Sports Poets Society

http://soccer.nbcsports.com/2018/04/17/which-teams-will-be-relegated-from-premier-league/ Barring a miraculous finish to the season in the West Midlands, West Bromwich Albion is headed back to the Championship. [ RECAP: Brighton 1-1 Spurs ] Stoke City and Southampton need a lot of help to avoid their fates, too, in what was once an incredible logjam in the race to avoid the drop. How can relief come to the Potters and Saints? Well, to get alliterative: Winning in Wales. Both sides face Carlos Carvalhal ‘s Swansea City, whose five-point advantage on both could shrink with consecutive matches against Man City and Chelsea before Bournemouth and the aforementioned battlers. Huddersfield is seven points clear but has a rough run-in, facing Man City, Chelsea, and Arsenal over the final eight days of the season. We’ll include them, but the Terriers’ desperation could be enough against at least one of those sides: Only Arsenal could have their European qualification in jeopardy if B...

http://www.museociclismo.it/content/articoli/1670-Una+vita+a+settanta+orari%3A+Mario+Cipollini/index.html Una vita a settanta orari. E' la storia di Mario Cipollini, il più grande velocista italiano della storia, il corridore più vincente in attività, un personaggio in grado di catalizzare l'attenzione di pubblico e mass media. Centottantacinque successi in carriera: 42 vittorie di tappa al Giro d'Italia, 12 al Tour de France, 3 alla Vuelta a Espana, 13 al Giro del Mediterraneo, 12 al Giro di Romandia, 11 al Giro di Catalogna, 9 al Giro di Puglia, 8 alla Parigi-Nizza, 6 alla Vuelta Valenciana e al Giro d'Aragona, 5 alla Tirreno-Adriatico. La vittoria annunciata del Mondiale di Zolder (con addosso la prima maglia azzurra della carriera, Olimpiadi di Atlanta escluse) e la Milano-Sanremo conquistata al quattordicesimo tentativo nel magico 2002, l'anno del tris alla Gand-Wevelgem. La carriera iniziata alla Del Tongo ha subito avuto l'impronta della predesti...

http://www.museociclismo.it/content/articoli/1255-Storia+di+Mario+Cipollini/index.html Mario Cipollini è stato il più grande velocista del ciclismo moderno. Dominatore delle tappe al Giro d'Italia e al Tour de France, ha anche vestito sia la maglia rosa sia la maglia gialla. Personaggio eccentrico e noto anche fuori del ciclismo, è un corridore amato dal pubblico italiano e internazionale. Mario inizia a correre quasi per gioco, seguendo le orme del padre ex dilettante e del fratello Cesare , professionista dal 1978 e idolo sportivo della Versilia . Sin dalle prime gare nelle categorie Allievi e Juniores dimostra grande determinazione e una smisurata voglia di affermarsi. Al secondo anno da Juniores vince 13 corse in volata ; diventa quindi l'uomo-mercato del panorama dilettantistico. Approda alla Bottegone e ai Mondiali di Stoccarda nel 1985 vince l'oro nella Settanta chilometri, oltre a piazzarsi quarto nella prova su strada. Nel 1989 passa professionista alla ...

http://www.museociclismo.it/content/articoli/1623-Mario+Cipollini%3A+Supermario/index.html Mario Cipollini, soprannominato dai tifosi Re Leone oppure SuperMario, è il principe degli sprinter italiani. Nato il 22 marzo 1967 a Lucca, professionista dal 1989, ha subito trovato spazio fra i campioni più affermati in virtù delle sue rocambolesche e spettacolari vittorie in volata sui traguardi più attesi. Cipollini è capace di pedalare in "souplesse" per centinaia di chilometri (magari rimanendo indietro in salita), per poi riscattarsi con fulminee accelerazioni che il più delle volte lasciano al palo gli avversari. E non di rado, è possibile osservare le tipiche fotografie di vittorie del ciclista toscano, intento a girarsi proprio sulla linea del traguardo per apprezzare la distanza guadagnata fra lui e gli altri corridori.  Cipollini fino al 2002 ha inanellato 115 vittorie e la sua carriera sembra volgere al termine. Ma questa stagione è trionfale con Mario che ott...

