| Just what is wrong with English football?
England has the wealthiest soccer league in the world, with matches screened across the globe and business tycoons from the United States, Russia and Asia lining up to own the clubs. So why can't England put 11 Englishmen on the field to succeed on the international level? Steve McClaren became the latest coach to pay the price Thursday, getting fired after England's 3-2 loss at home to Croatia meant the team failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championship. While the likes of World Cup champion Italy, Germany, Spain, France the Netherlands and Portugal will be out to try to take the title away from Greece, England's stars - including David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen - will have to watch the games on TV. The Football Association now has plenty of time to search for a coach who can lift the nation credited with establishing the modern game to the same level.
Wolves: Telfair, Marbury share a loss
Almost every night that Timberwolves guard Sebastian Telfair can remember, two spotlights beside his Coney Island housing-project court nicknamed so contradictorily shone bright at 10 o'clock, illuminating until midnight pickup games that had started there before noon.On Wednesday night, the Garden was silent, its asphalt and chain-link fencing lit by candles placed across the court in memory of the man who taught Telfair, his cousin Stephon Marbury and two generations of New York City street-ball players the game of basketball.If he had been back home in Brooklyn, Telfair could have seen the vigil remembering the man everyone simply knew as Mr. Lou from the bedroom where he was raised in the Surfside Gardens projects. Robert Williams -- a nursing-home manager by day and basketball mentors to hundreds by night and weekend -- died of a heart attack at age 64 on Tuesday afternoon in his apartment next to the Garden court."If you looked outside the window of my room, right down there was the court," Telfair said.
Eagles in wild-card logjam in NFC
PHILADELPHIA -- If the Eagles could have pulled off the greatest upset in NFL history Sunday night they would have been sitting by themselves in the NFC's second wild-card spot, just one game behind the Giants for the top wild-card spot. Instead, as quarterback A.J. Feeley's end-zone pass intended for Kevin Curtis was picked off by New England's Asante Samuel, the Eagles remained a game out of the wild-card picture and log-jammed with five other five-win teams. With five games left in the regular season, the NFC division titles are becoming clearer, Dallas has a three-game lead in the East; Green Bay has a four-game lead in the North; Tampa Bay has a two-game lead in the South; and Seattle has a two-game lead in the West. As far as the race for the two wild-card spots go, it's anybody guess.
Eagles in wild-card logjam in NFC
PHILADELPHIA -- If the Eagles could have pulled off the greatest upset in NFL history Sunday night they would have been sitting by themselves in the NFC's second wild-card spot, just one game behind the Giants for the top wild-card spot. Instead, as quarterback A.J. Feeley's end-zone pass intended for Kevin Curtis was picked off by New England's Asante Samuel, the Eagles remained a game out of the wild-card picture and log-jammed with five other five-win teams. With five games left in the regular season, the NFC division titles are becoming clearer, Dallas has a three-game lead in the East; Green Bay has a four-game lead in the North; Tampa Bay has a two-game lead in the South; and Seattle has a two-game lead in the West. As far as the race for the two wild-card spots go, it's anybody guess.
Balanced schedule on NHL agenda
The NHL owners have a busy agenda as they gather this week in picturesque Pebble Beach, Calif., but they'll still find time to squeeze in a little golf. The annual two-day board of governors meeting, the most important of the year, goes tomorrow and Friday and should finally bring about a new format for the schedule. It means every team will play one another starting next season. "There's quite a large sentiment for change," said Edmonton Oilers president and CEO Patrick LaForge. Other main items on this week's agenda include: - A vote on the sale of the Predators to a local group in Nashville. - A thorough discussion of the on-ice product. Scoring is down, but what should be done? - A look at the finances, including last season's final numbers and an early season projection on this season's revenue figures.
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