Monday 25 February 2008
Monday 18 February 2008
Brit to win Wimbledon
31 years on from Virginia Wades’ last British success at Wimbledon are British Tennis fans finally going to see an end to the foreign grip over the prestigious trophy.
This is the target for Scotsman Andy Murray who said he was citing a possible major triumph this year after claiming the fifth tournament victory of his career at the Open 13. He told Sky Sports:
This is the target for Scotsman Andy Murray who said he was citing a possible major triumph this year after claiming the fifth tournament victory of his career at the Open 13. He told Sky Sports:
"For me winning Grand Slams is more important than being number one, players are judged on how many they win - that's how good their career is.”
I’m not sure weather the cocky Scotsman will be able to deliver the Wimbledon trophy to the British public this year, having already dropped out of the Australian Open due to injury something which has dogged his short career. Also at the tender age of 20 he might still be too inexperienced to win the title that on so many occasions eluded Tim Henman.
However this does not mean he cannot win the trophy. He has already shown more promise in his short time on the professional scene, than most British tennis players do in their careers.
All this being said I’ll be routing for the Scotsman to make it a good summer for British Tennis.
Premiership Abroad?
On February 7th the Premiership announced it was considering the idea of staging an extra game abroad to increase the season to 39 games. The ten extra games would feature all 20 premiership clubs and will take place across five cities across the world in a bid to widen the premierships global appeal. Richard Scudamore defended the controversial plan on the BBC website saying:
Although the proposed plan has angered football fans across the country, I personally see it as a natural progression for a league which regularly broadcasts to over 600 million people in 202 countries. It seems unfair for fans in these countries to not get the chance to see their heroes perform at least once in the calendar year. My only concern is how it will work. The BBC online website set out a four point plan to try and explain.
If this proposed plan was implimented it would be easy to see how teams could become aggrieved. What if the three extra points up for grabs decided weather Fulham would stay in the premiership this season and they had to play Arsenal in their 39th game, the odds of them winning and staying up would be severely decreased.
It is obviously easy to see the English fans grievances with the proposed plan. Malcolm Clarke co-chairman of the football supporters’ federation told BBC sport:
The stiff competition has not changed my opinion; I believe that the move would be a step in the right direction for not just the premiership but for football as a whole. If premiership games are played in countries such as China, or America then maybe the development of their national game would be stepped up and they would become more of a force in the football world.
However I do support a team in a lower league so therefore it’s easy for me to say that.
"I think it's an idea whose time has come. It's an exciting prospect. It's an extra game, it's is not taking anybody's game away, and it includes all 20 clubs which is very important. All 20 clubs will benefit and there is a huge element of solidarity about it."
Although the proposed plan has angered football fans across the country, I personally see it as a natural progression for a league which regularly broadcasts to over 600 million people in 202 countries. It seems unfair for fans in these countries to not get the chance to see their heroes perform at least once in the calendar year. My only concern is how it will work. The BBC online website set out a four point plan to try and explain.
- An additional round of Premier League fixtures, extending the season to 39 games, from January 2011
- Four clubs to travel to one of five host cities, with two games taking place in each venue over a weekend
- Cities would bid for the right to become a host, not for individual matches
- Points earned from the games would count towards the final Premier League table
If this proposed plan was implimented it would be easy to see how teams could become aggrieved. What if the three extra points up for grabs decided weather Fulham would stay in the premiership this season and they had to play Arsenal in their 39th game, the odds of them winning and staying up would be severely decreased.
It is obviously easy to see the English fans grievances with the proposed plan. Malcolm Clarke co-chairman of the football supporters’ federation told BBC sport:
“I'm fairly confident in predicting that the overwhelming majority of football supporters will be totally opposed to this proposal. This is yet another case of
the Premier League threatening the tradition of our game simply to follow money,"
The stiff competition has not changed my opinion; I believe that the move would be a step in the right direction for not just the premiership but for football as a whole. If premiership games are played in countries such as China, or America then maybe the development of their national game would be stepped up and they would become more of a force in the football world.