http://www.museociclismo.it/content/articoli/5652-Mario+Cipollini%2C+la+storia+di+un+mito+-+1a+puntata/index.html Tuttobici Numero: 6 Anno: 2005 di Bibi Ajraghi «Era una domenica del giugno 1974, quando andai col mio babbo Vivaldo a Porcari. Avevo poco più di sette anni . Era la mia prima corsa in bicicletta . Avevo una Fanini azzurra con pedivelle così lunghe che mi massacravano il polpaccio . Pronti-via, ed ero in testa. Facevamo due giri di un chilometro ciascuno e quella volta non ci fu bisogno della volata. Arrivai tutto solo, con un vantaggio enorme». Così Mario Cipollini, ricorda e racconta la sua prima gara. Il fratello Cesare a quel tempo era uno dei dilettanti più promettenti, correva anche la sorella Tiziana, e papà Vivaldo, con una passionaccia per questo sport, aveva gareggiato fino alla soglia del professionismo all'epoca di Ercole Baldini e Gastone Nencini , prima di scendere di bicicletta e salire su un camion che sarebbe diventato la sua second...

http://www.museociclismo.it/content/articoli/10552-Mario+Cipollini%2C+%22Re+Leone%22/index.html Nato a Lucca il 22 marzo 1967. Velocista. Professionista dal 1989 al 2005 e nel 2008, con 192 vittorie. Secondo molti, Mario Cipollini è stato il più grande velocista del ciclismo moderno . È probabilmente vero, per vittorie, stile ed efficacia. Ma è anche necessario, a monte, fare un distinguo: le volate contemporanee sono di squadra, espressioni del crescente culto della velocità, che ha modificato, oltre al modo di fare gli sprint, le stesse corse. Mai come oggi le prove senza eccessive difficoltà, si vanno a chiudere con un volatone cercato e ricercato, che ammazza il 90-95% dei tentativi di portare in porto fughe.  Le opportunità che ha avuto Cipollini, sul quale ha sempre gravitato una squadra votata alla nuova filosofia dello sprint, sono state superiori a quelle di altri suoi avversari, e anche se chi scrive, vede "SuperMario" come il più forte, è giusto ricord...

http://readsouthampton.com/2018/04/18/leicester-city-vs-southampton-three-key-saints/ Southampton travel to the King Power tomorrow night as they look to bounce back from the disappointment from the weekend with their relegation now seeming all but confirmed. Saints are looking to claim just their 2nd Premier League win since the turn of the year as they face an out of sorts Leicester side managed, by former Saints boss Claude Puel. Hughes is set to take charge of his fifth game as Saints manager and is yet to claim any point which will come as a concern as they race to avoid the drop heats up. When the two sides met back in December, the Foxes tore Saints apart as they claimed an easy 4-1 win at St Mary’s in another struggle for the side. With such a crucial game for the Saints ahead, I have picked out three players who will be key if the visitors are to pick up three points at the King Power Stadium. ORIOL ROMEU The Spanish midfielder has been back in ...

https://southamptonfc.com/first-team/mark-bowen Former clubs:  Wales, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Fulham, QPR, Stoke City. A former left-back , Bowen was a long-term international teammate of Hughes for Wales, who has since worked alongside the new Saints boss in all of his management positions. Bowen’s career began in the youth ranks at Tottenham, where he progressed to play 21 times for the first team and won the UEFA Cup in 1984. He made his Wales debut before leaving Spurs at the age of 23 and beginning a nine-year stay at Norwich. Now playing regular football, Bowen enjoyed the best years of his career at Carrow Road, where he was later voted into the club’s all-time XI by supporters. Player of the Year in his first season, the first of 399 appearances for City came against Saints in the old First Division back in 1987. An ever-present in 1992/93, Bowen helped Norwich finish third in the inaugural year of the Premier League, before pla...

https://southamptonfc.com/first-team/manolo-gabbiadini Former clubs:  Atalanta, Cittadella, Juventus, Bologna, Sampdoria, Napoli Early years  Born in Calcinate, Italy on 26th November 1991 , Manolo Gabbiadini has football running through his family. Older sister Melania is also a forward that represents AGSM Verona in Serie A, winning the Serie A female footballer of the year on numerous occasions as well as being inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame. He began his professional career with Atalanta and made his Serie A debut in 2010, when he came on as a substitute against Parma. During his time at La Dea, he enjoyed a fruitful loan spell at Cittadella of Serie B, where he went on to score five goals in 27 appearances. Gabbiadini returned to his parent club Atalanta and went on to make 25 appearances, eight of which were starts, scoring his first Serie A goal in a 2-0 success over Bologna. Many admirers A technically gifted ...

