PDC Premier League Darts 2013 – Round-Up

So far, 6 tantalising weeks of Darts has seen 180’s fly across Britain from 10 of the best in the game.

Currently, Dutch maestro Raymond van Barneveld sits top of the pile with 4 wins while his fellow countryman Michael van Gerwen is just below Barney with 3 victories.

At the bottom, a spirited two performances from Adrian ‘Jackpot’ Lewis still sees him fighting to avoid the impending relegation which will see the two bottom players after Week 9 eliminated.

The beauty of this year’s PDC Premier League is that it is closer than ever. Phil Taylor is on for a hat-trick of losses; something unfounded usually for The Power whilst former champion Lewis is trying to rekindle his play from before.

The show will move on to Cardiff next and Barney will be up against 2009 champion James Wade. ‘The Machine’ has shown consistency and a coolness that brought him the title previously. Perhaps a home crowd will give this match more of an edge for Wade despite Barney’s high scoring and brilliant checkout percentage.

Taylor will face League debutant Wes Newton, who himself is trying to fend off relegation. A great of the game Taylor should not be underestimated at any cost to still take this title eventually and experience in this match may be crucial.

Elsewhere, van Gerwen will be given a test by Scot, Gary Anderson, who on his day can produce fantastic Darts. Anderson himself has felt the brunt of the competitiveness of the Premier League so far and finds himself in the mix for relegation.

Possibly the least talked about match of the night will be Andy Hamilton up against Australian Simon Whitlock. So far both men sit in the middle of the pack with 3 wins and 3 losses. It is perhaps this inconsistency to pick up points that may see them both with a chance of relegation so points are definitely important. It should however be noted that Hamilton oversaw Phil Taylor last week with a confident 7-3 victory.

Out of the ten players so far in the League, I have perhaps been most enlightened by the high scoring and tenacity shown by debutant Robert Thornton. Thornton, who faces Adrian Lewis this week, finds himself 4^th, with 2 wins and 3 draws. It is the ability to pick up points which has seen Thornton in a comfortable territory.

So far, no 9-Darters have been seen. Last week saw James Wade pick up a tasty 170 checkout in Manchester. Gary Anderson can feel confident with regards to a 9-Darter. He hit one in a UK Qualifier midweek; an event which in form van Gerwen won.

Make no mistake, the current Premier League seems tighter than ever and as the tungsten continues to be thrown, each match becomes even more of a spectacle of importance every week.  

Hot Off the Press – Michael Owen to Retire from all Football

Today, footballer Michael Owen broke the news that he is to retire from all football at the end of the season. At the age of 33, it perhaps is understandable. Owen is not getting any better, and a lack of performances for his current club Stoke City has seen just 1 goal from 7.

On the other hand, as I write this, I have to genuinely say that I am gutted about his announcement today. For me, Michael Owen will always be my first ever football hero. He seemed such a fantastic person, and from the age of 18 was set to hit the big time.

Having read his autobiography, Owen constantly talks of his family in the highest regard, notably his father. In his statement given today, Owen refers to his family as the most important factor in his life.

I will never forget the happiness I felt after he scored a hat trick for England against Germany in a 5-1 win; my first ever poster on my wall.

I had quite a soft spot for his first club, Liverpool and Owen was an integral part of that team, scoring 158 goals in 297 appearances. For England, Owen hit 40 in 89 which put him high on the all time goal scoring charts.

In 2004, Owen left Liverpool to join Real Madrid; one year before Liverpool won the European Cup; an accolade Owen unfortunately didn’t win in his illustrious career. That day in 2004, aged 10, I felt somewhat empty as I do today as it is then end of an era.

Subsequent moves to Newcastle, Manchester United and now Stoke followed as injuries blighted Owen’s career.

Who knows what would have happened had Owen stayed at Anfield. I would like to hope more trophies as well as more record breaking goals for England. Nevertheless, winning European Footballer of the Year as well as many other accolades puts Owen as an all time great.

