THE FINAL WHISTLE: 11-17.03.13

A round up of the best and worst of this week’s sport.


The Good:

Welsh Rugby
It was supposed to England’s day on Saturday. They were supposed to wrap up their first Grand Slam in years and the only thing that stood between them and glory was a Welsh side that had already lost to relatively poor Ireland team. Obviously Wales hadn’t read the script as they tore England apart from the get-go. Two tries from Alex Cuthbert sealed a miserable day for the English as Wales triumphed emphatically 30-3 in Cardiff.

St. George couldn’t slay the Dragon this time

Lacrosse
It’s not been a bad season for the Uni’s Lacrosse teams as last week saw the men’s team secure a league and cup double and continue their unbeaten run. The double winners have romped away with the league this season, winning 8/8 games with a massive goal difference of +144. The 10-5 victory over York in the cup final last week was made all the more sweet for captain Matt Turner as it was against his old side. Likewise the women’s team wrapped up their league last week with a 13-1 win over Leeds Met. Good seasons all round.

The Double Winning Squad.

The Bad:

Simon Brodkin
Confusion reigned at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon, or at least it did for 5 minutes during the warm up, as Manchester City found themselves with an extra squad member. Simon Brodkin, of Lee Nelson fame, took to the pitch and joined in with stretches and shuttle runs much to the bemusement of the City players. Dressed in a full away kit ‘Jason Bent’ warmed up alongside the squad until he was finally ushered off by security. What should have been a harmless prank turned out to have quite a sting as Brodkin was arrested for ‘pitch encroachment’. Spoil sports.

‘Who the f*ck is this guy?!’

James O’Brien
It’s been an eventful week for James O’Brien to say the least. It may have begun the same as any other, sending abusive tweets to former footballer turned professional boxer Curtis Woodhouse, but what followed was very different. Woodhouse had finally had enough of his twitter troll and offered £1000 to anyone willing to give him O’Brien’s address, within minutes Woodhouse was in his car driving from Hull to Sheffield to confront the man who’d been abusing both himself and his family. O’Brien suddenly became elusive however when it turned out Woodhouse was parked outside his house. The pair finally met and ‘settled their differences’ on ITV’s Daybreak later in the week, un/fortunately this was in the form of handshake.

What an anti-climax.

The Ugly:

Callum McMananaman
Wigan owner, Dave Whelan may have tried to defend the young lad’s ‘tackle’ in the press early this week but the rest of the world could see Callum McManaman’s challenge on Massadio Haidara was more akin to assault. The 21 year old may not have a history of reckless challenges but last Sunday’s incident has certainly risen his profile, and not in a good way. It’s still not clear whether there was any intent to injure Haidara, but ‘that’ challenge is sure to leave a stain on Callum McManaman’s reputation for a long time to come.

‘It was an accident ref, honest.’

Sports Centre Showers
Despite the recent multi-million pound refurbishment the University Sports and Fitness Centre have seemingly left temperature gauges off the budget. The scolding showers in the men’s changing rooms aren’t exactly the most relaxing after a gym session. As hot though they may be they beat the arctic blast from the pre-refurb showers, although only just .

A remarkably accurate depiction of my journey to the showers

He said what?!;
I am not a fascist and would not have done it if I had known what it meant” – Giorgos ‘I swear I’m not a Nazi’ Katidis’ attempted defence of his controversial celebration.

A damning reflection on the Greek education system.

What to look forward to this week;

– Varsity – It’s Varsity week in Liverpool and the rivalry is hotter than ever.There are big games being played in a whole variety of sports between the Uni of Liverpool and John Moores, so make sure you’re around on Wednesday to check them out.

– Campus Sport – BUCS league’s may be all wrapping up before Easter but there’s still plenty to play for elsewhere. Campus sport is still going strong and with the massive backlog of fixtures due to winter cancellations there’s plenty up for grabs across all sports.

Extra Time;
Another golf related gem for you this week; this time it’s the turn of the pro’s on the challenge tour trying their hand at cricket with a twist, enjoy.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXLYFfyjMHg&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

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