Pictures idea was inspired by Manchester Evening News and SkySports Jade Christopher Bentley Adams signing off (@Jcba & on IG @Jcba_Official)

KOBE BRYANT left this on "The players Tribune" Dear Basketball, From the moment I started rolling my dad’s tube socks And shooting imaginary Game-winning shots In the Great Western Forum I knew one thing was real: I fell in love with you. A love so deep I gave you my all — From my mind & body To my spirit & soul. As a six-year-old boy Deeply in love with you I never saw the end of the tunnel. I only saw myself Running out of one. And so I ran. I ran up and down every court After every loose ball for you. You asked for my hustle I gave you my heart Because it came with so much more. I played through the sweat and hurt Not because challenge called me But because YOU called me. I did everything for YOU Because that’s what you do When someone makes you feel as Alive as you’ve made me feel. You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream And I’ll always love you for it. But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer. This season is a...

It is the end of an era, not only in New Zealand but in world rugby and Allblacks.com & JCBA reflects on 12 key moments in Richie McCaw's rugby career. August 18, 2000 Debuted for Canterbury against North Harbour when coming off the bench for his only 18 minutes of first-class play that season. By the time he was included in the All Blacks' touring team at the end of 2001, he had played only 17 games for Canterbury. He would only ever make another 17 appearances for Canterbury, 34 in all, while playing 145 times for the Crusaders and 148 times for the All Blacks with one non-Test appearance for New Zealand which represents 328 first-class games. November 17, 2001 Made his All Blacks debut at Lansdowne Road in Dublin against Ireland. New Zealand won 40-29 after being down 7-16 at halftime. Was named man of the match and played a key role in a vital try scored by Jonah Lomu. In the same year he was named the NPC Division One player of the year in the Steinlager aw...

Soirée - 18 November 2015 / 'swɑːreɪ / 1) an evening party or gathering; 2) typically in a private house, for conversation or music.

The Rugby World Cup Final is but just another Bledisloe Cup Final and having each won one this season we are in for the biggest one of them all come Saturday at Twickenham. What ever you call it, these two have been the form teams this World Cup, if not this year and are full value for their spots in the final two. It has all the makings for yet another classic encounter between the two giants. A tough Pool and heavy knock out stage does leave some doubt as to whether or not the Australians will run out of steam against an arguably fresher All Blacks team who I might add had an extra day to recover from their Semi-Final too. That by no means is a given and the All Blacks will know the tenacity of the Wallabies is second to none. A great example is them going down to 13 men against a strong Welsh outfit and keeping them out in another one of their tough Pool encounters. New Zealand where also only really tested in the knock out stages and to a lesser extent by the Fren...

Written by Jean Smyth a day ago on http://ewn.co.za/ LONDON – Springbok assistant coach John McFarland says despite Heyneke Meyer’s emotional response on the weekend to not paying much attention to this Friday’s third place play-off at the Rugby World Cup, the squad is motivated to beat Argentina and win well. The team for the clash will be announced at 7pm tonight, with the squad having being a number of days off following their 20-18 loss to the All Blacks in Saturday's semifinal. The squad reassembled yesterday at the team hotel in Guildford following that loss as they prepare for Friday night’s Bronze Final against Argentina. McFarland says that despite losing to Argentina in Durban this year, they take heart from the last time they met. “It’s an important game for both teams. For us if we finished the year we move up to where we want to be, finish third in the ranking. If they beat us they finish third, so it’s an important game.” McFarland says that he’s looking...

Supersport write-up by Tony Johnson It’s a tough week for the four teams left at RWC, for sharply contrasting reasons. Tough for the finalists to regather their strength and iron out as many of the bumps and bruises as possible for the decider, and, in a way, even tougher for those who must head to the Olympic Stadium, and find out if there is anything left in the tank for the match no-one really wants to play. The All Blacks have the advantage of an extra day to prepare for the final, and they’ll need every minute of it after one of the tightest, most brutal matches in World Cup history. On the surface the NZ-SA clash came down to a couple flashes of brilliance, and a couple of bad choices by individuals.  This was a game on a knife edge from start to finish, and it really could have gone either way. You could argue that New Zealand deserved to win because they scored two tries to nil, and carried out a tactically superior strategy. They got better impact from the...

Who would want to be a Sunderland supporter this weekend? They are arguably there for the taking and it doesn’t help Newcastle United have found some goals. Even new boss Sam Allardyce believes the pressure is on him in this massive derby. Granted the Magpies have only one win in the bag but that is one more than their hosts. Wins, not to mention big wins, boost confidence and Big Sam is shroud enough to know that. Allardyce having lost his first match in charge last weekend and must be aware that none of the last 3 Sunderland bosses lost their first match against their arch rivals Sky Reports: “Sunderland have won the last five encounters with Newcastle and Allardyce told the Sunderland Echo: “I've got to look after the reputation of Sunderland. ”The pressure's on me more than it's on Steve. We've won the last five, so I don't want to be the one who doesn't win it. “But we'll wait and see on the players - only the players can make ev...

London - Here are a few stats and facts I found online ahead of the Rugby World Cup semi-final clash between the Springboks and All Blacks at Twickenham. South Africa and New Zealand have played three Tests in RWC tournaments. The first was in the memorable 1995 tournament when the Springboks won the World Cup in extra time at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The final score 15-12. Four years later in 1999, the two rivals met in Cardiff to contest the third place play-off after New Zealand lost to France in the semi-finals while Australia won the other semi-final in extra time against the Springboks. South Africa won the bronze medal in a close-fought battle 22-18. The last time was in 2003 in Melbourne in the quarter-final when the All Blacks had a comfortable 29-9 win. Saturday’s Test match will be the 91st between the two countries. South Africa’s record against New Zealand: P: 90; W: 35; L: 52; D: 3; PF: 1 412; PA: 1 745; Win%: 39%. The total Test caps for the Springbok starti...