Yobo to extend Everton contract

According to News of The World, Everton and Super Eagles defender Joseph Yobo is set to sign a five year extension to his current deal which will see him stay on at Goodsison Park till 2014. The new deal is said to be worth £50,000 per week and will also enable Yobo to receive a testimonial before the deal ends. Since it is difficult to give much credence to NOTW, when the Super Eagles skipper and his agent John Shittu put pen to paper we'll know for sure how serious Everton are about retaining a key cog in their defence.

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/111660/JOSEPH-YOBO-STAYS-PUT.html

EPL roundup

Egyptian striker Amr Zaki continued his good form as he scored from the penalty spot to lead Wigan to a 1-0 win over Bolton. Sengalese striker Henri Camara helped earn the penalty for the Latics.
Zaki's goal was also a late Christmas present for his former club Zamalek as they pocketed a £500,000 bonus due to terms in Zaki's loan deal that stipulated a payout if Zaki netted 10 goals.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/89/africa/2008/12/29/1032113/zakis-goal-for-wigan-athletic-earns-zamalek-more-cash

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article5408083.ece


South African striker Benni McCarthy is back on form for Blackburn Rovers as he scored the first goal in a 2-2 draw with Manchester City at Ewood park. Benni has now netted thrice since "Big Sam" Allardyce took the reins for Rovers and the striker is warning Blackburn's premiership rivals that Rovers are back.

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/sport/3994981.McCarthy_warns_Premier_rivals__We_re_back_/

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_4681328,00.html

Jarome Iginla- season update

Calgary Flames centre Jarome Iginla is not having his best season by any stretch of the imagination but he is still contributing to the Flames stay atop the Northwest division in the NHL's Western conference. The Edmonton born player has quietly amassed 16 goals, 24 assists and 40 points but more importantly, the attention focused on him by opposing defenders has allowed him to contribute to his team and line mates stellar numbers. Look for Jarome to get the nod as the Western Conference's third starting forward in the 2009 All Star game in Montreal.

NBA bits & pieces

Quick NBA tidbits- Charlotte Bobcats fans aren't the only ones noticing the re-emergence of Bobcats PF Emeka Okafor on the offensive end. The former UCONN Huskies star has averaged 18.2 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks during the month of December. Apparently the trade of Jason Richardson for Raja Bell and Boris Diaw has also helped Emeka become an important part of the Bobcats offense.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3794831&name=boxscore_basketball

Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng is out injured 1-2 weeks with a sprained left ankle. Deng injured the ankle while attempting to grab a rebound in the Bulls game last Friday vs the Miami Heat. Despite the presence of rookie of the year front runner Derek Rose in the Bulls backcourt, the team are 13-17 and will most likely encounter mixed results without Deng as the team faces New Jersey, Orlando and Cleveland this week and then faces bottom dwellers Minnesota, Sacramento, Washington and Oklahoma City.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/chi-28-bulls-bits-chicagodec28,0,4056684.story

EPL Boxing day round-up

The English premiership provided its usual Boxing day feast of football and with the battle at the top and bottom tightening up, three points were at a premium.
Here's a round-up.

Stoke City-Manchester United
Stoke suffered a 1-0 loss to the Red Devils, a match that Abdoulaye Faye went 90 minutes at the back and Amdy Faye started at center-midfield before leaving in the 90th for Seyi George Olofinjana.

Manchester City-Hull City
Manchester City delivered a 5-1 thrashing to Hull at the City of Manchester Stadium.
Nedum Onuoha came on at half-time for Micah Richards. Benjamin Mwarurari aka Benjani is still out with a thigh injury.

Chelsea-West Bromwich Albion
The Blues defeated West Brom 2-0 on goals from Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.
Droggles and Lamps knocked in goals a few minutes after the start of the match and right at the end of the first half to end any hope the Baggies had of making it competitive.

Everton-Middlesbrough
Everton used a goal from Tim Cahill in the second half to defeat a Middlesbrough side with Egyptian striker Mido leading the line. Victor Anichebe was an unused sub for Everton while Joseph Yobo is still out with a hamstring injury suffered in last week's match to Chelsea.

Portsmouth-West Ham
Kanu Nwankwo was a 73' minute sub for Jermain Defoe in Pompeys 4-1 defeat to the Hammers. John Utaka didn't make the bench for Pompey but D.R. Congo international
Herita Nkongolo Ilunga got the full 90' at left back for the Hammers.

Liverpool-Bolton
Fabrice Muamba played the full 90' in Bolton's 3-1 loss to Liverpool. Young forward Tope Obadeyi made the bench for Wanderers again as he makes progress in his bid for playing time while Super Eagles defender Danny Shittu is still stuck to his seat in the dugout as he is out favor with Wanderers manager Gary Megson.

