Blackburn Rovers sacked Henning Berg yesterday after only 57 days and 10 games in charge, becoming the second manager to depart an English Championship club in the space of a few hours.
The Norwegian was axed by Blackburn’s Indian owners after a 1-0 defeat at Middlesbrough on Wednesday, their fifth loss in six games, which left the club languishing in 17th place. Under Berg, Blackburn won just once.
Berg’s dismissal followed hot on the heels of Sean O’Driscoll’s departure from Nottingham Forest, the Kuwaiti-owned former European champions sacking him late on Wednesday, hours after a 4-2 home win over Leeds.
Berg, who won the Premier League as a Blackburn player in 1995, was appointed on Oct. 31 after the resignation of predecessor Steve Kean at the end of September.
O’Driscoll was sacked by Nottingham Forest despite the club sitting in eighth place, one point away from the top six.
“We are looking to bring in an ambitious manager with Premier League experience,” said chairman Fawaz al-Hasawi, adding that Forest’s lack of consistency under O’Driscoll was a major factor in the decision.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and