ISYS100 Controversy in sport

Sir Alex Ferguson expected to give an important announcement regarding his future as Manchester United boss

After a 26-and-a-half-year reign as the manager for Manchester United, there is now great speculation that Sir Alex Ferguson could retire from the club by the end of the week. The UK telegraph which first broke the story exclaimed, “Sources close to the players confirmed that the squad’s golf day had been overshadowed by suggestions that the Scot would be making an announcement”.

After taking the club to 13 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups, 4 League Cups and 2 Champions League Titles and building an up a value estimate of $3.17 billion by Forbes, Ferguson’s positive impact on the club is definite. With such a prominence in the sport as a whole it is expected that much controversy will come from the alleged announcement until it does indeed occur or Manchester United releases an official statement saying otherwise.

It is of no surprise to some that an announcement of this type was soon to come given Ferguson’s age and recent health issues. At the age of 71 he certainly isn’t getting any younger and would be finding it more difficult to be as involved as he has been in the past. In 2004 he had to have a pacemaker inserted due to a heart irregularity and is set to have hip surgery after the club returns from its pre-season tour this year. It is noted by many that Ferguson has always said that his health would dictate how long he remained at the top of Man United and with another operation soon to come and a recent replenishment of the Premier League Crown over arch rivals Manchester City, the timing would make sense.

This expectation has also been verified by the actions of bookmakers in the UK, surrounding odds of football manager and executive movements. Particular to these changes is the slashing of odds regarding movements of Everton manager David Moyes to Manchester United. The chance of this has brought forward another possible action by Ferguson, in staying with the club and instead either having more assistance in his managing department or stepping down into a less important role. This standpoint has been taken by The Mirror newspaper in the UK.  

A triumphant Ferguson.

Greg Inglis, mighty unlucky or just one too many?

Over the years we have all seen the absolute marvel of Greg Inglis. His speed, strength, agility and overall rugby league talent is a view to behold for every fan. However, since his positional switch from centre to fullback, and the greater responsibility he has been given to roam the field, the media and fans alike have started to question his particular running style.

His running style has begun to be questioned due to the fact that he has been involved in a high number of 'spear tackles' whereby his legs are lifted off the ground which results in his neck and legs being placed in a dangerous position. Moreover, due to the high number of spear tackles he has been involved in, the media and fans have started to closely monitor his running style and have emphasised any possibility in which he places himself in the dangerous position by leaning forward into tackles.

Greg Inglis knows he is a target on the field, but having been the victim of four ugly spear tackles this season, questions need to be asked on the coincidence of them all. The South Sydney star however has admitted to being stunned by suggestions he needs to change his running style and believes that neither of the tackles have been premeditated.

Sydney Roosters great Brad Fittler said he didn't feel Inglis was in the wrong, but believed a change would be in Inglis' best interests.

"The key is Greg's the constant factor in a lot of the tackles," Fittler said.

"I just don't want to see him get hurt. I don't want to see anyone get hurt like that. He's not doing anything wrong, but it's up to Greg."

Greg concluded by responding that "if I've got to change my running style ... I don't know, I'm a bit stunned by that."

What is the future of Test cricket, is it a dying format?

Test cricket existed long before the ODI format came into play in the 1970s and also existed way before the Twenty20 format that came in to play, over 100 year after test cricket. However now it is believed to be now under threat of dying out, as the shorter formats of the game, especially T20 cricket are drawing away crowd from Test cricket.

It is a topic that has divided fans and players for a while now, the fact that some enjoy the shorter forms due to the intensity and some that enjoy the test matches that last 5 days, that is traditional. However over the past few years the introduction of domestic T20 competitions such as the IPL, BBL and many more like this around the world has resulted in the increase the popularity of the shorter format.

However the prospect of test cricket doesn’t look to great as Harsha Bhogle stated "England look good at the moment, and Australia might revive. South Africa look strong but West Indies are still in disarray. Pakistan are good on some surfaces, as are Sri Lanka. New Zealand can't find a batsman to average over 40" last year in an article on Cricinfo.

Although the prospect of test cricket doesn’t concern a few players such as West Indian Chris Gayle who stated when asked whether he would be sad if test cricket died out ? replying "I wouldn't be so sad. Some other players would be. Maybe Andrew Strauss would be sad. Maybe he will be sad if Test cricket die and Twenty20 continue. Because there is no way he can make the change."

The extinction of test cricket is quite evident, as series between countries are becoming shorter and shorter, to accommodate for ODI and T20 cricket. This was quite evident last time Australia played in South Africa when they only played 2 games for a drawn series, when it should have been 4 matches, as they are 2 of the top teams in the world.

