point.It was a far cry from the grandeur of their ruthless home thrashing of Bath and Geraghty, among others, had a distinctly mixed game. Mallinder is not about to panic – "We're a good side, we're not going to get too down about it" – but a modest crowd for the big game of the weekend was another worrying sign for the Premiership as a whole. "Crowds are definitely not good," said the Saracens chairman, Nigel Wray. For as long as his club continue to play in crumbling, passion-killing surroundings they will struggle to woo floating voters, regardless of the weather.Saracens Mordt (M Tagicakibau, h-t); Strettle, Ratuvou, Barritt, Wyles; Hougaard, De Kock (Wigglesworth, 51); Carstens (Parr, 75), Reynecke (Brits, h-t), Nieto (Du Plessis, 51), Borthwick (capt), Botha (Smith, 65), Brown, Burger, Joubert.Pens Hougaard 7 Drop goal Hougaard.Northampton Foden; Diggin, Ansbro (Clarke, 73), Downey, Reihana; Geraghty (Myler, 68), Dickson; Tonga'uiha, Hartley (capt), Mujati, Sorenson (Wilson, 62), Day, Clark, Wood (Easter, 72), Dowson.Try Diggin Pens Geraghty 4.Sin-bin Clark 30, Geraghty 58.Referee D Pearson (Northumberland). Attendance 8,567.PremiershipSaracensNorthamptonRugby unionRobert Kitsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Ryder Cup live: USA leads 6-4, but Europe surging Day 2 of the 38th Ryder Cup matches begins in Newport, Wales, and there is a long day of golf ahead. Because of a more than seven-hour rain delay ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Maui Invitational announces loaded field for 2011, expands to mainland The 2011 EA Sports Maui Invitational will have its usual impressive field and four more teams. Next year's tournament will feature defending ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Giants pip Phillies to reach World Series • 3-2 win in Game Six gives Giants the NL championship• Giants-Texas Rangers Fall Classic starts WednesdayThe San Francisco Giants reached the World Series by beating the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 in a nailbiting Game Six last night to clinch the National League championship series and set up an underdogs' Fall Classic.The Giants took charge on an eighth-inning homer from Juan Uribe and survived a nervous ninth as the closer Brian Wilson walked two batters before striking out the slugger Ryan Howard to end it.The victory settled the best-of-seven series 4-2 in the Giants' favour and set up an improbable World Series against the American League champions, Texas Rangers, starting in San Francisco on Wednesday.The Giants ended the two-year run of the Phillies as National League champions while the Rangers knocked out last year's World Series winners, the New York Yankees, in taking the American League championship."That was epic. What a battle," Wilson said as a stunned crowd at Citizens Bank Park watched the Giants celebrate in the middle of the diamond. "I hope the fans back home are going absolutely ballistic."The outfielder Cody Ross, added late in the season on waivers from the Florida Marlins, was named MVP of the series after hitting three homers and batting .350 for the Giants.For San Francisco, it will be a first trip to the World Series since 2002, and they will be seeking their first title since 1954, when they were the New York Giants.Texas will make their Fall Classic debut in their 50th year as a franchise, born in 1961 as the Washington Senators.The Phillies jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of their do-or-die game on an RBI-double by Chase Utley and a sacrifice fly to left from Jayson Werth off San Francisco starter Jonathan Sanchez.San Francisco countered with two runs in the top of the third inning off the Phillies starter Roy Oswalt. The first run was scored on a single to centre by Aubrey Huff with the second tally crossing the plate on a throwing error by the second baseman, Placido Polanco.Tensions ran high in the bottom of the third when Sanchez hit Utley in the back with a pitch.Utley and Sanchez exchanged words and looked headed for a confrontation. Players from both benches rushed on to the field before order was restored.The Giants' manager, Bruce Bochy, replaced the agitated Sanchez with Jeremy Affeldt and used five pitchers, including the starters Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum, for seven shutout innings of relief to make Uribe's opposite field shot the game-winner.US sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |