There are 3 types of golfers.
There are the ones who get paid plenty of money to travel around the world and play thier favourite hobby. Men and women who have crafted and worked on thier swing for year and years to become the best in the world. That bracket is broken up into a few groups itself, but they are all still in the one whole group.
Next, there are the serious gofers. Men and women who take thier game very seriously but will never make it a living. They will buy the best equipment, join the best clubs and spend more money than a small African country on clothes, accesories and other gofing parafanalia like books, magazines and manuals on how to be a better golfer. This group is broken up by handicap. So, in effect, it doesn't really matter how much you have spent, it all comes down to who can play the best on any one day.
Finally, there is the group that I belong to. The Fun Group. Men and women who play golf for fun. A competition is a silly idea and an ealry tee-off is the best thing you can do, because then there is no one else around to see you do what you do on the 18 holes. In fact, 18 holes is a little stretch and 9 holes make more sense. Belonging to a club is absurd and our kit was bought at Makro. An 18 handicap might as well be scratch and hitting all the fairways is a far away dream.
Golfers like us get no recognition. We never win when we get invites, we aren't mentioned in the club newsletter and we NEVER get TV, radio or magazine exposure. This is YOU!
We are the ones who go out in the worst conditions. While the better golfers are cuddling up in bed or in the clubhouse, we know no better and carry on playing. We are the life blood of any golf course. We might play a little slower than the average super golfer, but we still finish in a reasonable time because we know that when we have hit the ball 10 times on a par 4, we should pick our ball up. We know that if the 4ball behind us are closing in, we will skip a hole. We play golf for the fun, the ourdoors, the birds and the trees and the companionship of the whole day.
Why then do the clubs charge extra for us to play? We are no better or worse than the supergolfer. We use the same showers, the same halfway house and the same grass. Are we inferior because we don't have the time and patience to practice?
If golf really wants to grow and develop and get rid of it's eletist image, then golfers like me need to focused on.
There is your challenge, take it.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
MARSHA MARESCIA TO LEAD THE SPAR WOMEN'S HOCKEY TEAM TO THE 2006 SAMSUNG WORLD CUP
The South African Hockey Association (SAHA) has announced the SPAR South African Women's Hockey Team to participate in the 2006 Samsung Hockey World Cup which takes place in Madrid, Spain from the 27th September to the 8th October 2006.
After the recent successful SPAR Challenge series against the touring Indian team and the SPAR Inter Provincial tournament the national selectors finalised today the team to represent South Africa at the 11th Women's World Cup.
Marsha Marescia who has represented her country 108 times in International matches takes over the captain's armband from the recently retired Lindsey Carlisle. Whilst leading her young team at the tournament Marsha will be able to rely on the experience of other senior players such as Caroline Jack, Kate Hector and Jen Wilson.
The national selectors have also brought in the exciting young striker Dirkie Chamberlain who will add more punch up front and will earn her first cap during the tournament.
The team will meet at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria from the 3rd to 8th September for a final training camp before their departure on the 14th September for Barcelona, Spain where they will participate in training matches against their Australian counterparts prior to the World Cup.
The SPAR SA Women’s Hockey Team:
Tarryn Bright (WP), Cindy Brown (WP), Dirkie Chamberlain (NOR), Fiona Butler (SG), Henna du Buisson (WP), Lesle Ann George (NW), Kate Hector (WP), Taryn Hosking (WP), Kim Hubach (NOR), Caroline Jack (SG), Lenise Marais (WP), Marsha Marescia (SG)(Capt), Tsoanelo Pholo (SG), Mariette Rix (WP), Shelley Russell (WP), Kathleen Taylor (WP), Sharne Wehmeyer (SG), Jen Wilson (KZN).
Non Traveling Reserves: Natasha Davidson (SG), Marcelle Keet (NOR), Sanani Mangisa (NOR) and Vidette Ryan (WP).
Management:
Mrs. Shaune Baaitjies (Manager), Miss Jenny King (Coach), Mr. Fabian Gregory (Assistant Coach), Mr. Adrian Carolan (Video / Statician), Dr. Karin Hugo (Trainer) and Ms. Marlene Naicker (Physiotherapist)
After the recent successful SPAR Challenge series against the touring Indian team and the SPAR Inter Provincial tournament the national selectors finalised today the team to represent South Africa at the 11th Women's World Cup.
Marsha Marescia who has represented her country 108 times in International matches takes over the captain's armband from the recently retired Lindsey Carlisle. Whilst leading her young team at the tournament Marsha will be able to rely on the experience of other senior players such as Caroline Jack, Kate Hector and Jen Wilson.
The national selectors have also brought in the exciting young striker Dirkie Chamberlain who will add more punch up front and will earn her first cap during the tournament.
The team will meet at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria from the 3rd to 8th September for a final training camp before their departure on the 14th September for Barcelona, Spain where they will participate in training matches against their Australian counterparts prior to the World Cup.
The SPAR SA Women’s Hockey Team:
Tarryn Bright (WP), Cindy Brown (WP), Dirkie Chamberlain (NOR), Fiona Butler (SG), Henna du Buisson (WP), Lesle Ann George (NW), Kate Hector (WP), Taryn Hosking (WP), Kim Hubach (NOR), Caroline Jack (SG), Lenise Marais (WP), Marsha Marescia (SG)(Capt), Tsoanelo Pholo (SG), Mariette Rix (WP), Shelley Russell (WP), Kathleen Taylor (WP), Sharne Wehmeyer (SG), Jen Wilson (KZN).
Non Traveling Reserves: Natasha Davidson (SG), Marcelle Keet (NOR), Sanani Mangisa (NOR) and Vidette Ryan (WP).
Management:
Mrs. Shaune Baaitjies (Manager), Miss Jenny King (Coach), Mr. Fabian Gregory (Assistant Coach), Mr. Adrian Carolan (Video / Statician), Dr. Karin Hugo (Trainer) and Ms. Marlene Naicker (Physiotherapist)
K3s get nod to race in Hansa Powerade Fish
The organisers of the Hansa Powerade Fish canoe marathon have agreed to allow the unique K3 craft to continue entering the two-day marathon, after ruling that they do not pose a safety risk to the hugely popular event.
Suggestion had been made that the long three-seater kayaks pose a risk to others on the river because they are not as manoeuvrable as traditional K1 and K2 craft.
However, after canvassing the opinions of the Safety Officers in each of the regional Unions, the race committee agreed that K3s will be allowed to continue to take part in the race, but that steps would be taken to ensure that they do no interfere with the other entrants.
The Hansa Powerade Fish will host the SA K2 River Championships this year, and is obligated to ensure that the K2 racing class enjoys priority at the event.
Suggestion had been made that the long three-seater kayaks pose a risk to others on the river because they are not as manoeuvrable as traditional K1 and K2 craft.
However, after canvassing the opinions of the Safety Officers in each of the regional Unions, the race committee agreed that K3s will be allowed to continue to take part in the race, but that steps would be taken to ensure that they do no interfere with the other entrants.
The Hansa Powerade Fish will host the SA K2 River Championships this year, and is obligated to ensure that the K2 racing class enjoys priority at the event.
Big 4 back for the SAA Open
rnie Els, Retief Goosen, Tim Clark and
Trevor Immelman have all confirmed their participation in the €1 million
South African Airways Open Championship that is set to be one of the most
historic in its illustrious history.
It was confirmed at the official launch of the Championship that South
Africa’s leading professional golfers will from December 14-17 2006 herald
the return of the game’s oldest national Open to one of the most storied
layouts in golf, with Humewood Golf Club also celebrating its 75th
anniversary this year.
Last year’s event produced one of the closest finishes in its history when
Goosen birdied the final two holes to win his second national Open after a
dramatic final round battle with Els at The Links at Fancourt.
This will be the fifth occasion that Humewood Golf Club hosts the country’s
national Open, the last being in 1957.
The Championship is also considered to be returning to its roots, with it
first being played in Port Elizabeth in 1893. It was from these beginnings
that it grew into the premier event it is today, co-sanctioned by both the
European Tour and Sunshine Tour and featuring the cream of the world’s
players.
"The South African Golf Association (SAGA) is very proud to be able to stage
our national Open once more at Humewood Golf Club, recognised worldwide as
one of the better genuine links courses,” said Neels Steyn, President of the
SAGA, the custodians of the Championship.
”The combined effort of the Sunshine Tour and the European Tour, together
with the title sponsor, South African Airways, is greatly appreciated by all
golfers in South Africa and we look forward to bringing top calibre
professional golf back to the Eastern Cape."
History will also be made in that this marks the first time the Championship
has been played on two links courses in consecutive years, moving from The
Links at Fancourt to Humewood, the only natural links course in South
Africa.
Several changes have been made to a layout expected to provide a stern test
for the world’s finest professionals, including the lengthening of the
course to the over 7 000-yard standard of all British Opens.
“We’ve added five new tees to lengthen it to over 7 000 yards, and we’ve
added six new bunkers. We’ve grown in the fairways a bit and we’re not
cutting the rough, and the wind in December will make it a very good
challenge,” said Keith Simpson, President of Humewood Golf Club.
Trevor Immelman have all confirmed their participation in the €1 million
South African Airways Open Championship that is set to be one of the most
historic in its illustrious history.
It was confirmed at the official launch of the Championship that South
Africa’s leading professional golfers will from December 14-17 2006 herald
the return of the game’s oldest national Open to one of the most storied
layouts in golf, with Humewood Golf Club also celebrating its 75th
anniversary this year.
Last year’s event produced one of the closest finishes in its history when
Goosen birdied the final two holes to win his second national Open after a
dramatic final round battle with Els at The Links at Fancourt.
This will be the fifth occasion that Humewood Golf Club hosts the country’s
national Open, the last being in 1957.
The Championship is also considered to be returning to its roots, with it
first being played in Port Elizabeth in 1893. It was from these beginnings
that it grew into the premier event it is today, co-sanctioned by both the
European Tour and Sunshine Tour and featuring the cream of the world’s
players.
"The South African Golf Association (SAGA) is very proud to be able to stage
our national Open once more at Humewood Golf Club, recognised worldwide as
one of the better genuine links courses,” said Neels Steyn, President of the
SAGA, the custodians of the Championship.
”The combined effort of the Sunshine Tour and the European Tour, together
with the title sponsor, South African Airways, is greatly appreciated by all
golfers in South Africa and we look forward to bringing top calibre
professional golf back to the Eastern Cape."
History will also be made in that this marks the first time the Championship
has been played on two links courses in consecutive years, moving from The
Links at Fancourt to Humewood, the only natural links course in South
Africa.
Several changes have been made to a layout expected to provide a stern test
for the world’s finest professionals, including the lengthening of the
course to the over 7 000-yard standard of all British Opens.
“We’ve added five new tees to lengthen it to over 7 000 yards, and we’ve
added six new bunkers. We’ve grown in the fairways a bit and we’re not
cutting the rough, and the wind in December will make it a very good
challenge,” said Keith Simpson, President of Humewood Golf Club.
Monday, August 28, 2006
ASTARLOA TO LEAD TEAM BARLOWORLD AT TOUR OF BRITAIN
South African sponsored Pro-Continental cycling team, Team Barloworld will join an elite group of cyclists who will battle it out for the prestigious Tour of Britain title when the tour starts in Glasgow on Tuesday, August 29.
The team will be spearheaded by the 2003 World Champion Igor Astarloa. The Spaniard returns to cycling after recovering from a serious bout of dermatitis caused by an allergy a few weeks ago.
The strong contingent of teammates who compliment Astarloa include South African 2005 National Champion Ryan Cox, and 2004 stage winner at the Tour of Britain Enrico Degano (Ita).
Degano has bagged four victories this season already, and poses a huge threat at the Tour where he also finished in a close second in the final stage of the Tour of Britain in 2005.
“We have done well at this Tour in previous years, and look forward to riding the mostly flat routes. Our team includes ace sprinters who are certain to get a good result,” says Claudio Corti, Team Manager, Team Barloworld.
Giosué Bonomi (Ita), Mads Christensen (Den) and Hugo Sabido complete the team.
Competing against the top five Pro-Tour teams including T-Mobile, CSC and Davitamon will not deter Team Barloworld in gunning for more wins, especially following teammate Felix Cardenas (Col) win over Pro-Tour favourites at the GP Industria & Artigianato in Italy last Thursday.
Cardenas raced to his third victory this season beating Jakob Pill (Team CSC) and Kanstantsin Siutsou (Acqua e Sapone). Earlier this season Degano went on to beat legendary Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) for the second time in three days at the GP Costa Azul in Portugal.
“Team Barloworld have proven to be worthy contenders after outstanding performances in Pro-Tour races they were invited to during this season. We have 15 wins already, and are confident we will get more,” said Valerio Tebaldi, Directeur Sportif, Team Barloworld.
The Tour of Britain covers six stages over six days, with the first stage starting in Glasgow. The Tour then passes through the Northwest, Yorkshire and the West Midlands. The fifth stage is in the South East of England while stage six ends in the British capital and sees the riders competing on a 20 lap circuit and crossing the finish line outside Buckingham Palace.
