International Hockey Prep Tournament

This week sees the Invitational International Hockey Tournament begin, part of the London Prepares series of events testing new venues in time for the London Olympics. Teams such as Australia, Argentina, China and Great Britain will compete over the next week in the newly constructed Riverbank Arena.

The tournament is part of a series of mini events to test the new olympic venues ahead of the 2012 olympics. Tournaments include Hockey, Water Polo and Wheelchair Tennis along with an Olympic Stadium Evening Event bringing sports stars, celebrities and 40,000 fans together in the new Olympic Stadium on the 5th May.

Whilst Hockey isn’t as well represented as other sports in the UK it is still a much loved sport, largely due to the fact that we have been quite good at it on an international level. It’s a very skillful sport and the International Invitational Hockey Tournament will include the best teams from around the world. It will also give sports fans a chance to see the new Hockey Centre for the first time.

Europa League Final Approaches

The UEFA Europa League final is two games away from being set, as a quartet of Iberian clubs are battling it out for the two spaces available in the title contest. Three Spanish squads and a Portuguese team finish off their semi-final match-ups with second legs at 8:05 p.m. BST on Thursday. The final will take place at 7:45 p.m. on May 9 at the 55,600-seat National Arena in Bucharest, Romania. The stadium is new, as its first event was a Romania-France contest on Sept. 6.

Last Thursday, Atletico Madrid powered past a visiting Valencia squad, 4-2, in front of 49,400 at the Vicente Calderon Stadium. Radamel Falcao scored two goals in that contest. Each of Valencia’s goals came in stoppage time, one in each half. The second leg will be played at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium. In Lisbon, Portugal, Sporting CP rallied from a goal down for a 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in front of 37,700 at the Estadio Jose Alvalade. Athletic Bilbao, the only team of the four remaining to have never won a European title, will still be pleased with an away goal to take to the second leg at the San Mames Stadium in the Basque Country.

Iberian teams also dominated this competition a year ago. That year, three Portuguese teams joined a Spanish club among the final four teams playing. The lone Spanish club, Villarreal, fell to Porto in the semi-final round, while Braga knocked off Benfica in that round. Porto then claimed the title, 1-0, in front of 44,391 in Dublin, Ireland. In the 2010 title game, Atletico Madrid knocked off England’s Fulham in extra time, 2-1, so 2012 will mark the third straight year an Iberian club will win this competition and seventh time in a 10-year span.

The three Spanish teams are currently in the top half of the La Liga standings. Valencia is in third; that placing would qualify the club for the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League. Athletic Bilbao is in sixth, and Atletico Madrid is seventh. Sporting CP currently sits fourth in the Primeira Liga. Two of these four clubs are still in the running for their country’s premier cup competition. Athletic Bilbao takes on Barcelona on May 25 in the Copa del Rey final, a competition the club has not won since 1984. Sporting CP plays Academica on May 20 in the Taca de Portugal final. The last time Sporting CP took home this cup was in 2000.

FA Cup Finalists Chelsea And Liverpool

CHELSEA and Liverpool players will be hoping to shining on the pitch for this season’s FA cup final.

It is hard to believe but Chelsea and Liverpool Football Club’s have not met each other in the final of this major cup before.

Although, the teams have been in 43 semi-finals clashes against various opponents.

The game will be the first FA Cup final under floodlights at Wembley in almost 20 years, kicking-off at 5.15pm on Saturday, May 5. It is being shown live on ITV and ESPN.

This season Liverpool have already brought home the League Cup from the capital’s famous stadium, beating Cardiff on penalties.

The reds have seven FA Cup triumphs to their name, the first under Bill Shankly in 1965. Rafa Benitez was the last Liverpool manager to bring the trophy back to Merseyside, beating West Ham United on penalties at the Millennium Stadium six years ago.

The semi-final of this year’s competition saw Liverpool come up against the blue side of the city, Everton, with a 2-1 victory.

It is Kenny Dalglish’s fourth FA Cup final as Liverpool manager with two wins and a defeat on his record. 

In the eighties, King Kenny’s team triumphed over ‘The Toffees’ twice in the final, once in 1986 and four years later in 1989. The year before, 1988, they lost in the final against Wimbledon 1-0.

Liverpool’s captain Steven Gerrard has scored in numerous cup finals including the 2006 FA Cup final. His numerous honours include two FA Cup wins.

Chelsea played Manchester United in 2007, becoming the first team to win the FA Cup at Wembley, following its newly completed build. Didier Drogba, who planted the extra-time goal in the back of the net, will be hoping to do the same on Saturday.  

To get to the final this year, Chelsea won against their neighbours Tottenham Hotspurs in a romping 5-1 victory.

The blue’s leader – John Terry – has seen triple success in FA Cup finals during his time wearing the armband, which went some way to help him become the club’s most honoured captain.

Neither Chelsea or Liverpool are title contenders for this year’s premier league but later this month, Chelsea will also be facing Bayern Munich on May 19 in the Champions League.

With so much to play for, the 131st final of the competition should prove to be a great cup clash with Betfair placing Chelsea as narrow favourites just over Liverpool.

Bahrain Grand Prix Preview

Concerns have been aired about safety in the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend after the firebombing of a group from the Force India team. The team were making their way from Bahrain International Circuit when they caught up in traffic as anti-government protesters clashed against the police. As tensions grew a petrol bomb was thrown and landed near the teams vehicle, no one was injured but the incident has shocked the team.

Force India driver, Paul di Resta said this of the unrest in his team: “It’s a difficult one isn’t it. I’m sure it’s affecting everybody at the moment, the actions that have happened. I’ve not spoken to everybody within the team, but there is some concern and some people have felt it a bit more than others.”

