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With the official first day of practice arriving on Friday evening, college basketball season at Bucknell is just around the corner. The Bison men’s and women’s teams both open the 2007-08 campaign in four weeks - the women get started at St. Bonaventure on Nov. 9, while the men open at home against Albany on Nov. 10 - but between now and then there is plenty of activity for fans to get back in the swing of hoops.

Once again this year the highlight event is the Bison Mania pep rally, which will be held on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 9 p.m. at Sojka Pavilion. The event is free and open to the public, with another fun and exciting agenda in the works. Bucknell’s pep band, cheerleaders and dance teams will all perform at Bison Mania, and the men’s and women’s teams will be introduced. There will be a number of fan and student-interactive contests, including a chance to make a shot for $10,000, and prizes will be awarded to the most spirited groups.

Fans will have two opportunities to catch the men’s team in action prior to the Nov. 10 opener. The first will be on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m., when the team will hold its annual Blue/Orange scrimmage in Sojka Pavilion. Admission is free, and all seating is general admission.

On Sunday, Nov. 4 at 2 p.m., the Bison men will host East Stroudsburg in an exhibition game at Sojka Pavilion. The Warriors, who are coming off an 18-10 season, will be playing in Lewisburg for the first time since February of 1933. This will be a ticketed event, however tickets will be available free of charge at the door. The Sojka Pavilion ticket window will open at noon.

On Tuesday, Nov. 6, the Bison will host their annual Tip-Off Reception at 7 p.m. at the Towne Tavern on Market Street in Lewisburg. The $5 admission fee includes food and beverages, as well as raffle tickets for basketball-related prizes. Head coach Pat Flannery will introduce this year’s team, and coaches and players will offer their thoughts on the upcoming season.

Also of note, the first of four monthly Backcourt Club luncheons will be on Thursday, Dec. 6 at the Lewisburg Hotel. The remaining luncheons will be Jan. 3, Feb. 7 and Feb. 28.

Starting on Thursday, Nov. 8, Flannery will be a regular guest on Bison Live!, the weekly Bison Athletics Radio show aired live on location from Damon’s Grill, located on Route 15 and Walter Drive in Lewisburg. Women’s coach Kathy Fedorjaka will appear on the program on Nov. 1, then weekly beginning Nov. 29.

Finally, the Bison Club has announced eight bus trips to away men’s basketball games in 2007-08. The first trip will be to the Towson game on Nov. 14. Others will be Nov. 18 to Villanova, Dec. 22 to Drexel, Jan. 5 to St. Bonaventure, Jan. 23 to Lafayette, Feb. 9 to Navy, Feb. 27 to Lehigh and March 1 to Army. For more information, call Todd Newcomb at 570-577-1771.

Source: www.bucknellbison.com

Stan Collymore shouts his England selection at a camera on Who ate all the Pies?

This is American Soccer catches up with Edgar Davids in Harlem.

Jakarta Casual reminisces about Matt Le Tissier's England career, which doesn't take long.

Bobby Boswell has some photos of the new RFK setup, and struggles spelling a certain Chicago player's name.

Soccer by Ives notes the speedy return of Hope Solo to international football. Quicker than Michael Owen even.

The Offside looks at little SWP, the big money porn investor.

Harry Redknapp blames X-Box for the lack of English talent on Portsmouth Offside.

CaughtOffside catch Liverpool unveiling Harry Kewell, again.

Steve McClaren gets his keepers mixed up on The Tottenham Massive.

Source: www.soccer-weblog.com

As the champagne corks popped all over the French capital last Saturday night and World Cup fever spilled on to the Champs Elysées, it was impossible to move for partying Parisians. Some were hanging naked from lamp-posts waving tricolores, in celebration of France’s unlikely quarter-final victory against New Zealand in Cardiff. Others were performing hakas on the bonnets of grid-locked, horn-honking cars. Everywhere you turned, though, there was one recurring image: the thick flowing locks and the shaggy beard. Someone had done a roaring trade in the familiar get-up of the national hero known as l’homme des Cavernes.

It was never like this on Merseyside during David Fairclough’s time as the first great sporting supersub. Then again, the football striker whose walk-on contributions helped Liverpool win the European Cup thirty years ago was blessed with a modest mop of red hair rather than the caveman look that has made Sebastien Chabal such a cult figure in his homeland.

Chabal is not even a member of Bernard Laporte’s first-choice XV; he started on the bench in the 20-18 quarter-final win against the All Blacks and will do so again when Les Bleus take on England in tomorrow night’s semi-final in the Stade de France. And yet the 29-year-old replacement has become the symbol of the 2007 Rugby World Cup. For six weeks now, all over France, Chabal’s face, and his neanderthal image, has stared down from billboards and magazine covers.

