Tennis: Leon Smith selects Davis Cup team
AHEAD of the Team GB’s tie against Russia over the weekend of 5th April, Leon Smith chose his squad of players this week.With Andy Murray choosing not to play, as the hard court event would interrupt his clay court preparations, it has become clear that our hopes lie with our players from the ‘ugly’ side of the tour!
As predicted, Leon opted for Davis Cup regular, 26 year old James Ward. His career highlights are reaching the semi-finals of Queens Club 2011, only to be knocked out by a solid Jo Wilfred Tsonga, and reaching the second round of Wimbledon by defeating highly rated Spaniard, Pablo Andujar.
He plies his trade on the second-tier of the ATP tour - the relentless Challenger circuit! He also slogs it out in small, non-glamourous qualifying tournaments to gain entry to larger televised tennis events, such as Masters 1000s, 500s and Grand Slams.
Read more... Add new comment
Paul Gardner: Ladislav Benysek will energise Braehead Clan
BRAEHEAD CLAN head coach Paul Gardner reckons new signing Ladislav Benysek will help energise his squad as they push for a Conference title.The 37-year-old Czech Defenseman is set to make his Clan debut in the first of a home double header against Coventry Blaze on Friday night.
He arrives with a wealth of experience having played over 150 games in the NHL for the Minnesota Wild.
And Clan head coach Paul Gardner believes Benysek will give them more strength in depth.
He said: “It will give us one more solid Defenseman to help get the puck out of our end.
“We have been going with four or five Defenseman especially since Tim Wedderburn left.
“Guys are getting tired at the end of games. Now having Ladislav back there will give us that sixth Defenseman.
“Hopefully it will make us more rested coming into games.
“Especially this weekend where we have three games in three nights.”
Paula Must Try Harder: Bikeability
So far, my cycling progression – much like my cycling itself – has been slow, wobbly and completely aimless. I’ve pedalled, steered and braked in all the wrong order, injuring both my pride and my limbs along the way. Somehow though, one thing has characterised the entire journey since first I touched a bike last September – for the brief seconds when I manage to pull it all together and make the wheels roll in the right direction long enough to fool gravity, I really love riding a bike!
But, when the only adult-cycling teacher around leaves for pastures new – and outwith my range – where does a balance-free grown-up go to learn the basic bike-riding skills without resorting to tracking down one of the Goonies kids?
But, when the only adult-cycling teacher around leaves for pastures new – and outwith my range – where does a balance-free grown-up go to learn the basic bike-riding skills without resorting to tracking down one of the Goonies kids?
Luckily for me (and Sean Astin), the Bikeability Scotland scheme exists. Run by Cycling Scotland, the three-tiered programme teaches children (yes, I know I’m not quite their target pupil) to ride bikes safely and effectively in the modern-day environment. For those of us who understood the Goonies reference, it’s cycling proficiency but with a less learn-y name. And I wanted to try it.
When I nervously approached Cycling Scotland, wearing a hopeful smile and my ‘I Heart Bikes’ t-shirt, I really didn’t expect the wonderful reaction I received. Before I had polished my handlebars, I was welcomed into their office, presented with some colourful information booklets and invited to become one of the first adult Bikeability Scotland participants, with a place in the fantastic Pedal for Scotland event on offer if I thought I could manage a 47-mile cycle trek by September. I even caught a glimpse of the shiny badge I could earn on successful completion of the Bikeability training. I, of course, agreed and, since I’ve not quite mastered steering yet, there was no turning back.
Glasgow 2014: James McCallum goes for gold
TEAM Scotland cyclist James McCallum has his sights set on coming out on top at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.The 33-year-old, who is hoping to qualify for what would be his fourth Games, hinted that he may bow out after the Glasgow spectacle, and is determined to do so on the back of what would be his “greatest success.”
Speaking at the launch of Lead 2014, a scheme that arms young people throughout the country with increased leadership skills and galvanises their interest in what is set to be the biggest showpiece of its kind, he said: “Fingers crossed I get there, that is what I am focused on first and foremost. I am looking at possibly ending my career after the competition so I really do hope to go out with a bang by winning a gold medal. Even clinching silver or a bronze would be fantastic.
“It has been a long time since something like this has happened here. Obviously the Olympics were just last year and I think that has really captured the imagination of the public and called on them to carry on that momentum to Glasgow 2014. It is going to be pretty special.
“If I do have the opportunity to complete in my home city, it truly will be the icing on the cake. To come from Glasgow, I live just along the road from where the velodrome is, and have the road race being there is absolutely a dream come true. I never thought this would happen in my time and I feel pretty privileged that I may get to live that dream.”
McCallum, whose disciplines are track and road, has tasted Commonwealth glory before by taking third spot in the Scratch race in 2006. It was this achievement that launched him into the spotlight.
