Football: Bridgend Town sign former Swan

BRIDGEND Town have signed former Swansea City striker Jonathan Keaveny from MacWhirter Welsh Football League Division Two club West End, writes TONY POOLE.Exiles’ chief Drewe Phillips snared the free-scoring striker last weekend during a busy week on the transfer front.The Swansea postman is now hoping to deliver on a club debut this Saturday against Garw at Lock’s Lane in Porthcawl.Regarded as one of the most skilful and nippy front runners on the circuit, Keaveny has also taken in spells with Neath Athletic, Goytre United and Carmarthen Town.It proved a case of third time lucky for manager Phillips to get his man, having previously failed last summer and just before the transfer window closed in October.“Hopefully, Jonathan Keaveny can maintain a goal-scoring habit with Bridgend as his arrival has provided us with a mid-season boost,” said manager Phillips, who has some other irons in the fire regarding player recruitment this month.This season, despite serving a few suspensions, Keaveny has hit the target 14 times for the West Enders in the second division.Bridgend have also signed goalkeeper Cole Stacey as cover for Brendan Cropley.The 21-year-old has been in consistent form this term for both Cardiff and Welsh Universities.Phillips is also hoping to sign former Carmarthen Town and Port Talbot Town defender Haydn Fleming.His profession as a personal trainer has prevented the former QPR apprentice from playing this season and he was last in action with Taffs Well last winter.International clearance has also been obtained to play Portuguese midfield player Milton Santos Torros.The former Sporting Lisbon man just missed the last transfer deadline in the autumn but has maintained match fitness with the University of Glamorgan.Bridgend are also monitoring the situation regarding unsettled Goytre United wide man Ian Turner.
Although Afan Lido have placed a seven-day order of intent on him, it seems the ex-Fields Park Pontllanfraith man is reluctant to join former Goytre boss Craig Duggan at the Marston Stadium.Ironically, at the end of the 2001-2 season, Turner scored a goal for Fields Park Pontllanfraith that sent Bridgend down to the second division.Exiting Bridgend’s temporary base in Porthcawl last week were Dave Truan, who has switched to Llangeinor, and Rhys Jones (Barry Town).Meanwhile, Bridgend’s application for Welsh Premiership status looks doomed as the club could not specify a ground.The club is already on a collision course with the Welsh League authorities regarding its temporary tenancy in Porthcawl.It was given permission to play out of Lock’s Lane only until the end of this season after vacating Coychurch Road last February to make way for Asda.League secretary Ken Tucker said: “If Bridgend have a separate ground on Lock’s Lane there is nothing preventing them from playing there from September, but at the moment they are sharing match officials’ rooms.“We have allowed it for this season but thought they would want to move back to play in Bridgend.”The club chairman and secretary will be asked to clarify the position at a meeting.Bridgend has already spent a one-off £30,000 from Asda to upgrade facilities at Porthcawl and hopes the council will also allow it to dip into the £2m ring-fenced for a new ground.

BHS, LLHS head football coach jobs advertised

Both of Valencia County's established high school football programs are advertising openings for head coaches.
Belen coach Kevin Benavidez resigned Jan. 16 after nine seasons at the helm, while Los Lunas coach Denvis Manns has reached the end of his interim contract set up in August. Both positions are being advertised in the News-Bulletin, on the New Mexico Activities Association's Web site, and elsewhere. Belen Schools human resources director Ron Marquez said Thursday the BHS opening must be held open for a minimum of 10 working days. The application deadline for the Los Lunas job is Feb. 4; Belen's advertisement doesn't stipulate a deadline, but it is widely believed both districts will move swiftly to fill the voids. Manns could end up being named as a permanent head coach after a formal procedural search for a replacement is completed. He told the News-Bulletin he is agreeable to returning as the head coach or resuming his duties as an assistant, which he was from 2002 to 2007. The two school districts are hoping to tie their head coaching jobs to full-time faculty positions. Adjustments made will depend on the caliber, qualifications and situation involving the selected candidates.Grants, Farmington, Kirtland Central, Robertson and Gadsden are among other New Mexico schools currently seeking head football coaches, said Marquez. "It was a very hard decision," said Benavidez about resigning. "But I have some other things in my life I have to take care of." Both Manns and Benavidez are married and have young children. Manns is from Texas and was an accomplished running back for New Mexico State University in the late 1990s. Benavidez is a Belen native. Both are teachers who plan to continue their careers in education. The Valencia High School Jaguars, who are in their second year and have freshman and sophomore classes this year, are still searching for a head varsity baseball coach.