Hopefully test cricket does not become extinct, as many fans including me, look forward to Test matches, as do cricketers, for example young Australians dream to one day receiving the baggy green and represent Australia.

It is important that test cricket continues on into the future, it is the format of the greats, such as Sir Donald Bradman, a format that tests a players true skill and patience. 

Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game.

John Tomic has beaten up the training partner of his rising tennis star son?

Australia’s best young Tennis player, Bernard Tomic, is the headlines again but this time it isn’t his fault. His father, John Tomic, was allegedly jailed for attacking Thomas Drouet, Bernard’s regular practice partner.

Supposedly an argument started between John and Drouet after an incident at the swish Monte Carlo Country Club and continued from there, onto the Flight to Madrid and then at the hotel where the pair was staying. A clash outside the hotel, witnessed by leading players such as Janko Tipsarevic, apparently ended with Drouet knocked out and sustaining a broken nose, fractured vertebrae and stitches. 

John Tomic angry at a decision against his son.

John Tomic’s history wasn’t the greatest as it stood before this, with incidents of road rage against other players and coaches, pulling Tomic from games mid-match and a fiery clash with 2010 Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley. There is now a mass of speculation that John Tomic will be removed from tennis circles, particularly due to his violent behaviour. 

Tennis Australia describes the reports as “very concerning” with them “working closely with ATP officials who are investigating the incident”. After a loss in his first match in Madrid it is hoped by many that Bernard can put these issues behind him and focus on playing good tennis for himself. 

Bombers chairman David Evans rejects accusations that players are gaining any advantage this season

Research carried out in the last few years has shown that if you were to take the controversial supplements (peptides) you are likely to suffer from soft tissue injures while playing. Bombers had the highest rate of soft tissue injures in the league last year.

Bombers chairman David Evans says his club will prove it is not gaining any advantage this season from the controversial supplement program carried out last year.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou spoke about rival clubs saying bombers having an unfair advantage because of they unbeaten start to they season. 

Evans repeated on Friday that he would not publicly detail the practices that took place at the club last season while the AFL and Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) investigation into whether they breached anti-doping rules continues.

"I would like to thank Andrew Demetriou for his support of the club yesterday when he warned other clubs against what he called scurrilous innuendo that our players have some kind of advantage," Evans said at a Bombers' pre-match function.

"I can also promise you this: whatever happened last year with what I conceded were irregular practices, there is no advantage to our players and this will be proven."

Evans said it was tough having the club being the subject of constant speculation without being able to publicly fight back, given the Bombers don't want to compromise the investigation.

"I would love nothing more than to be correcting some of the more wild accusations and speculation that's occurred over the time," he said.

"But I ask you again for your patience while we let the AFL and ASADA investigation take its course."

He said the Bombers could at least take heart that their players were showing maturity and character in adversity.

"These young men are utter professionals in what they are doing week in and week out," he said.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/demetriou-slams-rumours/video-e6frf33l-1226634730466?subcat=1225916318050

  

Australian Men's Swimmer's Olympic Scandal

Six of the Australian men's Olympic team, including James Magnussen, Matthew Targett, James Roberts, Cameron McEvoy, Eamon Sullivan and Tomaso D'Orsonga were involved in a scandal that included taking a banned AOC substance and inappropriate behaviour. Four of whom were part of the Australian men's 4x100 metres freestyle relay team, that were expected to win gold, but ended up coming fourth.

the six swimmers at the press conference earlier this year

Emily Seebohm, the one who blew the whistle on the mischief behaviour, said that many female swimmer were victims. 

Fellow swimmer, Jade Neilsen, a first time Olympic swimmer, who was part of the silver winning women's 4x100 medley relay in London. She revealed information about the being disturbed by inappropriate behaviour by these men during their stay at London. She revealed that she and her roommate were awoken by late night prank calls, door knocking and disruptive behaviour.

The AOC is now considering imposing sanctions, including the withdrawal of funds for the relay team in the 2016 Olympics.

Swimming Australian (SA) who set up a 'integrity panel' to investigate further reported inappropriate behaviour and misuse of a prescription drug Stilnox during a pre-Games camp in Manchester.

It is believed that the 6 swimmer came back from watching Batman at the movies, when 5 out of the 6 took a Stilnox tablet, which was banned by the AOC prior to the games, after Grant Hackett revealed problem he has after taking the sleeping pill.

All swimmer apologised earlier this year in a press conference. The video below shows part of the press conference.