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Sports
EVENTS LISTINGS
The Police Live in Concert
Lushington Entertainments presents a one night only experience with The Police in 2007’s highest grossing tour. After their 20-year hiatus, the band will perform together classic hits like “Roxanne” , “Fall Out” and “Every Breath You Take” . The Police will take the stage at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Feb 4.
Ticket prices: $98, $148, $200, $400, $600. Refer to Sistic for more information. (Read more)
Christmas is a time for sharing, a time for people to come together and celebrate everyone’s achievements. And this year on the sports front, there’s certainly a cause for celebration, with Singapore’s athletes capping off a fairly successful year on many fronts.
In the season of sharing, UrbanWire has managed to get a hold of 2 such athletes who’ve put our tiny island on the world sporting map, shuttler Kendrick Lee, 23, and bowler Jazreel Tan, 18.
International wakeboarders from countries as far as Japan and Korea graced Singaporean shores on Dec 15 and 16 with their air-borne tricks in the Red Bull Kicker Jam, held in conjunction with this year’s Singapore Wakeboard Nationals.
Despite the overcast skies and scattered drizzles, the wakeboarders were enthusiastic in their element, giving the best they could. Korean wakeboarder Kim Yongil emerged victorious as he wowed the crowd with a flawless stunt that had the crowd roaring in approval as he reigned the ramp and landed with precision
. (Read more)
Some 500 fans of glamorous tennis sensation Maria Sharapova are in for a treat this festive season, when the Russian beauty makes her highly anticipated debut in Singapore on December 30 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, where she will take on compatriot and world No 6 Anna Chakvetadze in a special challenge match.
These lucky fans will not only get to catch Sharapova up close in action; they may also be able to meet with the stunning current world No 5 if they snap up the 500 VIP Champions Club Passes priced at $1,800. Besides the premium courtside seats, each pass comes with VIP invitations to the ‘An Afternoon with Maria Sharapova’ and an evening at the ‘Maria Sharapova Celebrity Night’.
UrbanWire was wrong, we admit it. And it’s a mistake that we’d gladly make again after the Lions successfully qualified for the SEA Games semi-finals for the first time since 1999 after they drew 0-0 with Malaysia on Dec 8.
After lambasting the Lions for their dismal draw against minnows Laos , the Lions dug deep and beat favourites Vietnam 3-2 on Dec 3, putting qualification from Group B firmly in their own hands, with just a point needed against arch-rivals Malaysia.
And what a dramatic encounter it turned out to be.
11-year-old Gladys Goh will be playing a sizeable role in Singapore’s bid to host one of the largest international sporting events, the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in 2010. (Read more)
Dark horses Slingers proved to defending champions Brisbane Bullets, naysayers and fans alike that even underdogs have their day. For the Slingers, that day was Dec 2, as they earned themselves a 119-102 victory, ending the Bullets’ 4-game winning streak and their 6-game losing streak.
Dark horses Slingers proved to defending champions Brisbane Bullets, naysayers and fans alike that even underdogs have their day. For the Slingers, that day was Dec 2, as they earned themselves a 119-102 victory, ending the Bullets’ 4-game winning streak and their 6-game losing streak.
Earlier, we looked at the 7 teams that clinched the second spots in their respective groups to earn qualification for Euro 2008.
Now in the second part of a 2-part UrbanWire special, we take a look at the group winners and give our take on how these teams performed throughout the course of their grueling campaign.
0, that’s the number of times that Singapore has won gold in the SEA Games football competition. And judging by the hapless display the Singapore Under-23s put out against Laos in their 0-0 Group B opener on Dec 1, UrbanWire’s sad to report that even a place in the semi-finals seems to be another distant dream.Forget all the talk about Singapore qualifying for the 3rd round of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers for the 1st time, squash all the euphoria that surrounded the senior team’s successful defence of their ASEAN crown earlier in the year.
When it comes to the Under-23s, the question is, are we expecting a little too much?
Against a Laotian squad that many expected the Lions to beat by a comfortable margin, it was in fact the minnows that showed their opponents a thing or 2 about football. Showing grit, fearlessness and desire against their more well-off counterparts, the Laotians nearly even came out victors in the rather physical contest.
A Seemingly Lacklustre Affair
The first half was certainly a cagey affair for the Lions. Failing to impose themselves on the Laotians and take the game by the scruff of the neck, the Lions soon found out the hard way that their opponents weren’t their lunch.
