daily news update chaeenel

Paralympians enter their chosen sport for all sorts of reasons – whether they have experienced a life-long disability or had a life-changing illness or event – but few have a back-story as dramatic as Australian para-snowboarder Sean Pollard. Pollard’s life was changed in just a couple of minutes when he was attacked by two Great White sharks while surfing in Esperance in October 2014, losing his left arm and his right hand in his struggle to escape. In the aftermath of the attack he needed seven blood transfusions amounting to three litres of blood. “I was pretty lucky to get to hospital within an hour of the attack” he recalls. It took over 150 stitches to close the wounds that had threatened his life, and he spent weeks in hospital. Source :- theguardian

The president of the FIA, Jean Todt, has issued a robust defence of his organisation’s decision to impose the Halo cockpit protection system on Formula One this season. Todt dismissed criticism from the Mercedes executive director, Toto Wolff, as “childish” and stressed that the FIA would not shy away from making difficult decisions in the interests of safety. The Halo device will make its race debut at the opening round in Melbourne but has attracted criticism on aesthetic grounds and because it is in contradiction of the spirit of an open-cockpit series. Mercedes confidence is an ominous sign after Barcelona F1 testing | Giles Richards Read more Wolff has said he would remove it with a chainsaw if given the opportunity but Todt rejected his stance. “I will not react to whatever has been said. It is simply a childish game,” he said. “It’s very inappropriate, whoever you are, to publicly deny something which is introduced. For me, constructive criticism is always good because it makes ...

Relatives of the 96 people killed at Hillsborough in 1989 have severely criticised a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service not to charge any former West Midlands police officers with criminal offences relating to the force’s original investigation into the disaster. Margaret Aspinall, the chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group whose 18-year-old-son James was killed in the disaster, said she was disgusted. She also criticised the CPS for failing to properly explain its decisions and the evidential threshold required to bring criminal charges. Two former West Midlands police officers, who have not been named, were referred by the Independent Office for Police Conduct to the CPS for consideration of possible charges of perverting the course of justice, misconduct in a public office, or conspiracy to do so. Bereaved families and survivors of the lethal crush at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough, where South Yorkshire police was responsible for safety, have long protest...

Bayern Munich moved into the Champions League quarter-finals after beating Besiktas in Istanbul on Wednesday to complete an 8-1 aggregate victory against the Turkish side. It was a record 11th successive victory in the competition for their coach, Jupp Heynckes, who had led Bayern to the title in 2013 before retiring and returning this season. The Bundesliga champions went ahead through Thiago Alcântara in the 18th minute to kill off any lingering hopes of an improbable recovery by the hosts after Bayern had hammered them 5-0 in the first leg in Munich. However, the Spaniard was taken off with a suspected ankle problem a little later, having only recently returned from an injury break. Source :- theguardian

Samcro is not the second coming of Jesus Christ, we have been assured by his owner, but, for many punters here, he will do until Jesus Christ comes along. This place has welcomed many a hyped novice hurdler from Ireland over the years and a fair number of them were sent home without the trophy but Samcro’s reputation proved entirely justified in the opening race. “He’s performed his first miracle,” declared one particularly gleeful fan, after the Ballymore Hurdle. Jack Kennedy, his 18-year-old jockey who was himself praised to the skies from a very early stage, does not do nerves but few of those in the crowd are so blessed. There were rumblings of discontent as Samcro dived over an early hurdle, then seemed to trip over a road crossing. Memories were doubtless stirring of Getabird, the Irish-trained favourite who had completely blown out on Tuesday. Samcro was stuck on the outside of the pack, with no horse directly in front to give him cover, at risk of burning himself up far too ear...

Tottenham Hotspur expect Harry Kane to be back in training next month and to return to action in about four weeks after a scan revealed the extent of the injury he suffered at Bournemouth on Sunday. The club announced that “preliminary assessments have confirmed that Kane has damaged lateral ligaments in his right ankle.” The statement added: “He is expected to return to first-team training next month.” Tottenham apologise for survey asking if ‘a woman’s place is in the home’ Read more It is the third time since the beginning of last season that the striker has suffered this injury. On the first occasion, when he went down at Sunderland in September 2016, he was out for seven weeks while on the second, which came against Millwall at White Hart Lane in March 2017, he was out for four weeks. Tottenham believe the latest set-back is more similar to the Millwall injury. Source :- theguardian

A spectacular display of dominance in the final race from Mullins, with a 1-2-3 and four of the top five. He’s the leading trainer this week with five wins, Gordon Elliott has three (all today) and after Altior’s win, Nicky Henderson has two – and still leads the all-time standings. A great ride from Katie Walsh to end the second day – fitting after the unfortunate injury suffered by her brother, Ruby, earlier in the afternoon. The latest is that the jockey ‘aggravated’ his previous injury – a broken leg suffered in November. He’ll see a consultant next week, and will miss the rest of the Festival. Source :- theguardian