He has been voted the sexiest man in France and the sexiest player at the World Cup. Whenever the 6ft 3in, 18st No 8-turned lock emerges from the replacements’ bench his countrymen and countrywomen rise to their feet and shout: “Mmmm… Chabal!” It is a reference to an advertisement for “100 per cent French beef”, which carries the tag-line “Mmmm… Charal!”

It was different when Chabal made his first appearance in the blue of his country, against Scotland at Murrayfield in 2000. Back then, he was a clean-shaven, short-haired, fresh-faced 22-year-old. It all changed in 2004 when he left Bourgoin and joined Sale Sharks, following in the footsteps of Philippe Saint-Andre, the Cheshire club’s director of rugby. At the same time, Chabal’s wife, Annick, was awaiting the birth of their two daughters and he started growing his hair and his beard. By the time baby Lily Rose was born, Annick had become fond of the beard and the locks, which quickly became part of a cult image beloved by the Sale fans.

They started wearing T-shirts showing Chabal’s face over a skull and crossbones and the slogan “Cha-bad to the bone”. In turn, Chabal – who had longed for a move from Bourgoin to Toulouse and was not keen on the food or the climate in the north-west of England – settled contentedly into life in the Manchester area. The man from Valence, near Lyons, lives with his family at Cheadle Hume in Cheshire.

Chabal is known at Sale not as the Caveman or the Anaesthetist, as he was in France in his pre-bearded days (because of the effect of his uncompromising tackling), but as Seabass. He is also known as a No 8.

The apex of the back row is Chabal’s favoured position, though Laporte has long been reluctant to use him there in the national team, preferring to play him at flanker or deploy him from the bench. When Chabal was neutralised at No 8 by England’s back row in France’s 26-18 defeat at Twickenham in March – being replaced by Imanol Harinordoquy six minutes into the second-half – it seemed that Laporte’s reservations might even cost him a place in the World Cup squad.

That was until the Caveman clubbed his way back into contention with some bone-crunching hits on France’s summer tour to New Zealand. Now he is used by Laporte as a second row destroyer from the bench. England, and the Stade de France, will be braced for the impact tomorrow night.

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Source: sport.independent.co.uk

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FIFTH ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL, Colombo:
Sri Lanka v England
Match starts at 1000 BST on Saturday

Swann has been a revelation since being recalled by England

Graeme Swann will miss England’s final one-day match against Sri Lanka on Saturday after tearing a hamstring.

The off-spinner, 28, has been in fine form with ball and bat, helping the tourists clinch a first limited-overs series success ever in Sri Lanka.

He is set to be out for 10-12 days but should be fit for December’s Tests.

“It’s a shame, he’s had a fantastic series. He’s got a grade two tear and if we played him it would be very risky,” coach Peter Moores said.

“If that gets to a grade three or four it’s a month out.”

Nottinghamshire’s Swann has been a revelation since being recalled following a seven-year absence, taking seven wickets, making 83 runs and holding four catches in the first four games.

His form has kept out Monty Panesar but the slow left-armer is now likely to come in for the finale in Colombo.

“A like-for-like swap is probably on the cards. It’s a chance for Monty to get out there and show what’s he’s got,” Moores explained.

“Monty hasn’t done anything wrong but Graeme has played superbly well, not just with ball in hand, he’s batted well at key times and he’s fielded well.”

The introduction of Panesar could be England’s only change despite going into the game 3-1 up.

Moores wants to stick as much as possible with a winning combination to maintain the momentum they have developed since arriving on the island.

“Though the series is won everyone’s trying to gain confidence and move forward as a team - and there are rankings to play for as well,” the coach added.

“I don’t think we’re going to make wholesale changes. There are opportunities to look at other players but we’ve also got to be loyal to those players who have played very well.

“We have to make sure we take into account some of the lads have waited long and hard to get into this position of being in a successful one-day team.

“There’s no question of relaxing. There’s too much to play for.”

For Sri Lanka’s batsmen it is a last chance to redeem themselves following a poor showing earlier in the series.

Only four half centuries have been posted by the hosts so far and coach Trevor Bayliss is hoping some positive words from the management will reap rewards.

“We’ve just been trying to reinforce to the boys that they’re quality players and they’ve just got to believe that they can do it.

“I thought in the last couple of games, because the wickets have been a bit slow, they’ve probably gone into their shells maybe a little bit too much.

“They’ve been a bit too watchful and these guys are successful playing the one-day game when they’re busy and they show intent.”

