Vitali Klitschko vs Adamek-Fight Analysis

Vitali won this fight by dictating the fight with his jab,end of story.Adamek fought bravely but was simply too small to pose any serious threat to the 40 year old legend, who is looking unbeatable at this stage of his career.Adamek showed encouraging signs in the fifth round but Vitali was able to weather this brief storm and come back with some telling jabs which left Adamek with nowhere to run.Unlike David Haye vs Wladimir Klitschko,this was a proper fight.Both fighters brought their best punches to the table and eventually the tall ukranian came out on top in the tenth round.

By the end of the fight,Adamek was a bloody mess after three resounding shpts hit home leaving the challenger dazed,bewildered and ultimately besaten.A good fight,very entertaining,now we look forward to Ortiz vs Mayweather on the 17th!

BOXING Tyson Fury vs Dereck Chisora : Channel 5 Does the Business

Yesterday the British public were treated to a boxing highlight, when the eagerly anticipated Fury vs Chisora fight was aired on channel 5 and I am happy to say it did not disappoint. Both fighters showed great spirit and contributed to a spectacular night at Wembley Arena. Eventually the reach advantage and superior stamina of Fury proved too much for Chisora who fought his corner but failed to offer enough punches to justify a win on points.

On several occasions Chisora landed telling left hands and few will forget his spirited barrage of blows in the tenth round, where he 'went for broke' and looked to land a killer knock-out blow with a barbaric flurry of hooks and overhand punches. Tyson Fury fought a good, if not technically sound fight,using the jab effectively and switching to southpaw stance where necessary to unsettle his shorter opponent. The reach advantage of 8 inches enjoyed by Fury allowed him to pick his shots and wait for his foe to try and attack him from inside. Fury is now talking about the Klitschko brothers but I think he has to have a few more high profile fights before facing the kings of this division, Chisora is far from finished and has much to offer still,he may look to come into his next fight in better condition than he did last night. We will see more of the new British Champion, he has  a positive outlook,an ideal  stature for a heavyweight and a charm which will keep fans interested if not in awe of his anecdotes and self promotion. I hate to admit it but I am a Fury fan after the events of last night and I hope people in the UK will get behind him. With a few more fights,more work in the gym and some good advice from experienced trainers and management Fury could do very well to say the least,he was the raw ingredients required to go far in a relatively weak division. The 'showboating' and posturing will have to stop but the solid chin he showed ought to stand up against a host of the leading lights at this weight class. I have to also mention the robust chin of Chisora who took some lusty blows but never really looked like hitting the canvas.

The Channel 5 coverage was 'amateurish' to say the least,the build up was lame and spent more time selling the Khan v Judah fight on pay per view than giving viewers a background to the featured fight but overall how could I complain? British boxing back on the box and a great night of entertainment for any sporting fan.Well done Tyson,well done channel 5.

Brett Favre Quote

'Just, you never know what the next day is going to bring. That goes for football,that goes for off the field and I gave up a long time ago trying to predict the future and trying to deal with things I couldn't deal with.'







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Should Football Teams Hang on to 'Wantaway' Players

A number of Premiership Clubs have had to deal with 'wantaway' stars over the years. Recently we have heard stories about Tevez, Modric,Nasri and Fabregas apparently wishing to leave their respective clubs. Clubs have to consider three things when deciding whether they should let a player go:

1) How long does the player have to run on their contract?
2) Is the player pivotal to future success?
3) Can the player be replaced for a reasonable price?

The first question is relevant as it could affect the financial situation at the club. If a player has less than a year to run on their contract, a Chairman would be stupid not to accept a good offer for the player. Waiting twelve months would allow the player to leave for free on the Bosman ruling,an event that would leave the club with no funds for a player they could have offloaded for a handsome fee twelve months earlier. The second question is clearly valid and the third question is probably the most important factor.

