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Super
Eagles coach, Samson Siasia has called on his players to live up to the
national team’s Super Eagles name as he starts rebuilding the team,
beginning with today’s friendly against Sierra Leone.

In what was his
first official meeting with the team on Tuesday morning at the Eko
Hotel and Suites, Lagos the former Super Eagles striker made it clear
that there would be no ‘big man’ in the side, and that everyone was
equal in the team beginning from Joseph Yobo right down to the players
from the Nigerian league.

“Yobo is our captain, but there are no big players here. Any big player must show the bigness on the pitch,” said Siasia.

“This is a new Super Eagles, and you must fly high.

“Nigerians want to
see a new team, with a new and positive attitude and we have our work
cut out trying to meet the high expectations of a people who have
tremendous passion for the game.”

The golden era

In recent years,
the Super Eagles have become a shadow of the all-conquering side of the
1990’s which won the African Cup of Nations in 1994, including two
successive second round appearances at the FIFA World Cup.

Siasia played a key
role in most of the national team’s success stories of that period and,
in the light of the team’s poor showings, especially at last year’s
World Cup in South Africa, he has charged the players to go all out and
return the Super Eagles to the top of the game in Africa beginning with
the game against the Leone Stars.

“We must respect
one another in this set-up,” he continued. “We also have to work hard.
It is important that we get some good results as we start in order that
our people will forget the disappointment of the FIFA World Cup finals
in South Africa.

“You may think the
Sierra Leone match is a friendly and a small game, but Nigerians will
begin to judge us from this first game, and it is very, very important
that we show great spirit. We must fight for the ball and play for one
another.

“This match will
prepare us for the African Nations Cup qualifying match against
Ethiopia coming up next month. And we all know we must win all our
remaining matches in the qualifying series.

“What I know and what I can tell you for sure is that Nigerians are
good people. If you show the spirit and you fight for the ball, they
will support you all the way,” he added.

The
French national football team, under Laurent Blanc, are still in the
process of re-building their name after a dismal showing in South
Africa in 2010. When they line out to face Brazil today, Blanc and his
players will know that further progress will be marked by a positive
result. France beat Brazil to win the one and only World Cup trophy in
1998 and also won by a Thierry Henry goal in the 2006 World Cup quarter
finals, so it will be a psychological boost for the French to triumph
once again.

Karim Benzema and
Matthieu Valbuena scored the two goals at Wembley that secured a
morale-boosting 2-1 win over England last November.

Coach Laurent
Blanc, has been playing up this match by saying his players will give
their all to win today’s match. “As a player, you don’t have many
opportunities to face Brazil in your career,” Blanc told reporters in
France.

“They are one of
the two best teams in the world. It’s going to be difficult. Brazil
have a multitude of good players. To measure oneself against the best
is the best way to make progress. It will be a good gauge,” he
continued.

The team will be
made up of young players like Yoann Gourcuff, Alou Diarra and Loic
Remy. Though these three players have underperformed in the Ligue 1,
Blanc said they cannot be discarded. “I know these players very well. I
know what they are capable of, even if they haven’t shown it in a while.

Brazil’s goalkeeper
Julio Cesar will be back in between the sticks after a largely
disappointing World Cup. Also restructuring under new coach, Mano
Menezes, he said Brazil will always be happy to call up a world class
goalkeeper like Cesar. “This was already part of our plans and it’s
with happiness that I call up Julio Cesar for the first time”, coach
Mano Menezes said. Kaka though did not get a recall after making his
return to Real Madrid last month, as he was not deemed fully fit.

Probable teams

France: Hugo
Lloris; Eric Abidal, Adil Rami, Philippe Mexes, Bacary Sagna; Yann
M’Vila, Alou Diarra, Yoann Gourcuff, Florent Malouda; Kevin Gameiro,
Karim Benzema

Brazil: Julio Cesar; Daniel Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo; Ramires, Lucas, Elias; Hernanes, Robinho, Alexandre Pato

Battle of the best

Barcelona’s Lionel
Messi will confront Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo but on the
international leval as Portugal tries to add Argentina’s scalp to
Spain’s. Portugal, led by Ronaldo walloped Spain 4-1 in a November
match and will hope to keep the momentum under new coach, Paulo Bento.