Arsenal versus Milan ought to be one of the glamour fixtures of the season. Not this time. When the sixth-placed team in the Premier League takes on the sixth-placed team in Serie A at Emirates Stadium on Thursday night, it will be in the Europa League rather than the Champions League and, to borrow a line from Gazzetta dello Sport, it has the feel of a clash of lost nobility. Arsenal have stabilised a little since the nightmare defeats by Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final and the league, followed by another at Brighton & Hove Albion, with the 2-0 win in Milan last Thursday – in the first leg of this last-16 tie – being talked up by the optimists such as Arsène Wenger as the catalyst. His team also beat Watford 3-0 at home on Sunday. Source :- theguardian

Mark Hughes has claimed he could not turn down the opportunity to become Southampton’s new manager after the club confirmed the Welshman as Mauricio Pellegrino’s successor on Wednesday night. Hughes’s first game will be an FA Cup tie at Wigan Athletic on Sunday but the club’s principal focus is on trying to stay in the Premier League. Southampton are one point and one place above the relegation zone with eight matches remaining. Southampton’s misery stems from losing identity and transfer touch Read more Hughes, who made 60 appearances as a player for Southampton between 1998 and 2000, has signed a deal until the end of the season and it is believed he will earn a £1m bonus if he keeps the club in the top flight. “It’s a challenge I’m excited by,” Hughes said. “It’s a great opportunity to come back to a club I know well and a club I’ve got real affinity with, and I couldn’t turn that down. Source :- theguardian

Five men slammed on the brakes simultaneously. Together they had been running towards Lionel Messi and together they turned and ran away from him again, as if he had flicked a switch, as if he had some kind of control over them. Which, in a way, he did. The moment that led to the second goal on a night which ended with the Camp Nou roaring their team into the quarter-finals, was an encapsulation of the power that ultimately took them there. Messi twice sent shots through the legs of Thibaut Courtois and into the net, in the third minute and the 64th, but it was the assist for the second that effectively ended this and there was something in that image, in the way it came in the 19th minute, that may even have said as much as him scoring. Source :- theguardian

They began the night by unveiling a huge banner – “God Save the King” – during the singing of El Cant del Barça in honour of the man they regard here as football royalty. Lionel Messi certainly did not let anyone down and, by the time he had finished with Chelsea, it was difficult not to think far too much had been made of that statistic about him failing to score in his first eight matches against these opponents. Messi’s ninth and 10th appearances against the team from Stamford Bridge have buried that one now Barcelona have safely navigated a route into the quarter-finals and Chelsea are left to consider that no side at this level can expect to get away with defending this generously. Messi contributed three‑quarters of Barcelona’s goals over the two legs. He is a genius, as everyone knows, but Chelsea played an obliging role when the mistakes of Thibaut Courtois and assorted colleagues are totted up. Source :- theguardian

Australian chef de mission Nick Dean wanted at least three medals at the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics and he has got it with four days remaining. The country sits 14th on the medal table after winning its first gold since Salt Lake City 2002, where there were significantly more medals offered in alpine skiing than subsequent Games. From shark attack survivor to para-snowboarder: the Sean Pollard story Read more And after Simon Patmore triumphed in snowboard cross this week, alpine skier Melissa Perrine clinched two bronze medals. Australia has beaten its medal counts at Games in Turin in 2006 (one silver, one bronze) and Sochi four years ago (two bronze), achieved despite the injury withdrawal of co-captain and world No 2 snowboarder Joany Badenhorst. It needs one more to level with the Vancouver 2010 team and still has ski slalom and snowboard banked slalom to do so. Source :- theguardian

Antonio Conte has praised Lionel Messi as the kind of talent who emerges only once every half-century after the Barcelona forward registered his 100th Champions League goal en route to eliminating Chelsea from the competition. Messi, who had failed to score in his first eight appearances against the London club, hit three of Barça’s four goals over the two legs and set up Ousmane Dembélé for the other, the secondon Wednesday night, as La Liga’s champions-elect progressed into the quarter-finals. Conte, having thanked his own players for their efforts, sought out the opposition forward at the final whistle to express admiration at his display as they departed the turf. “A fantastic player moved the final result, moved the qualification over the two legs,” the Italian said. Source :- theguardian

Eddie Jones and the Rugby Football Union have both issued apologies after video footage emerged of the England head coach referring to “the scummy Irish” and Wales as a “little shit place” during a speech last year. Jones said he was “very sorry” for remarks he concedes were inexcusable. Jones made the comments during a talk on leadership for the truck manufacturing company Fuso, the Japanese sister company of the England team sponsor Mitsubishi, last July but they have only come to light now. England host a grand slam-chasing Ireland side in the final round of this season’s Six Nations at Twickenham on Saturday, with Jones desperate for revenge having lost in Dublin last year. “We’ve played 23 Tests and we’ve only lost one Test to the scummy Irish,” he told his audience. “I’m still dirty about that game, but we’ll get that back, don’t worry. We’ve got them next year at home so don’t worry, we’ll get that back.” Source :- theguardian