In the case of Samir Nasri Arsenal would be mad not to sell. £25million has been touted as an achievable price, a huge fee for a player who can be replaced and only has 12months to run on his contract. The Carlos Tevez saga is obvious too. Manchester City should offload him for offers over or equal to £35million. The reasoning is clear, Tevez is a great player but they have infinite funds to replace him. Why keep such a troublesome player, he is hugely talented and was their best player last season, but break the bank to buy Kaka, Sneijder or even Benzema and he would barely be missed. Tevez has moaned about Manchester weather, the food, everything, he is hardly likely to give his all to the Manchester City cause with this attitude.

Luka Modric must be made to stay at White Hart Lane. Modric was Tottenham's best player last year, Sir Alex Ferguson said he was possibly the best player in the League last year. The Croatian would be near impossible to replace with the budget at Harry Redknapp's disposal. Levy is justified in saying he would allow Modric to,'rot in the stands' if he chooses not to give his best for Spurs in light of his desire to move.

Cesc Fabregas must be sold. It is not good to have a player as club captain who has voiced his desire to leave for over a year! Barcelona are offering top dollar and with Real Madrid showing interest,Arsenal should realise upwards of £35million for the talented Spaniard.

Overall Football teams should realise that they are in control when a player is under contract to them. No player is bigger than any club to quote a cliché, a cliché that should ring loud around Stadiums across England and the world.

Floyd Mayweather Quote

'To be honest with you, I normally beat guys with my C game and I don't normally have to bring my A or B game out.'

Golf: The Open Championship Contenders 2011

The Open at Royal St.George's kicks off next week and the stage is set for someone to seize the claret jug and cement their name in golfing history. I believe Lee Westwood is well placed to break his Major winning duck. The level headed Englishman is a majestic iron player and has the experience to finally land one of golf's big 4 titles. A sizzling 65 in the first round at The Scottish Open shows he is in the mood to go well in golf's oldest major.The winner is likely to be someone with a reputation for straight driving and impressive greens in regulation statistics. The importance of long, straight driving is emphasised more than usual by the quirky layout of the course.

Luke Donald is an obvious contender,with his long game precision, as is USPGA champion, Martin Kaymer. Rory Mcilroy is the favourite and is priced as short as 5/1 chance with the bookmakers. The 2011 US Open victory along with 3 strong rounds at Augusta illustrate that he is a threat, I just wonder whether the newly formed pressure of last month's performance will hinder his concentration and mental approach.

2010 US Open Champion Graeme Mcdowell has the ability to beat strong winds with low trajectory shot-making where necessary and a stunning 2nd round at The Scottish Open show that he is finding the groove at just the right time.

Charl Schwartzel will still be enjoying the confidence boost of his Masters win and has the length,shot shaping ability and accuracy off the tee to be a contender.

When considering outside shots for the Championship, Bubba Watson springs to mind. If the big American can avoid hitting too many errant tee shots, he can overpower this course if he gets things going on the greens.  Matteo Mannasero and Anthony Kim will win majors one day. These two young stars have the power and accuracy to make them a threat at any tournament.

Padraig Harrington must be considered with his 3 major wins and who would write off Ernie Els? The experience, swing consistency and wind control shot-making of the South African could surprise many by going close next week.

Royal St. Georges has a habit of producing surprise winners. Could Phil Mickelson finally capture a British Open crown? I would be surprised if the big hitting left hander lifts the Claret Jug next Sunday but with his Major winning pedigree and amazing short game, who knows?

Ricky Hatton in a Nutshell

Ricky's never been interested in the business side of things,...All Richard is interested in is boxing. Even when I could get him to come along to meetings he'd sit there and text his mates the whole time and wouldn't pay a bit of attention.  After some meetings I've turned to him and said,'Do you want to know what that means?' and he's just said, 'No, you deal with that Dad,I just want to fight.

Football Transfer Talk- Could Wesley Sneijder be the final link in the Manchester United chain?

