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| Cameroon at practice |
For a month we have been following the great games
of the Total Africa Cup of Nations. That
competition wraps up today, with the Championship game to be played between
Egypt and Cameroon at the Stade d'Angondjé, in the suburbs of
Libreville, Gabon. Egypt
have conceded just one regular goal in the tournament, even though they lost their
goalkeeper, Ahmed El Shenawy, to injury in their opening game. His replacement,
Essam El Hadary, is 44, and has had the time of his life. Cameroon’s goalkeeper, Fabrice Ondoa, only
turned 21 in December. While Ondoa shows
a lot of promise, El Hadary’s won his
first Africa Cup in 1998. Age vs. youth,
East vs. West... With the many contrasts
inherent in the game, Sunday's championship game will be a classic contest of
the ages.
Dubai:
The Omega Dubai Desert Classic continues today with Round 4, part of European
Golf Tour. Friday's Round 2 competition
quickly became "Freakish Friday" as a freak storm swept through and
suspended play. The round was completed
Saturday morning, and pushed back Round 3 play.
Dubai has become a hotspot for night golf, but the end of Round 3, well
after dark, was a challenge to the golfers who remained on the course. "At the end it was very, very dark, I’ll tell you
that," said Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia, "When we were walking on
17, I thought ‘well, it will probably be a little dark but not too bad’. But
then it gets dark very, very quickly here." Despite the darkness, he stretched his lead
going into the final round to three shots.
Tiger Woods has withdrawn from the competition.
In Rugby, the Six Nations
competition kicked off this weekend, and the current iteration will be
contested on weekends through March 18th.
Italy will take on Wales this afternoon at Rome's Olympic Stadium. Brendan Venter, Italy’s new defence coach, was
instrumental in the London Saracens'
turnaround in recent years, from losers to European Champions. Italy
may have a chance to be a real force in Six Nations competition this year with
their new defence coach, we shall know if they have started on that journey
this afternoon. Italian eyes will look elsewhere, this afternoon, to the Italian Soccer "Derby" matchup of Iuventus vs. Inter. In Dutch Eredivisie play this afternoon, Netherlands league leader Feyenoord Rotterdam takes on Twente Enschede this afternoon at Twente's home stadium De Grolsch Veste.
Super Bowl LI: The New
England Patriots vs. The Atlanta Falcons at
NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. This is the third Super Bowl in Houston and
fourth in Texas. Four-time champion Quarterback
Tom Brady and the Patriots contest their record ninth Super Bowl. The Atlanta Falcons were the 2016 NFL leaders
in scoring, while having one of the worst defences in the league. The Patriots, on the other hand, had one of
the most rigorous defences in the league, allowing the fewest points in the NFL. Boston College alum and star quarterback Matt
Ryan, WR Julio Jones and NFL sacks leader Vic Beasley star for Atlanta.
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| Mitchell Starc got shaved |
While you were sleeping, in International Cricket, Australia
continued their tour of New Zealand, with their 3rd ODI contest: New Zealand vs.
Australia at Hamilton. New Zealand won by 24 runs,
garnering 281/9 (50.0 overs), while Australia scored 257 (47.0 overs). New Zealand Team Captain Kane Williamson said,
after the game "Both
games were fairly similar. The wickets were similar, on these grounds you're
never out of the game. Australia showed why they're a top side, at times we
felt we had them, but they kept coming hard. Credit to our guys for sucking up
the pressure."
We'll leave you with
that thought.
