NFL pre-season news

The NFL pre-season kicked off this week as players and coaches began training camps. A bit of news on various players returning to action as well as some still sorting out their rookie contracts.

Starting off on a downer-Minnesota Vikings DE Kenechi Udeze officially retires from the game. Udeze had been battling Leukemia and has been in remission but the USC ex called time on his playing career today.

Signings- Brian Orakpo yet to come to contract terms with the Redskins.
Chris Ogbonnaya signs his contract with the St. Louis Rams.


Return of the players-Osi Umenyiora is ready for action as Giants training camp kicks off.

Victor Abiamiri is ready to make an impact on the Eagles defense this season.

Big season coming up for the Houston Texans and DT Amobi Okoye.

Brendon Ayanbadejo is glad to be back with the Ravens.

Basketball news

Some news and notes from International Basketball as well as the NBA.

NIGERIA NAMES INITIAL 16 PLAYERS FOR LIBYA 2009
The NBBF has named 16 players from the recently concluded camp in Houston as well as from the camp in Kaduna, Nigeria. The 16 players will have a chance to show that they deserve a place in the final 12 player list for the 2009 Afrobasket in Libya.

The Players are: Josh Akognon, Michael Umeh, Michael Efevberha, Ebi Ere, Jayson Obazuaye, Gabe Muoneke, Ejike Ugbaja, Aloysius Anagonye, Ayodeji Akindele, Benson Egemonye, Akin Akingbala and Chamberlain Oguchi alongside four home-based players comprising of Abdulrahman Mohammed of Nigeria Customs basketball club, Abubakar Usman and Stanley Gumut of Niger Potters and Ibrahim Yusuf of Kano Pillars basketball club.


NEW ORLEANS TRADES FOR EMEKA OKAFOR
The New Orleans Hornets traded Center Tyson Chandler for Charlotte Bobcats PF/C Emeka Okafor. Okafor will be expected to bring a high level of consistency in the middle to the Hornets as he is a dependable double-double player and will benefit from playing alongside one of the three best point guards in the NBA in Chris Paul.

NEW ORLEANS SIGNS IKE DIOGU

According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Hornets still in wheeling and dealing mode picked up free agent forward Ike Diogu and are finalizing the details as we speak. The Hornets will be hoping Diogu realizes his potential while playing alongside Okafor and Chris Paul and the team see the young Diogu as a low cost option to provide additional size in the front court.

Samuel Peter wins comeback bout

After suffering consecutive defeats to Vitali Klitschko and Eddie Chambers, former WBC Heavyweight Titlist Samuel Peter got back in the win column, defeating journeyman Marcus McGee (22-17 11KOs) in Mexico by 3rd Round Knockout, dropping McGee three times in the process.
This fight marked a new beginning for Peter who recently changed trainers and signed a new contract with promotional juggernaut Top Rank in an attempt to reestablish himself as a top contender. At only 28 years of age and in the weak heavyweight division the opportunity is there for the Nigerian Nightmare but it remains to be seen what he will do with it.
Peter improved his record to 31-3 (24KOs).

By Don Palacas

Footy roundup

Adebayor says bye to Arsenal-Emmanuel Adebayor made his exit from Arsenal to Manchester City official. The Togo international is now in South Africa for pre-season with his new club.
Adebayor claims the Arsenal fans drove him out-any truth to that or just bitter words?
In a sign of the times, not too many can quibble with Adebayors' claim that Man.City can pip Arsenal to a top four finish.

John Obi Mikel put pen to paper on a new five year contract with Chelsea this week.

New Chelsea gaffer Carlo Ancelotti has big plans for the Nigerian midfielder. This article in no way helps the persistent argument among Nigerians around the world on Mikels best position.

Still no official word on the Zlatan Ibrahimovic-Samuel Eto'o player swap but the Cameroonians agent has said Eto'o will be in Milan for a medical early next week.

Five nations tournament in Egypt

After beating Ghana's U-20's 1-0 on Tuesday in the Five Nations tournament in Egypt, the Flying Eagles of Nigeria shellacked Kenya 11-0 in their second match. Braces by Daniel Uchechi and Nurudeen Orelesi helped the Flying Eagles on their way to the impressive victory.

Ghana lost their next match 4-1 to hosts Egypt and are no longer in contention despite an opening match victory against Guatemala.
The Flying Eagles play Guatemala next while Ghana faces Kenya.

Nigerian Basketball team head back to camp

The Nigerian Basketball team are back in camp in Houston for the 2nd phase of their Afrobasket preparations.
Associate head coach Masai Ujiri gave his verdict on the first phase of the Houston camp to 234next.com and appeared to be pleased with the way it went.

The team meanwhile, have reconvened in Houston and will be there till July 27th before they leave for Nigeria. The NBBF and D'Tigers will be hoping all goes well before they begin play in Libya and attempt to win their first African Basketball Championship.

Footy Roundup

The Footy transfer season is rounding the corner before the window closes and we have news on some player transfers around Europe.

Barcelona reportedly agree to send Eto'o to Inter Milan for Ibrahimovic.

Didier Zokora moves to Sevilla from Tottenham.

Thimothee Atouba makes the switch from Hamburg to Ajax.

Manucho moves to Valladolid from Manchester United.
United then signed striker Mame Biram Diouf from Norwegian club Molde FK.

King Kong announces his presence to the Boxing world

In a mild upset Ghana’s Joseph King Kong Agbeko defeated Pound for Pound top ten fighter Vic Darchinyan via unanimous decision to retain the IBF Bantamweight title.

