The Sporting Hack

It all started with a Russian oligarch, and now it’s every billionaire’s toy, it is a Premier League football club. Blackburn Rovers were the latest victims to be ‘bought out’ by foreign owners. Venky’s Ltd are an Indian company who have made their money in poultry processing and now feel the time is right to invest in a team from a Lancashire mill town. Barring significant levels of migration from the sub-continent, Blackburn has little in common with these rich guys. How will these owners benefit the hardened fan on the terraces of Ewood Park then? It’s more than likely that a new foreign manager could replace ‘Big’ Sam Allardyce to instil a continental footballing philosophy in Lancashire. And with it he brings an array of overpaid ‘stars’ that are only there for the pay and have no affinity for the club. This would result in an increase in season ticket prices, which fans could barely afford. The average wage for some parts of Blackburn is £20,000 per annum, the sort of money t...

With only hours to go until FIFA’s vote over the destination of the 2018 and 2022 world cups, Spain delivered their ‘ace up the sleeve’ on Monday night which may sway the panel to vote ‘Iberia 2018’. The venue was the iconic Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona, one of the centre pieces of the joint bid, where the hosts took on fierce rivals Real Madrid in a league encounter. Pep Guardiola’s home grown Catalonian’s showed not just La Liga what they were made of, but the rest of Europe as they destroyed and outclassed Jose Mourinho’s hapless Real Madrid in a 5-0 romp. It would be hard to find anyone who wasn’t impressed by the sort of spectacle Spain’s top two provided. No doubt FIFA president Sepp Blatter will have been salivating as Argentine Lionel Messi orchestrated Barca’s dominant midfield that included unsung maestros Xavi and Andres Iniesta. David Villa was the cherry on top of the cake as he chipped in with a brace to cap a performance that will long be remembered. At times Ba...

The reputation of world boxing came under intense scrutiny within the UK after Saturday night’s farcical Pay-per-View heavyweight world title fight between David Haye and Audley Harrison. Nearly 800,000 people paid their £15 to be disappointed by a non-event. With the challenger Harrison only landing one punch in the three rounds that the fight lasted, Haye retained his title in the one sided affair many had predicted and theyy could be forgiven for letting their belief of the sport waver. However, faith was restored hours later in Texas, USA, 4000 miles away from the disappointment that was ‘the Best of Enemies’ at the M.E.N. arena in Manchester. The controversial Mexican Antonio Margarito, who had previously been banned, fought one of the greats of the game, Manny Pacquiao, for the vacant WBC Super welterweight belt on Sky TV. The checkered background of Margarito, who had fought Shane Mosely nearly two years ago with suspect taping similar to ‘plaster of Paris’ underneath h...

Laid back, calm, relaxed, yet also arrogant. These are common traits amongst the world’s fastest men. Usain Bolt in particular, has every reason to be the above because he has been dubbed ‘the best’. Shades of all conquering sportsman such as Mohammad Ali and Tiger Woods seem apparent in a man who people have described as one of the greatest sportsmen ever. But for all the characteristics of his personality, one thing must be questioned, just how does he do it? His physique for a start is apparently primed for sprinting. His height gives him an understandable advantage over smaller, more muscular men. But where does the ‘fast twitch’ fibres in his legs come from? His ancestors descend from east Africa, where there is a hotbed of world class marathon runners. Without fast twitch fibres in his legs, he would be perfect for running long distances, the long legs, and the large lungs for example. He stands out, there’s no doubt about that. How is a man able to gain fast twitch fibres wh...

Michael Cowan. There are rumours that in the days gone by, men with pregnant wives would request their newborn baby be born in Yorkshire. This was because if it was male, he would be eligible to represent the county’s cricket team. At least former Yorkshire player Mike Cowan’s parents didn’t have to go to such lengths. He was born in Leeds in 1933 but moved to Doncaster at an early age. His left arm fast bowling was spotted in the local leagues and he was invited to trial by Yorkshire. Cowan recalls, “I played my first game at Lords on the same day as the famous Stanley Matthews cup final. There were people with radios pressed to their ears, listening to events from Wembley. Yorkshire won and whilst I made some of the headlines, I was soon brought back to earth. My first home game was against the Australians – 0-104 and 2 ducks. I learned the cruel game of cricket within a week. Keith Miller who had scored 170 not out was coming off at Headingley when he tapped my backside with...