LONDON: David Beckham bought three shirts in a reported ?10,000 (US $15,500) shopping spree the day after his Manchester United football team was knocked out of the Champions Cup by Real Madrid.
Whether Beckham will add a white Real Madrid shirt to his collection in his next big money deal is the question worrying Reds fans and dominating the front and back page headlines in England. The Spanish football powerhouse are widely reported close to completing a ?38-million (US$59 million) bid for United’s England captain. Beckham would join a star-studded Real Madrid line-up that includes Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos and Raul Gonzalez.
The fact that United manager Alex Ferguson dropped Beckham to the substitutes’ bench for Wednesday night’s Madrid match, heightened speculation that the star midfielder will be leaving Old Trafford this summer. Beckham came off the bench in the second half to score two late goals as United came from behind to beat Madrid 4-3 in the Champions League quarter-finals. But Ferguson’s team, which lost the first leg 3-1 in Madrid, went out 6-5 on aggregate. After the final whistle, Beckham made a point of lingering on the pitch and saluting the home fans in what some interpreted as a farewell gesture.
One tabloid newspaper reported that, just 40 minutes after the match, Beckham was in talks with his agent to set up a move to Madrid. United issued a denial, saying the discussions had been pre-arranged and were related to one of his endorsements. Beckham would help increase Real Madrid’s commercial contacts in the lucrative Asian markets. During England’s World Cup campaign in Japan, thousands of Japanese fans wore either Manchester United or England shirts with Beckham’s name on the back. With his team coming to terms with yet another Champions Cup elimination, Beckham walked into a Giorgio Armani store in Manchester on Thursday and bought three shirts, a jacket and two pairs of pants.
Newspapers, which splashed photos of Beckham leaving the shop across front pages yesterday, said he had spent ?10,000 — one-tenth of his weekly salary. “On the morning after the night before,” the Daily Mail’s deputy show business editor wrote, “there was only one thing David Beckham could do to get over his humiliation. He had to go shopping.” Wearing a white T-shirt, a hair band and fashionably scruffy jeans, Beckham braved the Manchester rain to make his shopping trip alone. His wife, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, was in London recording an album. Some papers suggested Beckham’s very public appearance was his way of getting back at Ferguson for being benched.
TORONTO, Canada: Top Trinidadian jockey Emile Ramsammy takes top horse Wake At Noon to the post in the CAN$150,000 Vigil Stakes today at Woodbine, hoping to halt a three-race losing skid for Canada’s 2002 horse of the year.
The six-year-old Wake At Noon has failed to win since his victory in the Highlander Handicap at Woodbine on September 29 last year. In his season-opener last month, two-time Canadian champion Ramsammy and Wake At Noon ended fourth behind fellow Vigil entrant Krz Ruckus in the Briartic Handicap. Trained by Abraham Katryan, Wake At Noon has 16 wins from 37 starts in five seasons and has earned CAN$1.26 million for owner Bruno Schickedanz. Wake At Noon, a 2-1 favourite, was last year’s winner of the Vigil and among those standing in his way for a repeat win is the stakes winner Cheap Talk, who is on a three-race win streak.
Barbadian Patrick Husbands, Sovereign Award (outstanding jockey) winner for the past four years, will partner 4-1 chance Cheap Talk, whose last win came in November’s Kennedy Road Stakes, in which Wake At Noon finished third. Dino Luciani will partner Krz Ruckus (6-1), and other leading contenders include Boston Common (3-1) with Chantal Sutherland riding, and Forever Grand (6-1) with leading jockey Todd Kabel. After a month of the new season, Kabel — with 12 wins — leads a tight group at the top of the jockeys’ standings, stalked by Husbands (11), Ramsammy (10), and Luciani (9).
FRANKFURT: Germany’s Sports Confederation (DSB) yesterday issued an “urgent warning” against travel to the regions affected by the SARS virus, telling athletes to avoid competitions there.
The DSB, which is the German umbrella sports organisation, urged all of their member federations to refrain from sending athletes to the Asian regions affected by SARS, the potentially fatal severe acute respiratory syndrome. The body said it was reacting to numerous inquires following the “alarming news” from Asian countries. Bayern Munich, Germany’s leading football club, already has said they might cancel a planned tour of China July 12—18 for matches in Beijing and Shanghai.