One will always have the memories of a humble and friendly, family man, who put smiles on so many faces. My boyhood hero: Michael Owen.

Raikkonen Wins Opening Race of 2013 Formula One Season in Melbourne

Kimi Raikkonen, driving under Team Lotus has won the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne in the opening date of the Formula One Calendar in 2013.

Fernando Alonso and Ferrari took second and current reigning champion Sebastian Vetter came third.

Many eyes were on the Red Bull team of Vettel and Australian Mark Webber, who, after a much disrupted qualifier, found themselves taking pole position and second place respectively.

Webber has still not been able to gain a podium position in his native Grand Prix, and this will continue. His poor start, seeing him dropped to seventh proved key.

The opening of any Formula One is usually extremely tasty. Every driver is keen to get out in front and will do anything to ensure this. Quite surprisingly, the start in Melbourne seemed uneventful, with no collisions or a need for the Safety Car. Raikkonen had moved into fourth after beginning in seventh.

Much as any Grand Prix is, Strategy and Pit Stops proved essential, with Raikkonen requiring two stops; having to rely on his tyres. This proved to be a key element, with the Spanish Alonso stopping three times.

By lap 23, Raikkonen had moved into pole position and regained the lead from Lap 34 to hold on for the win quite comfortably.

If this race is anything to go by, the 2013 Season will be extremely tantalising and close. The credit goes to Team Lotus, but all eyes will turn to Malaysia next week for Race 2.

Wales 30-3 England. Wales Retain the Six Nations in Cardiff

It had been hotly tipped to be a seriously nail biting encounter in Cardiff, with the last round of games in the RBS Six Nations coming to a close, with 2 sides still in the running; all in one match.

Wales vs. England did not turn out to be nail biting at all. In fact the opposite, with Wales recording a record win over the English.

Two tries from Alex Cuthbert, 4 penalties from the ever brilliant Leigh Halfpenny and then 8 points kicked from Dan Biggar gave Wales the resounding win, and the Championship.

In a brutally contested first half, England; despite only seeing one penalty from Owen Farrell fly over, were still in it. Despite this, England had to be extremely defensive. Last time out at Italy, England conceded just 5 penalties. This margin was overtaken under 40 minutes.

England had made many mistakes but from this came one of my highlights of the Championship; a fantastic, try saving tap-tackle from Mike Brown to stop the Welsh Calvary.

For me, a key factor was the ever present Welsh crowd. In front of around 75,000 it was never going to be easy and perhaps this got to the inexperienced England team. After all, their most experienced player, Dan Cole, only recorded his 40^th cap when starting this game.

In the end the game became a bit of a rout, and Wales had one on their own soil in the Millennium Stadium.  For England, and ten of the fifteen who had never played here; it was a harsh lesson.

The recovery period will be strenuous for Stuart Lancaster and his men, but expect this team to be back. The World Cup 2015 is one to look forward to, or even next year’s Six Nations. It must also be noted that the upcoming Lions tour will contain some highlight players from this Championship and match. A this moment, you would however look more towards the Welsh outfit.

For now, and most definitely deservedly, the tribute must go to the Welsh.

For a full in-detailed match report go to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/21778425

England vs. Wales – Six Nations Crunch Time

Saturday at 5:00pm will see England take on Wales in a crunch match to decide whether the Six Nations trophy will be returning to Cardiff or, for the first time in 10 years; England. 

With 4 impressive and tenacious wins out of 4, England need a win at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to secure the title. However, if the Welsh do win by a margin of more than 7 points, then they will take home the crown. 

Last Sunday, a passionate and somewhat dodgy performance saw England win against Italy at Twickenham. Since the beginning, they have not won any game by a comfortable margin. Instead, tough performances have given them the wins. 

A fairly youthful and inexperienced outfit, many of Stuart Lancaster’s side will not have experienced playing in Cardiff, where the Welsh atmosphere will be rousing. For this reason, the match will be a classic.

