Category Archives: sports

Onye Leha Nwene Emueburue Ladies League, Asaba celebrates 10th anniversary

It was indeed a moment of fun amidst thanksgiving to the Almighty God as members of Onye Leha Nwene Emueburue Ladies League, Asaba celebrated their tenth anniversary in grand style.

Onye Leha Nwene Emueburue Ladies League; Asaba with their loved ones

The ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of the League took place on Sunday, December 6, 2020 at Ausluck Place, Asaba. In attendance were members and their loved ones, including friends and well wishers.

The tenth anniversary was described as a huge success. The ceremony featured lecture on health anchored by Matron Mosieri Agatha and former chairman, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Dr Cletus Otene. There was also talk on security by Mr Egede Felix and a novelty match by members of the League.

Onye Leha Nwene Emueburue Ladies League Asaba, a registered co-operative society with the Ministries of Women Affairs and Commerce and Industry, started on January 10, 2010. The League has since inception recorded many milestone achievements, which include rendering financial supports and love to members. The League’s current President is Mrs. Kisimkwu Isioma while the Matrons are: Mrs. Ogor Obuh and Mrs. Mosieri Agatha. The Legal Adviser of the League is Chief (Barr) Chukwuma Ebu, the Iwu Dein of Agbor Kingdom.

Executive members of the League are: Mrs Kisimkwu Isioma (President), Mrs. Otene Francisca (Vice-President), Mrs. Ojei Judith (Secretary), Mrs. Egede Favour (PRO/Provost) and Mrs. Ugboboghene Ngozi (Treasurer).Others are: Mrs. Hunkari Jane, member, Mrs. Ineh Joan, member, Mrs. Ezeana Ifeanyi, member, Mrs. Elema Annabel, member and Mrs. Ukpere Ebere, member.

The President, Mrs. Kisimkwu Isioma in her remark expressed gratitude to the Almighty God for the success of the anniversary. She also thanked members for the various roles they played towards the success of the anniversary. While saying thank you to the League’s Patrons, guest lecturers and loved ones for their support, she prayed the good Lord to continue to sustain them as they strive to succeed in their different fields of life endeavours.

Onye Leha Nwene Emueburue Ladies League; Asaba with their loved ones

Onye Leha Nwene Emueburue Ladies League, Asaba in a group photograph

Onye Leha Nwene Emueburue Ladies League, Asaba joined by guests as they cut the anniversary cake

Onye Leha Nwene Emueburue Ladies League, Asaba after their novelty football match
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Ika News: Onye Leha Nwene Emueburue Ladies League, Asaba celebrates 10th anniversary

[Music] Rest In Peace Alaki_prod Bcleff

Election teams up with Emilaino, Big Kojoe, Jerry Wizzy and Mr. Brown to render this song in remembrance of a great friend, a footballer, charismatic and humble, handsome, and very hard working hustler who died at a very tender age.

The entire Ndemili youths miss you dearly, your friends and family worldwide will eternally miss you bro.

Achi, Golden Prince, Bros Ike (Ojukwu), your twin brother, the entire angle 90,group 5,Ndemili,d entire world pray for your soul to continue resting in peace.

RIP young blood!

This tribute was produced by the legendary producer Bcleff, with pain and grief.

We will miss u for ever.

We will continue to represent you here, and those of us you left behind will never die untimely. AMEN!

https://wazobianigeria.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Rest-In-Peace-Alaki.mp3?_=1 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD Tribute to Alaki( Prd. Bcleff)

Yankees’ Luis Severino needs Tommy John surgery, will miss this full season

The 26-year-old pitcher Tommy John have surgery,that’s likely keeping him out until the beginning of next season. The injury is a big blow to the Yankees’ pitching staff.

TAMPA, Fla. — Last February, the Yankees gave one of their homegrown talents, Luis Severino, a four-year contract extension worth $40 million, locking up one of the best young pitchers in baseball at an reasonable rate before free agency.

A year later, it appears the Yankees might be lucky to get a season and a half out of Severino over the length of that extension. On Tuesday, Severino learned that he would require Tommy John surgery on his throwing arm, a significant blow to the rotation of a team with hopes of a World Series title this year. He will miss the rest of the 2020 season and likely some of the 2021 season.

“I am extremely disappointed that I will not be able to put on a Yankees uniform and compete with my teammates this year,” Severino said in a statement on Tuesday, “but I promise that I will be working tirelessly during this process to come back stronger than ever to make the greatest fans in baseball proud.”

