Olyroos Failure Costs Blanco
Illawarra Mercury
Wednesday December 13, 2000
Olyroos coach Raul Blanco has paid the ultimate price for Australia's disappointing 2000 Olympic campaign after Soccer Australia failed to renew his contract yesterday.
The writing was on the wall for Blanco after he accepted full responsibility for the Australian soccer team's poor performance in Sydney in which they failed to win a single game.
Soccer Australia chairman Basil Scarsella described the split as amicable saying both parties agreed this was ``the best course of action".
Australia's preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games is not expected to suffer with the immediate concentration being on the senior squad's campaign for the 2002 World Cup.
SA has not named a successor to Blanco but Socceroos coach Frank Farina has long expressed the desire to combine his current position with the Olyroos role.
Mee signs with Sixers
Adelaide 36ers point guard Darnell Mee yesterday signed with the National Basketball League club for the next four seasons.
Mee was voted the league's best defensive player for the past two seasons and was awarded the NBL's November player of the month for his stellar recent form.
The 29-year-old was a major factor in the Sixers winning two of the past three NBL championships.
Mee said it was the relaxed atmosphere of playing in Adelaide under coach Phil Smyth which kept him tied to the club, rather than chasing more money in Europe.
Smyth, who is also contracted to the Sixers until the end of 2004-05, said Mee was the best point guard in the country and one of the players on which the future success of the club would be built.
Broadbent hamstrung
World record holder Jo Broadbent will miss Australia's last two round-robin matches at the women's cricket World Cup in Christchurch with a hamstring injury.
Veteran all-rounder Broadbent who boasts a world record Test average of 109.25, suffered the injury in Sunday's game against England.
Unbeaten Australia, which tops the table with 10 points from five matches, plays South Africa today and the Netherlands on Saturday.
``Jo won't play tomorrow. At the moment, the way the physio reports she would be a week before we know too much," Australian team manager Janine Stainer said.
Nokia skipper confident
The helmsman of record-holder Nokia believes his boat can defend the Sydney-to-Hobart line honours title, despite being pushed out of favouritism.
Christian Jensen even said another record was possible if the conditions were right, although it wouldn't come from his boat.
When the Danish-owned vessel took line honours last year in one day, 19 hours and 48 minutes, it prompted several larger boats to enter this year's race.
The 18.5m Nokia will be dwarfed by some of its competitors in the 2000 race.
However Jensen said the state-of-the-art technology of his newly built competitors - notably Shockwave and Nicorette - could be their undoing.
``It all comes to who handles the boats well," the Nokia co-owner said.
``The bigger boats are brand new. For us it would be a realistic thing to take line honours if those guys have breakdowns."
Warne's bowling comeback
Champion leg spinner Shane Warne could use Ian Healy's testimonial match at the Gabba tomorrow week to sway Australian selectors into recalling him for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Initially Warne was happy to have a bat and a bit of fun in Healy's testimonial bash but the Victorian may bowl in the game to show he is fully recovered from finger surgery which has so far kept him out of the Windies Test series.
Match promoter Paul Smith said Warne and injured Australian captain Steve Waugh had both confirmed they would take part in Healy's match.
``Initially Warnie was only looking to have a bat and maybe a bowl, but now he's keen to get as much bowling practice as possible," said Smith.
Smith said one of Queensland's favourite sportsmen, Allan Langer, would make a hometown comeback as 12th man for the Rest of the World XI against Healy's Australian XI.
The retired Brisbane Broncos, Queensland and Australian half-back has spent the past season playing for the Warrington Wolves in England.
© 2000 Illawarra Mercury