As early as the 4th min, Laos showed their attacking intent. A fast break following a foiled Singapore foray upfront saw striker Vongphet Sylisay flash a shot just wide of Hassan Sunny’s goal from the edge of the penalty box.
A notable incident happened in the 17th min when Singapore’s Khairul Amri was nearly clean through on goal in the penalty box. A bodycheck by a Laotian defender was enough to prevent the striker from scoring. While the challenge might have seemed innocuous, a different referee might have given Singapore a penalty for the seemingly dubious block.
From the 30th min, Laos began to up the ante further. The raw pace they possessed especially on their left flank was enough to trouble right back Hafiz Osman immensely and served as a launch pad for many of their attacks.
In the 32nd min, during a spell of dominance by Laos, the Laotians nearly took the lead when a snapshot by Sounthalay Saysongkham forced Sunny to make a decent save.
Failure To Launch
If it’s any consolation, the Lions began to show more urgency in attack during the 2nd half of the game. Although in this case, Laos managed to keep their more illustrious opponents at bay while being especially dangerous on the counter.
Singapore Midfielder Tengku Mushadad managed to test Laotian keeper Toulakhame Siththidaphone from range in the 52nd min. Although to be honest, it was a fairly straightforward save for the latter to make.
With the game becoming more physical as frustration mounted, tempers frayed when winger Ridhuan Muhammad was brought down by a rough Laotian tackle. A confrontation between the 2 sides ensued, but thankfully no punches were thrown and the referee opted to resume the game without any cards shown.
Singapore’s best chance of the game came in the 71st min when Amri was fouled on the edge of the penalty box. Opting to take the free-kick himself, the striker sent a peach of a shot over the wall but Toulakame was more than equal to the task, producing a stunning save in the process.
With the game drawing to a close, the Lions certainly tried to up the tempo, but against a resolute and compact Laotian team, it certainly wasn’t easy. Winger Fazrul Nawaz was left to rue what might have been when Toulakame proved to be a major roadblock yet again, producing another great save, this time from close range.
Final score: Singapore 0, Laos 0.
A Glimmer of Hope
Even if it was a team game, it wouldn’t be fair to criticise the entire team for their seemingly lacklustre performance. UrbanWire was impressed by the performance shown by central defender Shariff Abdul Samat.
The S-League’s Young Player of the Year was an absolute rock in the heart of defence. His well-timed tackles and good reading of the game were pivotal in preventing the Lions from falling to a shock defeat against Laos.
Back To The Drawing Board
For coach Raddy Avramovi?, it’s back to the drawing board to plot a way past favourites Vietnam and Malaysia. Undoubtedly he’ll be annoyed that his charges failed to get past minnows Laos but in some ways, the draw might just serve as the catalyst for the Lions to make the drive for the semi-finals.
Victory against both Vietnam and Malaysia might seem a tad impossible, but the Lions have the quality to emerge victors. It’s now up to the players to dig deep, emerge stronger from the draw and play their hearts on their sleeves over the next 180 minutes to ensure that Singapore finally progresses out of the group stages.
Singapore takes on Vietnam and Malaysia on Mon and Sat at 4.25pm respectively. Both matches will be shown on MediaCorp Channel 5.
The long and arduous qualifying campaign for Euro 2008 is finally over. Starting from Aug 2006 , teams all across Europe were split into 7 qualifying groups in a bid to win 1 of 2 coveted slots in each group to go to Austria-Switzerland next year.In a 2-part special, UrbanWire gives our take on the teams that qualified for Euro 2008, starting first with the teams that finished second in their respective groups.
Group A: Portugal
With all that talent, it seemed impossible for Portugal not to qualify for Euro 2008. But nobody would have expected them to practically sleepwalk towards the tail-end of the qualifiers, drawing with the likes of Bosnia and Armenia and just scrapping past Kazakhstan with a 2-1 victory.
Perhaps Big Phil Scolari has gone soft on his charges. It certainly didn’t help that he was tipped to take over the England post after the 2006 World Cup. Maybe it has got to do more with the retirement of the talismanic Luis Figo that unsettled the balance in the team.
