Alabama Football Spring Game

Nice day for a practice in front of 95,000 fans?

Alabama detained its A Day spring game on Saturday, and few question marks are slowly being sorted out. It was a day that started with the school unveiling a nine-foot tall figurine of head coach Nick Saban and.

It appears A.J. McCarron has the inside border at quarterback although Saban was pleased with the play of third-string QB Blake Sims. McCarron finished 21 of 38 overall attempts for 222 yards and a touchdown. Sims was 19 of 38 for 229 yards and one interception.




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Liverpool Beat Manchester

England's most luxurious player Andy Carroll scored his first goals for Liverpool to help beat Manchester City 3-0 in the Premier League.

Kuyt slotted in the next for Liverpool with a low angled shot into the bottom left-hand corner.

Seconds later Liverpool was three up after a sparkling header from Carroll. He out-jumped Kolarov to join onto a great long-range delivery from Raul Meireles.

The result means that Liverpool is closing in on a top five position in the league which would mean a place in Europe next time.



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Neil Lennon looking for consistency from SFA

Neil Lennon says he will be watching what type of penalty the SFA hands down to one of his counterparts.

The Celtic boss was handed another four-match ban for his conflict with Rangers assistant Ally McCoist back in the March 2 Scottish Cup fifth round replay at Celtic Park and he is waiting to observe what happens to Aberdeen’s Craig Brown.

Brown had a similar argument with Motherwell chairman John Boyle recently and the Hoops boss admits he is involved to see what occurs on that front.

"Yes, I just want to be treated like any other manager,” he said. “Is anything diverse from what Craig Brown did to what I did?

"All these people are telling me I've got to grow up and I want to show more maturity.

"Well, there is the oldest manager in the game - with 30, 38 years of experience - perhaps doing a lot worse than what I did.

"Yet what he did acquire laughed off and I get demonized for it.

"There is a distinction in personalities and the way you depict it in the public eye.

"I am used to it. I am not looking for sympathy. I'm just looking for justice, that's all.

“Other managers condemn referees. Am I the only manager in the world who criticizes referees?

"Sometimes it has seemed that way this time. I have been to the Scottish Football Association a pair of times and I ended up getting a suspended fine because my comments were not really that bad.

"They weren't personal, which is for sure, and no dissimilar to what other managers do."

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Match preview of Aston Villa v Newcastle United

In 16 Premier League visits they won 6 and drawn 5, but they have lost their last three.

In August Newcastle thrash Villa 6-0 with a hat-trick from Andy Carroll and a brace from Kevin Nolan.

Nolan is banned after collecting his 10th care, against Wolves, while James Perch begins and three-match ban and Cheik Tiote completes a two-game deferment.

Ryan Taylor is accessible after a suspension and Jose Enrique undergoes a test, but Leon Best is out for the period.

Dan Gosling, Alan Smith, Stephen Ireland and Hatem Ben Arfa are also missing.

Villa has Ciaran Clark available after a two-match ban.


Thanks to: http://www.telegraph.co.uk




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A SUNDERLAND fan is suing his club

A SUNDERLAND fan is suing his club after being knocked out by a wander off shot while watching a training session.

Black Cats chairman Niall Quinn revealed the authorized action in a radio phone-in.

Said by Quinn, “We had a supporter who got a bad damage.

“I believe it was one of Djibril Cisse’s misses where he had a shot from 20 yards.

“It knocked a supporter out. It was quite severe. That supporter is in the process of suing us right now.”

Cisse played for Sunderland 38 times in the 2008-9 season, scoring 11 times, while on credit from Marseille.

Boss Steve Bruce is situating to ring the changes for tomorrow’s visit of West Brom following a dreadful run of form and the 5-0 thrashing by Manchester City on Sunday.

He is set to remember Steed Malbranque, Nedum Onuaha and fit-again Kieran Richardson.

Fraizer Campbell will notice a knee specialist today and expects to be given the all-clear for tomorrow’s visit of West Brom.