The team will be spearheaded by the 2003 World Champion Igor Astarloa. The Spaniard returns to cycling after recovering from a serious bout of dermatitis caused by an allergy a few weeks ago.
The strong contingent of teammates who compliment Astarloa include South African 2005 National Champion Ryan Cox, and 2004 stage winner at the Tour of Britain Enrico Degano (Ita).
Degano has bagged four victories this season already, and poses a huge threat at the Tour where he also finished in a close second in the final stage of the Tour of Britain in 2005.
“We have done well at this Tour in previous years, and look forward to riding the mostly flat routes. Our team includes ace sprinters who are certain to get a good result,” says Claudio Corti, Team Manager, Team Barloworld.
Giosué Bonomi (Ita), Mads Christensen (Den) and Hugo Sabido complete the team.
Competing against the top five Pro-Tour teams including T-Mobile, CSC and Davitamon will not deter Team Barloworld in gunning for more wins, especially following teammate Felix Cardenas (Col) win over Pro-Tour favourites at the GP Industria & Artigianato in Italy last Thursday.
Cardenas raced to his third victory this season beating Jakob Pill (Team CSC) and Kanstantsin Siutsou (Acqua e Sapone). Earlier this season Degano went on to beat legendary Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) for the second time in three days at the GP Costa Azul in Portugal.
“Team Barloworld have proven to be worthy contenders after outstanding performances in Pro-Tour races they were invited to during this season. We have 15 wins already, and are confident we will get more,” said Valerio Tebaldi, Directeur Sportif, Team Barloworld.
The Tour of Britain covers six stages over six days, with the first stage starting in Glasgow. The Tour then passes through the Northwest, Yorkshire and the West Midlands. The fifth stage is in the South East of England while stage six ends in the British capital and sees the riders competing on a 20 lap circuit and crossing the finish line outside Buckingham Palace.
Doping is no longer the issue any more......
Some leading footballers are storing stem cells from their newborn babies as a potential future treatment for their own career-threatening sports injuries, according to a report in the Sunday Times.
Players are freezing the cells taken from the umbilical cord blood of their babies as a possible future cure for cartilage and ligament problems. Stem cells can be used to regenerate damaged organs and tissue because they are the earliest form of cells.
The paper quoted one unnamed Premier League player from a north west club as saying: "We decided to store our new baby's stem cells for possible future therapeutic reasons, both for our children and possibly for myself.
"As a footballer, if you're prone to injury it can mean the end of your career, so having your stem cells - a repair kit if you like - on hand makes sense."
The player is one of five who have frozen their children's stem cells with Liverpool-based CryoGenesis International (CGI), a commercial stem cell bank.
The Times said that in the past five years more than 11 000 parents have paid up to £1 500 to store their babies' stem cells in order to grow tissue, should their children become ill.
Thousands of successful umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants have already been carried out to treat children with severe blood conditions or immune disorders.
Players are freezing the cells taken from the umbilical cord blood of their babies as a possible future cure for cartilage and ligament problems. Stem cells can be used to regenerate damaged organs and tissue because they are the earliest form of cells.
The paper quoted one unnamed Premier League player from a north west club as saying: "We decided to store our new baby's stem cells for possible future therapeutic reasons, both for our children and possibly for myself.
"As a footballer, if you're prone to injury it can mean the end of your career, so having your stem cells - a repair kit if you like - on hand makes sense."
The player is one of five who have frozen their children's stem cells with Liverpool-based CryoGenesis International (CGI), a commercial stem cell bank.
The Times said that in the past five years more than 11 000 parents have paid up to £1 500 to store their babies' stem cells in order to grow tissue, should their children become ill.
Thousands of successful umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants have already been carried out to treat children with severe blood conditions or immune disorders.
White outfoxes the sprinters at Powerade Lost City
The crisp morning air of the Pilanesberg was set alight on Saturday with a field of 5000 participants blazing around the flat and fast course in the 9th edition of the PowerAde Cansa Lost City Classic. The main titles were claimed by Nic White from Microsoft and Carla Rabie from Cyclelab.
White made this his second victory in two weeks by denying the sprinters their famous sprint finish this route is renowned for. Juan van Heerden (Colorpress Cyclingnews) commented afterwards: “Sixty kilometers into the race we established break-away group with ten riders, with quite a few sprinters, but Nic jumped us with one kilometer to go.
“It was a catch22 for us. The guy who would initiate the chase to bring him back would be the guy who has nothing left for the dash to the line, but if nobody initiated we all lose anyway. And that’s the way it turned out.”
White, quite surprised to have won this renowned sprinter’s race commented: “Our team had the numbers in the final move and couldn’t just let it go to the line. I’m happy with my result, but the most important thing today was a win for the team.”
The race-winning move came after sixty kilometers when eleven riders managed to get clear, including race favourites Malcolm Lange (Microsoft), Juan van Heerden (Colorpress Cyclingnews), Jay Thompson (Dimension Data) and Nolan Hoffman (Exel).
The two coastal teams who had made the journey (Sharks Cycling and CSC CVT) had to return disappointed after finding the going a bit tough. Team CSC and the Sharks lined the start line with high expectations but were forced to play second fiddle by some impressive riding from the local professionals.
Carla Rabie, the defending champion in the ladies category, managed to fend off Ronel van Wyk (Bionic) to claim her second consecutive win.
The participation of the Chiawelo Cyclingnews Development club youngsters in the 70km event generated a lot of interest. This group of Sowetan youngsters decided to take part in preparation for the Powerade Dome2Dome whose organisers recently named them as official beneficiary of the event.
The eleven kids that took part are the result of the development initiative supported by the National Federation, the Lottery, Colorpress and Cyclingnews, and is driven by National Manager Tony Harding.
The success of the program is evident in the fact that this grass root development initiative is already delivering kids who can start competing in races.
White made this his second victory in two weeks by denying the sprinters their famous sprint finish this route is renowned for. Juan van Heerden (Colorpress Cyclingnews) commented afterwards: “Sixty kilometers into the race we established break-away group with ten riders, with quite a few sprinters, but Nic jumped us with one kilometer to go.
“It was a catch22 for us. The guy who would initiate the chase to bring him back would be the guy who has nothing left for the dash to the line, but if nobody initiated we all lose anyway. And that’s the way it turned out.”
White, quite surprised to have won this renowned sprinter’s race commented: “Our team had the numbers in the final move and couldn’t just let it go to the line. I’m happy with my result, but the most important thing today was a win for the team.”
The race-winning move came after sixty kilometers when eleven riders managed to get clear, including race favourites Malcolm Lange (Microsoft), Juan van Heerden (Colorpress Cyclingnews), Jay Thompson (Dimension Data) and Nolan Hoffman (Exel).
The two coastal teams who had made the journey (Sharks Cycling and CSC CVT) had to return disappointed after finding the going a bit tough. Team CSC and the Sharks lined the start line with high expectations but were forced to play second fiddle by some impressive riding from the local professionals.
Carla Rabie, the defending champion in the ladies category, managed to fend off Ronel van Wyk (Bionic) to claim her second consecutive win.
The participation of the Chiawelo Cyclingnews Development club youngsters in the 70km event generated a lot of interest. This group of Sowetan youngsters decided to take part in preparation for the Powerade Dome2Dome whose organisers recently named them as official beneficiary of the event.
The eleven kids that took part are the result of the development initiative supported by the National Federation, the Lottery, Colorpress and Cyclingnews, and is driven by National Manager Tony Harding.
The success of the program is evident in the fact that this grass root development initiative is already delivering kids who can start competing in races.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
The "Boks"
I use that word in the heading with a little bit of caution. Please note, the 15 men that were on the field on Saturday should, in no way, be called the Boks. Old men who are fat and slow, sounds more le they were.
Are those the best 15 rugby players in South Africa?
Simple question that needs a simple answer. OK, let's give Jake a little bit of credit and let's rephrase the questions.
Are those the best non-injured 15 rugby players in South Africa?
If they are and they were then we (the rugby loving public) are seriously screwed. Not to mention those 15 poor overweight, sad and argumentative men on the field.
NZ put on thier worst side in ages and the boks (small b intended) still get klapped.
My wife asked a good question yesterday. She wanted to know why Percy is still playing. Percy was playing rugby when Francios Pienaar was out winning the World Cup. Percy has seen the rise and fall of Booby Skinstad. Percy has seen an all white side followed by an Ethnically Correct side followed by a missed tackel. Percy has seen Wales and Province and the Sharks. Twice.
And we still can't find someone who is better, faster, quicker and stronger than Percy? How much are we paying for rugby development in South Africa exactly?
Of all the men in South Africa who want to play rugby, I bet we can find one, just one, who is better than Percy. In fact, I will donate all my next month's eraning to the charity of your choice if we can't find an entire 15 who can play better than those 15 who were at Loftus on Saturday.
I know it, you know it and the crowd who were walking out 20 mnutes early knew it.
Are those the best 15 rugby players in South Africa?
Simple question that needs a simple answer. OK, let's give Jake a little bit of credit and let's rephrase the questions.
Are those the best non-injured 15 rugby players in South Africa?
If they are and they were then we (the rugby loving public) are seriously screwed. Not to mention those 15 poor overweight, sad and argumentative men on the field.
NZ put on thier worst side in ages and the boks (small b intended) still get klapped.
My wife asked a good question yesterday. She wanted to know why Percy is still playing. Percy was playing rugby when Francios Pienaar was out winning the World Cup. Percy has seen the rise and fall of Booby Skinstad. Percy has seen an all white side followed by an Ethnically Correct side followed by a missed tackel. Percy has seen Wales and Province and the Sharks. Twice.
And we still can't find someone who is better, faster, quicker and stronger than Percy? How much are we paying for rugby development in South Africa exactly?
Of all the men in South Africa who want to play rugby, I bet we can find one, just one, who is better than Percy. In fact, I will donate all my next month's eraning to the charity of your choice if we can't find an entire 15 who can play better than those 15 who were at Loftus on Saturday.
I know it, you know it and the crowd who were walking out 20 mnutes early knew it.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
"GOOD FORTUNE" OR BAD FORTUNE FOR BAFANA SQUAD
It was not clear whether it was a case of "Good Fortune" or bad fortune when Pitso Mosimane on Thursday announced a largely predictable squad for the key opening 2008 African Nations Cup qualifying game against the Congo at FNB Stadium next Saturday.
Included in the list of 19 players named by the Bafana caretaker coach was the experienced, if enigmatic Quinton Fortune, whose elusive non-appearances for the South African team because of injury or an assortment of other vague and mysterious reasons have earned him the nickname of "The Phantom."
But no sooner had Mosimane and Safa CEO Raymond Hack proclaimed at the squad announcement that "all the selected players are available" than an urgent message was received that Fortune had been injured in the English Premiership draw between Bolton Wanderers and Fulham on Wednesday night and replaced in the 65th minute.
"At this moment," reacted a visibly perplexed Mosimane, "I do not know the exact extent of the injury and whether it could affect Quinton's availability for the Congo game. But we will monitor the situation closely and take whatever appropriate steps are required."
Fortune apart, Mosimane has come up with a predictable list of players that includes the welcome return of Benni McCarthy and Macbeth Sibaya --both selected for the recent 1-0 friendly victory against Namibia, but eventually excused from participating in the game.
Mosimane made a point of stressing the importance to Bafana of McCarthy, who on Wednesday scored his first goal in the English Premiership for Blackburn Rovers in a 1-1 draw with Everton.
And the Bafana coach said he hoped to boost the squad further by adding former star Hans Vonk to the technical team as the goalkeeper coach.
Vonk has retired from international soccer, but recently joined Ajax Cape Town from Ajax Amsterdam to continue his career at club level.
"I will be contacting Ajax and Hans to see if he will be available to assist us," said Mosimane.
Players out of favour from the squad selected for the Namibian game are Mamelodi Sundowns' Josta Dladla and Kaizer Chiefs' Gert Schalkwyk, while Benoni United defender Tshepo Masilela, a likely nominal Bafana reserve, has been allowed to revert to the South African under-23 squad for the Olympic Games qualifying game against Namibia in Potchefstroom next Sunday.
At the same time, a significant return after injury to the Bafana squad is Orlando Pirates' mesmerising, but controversial midfielder, Benedict Vilakazi.
And, under the circumstances, Mosimane could hardly have selected a much stronger squad for a game that is designed to herald the dawn of a new Bafana era after the national team's miserable slump to 76th in the Fifa rankings.
Hack also confirmed at the announcment that Bafana coach-designate Carlos Alberto Parreira would attend the Congo match, but principally in the role of an observer.
The renowned former Brazilian national coach officially assumes his position as Bafana coach on January 1, 2007.
The Bafana Squad:
Goalkeepers: Calvin Marlin (Mamelodi Sundowns), Rowen Fernandez (Kaizer Chiefs).
Defenders: Ricardo Katza (SuperSport United), Nasief Morris (Panathinaikos), Aaron Mokoena (Blackburn Rovers), Vuyo Mere (Mamelodi Sundowns), Cyril Nzama (Kaizer Chiefs), Bradley Carnell (Karlsruhe), Benson Mhlongo (Mamelodi Sundowns).