The meeting between
Messi’s Argentina and Ronaldo’s Portugal in Switzerland – a very
neutral venue will afford football fans the chance to compare these two
great players on the same pitch.

But Bento said,
“For me, it is not just about Ronaldo against Messi, but above all
about Portugal against Argentina – individual duels are for the fans.”
Argentina’s new coach Sergio Batista, who took over from Diego Maradona
the 2010 South Africa World cup said the game will be used to test new
players. This will be in preparation for the Copa America that will be
hosted by Argentina in July. “This is a good moment to try out some
youngsters,” Batista said.

Meanwhile Germany, with a lot of very young players being blooded by
Coach Joachin Low, will meet an Italian side that is also beginning to
look the way of young players.

The
Cleveland Cavaliers hit rock bottom by losing an NBA-record 25th
straight game in a 99-96 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday,
topping the previous mark they set over two seasons in 1982.

The Cavaliers, who
set the record for consecutive losses in one season at 24 when they
fell to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, had a chance to tie the
game against Dallas in the final seconds but Anthony Parker missed a
three-pointer.

“When it hit the front of the rim, I still thought it was going to hit the backboard and trickle in,” Parker told reporters.

“It is disappointing to come up short again. We just have to keep at it.”

Cleveland (8-44),
whose last win came on December 18 over the New York Knicks, play their
next eight games at home, where they have recorded five of their wins
this season.

J.J. Hickson put up
26 points and 12 rebounds while Ramon Sessions added 19 points and 13
assists to help Cleveland put up a good fight against Dallas.

The Cavaliers fell
behind by 15 points during the second quarter but clawed back to tie
things early in the fourth and take the game down to the wire.

Dallas reserve Jason Terry finished with 23 points to rally the Mavericks (36-15).

The Cavaliers posted the NBA’s best record last season, but things
took a downturn when two-times reigning NBA MVP LeBron James signed
with the Miami Heat during the offseason sending the franchise into a
freefall.

The
64-49 points victory recorded by Lagos Islanders on Monday over newly
promoted Chariots Basketball Club has renewed the former league
champion’s hopes of posting a good showing in this season’s DSTV
Premier Basketball League.

One of the team’s
handlers Lateef Erinfolami told NEXTSports that the team will do all it
can to sustain the tempo as they prepare for their next opponents,
age-long rivals Ebun Comets.

“Our major problem
is that the players always lose concentration while playing and that
cost us a lot. Even this victory will not have been possible if they
did not get their acts together on time,” said the former national team
star.

Concentration

Erinfolami said
with maximum concentration from his lads, they look good enough to
challenge for one of the four playoff tickets up for grabs in the
Atlantic Conference; as they hope to bring back the old times when
Islanders used to rule the basketball scene in Nigeria.

“It’s good we got our first victory now and I can say we lost our first match to Dodan Warriors due to inexperience.”

In the other week
two game played at the Indoor Sports Halll of the National Stadium,
Lagos, Dodan Warriors edged out Police Baton by 68-62 points in a game
involving two Lagos-based sides.

Baton looked as if
they were going to run away with victory when they took the lead with
less than two minutes left on the clock but a spirited fight back from
the Warriors side did the magic as they eventually subdued the Police
side to record a second successive win in the league.

Dodan Warriors now have a 2-0 record, looking good for a Final-8 playoff ticket, while Baton have lost both games played so far.

Warriors will be seeking to maintain their fine start to the season when they take on Delta Force in their next game.

Baton, for their part, will face Chariots who are yet to settle down to life in the Nigerian top flight division.

The
inaugural edition of the Chairman’s Table Tennis Cup Championship will
come up tomorrow at the Mobolaji Johnson Indoor Sports Hall in Lagos.

Over 100 table
tennis players will be competing for honours at the one-day event,
according to Uthman Okunnu, secretary of the Lagos State Table Tennis
Association. Okunnu also disclosed that the one-day championship will
play host to players of different categories.

