Leicester City continue to impress during Champions League run

Leicester City player Riyad Mahrez during their 1-0 victory against FC Copenhagen

Source: The Independent

In a bizarre turn of events, Leicester City have earned more points in their Champions League fixtures than in their league games.

After winning the Premier League last season, despite being given 5000/1 odds, Leicester have continued down the path of the bizarre fairy tale they are creating. Their strong start, thanks to being placed in a comparatively comfortable group, leads most to believe that the Foxes will continue to the Round of 16. All they need is one win from three games.

With the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich all possible opponents, it seems unlikely that their journey will continue much further past the Ro16. However, bookmakers have given them 100/1 odds of claiming their first European title - which is certainly far from impossible odds.

With mid table league mediocrity a current reality for the now weakened team that shocked the world last year, a successful Champions League run is an unlikely conclusion to the Leicester City story. We've all learnt our lesson from last year that the impossible is seemingly possible. 

The footballing world is currently waiting on the edge of their seats.

Liverpool v Manchester United : Both sides produce a drab affair to forget

Adam Lallana was a standout in an otherwise dreary game.

Credit: The Independent

The latest meeting of the biggest rivalry in English football has disappointingly finished as many feared it would. A dull 0-0 result secures Manchester United a vital point away from home, however, it does little to appease the critics of Jose Mourinho.

United's attack was remarkably worthless considering their lineup. Pogba and Ibrahimovic were seemingly absent, with Zlatan registering the only on target shot for the Red Devils. 

Liverpool held 65% of possession, though could do very little with the trademark ultra defensive Mourinho tactics at play. The introduction of Lallana in the 60th minute for the sluggish Sturridge proved to be a turning point in the match. Although little more than a cameo display, Lallana's dynamism allowed for fluid attacking movement for the first time in the match.

The two goalkeepers had contrasting evenings. De Gea produced another world class performance, strengthening his title as the best in the league. Karius was shaky and did little to inspire confidence. Liverpool supporters should perhaps be unnerved as their goalkeeping woes seem to continue.

Manchester United are now at only one win from their last five league matches. With Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea in their upcoming fixtures, Mourinho will need to make some drastic changes to transform this team into one that properly represents its ludicrous price tag.

Tantrum and Shangai open leaves Kyrgios a sore loser

Source: Nick Kyrgios

Aussie Tennis star Nick Kyrgios has been hit with 8-week suspension after 'shameful' and 'disrespectful' performance at the Shanghai Masters

On Monday night, Kyrgios was slammed with an eight-week suspension; that may be reduced down to three if he meets conditions set by the ATP after an investigation found him to be guilty of failing to provide his best effort in his loss to German Mischa Zverev.

The ATP has ruled that Kygios did not conduct himself in such a way to maintain the integrity of the game, hence the harsh punishment, according to some.

If Kyrgios is to serve the full eight week suspension, he will be out until January 15 - a day before the Australian open gets underway at Melbourne Park.

Kyrgios released an apology statement on his website:

"Following the ATP’s decision today I would like to take this opportunity to apologise again for the circumstances in Shanghai."

"The season has been a long one as I battled several injuries and other challenges towards the end of the summer."

"The Asian circuit was particularly tough after the long week and win in Tokyo and with the travel throughout the continent, my body finally just gave out in Shanghai both physically and mentally."

"This is no excuse, and I know very well that I need to apologise to the fans."

Time will tell if Kyrgios is fit and able to perform at the Australian open.

What's your Rating?

picture credit: http://store.steampowered.com/app/385760/

With the release of NBA 2k17 a while ago there is a lot of talk around a players 2k rating.  It seems in the NBA your 2k rating means almost as much as how you play and if you make the playoffs. 

Some ratings make sense but others don’t really.  I mean how does 2k justify rating Kyrie Irving an 89 but Chris Paul a 90? Really 2k?

It’s all in good fun, but these ratings are updated as the season goes on.  So with the season beginning soon, maybe some of these players can get their ratings up.

And let’s be honest, if you have a rating of 90 and don’t make the playoffs it says a lot. 

But then again some players take it as a laugh like Joel Embiid who tweeted “Pretty good rating for a Twitter ninja” after seeing his 2k rating.   All this while Evan Fournier was more worried about what his video game self looked like Tweeting “who is the guy with my name and jersey?”