All-rounder Farveez Maharoof is again expected to miss out with the side strain which sidelined him from Wednesday’s defeat.

“If there’s any doubt at all, we’re probably better off not playing him for the long term,” Bayliss added.

“You always want to win every international match you play, but the series is over so we don’t want to jeopardise anything and we’ve got five very important Test matches coming up in the next couple of months.”

Sri Lanka (from): Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara (wkt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Jehan Mubarak, Kausal Lokuarachchi, Dilhara Fernando, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga.

England (from): Paul Collingwood (capt), Alastair Cook, Phil Mustard (wkt), Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom, James Anderson, Monty Panesar, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Luke Wright, Chris Tremlett.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

It’s official: Darnell “The Ding-A-Ling Man” Wilson will not get a world title shot against WBO Cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli.

Reports are that Wilson is being passed over in favor of a boxer who, apparently is also from DC, although he has never fought in the area before.

His name is Ezra Sellers, he is 37-years old, and he has had two previous world title shots, losing to former champs Kelvin Davis and Johnny Nelson. Back in 2004, Sellers also lost a IBF elimination bout to former champ O’Neil Bell.

Sellers’s biggest win was back in November 2001 when he stopped Carl Thompson in the fourth round for the IBO Cruiserweight title.

The Sellers-Maccarinelli bout will be Saturday, November 3 in Cardiff, Wales on the Joe Calzaghe-Mikkel Kessler card.

Source: boxingalongthebeltway.blogspot.com

Stenson: Through to quarter-final with Ernie Els

Swede Henrik Stenson and Argentina’s Andres Romero took just 15 minutes on Friday to clinch places in the quarter-finals of the HSBC World Match Play Championship at Wentworth.

Forced to resume early on Friday after a fog delay, Stenson was all square with American Woody Austin on the final hole - but sank a 12-foot birdie putt to go through to face Padraig Harrington’s conqueror Anders Hansen.

Romero, two up with four to play on Stenson’s compatriot Niclas Fasth, then birdied the 16th for a three-and-two victory.

That gave him a clash with six-time winner Ernie Els - Argentina v South Africa, in other words, two days before their Rugby World Cup semi-final match in Paris.

“That was a bit unnecessary,” said a relieved Stenson, who had been five up on Austin at one stage.

Distraction

His relief was not just at coming through the contest, but also that a distraction had not cost him on the last hole.

After Austin had driven, the European Ryder Cup star was just about to tee off when a car appeared in front of him - and with no marshal around to tell him to stop, the driver screeched to a halt on realising he should not continue on the road crossing the fairway.

Stenson backed away and then did not hit his three-wood as he had hoped and was unable to reach the par five in two.

First round results:

P Casey (Eng) bt (16) J Kelly (USA) 3&2
A Cabrera (Arg) bt R Goosen (SA) 6&5
H Mahan (US) bt J Rose (Eng) 5&4
S Hansen (Den) bt R Sabbatini (SA) 4&3
A Hansen (Den) bt P Harrington (Ire) 4&2
E Els (SA) bt C Montgomerie (Sco) 6&5

H Stenson (Swe) beat W Austin (US) by one hole
A Romero (Arg) bt N Fasth (Swe) 3&2

Austin chose to lay up as well. Although his pitch landed right by the pin, it spun 25 feet away - and Stenson took advantage.

Quarter-final draw

P Casey (Eng) v A Cabrera (Arg)
H Mahan (US) v S Hansen (Den)
A Hansen (Den) v H Stenson (Swe)
E Els (SA) v A Romero (Arg)

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Source: www.skysports.com

Terry: Knee injury

England captain John Terry will miss Saturday’s Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia with a knee injury.

The Chelsea centre-back was sent for a scan on Thursday after picking up the problem in training.

The damage is not thought to be too bad, but Steve McClaren has quickly ruled Terry out of the clash at Wembley.

McClaren had been toying with the idea of resting Terry for the game anyway, as the defender is only one booking away from a suspension.

But Terry, who also has a fractured cheekbone, is now doubtful for next Wednesday’s crucial match in Russia.

He will stay with the squad before a decision is made later in the week regarding his fitness for the trip to Moscow.

Assessment

“John Terry had a scan on his left knee today and will not be fit for Saturday’s game against Estonia,” McClaren confirmed.

“He will remain with the squad and his injury will be assessed on a daily basis with a view to Wednesday’s match in Russia.

“During this time the England and Chelsea medical teams have been and will be in close communication.”

McClaren must now decide how to reorganise his defence in Terry’s absence.