Midfielders: Steven Pienaar (Borrusia Dortmund), Siyabonga Nkosi (Kaizer Chiefs), Surprise Moriri (Mamelodi Sundowns), Quinton Fortune (Bolton Wanderers), Macbeth Sibaya (Rubin Kazan, Russia), Dillon Sheppard (Mamelodi Sundowns), Benedict Vilakazi (Orlando Pirates).
Strikers: Benedict McCarthy (Blackburn Rovers), Glen Salmon (Groningen, Holland), Katleho Mashego (SuperSport United).
Included in the list of 19 players named by the Bafana caretaker coach was the experienced, if enigmatic Quinton Fortune, whose elusive non-appearances for the South African team because of injury or an assortment of other vague and mysterious reasons have earned him the nickname of "The Phantom."
But no sooner had Mosimane and Safa CEO Raymond Hack proclaimed at the squad announcement that "all the selected players are available" than an urgent message was received that Fortune had been injured in the English Premiership draw between Bolton Wanderers and Fulham on Wednesday night and replaced in the 65th minute.
"At this moment," reacted a visibly perplexed Mosimane, "I do not know the exact extent of the injury and whether it could affect Quinton's availability for the Congo game. But we will monitor the situation closely and take whatever appropriate steps are required."
Fortune apart, Mosimane has come up with a predictable list of players that includes the welcome return of Benni McCarthy and Macbeth Sibaya --both selected for the recent 1-0 friendly victory against Namibia, but eventually excused from participating in the game.
Mosimane made a point of stressing the importance to Bafana of McCarthy, who on Wednesday scored his first goal in the English Premiership for Blackburn Rovers in a 1-1 draw with Everton.
And the Bafana coach said he hoped to boost the squad further by adding former star Hans Vonk to the technical team as the goalkeeper coach.
Vonk has retired from international soccer, but recently joined Ajax Cape Town from Ajax Amsterdam to continue his career at club level.
"I will be contacting Ajax and Hans to see if he will be available to assist us," said Mosimane.
Players out of favour from the squad selected for the Namibian game are Mamelodi Sundowns' Josta Dladla and Kaizer Chiefs' Gert Schalkwyk, while Benoni United defender Tshepo Masilela, a likely nominal Bafana reserve, has been allowed to revert to the South African under-23 squad for the Olympic Games qualifying game against Namibia in Potchefstroom next Sunday.
At the same time, a significant return after injury to the Bafana squad is Orlando Pirates' mesmerising, but controversial midfielder, Benedict Vilakazi.
And, under the circumstances, Mosimane could hardly have selected a much stronger squad for a game that is designed to herald the dawn of a new Bafana era after the national team's miserable slump to 76th in the Fifa rankings.
Hack also confirmed at the announcment that Bafana coach-designate Carlos Alberto Parreira would attend the Congo match, but principally in the role of an observer.
The renowned former Brazilian national coach officially assumes his position as Bafana coach on January 1, 2007.
The Bafana Squad:
Goalkeepers: Calvin Marlin (Mamelodi Sundowns), Rowen Fernandez (Kaizer Chiefs).
Defenders: Ricardo Katza (SuperSport United), Nasief Morris (Panathinaikos), Aaron Mokoena (Blackburn Rovers), Vuyo Mere (Mamelodi Sundowns), Cyril Nzama (Kaizer Chiefs), Bradley Carnell (Karlsruhe), Benson Mhlongo (Mamelodi Sundowns).
Midfielders: Steven Pienaar (Borrusia Dortmund), Siyabonga Nkosi (Kaizer Chiefs), Surprise Moriri (Mamelodi Sundowns), Quinton Fortune (Bolton Wanderers), Macbeth Sibaya (Rubin Kazan, Russia), Dillon Sheppard (Mamelodi Sundowns), Benedict Vilakazi (Orlando Pirates).
Strikers: Benedict McCarthy (Blackburn Rovers), Glen Salmon (Groningen, Holland), Katleho Mashego (SuperSport United).
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Boks against 'B' Blacks
Centre Jean de Villiers is in the South African team to play New Zealand in Pretoria on Saturday but the Springboks were hit with another serious injury blow on Wednesday.
Loose forward Juan Smith, who has been in excellent form this season and was named in the team to play South Africa's first home Tri-nations match of the season on Saturday, injured a left thigh muscle in practice on Wednesday.
"I'm not sure at all whether Juan will be able to play, he's gone off to get his injury checked and I'll know nothing until he gets back," Springbok coach Jake White told reporters at the team announcement.
"The injury is to his left quadriceps, so it is totally unrelated to the hamstring twinge he had earlier in the week in his right leg.
"Juan has been one of the stars of the season and was a form player in the Super 14, too. He's creeping up to 30 test caps and he was playing under-21 rugby only three years ago. He's definitely needed in the team."
White said losing Smith on top of the long-term injuries to fellow forwards Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger and Gurthro Steenkamp meant the selected side was "like a South African B team".
LONG LIST
De Villiers, who has 21 caps and is the first-choice inside centre, was one of several players on a formidable injury list who missed the overseas leg of the Tri-nations due to bruised ribs he sustained against Scotland in Durban in June.
The 25-year-old replaces Wynand Olivier, who drops to the bench alongside returning flyhalf Andre Pretorius and the uncapped scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar.
White said he did not believe the Springboks would be up against a second-string All Blacks side, despite the visitors making 12 changes to the team that won the Tri-nations with their 34-27 win over the Wallabies in Auckland on Saturday.
"I'm sure the guys who are playing will up their game because they would have been told that if they want to stay a part of the All Blacks then they're going to have to show they can play at the next level," White said.
New Zealand have not won in South Africa since 2003, when they hammered the Springboks 52-16 in Pretoria.
Team: 15-Percy Montgomery; 14-Akona Ndungane, 13-Jaque Fourie, 12-Jean de Villiers, 11-Bryan Habana; 10-Butch James, 9-Fourie du Preez; 8-Jacques Cronje, 7-Juan Smith, 6-Solly Tyibilika, 5-Victor Matfield, 4-Johann Muller, 3-CJ van der Linde, 2-John Smit (captain), 1- Os du Randt
Replacements: Wynand Olivier, Andre Pretorius, Ruan Pienaar, Joe van Niekerk, Albert van den Berg, Chiliboy Ralepelle, BJ Botha.
Loose forward Juan Smith, who has been in excellent form this season and was named in the team to play South Africa's first home Tri-nations match of the season on Saturday, injured a left thigh muscle in practice on Wednesday.
"I'm not sure at all whether Juan will be able to play, he's gone off to get his injury checked and I'll know nothing until he gets back," Springbok coach Jake White told reporters at the team announcement.
"The injury is to his left quadriceps, so it is totally unrelated to the hamstring twinge he had earlier in the week in his right leg.
"Juan has been one of the stars of the season and was a form player in the Super 14, too. He's creeping up to 30 test caps and he was playing under-21 rugby only three years ago. He's definitely needed in the team."
White said losing Smith on top of the long-term injuries to fellow forwards Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger and Gurthro Steenkamp meant the selected side was "like a South African B team".
LONG LIST
De Villiers, who has 21 caps and is the first-choice inside centre, was one of several players on a formidable injury list who missed the overseas leg of the Tri-nations due to bruised ribs he sustained against Scotland in Durban in June.
The 25-year-old replaces Wynand Olivier, who drops to the bench alongside returning flyhalf Andre Pretorius and the uncapped scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar.
White said he did not believe the Springboks would be up against a second-string All Blacks side, despite the visitors making 12 changes to the team that won the Tri-nations with their 34-27 win over the Wallabies in Auckland on Saturday.
"I'm sure the guys who are playing will up their game because they would have been told that if they want to stay a part of the All Blacks then they're going to have to show they can play at the next level," White said.
New Zealand have not won in South Africa since 2003, when they hammered the Springboks 52-16 in Pretoria.
Team: 15-Percy Montgomery; 14-Akona Ndungane, 13-Jaque Fourie, 12-Jean de Villiers, 11-Bryan Habana; 10-Butch James, 9-Fourie du Preez; 8-Jacques Cronje, 7-Juan Smith, 6-Solly Tyibilika, 5-Victor Matfield, 4-Johann Muller, 3-CJ van der Linde, 2-John Smit (captain), 1- Os du Randt
Replacements: Wynand Olivier, Andre Pretorius, Ruan Pienaar, Joe van Niekerk, Albert van den Berg, Chiliboy Ralepelle, BJ Botha.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Let's all Laugh at the Tri-Nations
Just to prove what a farce the new Tri-Nations has become, New Zealand have made 11 changes, count them, ELEVEN, ahead of the Pretoria test against South Africa on Saturday.
South Africa are also quite proud of the fact that most of thier players are no longer injured. Who will be the 1st to complain when fat, tired and unfit Springboks get beaten on Saturday?
Should New Zealand put on a 2nd tring side against the Boks? OF COURSE!!!
Why risk injuries to your top flight team ahead of a world cup just around the corner. The Boks will feature all of the same faces that have been playing for the last 2 years. Some of them will be hurt and some of them will not make the World Cup, yet Jake will continue with them.
One ould also argue that New Zealand aren't putting on a 2nd string side. That thier B team is just as good, if not better, than the best SA can string together. If only Jake had thought about choosing more black players. There are certainly more of them around South Africa than thier are aging fat white guys.
Predictions on the score?
It seems that William Hill and Bet365 aren't even taking bets on the match. Maybe I am a little early but it seems starnge that some of the world's biggest bookmakers aren't taking bets. Maybe a Springbok win on the cards? Anyone say match fixing here? Not me.
New Zealand: Leon MacDonald, Rico Gear, Mils Muliaina, Luke McAlister, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Dan Carter, Piri Weepu, Chris Masoe, Richie McCaw (c), Reuben Thorne, Ali Williams, Greg Rawlinson, Greg Somerville, Anton Oliver, Neemia Tialata. Replacements: Keven Mealamu, Tony Woolcock, Chris Jack, Jerry Collins, Jimmy Cowan, Sam Tuitupou, Isaia Toeava.
South Africa are also quite proud of the fact that most of thier players are no longer injured. Who will be the 1st to complain when fat, tired and unfit Springboks get beaten on Saturday?
Should New Zealand put on a 2nd tring side against the Boks? OF COURSE!!!
Why risk injuries to your top flight team ahead of a world cup just around the corner. The Boks will feature all of the same faces that have been playing for the last 2 years. Some of them will be hurt and some of them will not make the World Cup, yet Jake will continue with them.
One ould also argue that New Zealand aren't putting on a 2nd string side. That thier B team is just as good, if not better, than the best SA can string together. If only Jake had thought about choosing more black players. There are certainly more of them around South Africa than thier are aging fat white guys.
Predictions on the score?
It seems that William Hill and Bet365 aren't even taking bets on the match. Maybe I am a little early but it seems starnge that some of the world's biggest bookmakers aren't taking bets. Maybe a Springbok win on the cards? Anyone say match fixing here? Not me.
New Zealand: Leon MacDonald, Rico Gear, Mils Muliaina, Luke McAlister, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Dan Carter, Piri Weepu, Chris Masoe, Richie McCaw (c), Reuben Thorne, Ali Williams, Greg Rawlinson, Greg Somerville, Anton Oliver, Neemia Tialata. Replacements: Keven Mealamu, Tony Woolcock, Chris Jack, Jerry Collins, Jimmy Cowan, Sam Tuitupou, Isaia Toeava.
IRB to stream all Women's RWC matches live
The IRB is bringing you a first for Rugby - watch every match LIVE or replayed as live from the IRB Women's Rugby World Cup 2006 through the internet, with Women's Rugby World Cup LIVE! The Tournament, which is being staged in Edmonton, Canada, begins on 31 August and climaxes with the final on 17 September. The Black Ferns of New Zealand are the defending champions, but the competition is set to be stiffer than ever. You can watch a single match on Women's RWC LIVE! for £2.50. Or you can follow your team through their three pool games, LIVE, for £6.50. Do you want access to every single game LIVE? A Women's RWC LIVE! tournament pass, covering all 30 games, costs £49.99. There are also packages for the semi finals and final. You can also watch a replay of every match as live, for £1.50. Payment can be made with a credit card, debit card or PayPal. There is a currency converter to help you work out the cost in your own currency. Women's RWC LIVE! will be going live soon, so go to www.rwcwomens.com for more details on how to sign up for the service!
Monday, August 21, 2006
The Boks ahead of the Storm
Springbok coach Jake White said on Monday he was optimistic he would have a full squad of 28 to choose from for Saturday's Tri-Nations test against New Zealand in Pretoria.
"We'll see after training this afternoon but I'm very hopeful the medical staff will give everyone the all-clear," White told reporters in Pretoria.
"Danie Rossouw (hamstring) looks okay and has probably recovered enough to stay with the squad and Andre Pretorius (shin and calf) is also much better.
"Juan Smith (hamstring), Jacques Cronje (ankle) and Joe van Niekerk (calf) should also be fine and it makes little sense to get someone extra in if he's not going to be needed," White said.
