left field sport

With less than a month to go before the annual festivities at Roland Garros, we reach the midst of the clay court season in early May as players look to hone their skills ahead of the big one in Paris. Fresh from their exploits in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona, the players on the ATP Tour enter two … Continue reading →

After the spending spree last summer that brought Michy Batshuayi. N’Golo Kante, David Luiz and Marcos Alonso to Stamford Bridge for a total of £112 million, there was more than a hint of irony in Antonio Conte’s taunts to Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola on how vast sums of money do not guarantee success. “Try … Continue reading →

This Saturday at Wembley Stadium, Anthony Joshua meets Wladimir Klitschko in an battle to unify the IBF and WBA Heavyweight titles, but will youth or experience prevail? ‘Young lion syndrome’. The rising of a youthful presence, confident in its ability to overthrow the older leader of the pride. As observed in nature, sports, and life … Continue reading →

After the enthralling American hard court swing, tennis’s clay court season kicks into gear this week in the French Riviera as the top players on the ATP tour contest the 2017 Monte Carlo Rolex Masters. As the first Masters 1000 event of the year held on the red dirt, the tournament in the principality offers an insight into what … Continue reading →

We’ve been here before. Or of course this writer has. Laying thick with the plaudits over a team that has swatted away Barcelona in the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie, only to have any excitement devastatingly crushed in the second. Paris St Germain spectacularly fell in the Nou Camp after racking up … Continue reading →

Matchroom Promoter Eddie Hearn has announced this week that British cruiserweight/heavyweight star Tony Bellew will return to the ring later this year. The announcement came as a slight shock to most people as it looked like ‘The Bomber’ was looking more towards retirement after his epic 11th round stoppage over rival David Haye on March 4th. … Continue reading →

Everton cross Stanley Park for this weekend’s Merseyside derby with participation in the qualifying rounds of next season’s Europa League virtually secured, with a seventh-place finish near-safe and the winners of the two cup competitions coming from the current top 6. It will mean the Toffees’ competitive campaign beginning in mid-July but the chance to … Continue reading →

The Oakland Raiders are moving to Las Vegas, so let’s remember when Hunter S. Thompson tried to embed with the NFL’s strangest team… The Oakland Raiders have been a thorn in the NFL’s side for decades. From pugnacious owner Al Davis to the team’s raucously rowdy fans and years of mediocrity, the Raiders reveled in being … Continue reading →

Liverpool have found themselves headlining the back pages quite often this season, but the reasons have been from both ends of the footballing spectrum. When results were going well, the coverage was heaping praise on the incredible pressing displays from Klopp’s men. The fact they could dispose of title challengers with relative ease was encouraging … Continue reading →

Borussia Dortmund had to beat Sporting Lisbon on match-day 4 of the group stage to be certain of their place in the last-16 of the Champions League and the task appeared rather straight-forward after the German side won 1-2 in Lisbon two weeks earlier. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored in that win but would make life difficult … Continue reading →

In a game that slipped well below the radar on Saturday, a meeting between clubs sitting 91st and 92nd in the Football League pyramid, Leyton Orient ran out 0-4 winners over Newport in south Wales. Orient are still 2 points adrift of safety at the bottom of League Two and a run of 8 defeats … Continue reading →

Business (noun): An organization or economic system where goods and services are exchanged for one another or for money, where its output can be sold on a consistent basis in order to make a profit. Sport (noun): An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others … Continue reading →

As talk of a Mayweather-McGregor ‘superfight’ continues, Jack Price remains sceptical about it’s merits …. Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor are the two biggest names in the world of combat sports right now. ‘Money’ Mayweather is the former pound-for-pound king of boxing and despite being retired for over a year is still by far the biggest attraction … Continue reading →

For a number of years, rose-tinted observers of the Premier League have continued to dub England’s top division the best in Europe, if not the world, owing to it’s competitiveness, frenetic pace, and feverish fan support. Based on those parameters, they have a pretty compelling case that is difficult to argue. Germany’s Bundesliga would dispute … Continue reading →

If the 2017 Australian Open taught us anything, it’s that tennis, and sport in general, is far from easy to predict.  Venus and Serena Williams, aged 36 and 35 respectively, battled their way through the draw to make the most unlikely of their grand slam final meetings, which Serena won to record her 23rd major title. … Continue reading →

The Superbowl. The NFL calls it the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ and there is a widely held belief in North America that it is the single most important event on the sporting calendar. But the reality is that, at least in terms of global impact, and audience, that’s very far from the truth. The World … Continue reading →

British boxing has been thriving as of late, with so many superstars coming through, contesting massive fights domestically and internationally, and more world champions than ever before. But this nation has always been a major competitor in the world of boxing and so many names come to mind when you think of the great fighters that … Continue reading →

After Wednesday night’s 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest sent them back to third in the Championship, and with Italian TV rights mogul having secured 50% ownership from Massimo Cellino with the option to launch a full takeover bid in the summer, there is a cause for optimism around Leeds United. Radrizzani was alerted to the … Continue reading →

Barcelona travel to Real Sociedad on Thursday night for the first leg of their Copa Del Rey quarter-final tie and the Blaugrana will be fearing the trip not least because they haven’t won in San Sebastian since Andres Iniesta and Samuel Eto’o fired them to a 0-2 victory back in 2007. Iniesta and Lionel Messi … Continue reading →

Hackney talent targeting Cruiserweight domination Lawrence Okolie has signed a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing. The 24 year old’s decision to turn over is the latest step in a remarkable rise, having been inspired by Anthony Joshua’s London 2012 Olympic gold medal win while he was working in McDonalds. Okolie began boxing in 2010 just … Continue reading →

By Adam Theaker As England wrapped up the Test series over Sri Lanka at Chester-Le-Street the crowd in attendance witnessed one man write his way into cricketing immortality. Alastair Cook became the first Englishman and the youngest man to reach the 10,000 runs milestone and thus the conversation has begun to where Cook’s place in … Continue reading →