“The tournament
will also serve as a training avenue for those who hope to compete at
the National Sports Festival in Port-Harcourt,” he said. “It will also
be used to gauge their level of performance, so that we would know
which athletes that will be invited to camp ahead of the Festival.”
Okunnu added that in a bid to have a successful outing at the sports
festival, the table tennis association has urged the coaches in the
state to submit a comprehensive training programme.

The secretary
further revealed that plans were underway to lure corporate bodies into
sponsoring the association’s programmes. “Plans are in top gear to seek
corporate and private individual sponsorship to help the association
organise regular tournaments and also to further promote the sport
which in times past brought fame to Nigeria at various international
tourneys,” continued Okunnu.

The Chairman’s Cup will be the first tournament to be staged by the
LSTTA this year. Last week, the duo of Segun Toriola and Monday
Morotohun had to go to Germany to stay prepared for the All Africa
Games.

Nigeria
Premier League sides, Plateau United and JUTH, have been given
permission by the league body to resume playing their home games at the
Rwang Pam Stadium, Jos.

Both clubs were
ordered by the league body to relocate away from Jos on January 12,
2011 in the aftermath of New Year eve bomb blasts in the once peaceful
Plateau State capital.

While JUTH relocated to the Kaduna Township Stadium, Plateau United moved to the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu.

Some say the
development is probably responsible for the fact that both sides occupy
the bottom two positions on the Premier League table. 19th placed
Plateau United is seven points from safety having secured 10 points
from 13 games, while JUTH are a further two points behind their city
rivals, albeit from 11 games.

They will be hope
for better results now that they fan play in front of their home fans
beginning from the round 16 matches. The development came following a
letter of security guarantee by the Special Task Force in Plateau State
– the Army led force that has the mandate to maintain peace in Jos.

Plateau United’s
game against Sharks which was already scheduled for today in Enugu will
be played tomorrow in Abuja at the Old Parade Ground, by 4.00pm.

Guarantees

A letter of
security guarantee from the Special Task Force, as well as a supporting
letter from the Plateau State FA, dated February 4, 2011, was sent to
the league body who wasted little time in approving the of both teams
to their home ground with effect from week 16 of the ongoing league
season.

Acting Executive
Secretary of the league body, Tunji Babalola, emphasised that “all
conditions contained in the security guarantee must be strictly
complied with to avoid any unpleasant development.” A look at the
conditions spelt out to the clubs by the Special Task Force indicates
that both sides, as well as visiting sides, will meet up with the Task
Force at certain locations on match days from where they will be
escorted to and from the Rwang Pam Stadium.

Security will also be provided by the Task Force at the hotel abodes of the clubs and visiting sides.

One
of Nigeria’s greatest prospects for medals at this year’s All African
Games in Maputo, Mozambique, as well as the IAAF World Championships
billed for Daegu, in South Korea, Ogho-Oghene Egwero will be among top
stars competing today at the Meeting Pas de Calais, in Liévin, France.

The meeting, which
is one of the IAAF’s top indoor competitions for this year, is expected
to attract top stars from around the world.

Egwero, who is
based in Stuttgart, Germany, said he would be taking part only in the
60m event at the competition and remains optimistic of churning out a
good performance.

“This is not my
first race of the season. My performance has been cool but I hope to
improve with each of the races as they come,” said the 60m
semi-finalist at last year’s World Indoor Championships in Doha.

At an earlier
meeting in Bordeaux, France a fortnight ago, Egwero finished third in
his race with a time of 6.81seconds but hopes to improve on that in
today’s race.

High hopes

Nigeria’s best
moment in the 60m event in recent times was at the 2008 IAAF World
Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain when Olusoji Fasuba coasted to
victory in a time of 6.51 which was then a world leading time. Fasuba’s
win became the first indoor short dash World Championship title for
Africa.

Already Egwero is
hoping to match and even surpass the feat of his compatriot very soon
and for his coach back home in Nigeria, Paul Obodoechina, it is not
impossible for the Delta State born athlete.

“Every upcoming
athlete’s dream is to surpass previous records and for him to have such
an aspiration it is a welcome development. I believe he can because he
is improving day by day and he is very hard working too,” said the
coach.