Severino had been struggling with broken soreness in his right forearm since October, when he started against the Houston Astros in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. It disappeared quickly and he was cleared to start again if needed later that round.

After resting and taking some medication, Severino was throwing in spring training at the team’s facility in Tampa, Fla., without any alarm — until he tried his changeup last week and the discomfort returned. It was puzzling to Severino, he said, because he had no problems throwing his other pitches.

Still, the Yankees shut Severino down and sent him to New York, yet again, on Sunday night for three days of testing with their doctors and specialists.

This time they gave Severino an M.R.I. with dye contrast, which requires the injection of a chemical substance that improves the quality of the images. From that examination, Dr. Christopher Ahmad, the Yankees’ head physician, and Dr. David Altchek, who provided a second opinion, determined that Severino needed Tommy John surgery for a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman told reporters on Tuesday that he believed Severino’s injury had originated during the A.L.C.S. He said Severino’s discomfort wasn’t near the damaged ligament, and that none of the athletic trainers, physical therapists and doctors that had examined him in Tampa or New York previously could find any ligament problems until Tuesday.

“I don’t want to sugarcoat the fact that being without Sevy, that’s a blow,” Yankees Manager Aaron Boone told reporters after the team’s spring training game in Dunedin, Fla. “But it doesn’t change our expectations and what we’re truly capable of. No, nothing changes.”

The Yankees had been counting on Severino to help form a stout rotation this year, along with Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton and J.A. Happ. To shore up their rotation, which was arguably their biggest weakness last season, the Yankees signed Cole to a record nine-year, $324 million deal this off-season.

Last season, Severino made only three regular-season starts, plus two more in the postseason, because of a shoulder ailment and a mysterious latissimus dorsi injury. Still, the Yankees won 103 games without Severino (or Cole) thanks to their depth, which again will be tested.

Paxton is out until about May because of a lower back operation he had on Feb. 5. A typical recovery from Tommy John surgery lasts 12 to 15 months, so Severino might miss some of next season, too.

In the meantime, Jordan Montgomery, in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery, is likely to fill one rotation spot. The other could go to an unproven youngster such as Deivi Garcia, Jonathan Loaisiga, Michael King or Clarke Schmidt until the return of Paxton or Domingo German, who will miss the first 63 games of the season because of his suspension for violating M.L.B.’s domestic violence policy.

The injuries to Severino, Paxton and outfielder Aaron Judge (whose spring training has been delayed by right shoulder soreness) may feel like a cruel reminder of 2019. Last season, the Yankees set a major league record, with 30 different players landing on the injured list. As a result, they restructured their player health and performance staff, bringing in new experts from outside the organization and shifting around some on the inside.

Coronavirus Spreads to Soccer’s Schedule, Closing Stadiums

In China, officials struggling to contain the spread of the coronavirus have delayed the start of the soccer season for months, and at least one top-division team has been marooned in the Middle East for weeks, unable to return from a preseason training camp.

 Also In South Korea, fans attending matches earlier this month were examined for fever before being allowed inside stadiums, and masks was everywhere in the stands in Japan recently — until Tuesday, when officials announced that there will be no league play until at least mid-March.

But the consequence of the coronavirus on the global soccer calendar have crossed borders, as well. Asia’s soccer association announced three weeks ago that the matches in its biggest club championship which includes Chinese teams would not be played for several months, and Vietnam has banned the hosting of sporting events of any kind this month, forcing even more games to be rescheduled.

And now the interferance has spread to Europe.In Italy, where the number of afirmed coronavirus cases is up to 300 on Tuesday, at least one game — the second leg of a knockout tie on Thursday between Internazionale of Milan and Ludogorets of Bulgaria in the Europa League — is to be played behind closed doors as the authorities continue to restrict public gatherings in the northern region of Lombardy.

The decision on Tuesday to play the game without observation came after the Italian authorities postponed four league games last weekend.

Inter Milan, a top contender for the Italian league title, said the decision was a result of several days of talks with health officials in Lombardy and European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, on how to stage the game, which could not be canceled because of the lack of alternate dates.

The game against Ludogorets is believed to be the first time a European soccer match has had to be played behind closed doors because of a health crisis. on a normal ground such conditions are forced on teams as a punishment for fan violence.

Inter, owned by a Chinese company, had already been taking steps to reduce the danger of its staff members from the virus. inessential employees have been told to work from home, and the club has purchased stocks of face masks and hand sanitizer for the team’s headquarters.

