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Transfer watch
Ronaldo to Real, eh? And Kaka too. Not to mention Manchester City signing Gareth Barry. But did you hear about Burnley snapping up Tyrone Mears from Derby?Watching the big-money buying antics of Real Madrid certainly provides some entertainment for the long summer football-less months, but the fun is short-lived. The real fascinat…
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Harmison looks on, and Hauritz's downturn puts Australia in a spin
Do you think, after such sports-related injuries as tennis elbow, runner's knee and PlayStation thumb making their way into medical parlance, we will soon be talking about people suffering from selectors' headache?If so, Geoff Miller and his cohorts must have been fighting over the Paracetamol yesterday, when they met to decide up…
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Ponting understands the press game
I had the chance to listen to Ricky Ponting's press conference yesterday and I was impressed by his combination of honesty and tact. I don't especially like the guy, but it was refreshing to hear one piece of level-headedness in particular.There was a lot of talk in both Ponting and Strauss' conferences about 'aura', and whether A…
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Observer observers need to look beyond sentiment
So, then, The Observer. National institution or financial dead duck? Ongoing liberal tradition or failing piece of press history? Last hope for decent Sunday newspapers or... well, you get the picture.The problem is that many people don't. The news - or more appropriately, rumours - that Guardian-owned Sunday staple The Observer m…
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One step forward, two years back
England's Test and one-day squads to tour South Africa clearly show the selectors taking everything into account. They have one eye firmly on the future, looking to develop younger players. They have one eye on the past, looking at previous tourists ready for an England recall. And they have one eye on the present, glued to this s…
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Albums Of The Decade: #5
Howl - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club [2005]Where the hell did this come from?After two albums with good singles but on the whole worthy of the description 'not bad', a pretty decent but by no means special rock band suddenly delved deep into their hearts, found their inner blues, which I don't think anyone thought existed in them, a…
