Bradford Bulls handed six-point deduction by RFL

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Bradford Bulls have been handed a six-point deduction by the Rugby Football League for entering administration. 

 The points have been removed from the club's total with immediate effect, meaning they drop outside the Super League play-off positions. Bradford now sit in ninth position, two points below Hull KR, who occupy the final play-off berth. A consortium submitted a conditional bid for the Bulls last week and this was passed to the RFL on Tuesday. The six-point penalty is two points more than Wakefield and Crusaders were given when they went into administration and is the largest the RFL could have handed out. Bulls interim chief executive Gary Tasker said: "We expected a deduction of points by the RFL and we of course accept that penalty. We are not yet in a position to be able to offer any recompense to our creditors and as such a six-point deduction was what we expected. "We are still in the competition and a place in the top eight - and with it the ability to make the play-offs - is still within our grasp and we will be travelling to Warrington on Sunday in a confident and determined mood." Centre Chev Walker responded to the news of the points deduction by tweeting: "6 points of hard work on the field taken because of sloppy work off it!! Play-offs are still in reach long as we get our heads down." Administrator Brendan Guilfoyle revealed last week that the bid put forward by the consortium would be conditional on the Bulls being allowed to continue in Super League and lease back Odsal, which is owned by the RFL. "The best the RFL will get is a conditional bid," he told BBC Look North. "The consortium I'm dealing with won't move forward with the club in the second tier. It would be a totally different business model. "If this bid isn't accepted by them then this club will cease to exist and I will have failed." Bradford Bulls entered administration on 26 June after attempts to raise £1m to keep the club running were unsuccessful.











 25 July 2012 Last updated at 10:40
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/18981223

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Wimbledon Championships moved back a week from 2015

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Wimbledon will start a week later from 2015 to allow players a three-week rest period following the French Open. 

Currently, the All England Club opens its Championships two weeks after the play finishes at Roland Garros. But as of 2015 - when Wimbledon will run from 29 June to 12 July - competitors will have 22 days to make the transition from clay to grass. "There is widespread support within the game for extending the gap," said All England Club chairman Philip Brook. "The best interests of tennis will be served by allowing the players more time to recuperate and to adjust from the clay of Roland Garros to the grass at Wimbledon. "We think most players will welcome the prospect of a longer grass-court season and spending more time on the softer surface of grass." The Aegon Championships at Queen's Club usually begins a day after the French Open men's final and concludes on the following Sunday.

That is also true of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, and the Aegon Classic in Birmingham. In the week before Wimbledon, the Aegon International in Eastbourne and Unicef Open in the Netherlands are the most high-profile events. Wimbledon being put back a week may influence the North American hard-court schedule building up to the US Open, which traditionally starts on the final Monday in August. "In making this change from 2015 we recognise that there will be some important consequences for the overall tennis calendar and enough time needs to be given to allow us all to plan accordingly," Brook continued. "In anticipation of the work required, I would like to thank our colleagues throughout the game for their enthusiasm and support for the vision of a tennis calendar that will better suit the needs of the modern day sport." World number two Novak Djokovic suggested during Wimbledon that he supported the plan. "We need an extra week," he said. "It would work in the favour of players because it would give the top ones a little bit more time to get used to the surface. "Logically speaking, it is the slowest surface that we're talking about, clay, moving to the fastest one, which takes time." The switch may see Wimbledon avoid a clash with Formula 1's British Grand Prix and major football international tournaments.












19 July 2012 Last updated at 15:25
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/18913701

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The Open 2012: Paul Lawrie dazzles on day one

Friday, July 20, 2012

Former winner Paul Lawrie equalled his lowest-ever Open score with a first-day five under par 65 at Royal Lytham. 

