The biggest news from the weekend was the Super Bowl, which I will review later in the week after the dust has settled.
It was a crazy weekend in the EPL with Chelsea losing and Everton escaping with a draw. The bottom third of the table all came away with points leaving a host of teams in the middle a little nervous. It now appears there are ten teams in danger of being relegated! West Ham and Newcastle both recorded much-needed wins, allowing these two bigger clubs to breathe a little easier.
Some of the world’s best golfers tore up the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Arizona. Tiger and Rory didn’t line up in the event, so Mickelson, Snedeker and Harrington were left to lead the way. Micko looked at his absolute best and Snedeker may be the next golfer to make his way into the game’s elite. It was also nice to see the likable Irishman Harrington getting back to somewhere near his best – on his day Padraig can score as low as anyone.
In the cricket, I expected the West Indies to put up some sort of fight against the Australians, but on Friday the game was over before it began. Perth doesn’t suit the laid-back, smash-and-grab style of cricket the Windies dig, so we can expect them to improve throughout their tour. George Bailey came of age on Sunday with an incredible unbeaten century, and steered the Aussies to a good first innings total even though they had lost six wickets before reaching 100. It’s easy to make runs when the going is good, but innings like these set champions of cricket apart from the rest.
UFC 156 continued the tradition of providing some great fight action to the bloodthirsty faithful on Super Bowl weekend. Jose Aldo retained his featherweight title in a unanimous points decision over the fast-finishing Frankie Edgar in the main event. The UFC President Dana White had no problems in rewarding both fighters, calling the bout the “fight of the night”. In the other big matchup, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira outshot former champ Rashad Evans by nearly two strikes to one. Evans, like his old rival Rampage Jackson, may have come to the end of the road in his career as a dominant force in the UFC.
Good luck and good punting.
