Classic Catches

Adelaide United Upset Perth Glory

Monday 5/1/15

The A-League games today witnessed the victory of Adelaide with 2 – 1 to Perth. Marinkovic got the first goal for Perth at 11 minutes, Goodwin evened the result after 20 minutes, and Jeggo helped Adelaide to win the game with a key point at 48 minutes. Adelaide performed better than Perth in each aspect during the game. Wish them to hold the victory to the following games.

Today’s NBA games show some struggle results between Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat, also Indiana Pacers and LA Lakers. Brooklyn was beaten by Miami with 84 – 88, and both played to the last second. When there was only 0.4 seconds, Nets was 84 to 86 left behind. However, the two free throws made by Chris Bosh took away their hope. LA Lakers won narrowly one point with 88 to 87, beating Indiana Pacers. Kobe Bryant got the key shot at the end of the game. LA Lakers did not have an excellent performance these two seasons. Kobe needs to prove his value and leads the whole team to the victory. Dallas Mavericks beat Cleveland Cavaliers with 109 – 90. Sacramento Kings was beaten by Detroit Pistons with 95 – 114. NY Knicks kept bad performance, losing with 82 – 95 to Milwaukee Bucks. Phoenix Suns beat Toronto Raptors with 125 to 109.

By Wang Shikai

References

Football Image: http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/6001470-3x2-700x467.jpg
NBA Image: http://nytimes.stats.com/nba/recap.asp?g=2015010414&home=14&vis=17&final=true

Mariners Break The Drought

Sunday 4/1/15

Central Coast Mariners earned an upset 2 – 0 win over Melbourne City with a Mitch Duke Double in A-League. Duke squeezed between two defenders and slotted a Glen Trifiro through ball past Velaphi from about 15 metres, achieving the first score. He then drilled a fierce shot from the edge of the area past Velaphi and got his second goal in the game. City failed to capitalise on a number of chances either side of the break after this game. Hope Duke to show more excellent performance after breaking his personal drought.

As for the NBA news, Clippers routed 76ers 127 – 91 for third win in a row. The Clippers pulled the 76ers in a worse situation. Chris Paul got 24 points, 12 assists and 8 rebounds. The Clippers reserved outscored Philadelphia 39 – 17 in the fourth, led by Jordan Farmer, who shot each of his 13 points in the period. Atlanta beat Portland with 115 – 107 in another NBA game. Paul Millsap had 27 points, Jeff Teague achieved 22 points and the Hawks improved to 11 – 5 on the road with 6 straight wins away from home on the second game of a back to back. The Trail Blazers’ four-game winning streak has been shut down; despite this loss, they just lost 3 games at home this season. LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 30 points and 12 rebounds.

By Wang Shikai

References

Football Image: http://images.performgroup.com/di/library/sportal_com_au/b2/cd/a-league-central-coast-mariners-v-melbourne-victory_15ktpiej8foc2174pni2oxqmgv.jpg?t=148826522w=1000&h=750
NBA Image: http://hosted.stats.com/nba/photos/201501041835669001836-p3.jpeg

Shock Results In The NBA

Saturday 3/1/15

The NBA results today shows the loss of Toronto to Golden State with 105 to 126. The Warriors beat the Toronto Raptors in a matchup of conference leaders. Stephen Curry got 32 points and 12 assists and Draymond Green achieved the first triple-double in his career life. Green had 16 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds, and three others scored in double digits to help Warriors finish the game. Golden State started with a 23 – 5 run on the third quarter and thwarted the Raptors’ brief rally with contributions from all over. The Warriors outshot Toronto 53.3 percent to 46.5 percent, and they also had a season-low with nine turnovers, while the Raptors had 17. Atlanta has moved into first in the East due to Toronto’s loss. Another loss for LA Lakers today resulted in 106 – 109, and they are beaten by Memphis Grizzlies. Kobe Bryant had only 0.6 seconds to shot a 3-point and it bounced off the rim as time expired. This is the fifth time in 11 games against the Memphis.