True existential anguish comes from DIY and football, ladies

Yesterday, I escorted my son Niall to nursery, and as I released him yelling and screaming into a wilderness of Bob the Builder plastic figures and green-coloured gunge, I couldn't help but think to myself: "I wonder if Einstein was this much of a hooligan when he was two years old." Actually, I didn't think that. What I thought was this: "There goes a happy little boy. It's a shame he is going to grow up into a man and discover that life is full of pain and anguish."Once a month, when my beloved girlfriend and I have exhausted ourselves arguing over whose turn it is to change the bedclothes, we turn our attentions to a subject somewhat less important but nevertheless diverting - life. Or should I say my life.According to her, my life is easy. At least, it is easy in comparison to her life which is, she says, a minefield of stress and anguish stretching far over the horizon. "No-one forces you go to shopping for shoes twice a week," I tell her with a cheeky wink.Nothing is guaranteed to make my girlfriend lose her temper as much as a cheeky wink, except perhaps the realisation that her alarm clock hasn't gone off and she's missed the start of the Whistles sale.She then embarks on a lengthy rant about all the things that have rendered her life infinitely more difficult than mine, a list that begins and ends with the pain of childbirth. "How would you like to go through that, Mr Can't Watch an Episode of ER Without Putting a Cushion Over Your Head?" she says. The answer is I wouldn't, although in my defence the immutable laws of biology mean I couldn't possibly have given birth to our son. Also, I was away playing golf with my pals when it happened.Long experience has taught me at this stage it is advisable for me to bow out of the argument and accept that if I don't shut up immediately she might do something with the hot iron she has in her hands - and I don't mean iron my shirts. This is very frustrating because I believe I can make a very persuasive case for saying that men go through just as much, if not more, pain and anguish in their lives than women. However, I take some consolation in the knowledge that the people who read this column every week - all 11 of them - are always happy to listen to what I have to say and, even when they are not, the worst they can do to me is draw a moustache on my photograph. The truth is, men face countless problems - terrible, terrible problems, the kind of problems that women can only dream about, and even then only if they've eaten something extremely exotic, like a large plate of anchovies and Dairy Milk chocolate just before they go to bed; the kind of problems that are so terrible that I can't bring myself to end this sentence so that I can start thinking about what they are ... Oh, yes, I've thought of a few things. What about the anguish and pain that comes from realising that no matter how dimmed the lighting, no-one is ever going to mistake you for Brad Pitt? What about the pain and anguish that comes from the realisation that no matter how much you spend on a brand new set of tools from B&Q, you are never going to be as good at DIY as my pal Liam.His tools look like they were bought second-hand from Boris the careless caveman. Yet how is it that Liam can hang a door in about 10 seconds flat and it takes me ... well, I've never actually worked out how to hang a door.And don't get me started on the pain and anguish that comes with supporting a football team. Yes, I know women support football teams, too, but not like men.Not like the men who call the Radio Clyde football phone-in every Saturday night in pain over the latest misfortune to befall their team.Men who wouldn't lose a minute's sleep if an asteroid was about to slam into the Earth, ending mankind forever, are in tears over Gordon Strachan's tactics.Men who had both arms ripped off in an unfortunate farmyard accident agonise over Walter Smith's tiny transfer budget.Yes, indeed, it is tough being a man, but it is probably best not to tell that to my happy little son. And, whatever you do, please God, don't tell his mother. Not while she's got that hot iron in her hands.

