Claudio Ranieri described Leicester’s prospects of winning the Champions League as ‘impossible’ but their travelling fans were of a different opinionOne down, 12 matches to go. “Impossible,” says Claudio Ranieri and the Leicester City manager may well be right when he rules out the prospect of the English champions being crowned kings of Europe, but the first step on a long road to the final was taken with the minimum of fuss on a balmy evening in Belgium.The phrase ‘dream start’ barely does it justice as Leicester’s inaugural Champions League match turned into a belated extension of their title celebrations, with Ranieri’s players cantering to a victory that was every bit as comfortable as the scoreline suggests. “Don’t take me...
Davis Love III stressed team chemistry when naming his first three USA wildcards and Bubba Watson is a lone wolf but he should be considered for the fourth spot at HazeltineIf you pay attention to subliminal messages, things don’t look good for Bubba Watson in a Ryder Cup context. Not only was the two-times Masters champion surprisingly omitted from Davis Love III’s first three wildcard picks for the United States team, there wasn’t much from the captain to suggest Watson will get the nod when it comes to the fourth.Love didn’t name Watson at all when setting out his plans for Rickie Fowler, JB Holmes and Matt Kuchar at Hazeltine. He completely played down the notion that big hitting will...
Barcelona and Bayern have already flexed their muscles and the chances of the leading lights not reaching the lucrative knockout stages are negligible, which is just as Uefa desiresIt is not exactly news that the Champions League group stage has become dull and predictable – chances are you might have heard the complaint before – but it is coming to something when the greatest spectacle as well as the only genuine surprise of the first match day were both provided by the weather in Manchester.The biggest clubs have long had it far too easy in the first phase. The competition is more or less drawn up to guarantee them safe passage to the post-Christmas knockout stage and Barcelona and Bayern...
In a sport where patriotisim makes up the fabric of the game, Adam Jones is right to be concerned. Plus, three cheers for Yasiel Puig, Big Papi prepares to bow out, and Joe Maddon rides the CowboyAdam Jones works in a city that continues to experience racial upheaval, so perhaps it’s no coincidence that baseball’s most outspoken player on African American social issues calls Baltimore home. Baseball is the sport that helped break barriers for black people across the United States, starting with Jackie Robinson’s debut in 1947. Nearly 70 years later, the participation of African Americans in the game, on the field as players, in the dugout as managers and in front offices as executives – where progress was...
So Mi Dar (3.20) can beat Arabian Queen in a midweek clash at Yarmouth worthy of any big-race weekend cardPlenty of top-class horses have raced at Yarmouth at the outset of their careers, but it is only very rarely that the track tempts any runners to the Norfolk coast once their rating is 110-plus, never mind two in the same race. Related: Horse racing tips: Wednesday 14 September Continue reading...