French revolution: Can Qatari cash make PSG a football force?
"Revons Plus Grand." Dream Bigger. It's Paris Saint-Germain’s new motto and you can see it splashed all over the Parc des Princes, the team’s home stadium.
There is no doubt everything has become bigger and better since the new owners, Qatar Sports Investments, bought a 70% stake in the club last May, as I found out on a recent trip to Paris.
I had the opportunity of spending some quality time with PSG’s new chairman, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, to get some insight into his project and vision for France’s great under-achievers. I also spoke with manager Carlo Ancelotti and star player Javier Pastore. FULL POST
Female driver fires up NASCAR series
I landed in Daytona Beach, Florida to cover my first Daytona 500, and in a matter of a few hours I witnessed sports history.
Danica Patrick was the fastest car on the track Friday. She won the pole. And for that she gets to start Saturday's season-opening Nationwide Series race as the lead car. It's the first time since Shawna Robinson in 1994 that a female driver has been the top qualifier in a NASCAR event. FULL POST
Should Manchester City accept Tevez's apology?
So Carlos Tevez has come crawling back to England, offering apologies to his club Manchester City.
Just over a week after his return to the UK - on Valentine's Day - the Argentina international has finally said sorry for going missing for the past three months, having fallen out with City manager Roberto Mancini.
It’s hard to tell exactly what has gone on behind the scenes in the past seven days at the English Premier League leaders, but Tevez now appears ready to show a commitment that he has notably lacked so far in his highly-paid stint at the Etihad Stadium. FULL POST
Can boxing climb out of the gutter?
It’s been a long time since anyone referred to boxing as a gentleman’s sport. Or, at least, a long time since they did it with a straight face. Any lingering pretensions of pugilism as an honorable and noble pursuit have vanished forever following the ugly press conference brawl between Dereck Chisora and fellow Briton David Haye in Germany.
As the quality of boxing’s heavyweight division has declined, so the outrageousness of pre and post-fight “stunts” has increased. But all the experts I have spoken to insist this was not a set-up. It was a genuine outbreak of madness that has demeaned a sport already, metaphorically, winded and hanging on for the bell. FULL POST
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Why Olympians must seize the moment
An Olympics is an amazing place to be. I call it a bit of a freak show – you sit in the canteen and you could see a seven-foot Chinese girl who is the best volleyball player in the world, and opposite you'd have an American basketball player you might have watched on television when you were growing up.
All of a sudden you are not only among other athletes you look up to, but the other sportsmen and women who are the best in their chosen field. It's an amazing who's who of the sporting world when you get to an Olympic village, so you try to take all that in and not get too excited. You don't want to burn up too much nervous energy, you've got to remember why you are there – to compete. FULL POST
Can Liverpool salvage the Suarez saga?
Better late than never. That is the nicest thing I can say about Liverpool FC’s efforts to take the right stance regarding the Luis Suarez race row.
If you take a look back at what the English club, its manager and players have said and done ever since Suarez racially abused Patrice Evra in a Premier League match back in October, it is quite simply a PR disaster.
From the initial decision not to apologize to the Manchester United player, to the wearing of t-shirts to support Suarez, to Kenny Dalglish’s insistence on standing up for his player even after he was charged by the English Football Association, they got everything wrong. FULL POST
Best of Africa? Ivory Coast and Zambia clash in final
Sunday sees the final of the Africa Cup of Nations between the Ivory Coast and Zambia and I can’t wait to see these two great sides battle for the trophy.
Ivory Coast were my pre-tournament tips to come out on top, but I always believed Zambia would be tough to beat so their appearance in the final is no surprise to me.
Many people are labeling them as underdogs, but I don’t believe that to be the case. They are a tough and well-disciplined side and Frenchman Herve Renard must take his share of credit. FULL POST
Why is the England football team always in a crisis?
What is it about the England national team? Hardly a year goes by where it is not afflicted by some sort of scandal.
Whether it is caused by something a player or coach says or does, or by a decision taken by the Football Association, it seems there is always something wrong in the England camp.
Fabio Capello's shock decision to resign, after the FA's decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy, is just the latest - and certainly one of the biggest - controversies to surround the England set-up. FULL POST
Did Super Bowl XLVI live up to the hype?
It's called the Super Bowl, but there's no guarantee that American football's showcase event will be a super show. Fortunately, the game that crowned the 2012 NFL champion here in Indianapolis on Sunday did live up to its much-hyped moniker.
Even if you don't support either the New England Patriots or the New York Giants, it was easy to get caught up in the high drama that was Super Bowl XLVI.
From the strange start - which saw Tom Brady call for intentional grounding in the end zone and led to a rare Super Bowl safety - to the Patriots quarterback needing to aim for the same end zone as time expired in order to pull off a game-saving comeback that never materialized ... this Super Bowl had it all. FULL POST
Super Bowl a Super event in the United States
The Super Bowl long ago became another holiday in the USA, bringing people together to enjoy the super-hyped finale to the NFL season. While families gather for Christmas and Thanksgiving, the Super Bowl gives Americans a chance to party with friends.
To gauge how highly Americans think of this event, it’s important to note that each Super Bowl is numbered by Roman numerals. In Sunday’s XLVI edition (that’s Super Bowl 46 for you non-history majors), the New England Patriots clash with the New York Giants in what is called one of the best matchups in recent memory.
The game is a rematch of Super Bowl XLII (42), when Eli Manning and the Giants spoiled the 18-0 Patriots’ quest for a perfect season. Manning threw the winning touchdown pass with 35 seconds left in the game to give Tom Brady his only loss in four Super Bowl appearances. FULL POST