COLOMBO: Skipper Stephen Fleming slammed a century yesterday as New Zealand overcame their fear of Sri Lanka’s spinners on the opening day of the first cricket Test at Colombo’s Saravannamuttu Stadium.
Fleming posted an unbeaten 112, his fifth century in 74 Tests, and shared a record 172-run stand with opener Mark Richardson to lift New Zealand to 207 for two at stumps. The Fleming-Richardson partnership, which thwarted Sri Lankan spinners for four and a half hours, eclipsed New Zealand’s previous best mark of 141 for the second wicket set six years ago by Matthew Horne and Bryan Young.
Enduring a painful hamstring that forced him to bat with a runner for most of his innings, Richardson thwarted the Sri Lankan spinners but fell for 85 to Chaminda Vaas’ first delivery with the second new ball. Fleming, who accumulated 359 runs during New Zealand’s last Test series here in 1998, issued a reminder to the Sri Lankan bowlers, who were banking on a spin-assisting wicket to trouble the Black Caps. “We did well to reach a position from where we can aspire to put pressure on Sri Lanka,” said Fleming. “It was an important toss to win and I think we batted quite well. Even though the scoring was a bit slow, we’ll be looking to accelerate tomorrow.”
New Zealand lost opener Horne for four to debutante seam bowler Prabath Nissanka, who joined the lineup in place of injured pacer Dilhara Fernando. But the left-handed duo of Richardson and Fleming adopted stonewalling tactics to defy the four-pronged spin attack. Both batsmen benefited from poor slip fielding by the Sri Lankans, who allowed one edged shot by either batsman off ace offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan to sail through the cordon. Given a life by first slip Kumar Sangakkara off Muralitharan when on 10, Fleming struck 14 boundaries in his unconquered 362-minute knock off 317 deliveries.
Richardson was put down by lone slip Mahela Jayawardena when on 34 and later saw wicketkeeper Romesh Kaluwitharana spill an edged shot off Muralitharan when on 65. This was his 14th half-century in 23 Tests, but he seemed to be exhausted by the extremely humid conditions when he was bowled by left-arm pacer Vass an half hour before the draw of stumps. Matthew Sinclair, who joined Fleming at the fall of Richardson, was batting on four at the close of play. Tillakaratne blamed his team’s poor catching for letting New Zealand call the shots on the opening day of the two-match series.
KINGSTOWN: Guyana’s captain Krishna Deosarran copped the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award while champions Jamaica snatched the top batting awards at the 2003 West Indies Under-15 cricket tournament that ended this week.
Deosarran’s spin bowling earned him nine wickets at a tournament-best average of 11.44 runs per wicket, and he also scored 164 runs to lead his team’s batting. Guyana ended joint top of the standings with Jamaica on eight points, but lost the title by virtue of their final match defeat against Jamaica, whose captain Jamie Trenchfield won the batting aggregate award. Trenchfield scored 223 runs including a highest score of 71 not out, and his team-mate Zeniffe Fowler won the highest individual scorer award for his unbeaten 109 against Barbados — the only century of the tournament.
Deosarran, Barbadian Kemar Roach, Visham Ramroop of Trinidad and Tobago, and the Leeward Islands’ Justin Athanaze, all ended with nine wickets, but Deosarran snatched the bowling award because of his superior average. Fast bowler Roach won the best bowling performance award for his six for 37 against the Leeward Islands, and the Windward Islands’ Seon Sween was named the most outstanding wicket-keeper. Trinidad and Tobago, unseated as champions and denied a fourth consecutive title, were named the most disciplined team. The team MVP awards were won by Trenchfield (Jamaica), Deosarran (Guyana), Athanaze (Leewards), Javed Mohammed (Trinidad and Tobago), Jed Yearwood (Barbados), and Lauron Francois (Windwards).
Final Standings:
Teams M W L P
1 Jamaica 5 4 1 8
2 Guyana 5 4 1 8
3 TT 5 3 2 6
4 Windwards 5 2 3 4
5 Barbados 5 2 3 4
6 Leewards 5 – 5 0
TRINIDAD and Tobago’s internationally-rated sprinters Darryl Brown, Marc Burns and Ato Boldon are expected to compete at the upcoming Hampton International Games.
