The attorney for Matt Walsh said the former New England Patriots video assistant is agreeable to providing information about the team’s illegal taping practices, but as of Friday said the NFL has fallen short of his request for complete indemnification, which would protect Walsh from being sued.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Four-legged athletes are joining their two-legged counterparts as part of a congressional probe into steroids in sports.
WORLD surfing champion Mick Fanning, who broke his wrist in a snowboarding wipeout last month, has been given a clean bill of health as he prepares to start his title defence on the Gold Coast next week.
The Coolangatta-based star, who last year became the first Australian male in eight years to hoist the Association of Surfing Professionals world crown, gave himself and his sponsors a scare when he was injured during a post-Christmas holiday in Japan.
He was forced to wear a cast and later a splint for several weeks to mend the hairline fracture, which threatened to interrupt his preparations for the season-opening Quiksilver Pro starting at Snapper Rocks on Thursday.
But Fanning said his doctor gave him the all-clear this week and he was "pumped" to begin his 2008 campaign.
"The wrist’s fine - I’ve been surfing virtually since I got back from Japan, even with the cast on," he said.
"I’m feeling fit and healthy, I’ve got some great boards and I’m just really excited to start competing again."
Fanning, 26, last year became the first two-time Quiksilver Pro champion (he also won in 2005) on his way to the world title.
He expects deposed eight-time world champion Kelly Slater to come out firing in the Quiksilver Pro but believes his biggest threats will come from fellow "Coolangatta Kids" Joel Parkinson and Dean Morrison, who are both past winners of the event.
Fanning also rates the Gold Coast’s Bede Durbidge, who had a stellar season last year to finish fifth, as a dangerman, along with exciting tour rookies Jordy Smith (South Africa) and Dane Reynolds (US).
Fanning, who is being tailed by a 60 Minutes crew as he trains for the Quiksilver Pro, insisted he was not feeling the pressure of being world champion.
As for his desire for successive world titles, Fanning declared: "I don’t want to come second, that’s for sure."
Gold Coast-based women’s world champion Stephanie Gilmore, 19, is steeling herself to go from being the hunter to the hunted as she prepares for the Roxy Pro, also at Snapper Rocks. She made history in 2007 as the first surfing rookie to win the world title.
Largo, MD middleweight Dominic Wade will be part of a United States contingent that will participate in two amateur dual meets in Russia on February 23 -March 1.
Wade will be on a 14-member squad that will combine representatives of the 2008 Olympic team and other members of the current US National team. The squad will compete in two duals while in Russia, beginning with a February 24 match-up in Magnitogrosk, Russia. The two nations will face off a second time on February 29 in Novosibirsk, Russia. The United States team will depart for Russia from Colorado Springs on Tuesday, February 19.
The dual meet will be the first trip to Russia for a United States senior men’s team since the 2005 AIBA World Cup. The event will feature a match-up between the top two amateur boxing nations from the 2007 AIBA World Championships in Chicago, IL.
Source: Wade Participates in Dual Meets in Russia!
Last year the Chicago Fire were lacking in anything up top. This year, their cup seems to be running over as they have added Andy Herron to their lineup. This is his second round with the team.
The move means Chicago now has Calen Carr, Tomasz Frankowski, Chris Rolfe, Patrick Nyarko, Chad Barrett and Herron ready to play in the forward position. This is an embarrassment of riches.
So what is the team missing? One could argue that the answer is everywhere else on the pitch. Their midfield was a little short last season while they have thinned out a bit in defense. Also, with Pickens heading overseas, they now need a backup keeper.
With a number of MLS sides needing help up top, don’t be surprised if the Fire get a more then a few calls over the next month.
One last thing about this move, it should make the Fire’s second game of the season that much more entertaining as Herron might again be on the pitch with Jay Heaps of New England. Here’s what happened the last time the two got together. Herron was fined $3000 and suspended four games after this incident.
Labels: Andy Herron, Chicago Fire, Jay Heaps, MLS, New England Revolution
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway hasn’t been perfect for Dale Earnhardt Jr. after all.