The Springboks are looking to end a four-match losing streak as injuries have sliced through their squad, with first-choice players Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger, Ashwin Willemse and Gurthro Steenkamp still unavailable.
White said he would not be making many changes to the team who went down narrowly 20-18 to Australia in Sydney on Aug. 5.
"The team will be as close to Sydney as possible and the youngsters who have come in have done reasonably well. There's light at the end of the tunnel in terms of our planning going forward."
Inside centre Jean de Villiers is back with the squad after missing the overseas leg of the Tri-nations and will almost certainly be recalled for Saturday's meeting with the All Blacks.
White said New Zealand's 34-27 win over Australia in Auckland on Saturday had reaffirmed the high regard in which he held the All Blacks.
"I was pleasantly surprised with the Wallabies because I thought it would be much more one-sided. Eden Park has been a happy hunting ground for the All Blacks and they've been playing very well lately.
"But it speaks volumes for what the All Blacks are getting right as a squad that they were able to come back from being 20-11 down. They didn't look like panicking and it said a lot about their character."
The Kiwis flew over to South Africa on Sunday, with the Tri Nations title safely retained but coach Graham Henry is still looking to win in the republic for the first time with New Zealand.
"Saturday will be a big game for Graham Henry and he's also busy getting ready for the World Cup. So I really can't see that there's going to be nothing to play for," White said. "They are going to give us as much stick as they can."
"We'll see after training this afternoon but I'm very hopeful the medical staff will give everyone the all-clear," White told reporters in Pretoria.
"Danie Rossouw (hamstring) looks okay and has probably recovered enough to stay with the squad and Andre Pretorius (shin and calf) is also much better.
"Juan Smith (hamstring), Jacques Cronje (ankle) and Joe van Niekerk (calf) should also be fine and it makes little sense to get someone extra in if he's not going to be needed," White said.
The Springboks are looking to end a four-match losing streak as injuries have sliced through their squad, with first-choice players Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger, Ashwin Willemse and Gurthro Steenkamp still unavailable.
White said he would not be making many changes to the team who went down narrowly 20-18 to Australia in Sydney on Aug. 5.
"The team will be as close to Sydney as possible and the youngsters who have come in have done reasonably well. There's light at the end of the tunnel in terms of our planning going forward."
Inside centre Jean de Villiers is back with the squad after missing the overseas leg of the Tri-nations and will almost certainly be recalled for Saturday's meeting with the All Blacks.
White said New Zealand's 34-27 win over Australia in Auckland on Saturday had reaffirmed the high regard in which he held the All Blacks.
"I was pleasantly surprised with the Wallabies because I thought it would be much more one-sided. Eden Park has been a happy hunting ground for the All Blacks and they've been playing very well lately.
"But it speaks volumes for what the All Blacks are getting right as a squad that they were able to come back from being 20-11 down. They didn't look like panicking and it said a lot about their character."
The Kiwis flew over to South Africa on Sunday, with the Tri Nations title safely retained but coach Graham Henry is still looking to win in the republic for the first time with New Zealand.
"Saturday will be a big game for Graham Henry and he's also busy getting ready for the World Cup. So I really can't see that there's going to be nothing to play for," White said. "They are going to give us as much stick as they can."
Friday, August 18, 2006
Tri Nations Farce
So the big boys of rugby decided to expand the Tri Nations to even more games. This after the Super 14 was an expanded Super 12. The rugby season started in February of this year and, let's face it, the Super 14 was a bit of a yawn.
The Tri Nations is no different. Should the All Blacks win, at home, against Australia tomorrow, the series will be sealed up. The remaining 3 games to be held in South Africa will have no meaning, no reason and no pasion.
New Zealand are already saying that should they win, they will only send a 2nd team out to South Africa to look after their players ahead of the World Cup next year. I agree with them. South Africa are not going to sit back and play some school boy rugby. The grounds in South Africa at the end of winter are at their hardest. The crowds are angry and demanding a win from the Boks, so why send your best when you KNOW there is nothing in it?
As for not being able to beat Australia tomorrow? The last time the All Blacks lost against the Wallabies in Auckland was 1986. 20 years ago!!!!
Moving along....
With nothing in it but pride, should Jake White risk his old men, like Percy, or should he be putting in some young blood and seeing how they perform at the highest level? Ok, it's not quite the highest, but it's still pretty tough.
Will Jake continue with putting in old, broken players with the story that he is putting faith in his players even though they are going through a bad patch? JAKE!!!!! YOU ARE THE SPRINGBOK COACH!!!
You must put the best player in the side for that week. Send the poor form player off to his province and region and let him get confidence there. The Springbok squad is no place to re build a player!
The Tri Nations is no different. Should the All Blacks win, at home, against Australia tomorrow, the series will be sealed up. The remaining 3 games to be held in South Africa will have no meaning, no reason and no pasion.
New Zealand are already saying that should they win, they will only send a 2nd team out to South Africa to look after their players ahead of the World Cup next year. I agree with them. South Africa are not going to sit back and play some school boy rugby. The grounds in South Africa at the end of winter are at their hardest. The crowds are angry and demanding a win from the Boks, so why send your best when you KNOW there is nothing in it?
As for not being able to beat Australia tomorrow? The last time the All Blacks lost against the Wallabies in Auckland was 1986. 20 years ago!!!!
Moving along....
With nothing in it but pride, should Jake White risk his old men, like Percy, or should he be putting in some young blood and seeing how they perform at the highest level? Ok, it's not quite the highest, but it's still pretty tough.
Will Jake continue with putting in old, broken players with the story that he is putting faith in his players even though they are going through a bad patch? JAKE!!!!! YOU ARE THE SPRINGBOK COACH!!!
You must put the best player in the side for that week. Send the poor form player off to his province and region and let him get confidence there. The Springbok squad is no place to re build a player!
Transformation and Anti racism Rugby Committee-TARC
Media release
The Transformation and Anti-Racism Rugby Committee (TARC), a national coalition of black rugby clubs and its supporters , wishes to announce its campaign against racism and the lack of transformation in South African Rugby. TARC calls for a boycott of the three upcoming Tri-Nations test matches involving the Springboks and will be staging a protest before the match between the Springboks and the All Blacks. TARC wishes to highlight the unacceptable levels of racism prevalent in rugby in
TARC demands that racism be removed from rugby as a priority and further demands that meaningful initiatives to transform rugby be instigated with the involvement of black clubs with immediate effect. Black South Africans cannot continue to support the South African team without these demands being met and TARC will continue on this road of mass action until these demands are met.
Issued By TARC
Luvuyo Matsha- Convenor TARC
Derick Jardine-Deputy Convenor TARC
DR Asad Bhorat- Secretary-TARC
Thursday, August 17, 2006
ULLRICH NAMED IN SPANISH DOPING PROBE FAX
German cycling star Jan Ullrich has been named directly in connection with a Spanish doping probe, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) reported on Thursday.
The Munich-based SZ broadsheet printed a fax with the name "Jan Ulrich" (written with one letter "l") on it and signed by "Eufuentes." Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes is at the centre of the investigation.
The report said that in the fax Fuentes asks Colombian Nelson Giraldo Flores, allegedly a courier, for help during the "Festival in May," which according to the SZ was a reference to the Giro d'Italia which took place May 6-28, 2006.
The fax lists among others several riders, including Ullrich, who competed in the Giro, and the later Giro winner Ivan Basso.
Ullrich, 32, has said repeatedly that he didn't use forbidden substances and did not know Fuentes. His manager Wolfgang Strohband said Thursday he was in possession of the fax and named the SZ article "outrageous."
Ullrich and Basso were suspended by their teams, T-Mobile and CSC, respectively, on the eve of the Tour de France last month over the Spanish probe in which investigators allege that Fuentes carried out illegal blood transfusion among riders and gave them doping substances. Ullrich was later sacked by T-Mobile.
The SZ report came a day after the Swiss cycling federation announced proceedings against Ullrich as the German lives in Switzerland and has a Swiss cycling licence.
Ullrich could face a life ban if found guilty as a second-time offender. He was caught using a recreational drug a few years ago.
The Munich-based SZ broadsheet printed a fax with the name "Jan Ulrich" (written with one letter "l") on it and signed by "Eufuentes." Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes is at the centre of the investigation.
The report said that in the fax Fuentes asks Colombian Nelson Giraldo Flores, allegedly a courier, for help during the "Festival in May," which according to the SZ was a reference to the Giro d'Italia which took place May 6-28, 2006.
The fax lists among others several riders, including Ullrich, who competed in the Giro, and the later Giro winner Ivan Basso.
Ullrich, 32, has said repeatedly that he didn't use forbidden substances and did not know Fuentes. His manager Wolfgang Strohband said Thursday he was in possession of the fax and named the SZ article "outrageous."
Ullrich and Basso were suspended by their teams, T-Mobile and CSC, respectively, on the eve of the Tour de France last month over the Spanish probe in which investigators allege that Fuentes carried out illegal blood transfusion among riders and gave them doping substances. Ullrich was later sacked by T-Mobile.
The SZ report came a day after the Swiss cycling federation announced proceedings against Ullrich as the German lives in Switzerland and has a Swiss cycling licence.
Ullrich could face a life ban if found guilty as a second-time offender. He was caught using a recreational drug a few years ago.
SAFA have been untruthful
News from Brazil is that the new South African soccer coach, Corlos Alberto Parreira only put pen to paper yesterday.
SAFA sent out a press release late last night calling an emergemcy press breifing to let us know what was going on with Carlos.
For a month or two now, we have been hearing from SAFA that Carlos has signed and everything is going swimingly. NOT SO!!!
There has been a new offer from South Africa in the last couple of days and NOW only is Carlos going to sign his 4 year contract to coach Bafana Bafana. Why did SAFA not tell us that he hasn't signed? We kept asking anf they kept saying that he has signed and that he will be here "in the next couple of week". You lying SOBS.....
And how much do you think that this brilliant footballing mind will be earning? Although there are no offcial numbers coming from SAFA (are we surprised?) the number seems to be around R100 million.
R25 000 000 per year
R2 083 333 per month
R69 444 per day
R2 893 per hour
R48 per minute
So, little ones, while Carlos is sleeping his 8 hours, he will have earned R23 000. I hope he has dreams of football and sweats while he is sleeping because he is being paid some hard cash.
How much time does he spend on the toilet everyday? Eating food or watching TV? R48 / minute!!!! Every minute of every day for 4 years!!!!
A recent survey showed that company bosses on average earned R4654 a day. If stock options exercised were included, the figure came to R12518 a day. The top 10 earning CEOs' average salary came to R32794 a day. Carlos will be earning TWICE what the top 10 CEO's in South Africa earn!
And what do you think that the average salary for a soccer player in South Africa is? According to News 24's George Dearnaley......R5000 per month. Let me bring out my calculator again.....
'Carlos' salary' divided by 'average player salary' = 416
Unions in South Africa are complaining that CEO's of major companies earn 46 to 50 times more than the lowest paid individual in the company. Carlos will earn 416 times more than THE AVERAGE!!!!!
Is it just me or that INSANE?
But let's sit back for a little while here. If the coach of the side is earning that, how much are the administrators earning? All the coach does is tell the team how to play. The administrators are the ones that do the real work, aren't they?
For the truth, Carlos will only be here next year to coach the side for 4 years to the 2010 world cup. Is anyone putting money on how long he will stay before he decides that his bosses are complete idiots and packs for Perth?
I give him 2 years. He will not make 2010. Carlos has been the coach of six nations before South Africa. He is a serial coach.
After South Africa struggled to beat lowly Namibia for the 1st time last night, Carlos will only be joining the side halfway though the qualifying for the African Cup of Nations. That's right, we will have a caretaker coach again for the games against both Congo and Chad and Zambia. Two of them being away games.
Well done SAFA. You guys are seriously brilliant.
SAFA sent out a press release late last night calling an emergemcy press breifing to let us know what was going on with Carlos.
For a month or two now, we have been hearing from SAFA that Carlos has signed and everything is going swimingly. NOT SO!!!
There has been a new offer from South Africa in the last couple of days and NOW only is Carlos going to sign his 4 year contract to coach Bafana Bafana. Why did SAFA not tell us that he hasn't signed? We kept asking anf they kept saying that he has signed and that he will be here "in the next couple of week". You lying SOBS.....
And how much do you think that this brilliant footballing mind will be earning? Although there are no offcial numbers coming from SAFA (are we surprised?) the number seems to be around R100 million.
R25 000 000 per year
R2 083 333 per month
R69 444 per day
R2 893 per hour
R48 per minute
So, little ones, while Carlos is sleeping his 8 hours, he will have earned R23 000. I hope he has dreams of football and sweats while he is sleeping because he is being paid some hard cash.
How much time does he spend on the toilet everyday? Eating food or watching TV? R48 / minute!!!! Every minute of every day for 4 years!!!!
A recent survey showed that company bosses on average earned R4654 a day. If stock options exercised were included, the figure came to R12518 a day. The top 10 earning CEOs' average salary came to R32794 a day. Carlos will be earning TWICE what the top 10 CEO's in South Africa earn!