Egyptian Football Domestic League

The Egyptian FA says the country's domestic league will continue next week after a two-month break.

In a statement late Tuesday the EFA said football would come back "in all grades and in the presence of the fans on April 13."

The EFA had said it was delaying the return of league matches following a violent ground attack at an African Champions League match in Cairo on Saturday. The EFA also said it was considering holding matches behind closed doors after that uprising by fans of Cairo club Zamalek.

The EFA said the result to resume the league coming Wednesday came after a meeting involving Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf.

The Egyptian league was delayed in early February during the protests against previous president Hosni Mubarak.

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Argentina ask Japan to reconsider

Argentine Football Association spokesman Jose Luis Meiszner said Japan had been given 10 days to assessment their initial decision to focus on the country's recovery from last month's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

"There is a time limit of 10 days," Copa America organising committee chief Meiszner said.

"Nothing has been advanced. We met, we talked and we set a deadline to see if Japan gets to the Copa America," he said behind a meeting between AFA president Julio Grondona and his Japanese matching part Junji Ogura.

Ogura, whose country had acknowledged an invitation to play in the tournament for the second time, told South American Football Confederation president Nicolas Leoz at their Asuncion headquarters on Monday that Japan wanted to withdraw.

Nearly 29,000 people are dead or missing and thousands have been left homeless as a result of the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and huge tsunami that hit Japan's northeast coast. Sports plans are in chaos including the J-League.

Japan played as a guest team at the 1999 Copa in Paraguay, were drawn in Group A with Argentina, Bolivia and Colombia.

World champions Spain said earlier on Tuesday they had been invited to fill the slit left by Japan in the 12-team tournament while another option was a CONCACAF country filling in.

Costa Rica has played in the tournament three times and is coached by Argentine Ricardo La Volpe is measured favourites to come in.

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Dan Gaspar has a new challenge

Gaspar said will join long-time colleague, Carlos Queiroz, as a subordinate coach and goalkeeping coach on Iran's national side. Queiroz was named trainer on Monday.

The former MetroStars assistant coach confirmed his appointment on Tuesday.

MetroStars University of Hartford coach has worked together with Queiroz on the Portuguese National Team in the 2010 World Cup, Sporting Lisbon in Portugal, Grampus Eight in Japan, the South African National Team and the MetroStars in 1996.

Gaspar lately resigned as Hartford coach. He coached at the school for 6 years as the Hawks compiled a 36-46-21 record.

“Dan has been active in building the brand of Hartford men’s soccer throughout the community,” Patricia Meiser, director of athletics and particular assistant to the president said in a statement. “His leadership and dedication to advancing Hartford men’s soccer will be hard to return. We wish Coach Gaspar the best of luck in his next effort.”

Queiroz and Gaspar coached mutually on Portugal during qualifying for the 1994 World Cup. Gaspar also worked with the Portuguese under Felipe Scolari, who heading for Brazil to the 2002 world championship.

The twosome also co-authored Project 2010, an arrangement commissioned by U.S. Soccer that described the challenges the United States faced in winning the World Cup in 2010.

He has also served as the goalkeeper coach for Benfica and Porto. He also trained FC Porto's Vitor Baia, who was selected as the UEFA's best European goalkeeper in 2004.

Gaspar is also the proprietor and operator of Star Goalkeeper Academy and the Connecticut Soccer School.

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Jackson Statue at Ground

Michael Jackson statue has been unveiled outside the stadium of Premier League side Fulham, commemorating the tardy singer's friendship with the club's chairman.

Mohammed Al Fayed danced with children in front of the statue of the King of Pop behind it was unveiled prior to Fulham's home match with Blackpool at Craven Cottage.

And he later told fans they can "go to hell" if they do not be glad about the statue.

Al Fayed, a close friend of the late performer, caused controversy after announcing he had decided to place the tribute to Jacko outside the Cottagers' stadium.

