Chelsea come from behind to win FA Cup
May 31, 2009
In what was not the most thrilling FA Cup final, Chelsea has come from being down a goal in the first minute to win the cup with a 2-1 victory over Everton.
Everton had a dream start as Louis Saha hit the back of the net after just 25 seconds to claim the fastest goal in FA Cup final history. The goal came from nothing as a poor headed clearance was then headed to Saha by Marouane Fellaini who struck a powerful left foot shot from just inside the penalty box.
For Everton they never really did much after this early goal.
Chelsea hit back in the 20th minute when Didier Drogba headed into the Everton goal. The goal came from poor defending as Drogba made a run surrounded by five Everton players. They all watched the ball instead of someone taking the man and Drogba easily got to the ball to score from the Malouda cross.
Chelsea were the team everyone expected to win and coach Guss Hiddink had to win to see his stint at Chelsea called a success.
On 66 minutes Saha almost gave Everton the lead as he headed just over the crossbar. That was perhaps their best chance.
Frank Lampard stepped up to be the hero for Chelsea. He broke the deadlock in the 71st minute scoring from a long range shot. He slipped but then recovered to unleash a left foot shot from well outside the penalty box. Howard could only get to it with his fingertips before it went in.
Chelseas perhaps should have had two more goals. A shot hit the crossbar and then was ruled not to have gone in, however replays showed otherwise. Also there was a penalty appeal that did not go their way.
So in the end Hiddink can leave Chelsea with at least one trophy. The Champions League title would have meant more but as we all know they had that opportunity snatched away from Barcelona.
Now we can look ahead to World Cup qualifiers.
Cavs Close to Elimination
May 27, 2009
In game two of the NBA Eastern Conference finals LeBron James pulled off the miracle buzzer beater to snatch a win for his team. The following game in Orlando saw the Magic take a 2-1 lead in the series after a 99-89 victory. Game four in the series took place on Tuesday night, once again in Orlando.
Just like in game two LeBron James had the final shot to win the game, however this time he could not pull it off. The shot came up short as time expired in the first period of overtime, the result was a 116-114 win for the Magic.
James had seen his team level scores at the end of regulation time as he knocked in two free throws to level the scores. Dwight Howard lifted in the OT as he scored 10 of the 16 points scored by the Magic in the period. For the Cavs 44 points from James was not enough to get the win.
The Cavs now have it all ahead of them as they fight to overcome a 1-3 deficit. It will be a huge upset for the Cavs if they fail to make the NBA final as they dominated the competition on the way to a 66-16 regular season record.
In game four the Magic ran hot from the three-point line shooting 17-38 compared with the Cavs shooting 6-22.
Do you think the Cavaliers can come back from being 3-1 down? History is against them as teams with a 3-1 lead are 182-8 in series dating all the way back to 1947.
Button Wins F1 Championship?
May 24, 2009
Jenson Button has made the most of pole position at the Monaco F1 grand prix and has converted it into another race win. Button has now won five out of the first six races.
(Edit. after initially deciding to crown the F1 champion based on wins it was changed back to the leading points scorer after an appeal from the f1 teams association).
Has Button now done enough to claim the 2009 drivers championship? Even with 11 gps still to race it is hard to see another driver winning six races to get past Button in the drivers championship, so based on that I think you can hand out the title now.
What do you think? Leave your comments below.
Getting back to the race at Monaco we saw Rubens Barrichello complete the 1-2 for Brawn GP. He did this after getting a great start and going past Kimi Raikkonen early in the race. Kimi managed to grab a podium position for the first time this season for Ferrari as he crossed the finish line in third position. Felipe Massa made it a good day for Ferrari by taking P4.
Red Bull had a mixed day. Sebastian Vettel after starting the race in fourth position crashed out on lap 15. Mark Webber was able to move himself from eigth on the grid to grab P5. He was pushing the Ferrari’s by the end of the race but was not able to squeeze past to improve his position.
Lewis Hamilton the 2008 F1 champion had another poor finish and ended the race in P12 although when you look at the fact that he started from 20th position on the grid then perhaps it was a good drive after all.
The drivers championship now sees Button on top with 51 points, Barrichello is second with 35, Vettel third with 23 and his teammate Mark Webber is in fourth position with 19.5 points.
The next race sees the teams travel to Istanbul for the Turkish F1 grand prix on June 5-7.
Controversy in NRL take 2
May 24, 2009
Just yesterday I was writing about controversial endings to NRL games recently. Well it has happened again. This time it is a penalty awarded against Manly’s Matt Orford.
