Chelsea bid for stadium land fails

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London: Chelsea have failed in a bid to buy the free-hold land on which Stamford Bridge sits after failing to get enough votes from the Chelsea Pitch Owners Shareholders to secure the purchase.
A vote of 75 per cent was needed from the group however only 61.6 per cent agreed with the plans and a result the proposal fell through.
Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck admitted he was disappointed by the outcome of the vote but respected the decision of the CPO.

Chelsea have failed in a bid to buy the free-hold land on which Stamford Bridge sits.

He told the club's official website: "Obviously we are disappointed but we recognise and we respect totally that the shareholders of Chelsea Pitch Owners have spoken. We will meet with Mr Abramovich and the rest of the board and we will decide what action, if any, we will take going forward.
"I don't view this as an us and against you, we against they situation. We are all Chelsea fans and I can only hope that on Saturday we can get together and support this club and beat Arsenal."
The decision to attempt to buy back the land was seen as a sign of the club wanting to move away from Stamford Bridge to a new stadium in London.
This potential move was opposed by a group known as 'Say No CPO' who were not happy with the new agreements that would be put in place should the Blues have moved away from Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea sold the land to the CPO in the 1990s to ensure the club were not made homeless, however now the decision may have prevented them from moving away from the ground for the near future.
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#EPL

Man City, Liverpool through to League Cup QF

 

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London: Manchester City kept up its free-scoring form by thrashing Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-2 in the League Cup, while Chelsea and Blackburn scored late winners in extra time to advance to the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Buoyant after routing Manchester United 6-1 to take a five-point lead in the Premier League, City rallied with three goals in a four-minute span just before halftime after conceding an early goal at Molineux.
Adam Johnson and Samir Nasri started the comeback, with Edin Dzeko adding a double either side of an own goal by goalkeeper Dorus de Vries in a dominant display at Molineux.

Manchester City thumped Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-2 on Oct 26, 2011, to enter the League Cup quarter-finals.

AP Photo

"Them getting the early goal lifted everyone," said Johnson. "The first 20 minutes were shaky but once we got the ball down and passing and moving and the second goal, it was virtually over."
Substitute Daniel Sturridge scored Chelsea's winner with four minutes left in extra time as the London club beat Everton 2-1 in a match that saw both teams finish with 10 men.
Blackburn left it even later to beat Newcastle 4-3, with French defender Gael Givet scoring in the last minute of extra time to inflict a first defeat on the visitors this season, while Liverpool rallied to beat Stoke 2-1, thanks to a second-half brace by Uruguay striker Luis Suarez in another all-Premier League match.
Manchester United, Arsenal, Cardiff and Crystal Palace reached the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
City took its tally of goals to 15 in its last three away matches but it needed Nenad Milijas' 18th-minute goal to stir the visitors into action.
With a point to prove after being ignominiously hauled off by manager Roberto Mancini before halftime in the Champions League victory over Villarreal last week, Adam Johnson was instrumental in City's comeback
The England winger ran on to Dzeko's lay-off and clipped a shot into the bottom corner before turning provider, slipping through a pinpoint through-ball for Nasri to score with a low finish from the edge of the area.
"I think Adam can do a bit more but he has everything to be one of the best wingers in Europe," City manager Roberto Mancini said.
Dzeko — fresh off a double as a substitute against United — bundled in the third and fifth goals from close range, sandwiching an unfortunate own goal by De Vries in the 50th.
Jamie O'Hara grabbed a consolation for Wolves a minute later.
With United easing past fourth-tier team Aldershot 3-0 on Tuesday, City could face its local rival in the last eight.
"We'll play anyone at the moment," Johnson said. "Our confidence is up — it doesn't really matter who we get."
While City made wholesale changes to the team that thrashed United at the weekend, Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish fielded a number of first-team players and will be thankful he retained Suarez.
The striker missed a number of chances in the 1-1 league draw against Norwich on Saturday but was more efficient against Stoke, equalising with an unstoppable curling shot after dribbling past Ryan Shotton.
Suarez grabbed the winner for the seven-time League Cup winners by heading home a volleyed cross by Jordan Henderson.
"In the second half, the boys dug deep, defended really well, the wee man scored a fantastic goal and then a good header as well," Dalglish said. "It was important that we finished off some of the football we've been playing."
Salomon Kalou made up for Nicolas Anelka's missed penalty in the 16th by putting Chelsea ahead at the Goodison Park before the visitors had goalkeeper Ross Turnbull sent off in the 58th for bringing down Everton striker Louis Saha.
Petr Cech, Turnbull's replacement, saved the resulting penalty by Leighton Baines but Saha took the game into extra time with a near-post header in the 83rd.
Royston Drenthe was dismissed for Everton in a frenetic extra 30 minutes before Sturridge slipped home a rebound after Florent Malouda's shot was parried out.
An eventful game at Ewood Park saw Newcastle force extra time with goals in second-half injury time by Danny Guthrie and Yohan Cabaye, cancelling out efforts by Ruben Rochina and Yakubu.
Morten Gamst Pedersen scored a free kick for 3-2 but Newcastle equalised again through Peter Lovenkrands before Givet's winner.
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#League Cup

