Lionel Messi will miss two Barcelona training sessions as he bids to break Gerd Muller record

Posted on December 7, 2012 by adminsports

Messi: 'I thought it would be the last time I'd touch the ball for a long time.' Barcelona star reveals fears over long-term knee injury

UPDATED:

17:44 GMT, 6 December 2012

Lionel Messi will sit out Barcelona's next two training sessions after suffering a painful knee injury against Benfica, but he has revealed the knock is healing far quicker than expected.

Messi has 84 goals this calendar year – just one behind Gerd Muller's 1972 record of 85 – and Barcelona will need him on Sunday having won only one of their last 10 visits to Betis' Benito Villarmarin stadium.

The Argentine has a bruised bone in his left knee after a collision with goalkeeper Artur and will stay in the gym while his team-mates prepare for Sunday's game against Betis.

Stricken: Lionel Messi was injured after coming off the bench against Benfica

Record: The injury to Messi has put his attempts to beat Gerd Muller's 40-year calendar year goalscoring record in doubt

Despair: Both Messi and the Barcelona trainers knew something was wrong as soon as the player went down

FOUR GAMES TO GRAB THE RECORD

December 9 – Real Betis (A)

December 12 – Cordoba (A) Copa del Rey last 16, first leg

December 16 – Atletico Madrid (H)

December 22 – Valladolid (A)

Speaking on Thursday at the launch of a new advert for Turkish Airlines in which he stars alongside NBA star Kobe Bryant, Messi said: 'I was in pain after the knock, so I thought it was really bad. Luckily, it was just that, a knock.

'I’m fine, better than yesterday already. I don’t know if I’ll be ready for Sunday’s game, will depend on evolution.

'What happened yesterday, can happen on training too. Every time you’re out on the pitch, there’s a risk to get injured. The truth is I did not think about
anything because all I could feel was the pain. But in a moment I
thought the worst. When it was shown it was not a severe injury I was
calmer.

'I sincerely thought it was the last ball I would be touching for a long time because of the pain. I tried to go ahead and shoot but I didn't have the strength.

'I am not obsessed with breaking records. It will be nice because (Muller's record) has stood for so long and if I break it then i hope my record stands for as long.'

Club doctor Richard Pruna will decide, along with the player and his coach Tito Vilanova, if he can
train normally on Saturday and then travel to Seville for Sunday night's
match with fourth placed Betis.

The Nou Camp were calling for Messi
just before the half time whistle of last night's draw with Benfica and
Villanova gave in to their demands early in the second half only for
the No 10 to go down holding the back of his knee five minutes from
time.

In-flight entertainment: NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and Messi star in an advert for Turkish Airlines

Worried: Messi left the field on a stretcher after receiving treatment on the pitch

Unprecedented: Messi, who has 84 goals so far this year, needs two more to break Muller's record

Drama was heightened when the player
was carted to the far corner of the ground, because the electronic car
carrying his stretcher wouldn't fit down the tunnel, and whisked away
for tests.

Messi suffered several long-term
injuries at the start of his Barcelona career but has not broken down
since March 2008 when he injured a thigh muscle against Celtic keeping
him out for six weeks.

His four years under Pep Guardiola
were almost injury-free with the then Barcelona coaching bringing in
podiatrists and dieticians to help prevent injuries.

Ouch: Messi was injured during a Barcelona attack late in the game

In the wars: Messi was fouled on a number of occasions during the game with Benfica

One of the doctors used by Guardiola
Xavier Gasso was important in linking the player's frequent muscle
injuries with his feet and remedying the situation by adusting the sole
inserts in his boots.

Last night Barcelona fans feared the
old problems had returned but a medical report issued at half-past
midnight local time calmed those concerns.

The good news also got coach Vilanova
off the hook with critics ready to blame him for bringing Messi on in
what was a dead rubber game for Barca.

He said: 'I would not do anything differently. We had spoken before about the possibility of him playing for 30 minutes.

'He is a player who always wants to
play, and not because he is about to break a record – something which
everybody else is talking about but that he never mentions.

'If we were concerned about the record then I would have played him and all the other first team players from the start.'

