Man, what a party
Sky Blues looking more than a little green after celebrations
SOUNDS like it was a wild night last week for Manchester City players and supporters after the Sky Blues won their first league title in 44 years. The players held a private victory party at the Manchester Town Hall where they were joined by family and friends – and special guests including City-mad boxer Ricky Hatton and former Oasis front man Liam Gallagher.
The celebrity pair painted the town blue with City captain Vincent Kompany after the dramatic 3-2 victory over QPR to win on goal difference over crosstown rivals Man United.
The skipper was a little worse for wear the following day, tweeting: ‘‘Struggling to remember what happened last night.
‘‘Woke up with a medal around my neck. Been told the party was deeecent (sic).
‘‘Memo to myself: Next time you’re Champion, drink less, dance more.’’
One team member not at the victory party was ‘‘Super’’ Mario Balotelli who decided to celebrate away from his team, with his brother Enoch and a friend at a local restaurant where it was said he received a standing ovation.
Meanwhile, controversial Man City striker Carlos Tevez spent the week apologising for raising aloft a sign declaring ‘R.I.P. FERGIE’ during post-match celebrations. The club released a statement saying: ‘‘The creation of the tasteless material is in itself reprehensible and in accepting and brandishing it, Carlos has made a significant error of judgement. The club wishes to express its sincerest apologies to Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United Football Club for any offence or distress caused.’’ Tevez added: ‘‘I got carried away in the excitement of the moment and I certainly didn’t mean any disrespect to Sir Alex Ferguson, who I admire as a man and a manager.’’ In more football news, this time from across the Atlantic, the LA Galaxy visited the White House last week in honour of their third Major League Soccer title. President Barack Obama met the team at a reception and even got in a few zingers on star player David Beckham.
After calling the Galaxy, who won the MLS Cup in November, ‘‘the Miami Heat of soccer’’, Obama turned his attention toward 37-yearold Beckham.
‘‘We have a young up-and-comer on the team, a guy named David Beckham,’’ Obama said. ‘‘I have to say I gave David a hard time – I said half his team-mates could be his kids. We’re getting old, David.’’
Even when complimenting Beckham overcoming an injury during the season, Obama couldn’t help himself. ‘‘He is tough,’’ Obama said. ‘‘In fact, it is a rare man who can be that tough on the field and also have his own line of underwear.’’ Zing! In the interests of providing you, dear readers, with the best coverage of the London Olympics, Fairfax New Zealand will be sending a team of our 10 best and brightest up to the northern hemisphere in July. It’s a costly exercise but nothing beats being on the ground when it comes to covering big events. Just ask thebbcwho, if the statistics are to be believed, will be assembling a team of 765 people to cover this year’s Olympics in their own backyard. In case you were wondering, that’s 215 people more than the entire Great Britain Olympic team! But then again, compared to America’s NBC, the BBC is doing it on the cheap. Apparently, 2800 people will be flying across the Atlantic in a couple of months to provide NBC with its Olympic coverage. That’s 2790 more than us. If he’d been given a brown paper bag rather than a cheap plastic (and online that the contents of the Panamanian international’s bag – the latest edition of Playboy – was noticed. Weimagine he was reading it for the articles . . . Speaking of Playboy, the sports feelgood story of the week must go to ball girl Fernanda Maia. The Brazilian beauty was the unlikely hero when she set up the state championship winning goal for Botafogo in the Campeonato Carioca and has now landed herself a deal to model for the men’s magazine.
The attractive Maia was spotted by Playboy after she was filmed showing quick reflexes when returning the ball to a Botafogo player.
‘‘I didn’t score the goal. Maicosuel did. He is quick and smart. I did what I always did,’’ Maia said.
The young Brazilian now wants to strut her stuff at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
‘‘I want to be the ball boy at the World Cup final. Perhaps it can happen,’’ she said. From the files of ‘‘when coaches go wrong’’ comes the story of South Korean speedskating coach Kim Dong-sung. The former South Korean Olympic champion coached youth skaters in the United States at clubs in Maryland and Virginia but was last week expelled by US Speedskating for at least 18 separate violations of the organisation’s code of conduct on at least 18 occasions.
Seven athletes formerly coached by Kim and four parents of athletes testified that Kim, who won an Olympic gold medal for South Korea in 1998, hit skaters on the buttocks with hockey sticks and skate blades, hit them on the head, hands and other body parts with other implements, and kicked them.
According to a report on the case, one skater testified: ‘‘He saw Mr Kim grab the other skater who could not keep up with a workout around his neck and started punching him in his ribs and stomach . . . and while the other skater was on the floor Mr Kim started hitting him hard repeatedly with a hockey stick.’’
Another skater said: ‘‘Mr Kim would, ‘many times’, order skaters to go into the locker room, close the door, put their hands on the benches, and hit them in the butts with leather blade guards often leaving her with red marks on her butt and back.’’
For an ice skater, this guy sure needs to take a chill pill.