Tevez did not refuse to play: PFA

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Manchester: Carlos Tevez should not have been fined four weeks' wages by Manchester City as he did not refuse to play in last month's Champions League match at Bayern Munich, England's Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) said on Thursday.
"The PFA's opinion, based on all the evidence presented, is that Carlos Tevez never refused to play for the club," a statement said.
Following a disciplinary hearing that took place on Friday where PFA chief Gordon Taylor was in attendance, the Argentine international was fined on Tuesday after it was deemed he had committed five separate breaches of contract.

They included "an obligation to participate in any matches in which the player is selected to play ... when directed by a club official".
The PFA disagreed with Tuesday's ruling and have given their support to Tevez.
"This is accepted by the club in that the charge against Carlos made at the hearing was not one of refusing to play," the statement added.
"As such the PFA considers that there is no justification for a fine other than up to the prescribed sanction of 2 weeks wages agreed by the FA, the Premier League and PFA.
"The PFA has informed the Manchester City Football Club accordingly and Carlos will continue to be supported by the PFA in this regard."
After the 2-0 defeat at Bayern, furious manager Roberto Mancini told reporters Tevez had refused his request to go on as a second-half substitute.
The player later denied the accusation, saying he had not been asked to go on but to warm up and he felt he had already warmed up sufficiently.
Mancini said the player would never play for him again and media reports have speculated that Tevez, who again asked for a move in the last transfer window as he is unhappy in Manchester, will be sold in January whatever happens with the case.
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#EPL

Messi is an incomplete player: Pele

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London: Brazil and Santos legend Pele celebrated his 71st birthday in London in typical outspoken style this week, hailing the Premier League as Europe's top division and branding Lionel Messi an "incomplete" player.
The three-time World Cup winner, who is in the UK for the global launch of his new sports lifestyle collection The Beautiful Revolution, told Goal.com: "I would love to play with Lionel Messi. But Messi is an incomplete player because he can't use his head. Also I played football for 20 years, Messi has only played for several years."
He added: "If there is one player in the world today I would love to play with it is Neymar."

Pele was speaking at a special drinks reception held in London's Covent Garden to mark his 71st birthday, with guests including Rio Ferdinand, brother Anton, ex-Bayern Munich and Barcelona defender Patrick Andersson and Pele's 1970 World Cup opponent Terry Cooper, formerly of England and Leeds United.
Brazil's leading all-time goalscorer said he was delighted to be in England and hailed the country's top-flight division: "The English Premier League is the best league in Europe, better than La Liga."
When asked about who his toughest opponent was, Pele, who faced the likes of Bobby Moore and Giacinto Facchetti in his playing days, joked: "Sylvester Stallone during the filming of Escape to Victory. He was very strong."
The Rocky star played an American POW-turned-goalkeeper in the World War Two film in which he co-starred with Michael Caine and Pele amongst others.
As a birthday present, Pele was presented by PFA deputy chief executive Bobby Barnes and Arsenal youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with a special lifetime award: a glittering 18-carat gold-plated football boot.
Barnes said: "Alex is one of the best young players in the English Premier League. He made his debut at 16, and if he achieves a fraction of what Pele did he will have a fantastic career.
"Everyone remembers Pele's Brazil teams from 1957-70, and the World Cup victories of '58, '62 and '70.
"Only a few things are memorable from my childhood: the Apollo moon landings, Muhammad Ali's boxing fights... and Pele. On behalf of the PFA, we are delighted to present this award as a symbol of our esteem."
Guests at the London event were then shown the Pele sport brand's Spring Summer '12 collection, featuring the launch of three distinct ranges - Pelé Story, Pelada and Performance.
The most heralded and eagerly-anticipated from these collections is the "revolutionary, ground-breaking, ultra-light" Trinity 3E football boot, which promises to "maximise a player's game and speed potential by training your muscles as you play."
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#La Liga

I will give my decision to Sutil soon: Mallya

Greater Noida: Sahara Force India team principal Vijay Mallya on Thursday refused to reveal whether he will retain Adrian Sutil for the next season but said he would convey his decision to the German driver whenever he wants.
Mallya had said that he will not reveal his drivers' line-up before December but an anxious Sutil said he can't wait that long to know about his fate with Sahara Force India.
"I speak to my drivers first before media and if he wants an early decision I will give him (Sutil)," Mallya said.

