Left field

The Reuters global sports blog

May 27, 2009 03:48 EDT

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Who will be the Angels and Demons in Rome?

The new Angels and Demons movie is based in Rome so it got us thinking who might end up being an angel or a demon after Wednesday's Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona.

Will one of the goalkeepers drop a clanger or will Cristiano Ronaldo belt one in again from 40 metres? It's a big pitch at the Stadio Olimpico, but I can see Lionel Messi running the length of it with the ball at his feet...

New thread on this here...

COMMENT

3-2 either way would be pretty cool, M.

Posted by Kevin Fylan | Report as abusive
May 26, 2009 12:37 EDT

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

United happy to be wearing white…just like 1991

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New thread on this here...

Manchester United's Red Devils will be wearing angelic white in Wednesday's Champions League final, just how Alex Ferguson likes it.

Barcelona are the nominal home team for the 'dream final' in Rome and as their famous claret and blue tops clash with United's usual red and their first choice blue away kit, the holders will wander onto the pristine Stadio Olimpico pitch in white.

COMMENT
May 25, 2009 13:13 EDT

Leinster lay unwanted reputation to rest

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“The naysayers have been silenced for good,” read the lead of the Irish Times sports pages this morning after Leinster finally turned unrivalled potential into serious silverware by edging twice-champions Leicester to the Heineken Cup on Saturday.

After the humiliating semi-final defeat to Munster in 2006, the embarrassingly tame last-four exit to Perpignan three years earlier and only a couple of Celtic League titles either side, a beaming Brian O’Driscoll understandably said he’d been waiting ten years for such a day.

Leinster had been simply aching to prove their critics wrong for just as long. After a decade of underachievement, it had been thoroughly etched into the public consciousness that the province had no backbone, no heart, no bottle. They were individuals, never a team.

Essentially they weren’t Munster. In a very definite urban-rural divide, Leinster were the fancy city boys — all style and no substance while the southerners were the antitheses and had two Heineken Cups to prove it.

COMMENT

Finally. Its about time they caught up with Ulster’s record in the competition, Munster on the other hand are still way out ahead. As soon as Rocky goes back down under expect the ladyboys to return

Posted by Patrice | Report as abusive
May 25, 2009 06:07 EDT

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

A Champions League final with no fear of failure… It could be a classic

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Major finals featuring the best teams and the best players, the ones we talk up in advance as being for the connoisseur, often turn out to be the most disappointing, don't they? Maybe it's stage fright, too much respect for the opposition or the stakes being just too high, but great teams often seem to save their worst football for finals.

There are exceptions, of course. The 2005 Champions League final between AC Milan and Liverpool produced exquisite football in the first half from the Italians, and drama that will live long in the minds of anyone who watched it as Liverpool came back.

But when you look back on other Champions League and World Cup finals, how many can you remember for the quality of the football more than the result itself?

There was little on show in last year's game between Manchester United and Chelsea so why are so many people expecting this year's contest between United and Barcelona to be so different?

COMMENT

Thanks for spotting that, Cash. I’ve changed it in the post above but with a note pointing down here. 2003 was a good year for Milan (though a pretty poor final as I recall…)

Posted by Kevin Fylan | Report as abusive
May 23, 2009 06:10 EDT

Monaco madness

You can charter Flavio Briatore’s Force Blue ‘yacht’ for $235,000 a week during the low season. For that, you get five decks, a gymnasium, Turkish steam bath, cinema and cabin space for 12 guests.

There’s also a mud bath and massage room.

Unfortunately it’s not available during Monaco Grand Prix week, but then life is full of disappointments.

May 22, 2009 07:08 EDT

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Wenger makes his point with customary elegance

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"Highly intelligent" and "Arsene Wenger" sit neatly together in countless newspaper columns outlining the exploits, achievements and travails of the cerebral Arsenal manager.

Consequently there was no elaborate deconstruction required following an interview with a French television channel at the club's training ground this week.

Wenger, who habitually brushes aside any question of his allegiance to the north London club, was asked his thoughts about yet another approach from Real Madrid if Florentino Perez returns as president.

