By Andy Cole 11 February 2010 Portsmouth were given a seven-day stay of execution yesterday at the High Court from being put into administration, or worse, but their financial problems aren’t new; they have roots dating back to at least 2006. As somebody who signed for Pompey that year I can give you an insight, […]

By Brian Sears 10 February 2010 Omens, omens. The last time Chelsea and Cardiff met in an FA Cup match (in 1927), we all know what else happened that year. That’s right. Saudi Arabia became independent of the United Kingdom. (And Cardiff went on to win the Cup). If you’re interested in such ephemera and […]

By Nick Harris 10 February 2010 Fears that Portsmouth would today become the first Premier League club ever to enter administration while being an active member of English football’s elite have abated, just slightly, after they were given a seven-day stay of execution by the High Court to sort out their financial affairs. The club’s […]

By Nick Harris 9 February 2010 Just as America is ahead in the all-time Summer Olympics gold medals table and an American (Michael Phelps) is way ahead in the all-time summer Games individual golds table, so one nation is also ahead at the Winter Olympics, in the collective and individual senses. And as the build-up […]

9 February 2010 John McEnroe has always stopped short of proclaiming Roger Federer to be the greatest tennis player of all time, but no longer. “Roger is just the greatest player of all time,” he said today. “He is the most beautiful player I’ve ever seen and I don’t ever get tired of watching him. Rod […]

9 February 2010 Can you identify the sporting arena? We take an aerial view of a ball park, football stadium, marathon course, golf course, Games venue, race track, iconic arena, athletic theatre (some literally theatres), pitch, park, stretch of water or wherever else sport takes place. And we ask you to identify it with the […]

8 February 2010 The Rajasthan Royals IPL franchise is to establish partnerships with other cricket teams around the world to start what is being marketed as “the world’s first global sporting franchise”. The BBC reports on the development, which centres on Twenty20 cricket and was launched at Lord’s today, in this article. Existing sides in […]

By Nick Harris 8 February 2010 The New Orleans Saints’ victory over the Indianapolis Colts in last night’s Super Bowl in Miami was the most-watched TV show in American history, beating the 27-year-old ratings record set by the final edition of M.A.S.H in 1983. Figures just released show that yesterday’s game attracted 106.7m viewers in […]

By Nick Harris 7 February 2010 Over two consecutive weekends, a major sports event in Britain has been central to a landmark 3D broadcast. A week ago it was Arsenal’s Premier League match against Manchester United, which became the world’s first sports event to be shown live on television in 3D to the general public. […]

5 February 2010 At 23 stone, he’s not easy to miss but there may still be people out there who haven’t heard the tale of Asahoryu, the champion sumo wrestler who has resigned amid claims he made a drunken attack on a man at a Tokyo nightclub. English football, with its current obsession about John […]