To set the scene the score was 17-16 in favour of Manly who were on the Gold Coast playing the Titans. Preston Campbell had chipped ahead, put the ball on the toe again and as he chased the ball Orford came across and went down on the ball. The ref pinged Orford for obstruction and a minute later Scott Prince slotted the ball between the posts for two points. Game over!!
The Gold Coast took the match 18-17.
As I was watching the match my fist impression with this incident was that Orford had taken out Campbell. After seeing a replay I thought hmmm, he went for the ball, no penalty. Then again I saw another replay and this time thought in going for the ball the first move was to take out Campbell and then he got the ball.
The referee does not get all these replays so he has to be sure to make a call like he did. I can see how he came up with the decision. Manly coach Des Hasler sure did not. He was fuming after the match but he is biased.
Did you see the match? What do you think was the correct call? Leave your comments below.
LeBron James Saves the Cavs With Magic Shot
May 24, 2009
In what has been an amazing run of close matches in the NBA Conference finals Cleveland and Orlando did not dissapoint.
So far in four matches the biggest margin of victory has be three points. This came in game two of the Denver – Los Angeles series with Denver winning 106-103 after going down 105-1-3 in match one.
In the Cleveland – Orlando series both matches were decided by just one point. In game one the Magic stunned the Cavs with a 107-106 victory on the Cavs’ homecourt. In game two of the series the Cavs appeared to be cruising to a win but then something happened and the Magic came from 23 points down in the second quarter to hold a 95-93 lead with one second to play.
Seeing Turkoglu sink a 12-footer to take the lead for the Magic would have seen many Cavs fans thinking luck was not on their side again as it appeared likely that the number one seed in the Eastern Conference was going to head to Orlando facing a 0-2 result after two games at home.
The Cavs could not score with one second to play could they? I have seen it done before but Michael Jordan has retired. Cavs fans with a good memory would think back to 1989 when the great one shot over Craig Ehlo to eliminate the Cavs.
Now in 2009 could it be done? LeBron James said yes. A play was run after a timeout that put the ball in his hands just outside the three-point arc. He caught the ball, squared his shoulders and tossed up a looping shot. It hit the back of the rim hard but to the amazement of 20,562 NBA fans in the arena the shot dropped and the Cavs stole the match.
“Where Will Amazing Happen?” is the NBA slogan, it sure happened in game two of the Cavs-Magic series as the MVP from the regular season saved his team with that amazing three-point match winner.
The Magic now have to pick themselves up from that loss as they take on the Cavs in game three in Orlando. The Bulls won the opening game against the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs and then went so close to taking a 2-0 lead back to Chicago. Instead of that they had a 1-1 split and seemed to suffer a let down as they played game three at home. The Bulls were thrashed, the Magic will not want to let that happen to them.
Game three will be played on Sunday.
Controversy Again in NRL
May 23, 2009
The Australian National Rugby League has seen its fair share of controversy this season. It is enough to have the financial crisis having a squeeze on sponsorship money, but when players stuff up that also hurts the game.
Recently there has the Matthew Johns sex scandal and just this week Cronulla’s Reni Maitua was banned for testing positive for a banned substance.
On the field there has also been plenty of controversy. Friday last week we witnessed a thrilling game between the Bulldogs and Saints which ended with a no try for the Bulldogs after the video ref ruled obstruction way back near the halfway line. Many were amazed by the call and the Bulldogs had a win snatched from their hands.
Last night there was once again an ending that puzzled fans. The Parramatta Eels were playing the South Sydney Rabbitohs. The scores were locked at 16 all after regular time. The match then went into golden point extra time. The Eels went close to grabbing the win as a Jarryd Hayne field goal attempt crashed off the crossbar.
As time wound down it appeared that the Rabbitohs would have one last shot at victory. A scrum was set about 10 metres out from the Parramatta line. There was nine seconds on the clock when the ref called time-off. Souths Craig Wing then went to grab the ball. As he did this the ref called time-on and just as Wing got back to the scrum the final hooter sounded. Game over.
Should the ref have waited until Wing had the ball and was standing at the scrum for starting the time again? Most would think so. The ref didn’t and the game was over. The teams get to share the points and the fans have something to talk about during the week.
What do you think should have happened? Leave your comments below.
Manchester United Claim English Premier League Title
May 17, 2009
Going into their match against Arsenal, Man Utd knew just a point was enough to take the EPL title. Following a goalless draw the title is theirs.
The best scoring opportunities went to Cristiano Ronaldo who went close from a free kick and Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas hit the post. If only that one went in, at least that’s what Liverpool fans would have been thinking.