Football briefs

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - For the second consecutive day, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady wasn't in the locker room or at practice when reporters and cameramen were allowed inside Friday.During the 45-minute period in the locker room, several cameramen lingered near his locker, but he didn't show up. Nor was he there for the first 12 minutes of practice that the media were allowed to watch.New England coach Bill Belichick said reporters would be informed after practice if Brady participated. There was no word after it ended, and calls to the Patriots were not immediately returned.Brady was photographed in New York on Monday wearing a protective boot on his right foot. He took it off later in the day and hasn't been photographed wearing it since. He reportedly has a minor high ankle sprain that isn't expected to keep him out of the Super Bowl against the New York Giants on Feb. 3.- Young, Griffin going back to Texas for degree NASHVILLE - Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young and the team's top draft pick, Michael Griffin, are going back to school.The former University of Texas players are enrolled full-time for the spring semester, an official in the registrar's office confirmed.Young, who left the Longhorns in January 2006 to enter the NFL shortly after winning a national championship, has enrolled as a full-time student again. Safety Michael Griffin also has enrolled.Young's agent, Major Adams, told The Tennessean that Young is approximately two semesters shy of his degree in liberal arts and hopes to finish by spring 2009.That could keep Young busy in an offseason when the Titans have a new offensive coordinator. Coach Jeff Fisher fired Norm Chow on Jan. 15 and hired former coordinator Mike Heimerdinger to juice up an offense that managed only nine touchdowns passing in 2007.The Titans start their offseason program March 24 with their on-field sessions tentatively scheduled between April and June. The spring semester at Texas wraps up May 13.Griffin is majoring in youth and community studies.- Extra points ... n Undecided on a head coach, the Washington Redskins at least have someone to run the offense. The Redskins signed Jim Zorn to a three-year contract Friday to be their offensive coordinator, according to a person familiar with the situation. Zorn has been Seattle's quarterbacks coach for the past seven years. The Washington Post reported that Zorn took the job with the expectation that former Giants coach Jim Fassel, Washington assistant head coach-defense Gregg Williams or Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo would become head coach. Regardless of who the new coach will be, Zorn's hiring essentially assured the departure of Al Saunders, who ran the offense to mixed reviews for the last two seasons.n Atlanta hired former Buffalo coach Mike Mularkey as their offensive coordinator. Mularkey was Miami's tight ends coach this past season. New coach Mike Smith also announced that Emmitt Thomas will remain on staff as an assistant head coach and again work with the secondary.n The Oakland Raiders denied a report that owner Al Davis asked coach Lane Kiffin to resign. ESPN, citing unidentified sources, reported that Davis drew up a resignation letter for Kiffin two weeks ago, but he refused to sign it. Kiffin has two years left on the contract he signed last January. n Tampa Bay quarterback Jeff Garcia is headed to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time, replacing Green Bay's Brett Favre on the NFC roster. Favre, who was chosen as the starter, had said he was unsure whether he would play.n Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu (knee sprain) will not play in the Pro Bowl and will be replaced on AFC roster by Antoine Bethea of Indianapolis. n A man who sold a female pit bull to suspended Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick's dogfighting operation and attended some of the fights avoided prison time because he cooperated with investigators and did not physically harm any of the dogs. Oscar Allen was sentenced to three years probation and fined $500 for his involvement in the dogfighting ring.