Ryder Cup 2012: Jack Nicklaus serves up painful reminder to Colin Montgomerie

Posted on October 1, 2012 by adminsports

Tee Room: Golden Bear serves up a painful reminder for Monty

UPDATED:

23:43 GMT, 30 September 2012

As if watching Europe struggle to retain the trophy he led them to two years ago wasn’t bad enough, Colin Montgomerie had salt rubbed in the wound by Jack Nicklaus.

As the pair sat together in the commentary box, Nicklaus declared: ‘You’ve got to win some majors to be rated,’ before cheekily adding: ‘Oh, sorry Colin.’

Rubbing salt in the wound: 14-time major winner Nicklaus (centre)

Breakfast beers!

Hardly surprising there have been a few drunken oafs around considering the first outlet incoming spectators got at Medinah was a man selling bottles of the local brew from a box.

His sales pitch was a cheerful ‘Breakfast beers, breakfast beers! If you don’t start in the morning you can’t drink all day!’

Iron out whinges, Lee

Lee
Westwood was among those whingeing about the greens – a vested interest
after his feeble pairing performances perhaps – complaining that they
have speeded up unusually after lunch.

It is true, however, that the greens were ‘ironed’ on Friday between foursomes and fourballs, and nobody told the Europeans.

In the dark: Westwood was unhappy that the greens were ironed out

Check this lot out…

One of the most staggering sights of the Ryder Cup has been the merchandise tent.

As long as a football pitch and more than half one’s width, the norm has been a queue 100 yards long to get into the snaking lines of the paying area, where 85 assistants are on the check-out desks.

This temple of consumption dwarfs its equivalent at The Open.

Barack is Bushwhacked

Former US Presidents George Bush and George W Bush were supporting the Americans this weekend and gave a pep talk on Saturday night. Barack Obama was invited but despite deep local connections said he was otherwise engaged.

After taking flak for the amount of golf he plays he might not have wished to come too near anyway.

You'll never putt alone

Two things you never knew about Keegan Bradley, whose Ryder Cup exploits have made him a superstar in American golf – even if taking on world No 1 Rory McIlroy on the final day proved a step too far.

Up to the age of 13 Bradley was among the most outstanding ski racers in mountainous Vermont before turning to his talents to the game of golf instead. His Christian names are Keegan Hanson – but there is no Liverpool connection.

Ryder Cup 2012: Paul Lawrie"s little earner

Posted on September 26, 2012 by adminsports

Tee Room: Lawrie's little earner provides Ryder warm-up

UPDATED:

21:22 GMT, 25 September 2012

Earner: Lawrie warmed up in his native Scotland

No high-profile, lucrative warm-up event for Paul Lawrie before the Ryder Cup. Instead the Scot, 43, prepared by playing at home in the Tartan Tour in the Invitational event that bears his name at Deeside Golf Club. In a field that included his son and caddy he finished tied third, earning 2,166.

Cheerleader Jordan

Michael
Jordan, golf groupie and American sports royalty, is a towering
presence here this week as a galvaniser for the home team and is
especially close to Tiger Woods. ‘I consider him like my big brother
because I’ve got to know him so well,’ said Woods. ‘For him to be a part
of this is priceless for some of the other guys.’

One stat matters

We
are in America, home of Moneyball, where the stat is king – so much so
that you can find out how many granules of sugar per day a baseball
player sprinkles on his cornflakes. Yet one stat towers above all others
in this Ryder Cup. All eight Americans with previous experience have
losing records in the event.

Will it be 'fore'-somes

If
Justin Rose is asked to take the knee trembling first shot off the tee
in Friday’s opening Foursomes he hopes there will be no repetition of
what happened as a 17-year-old at the Walker Cup. ‘I hit it out of
bounds,’ said Rose. ‘My partner (Michael Brooks) was adamant he did not
want to hit it, but he had to step up and hit the provisional anyway.’

