Sports & Casinos UK

The Three Lions have not beaten a good side under their coach and no A-list players have emerged since the last World CupMaybe we’re just not that into us. There are times when trying to rationalise the makeup, reach and ultimate capacities of the England football team can feel a bit like living inside the frantically hyper-formalised New York dating scene of the 1990s.Here we go again. Picking over the details. Hung up on what-ifs. Arguing about The Rules of the Game. Don’t be too available. Never text first. Do wear a wizard hat. Learn magic tricks. And be rude to people. Also, be endlessly mysterious. No, more mysterious than that. Seriously, where do you get off not having enough mystery? Continue reading...

The first British woman to win an Olympic athletics gold medal with her long jump victory at the 1964 Tokyo GamesOne of the true “golden girls” of the swinging 60s, Mary Rand, who has died aged 86, emerged as the brightest British sporting star of her era when she became her nation’s first female gold medallist in Olympic athletics, taking long jump victory with a world record leap in the Tokyo games of 1964. She also won silver in the pentathlon and bronze in the sprint relay at the event, making her the first British athlete to have claimed three medals in one Olympic Games.Her life was transformed after she broke the previous record on a wet day with a leap of 6.76 metres. On a cinder track, running into a headwind, her performance was spectacular. Always photogenic, Rand’s face became one of the most instantly recognisable as her every move was celebrated in newspapers and on television. Almost inevitably, she was named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 1964 and was made MBE 12 months later. Famously, the Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger named her as the woman he would most like to take on a date. Continue reading...

Sale 26-31 BathBath close to point of Prem leaders NorthamptonThe reservoir of talent at Bath runs deep. The reigning champions rested a raft of key men but ultimately had too much class for a Sale side whose season continues to unravel at a rate of knots.Johann van Graan’s men conjured two tries in the final quarter, including when their 20-year-old hooker Kepu Tuipulotu sent a delightful kick down the left channel for fellow replacement Bernard van der Linde to saunter clear. Continue reading...

Dane wins GC as Brady Gilmore takes stage seven victoryJasper Philipsen wins one-day In Flanders Fields raceJonas Vingegaard triumphed at the Volta a Catalunya as he continued his strong start to the season, while Brady Gilmore sprinted to a surprise stage seven victory. Vingegaard topped the general classification 1min 22sec ahead of France’s Lenny Martinez and a further eight seconds ahead of Germany’s Florian Lipowitz.Gilmore, racing with the retired football great Andrés Iniesta’s NSN team, edged out Dorian Godon and Remco Evenepoel in a thrilling bunch sprint finale. Sunday’s 95km final stage took in seven circuits of Montjuïc in Barcelona, where the Tour de France will start in July. Continue reading...

Desire to remain relevant is understandable, but a glance at his behavioural pattern casts doubt on his PGA Tour and Ryder Cup involvementIt is a scene that has become more extraordinary with the passing of time. Plenty of sportspeople have been guilty of or admitted to extramarital capers. Only Tiger Woods appeared live on television, in front of a hand‑picked audience, to deliver a 14‑minute mea culpa on his transgressions.American golf executives in their perfectly ironed slacks stood in sombre mood as Woods laid bare his “personal sins”. The venue, hilariously, was the home of the PGA Tour. Woods had no need to go into tawdry detail about his antics; the tabloid media had done that for him. “I convinced myself that normal rules didn’t apply,” Woods said. Sixteen years since that speech, it is worth pondering whether much has changed. Continue reading...

Croat failed to win a league match as interim head coachSpurs hope to name Tudor’s successor in coming daysTottenham have parted company with Igor Tudor after seven games and 44 days in a desperate attempt to halt their slide towards relegation from the Premier League.According to the club, the decision was mutually agreed. Tudor took one point from his five league matches to leave Tottenham one point and one place above the bottom three, the final straw coming with last Sunday’s 3-0 home defeat by Nottingham Forest. A previously unthinkable demotion to the Championship would be devastating for prestige and revenues. Continue reading...

The tiny Caribbean island nation has a familiar face in their ranks whose time with Australia in 2018 is proving crucial ahead of the tournamentCuraçao have been in dreamland since qualifying for a first World Cup last November but geopolitical reality kicked in as the team headed to Australia for games against China and the Socceroos. Due to war in the Middle East, Curaçao’s long-haul flight that should have been Amsterdam to Sydney via Dubai became instead Frankfurt to Singapore with lots of logistical stress and separate journeys.The two island nations – though Australia is about 17,000 times bigger than the Caribbean country – meet in Melbourne on Tuesday. Curaçao has a population of 155,000 making it the smallest nation to make it to the global stage. Despite the differences, the two teams have more than just 2026 World Cup preparation in common. Continue reading...

A terrific winner from Sjoeke Nüsken settled a fine game, putting Chelsea second and in control of the battle for third placeVilla, meantime, will look to keep a low block, I expect, with Chastity Grant and Lucia Kendal breaking quickly and seeking to create for Kirsty Hanson. Villa currently sit eighth in the table, but will see sixth as still within reach.So where is the game? Chelsea will look to play into Kerr and, if they can, get her turned and running either in behind or with the ball. while James wanders off the left in support. To make that happen, they’ll use Keira Walsh to control the pace of the game, with Kaptein and Nusken in particular bombing on. Continue reading...

Véron Mosengo-Omba was target of varied criticism‘I can retire with peace of mind and without constraint’Véron Mosengo-Omba, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) general secretary, has resigned after repeated calls for his removal and at a turbulent time for the game on the continent.Mosengo-Omba said he was retiring but his departure comes amid a crisis of confidence in the organisation’s leadership, with a growing fallout over the decision to strip Senegal of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) title and calls for an investigation into alleged corruption at African ­football’s governing body. Continue reading...

Haas driver escaped with bruising after 190mph crashLeading figures in F1 request a safety reviewDrivers and leading figures within Formula One have called for urgent action given their serious concern over the potential dangers now ­inherent in the sport after ­Oliver ­Bearman was involved in a huge accident at the Japanese Grand Prix.The crash, caused by cars ­coming at one another at enormously ­different speeds, was described by the ­British driver as “scary” and by his Haas team principal as a lucky escape. The race was ultimately won for Mercedes by Kimi Antonelli, the 19-year-old in the ­process becoming the youngest driver to lead the world championship. Continue reading...