Nigeria Content Online

The Miami Heat are
starting to look more like the elite team many envisioned in the
off-season as they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 88-78 on Monday for
their fifth straight win.

Dwyane Wade had a
team-high 25 points and a career-high 14 rebounds while LeBron James
added 17 points as the Heat continued to play inspired defense in
achieving their longest winning streak of the season.

Miami (14-8) had a
rough start to the campaign and fell well short of the expectations
created when James and Chris Bosh signed with the Heat to join fellow
All-Star Wade, but have found their rhythm since a players-only meeting
a week ago.

In the opener of a four-game road trip, the Heat never trailed and held the Bucks to 34 percent shooting from the field.

“That’s what it’s about and that (defence) is the identity of the team,” Wade told reporters.

“Offensively we
can’t control if the ball is going to go in or not. We still have to
get the stops.” Corey Maggette had 20 points off the bench to lead
Milwaukee, which fell to 7-13 on the season.

The Heat led by 13
points late in the third but the Bucks trimmed it down to 74-71 midway
through the fourth. Miami answered with three straight baskets from
James, Wade and Bosh, who finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

“There was a mental
toughness to this win for us that I’m not sure we would have been able
to pull this out earlier in the year,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Australian center
Andrew Bogut had 11 points and 13 rebounds in his second game back for
the Bucks after missing five contests with back problems.

England’s bid to
host the 2018 World Cup was compromised by media allegations of
corruption against FIFA executive committee members, according to
Japanese soccer chief Junji Ogura.

Ogura, the head of
Japan’s failed bid to land the 2022 World Cup and a member of FIFA’s
executive committee, said on Tuesday that allegations by the Sunday
Times newspaper and BBC had left members “furious” and threatening to
sue.

England’s bid to
stage the World Cup for the first time in more than half a century
ended in a humiliating first-round defeat when they collected just two
votes from the 22-man FIFA executive committee.

One of those votes
was from England’s representative Geoff Thompson, the other is believed
to have come from Ogura. Russia was awarded hosting rights for the 2018
soccer showpiece.

“The African
members of the executive committee were furious over the Sunday Times
report,” Ogura said at the Japan Football Association headquarters.

“They even suggested suing the paper at the executive committee meeting,” Kyodo News quoted him as saying.

The JFA president was bewildered at the timing of the stories in the English media.

“If the reports are
true then that would be sad. But until they can present the evidence,
then it’s hard for any of us to definitively say anything.

“But what I can say is that the reports definitely had an impact on the England bid. There’s no mistake about that.

“I have a hard time understanding why a network as prestigious as
the BBC would go with a story like that at that particular time.” Ogura
did not reveal which of the 2018 bids he voted for but said the four
“Asian” bidders (Japan, South Korea, Australia and Qatar) backed Qatar
in the last round for 2022 as had been agreed.

Lobi Stars have expressed satisfaction at the level of officiating in their 2-1 loss to Warri Wolves on Sunday.

Dominic Iorfa, the
Chief Executive Officer of Lobi Stars, who is also the club’s technical
adviser, expressed satisfaction with the way centre referee, Father
Eze, handled the game in Warri.

“I’m happy with the
way the referee handled the game. He was really in charge and even
awarded a correct penalty to us. I’m probably sure that if it was
another referee may be we wouldn’t have been given the penalty.
Generally he did well with the officiating and I must commend him,”
said Iorfa.

Victor Barnabas
converted the penalty, 62 minutes into the game, to draw the game level
and give Lobi Stars’ their only goal of the game. Tochukwu Mbachu had
put the Wolves in the lead when he poked home Wolves’ first goal of the
game on 45 minutes. However, Lobi Stars were denied a point when Efe
Yarhere sealed the win with a 78th minute goal. The win saw the Paul
Aigbogun-led Wolves rise to go top of the league table and retain their
unbeaten run this season; leaving Lobi Stars stranded in 17th place
after five matches with one win, one draw and three losses.

Eze, a Reverend Father from Enugu State, was assisted during the
game by assistant referees, Uzonna from Anambra and Obani Andi from Imo.

Whatever happens
elsewhere, the Gunners just need a victory today to guarantee progress
into the next round of the UEFA Champions League. After scoring goals
for fun in the first three matches, Arsenal lost two consecutive games
to Shakhtar Donetsk and SC Braga leaving the London club side in need
of a victory over Partizan today.

Arsenal coach,
Arsene Wenger, said, “That will be a massive game for us. We know that
we will be under pressure to deliver on the night but we will deliver.
‘I’m confident we will deliver the requested performance and the
qualification.”