Who thought a video game would mean so much?

Granada helpless as Atletico Madrid secure a 7-1 comeback

Yannick Carrasco led the Atletico seven goal romp.

Source: goal.com

Atletico Madrid have produced a stellar comeback performance against Granada. The Rojiblancos were given a scare after going down 1-0 in the 18th minute courtesy of an Isaac Cuenca strike. They responded in emphatic style, scoring seven goals in 53 minutes.

The result is surely indicative of a successful season ahead. After two agonisingly close Champions League finals, it seems that the arguably greatest defensive lineup in the world is now complemented with an offence to match. 

Antoine Griezmann's talents in front of goal were unneeded, with the Frenchman instead playing the role of provider. It seems a sign that the club's over reliance on their goal scoring talisman is coming to an end, as all seven goals came from either midfielders or substitutes, 

Yannick Carrasco has shown his worth, with a clinical hat-trick and two assists. Atletico are rumored to be in the process of renewing his contract with a €100m release.

Despite the quality of their opposition, Atletico have shown they are capable of backing up their form of 2014. All eyes will be on them on come November 21st, as the Madrid derby will show if they are a match for their cross-town rivals.

Pat

Tom Trobojevic storming forward into the Gold Coast Titans defence

Photo Credit: http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/80520cdcd4edd53b68a2b090560e31cd?width=1024

Local manly boy Jake Trobojevic has finally been rewarded for a remarkable season leading the Manly Warringah Eagle's forward pack with solid defense and leadership qualities captaining the squad at a ripe age of 22 with a call up the Australian test team. This comes as a result of Canberra Raiders second row Josh Papalii's shock withdrawal from Mal Meninga’s 24-man squad opening the door for Jake to finally earn a Kangaroo debut against the New Zealand Kiwi's this coming Saturday. This announcement comes in only days after signing a lucrative 4-year 5-million-dollar deal with brother Tom where both brother’s signatures were heavily chased by rival NRL, ultimately capping off a most memorable for Jake and he's family.

Kings secure uniform sponsor in Blue Diamond Growers

With the controversial decision back in April to include sponsorship logos on NBA jerseys starting in the 2017/18 season and extending for the next 3 years, the Sacramento Kings become the second team to land a sponsor in Blue Diamond Growers. The decision by NBA executives was unprecedented, as the NBA is the first major American sporting league to include sponsors on player uniforms, with the NFL, MLB and NHL yet to follow suit.

The Sacramento Kings made the announcement on the 11^th of October, that Blue Diamond Growers have made a 3 year deal to be paying $6.5 million annually, for the 6 by 6 centimetre patch on the Kings jersey.

With many NBA fans unfamiliar with this new form of advertising in the league, it’s understandable for them to be slightly uncomfortable with the move. However, in Europe sponsorship on jerseys is so commonplace that some brands almost become synonymous with the club. So maybe it’s only a matter of time for fans to get so used to the change that it won’t even be a topic for discussion anymore; only time will tell.

Inquest into the death of cricketer Phillip Hughes begins after 2014 shock accident

Phillip Hughes signing fan memorabilia
Credit: dailymail.co.uk

The opening day of the inquest into the death of cricketer Phillip Hughes has concluded; with Cricket Australia’s chief medical officer giving evidence into the moments leading up to the tragedy. 

Chief medial officer, Dr Orchard told the inquiry that Hughes was killed by a 152km/h ball that struck him on the left side of the neck and lifted and rotated his head, causing severe trauma.

However, the controversy was highlighted around Australian bowler, Doug Bollinger; accused of sledging Phillip Hughes with the phrase “I’m going to kill you” during the match that ended in Hughes death. 

"I know in my heart I didn't say that," Bollinger said. He told counsel assisting the Hughes inquest

The court heard that cricketer David Warner, in a written statement, said the team had devised a tactic to bowl over the wicket in an attempt to force Hughes onto the back foot and look to get him out with a hooking or pulling shot.

Brad Haddin, the captain for the match, formally denied that was the plan.

"One of the bowlers was a spin bowler", Haddin said. "If I wanted them playing off the back foot I would have used different bowlers.

The inquest continues for the remainder of the week.