By Wang Shikai

References

Image: http://hosted.stats.com/nba/photos/201501041332487411024-p3.jpeg

NBA Action

Friday 2/1/15

The NBA action today saw the Denver Nuggets losing to the Chicago Bulls who were led by strong performances from potential all-star duo Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol. Jimmy Butler continued to build his case for being the most improved player of the year producing a statline of 26/8/8 while Pau Gasol also flirted with the triple double finishing with 17 points 9 rebounds and an astonishing 9 blocks. For the Nuggets Kenneth Faried continued his strong performances of late with 18 points and a game high 19 rebounds. Sacramento played Minnesota in the only other game today in which the Kings prevailed in a close encounter. No overly dominant performance from Sacramento tonight with an even contribution from all starters reflected by each of them scoring at least 14 points. Andrew Wiggins is now starting to build a gap from the other rookies in the race for the Rookie of the Year Award asserting himself on the game with 27 points and 9 rebounds, continuing to show signs of improvement as he becomes more comfortable within the league.

A thrilling game in the Big Bash tonight with the Hurricanes just managing to eclipse the Brisbane Heat total of 208 with 6 balls to spare. George Bailey won the toss and elected to field which early on looked like a poor decision as Jimmy Peirson and Peter Forrest of the Heat roared along to a 119 run opening stand with each player hitting a fifty. Quick cameos from Dan Christian and Ben Cutting saw the Heat post an extremely imposing total of 208 from their 20 overs – which despite it appearing to be a flat pitch would be difficult for the Hurricanes to chase down. However when the Hurricanes began their innings most fears were quickly dissipated with their opening pair of Ben Dunk and Tim Paine putting on 120 as their opening stand at over 12 runs per over, flaying the bowling to all parts of the ground. Once the opening stand was broken it was already too late and the damage was done with skipper George Bailey applying the finishing touches with a frantic 28* off just 12 balls to seal the deal with an over to spare.

By Adam Stevens

References:

NBA Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9Ep2Rv1pFE
Big Bash Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCVWg_yjAho

Happy New Years Sports Goers!

Thursday 1/1/14

Hope you all kicked in the New Year in style! Overnight in the Big Bash the Sydney Thunder found themselves back on the winners list with a comprehensive win over the Perth Scorchers away from home. Led by the great man himself Jacques Kallis putting in a vintage allrounders performance with 70 runs opening the batting then 2 wickets during the Perth innings. The other old head of the Team Mike Hussey also found ways to involve himself closing the innings with a very handy cameo of 36* followed by taking a blinder at second slip off the bowling of Kallis to dismiss Ashoton Turner. For the Scorchers Michael Carberry may have discovered a little bit of form towards the back end of their innings with 69* off just the 48 deliveries.

Todays NBA results reflected a continued struggle for the Cleveland Cavaliers with superstar LeBron James being ruled out injured for the next couple of weeks leaving only Kyrie Irving of the new big 3 fit to play for the side. The loss of James was further soured by an emphatic loss to the Milwaukee Bucks who were simply to good for the shorthanded Cavs coasting home to a 96-80 victory. A vintage Tim Duncan clutch play forced the Pelicans into an overtime game which saw the Spurs end up prevailing with a 93-95 victory for Timmy and the boys. Kevin Durant was welcomed back to the OKC lineup against the Suns and saw fit to help himself to an extremely dominant stat line of 44/10/7 with an efficient 13-23 shooting seeing the Thunder home to an overtime win against Phoenix.

By Adam Stevens

References

NBA Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz28_vOCQBg
Big Bash Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTna6Z-PGJo

Last Update for the Year!

Wednesday 31/12/14

The Adelaide Strikers wound up their 2014 with a real bang in the Big Bash overnight crushing the Hobart Hurricanes in an 8 wicket victory with 33 balls remaining in the chase. The Wild Thing Shaun Tait starred with the ball taking an impressive 3/22 from his 4 overs and really winding back the clock with a ferocious 147kph yorker to end Darren Sammys innings before it even began. With the bat Tim Ludeman continued his love affair with Adelaide Oval this season smashing a quick-fire 54 from just 33 deliveries which included 4 fours and 4 sixes, he was ably supported by Jono Deans 54 not out which featured an Adelaide Strikers record of 6 sixes and a unique highlight of a broken bat as he tried to flay a ball through the covers.