"Media has always criticised me that I can't do anything but results are there for everyone to see and I don't need to explain anything to anyone," said Mallya on the sidelines of announcing the winner of Force India Driver Academy's 'One from a billion hunt' contest.
Force India has gone from strength to strength with each season. They finished ninth in 2009 and were placed seventh last year. They are currently placed sixth and have a good chance to finish at the same position.
Sahara Force India has 49 points and its nearest competitors are Sauber with 40 points, while Toro Rosso have 37 points in its kitty.
In a glittering function hosted at the Radisson Blu here, Mallya announced Arjun Maini, Tarun Reddy and Jahan Daruwala as the winners of Force India Driver Academy's 'one from a billion hunt' contest.
Ten finalists had gone to Silverstone for a final assessment out of which these three emerged as the winners.
They will now go to Europe for further training.
"These kids will go to Europe and they will train there for a couple of years. It will not be prudent to put them in a single seater car till they turn 16 and they will gradually graduate from formula three to GP1 to F1 in time," Mallya said.
"There will be a comprehensive training programme which will include education and drivers training. It will be like a boarding school, that is the idea. Initially only one was supposed to go to Europe but the competition was so close that we decided to have all three of them to go to Europe," he added.
The Sahara Force India co-owner also said that three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna, who succumbed to a fatal crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, is his all-time favourite driver.
Brazilian driver Senna is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. He was killed in a crash at Tamburello corner while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
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#Indian Grand Prix #Formula One

Northern Colorado Guided Mountain Tours

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New World Sports is Northern Colorado’s premier ‘Adventure Outfitter’. We provide outdoor enthusiasts and weekend warriors an opportunity to "experience your potential." Whether it be spending a day in the backcountry, learning new skills on a mountain bike, having your bike professionally tuned and repaired, exploring the city’s parks and shops or renting a bike for your own creative adventures NWS offers it all.
New World Sports is a mobile service that provides the following services:

• Guided Tours (Rates & Descriptions)
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Our guided tours are home based along the Northern Front Range. Fort Collins, Loveland, Estes Park and the beautiful Poudre Canyon are just a few of the amazing locations we explore. Spend a full day exploring the Rocky Mountains biking, hiking or in the captains chair of a four wheel drive vehicle.
We offer a shuttle service for cyclists interested in lengthening a point to point ride.
Check out our stellar fleet of rental bicycles. We offer half day, full day, weekend and weekly rentals of all our bikes. Let us know if you need a vehicle rack or complimentary delivery service.
We also offer a professional repair service. New World Sports can bring our portable bike shop to your location or event. We also pick up and drop off repaired bicycles at your convenience.
Our mountain bike clinics are geared toward the beginner to intermediate rider. Do you want to try a new sport or expand your skills set on a bicycle. We can teach you the fundamentals of technical riding and the value of bicycle fitness. We also offer personal training and private lessons. Take your mountain biking to the next level! Check out our schedule for the 2007 Summer Mountain Bike Clinic Series.
Let NWS provide consulting services for your next adventure. We can offer trip itineraries, equipment rentals and advice on everything from the best camp spots in Moab to the best night ride on the Front Range.

