Tiger’s battle continues

Tiger Woods’ alleged mistress Devon James filed a paternity action this afternoon.

According to Fox 35, TMZ claim the woman wants to prove that her nine-year-old son is fathered by the golf star.

James filed legal documents in Florida under her birth name, Melinda Jannette, stating she wanted a judge to determine the paternity of her son Austin Brinling.

Testing one, two, three…

Austin is currently in the custody of his grandmother, who claims a previous DNA test from 2002 proved another man was the father.

Regardless, James is certain her mother has no physical evidence and wants a judge to force Woods to submit his DNA.

Fox 35 reported, James legal documents want to “establish paternity, parental responsibility, time-sharing, and/or child support of a minor child or children.”

James is one of more than a dozen women claiming they had affairs with Woods, this has resulted in a separation from is wife Elin Nordegren and their two children Sam, two, and son Charlie, one.

Magic Make Moves

The roar inside Amway Arena challenged the theme parks last night as Orlando showed Boston how to overcome obstacles in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Amway Arena, Eastern Conference Finals Game 5

Celtics had the chance to shut the series down but Magic made it clear that they were going to Game 6 winning 113-92. But just like a Hollywood blockbuster, there was passion, pain and a party.

The passion started with Vince Carter (8 points) and Rashard Lewis (14 points) throwing down the 3 point shots. These two had a shaky first few games but last night alongside almost every player on their team, they proved that Magic will go down in NBA history as the team who has made the most 3 points in a season.

Boston retaliated in a few different ways. Kendrick Perkins was given his 2nd technical in the first half and was ejected from the game.

The big man has the most technical fouls in the playoffs with a total of seven and will miss Game 6 of the series. Rasheed Wallace got 21 points before fouling out in the 4th.

Dwight Howard could not be stopped. The pick and roll play constantly giving him opportunities on the inside.

Paul Pierce (18 points) was having a bad night as Howard blocked shots with ease and gained 10 rebounds.His dunks gained standing ovations from the sea of blue shirts and he ended the game with 21 points.

Problems for Boston

Pain came from the Boston bench on the defensive end. Glen Davis was elbowed in the face by Howard in the last minute of the 3rd.

He struggled to regain his balance before staggering to the arms of official Joy Crawford. Play was stopped as a disorientated Davis sat on the floor with limited movement. He ended the game with 4 points and a concussion.

That wasn’t all. Marquis Daniels got hit pretty hard in the 4th. The knock to the head sent him to the floor before Celtics deliberate foul to send him to the bench.

Another concussion left Howard, Jameer Nelson and J.J Redick (14 points) with room to do more damage offensively.

Nelson took his team from possible elimination to elevation. With 24 points, 5 rebound and 5 assists, he was the key to Magic’s ignition.

Victory at home

“At this point we believe we can win the series.” Nelson giving more hope to dedicated fans but reminding them, “We have to stay humble and keep focused.”

93 teams have started and ended a series 0-3 down but Magic may go down is history as the team who beat the odds if on Friday they make it 3-3 in Boston.

Wealdstone exit FA Cup with their heads held high

Dorota Faron reporting from the terraces

Non-league Wealdstone FC exited the FA Cup after the first round despite putting up a brave fight in their 3-2 home defeat to Rotherham United.

The Stones who ply their trade in the Ryman League were the obvious underdogs against the full-time Millers of League Two but the difference in class was barely visible, as the two teams locked horns at the Grosvenor Vale on Sunday.

Roared on by the vociferous near-capacity crowd, the hosts made a confident start to the game, showing composure in defence and intent to push forward.

Mark E’Beyer had a good chance to fire the home team ahead early on when he burst into the Millers penalty area but instead of taking a shot he went down under a challenge, futilely hoping to earn a spot kick.

Charlie Mpi also carved an opening for himself but he saw his effort easily collected by the onrushing Andy Warrington.   

E’beyer should have done better when he sent a drive straight at the keeper after a neat two-one with Gray and an impressive turn-in in the build up.

Rotherham push forward

Rotherham too went in search of an opening goal but the Wealdstone defenders did well to repel their attacks. Adam Le Fondre was The Millers’ most threatening player and his long-range drives forced two fine saves from Thomas, the Stones keeper, around the half hour mark.

The Le Fondre did get on to the scoresheet at the third attempt as Thomas’s miscued goal kick rebounded off his back and rolled into the net in the 33^rd minute.

Conceding an opener put the Stones on the backfoot and allowed Rotherham more freedom to roam forward in a bid to extend their lead.

The hosts’ could have gone further down when Pablo Mills’s strike took a deflection off Kevin Ellison on the edge of the box with the ball going narrowly wide.