Yesterday it was revealed that the Ministry and Sport and Youth Affairs have agreed to sponsor the return home of the speed trio from their bases in the United States for the Games on May 3 and 4. And Clyde Forde, chief co-ordinator and manager of the 2003 Games confirmed that Rawle Raphael, chairman of the Games, had secured sponsorship for the athletes and was desperately trying to contact them. “We understand that Brown returned to the US after the Carifta Games to run at the Penn Relays while Burns is attending university there. Boldon is at his base in Los Angeles,” said Forde.
Meanwhile Forde one of the most knowledgeable athletics officials in Trinidad and Tobago has been assisting in the organisation of the Hampton Games slated for the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo. The former secretary of the National Amateur Athletics Association (NAAA), an expert on the interpretation of the organisation’s constitution, is at the forefront of soliciting funds for the successssful staging of the only international track and field competition in Trinidad and Tobago. Hampton organisers have been urging Government for a multi-million dollar grant/loan to made a bold bid for Grand Prix status. However a strong financial commitment from Government has not been forthcoming. In the interim Forde has been making the rounds successsfully gaining the support of corporate organisations to make the 2003 Hampton Games a reality.
PENNSYLVANIA: Trinidad and Tobago’s Candice Scott and Elva Goulbourne of Jamaica, set new records at the 109th Penn Relays on Thursday.
Scott shattered women’s collegiate hammer throw record when she posted 68.23 metres, and Goulbourne landed the long jump title at 6.65 metres at the Franklin Field Stadium, University of Pennsylvania. The Caribbean secured three other gold medals through Jamaicans Sheryl Morgan, Kedine Geddes and Peaches Roach in the High School category.
Scott whirled the hammer almost four metres beyond the previous record of 64.70 metres by Lisa Misipeka in 1998. “It’s great, but I think I could have done better,” Scott said. “I’m happy, but not satisfied,” added Scott, who topped her Florida team-mate Erin Gilreath (67.41). Goulbourne, the reigning Commonwealth Games and NCAA Indoor champion, was winning her third Penn Relays title — the first for her Jamaican High School, Dinthill Technical in 1999, and then for Auburn University last year.
Goulbourne topped Victoria Rybalko (6.57) for gold and now owns both the college women’s and high school girls’ long jump records of the Penn Relays. Roach, fresh from her CARIFTA record 1.86-metre win in Port-of-Spain last weekend, won the High School high jump gold at 1.77 metres over her teammate Shaunette Davidson, while Geddes (6.24) and Peta-Gay Beckford (6.17) did a Jamaica one-two in the long jump. Morgan won the 400-metre hurdles in 58.18 seconds.
CALL him “Mr South”, call him “Mr Sport”, call him what you like.
But John Alleyne was all that and more.
This doyen of newspapermen, who wrote everything including the sport he so dearly loved, interestingly, tennis, has gone to meet his maker at the ripe age of four score and one —- 81. And at his bedside on Thursday when he said goodbye to this world, was one of his “sons”, Dr Alvin Henderson. During his lifetime, Alleyne ,who also headed the Guardian South Bureau in San Fernando for many years, fought tooth and nail for the upliftment of sport in the southland. There was no happier man when South triumphed over North in the annual Red Cross Cup football match. No mention of a national team, whether it be football, athletics, cricket, tennis, golf, hockey, basketball or tiddly winks could be made with Alleyne around, and without him making a pitch for a Southerner. He loved his sport, and Alleyne travelled extensively to all the Caribbean islands to watch and support Trinidad and Tobago.
For many years, Alleyne was president of the Southern Football Association and championed the cause of Son Baptiste, Rawlins “Cax” Baptiste, Doyle Griffith, Delbert Charleau, Ivan Carter, Watty Douglas, Ivan de Gourville, Alvin “Golden Boy” Rodriguez and more recently, Rawle Aimey, Pat Small, Aldwyn Ferguson, Peter Mitchell, the Murren brothers Selwyn and Kent, Leo “Twinkle Toes” Brewster,Warren Archibald, Leroy de Leon and Wilfred “Bound To Score” Cave and many others not mentioned. But he did not rest at just being SFA boss and a member of the then Trinidad and Tobago Football Association executive. He also rose to the vice-presidency under Ken Galt, now deceased, in the early 1970s. After Galt died in office Alleyne assumed the office from 1978-1985.
Alleyne will be always be remembered as one of the pioneers in local football administration. Current president Oliver Camps paid glowing tribute to Alleyne saying: “We will remember John for his strong commitment and dedication to the game. “He was one of those administrators who fought for what he believed in and was always keen on seeking improvements. “He carried with him a wealth of knowledge and information, most of which we are benefiting from today. “He shall be greatly missed by all in the football fraternity,” said a solemn Camps.