The 1999 champion from Aberdeen chipped in for two of his six birdies. "It was probably the strangest start of my career, the first six holes - I didn't really hit many good shots and I was three under," he said. "We get enough bad luck so it is nice when it goes your way. After that I hit some really nice shots, played solid golf, and ended up with a good score." Lawrie is just one shot behind early pace-setter Adam Scott. The 43-year-old who came from a major record 10 shots behind on the final day to triumph in a play-off at Carnoustie, received a warm welcome from the galleries. "I heard my name called a lot today, which down in England is a bit of a surprise," added the Scot. "It's nice. It's the Open and everyone is here to support the British players as well as everyone else. "I hit some nice shots for them, which was good." Asked what had sparked his rise of about 240 places in the world rankings, Lawrie told BBC Sport: "When your 14-year-old kid beats you, it gets you out there and gets you working a bit harder. "I got a bit lazy with the whole thing. We were half talking about slowing down a wee bit and playing less tournaments and then Craig popped up and beat me. "I did some commentary on Sky and didn't think I was very good at that so I thought I'd better work a bit harder and get in the gym and try to make a bit of money playing golf again.

" Lawrie finished a great opening day with a short birdie putt at the 18th but Craig - who caddied for him as he missed the cut at last week's Scottish Open - and his younger son Michael were not there to witness it, having opted to stay at home to play themselves. "There were quite a few junior opens back home this week so both of them wanted to stay and play in them, which is fair enough," he explained. "They're both now decent players. It's a big deal and they wanted to stay home. "But the courses are shot over there with the rain so they've maybe had a bit of a disaster by staying at home. "But they've watched it on the television, I'm sure." Lawrie's previous 65 came in the final round at Sandwich in 1993, when he finished sixth. Martin Laird went round in level par 70, although it was an eventful opening day for the Glaswegian, who had a double bogey at the third, an eagle at the seventh and holed a bunker shot for a birdie at the last. Fellow Scot Richie Ramsay is in a tie for 49th place after a 71. Sandy Lyle, champion in 1985, and Steven O'Hara shot 74s, while Elliot Saltman finished two strokes further back.













 19 July 2012 Last updated at 17:03
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/golf/18915555

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Tottenham defender Ledley King retires from playing

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Tottenham defender Ledley King has retired from professional football and will take on an ambassadorial role at the club. 

 The former England defender, 31, has struggled with injuries for a number of years and has been unable to train on a daily basis. "Sadly my injuries and inability to train have finally brought an end to my career," King told Tottenham's website. "I'm pleased that I can continue to work within the club." King joined Spurs as a trainee at the age of 16. After his debut in 1999, he went on to make 264 league appearances for the club, winning the Carling Cup in 2008, and was club captain. The centre-back also represented England 21 times and was in the 2010 World Cup squad. His last appearance for his country came against the United States in South Africa two years ago. "I have been here since I was a boy," added King. "I have always considered it my club and have always found it hard to imagine wearing the shirt of another team. "I would like to say thank you to everyone at the club and to the fans.

"I have missed a lot of football over the years, but the Spurs fans have always been patient and incredibly supportive with me during difficult periods." Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy described King as a "wonderful player, captain and ambassador". "It has been well documented how he has battled against injury over the years," said Levy. "It is testament to the character of the man how he managed to sustain such high standards of performance on the pitch, while providing such fine leadership." King's last Premier League appearance for Tottenham came in a 1-0 defeat at QPR on 21 April.













19 July 2012 Last updated at 11:58
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18902734

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Anne Keothavong and Heather Watson lose at Stanford

Thursday, July 12, 2012

British number one Anne Keothavong and Heather Watson are both out of the Bank of West Classic in Stanford.

 

Keothavong, 28, was beaten 2-6 7-5 6-4 by unranked Mallory Burdette - who last won a professional singles match in 2008 - in the first round. Watson was beaten by the world number 37 Yanina Wickmayer in the second round on Wednesday. Belgian Wickmayer beat Watson in three sets, winning 5-7 6-1 6-4 to book her place in the third round. Burdette, 21, will next face second seed Marion Bartoli, while Keothavong is to represent Team GB at London 2012. Continue reading the main story “ I was her ball girl once when I was 12-years-old ” Nicole Gibbs on her second-round opponent Serena Williams Wimbledon champion Serena Williams beat wildcard Nicole Gibbs 6-2 6-1 in the second round. The 19-year-old, who was ball girl during a Williams match seven years ago. Afterwards Williams said she was struggling with jet lag after returning from England. "I couldn't quite believe I was playing today," she said. "But I'm healthy and I have a heartbeat so I didn't have a reason not to. "I definitely felt sluggish and it was good to get the win over with. I'm still waking up at 2am."