A new talisman

In the absence of
Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri has taken up the mantle of talisman for
Arsenal and he delivered two world class goals against Fulham at the
weekend to send the Gunners top of the English Premier League (EPL).

The French man has
now scored 11 goals in all competitions playing from the right wing
where he is given freedom to come into the penalty area. His composure,
especially with the two goals against Fulham showed that the extra
training he under took after missing out of France’s team to the World
Cup is now paying off. On the back of the good performances, Arsenal
are now preparing to move Nasri into the same pay-bracket as Robin Van
Persie, Andrei Arshavin, and captain Cesc Fabregas by offering him a
new £80,000-a-week contract. The French man’s current contract runs out
in 2012.

Even with the talisman in his team, Wenger is expecting a tough match against the Czechs.

“For a long part of
the game it was a difficult game and on the information I have from
Partizan, they did that to every single team.

“I have not counted it out but I must say that for me, Shakhtar Donetsk are favourites to deliver at least a draw at home.

The most important
thing is to qualify now and let’s hope we can do it. You never know but
you want to win the game,” Wenger said.

Arsenal’s next match in the EPL is away at Old Trafford against Manchester United on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Braga
have to beat Shakhtar by at least three goals to be certain of
progress, while a smaller win will be enough if Arsenal fail to win
against Partizan. A draw against Shakhtar will only suffice if Partizan
beat Arsenal.

Drogba anticipates heroes’ welcome in France

In an
inconsequential game, Chelsea, already through as group leaders will be
using a bulk of their back-up squad against Marseille. The highlight of
the game will be the return of Marseille’s favourite son, Didier Drogba
to the Velodrome. Didier Drogba spent just one season at the Stade
Velodrome but in that short time, he became the darling of Marseille’s
supporters.

Marseille are
already confirmed as runners-up, but have pride to play for under a
former Chelsea player, Didier Deschamps, while the Blues are chasing a
record of becoming the only team that won all its group stage matches.
When Chelsea file out against the French champions this evening, the
Cote d’Ivoire striker expects a loud ovation from the terraces. Drogba
told L’Equipe, “I played a year in Marseille, but the feeling among the
fans, the city and me is unbelievable.”

He scored 32 goals in 55 games for the Stade Velodrome club, and led Marseille to the 2004UEFA Cup final.

Though Chelsea are
on a bad run in the Premiership, having not won in six consecutive
matches they have been enjoying better times in Europe. Their focus
though will be on the Sunday match against London rivals, Tottenham.

John Terry is
included in the squad for today’s match and should strengthen the
Blues’ defence following news that Alex will be out for six weeks with
a knee injury.

Marseille will be
without Stephane Mbia, who is suspended, while French national team
striker, Andre-Pierre Gignac is in doubt to play because of a thigh
injury. Chelsea still have Frank Lampard missing, but Coach Carlo
Ancelotti has hinted of Lampard’s potential return for their league
clash against Spurs on Sunday.

Other matches

Bayern Munich are
already through to the next round, while Roma and Basel are set to
battle it out for second spot. Jose Mourinho has had his penalty pruned
to a one match suspension from the bench – he will not be in the dug
out as Real Madrid host Auxerre with the French side aiming for a
Europa League place. Ajax also travel to the San Siro with the Europa
League place in mind, without Martin Jol, who resigned from his job
yesterday.

The 2011 edition of
the NNPC/Shell Cup for all secondary schools in the country will have
over 110,000 students participating in the nationwide championship.

This was disclosed
by the Secretary General of the Nigeria School Sports Federation,
Olabisi Joseph at a press conference held in Lagos to officially flag
off the championship. “110,000 students are expected to participate
from both the public and private schools from all over the country,” he
said. The All-Nigeria Secondary Schools Football Championship is in its
13th edition, under the sponsorship of the Shell Production Development
Company (SPDC) . The competition has a history of producing players for
both local club sides and for the national teams.

Players like Femi
Opabunmi, who took part in the 2000 edition from Oyo State went on to
represent Nigeria at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. Other
names like Promise Isaac, captain of the U-20 team that came second
behind Argentina at the FIFA U-20 World Cup that took place in Holland
in 2005, Chinedu Ogbuke, who recently represented Nigeria at the 2010
World Cup in South Africa, are some of the talents that were discovered
through the Shell Cup.