Paula Must Try Harder: Weightlifting
Weightlifting isn’t the type of sport I imagined to be easy. I’ve never put down my book of an evening, kicked off my slippers and thought, I know, I’ll take up Olympic weightlifting for the night. It looks tough and physically punishing – even the professionals sometimes seem like they’d rather be standing barefoot on a plug than straining beneath the burden of those massive hunks of metal.
I didn’t, however, imagine weightlifting to be so, well, finicky.
I didn’t, however, imagine weightlifting to be so, well, finicky.
On my first visit to Kilmarnock Amateur Weightlifting Club on Saturday, I watched in awe as what were truly athletes – men and women alike – pushed weights up and over their bodies as though gravity deferred to their superior physiques. From the safety of a corner of the well-equipped gym, I winced and flinched, jumping each time the juddering weights reconnected with the floor, hoping with all my puny might that the ceiling of the hall below was made of sterner stuff than my nerves.
Yes, I was my usual edgy, awkward mess of a bystander – and would have been a lot worse had the club’s members and coach, Charlie Hamilton, not been so receptive and welcoming, even though I was clearly lumbering through what should have been their private training space. Throughout a workout that would have made Bruce Banner wince, they found the energy to chat to and encourage this self-confessed weakling in their midst.
And then it was my turn. Three of the club’s high-achieving female weightlifters took the time – and considerable patience – required to show me the basics. But ‘basics’ makes it sound easy, and it’s not, even with an empty bar and expert coach on hand. The basics are technical and detailed, and difficult for me to remember all at once. If my hands were in the right position, my knees were too close together; when I checked my footing, my balance would falter. Bringing it all together at the same time was beyond me, and that was without the added stress of weights bearing on my mind and my joints.
But I tried and (hopefully) improved and, pleased with what I had learned, left the world of weightlifting after two hours with a small sense of achievement and some practice exercises to try using household objects before next week’s lesson.
It seems that in weightlifting, as in life, everything has its place – and mine, for the moment, is beneath a wobbling broom shaft in the comfort of my living room.
Keep up with Paula's progress at www.paulamusttryharder.co.uk
Why Paula must try harder
This is me: Paula.Unfit and slow-paced by choice; clumsy buffoon by design. I’ve just never found a sport that fits with my own personal skill-base – tumbling, tripping and tea-making.
But then, some things change, right?
If you’re not much of an athlete and have always wondered how you would fare in the competitive world of sport, say hello to your canary down the mine. Over the next twenty-four months I intend to run, jump and fall (a lot) as I try desperately to pick up skills that I probably should have learned a long time ago.
So, stick around and follow this bumbling idiot – but not too closely or you might fall over the disaster I leave in my wake – as I attempt to sample each of the seventeen Commonwealth sports before the Games reach my Glaswegian doorstep in 2014.
The Cult of UK Gridiron
It’s almost that time of year again. When the world turns it’s attention to what has been colloquially called the “Greatest Show on Turf.” It is, of course, The Super Bowl.
Returning this year to its spiritual home of New Orleans and the Superdome, the Super Bowl is regarded as an unofficial national holiday in the US. Millions of red-blooded Americans gather around the TV to watch the AFC Champions take on the best the NFC has to offer, the title of World Champion awaiting the battered, bruised and branded winner.
The annual championship game is always a ratings winner, with numerous Super Bowls from the past regularly appearing in the most watched events and broadcasts of all time. But the game is something much more valuable to the NFL and the sport as a whole than simply crowning the season’s best.
In an ever-shrinking world thanks to multimedia, technology and the advent of the digital age, the Super Bowl is now the front shop for the sport internationally. And it has been for a very long time. The late January and early February dates usually mean that the game is one of, if not the first major sporting event broadcast to an international audience.
As such, everything is under the ever-watchful eyes and close scrutiny of the world’s media. Everybody from event organizers to bookmakers watch the developments of the Super Bowl, jotting down ideas and tidbits which will undoubtedly become trends for the ensuing year.
While that all seems grand and ever so important, there has been a quiet, very homespun attitude developing towards the Big Game. With all the stiff upper lip, faithful dedication and downright madness that make us Brits just that little bit unhinged to the rest of the world, the cult of Gridiron has steadily grown in size, strength and exposure in the past thirty years.
The Away End follow the Olympic flame
The Olympic flame visited Scotland for the first time on Friday, and The Away End were there to take in this historic occasion.Nine students and graduates from the BA (Hons) Sports Journalism degree at the University of the West of Scotland were there producing videos, alongside course leader Elizabeth McLaughlin and BBC's online editor Tom Connor.
They were also aided by school pupils from Maybole, who became reporters for the day.
They were also aided by school pupils from Maybole, who became reporters for the day.
The students produced two videos ahead of the flame arriving, and three from the day itself. You can view all five below:-