Painful memories: Rose (left) recalled a wayward tee-shot in the Walker Cup

Happy news for Hanson

Peter Hanson gave a happy update on his one-year-old son Tim, who was taken into hospital with an unknown virus the weekend before last while his father competed in the KLM Open in Holland. Tim was discharged on the Monday. ‘He’s lost a bit of weight but is getting stronger and back to where he was before,’ said the Swede. Remarkably Hanson ignored the distraction and won the tournament by two strokes.

Europe's American dream

Gone are the days when the European team would all fly across the Atlantic together. In fact, with the migration of Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood, there are now more members of this team – six – that live in Florida than the five based in Europe, with Chicago resident Luke Donald, making it a 7-5 split in favour of living the (very lucrative) American dream.

London 2012 Paralympics: Secrets of boosting revealed

Posted on August 27, 2012 by adminsports

The secrets of 'boosting' revealed: How some wheelchair athletes cheat the system

UPDATED:

14:28 GMT, 27 August 2012

To ensure there is no cheating at the Paralympics, officials will be testing not just for the usual banned drugs, but for a practice called boosting, where wheelchair athletes do things like break a toe to cause a blood pressure spike to enhance performance.

In able-bodied athletes, intense physical exercise automatically raises the heart rate and blood pressure. Athletes with a severe spinal cord injury, however, don't get that natural boost.

To get a rapid rise in blood pressure, wheelchair-bound athletes may resort to another solution: inducing a state called autonomic dysreflexia.

That is a reflex that occurs when the lower part of their body is exposed to painful stimuli, like filling the bladder to capacity, using tight leg straps, or sitting on a sharp object.

Cheating the system: Many Paralympians have been caught 'boosting'

This elevated blood pressure can cause a heart attack or stroke – but since the athletes can't feel it, some think the risk is worth taking. Studies have shown athletes with a spinal cord injury who boost can get up to a 10 percent improvement in some races.

'It's an extreme thing to do and we have to constantly remind athletes it's very dangerous,' said Craig Spence, a spokesman for the International Paralympic Committee.

The IPC banned the practice in 2004 and says it doesn't have evidence boosting is widespread. At the Beijing Paralympics, 37 athletes competing in events thought to be at high risk of boosting were tested. None were positive.

According to a report by the World Anti-Doping Agency, about 10 out of 60 athletes surveyed at the Beijing Paralympics admitted having boosted at a major competition.

Spence said there are only about 100 athletes at the upcoming Paralympics who would benefit from boosting, given their disability and their event.

Cheating the system: Many Paralympians have been caught 'boosting'

'At the end of the day, it's only a handful of athletes who are actually self-harming,' he said.

Spence added that the IPC would conduct blanket testing in sports where athletes might be tempted to boost at the upcoming Games and officials would also examine athletes with symptoms of boosting, like having a red face or sweating before the race.

Athletes found to have high blood pressure will be asked to wait about 10 minutes before being tested again. If their second test is the same, they won't be allowed to race for health reasons. 'There's a limit to how we can test for this,' Spence said. 'We can't really ask people to drop their trousers so we can check there's nothing unusual in there,' he said, noting they have found competitors who stuck pins into their testicles to get the desired effect.

Spence said those suspected of boosting aren't penalized in the same way as those caught doping. 'Their punishment is they can't compete unless they have a doctor's certificate to explain why their blood pressure is high.'

Cheating the system: Many Paralympians have been caught 'boosting'

Some experts have said paralysed athletes may simply accept the health risks of boosting as a necessary cost of victory.

'These athletes don't feel the pain of the injury and the pursuit of elite sport is in some ways already unhealthy,' said David James, a senior sports engineer at Sheffield Hallam University. 'We accept harm in all sorts of sports, like boxing,” James said. “They may think this is just another form of that,' he said.

Others said we shouldn't expect Paralympic athletes to behave any differently than athletes in any other elite sport.

'To assume people in Paralympic sport won't engage in whatever way they can to get an advantage is to put them on a pedestal,' said David Howe, a senior lecturer at the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Britain's Loughborough University. 'Just because somebody has an impairment doesn't mean they're a virtuous person.'