The ball is in James Hird’s court after Fremantle confirmed they have offered the former Bomber the chance to join their coaching staff. The Dockers earlier this month confirmed they were considering the controversial figure to fill the vacant opposition analyst role but coach Ross Lyon has now revealed Hird is an “absolute priority”. “It’s great for us because it’ll help us win and I think it’s a nice little entree that could lead to greater and better things for James again,” Lyon told Seven Network. Concussion included in new AFL players' injury fund Read more Hird quit Essendon during 2015 after the club’s drawn-out supplements saga, which resulted in 34 past and present players being banned for the 2016 season. He was welcomed back into the AFL fold at last year’s grand final when he presented the Norm Smith Medal to Richmond star Dustin Martin. Source :- theguardian

Californian teenager Griffin Colapinto has ex-Tropical Cyclone Linda to thank for providing him with the wave of his life. The 19-year-old became the talk of the surfing world on Thursday after standing through three barrels at Kirra Point in Queensland to score the first 10-pointer of the new World Surf League season. The Quiksilver Pro event was moved from nearby Snapper Rocks because of the wild conditions whipped up by the weather system just off the Gold Coast. Colapinto reaped the rich rewards in his quarter-final win over French Polynesian Michel Bourez. Making his first non-wildcard appearance on the tour, he looked delighted after the first barrel and threw his hands into the air in celebration after making it through the second – then dropped them just as quickly when the third appeared. Source :- theguardian

By virtue of being part of the entertainment industry, an AFL footballer’s brand appears every bit as important as their ability to find the ball. And now footballers are being urged to “take back control” of their image and call out what they see as misrepresentation – or in less polite terms lies – in the media. Notwithstanding the irony that the quote “a lie will go ‘round the world while the truth is pulling its boots on” is mistakenly attributed to Mark Twain, social media has only expedited the speed in which these lies can travel. Internet forums and Twitter feeds fuelled by energy drinks and axes to grind make up a banquet of fresh horrors almost daily. And despite having access to almost all of human knowledge with a whorl of our fingertips, our instinct is to instead bounce myth and innuendo off the walls of our echo chamber. Source :- theguardian

Bayern Munich moved into the Champions League quarter-finals after beating Besiktas in Istanbul on Wednesday to complete an 8-1 aggregate victory against the Turkish side. It was a record 11th successive victory in the competition for their coach, Jupp Heynckes, who had led Bayern to the title in 2013 before retiring and returning this season. Barcelona v Chelsea: Champions League – live! Read more The Bundesliga champions went ahead through Thiago Alcântara in the 18th minute to kill off any lingering hopes of an improbable recovery by the hosts after Bayern had hammered them 5-0 in the first leg in Munich. However, the Spaniard was taken off with a suspected ankle problem a little later, having only recently returned from an injury break. Source :- theguardian

Eddie Jones and the Rugby Football Union have both issued apologies after video footage emerged of the England head coach referring to “the scummy Irish” and Wales as a “little shit place” during a speech last year. Jones said he was “very sorry” for remarks he concedes were inexcusable. Jones made the comments during a talk on leadership for the truck manufacturing company Fuso, the Japanese sister company of the England team sponsor Mitsubishi, last July but they have only come to light now. England host a grand slam-chasing Ireland side in the final round of this season’s Six Nations at Twickenham on Saturday, with Jones desperate for revenge having lost in Dublin last year. “We’ve played 23 Tests and we’ve only lost one Test to the scummy Irish,” he told his audience. “I’m still dirty about that game, but we’ll get that back, don’t worry. We’ve got them next year at home so don’t worry, we’ll get that back.” Source :- theguardian

Bayern Munich moved into the Champions League quarter-finals after beating Besiktas in Istanbul on Wednesday to complete an 8-1 aggregate victory against the Turkish side. It was a record 11th successive victory in the competition for their coach, Jupp Heynckes, who had led Bayern to the title in 2013 before retiring and returning this season. Barcelona 3-0 Chelsea (4-1 on aggregate): Champions League – as it happened Read more The Bundesliga champions went ahead through Thiago Alcântara in the 18th minute to kill off any lingering hopes of an improbable recovery by the hosts after Bayern had hammered them 5-0 in the first leg in Munich. However, the Spaniard was taken off with a suspected ankle problem a little later, having only recently returned from an injury break. Bayern, who could secure their sixth consecutive Bundesliga title at the weekend, went 2-0 up seconds after the second-half restart when Gokhan Gonul volleyed a Rafinha cross into his own net. Source :- theguardian