Sports World Review of April 08
From the sublime to the ridiculous. The Launch of the Snooker Championships, the race for promotion and away from relegation builds momentum every match, speculation on who will or won't continue, leave, be fired or quit altogether was splashed all over the back pages... need I go on? Here's our top ten!
Unfair Dismisal...
It’s a strange world when Avram Grant could still lose his job at Chelsea even if his team do the double this season. Admittedly he is not the most charismatic of men, and his team often implode with too many egos in the squad but how can you sack a guy who has done a good job?
Sven's Comes and Goes In Three
The same question needs to be directed at Thaskin Shinawatra, the owner of Manchester City. Sven, his newly appointed manager, takes the club to 9th in the Premiership with a rag tag squad of European rejects, gets them scoring goals at Eastlands, even playing attractive football (unlike Rangers against Fiorentina) and still gets sacked. Shinawatra knows how to make money (although his countrymen question the legality of his methods) but seems to know as much about running a football club as McDonalds know how to serve healthy food. City fans are naturally going ballistic, including Noel Gallagher who says it’s totally ludicrous. Mind you that’s coming from a man who wrote: “Some day you will find me caught beneath the landslide in a champagne supernova in the sky, in a champagne supernova in the sky”. Umm! But he’s right though. Not about supernovas but about Sven!
Flying the Flag For Europe
Regardless of these shenanigans, British football still seems in pretty good shape with three teams reaching the finals of the two major European cups. It’s just a shame so few British players are actually in the teams.
Against All Odds
The US Masters Golf Championship saw the 28 year old South African Trevor Immelman hold off the challenge from Tiger Woods to secure his first Major title. Remarkably, he had a brain tumour removed four months prior to the tournament and his best finish since the operation had been 40th up until the US Masters.
Hope for Britain
Britain’s best hope in the tournament, Paul Casey, faded away on the last day having started the final day in 4th place. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” he said desperately trying to stay positive after he crashed out of contention. After his maximum record break of 147 in the World Snooker Championships, Ronnie O’Sullivan said he would spend the prize money (£157K) on a Bentley Convertible, as he’d “been dying to get one”. The next day Ali Carter also notched up a 147 break to share the prize money, and said he’d go out and buy a Ford Focus Convertible, as he too had been dying to get one.
Chilling tales at the Crucible
Meanwhile previous winner Sean Murphy, who exited the tournament in the second round, has said a better location for the tournament would be at a casino as the snooker tables at the Crucible have been so angled that they have reduced the matches to a lottery of chance.
Last Shall Be First!
Good news for British tennis player Robert Dee, dubbed the worst tennis player in the world. He won his first professional match in 55 attempts spanning a period of 3 years. Spare a thought for his defeated opponent Arzhang Darkhsham who not only has a completely unpronounceable name, but also has to bear the shame of being the man Robert Dee beat.
Punching Joe Show
Joe Calzaghe's is now officially the best boxer Britain has ever produced. The Welshman extended his unbeaten record to 45 fights over 18 years by beating Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas in April cheered on all the way by two other Welsh heavyweights, Tom Jones and Catherine Zeta Jones.