In an interview for the BBC, earlier this week, England defence coach, Andy Farrell spoke here about how experience for England will come through important matches saying that:

“Experience has to start somewhere and we have to be challenging to win our first trophy.”

Lancaster’s side is impressive. A major reshuffle after the disastrous World Cup Campaign, which saw an early exit under the guidance of Martin Johnson, led to a whole new line-up of talent.

Under captain Chris Robshaw; who has little over single figured caps, England has a great potential. Owen Farrell, as Fly Half, at just 21, has seen England through many moments of the Six Nations. He will be back on Saturday and will be looking to improve after a tough time had against France.

For me, I cannot wait. Alongside an England win, a Chris Ashton swan dive would go down a treat, much to the disgust of the watching Welsh fans. The game will have everything in it, including some crunching tackles.

 One thing that is clear is this is not one to miss. 

Rafa Benitez Confirms Chelsea Exit

Since replacing Roberto Di Matteo in November, Rafael Benitez has not enjoyed his time at Chelsea.

The Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich set Rafa up for a fall, but nevertheless the performances throughout his time have simply not been good enough.

As a manager in general though, Benitez has somewhat proved himself. In 26 years he has won the 9 major club trophies on offer in Football and has a pedigree in the Champions League, winning the trophy with Chelsea’s bitter rivals, Liverpool, in 2005.

Abramovich’s agenda is particularly shocking. Throughout his tenure, he has rid of frequent managers. On this appointment, Benitez was set as ‘Interim Manager’ until the end of the season.

As an experienced professional, Benitez has a right to take dislike to his job title and finally has expressed this as a “mistake.”

Perhaps due to his recent managerial tenures combined with the frustrations of the sacking of Di Matteo, the Chelsea faithful have been defiant in expressing their dislike towards Benitez. This has been expressed since November with banners being paraded and chanting of hatred.

It can surely come as no surprise that Benitez has had enough. Speaking to Radio 5 Live, he demanded more respect than what he currently receives. He expressed his dissatisfaction at the title of his appointment. And he confirmed he will leave Chelsea at the end of the season.

Chelsea currently lie far adrift in the Premier League. As a major club in the game, this is simply unacceptable. They are currently competing in Europe’s minor Cup competition, the Europa League after winning the Champions League under Di Matteo last season.

Rafa’s outburst has come off the back of a Fa Cup victory where Chelsea will go on to face Manchester United in the Quarter-Final of the FA Cup; a Cup Chelsea also currently holds.

As an avid fan of football, though this may not come as a surprise regarding Chelsea, it is a shame that Benitez’s relatively illustrious career is being tarnished under the Roman Abramovich regime. Whether or not Benitez ‘won the dressing room’ or even the fans, he was trying to do an almost impossible job from the start and he has finally crumbled.

Benitez’s outburst can be heard here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21611064

Real Madrid Beat Barcelona at the Nou Camp to Reach Cup Final

An eagerly anticipated Copa Del Rey Semi-Final clash between rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona has ended 4-2 on aggregate to Madrid, after a 3-1 victory at the Nou Camp on Tuesday.

After a stalemate in the first leg, Barcelona had an away goal and it was all to play for. The build up and expectations towards this game was spectacular, and the two players everyone was talking about were Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

However it proved to be the latter that shone on the night with Ronaldo bagging a brace, including a penalty to bring shockwaves throughout the home crowd at the Nou Camp.

Currently in the Spanish top flight, Barcelona are 16 points ahead of Madrid, with much talk focused on the future of Madrid manager Jose Mourinho after some poor performances of late.

However, Barcelona, usually a somewhat invincible team have won just five from their last ten matches. To add to this, they have conceded at least one goal in their last 12 matches.

Such is the frequent amount of times that this tie takes place. Barcelona are in fact travelling to the Bernabeu on Saturday for the sixth El Clasico of the season where Mourinho will again be looking to play his normal, beautiful attacking supplement of play that has brought them to the Cup Final.

