Wade Wins UK Open
June 9, 2008
James Wade claimed his third major title after defeating Gary Mawson 11-7 in the final of the UK Open. Wade collected £35,000 for winning the competition.
Afterwards he said…
“I’m not a big show off. I’m a quiet sort of guy and didn’t want a big fuss after winning. Seriously though, it’s a massive win for me, I’m a young bloke and I want to make myself secure while I’m winning.
Mawson was gracious in defeat and afterwards he talked about his nickname Rafael Benitez…
“Thanks to my beard the crowd nicknamed me Rafael Benitez throughout the tournament and that support really spurred me on. “Rafa is also very successful in cup matches, perhaps that was my lucky omen. ”I’m disappointed to have gone so far and lost though.”
Mawson had a great tournament, he defeated Barney in the semis after the Dutchman had defeated Taylor so I’m sure it isn’t the last we will se of “Rafael Benitez”.
Boston take 2-0 lead
June 9, 2008
Boston Celtics avoided embarrassment after nearly throwing away a 22-point lead, in the end they won 108-102. The victory gives Boston a 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
Boston led 83-61 but the Lakers pulled it back to 104-100 with just over a minute remaining. However Boston hung on to the delight of the home crowd.
Bryant plays well…
If LA Lakers are to win, they have to rely on Kobe Bryant, they did and amazingly it wasn’t enough to win. Kobe had his best game of the season after netting 30 points. Bryant was poor in the first game but looked back to best in this one.
Pierce puts in another good performance…
In the first game Paul Pierce was carried off but returned and his team won the game. This wasn’t quite so dramatic but still he was brilliant scoring 28 points for his team.
Only three teams have come back from 2-0 down in the final and if Lakers are going to make it four then they have to improve
Croatia make steady start
June 9, 2008
Croatia put in an ok performance to defeat a very poor Austria side. The only goal of the came in the fourth minute when Luka Modric converted a penalty after Austrian defender Rene Aufhauser had a moment of madness when he barged over Ivica Olic in the third minute.
The Croats manager said…
“This win will boost our confidence. We dominated but we were not able to get a second goal and finish them off.”
In fairness to Austria they should have got a draw but the occasion got the better of them. The more experience players like Emmanuel Pogatez and Rene Aufhauser had nightmares and although the crowd turned out in thousands and cheered their team on, nut to no avail and Austria will have to seriously improve if they are to challenge Poland next time out
Podolski sinks poles
June 9, 2008
Germany put in a good performance to defeat Poland. Lukas Podolski who was born in Poland scored a fantastic brace to see off the Poles.
The goals…
Poland were trying to play the offside trap and in the first 20 minutes it worked. Until Gomez put Miroslav Klose in and he squared the ball to Podolski who made no mistake in slotting the ball in the empty net. The Germans had two wait until 72nd minute to finish off the Poles when Klose miskicked the ball and Podolski seized onto the ball and made no mistake from 15 yards out.
After the match, the German captain Michael Ballack spoke…
“It is a very good start for us. Going into the match we knew it was a difficult game for us but we have come through well, From the start we were aggressive and passed the ball very well. We made very few mistakes.
Germany now look to Croatia who also won their opening game thanks to a Luka Modric penalty.
