Monday, June 19, 2006
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MLB
·
R Johnson has an 8-2 personal and 10-5 team
record to Philadelphia
·
Arroyo 8-3 personal record, 10-4 team and a 2.51
ERA
·
J Johnson (Clev) 3-7
personal, 4-9 team record, 6.00 ERA
·
NYY over 10-5 with R
Johnson
·
Detroit
under 9-4 with Bonderman
·
Milwaukee
10-5 with Davis
World Cup
Here are news and notes from Godspicks.com private
clipboard. They are compiled from
hometown newspapers and the team’s own press releases.
Togo-Switzerland
Aljazeera.net
There has been drama ahead of the match, as has been the
case with Togo
throughout the tournament, with the Africans threatening to boycott the match
over ongoing pay disputes. FIFA has since stepped in
and Togo will
play at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund,
but their preparation has been disrupted due to missing their scheduled flight.
With coach Otto Pfister walking
out on the squad three days before their first match against South
Korea only to return on the eve of the game,
you would think the worst was behind Togo.
Apoel defender Jean-Paul Abalo
will miss the match through suspension, with the Sparrow Hawks again set to
rely on big games from Arsenal forward Emmanuel Adebayor
and first match goal scorer Mohamed Kader. Switzerland
played out a 0-0 draw with former World Champions France in their opening match
with the defensive aspect of their team looking very much on song.
Saudi Arabia-Ukraine
Monstersandcritics.com
Though before the tournament began the East Europeans were
a Group H co-favourite, the Ukrainians go into the
game against Saudi Arabia
damaged, coming off a 4-0 drubbing by Spain
last week, and coach Oleg Blokhin
facing with tough roster problems, especially in the defence.
The Saudis in contrast are healthy and playing some of their best football ever
in an international tournament, although the side must still be regretting its Wednesday draw to Tunisia,
losing the game’s lead in the final minutes. Saudi
Arabia coach Marcos Paqueta
singled out weather as a critical factor in the upcoming tie, expressing fears
falling temperatures in Hamburg
could cut into the performance of his team. ‘I like the rain but I don’t want
to play in the rain,’ Paqueta said. ‘Playing in rain
is very dangerous for us. I need the sun to come out for us.’ Germany’s
heat wave fell off as the week end approached, to be replaced by cool temperatures
and intermittent rain. Saudi players preparing for the Ukraine
match on Friday were wearing clothes suitable for the Middle Eastern winter,
including sweat shirts, jackets, long trousers and even ski caps. The
Ukrainians ran aground against Spain
last week, in part, after players and staff abandoned the side’s traditional
high-energy pressing tactics because of fears of exhaustion in face of 30
degree temperatures prevailing at the time.
Spain-Tunisia
NZHerald.com
Spain
are out to prove that their scintillating start to the
World Cup was no fluke when they play Tunisia
in their second Group H match. Luis Aragones’ side
dismantled much-fancied Ukraine
4-0 on Friday, raising hopes that, after half a century of World Cup
underachievement, 2006 could be their year. The comprehensive nature of Spain’s
victory, which extended their unbeaten run to 23 games, means Aragones is unlikely to make any changes to the starting
XI. Tunisia, who needed a last-gasp goal from defender Radhi
Jaidi to snatch a 2-2 draw against Saudi Arabia in
their opening game, are confident they can produce a much-improved performance
against the group leaders.
Once more Tunisia
will have to do without injured leading striker Francileudo
dos Santos. The Brazilian-born
player, who has scored 18 goals in 28 matches, is out with a shin injury. Their
French coach, Roger Lemerre, believes qualification
will rest on his side’s final match against Ukraine
and has hinted that he may rest some players.
Now at their fourth World Cup finals, Tunisia
have won just one of their previous 10 games (when
they beat Mexico
3-1 in their debut in Argentina
in 1978).