Now that the EPL title has been wrapped up attention turns to the relegation race. After the latest matches Newcastle United, Middlesbrough and WBA are in the drop zone. Hull City wriggled their way out for the time being with a 1-1 result against Bolton. Newcastle who finally got a win under Allan Shearer in their previous match lost to Fulham 1-0. WBA play on Sunday against Liverpool. A loss will see them relegated. Middlesbrough had a draw against Aston Villa.
Manchester United will now turn their attention to the UEFA Champions League where they will take on Barcelona for the crown. For Liverpool and Chelsea there is still the battle for second spot on the ladder and the automatic qualification into the group stage of the Champions League.
Next weekend will see the season come to an end.
Woman at Centre of Matthew Johns Sex Scandal was Bragging
May 14, 2009
I have just watched a story on Channel Nine news where a co-worker of the woman at the centre of the Matthew Johns sex scandal has come out and said that she was bragging about her sexual encounter with the Cronulla Sharks rugby league team.
The co-worker also said that it took five days before Clare went to police with her story. The co-worker said she was sickened by the way Clare behaved. There was no sympathy coming from her. Before going to police she was bragging about her exploits.
People in Christchurch were also showing some support for Matthew Johns.
Channel Nine’s Footy Show will be an interesting watch tonight as they cover the story in depth. Paul Vautin was on the news talking about his comforting hand on Johns’ shoulder in last weeks Footy Show. He has been criticized for his actions as some people managed to write into it that it was a condoning gesture.
Matthew Johns Sex Scandal
May 14, 2009
It seems that all that matters in sport at the moment is the Matthew Johns “sex scandal”, at least here in Australia.
This all comes from an incident seven years ago in New Zealand. Johns was part of the Cronulla Sharks rugby league team that was on a tour. The ABC show Four Corners blew the lid on this. It has been reported that he went back to a room with another player and a 19-year-old women. Then they were joined by a group of players. I read somewhere that they climbed in through a bathroom window.
Matthew Johns has now paid a big price for that incident. He has been sacked by the Melbourne Storm, and has been stood down without pay from his duties at Channel Nine.
Do you think it is fair that he has been singled out in this incident? I wonder what is the motive behind bringing it to light seven years after the event took place.
The New Zealand Police have released a press release to once again rule out re-opening the case.
Here is some of that release regarding the case. “Despite recent media and public interest into allegations surrounding members of the Cronulla Sharks team following their visit to New Zealand in 2002 Christchurch Police do not intend to reopen the investigation. No new information has come to hand since the matter was investigated seven years ago.”
A current rep player has come out and said he believes group sex among NRL players will continue and he feels that it is not something that players should not be told not to do. The player was speaking on the condition of anonymity was quoted as saying “We already have so many rules: we can’t drink on these days, we can’t go to these places, now we can’t have group sex. About the only thing we can do these days is go to club functions, and just hang around other players. That’s just isolating us more from the rest of the world, and it could lead to even more violent acts.”
With all that is going on at the moment what do you think of the players attitude?
I am not saying what Johns did is right or wrong, I can’t as I was not there, but I do think it is unfair that he has been singled out. Where are the other players?
Cruel Loss For Chelsea in Champions League semi
May 7, 2009
Chelsea took on Barcelona for a spot in the Champions League final against Manchester United. The match played at Chelsea’s home ground followed a scoreless draw in Barcelona.
Chelsea looked to have done enough to earn themselves a rematch against Man Utd, that was until the third minute of injury time. Essien had given Chelsea a 1-0 lead after 9 minutes. Chelsea also had the advantage of an extra man after Abidal was sent off in the 66th minute after bringing down Nicolas Anelka just outside the box.
As I was watching the final moments of the game I was thinking it is not over. Just a single goal was needed by Barcelona to take them through on the away goal rule.
That is what happened. Deep into injury time Barcelona pushed forward. The goal hero for Chelsea, Essien, had a chance to clear the ball to safety but mishit the ball. It went to Messi who squared the ball to Iniesta who hit the ball first time from just outside the box. His strike was perfect and it hit the back of the net high to the left of a diving Cech.
Heartbreak for Chelsea and complete joy for Barcelona. It was still not over and Chelsea pushed forward yet again. A corner was won by the home team. From the corner Ballack took a shot that struck the upper arm of a Barcelona defender. The ref waved it off. Ballack protested the call in such a way that he was given a yellow card.
The no call was the third one I remember seeing not to go Chelsea’s way. Earlier in the match there was a very clear handball by Pique that both the ref and assistant missed.
That’s football. Never over until it is over. Man United after their stunning 3-1 win over Arsenal would go into the final in Rome as favourites but you always have to expect the unexpected in the final as it is a one off match and can go either way.
