January 11, 2012, 7:03 pm
LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) – Englands new coaching regime might want time to bed in players but they will need to hit the ground running to avoid making things tough for themselves when they host the rugby World Cup in 2015, Lawrence Dallaglio said on Monday.
Seeding for the tournament will be decided on the International Rugby Boards (IRB) rankings at the end of 2012 and former captain Dallaglio, an “ambassador” for the 2015 event, said what happens over the next few months will have a huge impact on Englands hopes.
“While performance and development are the buzzwords at the moment, results are key,” Dallaglio told reporters at the opening of the new Twickenham headquarters of the 2015 tournament.
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January 11, 2012, 1:52 pm
Steve Stricker became the first PGA Tour winner of 2012 with a threeshot victory at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Maui.
The 44yearold carried a fivestroke advantage into the final round at Kapalua’s Plantation Course and although Martin Laird, Webb Simpson and Jonathan Byrd all put him under significant pressure, he did enough to close out the win.
A birdie at the 18th gave Stricker a closing round of 69 his fourth sub70 score of the event as he finished 23 under.
Stricker had started the day nervily, with no birdies in his first seven holes and a bogey at the parfour sixth.
But he picked up strokes at the eighth and ninth, as well as three more after the turn to keep him ahead of the pack throughout.
Scotsman Laird was second on 20 under following a sixunder round of 67 ending the day with four birdies in the last five holes while Simpson and Byrd were one shot further back after signing for 68s.
KJ Choi and Keegan Bradley also found some impressive January form, each carding eight under for the day.
Choi finished on 15 under, tied for fifth with Harrison Frazar.
After sealing the victory, Stricker told Sky Sports 1: “It was tough but I never let up today.
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January 4, 2012, 7:33 pm
Dave Martin/Associated Press Alabama running back Trent Richardson scores the game’s only touchdown with a 34-yard run late in the fourth quarter of the BCS national championship on Monday in New Orleans.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Rematch of the Century, it wasn’t. For Alabama, it was good enough for No. 1, if not a lot of style points.
The Crimson Tide romped to another BCS championship against top-ranked LSU with a smothering defensive performance Monday night, a numbing barrage of field goals and even a long-overdue trip to the end zone. Fin
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January 4, 2012, 12:48 am
While looking towards the new, we note the old golfing year has ended with a record from a most unexpected source. It seems that last Monday in his native Hawaii, US President Barack Obama set a personal best of 32 golf outings for 2011, outstripping the totals for his first two years in office.
Whatever about the American voters who will be going to the polls late this year, Obama’s obvious enthusiasm for the game would probably have prompted alarm bells for a celebrated predecessor, John F Kennedy.
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January 1, 2012, 2:26 am
CALGARY, Alberta—Canada will not play for the gold medal at the world junior hockey championships for the first time in over a decade.
The Canadians lost 6-5 to defending champion Russia in Tuesday night’s second semifinal despite a four-goal burst in the third period. Canada’s streak of playing in every final since 2002 ended. The Canadians were 5-5 in those games.
Russia will meet Sweden in the championship game Thursday after the Swedes beat Finland 3-2 in a shootout earlier Tuesday in the other semifinal. C
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