Sporting quirkies

Source: ananova.com

Something on the lighter side. I thought that you might need it after yesterday’s astonishing performances by the South African sides in the Super 14.

Cricket ace called PM a ‘knob’

Matthew Hoggard says he called Tony Blair a ‘knob’ at an official reception after England’s Ashes win.

Yorkshireman Hoggard, 28, was asked about being welcomed by Mr Blair after their triumph over Australia.

He said: “My memory is quite blurred, but I remember a big red thing – so I think we took a bus to No10 Downing Street.

“I believe Tony popped in for a glass of – what did they offer us? – pineapple juice. We left Downing Street and there was a lot of photographers. He said: “What do they want?”

“So I looked at him and said: “A photo, you knob!”"

Hoggard revealed the story as a guest on the BBC1 sports quiz show They Think It’s All Over.

After a roar of applause from the audience, Jonathan Ross said: “You really must win at cricket more often.”

Football club wants sausages back

A Romanian football team is demanding a refund after it bought a player for a transfer fee of 15 kilos of pork sausages.

Defender Marius Cioara retired a day later saying he could not face any more sausage related taunts.

Cioara, who played for second division team UT Arad, was sold to fourth division Regal Hornia for the sausage meat.

After the deal a spokesman for Regal Hornia confirmed: “We gave up the team’s sausage allowance for a week to secure him, but we are confident it will be worth it.”

But a day after the deal was leaked to the media, Cioara announced he was giving up football and had decided to leave the country.

He said: “The sausage taunts all got too much, they were joking I would have got more from the Germans and making sausage jokes. It was a huge insult. I have decided to go to Spain where I have got a job on a farm.”

Posh and Coleen to strip for England?

Wives and girlfriends of the England football team may have to strip off if they fancy a swim during the World Cup.

The likes of Victoria Beckham and Coleen McLoughlin will find clothes are banned in the pool complex at the England squad’s hotel in Germany.

As well as a swimming pool, the hotel’s spa features steambaths, saunas and massages – but clothing is strictly taboo.

A source at the Schlosshotel Buhlerhohe in Germany’s Black Forest told The Sun: “It’s no place for modesty.

“Like most spas in this part of the world, clothes are a no-no – and men and women strip off together. I’m sure they’ll find it great fun.”

The secluded five-star hotel has been handpicked by coach Sven Goran Eriksson as England’s World Cup HQ this summer.

Players’ wives and girlfriends will be free to come and go, although they will be booked into a different hotel in nearby Baden-Baden.

Website teaches England fans to chant in German

A website teaching English football fans phrases such as “I puked my guts up” and “sack the manager” in German has been set up for the World Cup.

It also includes translations for “sick as a parrot”, “the ref doesn’t know what he’s doing” and “the goal scorer looked suspiciously offside”.

The British Embassy in Berlin, which is behind the move, has also appointed a special full-time “football attache”.

Andy Battson will answer queries during the World Cup tournament next year in Germany and give tips to travelling supporters.

He said: “We share a love of good beer as well as football and the friendly historic rivalry between our two teams will add extra interest.”

Some 100,000 England fans are expected to travel to Germany this summer, a crowd second only to the locals.

The website, www.britishembassyworldcup.com, has regular news updates, answers common queries and gives tips to travelling fans.

Bulgarian is Europe’s top Chessboxer

A Bulgarian has become the first ever European Heavyweight Chessboxing Champion.

Tihomir ‘Tiger’ Titschko walked off with the title at the Chessboxing Championships in Germany.

The WCBO (World Chess Boxing Organisation) organised the event where so-called chessboxers went through interchanging four-minute-rounds of chess and two-minute boxing rounds.

According to the rules, in a maximum of eleven rounds, a K.O. or checkmate can lead to an early victory.

Titschko, 26, weighing 14 stone, won the title after beating German champion Andreas ‘Doomsday’ Schneider with a check-mate following a dragon-variation of the Sizilian opening in the ninth round.

A spokesperson for the World Chess Boxing Organisation said: “The basic idea in chessboxing is to combine the no.1 thinking sport and the no.1 fighting sport into a hybrid that demands the most of its competitors – both mentally and physically.”

Exams postponed for World Cup

Exams in Saudi Arabia are being postponed next year so football mad youngsters can enjoy the World Cup.

The Saudi Education Ministry announced changes to school and university timetables in order to make way for the football tournament in Germany.

In a statement it said it would be a shame if students were unable to enjoy the competition properly because of their exams.

It added that it would also be detrimental to their grades if they spent too much time in front of the TV instead of studying.

Instead they have rearranged the exam timetables to prevent clashes with final exams at the end of June and beginning of July.

Golfer makes his way across UK

A golfer has played his way across Britain.

David Sullivan played his way from John O’Groats to Land’s End in 70 days taking 247,387 strokes reports The Sun.

David from Oxted, Surrey is hoping to raise £250,000 for charities – and get in the Guinness Book of Records.