The debate will of course run on between Messi and Ronaldo. Tonight was Ronaldo’s and Madrid’s night, but there is no doubt that Lionel Messi, with his impeccable goal scoring rate for Barcelona puts him up there with the best.

Madrid, will of course be building up for a tasty encounter against Manchester United next week at Old Trafford, hoping to reach the latter stages of the Champions League. For Mourinho, the League chance has all but faded, but the possibility of two trophies to boot, will aid his cause for surviving in his current managerial post.

Haven’t you Run Before? – Mo Farah

The title of this Blog Post may seem alarming, but in fact these were the words uttered by LaTanya Norton, a Journalist in America for WDSU after Mo Farah won the New Orleans Half-Marathon in a British record 61 minutes.

The mistaken anchor could not have been more wrong. As a representative of Great Britain, Farah brought home two Olympic Gold’s in distance running and is now considered a national hero. When asked this stunning question, Mo Farah hesitated and to his credit, took the mistake on the chin and carried on the interview as normal.

I have linked the sensational clip below.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/video/2013/feb/26/mo-farah-us-tv-video

Ever Fantastic Bale Continues to Rock the Premier League

Gareth Bale has done it again, this time in a thrilling London Derby against West Ham. Having opened the scoring for Spurs in the 13^th minute, Bale proved to be the answer once more as he scored the winner in the 90^th minute to break the hearts of West Ham and give Tottenham all three points.

West Ham had initially come back into the game before two late goals, including Bale’s screamer gave the game to Spurs.

For Bale, his 19^th of the season, in my eyes secures and continues to prove his worth as the best British player currently in the League with his eighth goal in just six Premier League matches.

Bale’s skill, and magical left foot, has helped lift Tottenham to third in the League table, with the biggest clubs keeping a watchful eye on him.

The brilliance of Gareth Bale, is his ability as well as humbleness; very much a fantastic trait to have. This alongside with the sheer quality of his strikes is why the Welshman is considered one of the best in the game.

For Tottenham, the task in the summer is keeping hold of him. With reports going round of £60m being offered to take him away from White Hart Lane, Spurs and their Chairman will do well to keep hold of him.

However, the lure of European football awaits for Tottenham next season, and Bale, as a major representative in the squad is now playing in a more free position compared to his usual left-side approach.

His brilliant speed and ability has led to brilliance and throughout the whole of football the name ‘Gareth Bale’ will definitely be one to look out for; particularly in the summer.

Bradford Story Leaves Nothing but Admiration

So the Bradford fairytale has come to an end at the hands of Swansea, who, after a history of 101 years, recorded their first major trophy win at Wembley on Sunday.

Unfortunately for Bradford, the score was 5-0, with The Bantams only having a shot on target five minutes before the end alongside the perhaps harsh sending off of keeper Matt Duke; one of the many heroes of the Bradford outfit during their cup campaign.

Despite the strong Swansea result for Bradford it draws to a close an emphatic cup-run which saw them see off three Premier League sides. Whichever way you look at it, all the players and fans can feel proud as they represented the Football League at Wembley in front of a sell-out crowd.

Normality will be somewhat restored with a game against Dagenham & Redbridge on Wednesday in a League Two match, but Bradford can keep hold of their experiences in their challenge for promotion.

It may seem that the occasion was just too far, but the custom suits and memories of the hallowed Wembley turf will be one that the Bradford City players will never forget.

For a team, assembled for under £10,000 – their heroics may never be repeated again. In their recent history, the city of Bradford has seen their stand burnt to the ground in a blaze alongside severe financial difficulties.

For a team that had just lost 5-0 in a cup final, it is the memories and the journey that will never be forgotten, as well as those who lost their lives supporting their club in a fire.

I for one, can only offer admiration for a club like Bradford City after their exploits.