The transfer market is going crazy and certain prospective deals are arousing much interest. The Manchester United, Wesley Sneijder connection is a particularly appetising prospect. Despite the Red Devil's success last season I have always felt that they have lacked a touch of mesmerising flair at times. Cristiano Ronaldo's trickery has been missed but Sneijder is undoubtedly the man to fill his shoes and take the fight to Barcelona in Europe. A key man in the Holland and Inter Milan sides, Sneijder is intelligent, skilful and experienced. I could see the Dutch maestro linking up well with Rooney, Hernandez or Berbatov to devastating effect. With Paul Scholes gone, United need to replace the Old Trafford Hall of Famer's passing skills and experience. If Sneijder joins the Premier League Champions, Chelsea will have to capture Samir Nasri or another creative midfielder to keep pace with developments at Old Trafford.

The Stewart Downing connection to Liverpool is not surprising. Liverpool have a habit of acquiring good players that do not live up to the great heritage of the club. Liverpool are a huge club and I find it peculiar that they keep buying good players,rather than the great players they should be attracting. Suarez,Carroll and Henderson are class acts no doubt but why have they been joined by the likes of Jovanovic, Aquilani and Konchesky  in recent memory? Downing would just be another 7 out of 10 player ,adding to a huge wage bill and cluttering up squad numbers that could be given to genuine stars. At £20million Downing is all wrong for Dalglish and I just hope the money men at the club deem this too higher price to pay for a heavily one sided, better than average winger.

Manchester City have spent £7million on Clichy which is decent business. Kolarov is a better player but Clichy will create good competition at left back. The Tevez saga shows that players are exerting too much power over their clubs. Credit must go to City for holding out for £50million, a price that offers potential purchasers no value once sign-on fees,wages&management of the Argentinian's behaviour are considered. Don't be shocked if the Argentinian talisman has to get on with things or warm the bench until January.

The transfer stories keep coming and are far from finished. Expect to see Roman Abramovich funding Andre Villas-Boas' buying wishes, particularly of Porto stars such as Hulk and Falcao. QPR should dig deep too with wealthy backers such as steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and F1 entrepreneur Flavio Briatore at hand to fund their survival charge.

What does Wladimir Klitschko's win mean for the future of heayweight boxing?

The David Haye vs Wladimir Klitschko fight brought much interest to heavyweight boxing, but what happens now? Vitali Klitschko is fighting Tomasz Admaek in September which is set to be a good fight but other than that, the former flagship division of world boxing is looking so weak, I may have to get into the ring myself!

Recent reports suggest Wladimir Klitschko is laughing off a rematch with Haye but I honestly do not see many viable options for his next bout. Many people hold the view that a rematch would not find an audience, but it seems to be the best of a bad bunch of options. There are only really 6 credible PPV fighters in the heayweight arena at the minute- The Klitschkos, Adamek, Eddie Chambers, Ruslan Chagaev and Haye. 'Dr. Steelhammer'has already defeated Chambers, Chagaev and Haye and his cancelled fight against Dereck Chisora was hardly a headliner. Of all the options available Haye is the only fighter who could sell a decent event. All press is good press and Haye's toe comments, trash talk and swagger have all aroused interest in Europe and even small corners of America.

Haye will have to take less than the 50-50  purse split that was on offer in Hamburg but he is a multi-millionaire already,losing a few pounds has got to be a price worth paying to restore his name. One fight doesn't make a bad fighter. Some good P.R and advertising and the Hayemaker Show could be back on the road. Haye would also need to change trainer, apparently Adam Booth has asked him to retire, a view that will not help the former WBA champion in his future endeavours. Adam Booth is at fault for Haye's loss as much as the man himself. The tactics of the Klitschko team wiped the floor with Haye's strategy. Klitschko's win was unanimous but was a triumph of strategy over brute force. Throw in a few trademark Hayemaker right hands and you've got a whole new ball game.

The Heavyweight division is in crisis. The top two will not fight each other due to an obvious conflict of interest and sibling matchups always disappoint anyway(look at the Williams sisters in tennis). We may have to support David Haye not just for the good of British heavyweight boxing but for the good of world boxing.

Is Arsene Wenger's Tenure at Arsenal in Jeopardy?