In a rugged fight between two fighters who have plenty of distain for one another, Agbeko landed his lead right at will all night, keeping his opponent at bay and frustrating Darchinyan.

After the fight Agbeko thanked Ghanaian president John Atta Mills for calling him to wish him luck in the fight and as the only current Ghanaian world champion promised to always defend the good name of Ghana in the ring.

The scorecards were 116-111 and 114-113 twice for the Ghanaian.

By Don Palacas

Florida Fireworks: Agbeko vs Darchinyan

Although the fight will take place a week after the fourth of July when these two hard-hitting combatants meet there are sure to be fireworks.

Ghana’s Joseph ‘King Kong’ Agbeko (26-1, 22KOs), the International Boxing Federation(IBF) bantamweight champion, will defend his title against Vic Darchinyan(32-1 26 KOs) this Saturday July 11 on Showtime(9p.m. ET) at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise FL.

This is only Agbeko’s third fight in the United States; he is riding a five fight winning streak after suffering his only defeat in Germany to Wladimir Sidorenko in a disputed decision where many including Darchinyan felt Agbeko deserved the decision.

Darchinyan who is ranked by most boxing pundits in the mythical ’pound for pound top ten list is looking to become a five time champion in his third weight class and must be commended for moving up to fight the hardest puncher in the bantamweight division.

Agbeko and Darchinyan are pound for pound two of the hardest hitting fighters in the sport. Agbeko has an astonishing 81 percent knockout rate while Darchinyan sports an impressive 76 percent knockout rate.


The Prediction: Agbeko UD

Many pundits are expecting this fight to be a candidate for fight of the year. With two heavy punchers conventional wisdom should tell us that this fight will end in a knockout; expect both fighters to be forced to get off the canvas but look for the aggressive Agbeko to outwork the aging Darchinyan(33 years old is ancient in the smaller weight divisions) and win a decision.

By Don Palacas

NFL news

As teams get ready for the start of training camps later this month, we have some articles and interviews to prepare you for the start of the 2009 NFL season.
First off, Osi Umenyiora lets The Sporting News know that he's ready to contribute in a major way to the Giants success this season.

Nnamdi Asomugha will not be shirking his responsibilites to the Oakland Raiders despite his newfound fame due to his big contract.
A good Q & A session with Nnamdi from Sporting News.

Eagles CB Jack Ikegwuonu will be attempting to get his NFL career started and on track.

St. Louis' Turf Show Times argues on the importance of re-signing OJ Atogwe immediately.

Jeff Otah is playing injury free and has his mind clear and focused on the upcoming season.

Agbeko v Darchinyan training preview

In preparation for the July 11th fight between Ghanaian Joseph Agbeko and Vic Darchinyan here's an inside look at Agbeko's training camp based in the South Bronx.
Joe's Gym is home to a number of other Ghanaian boxers and we get to hear from Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko as he gets ready for his big fight.






Don Palacas

Oguchi Onyewu joins AC Milan

USA international center back Oguchi Onyewu joined AC Milan today on a three year contract. The former US youth product and Standard Liege player impressed AC Milan with his play over the past few seasons in Belgium as well as with the US team and the possession of an EU passport plus his status as a free agent all played a part in the Rossoneri signing him. Onyewu, whose parents are from Nigeria, grew up in the U.S and was a member of the US confederations cup team that came in 2nd place in the tournament in South Africa last month.

Euro Football news

Some news items from the European leagues for our readers.

Kanu is re-upping with Portsmouth for another season.
Yakubu's rehab has gone quite well and he expects to be fit for the start of the season in August.
Emmanuel Adebayor's on-off transfer status with Arsenal appears to be off at the moment.

Ghana’s Agbeko Looks to Deny Darchinyan’s Championship quest

Armenian Vic Darchinyan is looking to become a rare 5 division champion but standing in his way is hard-hitting Ghanaian bantamweight champion Joseph ‘King Kong’ Agbeko (26-1 22kos).
The war of words is heating up http://www.fightnews.com/?p=15832 and the fight may prove to be even more explosive on July 11th. We will provide future analysis as the battle between these two knockout artists draws nearer.

By Don Palacas

Cameroon’s Olivier Lontchi suffers first defeat

In a battle of unbeaten fighters, Puerto Rican sensation Juan Manuel Lopez (26-0 24 KOs) defeated Canadian based Cameroonian junior featherweight Olivier Lontchi(18-1-2 8KOs). Lontchi’s trainer Howard Grant stopped the fight after the 9th round when Lontchi complained that he re-aggravated a rib injury he suffered in training. The 26 year old Lontchi gave a game performance against the Puerto Rican star however he lacked the firepower to deter Lopez from attacking. Lontchi often frustrated Lopez with his awkward style and will surely earn another title shot down the line.


By Don Palacas

Draw for Libya 2009 Afrobasket

The draw for the 2009 Afrobasket championship in Libya was held last week and the teams were divided into 4 groups. Here are the groups:

Group A-Benghazi: Libya, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, South Africa

Group B-Benghazi: Angola, Mozambique, Egypt, Mali

Group C-Tripoli: Cameroon, Senegal, Congo, Central Africa

Group D-Tripoli: Cape Verde, Morocco, Rwanda, Tunisia


The tournament commences August 5th and ends on the 15th.

FIBA and africabasket.com correspondent Olusegun Ikuesan caught up with NBBF President Tijani Umar to get his thoughts on the draw-http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/fibaEven/
fibaAfriCham/p/newsid/30737/arti.html