His team mate, Nico Hulkenberg has also stated his concerns for the decision to continue with the race. “It is obviously not right that that sort of stuff happens,” Hulkenberg said. “We are here to race. The F1 business is about entertainment and these sort of things should not really be happening to us.
“Whether it is right or not I don’t really know. It’s difficult to say. I am not a politician, I am a formula 1 driver, but it should not really be happening should it?”

As the race hots up it is the tyres and brakes that the teams will be concerned with. Bahrain is a packed circuit full of long straights and tight low speed corners as well as the track picking up sand from the surrounding environment, all contributing to stress on the brakes and tyres.

Mercedes will hope to continue the dominance they showed in China with a possible second win for Nico Rosberg or maybe even a ninety second win for Michael Schumacher. Whilst McLaren are expecting a win again as Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button currently lead the chamionships after their third and second placings in China. So with three races and three winners the 2012 F1 season is promising to be an exciting one.

2012 Indian Premier League Season

The 2012 Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket season will once again feature some of the world’s best bowlers. While it has the reputation of being a batsman’s league with plenty of scoring, the IPL boasts dominant spinners and fast bowlers capable of humbling even the most feared hitters. 

In 2011, Lasith Malinga led the IPL with a league-record 28 wickets. Malinga, a 28-year-old Sri Lanka native, also posted a sparkling 13.39 average and a minuscule 5.95 economy rate for the Mumbai Indians, carrying the club to a third-place finish. 

As if Malinga wasn’t enough firepower, the Mumbai squad also has another dominant right-armed bowler in Munaf Patel, who finished second behind his record-breaking teammate with 22 wickets. Patel and Malinga were two of only four bowlers last season to capture five wickets in a single match. 

The Royal Challengers Bangalore team will have its own ace bowler in Sreenath Aravind. A left-armed quick bowler, Aravind collected 21 wickets in a mere 46 overs, making his 13.14 strike rate better than even Malinga’s mark. Incredibly, Aravind only got his opportunity to show his skills when fellow lefty bowler Dirk Nannes suffered a side strain, opening a spot for Aravind on the roster. No longer a surprise, Aravind will look to continue his striking excellence over a full schedule in 2012.

Ravichandran Ashwin has helped lead the Chennai Super Kings to two consecutive IPL championships. Unlike his aforementioned counterparts, Ashwin is a right-armed off-break bowler, relying more on deception and variety than overpowering speed. Ashwin remains one of the few bowlers to ever master the carrom ball, a tricky spin flipped from the thumb and a bent middle finger. Thanks to his splendid technique, Ashwin will be a threat to match his 2011 totals of 20 wickets and a 6.14 economy rate.  

Rahul Sharma is another bowler to watch in 2012. After a disappointing initial campaign with the Deccan Chargers, Sharma exploded on the IPL scene last year with the Pune Warriors, notching 16 wickets in 50 overs. The 25-year-old googly bowler posted a 17.06 average to go along with a league-leading 5.46 economy rate, announcing his arrival amongst cricket’s premier players. 

Formula One Season’s Opening Race

Melbourne, Australia plays host to the first race of the Formula 1 calendar this weekend and the teams and their drivers are eager to show the world what they a capable of. This season sees a first with an outstanding list of 6 former champions lining up on the starting grid to compete for this years Champions Trophy.

Amongst the drivers who have held the coveted Driver Championship Trophy is returning champion Sebastian Vettel who is the favourite to take a third title this year. Kimi Raikkonen is bidding to make his return to Formula 1 a successful one and Jensen Button, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher will be hot on their heals as they bid to add another trophy to their mantelpiece.

With this wealth of driving talent the 2012 season promises to be a fiercely competitive and action packed year of Formula 1 and Melbourne is a great place to start. Circling a lake in Melbourne’s beautiful Albert Park, the race track is a little over 5km and offers a fantastic racing experience.

“Albert Park is a nice track. I really love that kind of street circuit, so I hope we will have a good weekend. I know the track this year and I’m more confident with the team and the car, so that will also help. The whole team have been pushing so hard all winter to improve, and I’ve also been pushing myself. It’s exciting to get back racing and to see what speed everyone has when the weekend gets underway.” Said Pastor Maldonado of the Melbourne Cicuit.

Manchester: Home Of Premier League Title

One thing is clear in the unfolding drama of the English Premier League: The champions will be from Manchester. Manchester’s two premier football clubs, United and City, are engaged in a battle for the championship spot. Both are set apart from the pack by over ten points, but they are only a couple of points apart, with Man City currently occupying the top slot with 67 points to United’s 65. With only eleven games and two months to go, this championship is still either team’s to win. Read more

Arsenal Come Up Short

The collective breath of Arsenal fans everywhere was held for 90 minutes last night as their team tried to stage the greatest comeback in the history of the Champions League. The first half saw them pull the aggregate score back to 3-4 with goals from Koscielny, Rosický and van Persie. Read more

Karl Mullen Rugby Legend

Sadly Karl Mullen, one of Ireland’s greatest sporting heroes, at the age of 82 died after a long illness, on the 27th April 2009. Mullen was a well known rugby legend who captained the Ireland team when they won the Grand Slam against Wales in Ravenhill on March 13th 1948 – an achievement unequalled until Declan Kidney’s team won the Grand Slam earlier this year. Read more

Prodigal Young Footballers

There have been many footballers that have taken the world by storm, and many of them proved themselves to be brilliant at a very young age. Wayne Rooney for example was signed by Everton before his eleventh birthday, after being spotted by Everton scout Bob Pendleton when he was playing for boys’ club Copplehouse in the Walton and Kirkdale Junior League. He went on to become the youngest goal-scorer of the Premiership in 2002 at the tender age of 16. Read more