Nonetheless, the current golden boy of the world of football, Cristiano Ronaldo may have led the goal-scoring charts for Portugal with 8 during the qualifiers. But for Portugal to succeed at Euro 2008, he must wholly take on Figo’s mantle as the heartbeat of the team.
Group B: France
Beaten twice by Scotland, the French have to thank Georgia and Italy for their participation in Euro 2008 after the 2 dealt successive deathblows to destroy Scotland’s European dreams.
Essentially a team in transition with plenty of new players coming in, France have to improve dramatically before they will be considered challengers in Euro 2008
Still while they might have struggled during qualification, especially against Lithuania and Georgia, on paper, they have enough depth to be a world-beater. One player in particular that UrbanWire suggests football fans take a closer look at is Marseille’s 20-year-old midfielder, Samir Nasri who’s set to become the next Zinedine Zidane.
Group C: Turkey
Mediterranean football is on the rise again following the successful qualification of both Greece and Turkey from Group C.
With Fatih Terim as manager and evergreen captain Hakan Sukur, Turkey has a formula for success, given that the duo led Galatasaray SK to the 2000 Uefa Cup.
A highlight of their qualification campaign will most definitely be their 4-1 annihilation of arch-rival, Greece, in Athens.
With their qualification, the Turks have put an end to a barren spell that had seen them away from a major international Championship since the 2002 World Cup where they finished 3rd.
Group D: Germany
Sammy Lee and Chris Hutchings might have flopped badly but Joachim Low has shown that assistant managers can make the step up, leading the German juggernaut hurtling towards Euro 2008.
With 35 goals scored (although 19 were against minnows San Marino), the days of German football being dull and effective are probably a thing of the past.
Although Germany were the first side to qualify for Euro 2008, Low will probably be disappointed with the draw against Cyprus and the heavy 3-0 mauling dished out by Czech Republic.
Interestingly enough, he’s managed to do something that his predecessor Jurgen Klinsmann wasn’t unable to rectify; he improved the defence which conceded just 7 goals over 12 games. However with first-choice keeper Jens Lehmann now playing second fiddle at Arsenal, Low might have a goalkeeping problem come Euro 2008.
Group E: Russia
Yet another Guus Hiddink team has managed to Guus-step their way into a major tournament. They might not have been favourites to qualify from Group E but under the Messiah of Managers, they always had a good chance.
Lady Luck was certainly smiling on Hiddink’s men following their startling 2-1 capitulation against Israel, with Croatia beating England at Wembley for Russia to qualify with a 1-0 victory over Andorra.
They may not be as technically gifted as the English, but at least they’ve been consistent and that’s what matters most in a race for qualification.
Group F: Sweden
If any team benefited from the opposition’s change of manager, it had to be Sweden. Imagine if Lawrie Sanchez hadn’t left for Fulham, the Northern Irish might not have lost the crucial momentum.
But credit to the Swedes for their successful campaign where they’ve maintained their cohesion and grit. Marcus Allback, the FC Copenhagen striker, in particular, showed that unlike his poor showing at Aston Villa, he does have the ability to score, with 6 goals to his name.
A 2-0 victory over Spain will probably be the highlight of their campaign. But if Northern Ireland hadn’t lost 1-0 to Latvia, it would have been them heading to Euro 2008 based on their better head-to-head against Sweden.
Group G: Holland
15 goals scored in 12 games. That’s a statistic as un-Dutch-like as they come. Somehow, the Masters of Total Football struggled to hit the net despite manager Marco van Basten’s best intentions.
A major disappointment for the demanding Dutch fans were the 2 lacklustre 1-0 victories over traditional whipping boys Luxemburg.
Granted, van Basten didn’t exactly have his first team throughout the entire campaign, but then again the Dutch team is filled with so much attacking talent in reserves like Ryan Babel and Dirk Kuyt that it’s still rather incomprehensible that they would struggle for goals as badly as they did.
Click here for the second part of our 2 part special!
It was a stressful Sunday as the Singapore Slingers and the Perth Wildcats fought it out at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in a nail biting overtime match. The Slingers emerged victorious, with a score of 112-105.
The Perth Wildcats slashed the Slingers by over 30 points in their 1st encounter of the Hummer NBL Championships 2007/2008. They may be young, but they have certainly proven their potential in the match on Nov 4 as the Slingers belted out a full defensive system that kept the Wildcats well under their hands. (Read more)
The Singapore Slingers versus Sydney Kings’ game on Oct 28 saw what could possibly be the most impressive feat the Slingers have performed since the start of the 2007/2008 National Basketball League (NBL) season in September.
