#War of Attrition

The UFC's first event of 2023 goes down this Saturday inside the Apex facility in Las Vegas, and while it's a pretty poor card, it will serve as the starter pistol for another year of UFC action-a year that should be full of surprises. There is seldom a boring year for UFC fans. However, this one could be particularly interesting, as several…

Forty years ago, in a book called "Cricket Wallah", I gazed into a ball made of crystal rather than leather and made the following prophecy: "Not many years hence, although the game grew up thousands of miles away, India is destined to become the capital of cricket." Here I attempt again to predict the future shape of cricket. Twenty winters ago a…

The TransPerfect Music City Bowl is typically one of the best games to watch in bowl season. Year after year, Nashville, Tenn., has been the home of one of the most exciting and high-scoring affairs in postseason college football. Just looking at recent years: Purdue and Tennessee battled through overtime to a 48-45 result, and, yes, the Volunteers…

12:30pm: Leyton Orient v Stevenage - Orient to Win 3pm: Bolton v Derby - Bolton to Win 5.15pm: Reading v Swansea - The Draw 8pm: Burnley v Birmingham City - Burnley to Win & Over 2.5 Goals It's a veritable feast of EFL action on the tellybox once again on Tuesday after Boxing Day's monster seven Championship matches. This time around it's a…

Regarded by Gordon Elliott as the best he had trained, Don Cossack looked an exceptional prospect in bumpers, but he spent a couple of seasons in the wilderness, failing to meet expectations over hurdles or in his novice chase campaign, occasionally looking a bit weak in the finish. There can be no faulting his record over his final two campaigns,…

The Blues have been overtime magnets lately, and with two weary squads possibly going with backup goalies, this should be a war of attrition. See why our NHL picks think St. Louis will keep it close. The St. Louis Blues stay in Alberta for the second leg of a back-to-back Friday as they face the Calgary Flames after getting a come-from-behind…

Eddie Jones has been keen to manage expectations and play down England's tag as favourites to win the 2020 Six Nations, pointing to how sides have "deteriorated" after playing in a World Cup final, but the state of the teams around England suggest he should be quietly confident. England were some way ahead the other northern-hemisphere sides in…

It's going to be a war of attrition on Sunday at the Wyndham Championship. Just 12 of the 86 players in the field were able to complete their Third Round on Saturday, after play was suspended for the day due to inclement weather. That means the bulk of the leading contenders are going to have to play 25 holes or more on Sunday, which could make…

Rule The World, a 33-1 shot who had never previously won a steeplechase and ridden by a 19-year-old who had not won over fences this time last year, clinched a dramatic 169th Crabbies Grand National on a cold and wet afternoon at Aintree yesterday to maintain the race's capacity to produce a fairy-tale result. The nine-year-old galloped home under…

Predictions are a fool's errand, but what are we if not hopelessly foolish for the teams we love? And what's another year of baseball if not for some foolhardy predications about the 2021 season? The Toronto Blue Jays made some big bets in free agency this winter with George Springer and Marcus Semien, and for the second consecutive offseason, they…

Kansas Jayhawks (6-4) will play host to Texas Longhorns (6-4) during Week 12 of the college football season. The Longhorns were locked (pun intended) in a defensive battle with an undefeated TCU Horned Frogs team last Saturday but lost the war of attrition 17-10. The Texas offense was blanked in the first half after scoring 68 points combined in…

Blue Lord: 14-1 for the Ryanair Chase after his winning return at Clonmel Thursday: Clonmel Oil Chase, Clonmel Paul Townend timed it to perfection to land a sedately run Clonmel Oil Chase on Blue Lord as the dual Grade 1 winner dug deep to repel a spirited effort from King George VI Chase-winning stablemate Tornado Flyer. A 1-2 for Willie Mullins…

Saturday marks the 12th anniversary of the great Frankel's winning debut in a Newmarket maiden when he beat future King George and Eclipse winner Nathaniel by half a length. That was the start of a stunning unbeaten 14-race career for the Sir Henry Cecil-trained star which included a staggering ten Group 1 wins. Has there ever been a better maiden…

Tiger Roll: popular gelding did not run in the National last year Michael O'Leary's decision to withdraw Tiger Roll from this year's Randox Grand National has dismayed British and Irish horseracing fans, with 90 per cent of those taking part in a poll wanting to see the 12-year-old try to emulate Red Rum at Aintree in April. O'Leary said on Sunday…

Al Boum Photo will attempt to become the fourth horse to complete the Cheltenham and Punchestown Gold Cup double when he faces seven rivals in Wednesday's showpiece contest, hopefully following in the footsteps of Kicking King (2005), War Of Attrition (2006), and Sizing John (2017). The seven-year-old ended trainer Willie Mullins' long quest for a…

Penn State's last trip to Memorial Stadium ended in an overtime loss that kicked off the 0-5 start in 2020. That game also sparked the Hoosiers to a special season by their standards. This time around, Penn State will look to avoid the upset against a Hoosier team that is on a five-game skid in 2022. We got in touch with Luke Norton from Crimson…

Will favourites England book a sixth World Cup final appearance with victory over 2014 runners-up Canada? Can hosts and defending champions New Zealand dispatch France? Katy Daley-Mclean has the lowdown on this Saturday's semi-final contests and offers her predictions. Before the tournament got under way last month, I said Canada would be the dark…

Friday of the Breeders' Cup features the rising stars of racing. Saturday however, is a chance to see some the best of the best competing to be a world champion in their division. The two-day card from Del Mar can be a war of attrition for even the most experienced handicappers. Along with more races and larger fields foreign form makes the puzzle…

It was back in 1926 that Barbara Eupean Todd, the creator of Worzel Gummidge claimed that'Winter comes on the tail of the last St Leger horse'. With the entries for the Charlie Hall approaching and the Jumps stable tours coming think and fast, it's fair to say that winter is ranging up and ready to grab the lead. With that in mind the team at…

Defending the Stanley Cup begins now as the Colorado Avalanche are set to kick off their regular season schedule against the Chicago Blackhawks. Some faces are new but the core remains and the champs are ready to win another ring. Adrian: The mark of a truly great team is how they perform in the event that a key piece is missing from the lineup. No…

Galvin repeated last season's success in the Irish Daily Star - Best For Racing Coverage Chase with ease at Punchestown. Having conceded 8lb to take the Grade Three prize last season, Gordon Elliott's crack staying chaser made light work of his four rivals under a 12lb and more disadvantage this time. Having stalked the decent pace set by…

Watch how Desert Orchid, French Holly and Yorkhill won the Tolworth Hurdle as Andy Stephens takes a nostalgic look back Desert Orchid won the Tolworth in 1984 on his way to great things (Racingfotos) The Unibet Tolworth Novices' Hurdle, first run in 1976, has a rich roll of honour and Saturday's renewal could yield another star with Constitution…

Two-year-olds hold center stage in Britain and Ireland this weekend. Newmarket hosts the first two Group 1 events of the year on the British calendar for juveniles, both over six furlongs. There are also Group 2 one-mile two-year-old contests in Britain and Ireland that are not only good prizes in their own right; they also open the European Road…