And what do you think that the average salary for a soccer player in South Africa is? According to News 24's George Dearnaley......R5000 per month. Let me bring out my calculator again.....
'Carlos' salary' divided by 'average player salary' = 416
Unions in South Africa are complaining that CEO's of major companies earn 46 to 50 times more than the lowest paid individual in the company. Carlos will earn 416 times more than THE AVERAGE!!!!!
Is it just me or that INSANE?
But let's sit back for a little while here. If the coach of the side is earning that, how much are the administrators earning? All the coach does is tell the team how to play. The administrators are the ones that do the real work, aren't they?
For the truth, Carlos will only be here next year to coach the side for 4 years to the 2010 world cup. Is anyone putting money on how long he will stay before he decides that his bosses are complete idiots and packs for Perth?
I give him 2 years. He will not make 2010. Carlos has been the coach of six nations before South Africa. He is a serial coach.
After South Africa struggled to beat lowly Namibia for the 1st time last night, Carlos will only be joining the side halfway though the qualifying for the African Cup of Nations. That's right, we will have a caretaker coach again for the games against both Congo and Chad and Zambia. Two of them being away games.
Well done SAFA. You guys are seriously brilliant.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
SA CRICKET PULL OUT
It's official. South Africa have pulled out of the triangular cricket series in Sri Lanka because of security concerns.
Yesterday, an independent security expert was called in to appraise the situation and he obviously said that the team should leave. For many days now, the players have been saying that they don't want to be in Sri Lanka and it looks as if sense has prevailed.
The question now is what is the wording of the statement. If South Africa pull out without ICC approval, then there are major fines to be paid. Something in the region of $1.6 million. If the ICC gives the go-ahead, then the series will be re-scheduled and everything should be OK.
India are also not keen to stay and play as many games as have been scheduled. They say that they would rather play less games now that South Africa aren't there anymore.
One bad thing about this is that South Africa's World Cup preparations are a little broken now.
Yesterday, an independent security expert was called in to appraise the situation and he obviously said that the team should leave. For many days now, the players have been saying that they don't want to be in Sri Lanka and it looks as if sense has prevailed.
The question now is what is the wording of the statement. If South Africa pull out without ICC approval, then there are major fines to be paid. Something in the region of $1.6 million. If the ICC gives the go-ahead, then the series will be re-scheduled and everything should be OK.
India are also not keen to stay and play as many games as have been scheduled. They say that they would rather play less games now that South Africa aren't there anymore.
One bad thing about this is that South Africa's World Cup preparations are a little broken now.
Touchline Media Mobizines GO MOBILE
So you are sitting in the pub and some guy comes up to you and asks you something about those Boks. Or you mother wants to know who the new hot cricketer is. Now a real sports fan would know the answer at the flick of a switch, but there are better things to do at a pub, like drink. Or at your Mom's house, like get washing done, so Touchline Media is out to help us.
SImply send an SMS and all your sports info is at your fingertips. Who needs paper anymore?
Also, if you are a little short of ideas for that hot date meal you were planning on boiling, you can do that too with Men's Health. Great idea, give it a try. I know I will. Read more about it at Touchline Media Mobizines GO MOBILE
SImply send an SMS and all your sports info is at your fingertips. Who needs paper anymore?
Also, if you are a little short of ideas for that hot date meal you were planning on boiling, you can do that too with Men's Health. Great idea, give it a try. I know I will. Read more about it at Touchline Media Mobizines GO MOBILE
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
LUKE WATSON – THE EXPLOSIVE STORY
In his most brutally honest and revealing interview ever, Western Province captain and Springbok outcast Luke Watson reveals to Sports Illustrated the real reasons why Springbok coach Jake White refuses to pick him. Available on newsstands now (R26.95) Sports Illustrated packs an explosive punch with a September issue that delves deep into the great rivalry that is White vs. Watson.
White has publicly expressed his rugby reasons for Watson’s exclusion from the Springbok squad, while Watson believes that White’s exclusion stems from a deeper malice from his U21 rugby days and his father, Cheeky’s political background.
In an extract from the interview Watson says, “I have heard directly from people who have coached me that Jake believes I come with too much political baggage because of my father.
That is not good in a team environment.”“The type of political baggage I come with is normally held in very high regard, as my father was a liberation fighter. He is a man who fought for the democracy and equality in South Africa, and he realizes his dream today to a certain extent. “If Jake White doesn’t agree with that sort of legacy and background, then he’s against everything that equality and unity stand for. He’s basically saying that what my father did was the wrong thing.”
“Obviously I would love to play for the Springboks, but I do not want to find myself in the position where I’m compromising my beliefs in equality, integrity and honour to achieve that goal. I believe that Jake has lost the integrity, honour and pride that the Boks should be about,” says Watson.
Steve Smith, Editor of Sports Illustrated remarks, “It took a lot of courage for Luke Watson to go on record and finally reveal the background to his relationship with Jake White. Luke is a determined individual, a gifted leader, and a very talented rugby player – I hope that getting it all out in the open adds weight to the call for his inclusion in the Bok squad.”
Also in the issue, South Africa’s club rugby killing fields, tennis’ rivalry Federer vs. Nadal, whether Ernie can win another Major and exactly why they call the FIFA World Cup the “Beautiful Game.” The September issue is over flowing with sporting action, international sporting fixtures and gorgeous women, a must for all sporting fans!
So get to your nearest retail outlet and get the exclusive scoop on Luke Watson in the September issue of Sports Illustrated, on sale now.
For more information on Sports Illustrated, head to www.sportsillustrated.co.za
South Africa cancel one-day match
South Africa's opening one-day match with Sri Lanka has been cancelled and the series hangs in the balance after a fatal bomb blast in Colombo.
Seven people were killed in Monday's bombing, close to where South Africa and India players are staying.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) chief executive Duleep Mendis said the South Africans were in contact with their foreign ministry to take a final decision.
"We will have a clear picture later in the day," Mendis said.
"If the tri-series goes ahead, the match will be played at a later date."
The first match was set to take place on Monday between Sri Lanka and South Africa but it was washed out after heavy thunderstorms and rescheduled for the following day.
Brian Basson of Cricket South Africa (CSA) said on Monday: "I would like to have guarantees that our players will be safe.
"If I don't get those guarantees I will have no hesitation in withdrawing the squad from Sri Lanka."
A security forces convoy escorting a Pakistan embassy vehicle was hit by a Claymore fragmentation mine, around a mile from the team hotels.
SLC officials held emergency discussions with the South Africa and India team managers, coaches and security advisers, trying to reassure them player safety was not threatened.
But South Africa's players asked to go home on Monday night after a team meeting.
CSA must clear the decision to return home with the International Cricket Council to ensure they will not face financial penalties.
Even if South Africa pull out, SLC indicated it was keen to a head-to-head series with India.
It is not the first time that cricket teams have been caught up in potentially dangerous situations in Sri Lanka.
In 1987 a bomb blast prompted New Zealand to abandon their tour and they again returned home early in 1993 after a suicide bomber killed a Sri Lankan naval officer outside the team's hotel.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Armstrong offers Landis free advice
Lance Armstrong believes Floyd Landis has said too much in public in his attempt to disprove the positive drug test that cost him the Tour de France title.
"In this day and age, you're not going to get a fair shake in the media," said Armstrong, who rode his bike for charity on Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"And the more you get out there and talk about it, I have to talk about it. The best is just to let the process play out and get out of the media. ... I would have encouraged him just to lay low." Landis, who once competed on Armstrong's team, appeared on US late-night television and on all four major network morning shows.
Landis has cited a variety of possible reasons for his failed test: Ingesting something that raised his testosterone, cortisone shots for pain in his degenerating hip, drinking beer and whiskey the night before the test, thyroid medication, his natural metabolism, and dehydration.
Armstrong, who overcame testicular cancer to win the Tour a record seven consecutivong's two laps on Saturday attracted proceeds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Indiana University Cancer Center.
The 34-year-old Armstrong said he's enjoying life with his three kids and does not have the itch to come out of retirement.
"It would not at all be a very serious thought," he said. "I'm too busy. I'm having too much fun. I think I certainly made the right decision. The fact of the matter is that I'm old for a guy who wants to win the Tour de France. I wouldn't want to come back and get second." Armstrong is glad to use cycling to help with cancer research. "I understand what cycling did for me," he said. "I know that without the sport ... I wouldn't have the opportunity to try to transcend the sport or try to do something bigger in life or move onto another phase of life."Saturday, August 12, 2006
Connolly defends lacklustre Wallabies' performance
Australia coach John Connolly has defended his team's disappointing display in last Saturday's scrappy 20-18 Tri-Nations win over South Africa.
The Wallabies were criticised for their tactics but Connolly said the Springboks had not allowed them to play the way they wanted to after being crushed 49-0 by the Australians in their first meeting in this year's competition.
"There's no doubt we are not comfortable about putting on a game that people don't like," Connolly told reporters in Canberra on Saturday.
"When we beat them 49-blot it was their greatest defeat ever by Australia. Six tries and everyone was cock-a-hoop. We employed the same tactics and it never worked out.
"There's no doubt the Springboks refused to play against us. We kicked a lot in the first half and 90-odd per cent of those kicks from our own defensive line, they got the ball and they kicked it back."
Connolly said he was surprised by the South African approach to the game.
"Tactically we went in with a plan. We thought they would run it back at us but they did not. They kicked it back and waited for us to put it out.
"It was a battle of wills in terms of tactics and the game suffered but sport is about winning. We're five out of seven this year, so that's not a bad effort."
Australia flyhalf Stephen Larkham also chose to take a positive view of the match.
"What you have to understand is that we did win the game," Larkham said. "It was very ugly but we got out of the game what we wanted to get out of it, which was four points and still in with a chance of winning the Tri-Nations."
The Wallabies' next match in the competition is against New Zealand in Auckland on Saturday.
The Wallabies were criticised for their tactics but Connolly said the Springboks had not allowed them to play the way they wanted to after being crushed 49-0 by the Australians in their first meeting in this year's competition.
"There's no doubt we are not comfortable about putting on a game that people don't like," Connolly told reporters in Canberra on Saturday.
"When we beat them 49-blot it was their greatest defeat ever by Australia. Six tries and everyone was cock-a-hoop. We employed the same tactics and it never worked out.
"There's no doubt the Springboks refused to play against us. We kicked a lot in the first half and 90-odd per cent of those kicks from our own defensive line, they got the ball and they kicked it back."
Connolly said he was surprised by the South African approach to the game.
"Tactically we went in with a plan. We thought they would run it back at us but they did not. They kicked it back and waited for us to put it out.
"It was a battle of wills in terms of tactics and the game suffered but sport is about winning. We're five out of seven this year, so that's not a bad effort."
Australia flyhalf Stephen Larkham also chose to take a positive view of the match.
"What you have to understand is that we did win the game," Larkham said. "It was very ugly but we got out of the game what we wanted to get out of it, which was four points and still in with a chance of winning the Tri-Nations."
The Wallabies' next match in the competition is against New Zealand in Auckland on Saturday.
Friday, August 11, 2006
New IRB Sevens World Series Schedule Announced
The International Rugby Board (IRB) has announced a new international schedule for the world’s leading Rugby Sevens tournament series, the IRB Sevens World Series. Following a major review of the Series by the IRB in consultation with relevant stakeholders, eight countries will once again host a tournament, but there are two new tournament locations with Adelaide (Australia), San Diego (USA) included for the first time.
Last season’s IRB Sevens World Series broke all previous attendance and broadcast records and the 2006/07 series is the most eagerly anticipated to date. The series will again kick off in Dubai on 1 December, visiting George (South Africa), Wellington (New Zealand), San Diego, Hong Kong, Adelaide and London before concluding with an eighth location. This location will be announced in the near future.
2006/07 IRB Sevens World Series dates are as follows:
• Dubai - Dec 1/2
• George (South Africa) - Dec 8/9
• Wellington (New Zealand) - Feb 2/3
• San Diego (USA) - Feb 10/11
• Hong Kong - March 30/31 and April 1
• Adelaide (Australia)- April 7/8
• London - May 26/27
“The IRB is delighted to welcome Adelaide and San Diego as IRB Sevens World Series tournament hosts for the first time,” said IRB Chairman, Dr Syd Millar. “The popularity of Rugby Sevens continues to grow in North America and the USA will host a tournament for the fourth successive season, while the success of Rugby Sevens at this year’s Commonwealth Games in Melbourne underlines its popularity in Australia.”
“The inclusion of these exciting new locations into the Series will serve to foster the growing global appeal of Rugby Sevens ahead of what promises to be the most competitive series to date.”
“The popularity of Rugby Sevens continues to experience significant global growth and the IRB Sevens World Series is central to its appeal. The 2005/06 Series was without doubt the most successful in the history of the event. With the standard of play, the number of participating Unions, attendances and broadcasting figures all reaching new levels the IRB Sevens World Series is firmly established as a key event on the global sporting calendar,” added Dr Millar.
