by Stevie Kearney, Head of News

As far as sports go, few have managed out-point boxing in the realm of self-promotion and hyperbole.  This week has seen British heavyweight David Haye become the latest fighter to proclaim upon himself the status of ‘the saviour of boxing’. Read More

By Stewart Primrose

Hibernian won the Edinburgh derby for the first time in five attempts as they strengthened their hopes of a top six finish.

A Steven Fletcher goal early on was enough to give the green half of the city the bragging rights. The game was not immune from incidents with both teams having a man sent off.

The match was fairly evenly balanced throughout with both sides going close before Fletcher struck on 14 minutes. He got on the end of a cross from Alan O’Brien and the ball went in off the bar. Read More

by Joe Duggin, FreshReporter

The Barclaycard Premiership race was reinvigorated over the weekend as Manchester United were bruised in a 4-1 thrashing against main title rivals Liverpool.  Liverpool fell behind after 23 minutes after Pepe Reina brought down Ji-Sun Park inside the box leaving Christiano Ronaldo to bag his 13th of the season.  The penalty meant United looked on course to extend their advantage at the top of the table over their Merseyside rivals.
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by Andy Blair, Chief Sports Correspondent

British teams had a successful first knockout stage in the Champions League this week with all four yet again making it to the second stage.  Liverpool and Manchester United made it to the second knock out stage in the most comfortable fashion with 5-0 and 2-0 aggregate victories respectively.
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by Andy Blair, Chief Sports Correspondent

Arsenal will attempt to build on their one goal advantage in the Italian capital tomorrow when they face Roma.  The game could also see the return of Theo Walcott who dislocated his shoulder playing for England.  He was on the subs bench during the weekend’s game against Burnley in the FA cup and may well begin on the bench again.

The most anticipated game of the round though will be when Manchester United play Inter Milan at Old Trafford.  The first leg finished 0-0 despite United dominance and they will be hoping to add goals to another strong performance.  Rio Ferdinand will be fit to play the game as will John O’Shea who both had niggling injuries.  Inter’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic will hope to help his team progress to the next stage, having been knocked out in this round for the last two years.

Other Wednesday ties

Barcelona (1) v Lyon (1)
FC Porto (2) v At Madrid (2)

by Andy Blair, Chief Sports Correspondent

The second leg games in the first knock out stage of the Champions League begin tonight.  Rafa Benetez welcomes the club where he spent most of his career when Real Madrid take on Liverpool at Anfeild.  They will be hoping to overturn a one goal disadvantage from their previous game at the Bernabeu where a late Yossi Benayoun header gave them the advantage.

Chelsea who take on Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino will be hoping that their one goal advantage will help see them through to the next round.  Michael Essian my be given his first start since September when he picked up an injury while on international duty and has only had a one substitute appearance, in the FA cup, for the first team.

Other Tuesday ties:

Bayern (5) v Sporting (0)
Panathinaikos (1) v Villarreal (1)

Manchester United took another step in their search for five major honours today as the comfortably brushed aside Fulham 4-0 at Craven Cottage this evening to book their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

The game started a bit scrappy and Fulham almost took the lead when Van De Sar was wrong footed by an Andy Johnson flick but the ball was cleared off the line by Vidic.  They had another good chance when a Clint Dempsy header was neatly saved by Van De Sar.
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by Andy Blair, Chief Sports Correspondent

Football:The sixth round of the FA cup takes place this weekend and one fifth round clash also.  On Saturday second in the league and rejuvenated under Guus Hiddink Chelsea take on lower league Coventry at Ricoh Arena.  Manchester United travel to London to take on Fulham at Craven Cottage having beaten them comprehensively in league a few weeks ago they will be hoping for a similar result to keep their hopes alive of winning four major honours this term. Read More

by Andy Blair, Chief Sports Correspondent

Blackburn 0-0 Everton

Blackburn Rovers and Everton played out a tedious 0-0 draw tonight at Ewood Park.  The result didn’t help Blackburn in their relegation battle or Everton who are hoping for champions league football.
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by Stevie Kearney, Head of News

March 14th is going to be a defining day for many involved in boxing.  It represents a major gamble from Frank Warren, and one he may live to regret.  Yes, March 14th is the day that Warren’s protege, Amir Khan, takes a huge step up in class as he fights Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera, a former world champion on 7 occasions, at 3 different weights.  The outcome will likely define the rest of Khan’s career. Read More

by Joe Duggin, FreshReporter

The recent charges levelled at Sir Allen Stanford for fraud amounting to around $8 billion have thrown a cumbersome spanner in the fragile works of English cricket and have unfortunately overshadowed an exciting tour of the West Indies.  Sir Allen’s alleged exploits are deeply concerning yet they may, in the long term, help cricket and sport in general distance itself from the monetary greed that distracts from sport’s nascent mystique. Read More

by Andy Blair, Chief Sports Correspondent

Ireland overcame England by a single point at Croke Park this afternoon to leave them as the only side still capable of winning the Grandslam.
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by Andy Blair, Chief Sports Correspondent

Scotland recorded their first win of the 2009 Six Nations with a comprehensive but unspectacular 26-6 over a poor Italian side.
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Rugby and Football by FreshAirSport’s Andy Blair, Chief Sports Correspondent

Tennis and Boxing by Stevie Kearney, Head of News.

Rugby
The six nations continue this week with games on Friday and Saturday.  Wales take on France in the Stade de France where they will be hoping to repeat the comfortable victory they achieved last year in the millennium stadium.  On Saturday England travel to Ireland for a friendly welcome from the fans at Croke  Park where they will be in for a tougher test than one that met them at Twickenham where they ran out 33-10 victors.

In what many will be seeing as the battle to avoid the wooden spoon Italy are guests at Murrayfield and will hope that there is a repeat of the errors that led Scotland to defeat at the hands of the Italians in last year’s tournament

Football
Having had a torrid season so far, losing a manager and re-buying old players, Tottenham fans will be hoping that their team can retain their League Cup  crown against Manchester United at Wembley on Sunday afternoon.  With United in supreme form at the moment, it looks unlikley that struggling Spurs will cause an upset. Read More

by Andy Blair, Chief Sports Correspondent

The Champions league returns tonight after the winter break. With the group stages over it gets down to business now with the knockout stage of the competition.  The four British clubs each have a difficult test to see if they can make it to the next round.

On Tuesday Claudio Ranieri makes a return to Stanford Bridge as his Juventus side take on Chelsea.  And Liverpool have the unenviable challenge of a trip to the Santiago Bernabéu to face a Real Madrid team hitting form in La Liga.  In other games tonight, Bacelona travel to Lyon to take on the French champions and Athletico Madrid host Portugal’s Porto. Read More