 12 July 2012 Last updated at 10:25
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/18794050

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London 2012: Athletes await Team GB Olympic selection appeals

Friday, July 6, 2012

Several athletes will learn the results of appeals on Friday against their omission from Team GB's Olympics squad. 

 800m runners Jemma Simpson and Gareth Warburton and sprinter Richard Kilty are among those to appeal. Simpson, Marilyn Okoro, Jenny Meadows and Emma Jackson were left out of the 800m despite running faster times than selected runner Lynsey Sharp. Meadows has said she will not appeal, but Simpson said: "Four athletes have been sacrificed for one." The appeals panel consists of UK Athletics (UKA) chairman Ed Warner, president Lynn Davies and an independent barrister. UKA will not say how many athletes have appealed until after the process is completed. "If you've been left out of the team you're going to be upset about it and you're going to fight until the bitter end," Simpson, 28, told BBC Cornwall. The selection panel included all the national coaches for each event, a statistician, medical officer, plus an independent chairman, barrister and observer. UKA head coach Charles van Commenee said Monday's selection meeting, which lasted six hours, spent a third of the time discussing the women's 800m. Simpson, Meadows, Jackson and Okoro have run the 'A' standard of one minute 59.9 seconds, while Olympic trials winner Sharp has run only the 'B' standard of 2:01.30.

Under Olympic selection rules, Great Britain cannot pick a mixture of 'A' and 'B' standard runners. Appeals will only be successful if an athlete can prove the selection procedure was not correctly followed or there was an error in facts or statistics. Welshman Warburton has achieved the 'A' qualifying standard this season, but failed to do so at the European Championships in Helsinki. The 30-year-old also missed out on a top-two finish at the UK trials, which would have guaranteed an Olympic place. UKA selected Andrew Osagie and Michael Rimmer for the 800m, declining the option to give Warburton a discretionary place. Kilty, 22, said he was left heartbroken after Christian Malcolm and James Ellington were the only picks for the men's 200m. "There are three spots available for the Olympic 200m. Two of them are already taken, and the only man eligible for the third spot was me," said the Middlesbrough-born sprinter. "I had two 'A' standards - one from last year and one from this year."












 6 July 2012 Last updated at 11:32
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18735410

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Andy Murray beats Marin Cilic to make Wimbledon quarters

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Andy Murray booked his place in a fifth straight Wimbledon quarter-final with victory over Marin Cilic in a match heavily disrupted by rain on Court One. 

The match began at 15:45 BST on Monday but was suspended at 16:52 with Murray leading by a set and a break. Play resumed at 12:10 on Tuesday, only to be stopped five minutes later with only two games being completed. They re-started at 13:10 and Murray won 7-5 6-2 6-3 to set up a tie with David Ferrer, who beat Juan Martin del Potro. "It's quite a tough match to analyse because it was very bitty," the British number one told BBC Sport. "We were on and off the court. "Last night was difficult, I was in a good position. Cilic started well today - he was hitting the ball cleaner. But I served well in the third set especially. "It was a good experience because I haven't had too many rain delays at Wimbledon and I haven't always done that well when I have had them. The Scot must be relieved to have wrapped up proceedings so quickly - they finished at 14:10 in two hours 10 minutes of match play - given that his last-eight tie will be played on Wednesday. With more showers expected later, there was a strong chance Murray could have been delayed further, while Ferrer and Del Potro were under the Centre Court roof and, therefore, guaranteed to finish. The decision to schedule him on a roofless Court One - for the only time all fortnight when the weather forecast was poor - led to heavy criticism.

 "I honestly don't care which court I play on," Murray added. "It makes no difference, but every player would rather play on Centre Court because it's got the roof, so you know you will get your match in. "But I don't deserve to play every match on Centre Court. I'm more than happy to play on Court One. I just wish the weather was a bit better. "It's tough but it's good experience for me. I don't want to say for sure, but I'll probably be on Centre from now on, so I don't have to worry about that." Murray led Cilic 7-5 3-1 at 40-0 when the rain arrived on Monday, frustrating for him as Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer - the only higher-ranked players left in the draw - won through on the same same. But if anything his form was more impressive on Tuesday as he subjected Queen's champion Cilic to a comprehensive defeat.













 3 July 2012 Last updated at 14:18
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/18664821

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