Match Racing Girls: Lucy and Kate MacGregor and Annie Lush

Posted on July 10, 2012 by adminsports

Why three into one does go, for girls with a golden goal: Sportsmail takes a ride with the Match Racing Girls

UPDATED:

21:30 GMT, 9 July 2012

Put two siblings in a boat, add a third woman to play referee, and the result would appear to be one of Team GB’s best chances of glory this summer.

Skipper Lucy MacGregor, 25, her little sister Kate, 21, and Annie Lush, 32, are the trio known as the Match Racing Girls, a team with a golden tradition to uphold.

They took time out from their training camp in southern Spain to discuss tantrums, painful pasts and hair with Sportsmail.

Match Racing Girls on history…

Annie: Britain do well when you put three women in a boat.

Lucy: Yeah, Shirley Robertson and her crew won in Athens and Sarah Ayton and hers won in 2008. No pressure!

Kate: They were Three Blondes in a Boat. I guess we’re One Blonde, One Brunette and One Mousy-haired in a boat. Different boat, though.

On board: Sportsmail's Riath Al-Samarrai (second left) took to the water

RIATH'S SAILING EXPERIENCE

Everything about Olympic sailing revolves around speed so perhaps it is fitting that when your dignity departs overboard it does so quickly.

The call to tack came from Lucy, who is the older of the MacGregor sisters and the boat’s skipper. The idea was to change direction, the principle being that a boat cannot sail directly into the wind so you have to zigzag across it if you want to make any progress upwind.

It’s reasonably simple in theory but the reality means darting from one side of the boat to the other, taking care to avoid the boom (long pole with big sail attached), the sheets (ropes) and the toe straps that you wedge your feet under when leaning back over the side. I hit all three before slipping and getting stuck with a toe strap over my thighs.

The boat was brought to a halt as two unsympathetic women rectified the situation.
In an ideal world – one where nearly half the boat’s 204kg crew limit isn’t used by a oaf – Lucy will do the steering and decision-making; Annie, who is positioned in the middle, will call tactics and do most of the heaving on ropes to manipulate sail shape; and Kate stands at the bow, changing sails, trimming the jib and feeding information about the conditions and opposition back to the brain trust.

When it goes well, they can reach speeds of up to 20 miles per hour. When it goes really well they win medals.

None of them recall getting stuck under a toe strap.

Match Racing Girls on match racing…

Annie: Sarah and Shirley were racing in the Yngling in a fleet race, which is when you race against all the boats at once. We’re in a six-metre boat doing match racing, which is just one boat against another.

Lucy: It’s fast, intense and a lot of people describe it as high-speed chess on the water.

Match Racing Girls on disappointment…

Annie: Lucy and I sailed with Shirley Robertson, the double gold medallist, when she was competing against Sarah Ayton to get a place in the last Games. It came down to the final race of the world championships to see who would go, and we were on even points. We just missed out. It was tough — we went from being medal contenders to not even going. Four years of your life goes into it. I had also campaigned for Athens for two years as well, and actually went to the Games as Shirley’s training partner as she won gold. After 2008, I had to think hard about whether it was worth having another shot.

Lucy: The day after that race we were just wandering around lost.

Kate: This is my first attempt. I’m studying business at Solent University and have deferred my final year.

Match Racing Girls on expectation…

Lucy: There is pressure but mostly
what we put on ourselves. We want gold. We’re ranked two in the world
but we have beaten everyone we’re up against.

Annie: I don’t want to put any target
on it. We all want to do as well as we can, obviously, and we are all so
driven. You have to be. It affects you all the time, stops you relaxing
even when on a day off. It’s like that feeling you had at school, when
you have homework but you take a night off. It’s a guilty feeling.

Lucy: You never completely switch off.

Kate: Even on weeks off we are going to the gym. That gold medal never really goes out of your mind.

Sailing away: Lucy MacGregor (left), Annie Lush (centre) and Kate MacGregor

Match Racing Girls on sacrifices…

Annie: You miss so many important dates. I mean like dates in a calendar with family, but I guess dates with guys, too — it takes over your life. I’ve missed weddings, christenings. You stay in contact by internet and phone but essentially you’re not in people’s lives.

