Derby County's new owners have been confirmed as the US group General Sports and Entertainment, according to the club's official website. Chairman Adam Pearson has confirmed the deal is in the form of cash, not debt, and believes the financial future of the club has been underpinned. Given the plight of the club, the  words  'Sports' and 'Entertainment' might compromise the success of the brand. A nice strapline to go on the club's website could be '11 Rams of junk males'.

The BBC are reporting that Dennis Wise is going to be Newcastle's Director of Football. Surely the KK clan could come up with a better choice than Wise or at least change the title to 'Dire Wrecker of Football'.

So it was Nojak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova who took the honours in Melbourne; surprisingly, some may argue. Hey, and guess what, Britain's  number one Andy Murray has quietly slipped out of the top ten with his early exit to runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Surely we are not going to witness the demise of another British tennis player!

'Yes, our pals from over the pond will be dressed up as bouncy castles for another 100 hours of non-stop commercials and explanations from disgruntled Newcastle fans dressed up as referees'


Good to see Paul Collingwood looking forward to taking on the Aussies in 2009. But hang on Paul, we've got FIVE series to go before our cousins from Down Under are over here. Collingwood told Sky Sports that the players had a 'burning desire' to get the Ashes back in 18 months. Unless your form improves, Paul, you might be spending that summer catching glimpses of the Aussies retaining the urn from the Durham pavilion.

You would think everything is rosy in the English cricketing garden if you listen to the people in charge of our game. Take ECB Head of Development Peter Ackerley, who told Sky Sports on Friday:  "The rise in participation shows that our partnerships between clubs, schools and their local communities are flourishing and cricket is a sport which youngsters want to be involved in." Shame that those pulling on the three lions sweaters don't feel the same.

They were all laughing when Avram Grant walked into the hot seat at Chelsea. The appointment was the equivalent of two-star counter server at McDonalds taking over as head chef at The Ivy. But Avram is having the last laugh as Chelsea are the only English club with a chance of landing FOUR trophies this season.

Grant's only problem is to lighten up a bit. His interview technique is akin to a dead-pan comedian. You know the sort: 'I was one of three children born to Nicole Kidman and I was the one that was bottle fed.'

Sunday will be taken over by big blokes, crunching tackles and fat fans eating junk food. And as well as Newcastle v Middlesbrough, there is the New England Patriots v New York Giants Super Bowl XLII to look forward to. Yes, our pals from over the pond will be dressed up as bouncy castles for another 100 hours of non-stop commercials and explanations from disgruntled Newcastle fans dressed up as referees.

Sometimes the excitement is so great when a team manages to move 17 inches that they bring on a carpet fitter from a trailer park to verify the distance, using a tape measure from Wall Mart.