https://southamptonfc.com/first-team/steven-davis Former clubs:  Aston Villa, Fulham, Rangers (loan), Rangers Early years Born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, Davis began his career with St Andrews Boys Club before transferring in Aston Villa in 2002 , by which point he had represented his country at under-15, under-16, under-17 level. He was a member of Villa’s FA Youth Cup winning team in 2002, as they beat Everton 4-2 in the final. Two years after joining, Davis made his debut in the Premier League, coming on against Norwich City in September 2004. Davis would go on to make a total of 102 appearances for Aston Villa over the course of three seasons, as well as representing Northern Ireland at under-21 and under-23 level before becoming their youngest modern day captain in May 2006. England to Scotland Davis teamed up with Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez at Fulham in the summer of 2007, but after just six months with the club, he seal...

https://www.lcfc.com/players/14716/Harvey-Barnes/profile An exciting product of the Club's Academy.. . With quick feet and the ability to score superb solo goals , midfielder Harvey Barnes is a rising star. On his debut, he appeared for the First Team at FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League. Later joining Sky Bet League 1 outfit MK Dons on loan, where he scored five goals in 23 appearances under former Fox Robbie Neilson, he returned to register a brace for the Under-23s against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in May 2017. His breakthrough season was rewarded with the Development Squad Player of the Season award before his international debut in a 1-0 group stage victory for England against Angola at the Toulon Tournament. During the summer of 2017, the Cou ntesthorpe youngster penned a new four-year deal with the Club before joining Championship side Barnsley on loan, scoring five goals in 14 outings.   He was recalled to King Power Stadium ...

https://www.lcfc.com/players/11357/Adrien-Silva/profile A Euro 2016 champion with Portugal who made his debut for Leicester City in January 2018... The Foxes agreed terms with Sporting Clube de Portugal for the transfer of Adrien Silva on 31 August, 2017, but the midfielder could not make his debut until the completion of his registration as a Leicester City player on 1 January, 2018. Since his professional debut at the age of 18, Silva made well over 200 appearances for Sporting Lisbon across eight seasons in the Portuguese top flight, picking up five trophies and being handed the captain’s armband along the way. He has also played 20 times at senior international level for Portugal since his debut in 2014, including a start in the Euro 2016 final, during which he helped his side to the title courtesy of a 1-0 extra-time victory over host nation France. Silva made his first appearance in Leicester City colours on New Year’s Day 2018 as a second-half substitute ...

https://www.lcfc.com/players/13248/Hamza-Choudhury/profile A tough-tackling talent in the centre of midfield, Hamza Choudhury often acts as a defensive guard in front of the back line. His performances for the Club's Academy side in 2015/16 saw him secure a loan move to Sky Bet League 1 outfit Burton Albion , helping them gain promotion to the Championship. Choudhury captained the 10-man squad who travelled to Hong Kong for the Citi Soccer Sevens, lifting the trophy in Happy Valley in May 2017. After pre-season, Choudhury was named as the Development Squad's new captain following the departure of Elliott Moore to OH Leuven on loan. He made his senior Foxes debut against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup in September 2017 before also enjoying a Premier League bow during a 2-1 success over Tottenham Hotspur in November. FULL NAME Hamza Choudhury NATIONALITY England  DATE OF BIRTH 1 October 1997 HEIGHT 5'10" (178 cm) WEIG...

https://www.lcfc.com/players/8983/Riyad-Mahrez/profile A midfield wizard and a key figure behind City's 2016 title triumph, Riyad has been voted PFA Player of The Year and CAF African Footballer of the Year during his time at LCFC... Few would have expected the impact Riyad Mahrez would have at Leicester City when he became the Club’s first signing of the January 2014 transfer window at King Power Stadium.  The Algerian winger scored three goals in the Sky Bet Championship as City booked promotion to the Premier League under Nigel Pearson before again proving invaluable the following year with four strikes to secure the Club’s Premier League status.  But it was during the 2015/16 campaign when Mahrez, with a unique blend of skill and creativity, made headlines across the globe with 17 goals as Claudio Ranieri led the Foxes to a historic Premier League title, the first top-flight success of their 132-year history.  With crucial goals against the...