May 22, 2009 06:02 EDT

Murray handed awkward French Open draw

French Open third seed Andy Murray has been given a really tough first round opponent in Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela.

Just a couple of years ago Chela would have been the favourite to win on Roland Garros’s clay.

Women’s top seed Dinara Safina has drawn Britain’s Anne Keothavong, who became the first British woman in 26 years to reach the semi-finals of a clay-court tournament in Warsaw this week.

The French Open starts on Sunday. Here’s a link to the full draw.

May 22, 2009 06:00 EDT

Daly brightens up Wentworth (and it’s not just down to the trousers)

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World number seven Paul Casey may be less than enamoured with John Daly’s dress sense but he remains a big fan of the colourful American’s golfing skills.

Twice major winner Daly is in the middle of a five-week run of tournaments in Europe and while his golf has been largely unspectacular, his multi-coloured trousers have certainly captured everyone’s attention.

“I saw John today and look at his trousers, they were outrageous,” Casey told reporters at the PGA Championship at Wentworth on Thursday. “I hope he’s getting a lot of money (for wearing them).

“But today I saw him hit this four-iron fantastically and he stopped it on the green and it was from about 230 yards. That was something. There are a lot of great players out here but John creates memories. When he’s out on the golf course he brings a smile to people’s faces and that’s the most important thing.”

May 22, 2009 05:23 EDT

World Games proves a tough sell for Taiwan

After the globe giggled at Athens in 2004 for letting swathes of Olympics seats go empty, organisers of the far more obscure 2009 World Games in equally obscure Taiwan are doing whatever it takes to pack the venues for such unlikely events as billiards and beach handball. Tug-of-war, anyone?

Whatever it takes, in this case, includes selling seats to China. World Games host city Mayor Chen Chu travelled there on Thursday for a four-day visit, intending to sell the 90 percent of events tickets that are unclaimed so far before the curtain goes up on July 16.

Chen is a leading figure in a Taiwan opposition party that wants formal independence for self-ruled Taiwan, which mighty Beijing claims as its own for historical reasons and has threatened to take by force.

But she’s also “realistic and pragmatic,” to quote Taiwan political scientist Andrew Yang. She knows Beijing can use its authoritarian rule to send hordes of travel-hungry Chinese tourists to the World Games, quickly quashing any Athens-style absenteeism.

COMMENT

Let’s get an update on that “tough sell,” shall we?

http://tinyurl.com/me7fpj
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Kaohsiung 60% booked

More than 60 percent of the hotel rooms that normally cater to foreign tourists in Kaohsiung City have been booked ahead of the World Games to be held in ­Kaohsiung City next month, a business source said yesterday. Lin Chun-liang (林俊良), CEO of the Kaohsiung Tourist Hotel Association, said the occupancy rates at eight local tourism hotels are averaging nearly 70 percent over the period from July 13 to July 29, which overlaps with the period when the Games will be held from July 16 to July 26. Meanwhile, the occupancy rate at other hotels in the city also hit approximately 60 percent, Lin said. To support the games, 29 hotels affiliated with the association are offering their rooms at a preferential rate of NT$2,000 per night on average, Lin said, adding that the association is keen to promote tourism in Kaohsiung as the World Games also falls during the peak season for domestic travel.
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Tim Maddog,
A Taiwan Matters blogger

May 21, 2009 08:21 EDT

Australia look good but Symonds omission could weigh

In an earlier post, Julian Linden argued that Australia’s cricketers have all the firepower needed to retain the Ashes in England despite some relatively new faces in the squad.

Here Ed Osmond takes a different view, wondering if the absence of Andrew Symonds and Australia’s lack of spin options may help the English.

England should be highly delighted by Australia’s decision to omit all-rounder Andrew Symonds from their Ashes squad.

COMMENT

I think the fact that Symonds isn’t in the squad will delight England. Bad mistake. I’m a bit worried about this Phil Hughes guy, though.

Posted by jamesy | Report as abusive
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