Sol Campbell could earn a recall alongside Rio Ferdinand in the centre, but Micah Richards and Joleon Lescott are other alternatives.

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Source: www.skysports.com

The New Zealand All Golds will field seven British-based players in their centenary match at Warrington a week on Saturday and one of them could score the first three-point try for almost 25 years.

The match against the Northern Union, as the Rugby League was still known in 1907, is to be played under the scoring system of 100 years ago – three points for a try and two for any goal, including a drop goal. A try has been worth four points since 1983 and a drop goal was downgraded to a single point in 1974.

The most intriguing selection for the game on 20 October is the choice of the Wigan scrum-half, Thomas Leuluai, at hooker.

Motu Tony, the Hull full-back, has withdrawn from the tour proper, saying that, like Leeds’ Brent Webb, he needs a break.

Wakefield have signed the Widnes winger, Damien Blanch, on a two-year contract. The former Castleford player was in the side that lost the National League One Grand Final to the Tigers on Sunday.

“I first took note of Damien in his Castleford days and he impressed me at Widnes too,” said the Wakefield coach, John Kear. “He will bring both size and pace to our wing position.”

Kirk Dixon has become the first Castleford player to re-sign for the club following their promotion to Super League. The former Hull three-quarter has agreed a two-year deal.

Hull say they are out of the bidding for the Brisbane Broncos’ forward Brad Thorne, who has represented Australia at league and the All Blacks at union. That could leave the way open for Cas to recruit him, although their first priority appears to be a half-back, with Canterbury’s Brent Sherwin the name most often mentioned in dispatches.

Sky Sports have agreed a deal for the British TV rights for next year’s World Cup in Australia, plus a series of qualifying games in this country this autumn.

Tonga, who have already qualified for the tournament, have recorded an impressive result by beating the touring Junior Kangaroos by 44-6.

Harlequins have issued a statement apologising for Henry Paul’s inebriated behaviour at the Man Of Steel awards this week. The club said there is no question of terminating his contract, however.

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Source: sport.independent.co.uk

Blackburn Rovers v Bristol Academy
The FA Tesco Women’s Premier League Cup
Second Round
2pm, Sunday 14 October 2007
Clitheroe FC

The FA Tesco Women’s Premier League’s leading scorers Katie Anderton and Kerry Bartlett go head to head on Sunday in what promises to be a thrilling Premier League Cup meeting between high flyers Blackburn Rovers and Bristol Academy.

Bristol’s Bartlett has hit seven goals in eight League games to put her team topof the table, while Anderton has bagged 11 of second placed Blackburn’s League goals – and Anderton is predicting a very close Cup contest at Rovers’ Clitheroe FC home ground.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if it goes to penalties,” said the prolific striker, who last season scored 26 League and Cup goals. “We’ve already played each other twice in the League, both games were really tight and I’m expecting it to be the same on Sunday.”

Academy won 3-1 at Blackburn, Bartlett hitting one of the goals, but a fortnight later Rovers battled to a well earned 2-2 draw at Bristol – whose 100 per cent record was ended by a late but deserved equaliser from Anderton.

Almost inevitably, Anderton’s name was also on the scoresheet when Rovers hammered Brighton 8-0 in the first round of the Premier League Cup two weeks ago. But they won’t have it so easy on Sunday, promises Academy’s Bartlett.

The 24 year-old striker has been a revelation since being signed by Bristol from non-League Forest Green 15 months ago, scoring 19 League and Cup goals last season and carrying on in the same vein this term.

“I wasn’t sure I’d be good enough for the Premier League,” she admits, “but I adapted pretty quickly and I’ve exceeded my own expectations. It’s been a bit of a relief though, to carry on scoring this season.

“You do get one-season wonders who fade away after doing so well, but happily I’ve got a few goals already and that’s kept my confidence flowing – and I’m certainly confident about getting the result we want on Sunday.

“We were brilliant up at Blackburn when we beat them 3-1, but then at our place we didn’t show up for the first half and overall it was a disappointing afternoon for us. But we’ll be going back up there believing we can come away with another win.

“It won’t be easy because they’re a good team and Anderton certainly knows where the net is – but after our fantastic comeback to beat Chelsea 4-3 on Wednesday we’re flying and we really fancy ourselves to make the quarter-finals.”

Bristol were 3-0 down before amazingly pulling off their great win at Chelsea, but that result and the confidence boost it will have given the Academy players will not in any way intimidate Blackburn, insists Anderton.

“We’ve made a decent start to the season and we’re determined to do well in the League Cup,” she says. “We reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup last season and now we’d love to get into the final of either of the major Cup competitions.