Lucy: Financially, it’s not the same as well. We get fantastic support, but your friends are getting on, buying houses. We don’t get things like pensions.

Kate: I had a bit of the uni life in my first year, but I gave up that in the past two years. You have to in order to do the training. Generally we do four to five hours on the water each day and then six sessions a week in the gym doing weights, circuits and aerobics. It can be hard but I love what we do. This summer we might get a gold medal at the Olympics…

In action: Everything happens quickly

Match Racing Girls on sibling rivalry…

Lucy: We squabbled a bit initially. Now it’s great. We’re sisters but also like best friends.

Kate: We have another older sister and when I was little they stuck together and bullied me. They used to time me to fetch stuff for them. I got used.

Lucy: I wouldn’t say I get to boss her around now because I’m the older sister. If anything it’s the opposite.

Kate: Lucy moved out of our parents’ house and I’m definitely the boss there now. If she comes round, it’s like, ‘Don’t sit in that chair, it’s my chair’.

Annie: We all have our moments but we’re as bad as each other. No two of us fight any more than the other so there’s an equal amount of refereeing. I’m bigger than both of them so if it’s too much I can sort them out.

Match Racing Girls on temper explosions…

Annie: You are in a 20ft space together, in a car together, you live together. That’s a lot of time. You sound like an old married couple between the three of you.

Kate: I’m probably the worst. I have the odd tantrum at myself. A few explosions.

Lucy: She is very hard on herself. If we think she is doing well she thinks the opposite.

Temper temper: The three must work together to succeed

Match Racing Girls on life after 2012…

Annie: Is there one We have this calendar that is really busy and then you get to August and there is nothing after it. Scary.

Kate: It will be important to have something to look forward to afterwards, even if it is just a holiday or something because otherwise we could all go crazy.

Match Racing Girls on Sportsmail’s performance on the water…

Lucy: Good until you got stuck under the toe strap.

Kate: 2012 might come a bit too soon for you.

The Match Racing Girls sail as part of Skandia Team GBR, the British sailing team in Olympic and Paralympic classes sponsored by investment specialist Skandia. For more info, visit www.skandiateamgbr.com

Ben Youngs faces three months out after shoulder surgery

Posted on June 21, 2012 by adminsports

England ace Youngs faces three months on the sidelines after shoulder surgery

UPDATED:

22:56 GMT, 20 June 2012

England scrum-half Ben Youngs could be out for up to three months following surgery on his injured shoulder.

The 22-year-old, who scored two tries in last weekend's second Test loss to South Africa, has been forced to fly home after also suffering injury in the Johannesburg clash.

Youngs' second-half double helped bring England back within four points at the former Ellis Park before a late touchdown from JP Pietersen secured a 36-27 victory and a series win for the Springboks.

Painful blow: Ben Youngs (left) injured his shoulder against South Africa

Youngs suffered the injury attempting to tackle Pietersen, whose try ensured the Springboks will take an unassailable 2-0 lead into Saturday's third Test in Port Elizabeth.

The Leicester player wrote in his column in The Times: “The prognosis is two to three months.

'There was a lot of discomfort and I couldn't really sleep on Saturday night, only on my back.

'On Sunday morning, I had medical screenings, had the scan and they came back with the result. The injury requires keyhole surgery.'

In vain: Youngs scored two tries during England's second Test defeat

Youngs faces stiff competition for his place, with Lee Dickson and Danny Care now vying to replace him in the side for the third Test in Port Elizabeth this weekend.

Youngs said: 'It is gutting to miss the third Test – no-one likes to go home injured.

'I felt that at Ellis Park I had started to lay down a marker and gone and got the shirt back and then you are injured. It is so tough.'

Tottenham and Newcastle facing Champions League heartache after Chelsea beat Barcelona

Posted on April 19, 2012 by adminsports

Spurs and Newcastle fear Champions League KO after Chelsea heroics against Barca

UPDATED:

14:21 GMT, 19 April 2012

Tottenham and Newcastle's efforts to secure Champions League football next season will be in vain if Chelsea win this season's final in Munich – even if the Blues finish fifth in the league.