They might not have completely dethroned the Kings but it was a tremendously commendable attempt to do so as the Slingers were falling behind the Kings with a monstrous gap of 30 points in the 2nd quarter.
Despite this, fans were awarded with a delightful comeback by the Slingers who presented a never-say-die attitude throughout.
1st Quarter Performance
The team went off with yet another one of their signature slow starts as they finished the quarter with a score of 14-33. The Kings were steady with their 3-pointer shots as forward, Jason Smith, scored a hat-trick while Glen Saville and Russell Hinder both netted each of their 3-pointer attempts as well.
2nd Quarter Performance
The period was a real killer as the Slingers slipped further behind with their inability to score their free throws. This, in addition to the fact that the Kings were in top form led to a heart-dropping score of 64-34, with the Kings stretching their lead by 30 points.
3rd Quarter Performance
The team came back from the 1st half of the game revitalized as they fought aggressively for rebounds and opened up their passes. While this gave a glimmer of hope to Slingers fans, the team still had much work to do as their sloppy passes and missed hoop chances gave way to a lead of 26 points as the quarter ended 82-56. Despite Mike Helms leading the point count a good 22 points, well ahead of Kings’ Jason Smith at 15 points, the team still needed an extra effort in order to get closer to the Kings’ lead.
4th Quarter Performance
The magnificent 4th quarter was one that proved the Slingers’ resilience in dire times. With the Slingers roaring back into action as the team wrenched the gap between the leading team and theirs to a mere 5 points, the fans also roared as they wholeheartedly cheered for the Slingers and booed at the visitors. Rod Grizzard’s poor performance in the first 3 quarters was forgiven as the fired-up player shot multiple 3-pointers in succession. Even as a foul by bandaged Mark Worthington on Blagoj Janev gave the Slingers a chance to turn the game around with less than 2 minutes on the clock, time was not one their side as the game ended 99-90 with the Kings in the lead.
Nonetheless, the fans gave the Slingers a well-deserved applause for their laudable effort in bringing the game back.
Coaches’ Comments
As usual, Coach Gordon McLeod had much to say about his team’s performance.
“Overall, I’m disappointed, but very pleased with the 3rd and 4th quarter effort,” he said.
“To concede 60 points in the 1st half, you’re not going to win games. Sydney showed that they are a top team. We were well beaten on the boards, and the points in the paint really hurt us and we panicked a bit, the same as the last game.”
Continued McLeod, “We made some adjustments to both our defence and offence, and all of a sudden our perimeter shots start to drop. But it’s the same old story, we can’t seem to get 4 consistent quarters at the moment. It was great to see the fans get into the game. We were gaining momentum in the 4th quarter but to give a team of this calibre such a big start is always going to be difficult, but it was hell of an effort.”
Kings’ coach, Brian Goorjian, was gracious in his team’s win over the Slingers.
“We probably played our best half of basketball this year in the 1st half, but in the end I’m just happy to get out of here with a win. I have to admit that I was very worried in the 4th quarter, as they had all the momentum. There was too much time left with around 4 minutes on the clock for the game to be ours,” he said.
“2 or 3 of my guys played like the game was over, and we simply lost the plot. The crowd really got into the game, and full credit to the Slingers for the comeback. There is a toughness about their players, and they just never seem to know when to quit.”
Top 3 scorers:
(Slingers) Helm, 31 / Grizzard, 24 / Knight, 15
(Kings) Smith, 19 / Draper, 16 / Saville, 14
The Slingers will be playing their next game against the Perth Wildcats at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Nov 4, 5pm.
110 contestants came and raised their arms in a bid to represent Singapore in the prestigious Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay and only 1 man will reign.
28-year-old Kamal Akhtar endured 6 grueling hours of holding up the torch before he earned his spot as 1 of 5 
privileged torchbearers from Singapore to walk among other global torchbearers selected from a pool of key personalities, inspirational role models, celebrities and the media in the host city of Suzhou, China.
Mr Akhtar was not the only winner as 1,500 Singaporeans from all walks of life also came together to create their own Olympic history by setting a Singapore record for having the most number of torchbearers forming a five-ring formation. The record setting attempt is a tribute to the Olympics logo and the endeavour was officiated by Mr Teo Chee Hean, Minster of Defence and President of the Singapore National Olympic Council.