Tamgho targeting
18m While many other top athletes will be aiming for top notch
performances later today, French triple jumper Teddy Tamgho has set an
ambitious high of no less than an 18-metre performance for himself.

The world indoor
champion and record holder (17.90m) is indeed in great form, judging by
his two competitions so far: 17.46m in Liévin for the regional meeting
in late January, and in Eaubonne last week, where he accomplished a
remarkable series – 17.33m, 17.59m, 17.56m, and 17.13m.

Coached by Cuban
long jump legend, Ivan Pedroso, the 21-year-old Frenchman refuses to
set any limit in order to fulfil his unknown potential.

“I fouled an 18 metre jump indoors in Bercy two years ago, so I know I can jump even farther now,” he told the IAAF website.

Fiji
Ventures limited, a sport and recreational centre, through its sports
promotion division, Sport Manufacturing Marketing and Promotion (SMMAP)
is set to introduce a Speed darts tournament to the country.

The tourney would
act as a forum to re-introduce Nigerians to professional darts. “We
believe that dart is the leading and most popular bar game worldwide
and should be developed to give skilful and talented players a chance
to compete effectively in the lucrative international professional
arena,” said Joachim Idada, Chief Executive Officer, Fiji Ventures.

The Speed Dart
tournament will be the precursor for would-be professionals to the
Inter-bar Darts circuit. This circuit offers a total prize of N189, 000
for bars as an incentive to invest in the recreational value available
in them and the opportunities derived in exploiting a well developed
and viable darts sector in Nigeria.

But Fiji Ventures cannot promote the game by itself.

“We continue to
call on and encourage bars, breweries and distilleries to adopt bar
sports, as the industry shall be a key beneficiary when the
recreational content in bars is improved upon,” Idaba said consequently.

Players Championship

Meanwhile the
players championship continues in Bristol as Steve Brown faces Phil
Taylor in the Championship Final. Bristol’s Brown will take on 15-time
World Champion Phil Taylor in the first round of the tournament.

Brown has yet to
defeat Taylor since turning professional in 2008, but has emerged as a
challenger for the world’s top 32 during the past year knocking Terry
Jenkins out of the World Match-play in Blackpool, United Kingdom.

Brown faces Taylor,
in a best-of-eleven leg game giving the latter the chance to challenge
darts’ greatest ever player. Should Brown overcome Taylor, he would
meet either James Wade, world number three, or fellow Bristol-born Mark
Dudbridge, who travels with Brown on the Professional Darts Council
(PDC) circuit and is often a practice partner for the 30-year-old. The
Players Championship offers as first prize, £250,000 (about N63
million).

Olympic
champion and world pole vault record holder Yelena Isinbayeva made an
unimpressive return to competition after an 11-month break by winning a
low-key indoor meeting on Sunday.

Isinbayeva
struggled to find her top form but was still too good for her rivals,
clearing 4.81 metres on her first attempt to win the annual Russian
Winter invitational.

The flamboyant
Russian, who took a break to rediscover her love for the sport, played
down her mediocre showing in Moscow and said she was satisfied with her
first competitive outing since last March’s world indoor championships
in Doha where she failed to win a medal.

“The most important
thing for me was to win today,” Isinbayeva told reporters after failing
three times at 4.91 metres, well short of her world indoor record.

“I was away from
competition for nearly a year. I must admit I missed it, I missed the
atmosphere, the adrenalin, the nerves, everything and I am very happy
to be back.” She began with 4.61 after all her rivals, including
compatriot and former world champion Svetlana Feofanova, had left the
arena.

After easily going over her opening height, Isinbayeva also cleared 4.81 on her first try but the next height proved too tough.

The 28-year-old was confident she would quickly regain her top form.

“I did everything
what myself and my coach (Vitaly Petrov) had set out to do today. I
just had the world’s best result this year,” Isinbayeva, who also owns
the world outdoor record at 5.06, said.

“I’m getting most of my competitive feelings back and I don’t think
it would take me long before I could start going for world records
again.” Isinbayeva will also take part at the Sergei Bubka invitational
in Ukraine later this month before competing at next month’s European
indoor championships in Paris.

Reuters