On The Attack Pt 14 - Greed, Deceit and Jamaica

Welcome to another edition of The Sporting Hack’s ‘On The Attack’, where we bring you the latest news and opinions from around the globe. As mentioned in previous posts, we are looking to expand all the time, so feel free to pay us a visit on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thesportinghack or tweet us your thoughts on Twitter @thesportinghack, it would be great to hear from you, wherever you are in the world.

Benched: Schwarzer may get used to this

Mark Schwarzer’s gentle stroll down the King’s Road from Fulham to Chelsea is actually more like a mad dash for one thing and one thing only...game time! The 40 year old’s contract with the Craven Cottage outfit had expired and the Australian first choice goalkeeper – who will be between the sticks for the Socceroos come their World Cup campaign next year in Brazil – has moved to compete with the Blues number one, Petr Cech. Call us cynical to suggest that he’s only gone for the money, but could it really be that Schwarzer wants to focus solely on, and rekindle his love affair with, the League Cup, which he won with Middlesbrough in 2004? It’s a nice little bonus for him, while he warms the bench at the Bridge, unfortunately he’s tried and failed to fool his home nation.

"I'm alright here thanks"

Only time will tell whether Stuart Broad made the correct decision not to voluntarily walk when he nicked debutant Ashton Agar to slip in the first Ashes test at Trent Bridge. The wrong decision was made by umpire Aleem Dar, of that there is no doubt. The Australians harked on with a grievance about the decision and had no more reviews left (such is the nature of the beast) as if they had never knowingly stood their ground or wouldn’t do so again in such circumstances. Broad can cheat or show as many displays of relative gamesmanship as he likes, just so long as he doesn’t have the audacity or hypocrisy to complain if, and when, the tables are turned on him.

Powell: looking over his shoulder

While the focus of anti-doping committees may be well and truly fixed on the Tour de France at the moment, the news that Olympic 100m sprinters Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell have failed drugs test only yields a slight eyebrow raise. Powell, who tested positive for the same banned stimulant as fellow Jamaican sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown on the list of drug users, is arguably the biggest name on the list in an unsurprising sting on the Jamaican athletics team. Sherone Simpson also failed a test in June’s Jamaican championships. For a long time, The Sporting Hack has had reservations about the legitimacy of Usain Bolt’s exploits (Amazing feat or just another cheat?) and even if Bolt is clean, his fellow countrymen and women are doing little to embellish the nature of his astonishing victories.

And while we’re at it...There are some characters in the Tour de France without doubt, but few can rival Slovakian sprinter Peter Sagan of Cannondale for his abilities on a bicycle. Streets ahead of his rivals in pursuit of the coveted green jersey, which signifies the best sprinter throughout the Tour, Sagan – who often celebrates with a chicken dance while crossing the line – punctuated Sunday afternoon’s peddle up Mont Ventoux with this.