The lockout is over. The NBA season for 2011/12 has been saved and come Christmas Day we can look forward to a condensed 66 game sprint to the finish line. How will the teams cope with a rushed training camp and free agency period not to mention a shortened season that contains more back to back games than ever before? The Marshalltown casts its eye over the forthcoming season and tells you who will be challenging, who will slip and who has no prayer. In this second installment The Marshalltown breaks down the Eastern Conference. To read the Marshalltown's preview of the Western Conference in Part 1 click here The Contenders Boston Does anyone know what’s happening in Boston? A team with an ageing squad that was run ragged by an athletic Miami Heat decides to put its most exciting young player and future team leader on the trading block? You read that right. Boston put...
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The lockout is over. The NBA season for 2011/12 has been saved and come Christmas Day we can look forward to a condensed 66 game sprint to the finish line. How will the teams cope with a rushed training camp and free agency period not to mention a shortened season that contains more back to back games than ever before? The Marshalltown casts its eye over the forthcoming season and tells you who will be challenging, who will slip and who has no prayer. In this first installment The Marshalltown breaks down the Western Conference. The Contenders Los Angeles Lakers Last season was a humbling experience for the Lakers. Legendary coach Phil Jackson retired after seeing his Lakers swept in the second round of the playoffs by eventual champions, Dallas, while the growing knee problems of Kobe Bryant compounded the feeling that the curtain was closing on this current Lakers squad. Sadly for Lakers fans...
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The Marshalltown continues its retrospective series looking back at the year that was 2011. In this edition we count down the Top 5 stories in the wide world of sport.
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I have never played football. I never attended Penn State, nor am I a fan. I do not have children or young siblings. Yet from the moment I found out about former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky's alleged sexual abuse of multiple young boys, it has affected me more than I ever thought possible. Did head coach Joe Paterno cover the scandal up? How far does the corruption extend? Where does the blame lie? I just can't look away. I turn on ESPN to watch former players emotionally backing not only their coach, but their father of sorts, their mentor. I read articles from sports bloggers screaming for an indictment of Paterno and company. I see footage of students marching next to the increasingly frail Paterno, yelling into reporters' cameras, trying to defend their school, their program and their identity. Despite having to pause and gather myself a couple times, I have...
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The 2011 AFL Grand Final looms as a clash for the ages. Collingwood and Geelong have been the best two sides all year and will meet this Saturday to decide who will claim this year’s premiership. But there is more at stake than just premiership glory. Geelong and Collingwood will be fighting for historical dominance and legacy. If Geelong lifts the cup this weekend it will be its third flag in five years and will cement their place as one of the greatest sides of all time, while Collingwood are seeking back to back premierships and the right to be called the best side of the last five years. Regardless of the outcome, this match promises to be something special as two great sides square off in what should be an epic and bruising confrontation. The Marshalltown casts its eye over the big game and tells you what to expect.
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The 2011 AFL Season enters its penultimate week with four teams fighting to claim a berth in next week's Grand Final and a shot at the Premiership. The Marshalltown gives you the lowdown of the Preliminary Finals.
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Controversy thy name is Barton
The Marshalltown wraps up the first week of the new Premier League season- Man United scrape an undeserving victory, Joey Barton acts like a right moron, Liverpool throw away points at home and a new star announces his arrival on the big stage. It's like it never left us.
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The Marshalltown gives you the lowdown on the forthcoming 2011/12 edition of the English Premier League. After a short post-season that barely allows you to swallow that last drop of celebratory champagne or, in most cases, wipe away the tears of pain and anguish from another year of disappointment, the English Premier League swings back into action this weekend to kick off the new season. The 2011/12 season shapes up to be one of the most interesting installments in some time with a myriad of fascinating plot lines set to unfold over the next nine months. Three teams can claim legitimate title ambitions, meanwhile new powers are rising, some old superpowers are in decline and we haven’t even got to all the transfers, mind games, refereeing blunders, manager sackings or amusing crowd chants yet. To help you make sense of what is sure to be a turbulent season, The Marshalltown has investigated the...
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Welcome to the inaugural issue of The Marshalltown's armchair analysis on the stories making the rounds in the world of sports. Words by Billy Maulana and Brad Abraham. Randy Moss: Almost The Greatest That Ever Was For a man who once famously said, “I play when I want to play”, there is no doubting that Randy Moss will always be one of the most mercurial talents the NFL ever saw. While his “retirement” is something his former teammate Robert Smith says is a “ploy” for leverage, we won’t know for sure until we get (the expected) news that Moss has “come out of retirement” to play this season. Because let’s face it, at 34 and still in great physical condition, we all feel as if his career is missing that one brightest light that will put at ease his unfortunate shortcomings. His troubles off the field would always be a crutch, hobbling his...
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For Sale: One supremely talented striker. 27 years old, entering the prime of his career. Proven goal scorer at European and international levels. Tremendous work ethic, plays full on till full time and never surrenders a lost cause. Boasts impressive goal scoring records at big clubs including Manchester United, Manchester City, Boca Juniors and Corinthians. He’s even played at West Ham but we won’t hold that against the player.In a European transfer market where the biggest transfer stories are exciting but unproven talents (Alexis Sanchez and Neymar) and a midfielder of exquisite skill and very delicate hamstrings (Cesc Fabregas) the announcement by Carlos Tevez, a player who has scored 150 goals in 331 club appearances, that he wishes to leave Manchester City should have Europe’s top teams lining up to secure his signature. Yet so far Tevez’s declaration has raised barely raised an eyebrow.The problem is of course, that it’s...
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