The obvious answer is no, he is well respected at the club and has done a lot in the past. The real question is SHOULD Arsene Wenger's Tenure at Arsenal be in jeopardy? The answer to that is a resounding, undeniable YES! Football in The Premier League is about winning trophies, not balancing books, bringing in youth or just playing attractive football. Arsenal are not bridging the gap between themselves and the Chelseas and Manchester Uniteds of this world. The footballing knowledge of Wenger is not in doubt, the level of his arrogance is. The policy of bringing in young players and spending next to nothing will please the accountants but will not please Arsenal fans and any of the Gunners' followers with even an ounce of ambition.

Admittedly the tutelage of Wenger has produced  numerous talents such as Ashley Cole, Nicolas Anelka and the imperious Cesc Fabregas but 5-plus years without a Trophy is unbearable. Wenger himself is responsible for raising expectations at The Emirates with the success he has enjoyed in over a decade in charge, but the key issue is growth. Football clubs look to grow and get better and although he has done well it is time to look for a new direction, a new way of thinking and a new era.

The Gael Clichy sale is symptomatic of a team which harbours players with unfulfilled ambitions. Who could blame Fabregas , Nasri and the Manchester City bound Clichy, from having their heads turned by clubs moving in the right direction (and offering ridiculously high salaries to boot).

The time is right to make a change now before the season starts. There is no time to let Andre Villas-Boas settle in at Chelsea and to let Alex Ferguson further build on last season's success. I would say move now or by Christmas the Title may be well on its way back to Old Trafford,Stamford Bridge or even Eastlands.

Where does David Haye go from here?

After David Haye's defeat by Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday, there has been much discussion regarding various issues that detract from the events that actually occurred in the ring. Haye has mentioned a broken toe hindering his efforts, there have been allegations of German officials providing Team Haye with banned substances and many quarters have criticised the performance of the referee.

Ultimately an impartial observer would have to say that Wladimir Klitschko won fair and square. The giant Ukrainian pulled off a masterful strategy that exploited all the physical attributes that make him a genuine heavyweight great. Klitschko worked the jab all night and never gave Haye a chance to get close. The unanimous points decision would suggest that no rematch would be necessary but this is far from the truth. Even in the post match interview Klitschko expressed regret at not earning a K.O, despite the victory. There is an argument for saying that both fighters lost with regard to their pre-match remit. Haye promised to rip his opponents' head off, while Klitschko promised to make his opponent his 50th knock-out victim. The WBA, IBF, IBO, WBO, and The Ring champion  also stated that he does not intend to retire and was not totally happy with his performance.

As far as Haye is concerned, he needs to take some time away from the cameras and formulate a strong,credible P.R campaign to rebuild his reputation. The wild trash talking pre-fight is now looking vulgar, crass and empty following his defeat. The broken toe argument is irrelevant and now is a further obstacle in the fight for Haye's credibility. Once a fighter steps into the ring, he has declared himself as fit to fight and any moaning post fight is just sour grapes, as Klitschko pointed out. The British public will have to be convinced that this time, Haye is not just talking,he is obsessed with the World Titles and will show his intent in the ring. I know many people are shaking their heads at the prospect of a rematch, but it is amazing what good promoting,branding and advertising can do to arouse interest.

A rematch is still viable as both fighters have still got something left to prove to each other. David Haye still has something stashed in his locker,  knowing that he did not land the full force of his trademark,'Hayemaker' all night and that this holds the key to his offensive strategy. Haye can also work on using his speed advantage better in offense.The British former WBA Champion showed swiftness in ducking and evading shots, but did not show fleeting hand combinations in attack. The Klitschko jab is as effective a jab as there has ever been and much time will have to spent watching the July 2nd fight to work-out a counter strategy.

There is no way Haye will retire having lost like this. Money is no issue to him, he has been a millionaire for years and as we all know there is only so many cars, houses and watches you can buy to entertain yourself. In boxing, reputation and legacy are everything and there is no way Britain's best heavyweight will look in the mirror without having thoughts of revenge and setting the record straight. I still think 'The Hayemaker' has something to offer in the heavyweight division. In boxing size isn't everything, heart is, and if David still has the heart to avenge his defeat,there are many punters who will pay another £15 to watch him try.