Rugby Sevens’ brand of fast-paced action, world class players and global locations is attractive to sports fans across the globe. Last season’s IRB Sevens World Series attracted crowds in excess of 250,000, with Rugby World Cup Sevens 2005 in Hong Kong attracting 120,000 supporters over the three competition days. A world record crowd of 50,000 attended the final day at this year’s Commonwealth Games. In an exciting move the IRB has also announced that for first time ever in 2009 women will have their own Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament that will be held simultaneously with the men’s tournament in the same host city.
The 2005/06 Series was televised by 32 international broadcasters in 11 different languages and reached 187 million homes in 136 countries. Live coverage more than doubled with 530 hours of action being broadcast.
“The IRB is committed to increasing funding for the IRB Sevens World Series through its Sevens Strategic Plan and will be investing over £1.5 million in team participation and broadcasting production. We view Sevens Rugby as a key development tool for the Game and the Series is providing a pathway for players to Test rugby. Add this to the fact that the potential TV audience reach for the Series is over 475 million viewers, the IRB Sevens World Series is continually bringing new fans into the Rugby family.” added Dr Millar.
The 2005/06 Sevens World Series was the most competitive to date. A record 37 Unions competed in one or more of the eight series tournament events, with Fiji being crowned champions for the first time, breaking New Zealand’s stranglehold on the tournament.
All the latest IRB Sevens World Series information and news can be found at the official website: www.irbsevens.com
Last season’s IRB Sevens World Series broke all previous attendance and broadcast records and the 2006/07 series is the most eagerly anticipated to date. The series will again kick off in Dubai on 1 December, visiting George (South Africa), Wellington (New Zealand), San Diego, Hong Kong, Adelaide and London before concluding with an eighth location. This location will be announced in the near future.
2006/07 IRB Sevens World Series dates are as follows:
• Dubai - Dec 1/2
• George (South Africa) - Dec 8/9
• Wellington (New Zealand) - Feb 2/3
• San Diego (USA) - Feb 10/11
• Hong Kong - March 30/31 and April 1
• Adelaide (Australia)- April 7/8
• London - May 26/27
“The IRB is delighted to welcome Adelaide and San Diego as IRB Sevens World Series tournament hosts for the first time,” said IRB Chairman, Dr Syd Millar. “The popularity of Rugby Sevens continues to grow in North America and the USA will host a tournament for the fourth successive season, while the success of Rugby Sevens at this year’s Commonwealth Games in Melbourne underlines its popularity in Australia.”
“The inclusion of these exciting new locations into the Series will serve to foster the growing global appeal of Rugby Sevens ahead of what promises to be the most competitive series to date.”
“The popularity of Rugby Sevens continues to experience significant global growth and the IRB Sevens World Series is central to its appeal. The 2005/06 Series was without doubt the most successful in the history of the event. With the standard of play, the number of participating Unions, attendances and broadcasting figures all reaching new levels the IRB Sevens World Series is firmly established as a key event on the global sporting calendar,” added Dr Millar.
Rugby Sevens’ brand of fast-paced action, world class players and global locations is attractive to sports fans across the globe. Last season’s IRB Sevens World Series attracted crowds in excess of 250,000, with Rugby World Cup Sevens 2005 in Hong Kong attracting 120,000 supporters over the three competition days. A world record crowd of 50,000 attended the final day at this year’s Commonwealth Games. In an exciting move the IRB has also announced that for first time ever in 2009 women will have their own Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament that will be held simultaneously with the men’s tournament in the same host city.
The 2005/06 Series was televised by 32 international broadcasters in 11 different languages and reached 187 million homes in 136 countries. Live coverage more than doubled with 530 hours of action being broadcast.
“The IRB is committed to increasing funding for the IRB Sevens World Series through its Sevens Strategic Plan and will be investing over £1.5 million in team participation and broadcasting production. We view Sevens Rugby as a key development tool for the Game and the Series is providing a pathway for players to Test rugby. Add this to the fact that the potential TV audience reach for the Series is over 475 million viewers, the IRB Sevens World Series is continually bringing new fans into the Rugby family.” added Dr Millar.
The 2005/06 Sevens World Series was the most competitive to date. A record 37 Unions competed in one or more of the eight series tournament events, with Fiji being crowned champions for the first time, breaking New Zealand’s stranglehold on the tournament.
All the latest IRB Sevens World Series information and news can be found at the official website: www.irbsevens.com
Safa not sure when Parreira will arrive
Bafana Bafana's coach-in-waiting Carlos Alberto Parreira will definitely not be in Windhoek for next week's friendly between South Africa and Namibia.
In fact, South African Football Association CEO Raymond Hack admitted on Thursday that he did not know when Parreira would be arriving in South Africa, and that Safa had yet to apply for a work permit for their new man.
All this adds a new, bizarre twist to the turtle-like pace with which Parreira is being installed into his new post.
With Bafana's 2008 African Cup of Nations qualifying campaign starting in September, one would have thought Safa would be making Parreira's arrival their number one priority.
Instead, it seems they are leaving Parreira's arrival on these shores entirely up to the man himself.
"He won't be here in the next week," said Hack on Thursday.
"In truth, I can't tell you when he will be arriving. He hasn't decided yet.
"There are contractual matters and we haven't applied for a work permit yet."
All this appears to give greater credence to earlier reports from Brazil that Parreira would rather take the job in 2007 than with immediate effect.
Germany were able to install a new coach immediately after Jürgen Klinsmann's resignation. As were Italy after Marcello Lippi stepped down and Argentina when José Peckerman quit his job.
But for Safa it seems the rules are always different. When will the dithering end?
In fact, South African Football Association CEO Raymond Hack admitted on Thursday that he did not know when Parreira would be arriving in South Africa, and that Safa had yet to apply for a work permit for their new man.
All this adds a new, bizarre twist to the turtle-like pace with which Parreira is being installed into his new post.
With Bafana's 2008 African Cup of Nations qualifying campaign starting in September, one would have thought Safa would be making Parreira's arrival their number one priority.
Instead, it seems they are leaving Parreira's arrival on these shores entirely up to the man himself.
"He won't be here in the next week," said Hack on Thursday.
"In truth, I can't tell you when he will be arriving. He hasn't decided yet.
"There are contractual matters and we haven't applied for a work permit yet."
All this appears to give greater credence to earlier reports from Brazil that Parreira would rather take the job in 2007 than with immediate effect.
Germany were able to install a new coach immediately after Jürgen Klinsmann's resignation. As were Italy after Marcello Lippi stepped down and Argentina when José Peckerman quit his job.
But for Safa it seems the rules are always different. When will the dithering end?
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Spears sign SAA as Official Carrier
South Africa’s national flag carrier, South African Airways, stunned South Africa’s rugby community and today signed a 2 ½ year agreement with the Southern Spears, as their Official Carrier through till the end of 2008.
South African Airways (SAA) is the official carrier of the Super 14 and is proud to extend their official carrier status to all teams participating in the Super 14. Thus, with the current inclusion of the Southern Spears in the Super 14, this official carrier status would thereby also be extended to the newest entrant to the competition. This is part of SAA’s agreement with the local and international rugby authorities to be the Super 14’s official carrier.
SAA will become the exclusive airline and carrier of the Spears with immediate effect, both domestically and internationally, up to December 2008, which is the final year of entrenchment in the Super 14 series, guaranteed by SA Rugby in their 8th June 2005 agreement with the Spears.
This follows the landmark ruling on the 4th August in the Cape High Court, in which Judge Dennis Davis declared the 8th June 2005 agreement legal and binding on SA Rugby.
The CEO of the Southern Spears, Tony McKeever, said he was absolutely delighted that the CEO of SAA, Khaya Ngqula had the vision and foresight to recognise the value that the Spears offered rugby, not only in the Eastern Cape but all of South Africa.
The Southern Spears were specifically created to participate in the Super 14 rugby competition and to achieve that purpose, a path to participation in the 2007 and 2008 Super 14, was created through the 2006 ABSA Currie Cup.
Following the High Court ruling in favour of the Spears, South African Airways are the first South African corporate to step forward and contract with South Africa’s 6th Super 14 franchise, through till December 2008.
SA Rugby is in BIG BIG TROUBLE!!!
SA Rugby are ready to launch a major counter-offensive in an attempt to gain control of rugby in the Eastern Cape.
Defeated in court by the Southern Spears, and shaken by news that controversial former SA Rugby boss Brian van Rooyen is looking to buy equity stakes in Eastern Province (EP), Border and South Western District (SWD), the governing body revealed on Wednesday that they are launching their own bid to gain majority shareholdings in the three rugby unions.
The move, if successfully negotiated, will mean that SA Rugby will be in a position to oust Spears chief executive Tony McKeever, limit Van Rooyen's influence, and put the Spears' participation in the Super 14 on hold.
SA Rugby claim that SAIL have given them the inside track to purchase the share
However, SA Rugby claim that SAIL have given them the inside track to purchase the shares in the unions that make up the Spears.
"They (SAIL) want SA Rugby to become the owners. We were offered the shares a while ago. At the time, we said we were quite interested as part of our broader plan for the region, but given our situation (SA Rugby and the Spears were involved in a court case) we could not follow through. The board will have to reconsider the offer," said SA Rugby board chairperson Mpumelelo Tshume.
The Cape High Court ruled last Friday that the Spears have the right to participate in the Super 14 in 2007 and 2008. SA Rugby earlier this year backtracked on a decision to entrench the Spears for two years.
Tshume said that SA Rugby would appeal the ruling by Judge Dennis Davis. He also renewed SA Rugby's interest in EP, Border and SWD with SAIL chief executive Brand de Villiers on Wednesday.
International Rugby Board regulations prevent private equity companies such as SAIL from owning a controlling stake in any union. However, SA Rugby claim that, as a rugby body, they are allowed to be majority shareholders and can thus purchase the additional stakes required from the unions. That will enable them to choose the directors on the Spears
Defeated in court by the Southern Spears, and shaken by news that controversial former SA Rugby boss Brian van Rooyen is looking to buy equity stakes in Eastern Province (EP), Border and South Western District (SWD), the governing body revealed on Wednesday that they are launching their own bid to gain majority shareholdings in the three rugby unions.
The move, if successfully negotiated, will mean that SA Rugby will be in a position to oust Spears chief executive Tony McKeever, limit Van Rooyen's influence, and put the Spears' participation in the Super 14 on hold.
SA Rugby claim that SAIL have given them the inside track to purchase the share
However, SA Rugby claim that SAIL have given them the inside track to purchase the shares in the unions that make up the Spears.
"They (SAIL) want SA Rugby to become the owners. We were offered the shares a while ago. At the time, we said we were quite interested as part of our broader plan for the region, but given our situation (SA Rugby and the Spears were involved in a court case) we could not follow through. The board will have to reconsider the offer," said SA Rugby board chairperson Mpumelelo Tshume.
The Cape High Court ruled last Friday that the Spears have the right to participate in the Super 14 in 2007 and 2008. SA Rugby earlier this year backtracked on a decision to entrench the Spears for two years.
Tshume said that SA Rugby would appeal the ruling by Judge Dennis Davis. He also renewed SA Rugby's interest in EP, Border and SWD with SAIL chief executive Brand de Villiers on Wednesday.
International Rugby Board regulations prevent private equity companies such as SAIL from owning a controlling stake in any union. However, SA Rugby claim that, as a rugby body, they are allowed to be majority shareholders and can thus purchase the additional stakes required from the unions. That will enable them to choose the directors on the Spears
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
NETBALL IN CRISIS AS TWO MEMBERS OF EXECUTIVE RESIGN
Netball has been plunged into crisis following the resignation of two members of Netball South Africa's (NSA) national executive and the national coach. All three resignations are with immediate effect.
The resignations followed a meeting of the National Council at which all 34 netball regions were represented, and during which the coach was criticised for the performance of the Spar national netball team on its recent tour of Fiji and New Zealand. The issue arose when the director of selectors, Cecilia Molokwane, who had been head of delegation on the tour, briefed the Council on the tour.
The vice president, Helene Botha, and the director of coaches, Bennie Saayman, resigned saying they thought it was unfair issues relating to the coach, Marlene Wagner, had been raised in her absence without her being given an opportunity to put forward her side of the story. Wagner submitted her written resignation to the President, Mimi Mthethwa, overnight.
"She did not give me any reason for her resignation. She just stated that she was resigning with immediate effect," said Mthethwa. "I have tried to contact her to discuss the situation, but her cellphone was switched off."
"I called a meeting of the executive, and asked the two executive members to officially supply us with reasons for the resignation," she continued. "They said they thought it was unfair to the coach because she wasn't there, and because the report had not been discussed at executive level."
One of the issues raised in the report was that Wagner had not adhered to the five-two ratio in the last quarter of the first Test in Fiji. All senior netball teams have to comply with the five-two ratio at all times, whether five black players and two white players or five white and two black, while at under-19 level, the ratio is four-three.
"In the last quarter of the first match, she played a six-one ratio," said Mthethwa. "The five-two ratio is cast in stone. Teams playing in the inter-provincial tournament currently underway are docked points if they do not field a five-two ratio at all times. For instance, Zululand, with an all-black team, have points docked because they do not have any white players."
