| McNabb wins in Redskins debut, 13-7 over Cowboys By JOSEPH WHITE 2010-09-13T10:15:36ZLANDOVER, Md. (AP) -- Donovan McNabb put on a different uniform, and finally found a way to beat the Dallas Cowboys.... hosted.ap.org |
Michael Cox: Premier League chalkboards analysis This week we look at Cheick Tioté's debut performance, Liverpool's shooting, Ahmed Elmohamady's tackling and Manchester City's passing strategyChris Hughton gave full Premier League debuts to two new midfielders on Saturday – Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheick Tioté. Ben Arfa made the most obvious impact, with a stunning 30-yard drive that turned out to be the game's only goal, but Tioté also impressed in a more low-key role. Starting in place of Alan Smith, Tioté's calm, reliable distribution in the centre of the pitch allowed Newcastle to control the midfield. Indeed, they actually out-passed Everton on Saturday, recording 276 passes compared to the home side's 260. It may be a narrow margin but not many sides will achieve that at Goodison Park this season – not even Manchester United, who lost out 329-298 in that respect. Tioté was the key to this – completing all of his 43 passes. He also made two interceptions, completed all three of his attempted tackles, and his only shot was on target.Fernando Torres has caused Nemanja Vidic problems in recent years but, after a poor first-half display, the Spain striker instead started to make runs off the back of Jonny Evans and John O'Shea. Clumsy tackles from those two resulted in first a penalty then a free-kick – both of which were converted by Steven Gerrard. These goals were the only occasions Liverpool managed shots on target – from open play, Edwin van der Sar didn't have a single save to make.There has been little fanfare about Sunderland's signing of Ahmed Elmohamady but they have secured the services of one of Africa's most promising young players. Elmohamady can play anywhere down the right flank, and on Saturday against Arsenal was deployed in an advanced right-wing role, up against Gaël Clichy. The Egyptian international showed tremendous aerial ability throughout the game, giving Clichy a torrid time in the air. Elmohamady won 23 of the 29 challenges he contested (in the air and on the ground) – the majority of them against Clichy, who won just five of the 15 he contested. And it was Elmohamady's aerial dominance that created Darren Bent's goal – he headed a long ball into the area over the Arsenal defence and, via a poor Clichy clearance, Bent smashed home.Roberto Mancini's default formation seems to be a 4-5-1 shape that uses three defensive-minded central midfielders (Yaya Touré, Nigel de Jong and Gareth Barry), two wingers who like to come inside (two of David Silva, James Milner and Adam Johnson) and a small forward who drops deep into midfield (Carles Tevez). The result of this is a patient passing approach that rarely sees the ball played forward into the final third. City didn't once cross the ball from a position level with the Wigan penalty area, and rarely looked to play through-balls down the centre of the pitch either. The result of their defensive-minded, controlled approach was that they only recorded three shots on target – but, equally, Joe Hart didn't have a shot to save.Now visit our interactive chalkboards page for guidelines on how to make your ownMichael Cox is editor of zonalmarking.net. You can also follow zonalmarking on TwitterChalkboardsPremier LeagueMichael Coxguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Dish Network drops Fox Sports Ohio Satellite TV operator Dish Network has dropped Fox Sports Ohio as of Sept. 30, after the two companies were unable to reach an agreement, Fox Sports said. feeds.bizjournals.com |
NHL teams get the superhero treatment from master Stan Lee Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee and the NHL are collaborating on The Guardian Project, creating a superhero for each of the league's 30 teams ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Keothavong reaches Luxembourg semi • British No2 defeats world No66 Iveta Benesova in last eight• Roberta Vinci or Kirsten Flipkens awaits in the semi-finalsAnne Keothavong continued her superb run of form to reach the semi-finals at the Luxembourg Open with a 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 6-4 victory over Iveta Benesova.The British No2 has struggled to recapture her best form since returning from a long spell out with a knee injury early this season and even hinted at one stage she was considering her future in the game.Keothavong is ranked 143rd in the world, well adrift of her best of 48 set last February, but she has grabbed her chance with both hands this week and will now make a significant leap back towards the top 100.The 27-year-old, who has never reached a WTA Tour final, beat the world No43 Patty Schnyder yesterday and today followed that up with a gritty win over the Czech Republic player Benesova, ranked 66th.Keothavong converted only two of 12 break-point chances in the first set, which she eventually lost on a tie-break, but she kept plugging away and finally wrapped up victory after two hours and 41 minutes.The Londoner will play either Italy's Roberta Vinci or the Belgian Kirsten Flipkens in the last four tomorrow.Anne KeothavongTennisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |