| New Zealand's Astle Unexpectedly Quits Cricket Before World Cup | | Posted Friday, January 26, 2007 3:19:27 PM by Blog57 Team | | Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- New Zealand batsman Nathan Astle, who holds the record for the fastest Test double-century, quit international cricket citing a lack of motivation, six weeks before he was due to play in his fourth World Cup. Astle, 35, announced his retirement with immediate effect today ahead of New Zealand's tri-series match against Australia this weekend. The World Cup starts March 13 in the Caribbean. ``I have been fighting this day for about eight months,'' Astle said in a statement. ``I so desperately wanted to go to my fourth World Cup, but deep down inside I knew that I was lacking motivation and the enjoyment levels were just not there.'' A hard-hitting batsman, Astle played 81 Tests and 223 one- day internationals. He scored 4,702 Test runs at an average of 37.02 and 7,090 one-day runs -- the second-most by a New Zealander -- at an average of 34.92.... | |
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| | | Rachel heading on World Cup mission | | Posted Saturday, January 13, 2007 1:19:34 PM by Blog57 Team | | BURNLEY'S World Cup goalkeeper Rachel Brown is ticking down the days until the Three Lions make a bid for global glory. The England Women's ace has played a key role helping her country reach football's greatest stage - the World Cup - held in China this September. It is three months since England celebrated an historic and joyous night in Rennes, where they held France to a 1-1 draw to rubber-stamp qualification to the finals for the first time in 12 years. .... | |
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| | | World Cup Rewind: An age-old analysis | | Posted Tuesday, November 14, 2006 3:31:17 AM by Blog57 Team | | Editor's Note: Hank McKee will play "Monday Morning Quarterback" each Monday during the ski season, recapping the World Cup weekend that was, the studs and duds, what happened and why, and the ramifications for the chase for the crystal globes. As the season progresses, perhaps "Professor McKee" will dish out some A's and D's as performances warrant. Enjoy skiracing.com's first installment of World Cup Rewind. THE LIGHT AT THE END of the training tunnel was artificial. Racing above the Arctic Circle is an interesting prospect. Twilight is such a deceiving light. At Levi, Finland, where the 2006-07 World Cup season just opened and the sun don’t shine, Momma Nature threw in a little fog, just to make the visibility a little softer. The Levi Black race hill was well-lighted.... | |
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| | | Patenaude is World Cup's first hat trick scorer, says FIFA | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 3:27:34 PM by Blog57 Team | | American soccer player Bert Patenaude has officially been recognized as the first person to score a hat trick in a World Cup match. Previous records gave Argentinian Guillermo Stabile, the credit for the first World Cup treble, but FIFA on Friday said, "Patenaude should hold the title by virtue of his three goals in the USA's 3-0 win over Paraguay in Montevideo (Uruguay) on 17 July 1930." The match took place two days before Stabile scored his three goals in Argentina's 6-3 victory against Mexico. Soccer's world governing body said it uncovered another discrepancy in its World Cup records, which meant Czechoslovakia's Oldrich Nejedly had not been correctly credited with netting all of his country's goals when it beat Germany 3-1 in the 1934 World Cup semifinals at Italy.... | |
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| | | Ghana wreck Banyana's World Cup dream | | Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 1:22:59 PM by Blog57 Team | | Banyana Banyana's dream of qualifying for the 2007 Fifa Women's World Cup became a nightmare on Tuesday night when they lost to Ghana. The women's senior national team lost 1-0 to the Black Queens of Ghana in the semifinals of the Fifth African Women's Championships. The match, which took place at Oghara Stadium in Nigeria, meant a place in the World Cup finals as the finalists gain automatic entry. But Banyana failed to make their first entrance at the World Cup. Coach Augustine Makalakalane was disappointed after his team bowed out to Ghana. He stated that his desire was to make history and lead his team to the World Cup to be held in China. .... | |
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| | | World Cup final ball sells for 2.4 million dollars | | Posted Tuesday, November 07, 2006 7:25:53 AM by Blog57 Team | | DOHA - The ball used in this year's World Cup final between Italy and France has sold at auction for a staggering 2.4 million dollars. Signed by the Italian team which beat France on penalties, it was snapped up by Qatar's emir-in-waiting Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad al-Thani, who will display it at the ASPIRE Academy here during the Asian Games next month, the Asiad website said. "I was at the World Cup final myself so it has sentimental value for me. I have supported Italy since I was young," he was quoted as saying by local media. The ball was donated by Asian Football Confederation president Mohammed bin Hammam, who is himself a Qatari. The money will be donated to the Reach Out To Asia charity initiative which raises funds for the disadvantaged and underprivileged across the region.... | |
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| | | Chappell denies he will quit after World Cup | | Posted Tuesday, October 31, 2006 3:17:01 PM by Blog57 Team | | New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Coach Greg Chappell denied Tuesday reports appearing in Australian media that he and the Indian cricket board have mutually agreed to part ways after the World Cup next year. 'No,' said Chappell in a SMS reply when IANS contacted him. Australian media reported Tuesday that Chappell, a former Australia captain, and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), have decided to part ways after the World Cup in the West Indies in March-April. Chappell's contract with the BCCI signed in May 2005 ends with the World Cup. It is still unclear if the contract will be renewed after the event. 'Greg Chappell's turbulent marriage with Indian cricket is set to end in divorce after next year's World Cup,' said a six-paragraph report published in the Melbourne daily Courier Mail.... | |
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| | | Rugby-Asian World Cup qualifiers postponed over security fears | | Posted Friday, October 27, 2006 3:17:44 PM by Blog57 Team | | LONDON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Rugby World Cup qualifiers involving Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong have been postponed because of security fears in Sri Lanka, the International Rugby Board (IRB) said on Friday. "The International Rugby Board executive committee today announced the postponement of the 2006 Asian Rugby Football Tournament that was scheduled to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Nov. 18-25," a statement said. "The decision was taken due to the current security situation in Sri Lanka." The Asia round three qualifiers for the World Cup in France next year were incorporated into the 12-team Asian tournament but they will now be rescheduled. A decision would be made in the coming days, the statement said. A decades-old conflict between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels has flared up again with intense fighting since July, ending a 2002 ceasefire.... | |
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| | | SA will host the best FIFA World Cup: Mbeki | | Posted Tuesday, October 24, 2006 3:10:32 PM by Blog57 Team | | President Thabo Mbeki has assured FIFA once again that this country will host one of the best world cup events ever. Mbeki, who was addressing delegates at the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup kick-off workshops in Cape Town, added that he was certain preparations will finished on time if not ahead of schedule. Mbeki felt it was necessary to allay everyone's fears, especially following speculation that South Africa will not be ready on time. It has been 36 months since South Africa was awarded the right to host the 2010 World Cup and, with 42 months remaining before the event, FIFA is still optimistic. The two-day workshop will deal with issues including transport, finance, safety and security as well as tourism. The workshop, billed by FIFA and the 2010 Local Organising Committee as a "kick-off" workshop, is also being attended by FIFAs 2010 commercial partners and representatives of cities that will host major games.... | |
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| | | World cup transparency will mean success - DA | | Posted Saturday, October 21, 2006 1:09:48 PM by Blog57 Team | | South Africans must be open about problems and possible solutions to make the 2010 World Cup successful, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Tony Leon said on Saturday. "In order to make the event a winning achievement, the DA believes we must raise our voices about possible problems and be quite clear about the solutions," he said speaking at the party's Free State Provincial Congress in Bloemfontein. "The time for government to act, to regain the initiative and to harness the popular imagination and energy, is now." He said it was disturbing that there appeared to be two visions for the event. "According to the first vision, we have a set of assurances from key role-players that all is going according to plan and the necessary infrastructure will be completed in good time." .... | |
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