Mthethwa said there had long been concern about the performance of the national team. "They did not do well at the Commonwealth Games, and they only won one match on the tour of Fiji and New Zealand - and Fiji are ranked below us.
"We tried to give Marlene the support she said we needed. For instance, we appointed a sports scientist to assist the team, but many of the things that have been worrying us for some time have not improved."
She said she would be reporting to the Minister of Sport, and the national executive of NSA would meet soon to discuss the appointment of a new coach. The national executive had the authority to co-opt members onto the executive, and this would be done as soon as possible.
Molokwane revealed that she had been given a letter of complaint about the coach, signed by 11 members of the team, on the flight back from New Zealand. The 12th member of the team, Liezel Wium, was not on the flight, having stayed on in New Zealand. She declined to give details of the complaint, saying it had not been discussed with the executive.
None of the three people who resigned was available for comment.
The resignations followed a meeting of the National Council at which all 34 netball regions were represented, and during which the coach was criticised for the performance of the Spar national netball team on its recent tour of Fiji and New Zealand. The issue arose when the director of selectors, Cecilia Molokwane, who had been head of delegation on the tour, briefed the Council on the tour.
The vice president, Helene Botha, and the director of coaches, Bennie Saayman, resigned saying they thought it was unfair issues relating to the coach, Marlene Wagner, had been raised in her absence without her being given an opportunity to put forward her side of the story. Wagner submitted her written resignation to the President, Mimi Mthethwa, overnight.
"She did not give me any reason for her resignation. She just stated that she was resigning with immediate effect," said Mthethwa. "I have tried to contact her to discuss the situation, but her cellphone was switched off."
"I called a meeting of the executive, and asked the two executive members to officially supply us with reasons for the resignation," she continued. "They said they thought it was unfair to the coach because she wasn't there, and because the report had not been discussed at executive level."
One of the issues raised in the report was that Wagner had not adhered to the five-two ratio in the last quarter of the first Test in Fiji. All senior netball teams have to comply with the five-two ratio at all times, whether five black players and two white players or five white and two black, while at under-19 level, the ratio is four-three.
"In the last quarter of the first match, she played a six-one ratio," said Mthethwa. "The five-two ratio is cast in stone. Teams playing in the inter-provincial tournament currently underway are docked points if they do not field a five-two ratio at all times. For instance, Zululand, with an all-black team, have points docked because they do not have any white players."
Mthethwa said there had long been concern about the performance of the national team. "They did not do well at the Commonwealth Games, and they only won one match on the tour of Fiji and New Zealand - and Fiji are ranked below us.
"We tried to give Marlene the support she said we needed. For instance, we appointed a sports scientist to assist the team, but many of the things that have been worrying us for some time have not improved."
She said she would be reporting to the Minister of Sport, and the national executive of NSA would meet soon to discuss the appointment of a new coach. The national executive had the authority to co-opt members onto the executive, and this would be done as soon as possible.
Molokwane revealed that she had been given a letter of complaint about the coach, signed by 11 members of the team, on the flight back from New Zealand. The 12th member of the team, Liezel Wium, was not on the flight, having stayed on in New Zealand. She declined to give details of the complaint, saying it had not been discussed with the executive.
None of the three people who resigned was available for comment.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Cycling in crisis after doping scandal
Tour de France organisers may yet be to officially strip cyclist Floyd Landis of his yellow jersey, but the rest of the sporting world is already passing judgement on cycling's greatest ever scandal.
And the Chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Dick Pound, says the sport is now in such a state of crisis it runs the risk of being dumped from the Olympics.
But the man at the centre of cycling's shame is still proclaiming he's clean.
As Lindy Kerin reports.
LINDY KERIN: Appearing on NBC with his wife Amber, Floyd Landis today declared he'll do everything he can to prove his innocence.
FLOYD LANDIS: I'm saying that there is multiple reasons why this could have happened. One of them I will tell you that did not happen was that I added it myself.
REPORTER: Amber have you sat down with your husband and looked him straight in the eye and said, "Sweetheart did you cheat?"
AMBER LANDIS: I don't need to do that. I know what kind of person he is and I know how he thinks, and I don't have to ask him that. I believe him 100 per cent.
LINDY KERIN: But after a second sample tested positive for the hormone testosterone Floyd Landis could become the first person to be stripped of his title as winner of the world's most famous cycling event.
Landis says he cannot offer any explanation.
FLOYD LANDIS: A lot of things came together on the day after my bad day, which made it look like some kind of superhuman effort, but I will say that if you watch the rest of the race from the beginning to the end, you'll see that I was clearly the strongest guy there from the beginning.
LINDY KERIN: But Dick Pound, the former vice president of the International Olympic Committee and now Chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency, is sick of the excuses.
He says the Landis incident has caused enormous damage to the credibility of cycling and has put the future of the sport in doubt.
DICK POUND: The sport has a real problem. I mean the basic facts are the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth place finishers in the Tour de France of 2005 were busted in the Spanish investigation, and now the winner of the 2006 Tour de France has been tested positive for testosterone. So it's an indication that there's a very, very serious problem in cycling.
LINDY KERIN: Dick Pound says the International Cycling Union need to improve testing and clean up the sport or risk it being dropped from the Olympics.
DICK POUND: It's a traditional and an exciting sport. It's one which I think everybody would hate to lose. So we're hoping that finally the cycling authorities will do what they have to do to wrest back control of the sport and to get the doping out of it.
What I'm hoping is that we don't throw out the baby with the bath, that cycling will realise that it has a problem, that it has lost a great deal of credibility, and that it absolutely must do something different from what it's done in the past.
LINDY KERIN: Cycling Australia's Graham Fredericks has rejected the suggestion the sport should be removed from the Olympics. He says cycling is doing all it can to stamp out doping.
GRAHAM FREDERICKS: Dick Pound has a job to do as head of WADA and I understand where his comments are coming from, but if I'm to be critical of all of his comments, I believe he's failed to recognise what our international body has been doing in this area.
I believe there is a lot more work to be done. And look, if those efforts are either not being made, or there is some sense of lack of commitment, or if there doesn't seem to be a turning around, then probably the IOC may have the issue to at least raise that point.
But I go back to the issue that cycling has probably stood up and really gone down the path of investing in trying to eradicate doping from its ranks and I would probably challenge a number of other sports around the world to really be able to stand up and say that they've made that same effort.
And the Chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Dick Pound, says the sport is now in such a state of crisis it runs the risk of being dumped from the Olympics.
But the man at the centre of cycling's shame is still proclaiming he's clean.
As Lindy Kerin reports.
LINDY KERIN: Appearing on NBC with his wife Amber, Floyd Landis today declared he'll do everything he can to prove his innocence.
FLOYD LANDIS: I'm saying that there is multiple reasons why this could have happened. One of them I will tell you that did not happen was that I added it myself.
REPORTER: Amber have you sat down with your husband and looked him straight in the eye and said, "Sweetheart did you cheat?"
AMBER LANDIS: I don't need to do that. I know what kind of person he is and I know how he thinks, and I don't have to ask him that. I believe him 100 per cent.
LINDY KERIN: But after a second sample tested positive for the hormone testosterone Floyd Landis could become the first person to be stripped of his title as winner of the world's most famous cycling event.
Landis says he cannot offer any explanation.
FLOYD LANDIS: A lot of things came together on the day after my bad day, which made it look like some kind of superhuman effort, but I will say that if you watch the rest of the race from the beginning to the end, you'll see that I was clearly the strongest guy there from the beginning.
LINDY KERIN: But Dick Pound, the former vice president of the International Olympic Committee and now Chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency, is sick of the excuses.
He says the Landis incident has caused enormous damage to the credibility of cycling and has put the future of the sport in doubt.
DICK POUND: The sport has a real problem. I mean the basic facts are the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth place finishers in the Tour de France of 2005 were busted in the Spanish investigation, and now the winner of the 2006 Tour de France has been tested positive for testosterone. So it's an indication that there's a very, very serious problem in cycling.
LINDY KERIN: Dick Pound says the International Cycling Union need to improve testing and clean up the sport or risk it being dropped from the Olympics.
DICK POUND: It's a traditional and an exciting sport. It's one which I think everybody would hate to lose. So we're hoping that finally the cycling authorities will do what they have to do to wrest back control of the sport and to get the doping out of it.
What I'm hoping is that we don't throw out the baby with the bath, that cycling will realise that it has a problem, that it has lost a great deal of credibility, and that it absolutely must do something different from what it's done in the past.
LINDY KERIN: Cycling Australia's Graham Fredericks has rejected the suggestion the sport should be removed from the Olympics. He says cycling is doing all it can to stamp out doping.
GRAHAM FREDERICKS: Dick Pound has a job to do as head of WADA and I understand where his comments are coming from, but if I'm to be critical of all of his comments, I believe he's failed to recognise what our international body has been doing in this area.
I believe there is a lot more work to be done. And look, if those efforts are either not being made, or there is some sense of lack of commitment, or if there doesn't seem to be a turning around, then probably the IOC may have the issue to at least raise that point.
But I go back to the issue that cycling has probably stood up and really gone down the path of investing in trying to eradicate doping from its ranks and I would probably challenge a number of other sports around the world to really be able to stand up and say that they've made that same effort.
Monday, August 07, 2006
More Records for Sri Lanka????
Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene kept alive his team's hopes of pulling-off a big run-chase with an undefeated 77 in the second and final test against South Africa on Monday.
Set a difficult 352-target after bowling out South Africa for 311 in the morning, Sri Lanka closed a tense fourth day on 262 for five, still needing 90 to win the series 2-0.
Jayawardene, a triple centurion in the first test, steadied Sri Lanka after left-arm spinner Nicky Boje had struck three crucial blows either side of the tea interval to leave South Africa in the box seat.
The 29-year-old right-hander, dropped on two in the gully, soaked up the pressure in a skilful effort that so far has included seven boundaries and two glorious sixes.
Wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene (27 not out) provided good support during an unbroken 61-run sixth wicket stand.
Sri Lanka need to break the record for their highest successful run chase on home turf. The current mark stands at 326 against Zimbabwe in 1997/98.
Set a difficult 352-target after bowling out South Africa for 311 in the morning, Sri Lanka closed a tense fourth day on 262 for five, still needing 90 to win the series 2-0.
Jayawardene, a triple centurion in the first test, steadied Sri Lanka after left-arm spinner Nicky Boje had struck three crucial blows either side of the tea interval to leave South Africa in the box seat.
The 29-year-old right-hander, dropped on two in the gully, soaked up the pressure in a skilful effort that so far has included seven boundaries and two glorious sixes.
Wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene (27 not out) provided good support during an unbroken 61-run sixth wicket stand.
Sri Lanka need to break the record for their highest successful run chase on home turf. The current mark stands at 326 against Zimbabwe in 1997/98.
Friday, August 04, 2006
SOUTHERN SPEARS TO PLAY IN 2007 SUPER 14
A high court judgment on Friday clearing the way for the Southern Spears to play in next year's Super 14 competition was a "triumph for South African rugby," the franchise's managing director Tony McKeever said.
"The victory for the Spears decreed by Judge Dennis Davis is a defeat for SA Rugby but it's also a triumph for South African rugby," McKeever said.
He was speaking moments after Cape High Court judge Dennis Davis ruled against the SA Rugby (Pty) Ltd and the South African Rugby Union.
South African rugby's controlling bodies had argued in court papers that essential terms were missing from a supposed contract between them and the Port Elizabeth-based Spears or were "too vague to be enforced".
However, Davis said during his oral judgment that it was clear from the papers before him that Spears had a right to participate in the two competitions.
The Spears, representing the southern and eastern Cape, had claimed that SA Rugby had reneged on an agreement to include the team in the tournaments.
"I think what we need to do is, the Spears, myself and SA Rugby need to meet as soon as possible with regards to coming up with an immaculate solution and remedy for our exclusion from the Currie Cup, and we're absolutely delighted for and behalf of our sponsors and Spears fans that our rights have been restored to us for inclusion in the Super 14 for 2007 and 2008," said McKeever.
The Super 14 competition is an international competition conducted under the auspices of a joint venture known as Sanzar.
Currently, five South African teams -- Bulls, Stormers, Sharks, Cats and Cheetahs -- participate in the competition, along with four teams from Australia and five from New Zealand.
Basil Haddad, finance director for SA Rugby, told Sapa outside the court that the judgment seemed to be somewhat "inconclusive".
"And I need to consult with our legal advisers as to exactly what the implications of this decision are. The only thing that is clear is the fact that Spears will not participate in the 2006 Currie Cup, but beyond that I'm very uncertain," Haddad said.
"The victory for the Spears decreed by Judge Dennis Davis is a defeat for SA Rugby but it's also a triumph for South African rugby," McKeever said.
He was speaking moments after Cape High Court judge Dennis Davis ruled against the SA Rugby (Pty) Ltd and the South African Rugby Union.
South African rugby's controlling bodies had argued in court papers that essential terms were missing from a supposed contract between them and the Port Elizabeth-based Spears or were "too vague to be enforced".
However, Davis said during his oral judgment that it was clear from the papers before him that Spears had a right to participate in the two competitions.