Novak Djokovic on Rafael Nadal

'Nadal is one of the best players ever,and he puts a lot of effort into every point,so even though I was a set and a break up, I knew he wasn't finished.'

Wladimir Klitschko on getting to the top

'From nothing to everything is a long way,..From everything to nothing is one stop.'

Are England Really the 4th Best Football Team in the World?

Recently Fifa released the latest international football rankings. England have been rated as the 4th best side in the world ahead of the likes of Brazil and Argentina! You may think that the use of an exclamation mark at the end of the previous sentence is unwarranted,but regular England watchers will understand. Fabio Capello has been in charge for years now and we are no better off. Every interview the Italian has illustrates more evidence as to why the players may be lacking in inspiration. The former Real Madrid Manager is still unable to speak English coherently and as a result, cannot get his points across effectively. £6million a year is paid to the England Manager, surely enough to pay a decent language coach to sharpen up his communication skills.

There are question marks about the players' commitment to the international game but I do not believe this is the real problem. The real problem boils down to a lack of leadership, tactical errors and a lack of forward thinking urgency,in the way England play. The captaincy situation has been a joke, again the fault of Capello. Rio Ferdinand has been an England stalwart for years and was the perfect man for the job, a winner in every sense. Having taken the captaincy from John Terry once, Capello took a respectable, hardline stance, by then going back on his decision he interrupted the stability of the side. Terry is a good captain no doubt but why mix and match with such a key position in the squad?

In terms of tactics, England have a tendency to lob the ball forward, down the side channels, with passes that resemble neither long ball tactics nor moves of purposeful industry. The England strategy is neither here nor there. When you think of Spain you think of quick,incisive passing with bustling movement up front. What do you think when you think of England? Exactly, nothing. We don't stand for any particular brand of football,we have no distinguishable style or pattern to our play,other than the aimless punts up-field outlined earlier.

I have deliberately excluded the players from critiscm on the grounds that their talent is unquestionable. What is needed is a 'Composer' to put these collective talents together and make us stand for something other than a big disappointment (1966 aside).

Would Capello have been allowed to stay if he were a club Manager,performing as he is? We all know the answer to that one.

Sachin Tendulkar Quote

'I just keep it simple,watch the ball and play it on merit.'

World Championship Darts: PDC or BDO?

Phil Taylor is the best darts player of all time and is the leading star of the PDC (Professional Darts Championship) with a staggering 13 titles plus 2 BDO crowns. Since its inception in 1994, the PDC has gone on to assume the mantle of the premier darting organisation in the world. Before 1994,the BDO (British Darts Organisation) was the sole name at the top of darts giving us greats such as Eric Bristow, Jocky Wilson and John Lowe.

As a lover of darts I have to say that I watch both world championships and both offer the excitement that darts can offer. The best player in the BDO is Martin Adams who has won the title on 3 occasions and holds the title currently. Despite the greatness of Adams, few would dispute that should he face the best of the PDC, Taylor would be a resounding favourite.

The real answer to which organisation is better is answered at the Grand Slam of Darts where the best of both stables go head to head for darting supremacy. In the four years of its existence, the PDC has given us winners on 3 occasions (3 wins for Phil Taylor),but the the most recent tournament was won by the talented BDO member, Scott Waites.

To give a fair evaluation it would be wise to look past the best players in both organisations and consider the other players that constitute the upper echelons in each roster.The leading lights of the PDC aside from Taylor are: Adrian Lewis, James Wade, Raymond Van Barneveld and Gary Anderson while the BDO boasts Scott Waites, Tony O'Shea, Ted Hankey and Gary Robson. Overall it is pretty clear to the most impartial darting observer that the PDC members would have the edge over the BDO contingent. Taylor and Barneveld have actually won the BDO crown on 2 occasions. As per usual money talks and it would appear that the lucrative prizes on offer at Barry Hearn's organisation are pummeling the opposition into submission!

Babe Ruth Quote

'Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.'

Michael Jordan Quote

'Some people want it to happen,some wish it would happen,others make it happen.'

Tiger Woods Quote

'Achievements on the golf course are not what matters,decency&honesty are what matter.'