what i’ve missed

1. the last round of matches of the africa cup of nations.  egypt wins in a low-scoring game (hello, just 1 goal scored!) against cameroon.  i saw the winning goal and thought it a fitting cap for a team that works together and deserves the title yet again.
2. novak battling against flu and dizziness to give serbia hope in overcoming the mighty russian team in moscow for this year’s first round of davis cup ties… novak retiring in the third set of his singles rubber against davydenko.  serbia remains in the world group but is out of contention for the rest of the year.  concentrate on the slams, my dear nole, the slams!  (just don’t take the french away from my rafa but do take the US open from roger)
3. wales hanging on by a thread to keep its hopes alive in the six nations rugby league.  scotland going out of contention.  italy standing no chance against england.  england’s strength sorely suspect moving forward with the rest of its matches.
4. while i was in barcelona, barca had an away game in sevilla.  they drew that match, practically handing the primera liga title to real madrid, who routed valladolid 7-0 on the same day.  while all this was happening, i was strolling down la rambla with my family, on the lookout for paella, chocolate con churros, and just any drink to wash it all down.
5. manchester city beats manchester united.  does arsenal cement its place atop the table by beating everton?  will know when i read the news tomorrow.
6. i’ve been gone just five days but in the world of sports, an entire generation has passed me by already.
7. this week in the wta:  the proximus diamond games kick off in antwerp, with justine henin making her first ever appearance at the event.  she plays her first match on thursday.  if she wins that one, i’ll be watching her on friday during the evening session.  my beloved baasti has already agreed to babysit my boys with the help of the lovely cleofe.  thank you both for your priceless help!
8. next week:  a fully loaded draw of atp top ranked players congregate in ahoy, rotterdam for the abn-amro world tennis tournament.  i have tickets still unsold for the afternoon session of the semi-finals and am hoping that someone will buy those off me.  the window is getting smaller… i hope someone does buy my tickets! *fingers crossed, crossing self in prayer*  i hope to see novak make it to the quarterfinals at least…  oh well, we’ll see.

the RBS six nations cup has started!

the rugby 6 nations tournament has gotten underway, and the first rugby news reported a come from behind victory for the underdog wales triumphing over england; subsequently, france prevailed over scotland.  other teams included in the tournament are ireland and italy, who will square off to complete the first round of matches.  the official site of the tournament features news reports, interviews, matches and results, plus interactive games and podcasts section for six nations rugby fans.  when the african nations cup has finished (it’s in the semifinals stage already) and super bowl mania has died down (it’s half time as i write this, 7-3, new england patriots-new york giants.  go brady!  go pats!), there is still hardcore team ball to be played out and it’s back on european turf.

the official site is laid out against relaxing blue with huge graphic buttons for easy viewing and clicking.  any true fan of the sport will be happily negotiating the site and its many features. it sure beats my own favourite source of tennis news, which i have only just navigated successfully of late owing to familiarity.  this rugby site is a refreshing sight for new eyes and a welcome  haven for established followers of the game.  come visit them in the next few weeks and watch the excitement and fever explode!