In an NBA roundup the Cavaliers continued their recent slide following the loss of Centre Anderson Varajeo for the season with an Achilles tendon injury falling to the Atlanta Hawks 109-101 away from home. The Portland Trailblazers were able to outlast the Toronto Raptors in a see-sawing affair the saw the game taken into overtime before Portland ultimately prevailed 102-97 at home. Golden State continued to maintain its lead atop the Western Conference ladder handing out a 40 point drubbing to the ever lowly Philadelphia 76ers with a final score of 126-86, the ideal way for the Warriors to kick off their 6 game home stretch.

Happy New Year Readers!

By Adam Stevens

References

Big Bash Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWp03EDGGs8
NBA Image: https://espngrantland.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/stephklaytop.jpg?w=1003

Liverpool back on track?

Tuesday 30/12/14

Although Liverpool’s results have been disappointing this season, they have finally recorded a convincing victory with a 4-1 win over Swansea City at Anfield. The last time Liverpool netted more than 2 goals at Anfield, was when they defeated Manchester City and it seemed they would finally secure the Premier League trophy for the first time. However on this occasion, the result sees Liverpool move above Swansea into 8th position and the Swans drop to 9th. The front trio of Sterling, Coutinho and Lallana continue to excel bringing back the qualities that helped Liverpool reach the heights of last season.

Meanwhile in the boxing world, Amir Khan looks to have set a deadline of middle of January in his chase to face Floyd Mayweather in the ring. After a master class performance against Devon Alexander, Khan set his sight on facing Mayweather in 2015 and even calling him out publicly. However Mayweather has so far showed no signs coming to the negotiation table with Khan’s representatives so Khan will have to look elsewhere. Although I do believe Khan vs. Mayweather would be an interesting fight, like most people the fight I would want to see most is the Mayweather and Pacquiao one. If Khan does not get the Mayweather fight, I do think an all-British showdown between him and Kell Brook would be an intriguing one.

Over to the NBA, the Cleveland have added another loss to their stuttering season with an 101-109 loss to the Detroit Pistons. The Lakers however recorded a 111-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets despite their poor form this season so far. Golden State Warriors also continue their strong start to the season with a 126-86 win over Philadelphia 76ers.

By Justin Yu

References

Image: http://talksport.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/201410/lallana.jpg?itok=S-4-tbpA
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGjCne5oIqY

Top 3 teams all drop points in EPL

Monday 29/12/14

Just less than 48 hours after the last round, Manchester United travelled to White Hart Lane and recorded a 0-0 draw. Manchester United dominated in the first half of the game creating many chances and should have scored. However Tottenham came out as the more dominate team in the second half and could have taken all 3 points if it wasn’t for David de Gea’s heroics again who has been in impressive form throughout this season. Personally I think a draw was a fair result for both teams and the battle for a top 4 spot will still remain as the priority for both.

Later in the day, Chelsea recorded a 1-1 draw with Southampton. However there was controversy in during the game as Cesc Fabregas waved away what looked like a clear penalty. This caused Jose Mourinho to go on a rant about a campaign against Chelsea. This was probably an attempt to put pressure on referees in the future and he will most likely cop a fine for that. Manchester City also drew 2-2 with struggling Burnley after taking an early 2-0 lead and they will surely be very disappointed at not capitalising on Chelsea’s slip up.

After the last round of EPL football for 2014, I still believe Chelsea are favourites to win the league title, although u have to give credit to Manchester City who have done well to keep up with the pace despite having injuries to key players such as Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany. Manchester United have been in good form lately and could push the top 2, however I don’t believe winning the title for them is realistic this season. Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool are all challengers for the top 4 spot and all 3 teams have shown some good signs lately, but I think Arsenal will just sneak in due to their experience and quality of players.