Theme of the championship

Sola Abulu, Head,
Major Projects, PR and Brand Communications said, “We want to restate
the theme of the tournament: That education and sports can go
hand-in-hand. We are proud, as always to renew our commitment to the
promotion of education and football, as this 13th edition kicks off.”
She added that “FIFA’s 2010 adoption of the ‘1-Goal Education for All’
project is a validation of the SPDC joint venture’s vision to use
football as a means to drive education. I dare say that the positive
energy around the NNPC/Shell Cup has the potential to make it more than
just a secondary school sports competition.” Abulu reiterated that SPDC
is committed to delivering a good competition and will commit finances
to that extent. She also added that the benefit of organising the event
(helping to discover new football talents) is their goal. “The prize
beyond the financial reward is the opportunity that will be given to
secondary school children from all over the country to exhibit their
football skills. Normally, most of these children may not have had the
opportunity to experience this and we are just happy that the
competition will allow children from all the nooks and crannies of
Nigeria to live their football dreams. That in itself is the intrinsic
reward.” Former Eagles captain, Segun Odegbami, the consultant of the
project from its inception added that, “Scrutiny of the ages of the
players will be more thorough than ever, starting from this edition.
This will be achieved in conjunction with the Sports Network Initiative
(SNI), to authenticate and document the data of all participants from
all over the country. SNI will provide all the logistics, software and
hardware to ensure that all players’ data are correctly captured from
all the centres.

Odegbami added
that, “So when these data have been captured, changes cannot be made
forever on basic information that has been captured. We want to make
sure that we produce more players for the U-17 teams.” The championship
is already in the registration stage where forms can be picked up by
any interested secondary school. The finals will be played in Lagos on
February 27, 2011.

Last
week, I got permission from my friend and colleague Mumini Alao to
‘‘borrow’’ from him in order to espouse some of my thoughts for the
benefit of all.

Today I, have asked
permission from yet another great man, an all-round sportsman,
ex-Olympian, my senior at Holy Trinity Grammar School, Sabongidda-Ora
and my maternal uncle, Dr. Bruce Ijirigho. I have chosen to use Dr.
Ijirigho as subject of discourse in order to be able to drive home the
following points: One is that the school system, of which he is a
product and a shining one at that, is the best platform for sport
development if we are indeed looking for results and glory. Secondly,
that there are loads of positives in planning and executing sports
development programmes even if not entirely exclusive to schools.

Ijirigho and many
other examples abound. Thirdly, products of school system with some
level of education tend to respond to further plans and follow-up
activities for themselves and for the country’s benefits. This last
element is the kernel of my proposition today and it is why I am
charging the system to respond and create fresh hopes and opportunities
as we had and experienced through school boys/girls athletes in the
past. Dr. Bruce Ijirigho holds a Ph.d in Petroleum Geology. He has been
variously Lecturer and practitioner of his discipline in the United
States and Nigeria, and in fact had an eight year stint as lecturer in
Nigeria’s premier university, the University Of Ibadan.

Dr. Ijirigho was a
complete sportsman. He played Soccer, did the pole-vault and
particularly excelled in the 440 yards (now 400 meters) event. In 1971
as Captain, he led the Midwest (later Bendel) State and now Edo and
Delta states to the Hussey Shield Competition in Port-Harcourt, with
the State coming first in all but two events. The government of the day
led by Dr. S.O. Ogbemudia, then a Colonel, not only welcomed the heroes
and heroines of the day in great style but gave them Citations, one of
which I have the privilege of re-producing hereunder as evidence that
WE CAN if we try:

The Citation

Getting the
talents at a young age I want to restate a fact here that everyone of
the twenty-eight athletes listed represented this country at senior
level,

Ijirigho, Charlton,
Ehizuelen, Harrison Salami, Godwin Obasogie were Olympic finalists.
Their female counterparts who were at the Port-Harcourt Games for the
Lady Manuwa Cup were: Evelyn Urhobo, and Vivian Emenahor, who were also
great winners.

Dr. Bruce Ijirigho
is currently Sports Consultant to the Cross River State Government. The
moral here is that there is too much lip service being paid to sports
development in Nigeria. Too much money spent doing nothing and
achieving nothing. We have sought recourse in the use of over-age
players because preparations for events and global competitions are
inadequate. There is also an over-reliance on genuine talents, Mary
Onyeali-Omagbemi and Falilat Ogunkoya seemed to run and run forever for
us because new legs were not coming through. Today’s Nigerian sports
administrator has failed to see there is a limit to which just talent
can give. To achieve and consistently achieve success you must add
planning and organization to talent. Denial of this is to promote
mediocrity.