MHS head football coach to leave for Iowa City West

MUSCATINE, Iowa – After seven years in the Muscatine High School football program, the last three as head varsity coach, Brian Sauser is leaving to take on a new challenge.Sauser, who has helped build on Muscatine’s turnaround of football fortunes, has accepted the position of head football coach at Iowa City West, a member of the Mississippi Valley Conference.A story on the Iowa City Press-Citizen Web site Thursday said that Sauser had been offered the job, pending school board approval. Sauser confirmed Thursday night that he is leaving Muscatine to take the job.
“It’s been an exciting couple of days,” Sauser said. “It’s a lot going on at one time. It was really tough today, telling the kids that I was leaving.“It’s been great here in Muscatine, but I’m real excited about a new challenge.”
Sauser will replace Mike Cooper, who resigned from the position after two seasons at the helm. The Trojans were 1-8 the past season after going 2-7 in Cooper’s first year. They were 3-6 in 2005.“I know that they had 59 players on the varsity last year, so the numbers are good,” said Sauser. “Their freshman team was unbeaten and there are some sophomores that people feel good about.”Sauser, who was offensivecoordinator from 2001-04, replaced John Each as head coach in 2005 and finished 3-6 that first season. The Muskies have been 7-3 the last two years under Sauser.The 2005 season is the only one since his arrival that the Muskies have not made the Class 4A state playoffs.Since 1997 when the Muskies ended a streak of 33 consecutive non-winning football seasons, Muscatine has finished above .500 all but that 2005 season.“I feel I’m leaving the program elevated from the way it used to be,” said Sauser. “It’s weird that seven years have gone so fast.“When we made the playoffs my first year here and we beat Burlington for the school’s first-ever playoff win, I didn’t fully appreciate how important that was to the program.“I feel good about the fact that only Muscatine and Bettendorf in the MAC have been in the playoffs six of the last seven years. I truly believe Muscatine has established itself as one of the top two or three teams in the MAC.”Muscatine will return 27 seniors from last year’s 7-3 team and many of them played a prominent role in the Muskies’ success. The sophomores finished just 2-7, but the Muskie freshmen were 8-0-1.“Muscatine will have a great senior class coming in next season,” said Sauser. “They invested a lot of time in the program, and I’m sure they’ll continue to work hard to come in and keep the program rolling.”In some respects, Sauser will be moving to a similar situation at Iowa City West. The biggest change will be the Mississippi Valley Conference has 14 schools and the Mississippi Athletic Conference has 10.“It’s the million-dollar question, which is better the Mississippi Valley or the MAC?” said Sauser. “I think both have your upper division teams, a lot of teams in the middle and some that struggle.“They are similar in a lot of ways, but it will be nice to play different teams because the schedule changes.”Iowa City West began throwing the ball more near the end of the season with Kyle Mason, the grandson of former Muscatine High School all-stater Charlie Mason, at quarterback.But it’s nothing compared to what the Trojan fans will likely see starting next season when Sauser introduces his spread offense to the MVC.“I’m excited to be taking it (the spread offense) to them and they seem to be excited that they’re going to be using it,” said Sauser.“It seems to be the new fad everywhere. It’s fun to coach and the kids love it.”Iowa City West athletic director Mark Reiland is excited to see Sauser at work.“I think one thing that was intriguing was that since he’s been at Muscatine, he must have had a very good offensive mind because they’ve had a tendency to set lots of offensive school records and score points,” Reiland told the Press-Citizen.“Nowadays, you call it an exciting brand of football.”Sauser said he’s already been contacted by a lot of people to offer their support.“One great advantage to coaching in Iowa City is having the University of Iowa right there,” said Sauser. “I’ve already heard from former Hawkeyes Randy Reiners and Eric Thigpen offering to help any way they can.”Sauser said that he has heard that a lot of the Iowa City West coaching staff would like to return. There is no word on how Sauser’s resignation will affect the Muscatine coaching staff.A phone call to Muscatine High School activities director Tim Goodwin seeking comments was not returned by press time.

Who pays to police football games?

Who pays to police football games?