FLIPPER FC have continued their unbeaten run in the First Division of the UWI Employees Super League football tournament with a double victory.
Last Saturday, the Flipper lads shut out Futgof 3-0 on goals by Keene McMillan, Sekan Long and Kevon Carter. The following day, they whipped KS Environmental IRS 3-1 with Andy Smart, Sekan Long and Robert Durham doing the scoring. Hamad Abdul Malik hit a the consolation goal for the losers. Flipper now have 16 points from six matches, five more than nearest challengers Paradise FC who also scored a “double” at the weekend. Paradise slammed Combine FC 7-0 on Saturday with Sheldon Taylor scoring a hat-trick. Joel Fraser, Dane Hospedales, Jesse Defour and Clancy Burns registered one each, and on Sunday they stopped Student Activity Centre 4-1.
Both Taylor and Fraser got “doubles”, while Marvin Bagoo got the Students’ reply. In Premier Division (Group One) action, Crab Connection clawed to the top of the standings on goal-difference with a 2-0 victory over Falcon Crest with goals from Marlon Warner and Kevin Baptiste. Harvard were held 2-2 by Police and are locked on the same number of points with Crabs. Keron Clarke and Sayid Freitas scored for the Harvard men while Brent Lyons and Trevaughn Mitchell hit back for the lawmen. Maloney Two Touch edged El Tucuche 1-0 to replace them at the top of Group Two. Brent Antoine got the winning goal. The Maloney men now have 11 points, one more than the “Mountineers”.
Other results:
Premier Division (1) —- EAST SAN JUAN (1) Anthony Pitman vs AMEN (1) Darwin Cornelius; CLUB COCONUTS STINGERS (3) Joel Gibbons, Dexter Gill, Ronald Pierre vs HOUSE OF DREAD (2) Winston Beraza, Joey Durant; LEGAL BOYS (1) Darien Daniel vs DOUBLE DEUCE (0).
First Division “A” —- FUTGOF (1) Adrian Watson vs ECONOMY STRIKERS (1) Yosif Ramlogan; 2ND BATTALION (2) Kendall Simmons, Kenny Duncan vs COMBINE FC (2) Stephen Stoute 2; ECONOMY STRIKERS (3) Ian Jones Glenroy Garcia, Eric James vs KS ENVIRONMENTAL IRS (2) Sergio Guerra, Ian McAuley; 2ND BATTALION (2) Rawle St. Louis, D. Warren vs STUDENT ACTIVITY (1) Laird Agard.
First Division “B” —- AUGUSTOWN (0) vs PRINCES TOWN (0).
Over-40 Division —- PARAMOAUNT NATIONAL UNITY (2) Irvin Thomas, Emile Morris vs ONLY STARS (0); TSTT (0) vs MOOSAI FC (0); PIONEERS (2) Keith Butler, Kenrick Fleary vs UWI (0).
THE 41st annual National Primary Schools Track and Field Championships, comprising eight zones throughout Trinidad and Tobago, take place on May 22 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.
The event will be sponsored by Nestle Trinidad and Tobago Limited —- venue of the launching on Thursday —- and held under the patronage of the Ministry of Education. According to Victor Hunte, treasurer of the National Primary Schools Track and Field Association, “the Championships guarantee continuing development of talent in the primary school”. “It is the major avenue through which young athletes exhibit their skills acquired through the limited physical education programme,” he continued. “It provides an avenue for national, regional and international competitions.”
Among the objectives of the Championships are to guarantee continuing development of talent in the primary school; preparing local young athletes for junior, national, regional and international competitions; encouraging participation of primary school students in the competitive aspect of physical education and sport and ensuring that children throughout the country are exposed on an equitable basis to advanced techniques and approaches to training. Hunte revealed: “The competition is conducted from the level of the school, through the Zonal Games, leading to the District Games then to the National Championships.”
The competing zones are Port-of- Spain and environs, Caroni, St George East, North East, St Patrick, South East, Victoria and sister isle Tobago, and athletes will participate in four age groups – Under-9, 9-11, 11-13 and 13-15, with Victor and Victrix Ludorum trophies being presented to the top athletes in each division. Twenty-four field and 35 track events will be held on the day, while trophies will be presented to the winning March Past team and the winning district.