And with the
Federal Ministry and States Ministries of Education always very ready
to give approvals for the establishment of schools in four flats
buildings and boys’ quarters, the search for talented sportsmen from
schools is always going to be a dream deferred. Before now when you
visit a Missionary school or Government schools, the first thing you
see is the football ground complete with tracks. Today it’s the
Bursar’s office you see first at school gates. Such educational
institutions are not going to produce sports men and women especially
the ones from fully air-conditioned homes, driven in air-conditioned
cars to schools without play grounds.

Sports development must come through the school system to eradicate cheating and throw up quality sports men and women.

Dr. Ijirigho and
his type abound everywhere. We just need to rebuild the structures and
school systems that caught them strong again.

Until next week folks, have a wonderful week.

Tiger Woods’s
miserable year ended with more disappointments as he gave up a
four-stroke lead and suffered a crushing playoff loss to Graeme
McDowell in the Chevron World Challenge on Sunday.

It marked the first
time that Woods, without a win since the 2009 Australian Open, lost a
tournament in which he led by at least three strokes going into the
final round at Sherwood Country Club.

Under pressure from
U.S. Open champion McDowell, Woods let his grip on the lead slip in his
own event with a double bogey on the 13th that the Northern Irishman
birdied for a two-stroke lead.

But McDowell’s advantage slipped away as he bogeyed twice to send the pair into the final hole on level terms.

Both players
birdied, McDowell sinking a difficult 25-foot putt and then Woods
keeping his nerve with a three-footer that sent the pair into a
sudden-death playoff.

Returning to the
18th, McDowell hit a tree but had a decent lie and was able to find the
green with his second and he again drained a putt from over 20 feet to
leave Woods putting for a birdie to stay in the playoff.

“I fought hard today, it was close, we had a good battle again – I felt right, I was right there,” said Woods.

Although the
tournament is not officially part of the PGA Tour, it clearly meant a
lot to Woods who celebrated his great second shot on the 18th in
regulation with an aggressive fist pump of vintage variety.

McDowell shows great poise

There was also
plenty at stake for McDowell who showed great poise to come out on top
against the backdrop of a crowd clearly, and vocally, hoping to see
Woods capture his first tournament win since his personal troubles
began.

“It’s just been an
amazing year, I can’t say enough about it,” said McDowell, who
triumphed in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in June. “This is dream
stuff, playing one of the greatest golfers who has ever played and to
beat him like this, I’m just ecstatic.” Thirteen months ago, the
golfing world was stunned when allegations of serial philandering
emerged to leave Woods’s private life in turmoil.

He took a
self-imposed exile of five months from the game but, with his marriage
breaking up, struggled for form on the course before ending his PGA
Tour season without a single title for the first time since he turned
professional in 1996.

England’s Paul
Casey finished third, four shots behind the top two while Northern
Ireland’s Rory McIlroy was a further shot back in fourth.

The second season
(2010/11) of the Lagos State-GTBank Principals Cup will kick off on
December 12 with the zonal preliminary finals. This was revealed
yesterday at a press conference by the Deputy Governor of Lagos State,
Sarah Adebisi Sosan, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in
the Ministry of Education, Omolara Erogbogbo.

According to Erogbogbo, this year’s edition promises more excitement than that of last year.

The historical
football tournament which started as the Zard Cup in 1948 was renamed
the Principals Cup in 1966 and revamped by Lagos State Government in
2006. GTBank became the sponsor of the tournament this year and held
the first edition which was successful.

As many as ten
players were picked from various schools to join up with the national
U-17 team, coached by John Odigie in Abuja. The team however failed to
qualify for the U-17 Nations Cup after being knocked out by Congo DR.

The aim of the
competition is among other things according to Erogbogbo is to,
“Balance the development of children, to showcase their talent and also
to show that sports has the great potential of identifying and
nurturing such talents”.

The sponsors of the competition GTBank, represented by Femi Adeniran, its Head of

Corporate Affairs, said the bank was commitment towards to the success of the tournament.

“We believe that by
totally ensuring the revival and the institutionalisation of the
Principals Cup, more lives would be affected and our youth and society
would be better off for it”.

Adeniran also added
for the benefit of the school children for which the competition was
set up that: “Believe for only then can you reach your goals.”

The competition
with the motto “A sound mind in a sound body”, will start on the
December 12 with the Zonal preliminaries, which will run till February
next year. The last edition of the competition was won by Gaskiya
Senior Secondary School, in the male category while in the female
category Alakoto Senior Secondary School took the top prize. Each of
the winners was given a cash prize of one million naira.

The consultants to
the project, MediaVision Ltd, through its Chief Executive Officer, Fela
Bank-Olemoh also promised to set up a comprehensive website for
adequate information, statistics and photos.

The final date for the final match has not been listed as it is the
prerogative of the Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, to
attend the occasion.