Tennis: Wozniacki, Kvitova, Stosur in winning starts

ISTANBUL (Reuters): Caroline Wozniacki gave another gritty demonstration of why she has enjoyed a virtual year-long stranglehold on the world number one ranking with a 5-7 6-2 6-4 defeat of Agnieszka Radwanska in her opening match at the WTA Championships on Tuesday.
With world number two Maria Sharapova losing to Samantha Stosur for the first time in her career in the day's late match, the pugnacious 21-year-old Wozniacki is inching closer to a second consecutive year end at the top of the tree despite still waiting for a grand slam title.
Her hard-fought victory meant Denmark's most-photographed athlete, not least because of her romance with Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy, joined Petra Kvitova, who has an outside chance of de-throning Wozniacki, at the top of Red Group.
Czech leftie Kvitova, whose stunning Wimbledon triumph helped power her up to third on the latest WTA ranking list, showed a few early and late nerves on her tournament debut as she opened proceedings inside Istanbul's cavernous Sinan Erdem Dome with a 6-2 6-4 defeat of Russia's Vera Zvonareva.
"I was nervous because it was my first time playing at the Championships," Kvitova, the first Czech to qualify since Jana Novotna in 1998, told reporters after allowing a 4-1 lead to slip in the second set but then recovering her poise.
While her match was played out to polite applause from the hardly-engrossed 10,000 crowd, the middle match of the day set the standard for $4.9 million year-ending showpiece which will be played in the majestic Turkish capital for three years.
Wozniacki, whose unerring consistency has earned her a total of 54 weeks as No.1, was made to play catch-up against Radwanska who gained the initiative early with some beautifully-timed effortless winners.
Catch up she did, however, moving 0-40 ahead when Radwanska served at 4-5 in the first set only to blow all three set points. World number eight Radwanska seized on her let-off, breaking in the following game and then clubbing away a forehand to pocket a 64-minute first set.
With her father Piotr offering some animated words of wisdom at virtually every change of ends, Wozniacki reeled off four games from 2-2 in the second set to level the match and appeared to be in control in the deciding set when a stunning backhand winner to end a superb rally put her 4-2 ahead.
However, she gifted a break back with a double-fault in the next game and Radwanska, who had her right shoulder taped, began to play some inspired tennis to drag herself back to 4-4.
Wozniacki squandered one match point but a tired-looking Radwanska forehand into the net at 4-5 ended the duel. Should Wozniacki win another round-robin match and reach the final she will be guaranteed the top ranking going into 2011.
TOUGH BATTLE
"It was a tough battle out there," she told reporters. "We had a lot of long rallies and I'm very happy to pull through." The atmosphere is very nice here, it's a huge crowd.
Sharapova, who until last week was still unsure whether she would be fit to play after twisting an ankle before the China Open, was caught cold by Stosur in their White Group match which finished at nearly midnight local time.
However, she took some positives from a 6-1 7-5 defeat in her first match at the year-ending showpiece since 2007, since when a shoulder injury threatened her career.
"The good thing is that I gave myself a chance and I did everything I could just to be here," the three-times grand slam champion, who plays China's Li Na on Wednesday, told reporters. "I'm happy that I still have a couple of matches to go.
"She was more explosive than me today," added Sharapova who had won all her previous nine matches with Stosur.
Stosur, playing at the Championships for the first time in singles, saved three break points when serving for the match at 6-5 before finally clinching it on her second match point when Sharapova blazed a return long.
The Australian can take a huge step towards the semi-finals if she beats Victoria Azarenka in Wednesday's first match.

Pan Am Games: Canadian Armstrong retains shot title with record throw

GUADALAJARA, Mexico (Reuters): Canadian shot putter Dylan Armstrong came to Mexico to boost his training routine late in the season and walked off with the Pan-American gold medal after a record-breaking throw on Tuesday.
Armstrong, silver medallist in the Daegu world championships, won with a fifth throw of 21.30 right after being overtaken by his closest challenger Carlos Veliz and retained his Pan-am title.
The Cuban had just put the shot 20.76, four centimetres further than Armstrong's earlier competition-leading throw.
The 30-year-old Armstrong broke the record set eight years ago by American Reese Hoffa of 20.95 in Santo Domingo.
Asked to comment on his response to Veliz's throw, Armstrong said: "Yes, it took me a while to get into my rhythm," he told reporters. "My head's not in competition mode, I just went through the motions."
The Games, a quadrennial event involving the countries from Canada down to Argentina and Chile, are being held later in the year than usual and Armstrong had been concentrating on his training at home after the world championships from Aug. 27 to Sept. 4.
"I was training anyway so it's no different to do that at home or here, it was another opportunity to compete," he said at the brand new Telmex stadium in this western Mexican city.
Winning was a pleasing bonus.
"It means a lot, a medal's a medal," he said.
"With a championship medal, it makes a difference going to London," he added of next year's Olympic Games, but the modest giant does not court fame.
"I don't see myself (as being) in the spotlight, I just keep my head down and do my thing. Don't get me wrong, I like the pressure."
Argentine German Lauro, who threw 20.41 metres just two centimetres short of his personal best, won the bronze medal in a competition in which Americans Russell Winger and Noah Bryant disappointed.

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Where Does Ines Sainz Fit On the Sports Reporter Spectrum?

by Joel Keller,

The dust-up between TV Azteca reporter Ines Sainz and the New York Jets, where Sainz claimed there were some joking around and inappropriate remarks directed at her, yet again brings up the subject of what exactly the job of a TV sports reporter should entail.