Hopefully everyone is enjoying their Christmas break and stays safe!

By Justin Yu

References

Man Utd Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1O9UnS9dxg
Mourinho Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRvQI-OrDWw

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, Will it happen in 2015?

Sunday 28/12/14

As 2014 is about to come to an end, persistent rumours of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao is beginning to gather more pace in recent months. If this fight does happen, it is expected to easily be the richest fight in boxing history. Although many people believe this fight should have happened 5 years ago, they will all still be hoping that both Pacquiao and Mayweather in the twilight of their careers can come together and make the fight happen. Personally, I agree with most people that the fight should have happened 5 years ago as both fighters are no longer in the prime of their careers. However, I do still believe it should happen in 2015, as the fight would help promote the sport of boxing which has been diminishing in popularity in the last few years.

Meanwhile in the NBA, the New York Knicks continue to struggle, losing 129-135 to the Sacramento Kings extending their losing run to games and their 28th loss of the season so far. Miami Heat also appears to be struggling with life after Lebron and losing 95-103 to the Memphis Gizzlies. Despite this loss, I believe Miami will still be strong especially when Chris Bosh returns from his calf injury. Elsewhere, Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks continue their impressive run this season with wins over the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks respectively.

By Justin Yu

References

Boxing Image: http://79t2s2g2fdudz5l.zippykid.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Mayweather-Pacquiao1.jpg
NBA Image: http://dunk360.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Screen-Shot-2013-11-01-at-8.37.12-AM.png

Steve Smith boosts Australia

Sunday 27/12/14

Steve Smith has scored a career high 192 to help Australia to a massive total of 530 on Day 2. The match was in the balance at the start of play, but by lunch Australia had snatched the momentum before running away with it with yet another flurry of tail-end runs. Brad Haddin (55), Mitchell Johnson (28) and Ryan Harris (74) all ably supported their skipper through two sessions of aggressive batting and lacklustre bowling. Shami (4/130) was the best pick of the Indian bowlers with Yadav & Ashwin grabbing 3 wickets each. India ended the day comfortably at 1/108 with Murali Vijay reaching 50.

Chelsea maintained their lead in the race for the EPL title with a comfortable 2-0 win over West Ham at Stamford Bridge overnight. Mourihno’s men dominated from the start and had their reward after 31 minutes when skipper John Terry tapped in off a Diego Costa header. Exactly double that time later, Costa had his goal beating 3 West Ham players in the box and sliding the ball past Adriàn. In other games, Liverpool snuck past Burnley with a 1-0 win. Southampton beat a struggling Crystal Palace 3-1. Stoke City shocked Everton away with a 1-0 win. A Wayne Rooney double saw Manchester United beat Newcastle 3-1. Tottenham beat Leicester City 2-1. Hull City got their second away win of the season against Sunderland 3-1. Swansea saw off Aston Villa 1-0. Despite torrential snow, Manchester City still had enough quality to smack three past hapless West Bromwich Albion, while Alexis Sanchez showed his class as 10-man Arsenal hung on to beat QPR 2-1.

Central Coast have broken their home goal drought in their thrilling 3-3 draw with the Brisbane Roar. After 6 hours without a home goal, the hosts were rewarded for their hunger in the 56th minute when they grabbed an equaliser through veteran defender Eddy Bosnar, who took advantage of some poor marking from the Roar to head home an Anthony Caceres cross. The floodgates then opened, with Central Coast taking the lead in the 63rd minute through Matt Simon who smashed the ball home from after close range The Roar then awoke from their slumber to equalise in the 71st minute via young defender Donachie, who scored his first A-League goal with a header. It was then the Mariners’ turn to respond, with Central Coast regaining the lead in the 80th minute through substitute Kim Seung-yong. However, just when it seemed the Mariners would grab a much-needed three points, Solorzano took advantage of some great work from Dimitri Petratos and Daniel Bowles to have the final say in the contest with an 82nd-minute goal. In the other game, a stunning late free kick from Gui Finkler saw Melbourne stay in finals contention with a 1-0 win over the Newcastle Jets.