The decision to go ahead with Thursday’s match at Milan’s cavernous San Siro stadium was afirmed on Tuesday. Inter, which has an even bigger game on Sunday, when it is scheduled to visit first-place Juventus, was one of the four Italian clubs that moved a match in the country’s top league last weekend.

Other European countries are now thinking of  similar probability. On Tuesday, the French club Olympique Lyonnais said in a statement that it had taken note of the French authorities’ decision to let its match against Juventus in the Champions League proceed “in its initial configuration” on Wednesday night. Up to 3,000 fans of Juventus, a team based in the northern Italian city of Turin, are expected for the game, which is sold out.

Asked about the match, Olivier Véran, France’s health minister, told RTL radio that the authorities were being vigilant but that there were currently “no scientific and medical arguments” justifying the cancellation of large events in France.

“Should we stop Fashion Week?” Véran said. “Should we stop games? Should we close universities? The answer is no.”

He added, “We are not closing the borders because we do not know how to, but because it would make no sense at this stage.”

Health officials and governments in Asia, where sports schedules have been most affected since the virus first started to spread, are facing a far different reality.

When Afshin Ghotbi, the Iranian-American coach of the Chinese team Shijiazhuang Ever Bright, was thrown into the air by his soccer players in early November after clinching promotion to the Chinese Super League, he had no inkling that almost four months later, he and his squad would still be waiting for the new season to begin.

Shijiazhuang Ever Bright, whose home city of 11 million is about 165 miles southwest of Beijing, should have kicked off its new campaign last weekend. But instead of taking on Chinese superclubs like Guangzhou Evergrande and Shanghai SIPG in front of 40,000 fans, Ghotbi’s team is playing preseason games in empty stadiums in Abu Dhabi, its base for five weeks and counting.

Team officials said that they did not expect to play competitive soccer until at least May or even be allowed to return to China before mid-March.

“It is a challenge for the players,” Ghotbi said. “They are away from their families and psychologically they feel very helpless.”

Ghotbi, a former head coach of Iran’s national team, has experience in global events disrupting sports schedules. He was in charge of the Japanese club Shimizu S-Pulse in 2011 when an earthquake and tsunami caused the Japanese league’s season to be

delayed for six weeks.

“Back then, we also tried to use the football team as a source of inspiration and hope,” Ghotbi said. “And we are trying to do the same now through banners in the stadiums we play and through social media, though it is different as we are outside China.”

To keep his players sharp physically and mentally, he and his coaches have created a points system for intrateam activities, among other distractions. “Even changing the hotel can make a difference,” he said.

Similar challenges are now being faced across East Asia. South Korea, where the number of confirmed coronavirus cases neared 1,000 on Tuesday, postponed the start of its domestic season indefinitely on Monday. The next day, Japan’s J. League announced a delay of three weeks.

Individual qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup and the 2020 Olympics have already been moved; in one extreme example, the China women’s soccer team was quarantined inside an Australian hotel,

forced to exercise and train in hallways, before it was allowed to play a series of Olympic qualifying games.

Yet it is the group stage of the Asian Football Confederation’s Champions League, with 32 teams spread across eight time zones, that is causing the biggest headaches.

After an emergency meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 4, the A.F.C. decided to reschedule the first three group games for the Chinese entrants in the competition: Guangzhou Evergrande and two teams from Shanghai. That means they will have to play all six games in the group stage from April 7 to May 27. The second round is scheduled to start in East Asia — the tournament is divided into two geographic zones until the final — on June 16.

Yet with Japan and South Korea suspending their leagues, and 12 deaths recorded in Iran, it may become difficult for the Champions League to continue as planned.

The implications of the spread of the virus, though, are a concern around the globe, even in places where the virus has not yet spread. On a conference call Tuesday with senior executives of Manchester United, the giant English team with partners, fans and financial interests in the lucrative Asian market, an American analyst asked if the virus would have any effect on the club’s billion-dollar bottom line.

“It is a very fluid situation,” Manchester United’s executive vice chairman, Ed Woodward, replied, “and we are monitoring it closely.”

Deontay Wilder ‘points win in Las Vegas impossible’ Tyson Fury

Fury, 31, drew with Wilder in Los Angeles in 2018 and he hopes to avoid controversy by securing a knockout in their rematch on Saturday.

But he said similarities in his style with Floyd Mayweather – who landed 15 wins by decision in Vegas – is reason for his confidence in the judging.

“That slick style works and the judges here like that,” Fury told BBC Sport.

“Wilder can’t beat me on points, it’s not possible. This is Las Vegas, not Los Angeles.

