Sports Briefs
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STEPHEN Keshi, out of contract Super Eagles coach, has apologised to Nigerians for any misunderstanding that could have occurred in the course of discharging his duties.
Speaking through Emmanuel Ado, his agent, Keshi said he apologised to all Nigerians and most especially the fans for the failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for the 2015 edition. “There were problems that contributed to the failure of the team to qualify for Equatorial Guinea, which by the Grace of God has been largely resolved,” Ado said.
He also said that Keshi had no problem with Amaju Pinnick, president of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, saying any perceived “problem, whether real or imagined,” between them would always be resolved amicably in the interest of the game and the country they both love.
“Keshi has always related well with Pinnick as a brother and as chairman of the Delta State Sports Commission before now. The chairman’s passion and achievements over the years bear eloquent testimony to what he is capable of replicating in his new job at the NFF.
“After the 2013 Nations Cup, Amaju was instrumental to Delta State Government hosting the team and the renaming of the Asaba township stadium after Stephen Keshi,” Ado said. According to the spokesman, “there will always be differences, but it is how these differences are managed that is critical. So, moving forward, I expect that the board, the media, the fans and the coach would continue to rub minds on issues that will help our football, but once the coach takes a decision he should be supported.”
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Woods Slides in World Rankings
THESE are not good times for tiger Woods, former number one golf player. Woods has dropped out of the world top 100 for the first time in his career as he fell to 104th position on Monday, March 30. No thanks to his battle against injuries and loss of form.
According to AFP reports, the 14-time major winner, who first broke into the top 100 when he turned professional in 1996, fell from 96th to 104th in the latest rankings issued after the weekend’s tournaments.
Woods, 39, had spent a cumulative record 683 weeks as world number one and was last in the position in May, 2014 before he was replaced by Adam Scott, Australian golfer. Since then, the American has been plagues with series of injuries and swing problems which have been threatening to derail the rest of his career.
Just last January, Woods posted an 82 in the Phoenix Open, his worst round as a professional, which caused him to drop outside the top 50 in the world rankings for the first time in more than three years.
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Wenger, Giroud Win Laurels
ARSENE Wenger, manager of Arsenal football club and Olivier Giroud, a striker at the club, were named the Premier League manager and player of the month on Friday, April 3.
Arsenal’s superb run of six straight league wins in the run-up to the international break has left it third in the table, but still in a doubtful position to Chelsea, the leader, for the title.
The club won four straight league games in March, scoring nine goals and conceding two, with Giroud netting five including two against Newcastle United and further goals against Everton, Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United.
Arsenal would meet Liverpool, which is placed fifth in the league table, on Saturday April 4. If it wins, it would open up a nine-point gap over Liverpool which is only also gunning for a Champions League qualification spot. “It’s a big game and an opportunity for us to continue our run, which is what we want to do. You know after the international break it’s always important that you come back and straight away you are on it,” Wenger said.
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Murray’s Historic 500 Wins
ANDY Murray has become the first Briton to join the tennis’s most exclusive clubs of reaching the landmark of 500 career wins after defeating Kevin Anderson to earn his place in the Miami Open last eight.
Murray, currently the third seed in the world, Anderson, a South African, seeded 15, by on a three-set, winning 6-4 3-6 6-3.
By the feat, Murray has become the 46th man to reach 500 wins since the open era began. Only nine of those in the exclusive class are still playing.
Murray, a Scot, 27, has reached the landmark in less than 10 years he turned professional. He made his professional debut in April 2005.
Murray told the BBC Sport it was “fitting” to record his 500th career win in Miami, where he spends a lot of time training. “I’ve been through quite a lot of pain on that court in the last few years. I hope I can use this as motivation to win some more and I hope today’s match wasn’t the last one. There’s different ways of judging the success of someone’s career, but winning 800-900 matches is something that’s happened very rarely and a difficult thing to do – so it gives you something to aim at,” he said, adding: “There are not a whole load of people who have managed to get to 500”
Murray set a new record for open-era wins by a British man earlier in March, beating Feliciano Lopez at Indian Wells to surpass Tim Henman’s 496-victory mark.
— Apr. 13, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT
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