Cam Newton, no stranger to controversy, goes no. 1 in NFL Draft

Auburn's Cam Newton is the first pick in the NFL Draft and the man anointed to take over at quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. Newton, the high-profile son of a minister, was always going to be taken within the first few picks of the combine and his draft class - before he was even picked - has been dubbed the "Cam Newton Draft". According to ESPN, today, fourteen hours after being selected

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UEFA Champions' League: Sergio Busquets, the most hated man in Spain

For a someone playing a crucial role for two of the most lauded clubs in recent history, Sergio Busquets is perhaps both the man who does the dirty work and the face of a popular dictatorship. In other words, Sergio Busquets may be the most hated man in Spain outside Catalunya, a player Spain forgives only when his stunts are used (from their perspective) for their team - another popular

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The Psychology of Choking

Part 5 of our continuing series: An Australian on Ice Hockey. Part 1: You make excuses for the Habs Part 2: NHL All-Star Game shakeup a great idea Part 3: Chara's Pacioretty hit means a lot for NHL - and pro sport Part 4: Canadiens vs. Boston the Austin Powers NHL Playoff matchupWhen the Chicago Blackhawks scored with little over a minute remaining to tie their Game 7 first-round playoff match

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Balanced Sports on Soccerlens: Goal Difference an indicator of a division's competitiveness

Balanced Sports has again been published on Soccerlens - this time, an article by Matthew Wood comparing Goal Difference across this season's relegation candidates to that of the past ten years. It's an expansion of the piece published last week both on Balanced Sports and on the Montreal Gazette's football blog, Goal Posts.

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Copa del Rey provides Real Madrid's "Predator" moment

To the Madridista, last week's Copa del Rey win wasn't just tacit validation of Florentino Perez's updated Galacticos - version 2.0 - but also proof that this may well have been Jose Mourinho's Predator moment: the instant a challenging club doesn't just reason instinctively that the champ is vulnerable, but has sees and, crucially, believes they can exploit that weakness. The expression was

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Goal Difference crucial for Premiership survival

The relegation battle this term in the Premiership has become increasingly intense. With Manchester United seemly stumbling towards the title as Arsenal and Manchester City reel off-course, the bottom of the table proves now to be the more intriguing sub-competition; a race no club or fan wants to win. As we examined last week which Championship clubs from may take their place among English

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Balanced Sports on Soccerlens: Sir Alex Ferguson needs to Spend

Balanced Sports has once again been published on Soccerlens - suggesting Sir Alex Ferguson needs to spend in order to retire on top at Manchester United.

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The Bradman Legacy, shifted

by Balanced Sports columnist Ben Roberts.Appointed in an autocratic fashion by his father, my newborn son’s favourite toy is his ‘Bradman’ teddy bear. The bear is of standard teddy bear appearance except for the addition of a school tie promoting academic excellence and the green cap promoting cricketing excellence. These two fields of excellence are what the Bradman foundation continues to

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Bombs sent to Lennon's home casts sad light on Scottish football sectarianism

Neil Lennon is as an abrasive manager as he was a player. Perhaps his three most obvious qualities are his forthrightness, his Northern Irish heritage and his love for the green and white hoops of Glasgow Celtic Football Club. With the latter goes a certain antipathy - antagonism, even - for local Old Firm rival, Rangers. But when bombs are sent via post to his home, all perspective has been

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Basketball's Gypsy Kings: Sacramento's relocation crowns Anaheim Royals

As the Sacramento Kings prepare to exit stage left and re-enter existence as the Anaheim Royals, it's worth examining their twenty-six year stint in California's capital and how this latest move reflects the very existence of the franchise. The Kings' existence since their last title sixty years ago has been a hurtsome one. Since the NBA instituted the salary cap, even their sprinkling of

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The best quotes from Ian Holloway and Gordon Strachan

I don't usually just put up a list of links, but here's why today's post consists of such: while researching the piece about Stoke City and Bolton Wanderers, I happened across a page of quotes for Ian Holloway and decided to match them up against quotes from Sir Alex Ferguson's favourite (irony alert) Scot, Gordon Strachan.Which do you think is better?The Best Quotes from Ian HollowayorThe Best

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Stoke/Bolton FA Cup Semi-Final: The Ugly Stepsisters meet at Wembley

While it's derby season, what could be the best game this weekend won't be the Spanish Superclasico in La Liga or the Manchester Derby in the FA Cup. It could well be the ugly stepsister FA Cup Semi-Final between two of the EPL's more unfashionable teams, Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City. Both teams started in the Premiership strictly playing Route One football: defend, long passes to a burly

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Balanced Sports on Soccerlens: Scoring Stats, down the divisions

Balanced Sports has again been published on Soccerlens, detailing again how reliant teams are on individual "go-to" players - this time comparing clubs across the four English divisions.