Chelsea trail the sides by two points in the Barclays Premier League and have some ground to build on in their battle to finish inside the top four.

Should they fail to do so, Europa League football will be on the cards for next term in what be viewed as a drastic failure by Russian owner Roman Abramovich.

Blue is the colour: Chelsea are half way to causing a huge upset

But they took a huge stride towards the final in Munich on May 19 after beating holders Barcelona at 1-0 Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.

The club are now 90 minutes away from their second final in four years and will look to banish the painful memory of defeat to Manchester United in the pouring rain in Moscow in 2008.

John Terry slipped and shanked his penalty off the post when scoring would have secured European bragging rights for the west Londoners.

Changing fortunes: Tottenham's slump continues as Newcastle rise up the table carries on unchecked

But if the Blues can now go on to lift the
crown they will take the fourth English place among Europe’s elite –
regardless of where they end up in the league.

UEFA do not want a repeat of the situation they faced in 2006 when Liverpool won the Champions League and finished behind fourth-placed Everton and both were allowed to qualify handing England five places.

Put it there: Barcelona dominated possession, but it was Chelsea who topped the game's most important stat

MASTERS 2012: Rory McIlroy: Friends and family remember Augusta meltdown

Posted on March 31, 2012 by adminsports

EXCLUSIVE: A year on, friends and family remember… the major meltdown that made McIlroy!

By
Derek Lawrenson

PUBLISHED:

22:00 GMT, 30 March 2012

UPDATED:

22:00 GMT, 30 March 2012

It was one of the most dramatic days in the history of major championship golf. A day when Rory McIlroy, leading by four strokes after 54 holes and bidding to become the second youngest winner of the Masters, collapsed with stage fright and ended up shooting 80 in the final round.

In the process he created a series of indelible images that, a year on, remain in the mind's eye. From going where no golfer had gone before with his drive off the 10th, to slumping on the head of his driver after another wayward blow at the 13th.

The following day, a poignant photograph was taken of him on a private jet with the man who ended up winning the green jacket, South African Charl Schwartzel, his management stablemate at the time.

Showing the strain: Rory McIlroy collapsed on the back nine at Augusta last year

In an interview with Sportsmail in December, McIlroy talked in unsparing detail about his meltdown, including the moving image of being so embarrassed he struggled to ring home afterwards.

But what was it like for those closest to the young Northern Irishman On the eve of Rory's return to the Masters, we've tracked down some of his nearest and dearest and asked them to share their own painful experiences of that incredible day. His caddie, JP Fitzgerald, is commenting publicly for the first time.

McIlroy somehow put that Sunday in April behind him to win the US Open in June. Which is just as well, otherwise the memory of that Masters for some might have been too excruciating to recall.

His caddie: JP Fitzgerald

It was clear our chemistry was wrong that day and I take my full share of the blame for that. We shot 80 so I am not going to feel happy about my part.

We could go through what was wrong but I'd much prefer to dwell on the positives and what came out of the whole experience.

About an hour or two afterwards Rory and I met in the car park and we had a great chat about the day. There were no recriminations as we talked it through and planned for the future.

Still smiling: McIlroy walks off the 18th green with caddie JP Fitzgerald last April

I suggested to Rory that he seek out America's former Ryder Cup captain Dave Stockton who has become a great short-game coach and I think Rory is on record as saying how much Dave has helped him with his putting.

We finished up giving each other a hug. All you can do is learn from such experiences and I'd like to think we've both shown that we've done so.

His father: Gerry McIlroy

I watched it alone at home. My wife Rosie was over at Rory's house looking after his two dogs. They were having a big night at Holywood Golf Club but I decided not to go. I knew they were all going to be really hyper and that's not me.

Golf blog

Rosie and I spoke on the phone a few times through the evening. I knew everything was not quite right on the first tee. It was his body language.

It was difficult to watch the 10th but I was never really concerned about Rory. He's always been good at taking away the positives from a situation – and that's all that was, a situation.

What can I say, he had a bad break on the 10th and it all unravelled. No, it wasn't any fun to watch but that's just golf. I am quite laid-back, as is Rory, and I knew he'd take it well, as he showed when speaking to the media straight afterwards.