Comprehensive Sydney F.C begin the A-League season

Sydney F.C. celebrate Holosko's goal

Credit: a-league.com.au

A record breaking crowd of 61,880 witnessed a dominant Sydney F.C. display, taking down the Western Sydney Wanderers in an emphatic 4-0 win. 

It is the largest victory in the history of the derby, with the hapless Wanderers closing in on 3 years since they last held bragging rights over the Sky Blues. 

The marquee signing of Brazilian striker Bobo appears an astute one, with the former Besiktas and Kayserispor striker notching up both a goal and an assist in his league debut. 

The Western Sydney defence seemed a shell of recent years. Pre-season departures of Alberto, Jamieson and Andreu have left the club with few options. Topor-Stanley's absence was felt dearly, as the mounting pressure of going two goals down in only two minutes left the Wanderers catatonic and stagnant. 

Vukovic's perfomance in goal summarised a clinical second half for Sydney, with his brilliant save against Nichols proving key in maintaining a controlling lead.

Borda's dismissal in the 82nd minute proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the Wanderers, with O'Neill and Brosque placing the result beyond all doubt with two well executed goals.

The result positions Sydney in a promising position for the year ahead, though only time will tell if tonight's performance is a lone display of brilliance or truly indicative of their premiership challenge.

Slept On

Highlights vs GSW 19/2/16

The phrase “slept on” is a slang term for someone or something that doesn’t get the credit that they/it deserves.  This perfectly describes Damian Lillard.  The Portland Trailblazers star point man is slept on.  He was the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft and went to become the Rookie of the Year.  His game has improved consistently over the years and he has been able to pull the Blazers out of a slump after the loss of all-star Brandon Roy to injury.  He has led them to the playoffs and has some amazing records. 

Though the media and NBA at large doesn’t cover a lot of stories about the young guard.  Most stories these days are plastered with the faces of the Warriors and the Cavaliers.  But watch this young man this upcoming 2016-17 season.  With some other great young players around him, Rip City will be a team in the West to watch out for.  And with this young man leading the way, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with. 

Photo Credit: bleacherreport.com

Thunder defeated by Real Madrid in overtime

Oklahoma City Thunder opened their pre-season with disappointment after losing to Real Madrid 142-137 earlier this week. The Thunder controlled the pace for the first 3 quarters, however the Spaniards pushed the game into overtime in the forth to clinch victory. Despite efforts by the team’s lone star Russell Westbrook who scored 18 points in his 22 minutes and Oladipo’s 34 points and 5 assists in his 33 minutes, the Thunder were unable to defeat the nine time Euroleague champions.

With the departure of Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors in July, the challenge of keeping up the standard Thunder fans are accustomed to is becoming a more daunting task for the team. This loss has caused many to ask questions about how serious the loss of Kevin Durant is for the franchise, and how this will affect the Thunder this upcoming season.  With Russell Westbrook the only remaining star on the team, the pressure is now on to see if he can lead the Thunder a season as impressive as the last, and more importantly allow the Thunder to remain legitimate threats in the West.

At this point only time can tell, and although it is only one loss, it is quite telling of the mental state of Thunder at the moment. Westbrook has proven just how much of a dominate force he can be in the past, and with a good supporting cast, OKC can still prove to be serious contenders in the West. 

Cronula Sharks celebrating their First NRL Premiership

Photo credit: http://cdn0.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Cronulla-Sharks-NRL-Grand-Final-2016-Rugby-League-Premiership.jpg

In what was one of the most gripping grand finals to the date the sharks have finally come home with the grand final trophy after haunting them since their club’s foundation back in 1963. The sharks were simply too good on the night to deny them this once in a lifetime opportunity after having a stellar season where they won 15 consecutive matches and cleaned out Wednesday nights Daily M's award ceremony. The full time score last night was 14-12 in favor of the sharks after trailing late in the game if not for Andrew Fifta’s hard storming run 10 meters to crash over the try line to put them in front in with minutes to go. The storm came knocking on the sharks defensive line with only minutes to spare and the final minute of play was absolutely breathtaking to watch the ball continually going across the field in a last minute attempt to find break however it was the sharks who prevailed and won their first NRL premiership and sung loud UP UP CRONULA!!!.