However I do support a team in a lower league so therefore it’s easy for me to say that.
Sunday 17 February 2008
Trouble In MotorSport
Spain has been threatened with the loss of one of its two Grand Prix Races following the racist abuse suffered by Lewis Hamilton during his recent practice at a Barcelona race track.
The Times newspaper reported that the motor sport’s governing body The FIA was:
Although Hamilton is said to be deeply saddened by the incident, he remained diplomatic about Spain saying in The Times newspaper:
Although there has not yet been a decision on the fate of the Spanish Grand Prix (scheduled to take place on the 27th of April at the Montmelo Venue) I think it is important the FIA take a hard line. It is not the first time small minorities in Spain have been accused of inciting racial hatred; the national football team was fined by FIFA in 2004 after Spanish fans made monkey noises at black players in the England team.
It is imperative that what happened in 2004 to the English national team, and what happened to Lewis Hamilton two weeks ago is stamped out of sport. If this means that Spain is no longer allowed to hold major sporting events such as the Grand Prix until the problem is rectified,
then so be it.
However perceptions in the British Media that Spain suffers from a serious problem with racism, may not be entirely true. Estrella RodrÃguez, the Government official charged with dealing with the issue said in The Times.
Hopefully this is the case, and such incidents will not happen in the future.
The Times newspaper reported that the motor sport’s governing body The FIA was:
“surprised and disappointed at the abuse handed out to the British racing driver. An act of this kind is a clear breach of the principles enshrined in the FIA statutes, and any repetition will result in sanctions,”
Although Hamilton is said to be deeply saddened by the incident, he remained diplomatic about Spain saying in The Times newspaper:
"I am in love with this country, and especially the city of Barcelona and this circuit, which is one of my three favorites. The people in Spain have always been very warm with me, and even though I imagined what might happen it has not been pleasant."
Although there has not yet been a decision on the fate of the Spanish Grand Prix (scheduled to take place on the 27th of April at the Montmelo Venue) I think it is important the FIA take a hard line. It is not the first time small minorities in Spain have been accused of inciting racial hatred; the national football team was fined by FIFA in 2004 after Spanish fans made monkey noises at black players in the England team.
It is imperative that what happened in 2004 to the English national team, and what happened to Lewis Hamilton two weeks ago is stamped out of sport. If this means that Spain is no longer allowed to hold major sporting events such as the Grand Prix until the problem is rectified,
then so be it.
However perceptions in the British Media that Spain suffers from a serious problem with racism, may not be entirely true. Estrella RodrÃguez, the Government official charged with dealing with the issue said in The Times.
“What happened in Barcelona is an isolated incident that cannot be tolerated."
Hopefully this is the case, and such incidents will not happen in the future.
An Introduction
Hello and welcome to "Enter The Digital Newsroom," a blog I have set up as part of my Digital Newsroom module in the second year of my BA Journalism Course at the University of Central Lancashire.
As part of the module we have been asked to split up into groups and focus on a certain aspect (or patch) of the news over the next two months. My "patch" is Sports. Although i'm a big fan of football, I don't have a massive interest in other sports. So as part of my patch I am going to concentrate on all different sports not only football. This will hopefully mean my patch will appeal to a wider range of people, and give me a chance to learn about other sports.
I hope that you will take something from this patch and enjoy it, please feel free to leave any comments (good or bad) about any thing you read.
Thanks Tom
As part of the module we have been asked to split up into groups and focus on a certain aspect (or patch) of the news over the next two months. My "patch" is Sports. Although i'm a big fan of football, I don't have a massive interest in other sports. So as part of my patch I am going to concentrate on all different sports not only football. This will hopefully mean my patch will appeal to a wider range of people, and give me a chance to learn about other sports.
I hope that you will take something from this patch and enjoy it, please feel free to leave any comments (good or bad) about any thing you read.
Thanks Tom
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