“One of the greatest boxers that has ever lived in Mayweather has come from this town and they can appreciate a master boxer here.

“If it goes 12 rounds I have won.”

Fury conducted media commitments at the offices of his US promoters Top Rank on Monday, a short drive from the Las Vegas strip where his bout with WBC world heavyweight champion Wilder can be seen advertised on billboards and blackjack tables.

He spoke glowingly of his first camp under trainer SugarHill Steward after his split from Ben Davison and will also fight for the first time since appointing Conor McGregor’s nutritionist George Lockhart as his personal chef.

Those closest to the British heavyweight believe his dietary changes have offered notable results. The team have also appointed legendary cuts man Jacob ‘Stitch’ Duran to ensure the damage caused by a cut that required 47 stitches in Fury’s last fight does not pose an issue.

Fury continues to predict a second-round stoppage of Wilder – who has never been floored as a professional – and trainer Steward told BBC Sport he was brought into the team because he is a “knockout architect”.

“To knock out a knockout artist you have to make them go backwards and back them up,” Fury told the BBC Radio 5 Live Boxing podcast.

“Wilder is used to coming forwards his whole career. He has never knocked anyone out on the back foot.

“All bullies when they are backed-up, fold. Wilder is no different to any other playground bully. When someone stands up to Deontay Wilder, he will fold. I will prove that on Saturday.

“Technically he is not so great. Fighting Deontay Wilder is like giving a seven-year-old an AK-47 in a room, fully loaded. He is easy to control but could let rip any time.

“He can throw punches from novice angles that usually a world champion or high-level professional wouldn’t throw. They come from the floor sometimes or around corners so you have to have your wits about you.”

Fury is expected to weigh in about 10lbs heavier than when he out-pointed Sweden’s Otto Wallin in September and again believes extra bulk will help him stop Wilder.

On Monday, Wilder’s trainer Jay Deas told BBC Radio 5 Live it was “advantageous” his fighter last competed as recently as November, when he knocked out Luis Ortiz.

But Fury is adamant the 34-year-old Alabama fighter’s five-year “reign as world champion is over” and any win would see him reclaim world-champion status for the first time since he gave up his titles when he battled personal issues in the wake of beating Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.

A set of three bout with Wilder may form part of his next move and while there are also calls for him to face IBF, WBA and WBO champion Anthony Joshua, Fury is only certain of how long he has left in the sport.

“I am in the latter end of my career,” he added. “Three more fights, whether it takes a year or 18 months. The Gypsy King will be no more within two years that’s for sure.”

Fury’s rematch with Wilder was carefully plotted, with promoters Top Rank overseeing him build his profile with wins in the US over Tom Schwarz and Wallin in 2019.

Top Rank boss Bob Arum, 88, believes the contest will now sell in excess of two million purchases on pay-per-view.

Sitting with BBC Sport in his Las Vegas office, Arum said: “You may not know what has happened in the USA. We have two major networks pushing the fight, Fox and ESPN.

“Fox broadcast the Super Bowl. A 30-second commercial on the Super Bowl costs $5.6m [£4.3m]. Fox gave us two slots. When you put a spot like that on in the Super Bowl, you reach over 130 million people in the United States.

“Last weekend you could not put a sports network on and not see adverts for this bout. Nothing like that has ever happened in this country since I have been in this business in 1966.”

Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas Date: Saturday, 22 February Time: About 04:00 GMT, Sunday, 23 February.

Tottenham Son Heung_min Suffers Fractured Arm

Tottenham forward Son Heung-min will be sidelined for a “number of weeks” after fracturing his arm during Sunday’s 3-2 win at Aston Villa.

The South Korea international, 27, will have surgery this week.

But unfortunately for the young footballer this surely means that he will miss the Champions League last-16 tie against RB Leipzig on Wednesday and Saturday’s Premier League trip to Chelsea.

Tottenham are already without England striker Harry Kane, who tore his hamstring at Southampton in January.

Son has scored in his past five games for the club, including two goals in Sunday’s win at Villa Park.

His absence means 27-year-old Brazilian Lucas Moura, 22-year-old Dutchman Steven Bergwijn, signed in January, and Republic of Ireland international Troy Parrott, 18, are Spurs’ only fit forwards.

BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2020 shortlist revealed

The five contenders for the BBC World Service accolade were chosen by a panel of experts, including coaches, players, administrators and journalists.