Written by  Cennan Nwiran

References:

Mariners Image: http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2014/12/27/1227168/061427-0b0bf730-8da3-11e4-9125-9cd044c40754.jpg
Steve Smith Image: http://2-ps.googleusercontent.com/xk/r-753AAulhX2b6s_aAr_DuJIZM/www.sportskeeda.com/static.sportskeeda.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/xsteven-smith-1419677945.jpg.pagespeed.ic.0acvhOiRkVzBGNXbxCYK.jpg

Boxing Day Bonanza

Friday 26/12/14

New Australia captain Steve Smith has continued his good form with the bat, inspiring Australia to 5/295 on Day 1 of the Boxing Day test at the MCG.

Leading 2-nil in the series, Australia had the worst possible start with David Warner gone for a duck inside the first 2 overs. The in-form batsman nicked a great delivery from Yadav to third slip. Shane Watson and Chris Rogers formed a partnership with both batsman reaching 50s before Rogers went easily off Shami and Watson failing to build, going for LBW the next over off Ashwin. At 3/115, in steps Smith with Shaun Marsh, getting past tea until Marsh edges one to Dohni off Shami for his second wicket. The crowd erupts for debutante Joe Burns, who went cheaply for 13 from Yadav. Smith ended the day unbeaten on 72* along with Brad Haddin on 23, who led the fight for Australia to reach the steady total for Day 1.

Perth Glory kept their spot at the top of the Hyundai A-league with a 1-1 against Melbourne City at AAMI Park. After a bland first half, it was Melbourne City who took the lead with David Williams playing in a lovely ball for Aaron Mooy to slot in. They didn’t hold the lead for long when former Melbourne Heart striker Richard Garcia headed home from a Jamieson free kick. Both sides had their chances but in the end, the 2 teams couldn’t be split.



Sydney FC are now in crisis after being booed off in their third consecutive home loss to a red hot Adelaide United. Adelaide more of the chances in a bland first half and finally had reward with a contentious goal to Bruce Dijite, who was on a receiving end of a cross from an offside Marcelo Carrusca. However, there was nothing but beauty in the second goal from Sanchez, whose header flew into the top left corner. Sydney’s best chance came to Berni Ibini, whose bullet like header from the corner flashed just wide of Eugene Galekovic, who was hardly troubled. Adelaide finished off Sydney with a lovely team goal to Awer Mabil and continues their pursuit of Perth Glory in the race for the top.

 Written by Cennan Nwiran

References

Image: http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2014/12/14/1227155/799488-1cd26b94-8348-11e4-917d-bf0f063a4996.jpg
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xODlcv00pRk

Sport’s Christmas Report

Thursday 25/12/14

With no sports featured on Christmas Day, there will be some teams in need of Christmas Miracle.

India will be needing a miracle if they are the have any chance of winning this summer’s test series against the Aussies. After a second test demolition, there are reports in the camp of disharmony with a dressing room spat between Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli. It appears the Indian team is divided and it’s affecting not only off field behaviour, but also on field. It seems this could be MS Dohni’s last series as captain.

The main theme of the EPL wish list is for wins throughout the busy Christmas period with most teams playing 3 games starting tomorrow night within a 6-day period. One of those teams in desperate need is Crystal Palace. After finishing a modest middle table last season, the eagles have struggled to find their feet under Neil Warnock and are staring down the barrel of relegation. Liverpool are also hoping that the injury list becomes shorter in a hurry. Sitting in 7th place, the Reds have been struggling to score goals without Daniel Sturridge (knee), which has seen the Mersysiders win only 3 of their last 8 league games. In the end, it will be about who’s been naughty and who has been nice.

In the NFL, it seems that Christmas has come early for defending champions, the Seattle Seahawks after a win over conference rivals, the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday. Quarterback Russell Wilson threw 2 touchdown passes and running back Marshawn Lynch scored 2 touchdowns, including a spectacular, multiple tackle-breaking 79-yard scoring run to see Seattle win 35-6 and one game closer to winning the NFC title.



Have a great Christmas readers!