Triumph not only came in the form of glory but also for a good cause as various deejays from MediaCorp such as Yazmin from Class 95FM, Shan Wee from 987FM, Tim Oh from Gold 90.5FM and Fen Ying from Love 972FM had their own mini endurance challenge in a bid to raise money for Mainly I love Kids (MILK), KK Hospital Health Endowment Fund and the Society for the Physically Disabled.
It was an amusing experience watching the radio deejays hold up the torches for a mere 15 minutes as they squirmed and made small talk to distract themselves from the burning ache of raising their arms while the other hopeful torchbearers had already been about 5 hours into the official Torchbearer’s Challenge. 
Nonetheless, the deejays held on and raised $2,000 for each of the charities they were assigned to, pooling in a total of $8,000 worth of donations.
“Our aim is to bring the spirit of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games to Singapore, by encouraging and helping Singaporeans from all walks of life to experience the spirit of the Olympics and push themselves to the limit for a better life. We are greatly encouraged by the public’s active participation and enthusiasm over the past month and hope they continue to show their support for the Olympics,” said Mr. Ki-Heung Yoon, Managing Director, Samsung Asia Pte Ltd.
Mr Ki-Heung Yoon’s words held true as it was indeed a day spent in Olympic spirit as Singaporeans strived to perform challenges to the best of their abilities, displaying exemplary sportsmanship and the persevering attitude of an athlete.
The Singapore Slingers played their 1st weekend game against the NZ Breakers which ended disappointingly with a score of 116-99 with the Breakers in the lead.
What could have been a potential victory went downhill from the 2nd quarter after the Breakers had an interval from the 1st quarter. The Breakers came back in top form. Their shots were on fire and the Slingers attempts to douse their flames eventually ran dry.
1st Quarter Performance
The Slingers had a slow start as usual, allowing the Breakers to lead 7-0. Luckily, Rod Grizzard provided them with the fuel to tie the game 7-7 after his reverse lay-up. It was a smooth quarter for the Slingers as a beautiful steal followed by a lay-up from Ben Knight pushed the team to a lead of
15-13. Grizzard treated the audience to his trademark dunk, giving the Slingers a 6 point lead. At this point in time, Breakers coach, Andrej Lemanis, was compelled to call for a time out. The Slingers ended the period with a lead of 28-20.
2nd Quarter Performance
The Breakers came back in 2nd quarter with the spirit to shoot as they went on a run to tie the game at 28-28. This time, Coach Gordon McLeod called for a time out. The Slingers did a good job of keeping the score tight, lagging only several points behind. Both teams gave their all, tussling for the ball several times. Unfortunately for the Slingers, the quarter ended with a gap of 9 points with the Breakers leading at 58-49.
3rd Quarter Performance
With superb shooting skills, the Breakers came into the quarter with utmost accuracy. The Slingers struggled to keep the scores close but ultimately failed as the 10 over point lag in score was kept constant throughout the period. The quarter ended with a score of 85-71 with the Breakers in the lead.
4th Quarter Performance
It was a tough final quarter for the Slingers as they laboriously attempted to draw a closer score to the Breakers. Even as Grizzard snapped back into play, the Slingers failed to catch up. Star player Mike Helms lay low, scoring a disappointing 15 points for the entire game. The 22 point gap that surfaced sometime in the quarter indicated a hint of victory for the Breakers. True enough, as hard as the Slingers tried, the game ended sadly with a score of 116-99.
The Captain Speaks
Captain Ben Knight attributed the loss to the team’s carelessness and also complimented Kirk Penney’s
performance. The National Basketball Association (NBA) drafted player chalked up a total of 24 points, 1 ore than Rick Rickert. Grizzard might have had an impressive score of 25 points, but one Grizzard is simply not enough for the team to claim victory.
Knight said, “You cannot afford to give away 116 points to teams that are struggling a little like the Breakers. That is just unacceptable and we have to pick it up defensively. At the moment we are just not good enough.”
Top 3 scorers:
(Slingers) Grizzard, 25 / Cameron, 16 / Helms, 15
(Breakers) Penney, 24 / Rickert, 23 / Forman, 17
The Slingers will be playing their next game against the Sydney Kings at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Oct 28, 5pm.