Thomas presented the visitors with a golden goalscoring opportunity when he collected a backpass form his own defender and gave away an indirect free kick from eight yards out. The resulting cross was however scrambled away by Alan Massey.

Rotherham turned their domination into a second goal on the stroke of half time thanks to Ellison, who unleashed a rocket of a shot that soared past the helpless Thomas into the bottom corner.

Wealdstone’s response

But a two goal deficit taken into the dressing room did not dampen the hosts’ ambitions. After the break the Stones showed the desire to change the course of the tie and keep their dream cup run alive, as they laid siege to the visitors’ goal.  

Their efforts paid dividends in the 63rd minute when Ryan Ashe pulled a goal back with a powerful drive from the edge of the penalty area.

The hosts could have been level minutes later. Second-half substitute Danny Spendlove showed exquisite technique when he controlled a pitch-length pass from his goalkeeper and shrugged off the marking defender but his fierce strike flew inches wide.

Wealdstone continued to press ahead but it was the Rotherham side who scored, against the run of play. The home team conceded an innocuous free-kick 20 yards out and a cross sent from the set piece was met by Drewe Broughton who headed the ball in with eight minutes left to play.

The Stones responded with a fresh wave of attacks for which they were duly rewarded in the last minute of normal time, as Ashe netted his and his team’s second setting up a thrilling finale to the game.

Wealdstone committed all their men forward, as they pushed for a late equaliser but Rotherham withstood the surge and managed to protect their slender goal advantage till the final whistle.

Reigning champions outclass the Belles

Dorota Faron reporting from the terraces

Arsenal Ladies returned to Tesco Women’s Premier League action with a 8-1 rout of Doncaster Rovers Belles at Meadow Park.

Arsenal resumed the defence of their domestic title after recording an 18-0 aggregate victory over PAOK of Greece in their Champions League tie.  The North London side maintained their goal-scoring form displayed in Europe, condemning the Belles to their heaviest defeat this season.

Gemma Davison fired the hosts ahead with less than a quarter of an hour gone only for Liz Hansen to haul the visitors level six minutes later. The quick response from the Belles riled Arsenal who immediately pressed forward in hope of regaining the lead.

Their fierce surge on Nicola Hobbs’ goal paid instant dividends, as Davison put the home team back in front within 120 seconds of the equaliser. The blow struck by the young forward took the wind from under the Belles sails and the reigning champions started to dominate the proceedings.

Kim Little came close to capitalising on this optical advantage on two occasions when her long range efforts skimmed the side netting and flew narrowly over the bar respectively. At the third attempt, however, the rising England star made no mistake and having taken advantage of a Belles defensive blunder she planted the ball in the top left corner of Hobbs’ goal.

Wind in the sails

 Spearheaded by their attacking trio Arsenal kept gathering momentum with every passing minute, containing the opposition within their own half and carving out numerous scoring opportunities. Rachel Yankey missed two clear-cut chances as she was first denied by the Belles keeper and then by the crossbar which she rattled with a crisp drive.    

Faye White, the Arsenal centre-back, succeeded where her teammate from attack had failed when she back headed Davison’s free-kick past the intervening Hobbs and into the net in the 41^st minute.

Seconds later Yankey capped an impressive first-half performance with a goal of her own. The visitors’ keeper made a hash of Gemma Davison’s powerful cross from the right flank, deflecting the ball into the path of the England star who dispatched an unstoppable low drive into the far corner beyond Hobbs’ reach.

Stroll in the park: Arsenal cruised to victory over lacklustre Belles.

A comfortable 5-1 lead taken into the dressing room, allowed the hosts to slacken the tempo after the break. The Belles tried to use this period of slower play to slash the goal deficit but Rachel Williams and Naiomi Chadwick dragged their best chances wide.

The profligacy in front of goal came back at the visitors in the 63^rd minute when Helen Lander headed in Yankey’s searching pass from the left for Arsenal’s sixth. 

Eight minutes later Kim Little inflicted further damage by rounding Hobbs and placing the ball in the empty net. Substitute Jennifewr Beatie sealed the score by nodding in a Yankey corner with a quarter of an hour left to play.

Post-match reaction

Tony Gervaise, the manger of the victorious side, praised his players for yet another commanding performance. ‘I’m very pleased with the standard of our play throughout the game. To score eight goals on the back of two 9-0 wins in Europe was excellent,’ he said.

Rachel Yankey, added: ‘It was harder for us today than the scoreline may suggest but it was great to continue our form from the European games.’

John Buckley, the Belles boss, did not blame his players for the result but he was rather disappointed with their attitude. ‘I can handle the fact that the team didn’t play well, but the body language of the players was disappointing. They deadened themselves in the first half,’ he commented.