The Spears, representing the southern and eastern Cape, had claimed that SA Rugby had reneged on an agreement to include the team in the tournaments.
"I think what we need to do is, the Spears, myself and SA Rugby need to meet as soon as possible with regards to coming up with an immaculate solution and remedy for our exclusion from the Currie Cup, and we're absolutely delighted for and behalf of our sponsors and Spears fans that our rights have been restored to us for inclusion in the Super 14 for 2007 and 2008," said McKeever.
The Super 14 competition is an international competition conducted under the auspices of a joint venture known as Sanzar.
Currently, five South African teams -- Bulls, Stormers, Sharks, Cats and Cheetahs -- participate in the competition, along with four teams from Australia and five from New Zealand.
Basil Haddad, finance director for SA Rugby, told Sapa outside the court that the judgment seemed to be somewhat "inconclusive".
"And I need to consult with our legal advisers as to exactly what the implications of this decision are. The only thing that is clear is the fact that Spears will not participate in the 2006 Currie Cup, but beyond that I'm very uncertain," Haddad said.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Hungary (I wanna go......)
Monaco without the houses is one popular way of describing the twisty Hungarian Grand Prix circuit.
Forget glamour and glitz. If some drivers stifle a yawn when they contemplate a visit to the hot and dusty Hungaroring, it is because of its reputation as the second slowest track in the championship.
Races can be processional, due to the extreme difficulty in overtaking, and dull in comparison to others at more flowing circuits.
"Watching paint dry, counting the grains of fluff in your belly button...filling in your tax return form; all these things can be rather more exciting than watching the Hungarian Grand Prix," declared a Red Bull handout on Thursday.
It was not ever thus.
There was a time, 20 years ago, when a visit to the Hungaroring represented, in the words of the Times newspaper's then Formula One correspondent, 'motor racing's boldest experiment for many years'.
When the travelling circus arrived in Budapest for the first grand prix behind the then-Iron Curtain in August 1986, there was a palpable sense of excitement about the place that seems unthinkable in the current era with its new races in China, Malaysia and Bahrain.
Hungary, now an EU member state, was then firmly in the embrace of the old Soviet Union and light years away from the free-spending extravagance and luxury represented by the high-tech world of Formula One.
Eastern Europe had seen nothing like it.
SMOKE-BELCHING
The governing body put the race day turnout at 200,000 spectators, many of them stripped down to their underpants in the scorching heat on an afternoon unlike any other.
"I recall standing on the grid and being aware that there was something very different, very strange about the scene," Briton Martin Brundle, who finished sixth for now-defunct Tyrrell, wrote in his book "Working the Wheel".
"At first I couldn't work out what it was. Then I realised it was the silence.
"I felt like a gladiator in the ring. All those people were looking on in almost complete silence, not knowing what was going to happen next...there were a lot of people present who had never seen a grand prix live before."
Hire cars, even for race drivers more accustomed to Ferraris or Porsches, came down to a choice of Russian Ladas for the lucky ones and sputtering and smoke-belching East German Trabants for the rest.
"It was the first time that lots of us had ever been to the other side of the Iron Curtain," said Ann Bradshaw, then a press officer at Lotus with Brazilian Ayrton Senna and Briton Johnny Dumfries and now with BMW Sauber.
"We all had to have visas and it took a long time to get through customs unless you were Finnish, in which case you just walked through, which we all found very strange. Keke Rosberg loved it.
"There were 200,000 people -- coaches from around Eastern Europe and also a lot from Russia. They had some very strange clothes on...it was hot and there were a lot of people just wearing Speedos.
"The people on the gates were actually police and soldiers," she recalled. "You would come in with your car sticker and we would argue with them. When the guns came out we stopped arguing."
The first race, won by Nelson Piquet in a Williams, was also quite a thriller with the Brazilian chased by compatriot Senna all the way to the finish. The pair lapped everyone else.
"I think we'll all be very happy, indeed, to come back here again next year," Piquet said afterwards.
Since then the circuit has witnessed two championships being decided, Briton Nigel Mansell in 1992 and Michael Schumacher in 2001, and the occasional thrill such as Damon Hill leading in an Arrows in 1997.
These days the happiest driver at the Hungaroring is probably McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, last year's winner in a race that Finns have come to see as their home grand prix.
Robert Kubica, making his debut as Poland's first Formula One driver in place of Canadian Jacques Villeneuve at BMW Sauber, can also expect quite a following.
Afterwards, there is an August break before drivers re-gather further east for the Turkish Grand Prix on the 27th in Istanbul.
Twenty years ago, the next destination was at the Oesterreichring in neighbouring Austria the following weekend. Those who took a boat down the Danube to Vienna were shadowed by army helicopters and gun-toting guards along the riverbank.
"It was an adventure, a serious adventure," said Bradshaw.
Forget glamour and glitz. If some drivers stifle a yawn when they contemplate a visit to the hot and dusty Hungaroring, it is because of its reputation as the second slowest track in the championship.
Races can be processional, due to the extreme difficulty in overtaking, and dull in comparison to others at more flowing circuits.
"Watching paint dry, counting the grains of fluff in your belly button...filling in your tax return form; all these things can be rather more exciting than watching the Hungarian Grand Prix," declared a Red Bull handout on Thursday.
It was not ever thus.
There was a time, 20 years ago, when a visit to the Hungaroring represented, in the words of the Times newspaper's then Formula One correspondent, 'motor racing's boldest experiment for many years'.
When the travelling circus arrived in Budapest for the first grand prix behind the then-Iron Curtain in August 1986, there was a palpable sense of excitement about the place that seems unthinkable in the current era with its new races in China, Malaysia and Bahrain.
Hungary, now an EU member state, was then firmly in the embrace of the old Soviet Union and light years away from the free-spending extravagance and luxury represented by the high-tech world of Formula One.
Eastern Europe had seen nothing like it.
SMOKE-BELCHING
The governing body put the race day turnout at 200,000 spectators, many of them stripped down to their underpants in the scorching heat on an afternoon unlike any other.
"I recall standing on the grid and being aware that there was something very different, very strange about the scene," Briton Martin Brundle, who finished sixth for now-defunct Tyrrell, wrote in his book "Working the Wheel".
"At first I couldn't work out what it was. Then I realised it was the silence.
"I felt like a gladiator in the ring. All those people were looking on in almost complete silence, not knowing what was going to happen next...there were a lot of people present who had never seen a grand prix live before."
Hire cars, even for race drivers more accustomed to Ferraris or Porsches, came down to a choice of Russian Ladas for the lucky ones and sputtering and smoke-belching East German Trabants for the rest.
"It was the first time that lots of us had ever been to the other side of the Iron Curtain," said Ann Bradshaw, then a press officer at Lotus with Brazilian Ayrton Senna and Briton Johnny Dumfries and now with BMW Sauber.
"We all had to have visas and it took a long time to get through customs unless you were Finnish, in which case you just walked through, which we all found very strange. Keke Rosberg loved it.
"There were 200,000 people -- coaches from around Eastern Europe and also a lot from Russia. They had some very strange clothes on...it was hot and there were a lot of people just wearing Speedos.
"The people on the gates were actually police and soldiers," she recalled. "You would come in with your car sticker and we would argue with them. When the guns came out we stopped arguing."
The first race, won by Nelson Piquet in a Williams, was also quite a thriller with the Brazilian chased by compatriot Senna all the way to the finish. The pair lapped everyone else.
"I think we'll all be very happy, indeed, to come back here again next year," Piquet said afterwards.
Since then the circuit has witnessed two championships being decided, Briton Nigel Mansell in 1992 and Michael Schumacher in 2001, and the occasional thrill such as Damon Hill leading in an Arrows in 1997.
These days the happiest driver at the Hungaroring is probably McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, last year's winner in a race that Finns have come to see as their home grand prix.
Robert Kubica, making his debut as Poland's first Formula One driver in place of Canadian Jacques Villeneuve at BMW Sauber, can also expect quite a following.
Afterwards, there is an August break before drivers re-gather further east for the Turkish Grand Prix on the 27th in Istanbul.
Twenty years ago, the next destination was at the Oesterreichring in neighbouring Austria the following weekend. Those who took a boat down the Danube to Vienna were shadowed by army helicopters and gun-toting guards along the riverbank.
"It was an adventure, a serious adventure," said Bradshaw.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
AC in Champs League
AC Milan have been given the go-ahead to take part in this season's Champions League, UEFA announced on Wednesday.
Milan will face Cork City of Ireland or former champions Red Star Belgrade in the third qualifying round next week after UEFA's emergency panel decided they could play in Europe's premier club competition.
The six-times European champions were found guilty in the Serie A match-fixing probe but an Italian soccer appeals court adjudicating in the scandal reduced their initial punishment.
Milan, initially deducted 15 points, had the deficit cut to eight which enabled them to be included in last Friday's Champions League draw.
Milan will face Cork City of Ireland or former champions Red Star Belgrade in the third qualifying round next week after UEFA's emergency panel decided they could play in Europe's premier club competition.
The six-times European champions were found guilty in the Serie A match-fixing probe but an Italian soccer appeals court adjudicating in the scandal reduced their initial punishment.
Milan, initially deducted 15 points, had the deficit cut to eight which enabled them to be included in last Friday's Champions League draw.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
TESTOSTERONE ANTI-DOPING STRATEGY NEEDS TO CHANGE: LAB CHIEF
The head of a leading international anti-doping laboratory on Tuesday called for a complete change in the strategy used to fight illicit testosterone use in sport, warning that detection methods were inadequate.
Martial Saugy, the head of the Swiss anti-doping laboratory in Lausanne, said the science of detection had fallen behind because of fears of legal wrangling, while testosterone doping methods had become more sophisticated.
Doses used when the approved testing methods were set up in 1982 were "massive", he explained in interviews with Swiss radio RSR.
"We are no longer in that situation now and so the whole anti-doping strategy against testosterone must be changed," he added.
The current controversies surrounding positive tests for Tour de France winner Floyd Landis and US sprinter Justin Gatlin showed that testosterone is still a problem, Saugy said.
"This is not biotechnology, highbrow genetic doping. We simply need to be able to refine the testing system to go and find these products."
However, Saugy cautioned that anti-doping laboratories were exposed to far more intense legal challenges than before.
Laboratories should be supported in their bid to pursue testing methods that are tailored to each individual athlete, exploring a broader range of markers than currently available, he added.
Research undertaken by the WADA-accredited Lausanne laboratory indicated that there were major differences in the way the human body absorbs additional doses of the male sex hormone and reacts to it.
"There is a very big variation between individuals, as much in the effects as in the ability to detect the product," Saugy said.
"The study does not conclude that dozens or hundreds of athletes are doped with testosterone, but that athletes are not all equal before testosterone doping."
Saugy called on the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) to react more speedily.
"WADA has made a major effort to try to harmonise the (sports) federations and I think the political and legal aspect was more important to them than the effectiveness and scientific aspect of the anti-doping drive."
"To be a success, WADA needs to be more reactive, as reactive as the world of doping," the Swiss expert said.
The Lausanne anti-doping laboratory, which is regularly used by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and European football's governing body UEFA, was at the centre of a lengthy legal wrangle over Tyler Hamilton.
A two-year ban slapped on the US cyclist in 2004 was only confirmed in February when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the testing method used to detect illicit blood transfusions.
Martial Saugy, the head of the Swiss anti-doping laboratory in Lausanne, said the science of detection had fallen behind because of fears of legal wrangling, while testosterone doping methods had become more sophisticated.
Doses used when the approved testing methods were set up in 1982 were "massive", he explained in interviews with Swiss radio RSR.
"We are no longer in that situation now and so the whole anti-doping strategy against testosterone must be changed," he added.
The current controversies surrounding positive tests for Tour de France winner Floyd Landis and US sprinter Justin Gatlin showed that testosterone is still a problem, Saugy said.
"This is not biotechnology, highbrow genetic doping. We simply need to be able to refine the testing system to go and find these products."
However, Saugy cautioned that anti-doping laboratories were exposed to far more intense legal challenges than before.
Laboratories should be supported in their bid to pursue testing methods that are tailored to each individual athlete, exploring a broader range of markers than currently available, he added.
Research undertaken by the WADA-accredited Lausanne laboratory indicated that there were major differences in the way the human body absorbs additional doses of the male sex hormone and reacts to it.
"There is a very big variation between individuals, as much in the effects as in the ability to detect the product," Saugy said.
"The study does not conclude that dozens or hundreds of athletes are doped with testosterone, but that athletes are not all equal before testosterone doping."
Saugy called on the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) to react more speedily.
"WADA has made a major effort to try to harmonise the (sports) federations and I think the political and legal aspect was more important to them than the effectiveness and scientific aspect of the anti-doping drive."
"To be a success, WADA needs to be more reactive, as reactive as the world of doping," the Swiss expert said.
The Lausanne anti-doping laboratory, which is regularly used by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and European football's governing body UEFA, was at the centre of a lengthy legal wrangle over Tyler Hamilton.
A two-year ban slapped on the US cyclist in 2004 was only confirmed in February when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the testing method used to detect illicit blood transfusions.
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