And after a recent landmark court ruling, they could be set to go up - with supporters perhaps left to foot the bill.
Proof, if ever it were needed, that rugby is a gentleman's game played by thugs, comes with the knowledge that Bath and Bristol rugby clubs had no police presence inside their grounds last season.
They both paid nothing to the boys in blue, although Gloucester RFC paid more than £5,500
Compare this to football in the region, where the costs regularly run into tens of thousands of pounds.
The police have historically only charged for "special services" - that is, a police presence inside a club's grounds.
These are worked out at the start of each season when games are graded according to intelligence.
The cost of consequential policing - outside the ground - has traditionally been swallowed by police forces, and passed on to the taxpayer - be they football fans or not.

But this could all be about to change.
Greater Manchester Police recently won a complicated court battle against Wigan Athletic over costs, which could open the door to police forces charging for their services outside stadiums.
This is known as full cost recovery, and has been a thorny issue for football clubs for years.
The force is supported in its line by the Association of Chief Police Officers, and other constabularies, which said the ruling was in line with its guidelines.
A Gloucestershire Police spokesman said: "We feel that the council tax payers of Gloucestershire should not subsidise commercial and sporting events, which do not form part of its statutory duty.
"Therefore we support full cost recovery in the interests of residents."
However, some police officers accept the wider view put forward by the clubs themselves - who have vowed to resist full cost recovery.
They argue that games are parts of the economic life of towns and cities, and that many smaller clubs could be badly affected if they had to pay more.
'Bigger issue'
Colin Sexstone, chief executive of Bristol City FC, said: "We cannot accept responsibility for what happens outside our property.
"This is no different to pubs and clubs in town. It is a bigger issue that goes beyond football."
Clubs across the West also said they were working towards having as many games as possible with no police presence, perhaps boosting steward numbers where appropriate.
But unless something changes dramatically, the policing of the so-called beautiful game will continue to be subsidised by the taxpayer - be they football fans or not.

All About Football

All About Football

Gaelic Football can be described as a mixture of soccer and rugby, although it predates both of those games. It is a field game which has developed as a distinct game similar to the progression of Australian Rules. Indeed it is thought that Australian Rules evolved from Gaelic Football through the many thousands who were either deported or emigrated to Australia from the middle of the nineteenth century. Gaelic Football is played on a pitch approximately 137m long and 82m wide. The goalposts are the same shape as on a rugby pitch, with the crossbar lower than a rugby one and slightly higher than a soccer one.The ball used in Gaelic Football is round, slightly smaller than a soccer ball. It can be carried in the hand for a distance of four steps and can be kicked or "hand-passed", a striking motion with the hand or fist. After every four steps the ball must be either bounced or "solo-ed", an action of dropping the ball onto the foot and kicking it back into the hand. You may not bounce the ball twice in a row. To score, you put the ball over the crossbar by foot or hand / fist for one point or under the crossbar and into the net by foot or hand / fist in certain circumstances for a goal, the latter being the equivalent of three points.Each team consists of fifteen players, lining out as follows: One goalkeeper, three full-backs, three half-backs, two midfielders, three half-forwards and three full-forwards. The actual line out on the playing field is as follows:

Players wear a jersey with their team colours and number on the back. Both teams must have different colour jerseys. The goalkeepers' jerseys must not be similar to the jersey of any other player. Referees normally tog out in black jerseys, socks and togs.Goalkeepers may not be physically challenged whilst inside their own small parallelogram, but players may harass them into playing a bad pass, or block an attempted pass.Teams are allowed a maximum of five substitutes in a game. Players may switch positions on the field of play as much as they wish but this is usually on the instructions of team officials.Officials for a game comprise of a referee, two linesmen (to indicate when the ball leaves the field of play at the side and to mark '45'' free kicks and 4 umpires (to signal scores, assist the referee in controlling the games, and to assist linesmen in positioning '45' frees).A goal is signalled by raising a green flag, placed to the left of the goal. A point is signalled by raising a white flag, placed to the right of goal. A '45'/'65' is signalled by the umpire raising his/her outside arm. A 'square ball', when a player scores having arrived in the 'square' prior to receiving the ball, is signalled by pointing at the small parallelogram.