...David Walker completes his review of the January transfer window and how the moves will impact each teams success, or survival at the end of the 2005/06 season.

Portsmouth

If ever there was a manager who enjoyed a bit of business during the January transfer window it was Harry Redknapp. He is running out of time to form a team capable of keeping Pompey in the top flight after 34 players have come and gone this season.

He has brought in 4.1 million Auxerre striker Benjamin Mwaruwari to try and fill the void left by Yakubu while midfield steel and creativity should come in the form of Tottenham trio Pedro Mendes, Sean Davies and Wayne Routledge. Noe Pamarot, also of Spurs, Ognjen Koroman and goalkeeper Dean Kiely will assist defensive duties.

The most intriguing of Redknapps dealings is the loan capture of Andres DAllesandro, once tipped to be the next big thing out of south America. However, his career stalled following a move to Wolfsburg two and a half years ago.

Pompey are second from bottom in the table and lie five points from safety. The bookmakers dont fancy their chances of survival and quote 4/9 on relegation and 13/8 on staying up.

Sunderland

Sunderland are rooted firmly to the bottom of the table with just nine points from 23 matches and nine points adrift of nearest rivals Portsmouth.

The Black Cats are without a home win all season and have won just twice in their last 44 Premiership matches stre...more

New England Patriots 28, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0

...ats had lost a few games this season and were on the way back up. The Bucs had struggled in the seasons following their Super Bowl win and were on the way back up.

I was all set for a great game. When I fell asleep in the second quarter, the score was New England 7, Tampa Bay 0. When I woke up in the f...more

League One Betting Review - 26 February 2006

...Huddersfield Town edged into the second automatic promotion spot after earning a draw against fellow promotion chasers Swansea City. Lee Trundle and Leon Britton fired the Swans into a 2-0 lead by half-time before late goals from Martin McIntosh and David Graham secured a draw at odds of 9/4.

Southend United missed the chance to stretch their lead at the top of League One as Walsall, under new boss Kevan Broadhurst, held them to a goalless draw. Shrimpers captain Spencer prior went off injured after five minutes as the two sides played out an 11/4 stalemate.more

Some Thoughts on the Super Bowl

...ip the coin.

Every year it gets a bit more dramatic, a bit more long, a bit more embarrassing and a bit more intolerable. Just play the game! The players have worked so hard for this single game and the NFL pulls it out from under them with all the self serving promotion. For instance, this year they introduced a series of ten second clips throughout the game of despicable Super Bowl Trophy fondling, where key players from each team pose individually with the trophycaressing it, kissing it, and worse. You cant do that! Why its its its the epitome of putting on the whammy. They might just as well get the evil eye. Some of those guys are going to lose and when they do, they will have to live with the idea that they cursed the team with their ill-advised trophy antics. Theyd have to hold a gun to my head for me to do that. If the Giants ever get to Super sunday again, to a player they better never ever touch that trophy, let alone even set eyes on it, before it is duly earned. The whole thing made me sick! I couldnt even eat another wing dripping in blue cheese sauce.

And what is going on with the half time extravaganza? Can we calm that thing down? Can we see more xs and os and less screaming clueless teenagers making a grown man cry. The game has become the opening act for a concert, rather than the other way around. There seems to be more concern about costume malfunctions than referee malfunctions, which there were plenty of. I suppose I could put the extra time to good use, like paint the house, but I dont want to. I want to stay involved in the moment of the battle. But these Ve...more

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