Faith: Rory's father, Gerry McIlroy (centre right) knew he would recover

I spoke to him later that night and then Rosie spoke to him the next morning. He was OK but a bit down, maybe a bit embarrassed. It would have been good if I was there. And that's why I decided to go over with him for the week of the US Open.

His management rep: Stuart Cage

You could tell he was more jumpy than the first three days. There was less chat and he was clearly nervous. He had his mates with him in the car going up to the club and there wasn't a lot of banter.

With hindsight I wished I'd grabbed his attention and helped him relax but he had been slightly nervous on Saturday and dealt with it well.

It was the second hole where I started to worry. He hit the lip of the fairway bunker with his recovery shot and, as a golfer, that told me he was pushing a little too hard, trying to get the ball as far down that par five as possible because he was nervous. His thinking was clearly not 100 per cent.

Everyone goes on about the 10th but bad luck made his tee shot appear miles worse than it was. After his drive at the 13th I knew it was over and what was going through his head. It just hurts and having spent so much time with him it hurt for me like I was watching my own son.

Nerves: McIlroy hits the lip of the bunker on the second hole of the final round

That night was difficult. We had Charl at the house as well and you're congratulating one while commiserating with the other. But Rory was amazing with Charl and handling the press. I think in his head he'd already moved on and that's why he could go to the US Open and win it by a mile.

The Masters this year I'm not a gambler but I'd put money on him.

His golfing mate: Graeme McDowell

I went with a pal to the Tap Room, a sports bar near my home in Lake Nona. I thought at least there was one upside in having missed the cut at the Masters and that was that I could enjoy watching the final day. I don't usually like watching golf but with my close friend leading this seemed like a special day.

I was worried for Rors. He's a different golfer now but back then he was always prone to a hook if he was under pressure. I could sense something wasn't right on the first. He and JP (Fitzgerald) weren't communicating as they should have.

Home club woe: Members at Holywood Golf Club react as Rory blows it

And when he went left with his second shot on the first I thought: 'What are you doing, you know you don't hit it there.' It stayed on the green but he three-putted. 'I don't like this,' I told my pal.

People don't understand how unlucky his break was on the 10th and, of course, then it went from bad to worse. It was awful to watch; I just wanted to turn off the television. But I couldn't. I was in a pub!

Of course I felt for Rors – who didn't – and I sent him a text that night. I can't remember exactly what it said, something along the lines of: 'Don't worry, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.' Typical Rory, he came back straight away. 'I'm fine,' he said. He's that sort of bloke. As he proved a few months later.

His mentor: Darren Clarke

If I'm not playing in the Masters you can guarantee I'll be watching every shot.

One way or another, it's one of those events I never miss and after the way Rory played for the first three days I was looking forward to watching the final round.

I was at home and it quickly became clear it was not going to be a comfortable experience. As the afternoon wore on I started to get conflicting emotions, because Charl is a great friend as well.

Happy ending: McIlroy went on to win his very next major, the US Open

Of course it was sad watching what happened to Rory but I didn't go to bed feeling it was the end of the world for him. Remember, I've known him since he was 13 and I've seen him grow and learn from every setback.

The type of personality he is, you always know he is going to bounce back and so while I was desperately sad for him I took comfort in the fact I knew he would be stronger for the experience.

I must admit I didn't think it would be so quick for him to win his next major but that's Rory. He's the most gifted player of his time, the Tiger Woods of his generation.

The hometown pro: Stephen Crooks
(Head pro – Holywood Golf Club)

There were 110 of us at the club. There was only one telly so we were all crammed around it.

By the time Rory started the atmosphere was great, really buzzing, as if we were going to have one big party. When it all was going wrong on the 10th I remember seeing everyone with their heads in their hands.

We all just wanted to put our arms around him. We've known him since he was young and knew he'd return stronger and make us proud.