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Montreal Canadiens vs Boston Bruins the Austin Powers NHL playoff matchup

Part 4 of our continuing series: An Australian on Ice Hockey.Part 1: You make excuses for the HabsPart 2: NHL All-Star Game shakeup a great ideaPart 3: Chara's Pacioretty hit means a lot for NHL - and pro sportPart 5: The Psychology of ChokingWhen it comes to sporting rivalries, the Canadiens/Bruins East coast hockey rivalry is amongst the most intense, challenging perhaps only the Spanish

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The English Game: Essex & Sussex

by columnist Ben RobertsEssex The current day Essex hero, Alastair Cook, returned home from his stellar 700 plus run Ashes tour to a heroes welcome. The Essex County Cricket Club has a long history of producing England representatives of the highest order. As well, Essex have also been a side described as providing entertaining and attractive cricket, but unfortunately lacking the depth of

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Greater Western Sydney Giants should aim to be big, old(ish) and strong

As footy baptisms go, they don't get much harder than the one experienced by the Gold Coast this year. A first-up twenty goal loss to a Carlton side looking strictly mid-table, followed by a thirteen goal defeat to Footscray, sorry, the Western Bulldogs. On both occasions they managed only just above fifty points and, although their list management has been highly praised for their foresight

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The Shape of Premierships to Come

Although not a foregone conclusion, Manchester United seem to be waddling away with the Premiership - needing to not only stumble, but actually fall over to drop top spot - so perhaps it's worth taking a look at the possible shape of the Premiership next year by examining England's second tier, the Championship. One level removed from the big bucks there's a fantastic promotion race. Only a

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A look back on the cricket World Cup

It’s time to revisit these predictions and wrap up the 2011 Cricket World Cup… As you’ll see, the beauty about sport – cricket, in particular, as the game that God would play – is the very essence of its unpredictability. Sport constantly captivates by the thrill of the “unknown”. ============================================================================== 1. THE LEADING WICKET TAKER Subash

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Balanced Sports on Soccerlens: Scoring Stat Leaders, part 2.

In the second part of a three-part series, Matthew Wood explores on Soccerlens how reliant certain clubs are on their stars. Please support by clicking through to take a look.

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Book review: Slick Watts' Seattle SuperSonic Stories, by Slick Watts and Frank Hughes

Like the book review? Check out our affiliate site - Books with Balls, where we review the literature that guys like to read.Having just moved to Seattle, being somewhat of an NBA history-phile and having just joined the public library, I was intrigued to come across Slick Watts' Seattle SuperSonic Stories. The work is a collection of anecdotes by Slick Watts, who during the seventies was the

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Roy Keane for Victory

After firing the most successful manager in A-League history, Ernie Merrick, the Melbourne Victory are in need of a new manager to strategize their Asian Champions' League cause and begin the inevitable rebuilding. The biggest name linked with the job is Roy Keane, late of Sunderland and Ipswich Town.Local candidates are few: the A-League tends to opt either for recycled coaches or big-name

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Balanced Sports on Soccerlens: Scoring Stat Leaders

Balanced Sports on Soccerlens, parte troix. We've probably done enough statistical analysis for one day, what with the five tables in the post below, but if you're interested to hear what we have to say on the subject of Scoring Stat leaders in the European football, then take a peek at Soccerlens to get your fill.

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An Alternative to Exclusion: The Statistical Basis for an ICC World Cup Qualifying Tournament

The ICC have announced that affiliate nations are to be excluded from the World Cup in 2015, only to be reinstated from 2019 after a mooted ODI League begins. As well as manifestly defending without consequence the full member nations Bangladesh and Zimbabwe at the expense of the affiliates, there are several flaws in the ICC's logic. Their thinking is that Bangladesh and Zimbabwe deserve

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Cheer up, Fernando Torres.

Fernando Torres will rediscover his form again. Some day. He's too good a player not to, really. But those happy times seem a long way away after yet another match in which he's failed to find the net. It's now eight straight goalless matches he's played for the Blues; more galling is that he's only registered one shot on target during his six EPL matches for Chelsea, one less than fellow new

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ICC turns back on affiliate nations' World Cup hopes

By excluding Ireland, the Netherlands and other affiliate nations from the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the ICC could well have signed the death warrant for International 50-over cricket. A format which could well have been revitalized by one of - if not THE - best World Cups ever, now stands on the precipice of becoming an elitist tournament with no second division. Any league

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Patience and time

by Balanced Sports columnist Ben Roberts “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time” – Leo Tolstoy Cricket is a game that exists and occurs while affording every respect to time. Yet the peripheral influences afford no respect and errors are regularly made. You may have noticed that Ricky Ponting has relinquished the Australian captaincy recently. Good, you say, how could we afford

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Milan derby to decide Serie A

Rafael Benitez's short reign at Inter has already been overshadowed by the sparkle of his successor's. With the Nerazzurri following Brazilian Leonardo in a rapid climb up the Serie A standings, league-leading AC Milan appear scared of losing what, at one point, had been a double-digit lead in the points standings. Since Benitez's methodical approach was superseded by Leonardo just rolling the

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Jack Wilshere - more valuable for Arsenal or England?

A re-post of our article published on Soccerlens:Jack Wilshere is the future. The chosen one, he’s the face of English football for the twenty-first century. Miraculously, he remains somewhat personally underexposed for the amount of hype that surrounds him. Without him, the future of both Arsenal and England seems less positive. His rise has been meteoric. Two seasons ago he was a

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