Tottenham-Fulham
Fullbacks Benoit Assou-Ekotto and John Paintsil got the starts for Tottenham and Fulham respectively as did Didier Zokora at midfield for Spurs.All three players went the full 90 in a boring 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane. Dickson Etuhu was on the bench for Fulham but got in the game before the end of the first half due to an injury to Jimmy Bullard.

Sunderland-Blackburn
El-Hadji Diouf was an unused sub for the Black Cats of Sunderland in a 0-0 draw with Blackburn. Christopher Samba got the start at the back as usual for Blackburn and Benni McCarthy continues to show he deserves to be a part of the Rovers starting
eleven. Aaron Mokoena came on as a sub in the final minutes of the match.

Wigan-Newcastle
Amr Zaki knocked in the winning penalty for Wigan in a 2-1 win over Newcastle. Henri Camara came on as a late sub for Wigan while Habib Beye started for Newcastle on the right but had to leave after 38' due to a leg injury sustained after a typical reckless challenge from Wigan's Lee Cattermole. Kazenga Lua Lua was an unused sub while Obafemi Martins and Shola Ameobi are still out with groin and hamstring injuries.

Aston Villa-Arsenal
An Abou Diaby goal put Arsenal 2-0 up in this match before Villa tied things up at 2-2 to take a point from the match. Gabriel Agbonlahor went the full 90 for Villa while Diaby, Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue played the full match for the Gunners. Alex Song started the match at midfield but left before the end of the first half. Emmanuel Adebayor missed the match due to a suspension.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all our readers out there. Have a wonderful and blessed holiday and enjoy the Footy/soccer on offer from the EPL teams as well as the NBA and NFL action on Christmas day and the rest of the week.

The Hunt for Stephen Appiah

Black Star's central midfielder Stephen Appiah is a wanted man in Club football. The Ghanaian captain is a free agent after leaving Fenerbahce of Turkey and has been linked to many clubs ranging from Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premiership to AC Milan of the Italian Serie A. The latest news on Appiah is that he was leaning towards a move to DC United of Major League Soccer but for reasons unclear at the moment, DC United decided not to continue their pursuit. Fellow MLS outfit FC Dallas stepped in and were prepared to make a move to bring Appiah to Pizza Hut Park but apparently the FC Dallas front office balked at the $2 million salary figure.

The $2 million is an amount significantly less than what Appiah would command in Europe and the willingness to take such a pay cut showed the legitimacy of Appiah's intent to embark on an MLS career. Now comes word from Appiah himself that the reports linking him to the MLS are false and that he still has a lot to offer to a European club, perhaps Middlesbrough, as Gareth Southgate's side are apparently willing to join in the pursuit for Appiah during the January transfer window. Regardless of the accuracy or inaccuracy of the Appiah rumors, we wish the Black Stars captain the best in his search for a club worthy of his services in the coming year as his national side will need him at his best as they prepare to finish off the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign on a high note.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2008/12/a_is_for_appiah.html#more

Essien is Ghana's footballer of the year

Chelsea midfielder and Black Stars leader Michael Essien was named Ghana's footballer of the year. Essien beat out Sulley Muntari of Inter Milan and Laryea Kingston of Hearts for the award. Essien impressed for both Chelsea and Ghana this year despite injuries and he was the top vote getter for the Sports Writers Association of Ghana. Congrats to 'The Bison".



http://www.ghanafa.org/news/200812/3362.asp

Prayers for Ogbonna's recovery

Angelo Ogbonna of Torino was involved in a single car accident on Sunday according to his club. The Italian defender of Nigerian heritage was driving back after his team's victory over Napoli when he lost control of his Smart car and it veered off a bridge into a river.
Ogbonna was conscious and responsive when rescued and despite being diagnosed with thoracic trauma, he suffered no fractures. Our prayers go out to Ogbonna and we wish him a speedy recovery.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1635/torino/2008/12/22/1024217/torinos-ogbonna-miraculously-unharmed-after-crash

Champions League draw

Here's the full draw for the European Champions League round of 16.
The matches are going to be on February 24/25th and March 10/11.

Chelsea v Juventus
Villarreal v Panathinaikos
Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich
Atlético Madrid v FC Porto
Lyon v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Arsenal v AS Roma
Internazionale v Manchester United

Some great fixtures are on tap as we'll get to see Mikel,Drogba, Kalou and co. take on Momo Sissokos' Juventus team while Sulley Muntari will be on hand to help Mourinho's boys in their quest to upset the reigning champions. We're in for a treat.