Thursday, 8 July 2010

Eagles: Stand Up for Vick, Attorney Confirms Cake Smashed in His Face


The Philadelphia Eagles were already aware of Michael Vick’s confrontation at his 30th birthday party before a Virginia Commonwealth’s attorney made that information public on Wednesday.
The team believes that statements made by attorney Harvey L. Bryant were a mischaracterization of the incident according to Jeffrey McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“In terms of just using good judgment, at one point, he got in the limousine, and should have left at that point,” Bryant said Wednesday. “He got out of the limousine, and with the help of several friends, he was returned to to the limousine and left.”
The attorney also confirmed previous reports that Vick had cake smashed in his face at the party. Bryant conceded that would have angered anyone.
“Obviously, that’s an aggravating factor for any human being,” Bryant said Wednesday, per Jen McCaffery of the Virginian-Pilot. “And he correctly went and got into his vehicle.”
Virginia Beach Police closed the case on Tuesday without filing charges as the victim, Quanis Phillips, was being uncooperative. Detectives maintain they know who the shooter is, but are unable to proceed without his cooperation.
While Vick may be in good standing with the Philadelphia Eagles, he may not be so lucky with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell or state and federal prosecutors.
It remains to be seen whether the courts will go after Vick for violating his parole by associating with Phillips, his co-defendant from the federal dog fighting trial.

Thursday, 1 July 2010

Eagles World Football body still assessing ban


Eagles World football governing body, FIFA will not act instantly on the decision by President Jonathan Goodluck to suspend Nigeria's national football team, the Super Eagles, from international competitions for two years. FIFA Spokesman, Nicolas Maingot said on Thursday during a World Cup briefing that the body was still assessing the situation:
"We have been now officially informed of that and we are looking at this case," he said and added: "We need a little bit of time. ... We are not at the step of taking sanctions."

Sunday, 20 June 2010

To Kaita’s defence Eagles rally round


Super Eagles players have thrown their weight behind their colleague Sani Kaita, after the midfielder’s expulsion in the team’s last game with Greece put the country’s opportunitys of advancing beyond the group stages of the World Cup in doubt.
Nigerian captain, Joseph Yobo described Kaita as a hard working player who made a big mistake on the day. According to him, the player should not be crucified as the young footballer will definitely learn from mistakes like this.“He’s been a solid performer for this team in current years. It was a mistake, an expensive one but we only have to fight now for what is left to salvage here, Yobo said.”
Speaking in the same vein, the Eagle’s first choice goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who once again emerged as the man of the match, said: “Kaita is still a reliable player and should not be left to suffer from this.
“Stuff like that happen sometimes. If you saw him in training and watched him in the World Cup you would see why I still think he should be forgiven, ” the keeper said.
Nigeria’s Kalu Uche, who got the Eagles solitary goal also added his voice to the calls for leniency for the now highly disliked Kaita “We all felt let down on the pitch but once we walked off it, he was in our thoughts.
“No one is blaming him for anything,” The midfielder said, He( Kaita) has been a magnificent player for his country and his die hard performances have earned us success in the past. He will return a better man. ”
Kaita remorseful
Kaita, the man at the center of the storm broke down in tears as he apologised to the nation after his red card against Greece saw Nigeria losing 2-1 on Thursday at the World Cup.
Nigeria, who like Greece had lost their opening match in South Africa,
had taken an early lead after Kalu Uche’s free-kick from a wide area eluded everybody. The Super Eagles had a firm grip on the game until Kaita foolishly kicked out at Vasileios Torosidis after both players briefly tangled as they tried to win the ball.The sending off of Kaita changed the game as Greece came back from a goal down to win 2-1.
A clearly devastated Kaita was overcome with emotion when he briefly met the media after the game. He said, “I just want to say sorry to all the fans. I feel as if I have let millions of people down.“I should not have done that, act silly at that point or get carried away easily. The other players were left to bear the cost of my stupid mistake on the pitch. They have supported me so far, but all I can offer now is a heartfelt and sincere apology to the country,” the player said before being led away sympathetically by teammate Obinna Nsofor.

