| Man who bought Green's jersey faces drug charges By 2010-09-16T23:02:13ZATLANTA (AP) -- The former player linked to the suspension of Georgia receiver A.J. Green faces a felony drug charge from an arrest during a traffic stop in Georgia last year.... hosted.ap.org |
Adrian Morley out of England team for Garry Purdham memorial game • Warrington prop forward sidelined with back injury• All 19 squad members to feature in WhitehavenEngland will be without the prop Adrian Morley because of injury but their coach, Steve McNamara, has included seven of his Warrington team-mates in a 19-man squad for Sunday's Garry Purdham Memorial Game against Cumbria at Whitehaven.Morley, who would have been a strong candidate to lead the side in the absence of Jamie Peacock, is continuing his rehabilitation from a minor back injury sustained in the closing stages of the domestic season.As well as Saturday's grand finalists, McNamara has not included any of the Huddersfield and Leeds players whose clubs were eliminated from the play-offs last weekend."We feel it's important that we go to Cumbria and put in a performance to be proud of and to do that you need quality preparation," said McNamara. "It wouldn't be fair to the Leeds and Huddersfield players to select them for a game they haven't had time to prepare for and it wouldn't be fair on the Cumbrians to host an England team that didn't do itself justice."I also have the players' welfare to consider and from a mental and physical perspective it would be extremely tough for those guys to lift themselves."The match will act as a warm-up for next month's Four Nations Series in Australia and New Zealand and provide useful match practice to players such as the Castleford centre Michael Shenton, who has not played for four weeks."It's an important game for lots of reasons and all the players are very keen to play," said McNamara. "A lot of these players haven't played for a while and the game time will be invaluable. The stakes are very high for everyone; we leave for the Four Nations next Friday and all the players know that places on the trip are still open."That's a big incentive for everyone involved. There is also the fact that we are representing England, which means everything to the players, and the desire to do what we can for Garry's family."McNamara will name his starting line-up tomorrow but will give run-outs to all 19 players at the Recreation Ground.England squadR Atkins (Warrington), T Briscoe (Hull), J Broughton (Salford), G Carvell (Warrington), T Clubb (Harlequins), P Fox (Hull KR), B Harrison (Warrington), M Higham (Warrington), J Langley (Bradford), A Lynch (Bradford), L McCarthy-Scarsbrook (Harlequins), S Murrell (Hull KR), R Myler (Warrington), C Riley (Warrington), N Scruton (Bradford), M Shenton (Castleford), P Sykes (Bradford), J Westerman (Castleford), B Westwood (Warrington).England rugby league teamRugby leagueguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Clint Bowyer's 150-point deduction upheld By JENNA FRYER 2010-10-05T20:30:48ZCONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR's chief appellate officer has upheld the 150-point deduction against Clint Bowyer while reducing part of the penalty against Richard Childress Racing.... hosted.ap.org |
Murray ready for end of season charge Andy Murray has a busy end to the season, with tournaments in Valencia, Paris and London – plus brother Jamie's weddingIn the afterglow of one of his finest wins – his eighth over Roger Federer in 13 matches, in straight sets to win the Shanghai Masters – Andy Murray is determined to "stay as humble as possible".It is an odd sentiment, perhaps, for someone so clearly brilliant in his calling but one consistent with a player and a human being whose core values are rooted in a Scottish upbringing big on respect and hard work.The most important message of the many he took immediately after he had thumped Federer 6-3, 6-2 in an hour and 25 minutes on Sunday night was from his grandmother, Shirley."My gran had broken her hip not long ago and she had surgery just before I came here two weeks ago," he said in the recently emptied press conference room of the Qizhong Tennis Center, an hour from the heart of this hectic metropolis."She had the surgery just towards the end of [the] Beijing [Masters, the previous week]. She was obviously happy because she sent me a message after the match and said, 'My hip feels a lot better now'. She's a bit worried because it's [brother] Jamie's wedding in 10 days, so I'm hoping she'll be up and about for that."This was Murray at his contented best – not dancing on the tables or wild-eyed with ill-considered boasts, just quietly proud of what he has achieved and hoping that the next month or so will be similarly fulfilling, on and off the court."I'm obviously chuffed to have won the tournament," he said, "but chuffed for that reason, too," he added, referring to his grandmother's health and his brother's upcoming nuptials. He was relieved, as well, he said, that Jamie will not be having any speeches, sparing him the ordeal of performing.As for his tennis, Murray said: "It's important for me to stay grounded because I've been very inconsistent this year. That's something I need to work on. This tournament was great but I want to try to finish the season as well as possible. The only way for me to do that is to work hard and go into every match thinking it's going to be incredibly difficult."It would not be Murray if he did not find a reason to lower his expectations. That said, his realism is warranted. Although Rafael Nadal, earlier in the week, and Federer, when it mattered in the final, were below par, the men's game is a dangerous place to be complacent at the moment.Novak Djokovic, so dominant in Beijing and earlier in the week in Shanghai, did not quite perform in the semi-finals against Federer, but his is a game of obvious threats in all parts of the court.Federer alluded to the evenness of the competition at the summit of the men's game. Still, the Swiss had not dropped a set in Shanghai until Murray broke him in the first game of the final and went on to take the first set comfortably.Murray faltered briefly in the second before capitalising on his opponent's glaring fall-off in spirit when a line call went against him in the fourth game. Federer's smash was called out, the decision overruled and the point replayed. He lost it – and the plot thereafter.Murray, meanwhile, is on the rise. He has the World Tour Finals to look forward to in London next month – alongside Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and four other players yet to qualify – and he could hardly be better placed, mentally or physically. "That was the best I moved, probably since Australia," he said of his court positioning. "When I move well, it makes such a big difference to my game."The Scot returned to London last night and will rest until Saturday before resuming his practice on the court, so he does not lose what he has worked hard to get back after a miserable patch of form recently. "I don't like spending a week or 10 days off the court," he said, "because I feel as if I am losing my rhythm. I want to keep hitting the ball like this."Then it is off to the Valencia Open to defend the tournament Murray won last year, beating Mikhail Youzhny in the final, and Paris for the final Masters 1000 tournament, before the O2 arena and what has become an exciting climax to the season.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 |
Dunga feels heat as the critics circle If Fabio Capello is feeling unfairly vilified at the moment, he should have been in Dunga’s shoes at Coca-Cola Park last night. timesonline.co.uk |