The nominees are:

  • Lucy Bronze – England and Lyon
  • Julie Ertz – USA and Chicago Red Stars
  • Sam Kerr – Australia and Chelsea
  • Vivianne Miedema – Netherlands and Arsenal
  • Megan Rapinoe – USA and Reign FC

Voting closes at 09:00 GMT on Monday, 2 March 2020 and the winner of the award will be announced on Tuesday, 24 March on BBC World Service and the BBC Sport website.

Here’s more on the five contenders vying for the honour, which is in its sixth year.

Lucy Bronze

Age: 28 Country: England Caps: 81

Club: Lyon Position: Defender

Bronze enjoyed accolades playing for both club and country in 2019, claiming the treble with Lyon and helping England win the SheBelieves Cup and reach the World Cup semi-finals.

The right-back scored a 20-yard strike in the Lionesses quarter-final win over Norway on her way to picking up the award for second best player at the tournament.

Domestically, she was part of the Lyon side that lifted the French league, French Cup and Champions League trophies, and she was named Uefa’s Women’s Player of the Year and was runner-up for the women’s Ballon d’Or.

 

Julie Ertz

Age: 27 Country: USA Caps: 88

Club: Chicago Red Stars Position: Midfielder

An essential but often unsung member of the USA team, Ertz claimed her second World Cup winner’s medal by helping her country to success at France 2019.

The midfielder, who had only moved to the position from defence in 2017, scored a goal in the group game against Chile and was named US Soccer Female Player of the Year for the second time.

In the NWSL she helped Chicago Red Stars finish second in the division and reach the play-off final, losing to North Carolina Courage.

 

Sam Kerr

Age: 26 Country: Australia Caps: 76

Club: Chelsea Position: Forward

A new arrival at Chelsea this winter, Kerr finished as top scorer in two national leagues in 2019.

In the Australian W-League she found the net 13 times to win back-to-back golden boots, and finished top scorer in the NWSL for the third successive time with a record 18 goals for Chicago Red Stars.

She became the first Australian to score a hat-trick at a World Cup, netting four times in a group win over Jamaica and scoring a total of five in the tournament.

 

Vivianne Miedema

Age: 23 Country: Netherlands Caps: 87

Club: Arsenal Position: Forward

Miedema finished the 2018-19 WSL season as a champion and top goalscorer, netting 22 times as Arsenal affirmed a first title in seven years.

That got her the award of PFA Players’ Player of the Year for the season.

She was part of the Netherlands side that reached the World Cup final, scoring three goals in the tournament that also saw her become her nation’s all-time leading scorer across the women’s and men’s teams.

Megan Rapinoe

Age: 34 : USA Caps: 158

Club: Reign FC Position: Forward

Rapinoe co-captained the USA to success at the World Cup in 2019 and in the process claimed a hoard of accolades.

She won the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top goalscorer with six, was selected as the best player of the tournament and was named player of the match in the final, a game in which she scored her 50th international goal.

Rapinoe was named Best Fifa Women’s Player and got the Ballon d’Or for 2019

Tyson Fury will be worried by first-fight knockdowns-Deontay Wilder

The pair fight in Las Vegas on 22 February for Wilder’s WBC championship.

Their bout in December 2018 ended in a controversial draw with the American knocking Fury down twice, although the Englishman also thought he had won.

“When you get knocked down by someone, you never forget it or how they did it,” said 34-year-old Wilder.

Speaking on a media conference call from the United States on Tuesday, he added: “Deep down I feel he’s nervous, very nervous from what happened the first time.

“When you go in there for a second time it has to be stressful and you definitely can’t sleep at night.

“I gave this man concussion and it will happen again because the head is not meant to be hit, especially by the power of Deontay Wilder, so he has a lot to think about.”Both men are unbeaten with their draw in Los Angeles 14 months ago being the only time they have not won a professional fight

Fury, 31, last fought against Sweden’s Otto Wallin and, despite sustaining a bad cut close to his eye early on, won via a unanimous points decision.

However, since then Fury has changed trainers, moving from Ben Davison to Javan ‘Sugar’ Hill Steward, the nephew of the late Emmanuel Steward, who trained Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko.

“Fury can say he beat me by a wide margin but he doesn’t believe that – that’s why he wants to change so many things,” added Wilder. “If he believed he won he wouldn’t have changed much – the next thing he is going to do is go to a spiritual advisor.

“Wallin had a game plan and executed it. That fight should’ve been stopped with a cut so deep and I look forward to re-cutting that eye.

“Once it’s open again and the blood is in his face I’m coming in for the kill. I don’t play around.

“I knocked him out the first time but I didn’t get it and I’m going to knock him out again.”