Monday, 14 June 2010

Eagles rest ahead of make-or mar tie, World Cup 2010


South Africa, Richard’s Bay - The Nigerian Super Eagles rested for the greater part of Monday as they prepare for the make or mar encounter with Greece on Thursday. According to camp information, on sunday the team had two training sessions, the day after their disappointing 1-0 loss to Argentina."The coach ordered players to observe today (Monday) as a rest day to resume training tomorrow (Tuesday)," said one of the senior members of the team. He denied allegations of division in camp over appearance fees for the players and alleged sharp disagreement between Osaze Odemwingie and Obafemi Martins over the former's failure to lay a pass to the latter who was in a better position to shoot at goal in the game against Argentina. The situation was similar to the allegations against Samson Siasia who failed to leave the ball for a better positioned Rashidi Yekini in a 2 May, 1993, World Cup qualifier against Cote d'Ivoire in Abidjan. Like Saturday’s game, Nigeria lost the 1993 game which was a qualifier for USA ’94 World Cup."No, there was nothing of such. We are bonding well in camp," said one of the oldest Super Eagles' players.Meanwhile, FIFA.com reported that Odemwingie voiced his disappointment at being left out in the starting line up against Argentina.But he is determined to remain professional and wait for his opportunity. He was a surprise omission from the team that started at Ellis Park, with Chinedu Obasi chosen instead on the left of a three man attack. Odemwingie, who added bite to the Super Eagles’ attack after taking over from Chinedu Obasi, admitted it was frustrating to miss out on a start against Diego Maradona's men."Yes of course, it was a big game, one of the biggest games in someone's career," he said, adding "I was very disappointed but we are a team, some of us are not going to start. There are 23 (players) here, you just have to accept it, not show your emotions but be professional about it. That's just the way it is."

Friday, 11 June 2010

Eagles: Titans beat Sea Eagles 28-14


Gold Coast Titans are up to fourth on the NRL ladder after overcoming the Manly Sea Eagles 28-14 at Skilled Park
The Gold Coast Titans have halted their three match losing run in the NRL with a 28-14 win over Manly at Skilled Park.
The Titans led 14-6 at halftime and 22-6 with 20 minutes remaining before Manly scored a controversial eight point try after Mark Minichello was penalised for his attempt to stop Manly scoring.
The Titans outscored Manly five tries and two.
Titans coach John Cartwright is relieved to have avoided a fourth straight loss, and describes the competition as unbelievably close, saying that all the players have to be at the top of their game to avoid a loss.
Cartwright says their defence was the difference. He says they switched on defensively and they had to because they made a number of errors.
Titans captain Scott Prince says it was crucial they stopped their slide. He says it has been a tough couple of weeks but hopefully now they have got their season back on track.

Friday, 28 May 2010

Eagles flying in for Donald

Five days after taking seven on the penultimate hole of the BMW PGA Championship and losing by one, Donald fired a seven-under-par 65 at Real Sociedad to end the day alongside Welsh pair Rhys Davies and Jamie Donaldson.

And, as if to hit back as well at all the headlines last week calling him "Plod" – his brother started that – the Ryder Cup player made two superb eagles.

"I can't remember the last time I had two in a round. I don't think I've had one on the PGA Tour all year," said Donald, who almost holed his 275-yard approach to the monster 653-yard ninth and then hit another rescue club 253 yards to seven feet on the 16th.

"I'm never going to overpower a course and some people think I am a short hitter, but I hit it far enough to compete.

"I would love to have that drive [at the 17th on Sunday] again, but I don't see the value in stewing over it.

"If I had planned a week off it might have been tougher, but you learn and you take the positives. You obviously gain confidence from being at the top of the leaderboard most of the week."

Wednesday, 31 March 2010

Nelson Band tributes to 'EAGLES'


A Nelson tribute band to the rock legends The Eagles is playing in Picton next Thursday, bringing to life classic hits like Hotel California, Tequila Sunrise, Long Run, and New Kid In Town.

The Eagles were formed in Los Angeles in 1971 by Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner. Producing five No1 singles and six No1 albums, they were recognised as being among the most successful recording artists of the 1970s.

The Eagles broke up in 1980, then reunited in 1994 to release the album Hell Freezes Over, which features a mix of live and new studio tracks. The band has toured intermittently since then.

In 2007, The Eagles released Long Road out of Eden, the band's first full studio album in 28 years. Tours to promote it continued into 2009 and further concerts in North America are set for later this year.