Darron Gibson warns Liverpool to expect much-improved Everton

Posted on March 29, 2012 by adminsports

Gibson warns Liverpool to expect much-improved Everton when rivals meet at Wembley

UPDATED:

21:48 GMT, 28 March 2012

Everton sealed their place in the FA Cup semi-finals with one of the most complete performances of David Moyes’ reign on Tuesday night when they outclassed Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

The display was in stark contrast to the meek manner in which they were brushed aside by Liverpool two weeks earlier at Anfield, when Steven Gerrard scored a hat-trick in a one-sided 3-0 win.

Moyes was criticised for making six changes to his team that night but Gibson believes the performance at Sunderland vindicated the manager’s handling of the squad.

Togetherness: Darron Gibson (fourth right) says Everton will be a different prospect when they meet Liverpool at Wembley

Liverpool have won both Barclays Premier League fixtures against their oldest enemy this season but Republic of Ireland midfielder Gibson is adamant the third meeting between the clubs will be the closest yet.

‘I was at the derby and it was disappointing,’ said Gibson, who has just returned from a month out with a knee injury. ‘Now we’ve got to forget about that.

‘It will be a different prospect for them, as (we will have) probably our strongest side. We had worked all week on our game plan, pulled it off and played really well at Sunderland.

‘The work we put meant we knew exactly what everyone had to do and it paid off. We made chances too, which was the main thing and Niki (Jelavic) took his goal well.'

Painful memory: Everton were outclassed when the sides met at Anfield

Everton were last involved in the FA Cup’s last four in 2009, when they beat Manchester United on penalties before being beaten 2-1 by Chelsea in the final.

That was the second time Tim Cahill had lost a final – he was part of the Millwall team which was comprehensively outgunned by Manchester United in Cardiff in 2004 – but the influential Australian believes this is opportunity represents his best chance of success.

Cahill is adamant Everton will not lose their focus in the build-up to the semi-final and has scoffed at the idea Liverpool will be favourites simply as their squad cost significantly more to assemble.

‘Everyone can put figures on the table, but our manager has got the best record in the world when it comes to spending money and what he does for the club,’ said Cahill. ‘As players, we have to make sure that money is well spent.

‘For Liverpool, who knows who the pressure is on We will just concentrate on ourselves and see what happens. We are too experienced to start worrying what Liverpool are doing. They are a great team and have spent a lot of money and have a good manager. But this is all about us.’

Fabrice Muamba news: Miracles do happen, says Michael Watson

Posted on March 20, 2012 by adminsports

Miracles do happen, says coma survivor Watson as he prays for Muamba

UPDATED:

09:41 GMT, 20 March 2012

Former boxer Michael Watson has joined the calls of support for critically ill Fabrice Muamba, telling the 23-year-old that miracles do happen.

Watson woke from a 40-day coma back in 1991 after successful surgery to remove blood clots from his brain following a brutal bout with Chris Eubank, and he admitted Muamba's ordeal has brought back flashbacks of his fight for life.

Keeping the faith: Michael Watson receives his MBE in 2004

Muamba is being treated in the London Chest Hospital after suffering cardiac arrest at White Hart Lane on Saturday. And 47-year-old Watson told the Daily Mirror:
'People talk about fate, but when I heard what had happened to Fabrice
Muamba – at White Hart Lane, of all places – it blew my mind to pieces.

'As well as feeling terrible for a footballer and what his family are going through, it brought a lot of painful memories flooding back.

'Although I was in a coma for 40 days, I remember everything about the fight like it was yesterday. And it shook me up big-time to discover another warrior now finds himself in God’s hands like I was.

Critically ill: Muamba is being treated in the London Chest Hospital

'But I’m praying for him, and I’m proof
the impossible is sometimes possible. I’ve been down the same track and
I’m still here to tell the tale 21 years later.

'I went through hell and back. Nobody outside my hospital room gave me a chance. I lay in bed listening to doctors warning my mum I would be vegetable if I survived, but I confounded them.

Swathe of support: Italian club AS Roma display a get well message for Muamba

'And I know Fabrice will get better because you can’t keep a good man down, and I’m told he is a good man.

'If we keep praying for him, it will release the fighting spirit in him. It’s a test of faith, it’s all about staying positive.

'I believe he will get better because miracles do happen – I’m the proof.'

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