“We feel we’ve got a real chance in the League Cup. Sunday is going to be tough, there’s no doubt about that, but if we can come through this game then two more wins will take us to the final – and that’s our aim!”

If there is adverse weather on Sunday and you wish to check the status of the game, please call Rob Gill on 07719406118

Source: www.thefa.com

In a four-way tie for first place in the Patriot League standings, the Bucknell men’s soccer team will attempt to keep pace this weekend as it travels to Army for a 1 p.m. contest Saturday afternoon at Clinton Field. The Bison will try to extend their unbeaten streak to seven matches and will aim for their third consecutive road victory.

Live video of Saturday’s contest is expected to be broadcast on www.GoArmySports.com.

Bucknell Men’s Soccer Notebook
Bucknell Recently (4-3-4 Overall, 1-0-1 Patriot League)
- Oct. 6: T, 1-1 (OT) vs. Holy Cross
2007 Bucknell Men’s Soccer Statistics 

Bucknell Notes
- Bucknell defeated Holy Cross last Saturday, extending its unbeaten streak to six matches. It is the longest the Bison have gone without a loss since posting an eight-match unbeaten streak last year. That was the third-longest unbeaten stretch in the history of the program.

- Primarily known as a defensive team in recent years, Bucknell’s offense has impressed this season and the Bison rank near the top of the Patriot League in assists (t-1st, 13), shots (t-1st, 165), points (t-2nd, 41) and goals (t-3rd, 14).

- Senior co-captain Justin Wolf has led the way on the offensive end of the field with team highs in goals (4) and points (10). He recently had a stretch where he tallied four goals in five games and he ranks third in the Patriot League in points.

- Bucknell has had a different cast of characters scoring points for it this season despite returning all but one senior from last year’s squad that won an NCAA Tournament game. Nathan LaGrave and Alex Russo dominated the scoring column last season, accounting for 29 of the team’s 72 points. This year, that duo has produced just four points. However, this year’s top three scorers − Wolf, Mark Schmiegel and Conor O’Brien − have seen their production skyrocket. After totaling just 17 points last year, that trio has already produced 25 points just over halfway through the regular season.

- Bison goalie Joey Kuterbach has not allowed more than one goal in a game over his last four outings, and has a pair of shutouts in that span. The senior co-captain has four shutouts this season and 14 in his career to rank fifth on the Bucknell career list. With his next shutout he will tie Kevin Meyer for fourth place. Kuterbach, who entered the season with a career goals-against average of 0.98 to rank eighth in Patriot League history, has lowered that figure to 0.94 and is now tied for fifth. The other members of the top five all played for either Lafayette or Lehigh.

- Freshman Ross Liberati scored his first career goal against Holy Cross last Saturday. He became the first member of Bucknell’s talented freshman class to tally a point this season. The Warwick, Md., native has started the last three games and is one of two Bison rookies to see significant playing time this season along with Tommy McCabe.

- Bucknell has been strong in the second halves of games this season. The Bison have netted nine of their 14 goals in the second half, and have outscored their opponents 9-4 in the second 45 minutes of play.

- With four ties this year, Bucknell has posted 10 in the last two years, equaling the program record for ties in a two-year stretch. Additionally, the Bison have registered 14 ties in the last three seasons, by far the most in any three-year stretch. The previous high was nine.

About the Series with Army
- Bucknell and Army have met 26 times with Army holding a 17-9 advantage. However, the Bison have dominated of late, winning six of the seven matches played since 2000. The Black Knights’ lone victory over that span was two years ago, the last time the two squads met at Clinton Field.

About Army
- After opening the season 6-1-1, Army has dropped its last three matches. The Black Knights stand at 0-2-0 in Patriot League play and are tied with Navy for last place in the standings. However, Army has kept the score close, falling by just one goal in each of its losses. The Black Knights have reached six victories for just the third time in the last nine years and will be kicking off a three-game homestand Saturday vs. Bucknell.

- Senior midfielder Chris Conklin, who ranks second in the Patriot League with six goals and 12 points, has been the main offensive threat for Army.

- Junior goalier A.J. Glubzinski has seen the majority of time in net and has made 37 saves while allowing nine goals and has four shutouts. His goals-against average stands at 1.03.

Up Next
- Bucknell will continue to have a midseason lull in its schedule as it does not play again until next Sunday, Oct. 21, when it travels to Hamilton, N.Y., for a meeting with Colgate. That contest will mark the end of a two-game road trip for the Bison, who return home on Wednesday, Oct. 24, for a non-league match with Saint Francis (Pa.).

Source: www.bucknellbison.com