Sports isn't news. In fact, sports has often been referred to as the "toy department" of various news organizations because of its relative uimportance compared to wars, famines, and natural disasters.

So there's always been a debate on whether those reporting it on television, especially the women who are doing it for a living, should act as serious, professional journalists or if they can play up the entertainment factors of their jobs. That may mean they can emphasize on their looks or have a shtick or do something that would make a big-time news correspondent like Lara Logan or Chuck Todd look foolish.

Where does Sainz fit on this spectrum? After the jump, I'll break down the different types of TV sports reporters into categories, and we'll try to figure out where she stands. We'll keep this list to sideline reporters and correspondents who interact with teams on a regular basis.

Serious Journalists
Examples: Chris Myers (FOX), Kim Jones (YES Network), Michele Tafoya (ESPN), Suzy Kolber (ESPN), Pam Oliver (FOX), Lesley Visser (CBS), Bonnie Bernstein (ESPN, pictured), Ken Rosenthal (FOX), Jay Glazer (FOX), Heidi Watney (NESN)

These are sideline reporters and correspondents who treat their job seriously. Yes, in many cases, they may be attractive, and sometimes the players they cover may act a little weird around them (Derek Jeter seems to flirt with Jones whenever they talk, for instance). But, for the most part, these people are there to report what they can report and feed that information back to their viewers.

Signs of the "serious journalist" are attire that would be appropriate in an office, questions that are actually probing and go beyond banal stuff like "Coach, what do you think the keys are to the second half?", and a propensity to break news and give inside information, just like their print brethren.

Entertainers who Think They're Serious JournalistsExamples: Jim Gray (Westwood One), Erin Andrews (ESPN, pictured), Jenn Brown (ESPN)

Reporters in this category think they're hard-nosed reporters, but their bodies of work make us think otherwise. In the case of Gray, he slipped from the "Serious Journalist" category for taking himself way too seriously. His position was tenuous after he grilled Pete Rose about gambling on baseball at the 1999 All-Star Game, holding onto the line of questioning like an angry puppy on a slipper. But Gray's excruciating questioning of LeBron James during the basketball star's signing announcement special permanently shifted Gray from "Reporter" to "Entertainer."

Then there are folks like Andrews. She wants to be treated with respect as an experienced reporter, but at the same time makes questionable on-the-job clothing decisions, does sexy layouts for GQ, and -- this one's the kicker -- goes on 'Dancing with the Stars.' Any one of those might indicate that you're less than serious about the journalistic aspects of your job, but all three? That makes you an entertainer in my book.

Pure EntertainersExamples: Jillian Reynolds (FOX), Craig Sager (Turner, pictured in the pink blazer), Jenn Sterger (Versus), Ahmad Rashad (NBA TV), Tony Siragusa (FOX)

These folks know why they were hired. They have that certain something; they're there for their personality -- or in the case of Sterger, other assets -- and they play those assets up to the hilt. Sager is the chummy guy who wears silly sports coats. Reynolds is the drinking buddy who gets in your face at the bar when her team scores. Siragusa is the former lineman who owns a string of bars and has a regular-guy personality. They don't try to break news or impart info; they're there to be personalities, and that's just fine with them.

--

So where does Sainz fit into this spectrum? Well, at first glance, she'd seem to be in the second category. She's been going on various morning news shows to talk about the incident with the Jets, emphasizing the fact that, while she didn't feel harassed, their antics did make her feel uncomfortable.

But, when you take a look at the body of her work -- she's shown up on Super Bowl media day to measure the biceps of the players, for instance -- she skews more as an entertainer than anything else. She calls herself the "hottest sports reporter in Mexico." The photos on her Twitter page and website don't exactly scream "serious journalist." Even the "conservative" outfits she wore to Jets training camp, last night's Jets-Ravens game and her round of appearances this morning were only conservative relative to what she's worn in the past.

So she's not really a journalist. That's OK. Not everyone reporting on sports has to be serious. And no matter what, the members of the Jets who made her uncomfortable -- especially coach Ryan -- should have acted more professionally; the woman has a job to do and should be allowed to do it.

But Sainz needs to own up to her own image and career path and stop pretending she should be taken any more seriously than Craig Sager. Because, to be honest, even Sager is closer to a journalist than Sainz is.

• Tags: craig sager, erin andrews, ines sainz, jenn brown, kim jones, sports reporters