Written by Cennan Nwiran

References

Image: http://6ad8b819bacc129d4f04-089408239c1340398b67dc954542ba79.r53.cf3.rackcdn.com/upload/full/brendan-rodgers-600.jpg
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnTzBTrGlpw

NCAAB and NHL

Wednesday 24/12/14

The range of sports were limited on Christmas Eve but there were some games to report on in the USA from College Basketball and the National Hockey League. 

In NCAA College Basketball, there was a plethora of games overnight. Louisville defeated CSU Northridge (55-80), Stanford defeated Texas (74-71), Villanova defeated N.J.I.T (92-67) and in an intense game in overtime Wichita St defeated Hawaii (80-79).

In the NHL, the Red Wings, Avalanche, Jets, Lightning and Coyotes all ended up with victories last night. The Red Wings and Lightning will be content with their victories as it sees them at the top of the table with only one point separating them.

Written By Andrew Tohme

References

Basketball Image: http://appsfox.net/fisc/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/NCAA-BASKETBALL.jpg
Hockey Image: http://media.mwcradio.com/mimesis/2012-02/15/2012-02-15T065820Z_1_BTRE81E0JDB00_RTROPTP_3_SPORTS-US-NHL-REDWINGS_JPG_475x310_q85.jpg

Chelsea still flying high as Round 17 wraps up

Tuesday 23/12/14

Round 17 of the EPL finished up this morning with Chelsea comfortably beating Stoke City away from home. The Chelsea skipper John Terry in his 650^th Club appearance scored the opening goal inside the 2^nd minute of the game as he headed the ball into the back of the net from a Cesc Fabregas corner. Both sides had their chances during the game but it was Cesc Fabregas in the 78^th minute of the game that ensured victory for Chelsea by putting finishing nicely inside the box from an Eden Hazard ball.

In basketball news, the Clippers have now lost consecutive games as they failed to defeat the Hawks in a nail biter of an ending. The Trail Blazers got back to winning ways after defeating the Thunder 115 – 111. The Golden State Warriors suffered a shock loss to the LA Lakers losing just their fourth game of the season. The Bulls continued on their winning ways after defeating the Wizards 99-91. Finally, the Denver Nuggets continue to lose after being defeated by the Brooklyn Nets.

Written by Andrew Tohme

References:

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2V5tkiy6ro

Arsenal battle it out at Anfield

Monday 22/12/14

In the morning, the Round of 17 of the EPL continued with Newcastle facing Sunderland at St James’ Park. The game was looking to end at a stalemate until Adam Johnson in the 90^th minute for Sunderland put them ahead who has now scored against Newcastle three seasons in a row. After that game it was the match which saw to giants face off against each other in Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield. Liverpool dominated possession and scored the first goal just before half-time but in the space of a minute found Debuchy for Arsenal leveled it up. In the second half, Giroud got the Gunners ahead but a 97^th minute header from Skrtel ensured that the points were shared at Anfield. Heading over to Spain, Athletic Madrid continues to keep up with Real Madrid in the race for the Spanish Premier League Title after comfortably beating Athletic Club Bilbao 4-1 away from home.

Crossing over to America, there were seven NBA games to report on today. The most surprising result has to be the Houston Rockets comfortably defeating Portland Trail Blazers 95 – 110 where the Rockets never looked like losing. The San Antonio Spurs had a relieving win over the LA Clippers beating them 118 – 125. In other games, the Hornets beat the Nuggets 110 – 82, the Chicago Bulls continue a great season beating the Toronto Raptors 129-120 and the Golden State Warriors who are on fire this season embarrassed Sacramento Kings 108-128.

By Andrew Tohme

References

Football Image: http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i/?img=/media/motion/ESPNi/2014/1221/int_141221_Burley_Gunners_fail_to_close_out_the_game/int_141221_Burley_Gunners_fail_to_close_out_the_game.jpg&w=738&site=espnfc
NBA Image: http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/279/files/2014/12/james-harden-nba-portland-trail-blazers-houston-rockets-850x560.jpg