The statue was commissioned following Jackson's death in June 2009 and was due to be erected at Harrods earlier than Al Fayed sold the Knightsbridge store. The decision to move it to Craven Cottage is likely to divide estimation, with statues at football grounds normally reserved for club legends.

Jackson's links to Fulham are fragile to say the least - he watched a game there as a guest of Al Fayed in 1999 - while the singer was also dogged by argument during his lifetime.

Regardless of this, Al Fayed has refuted claims that the memorial is peculiar and lashed out at fans that have spoken against it. "Why is it bizarre?" he said following the unveiling. "Football fans love it.

"If some dense fans don't understand and be grateful for such a gift they can go to hell.

"I don't want them to be fans. If they don't understand and don't consider in things I believe in they can go to Chelsea, they can go to anywhere else."



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Manchester United will tire themselves out against Chelsea

United tour to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday and host the go back leg on April 12 before playing Arsenal in London on May 1. An FA Cup date with Manchester City at Eastlands on coming April 16 means that United will have played six games previous to the trip to London, two more than Arsenal.

"The way I seem at it is that United have two extra big games previous to they have to play us," said Van Persie, referring to the Premiership's current leaders' conflict with Chelsea in the Champions League.

"Hopefully, they will have to dig bottomless into their reserves and come here exhausted. That's how I am looking at it because I want us to have the biggest opening against them."

The detail that Arsenal's leading goalscorer is hoping that their rivals' heavier match list will give them a helping hand gives a good impression of the two sides' relation fortunes in recent weeks, with Arsenal going through a poor run of appearance which saw them knocked out of three competitions.

But although that bend continued with a dispiriting goalless draw at home to Blackburn at the weekend – a result which left Arsene Wenger dejected and his side seven points floating of United in the Premier League – Van Persie insists that his side is capable of starting anew.

"We were just inauspicious with injuries in certain games," he said of a run of two wins in the last eight games. "We start working tough on Monday another time and everyone will be positive."

"We cannot be diverse. We do believe."

As for the practice of watching United overcome a two-goal deficit at half time to win by two: "It was not fine. But it does not matter. We still play them and we have an opportunity to get three points there.

"It's up to us. Everyone stays helpful and speaks to each other and says, 'Come on, we've eight games to play for, present it your all.' We will do that."


The fight might yet be a title-decider, but Arsenal has games against Blackpool, Liverpool, Spurs and Bolton to discuss in the meantime.



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Bosnia and Herzegovina were balanced from international football

Bosnia and Herzegovina were balanced from international football Friday in a chain over the presidency of their football federation.

FIFA, the sport's global governing body, and UEFA, the organization in claim of European soccer, took the step after Bosnia and Herzegovina's football association failed to modify its three-headed presidency.

The NFSBiH represents two football associations and now has a Bosnian, a Croat and a Serb head to reproduce the racial groups within the former Yugoslav republic.

Bosnia and Herzegovina were balanced from international football

A meeting in the nation's capital of Sarajevo attempted to address the matter, with FIFA having ordered the NFSBiH to reform and present one presidential figure, but no resolution could be found.

"The Football Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been suspended until additional notice by FIFA and UEFA as of today," read a FIFA statement Friday.

"The Executive Committees of FIFA and UEFA had requested the FFBH to assume the statutes according to FIFA and UEFA minimum requirements by no later than 31 March 2011; if not the FFBH would be automatically suspended.

"FIFA and UEFA deeply apologize for that this decision had to be taken and will meet shortly to argue the next steps required to try to bring the FFBH back into the football family as soon as possible."

The deferment means Bosnia and Herzegovina will be unable to struggle in both international matches and continental club competitions.

The news will come as a gust to Safet Susic's national side, which are fourth in Euro 2012 qualifying Group D after a 2-1 victory over Romania on March 26.

At present, the team will be incapable to fulfill their next qualifying match, also against Romania, on June 3.

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