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MARADONA LOOKS FOR A CURE IN CUBA
After suffering heart problems and hospitalisation in Uruguay, Diego
Annando Maradona has decided to spend several months in Cuba in an attempt to
kick his cocaine habit. The leader of the Caribbean island, Fidal Castro,
personally invited the soccer star to go to Cuba to treat his addiction. After
the U.S. authorities refused Maradona permission to enter the United States to
undergo* treatment there, the Argentine idol accepted Castro's offer and turned
up* at the airport with a Che Guevara t-shirt and tattoo. Since he has been on
the island Maradona has had time to relax in the swimming pool, dye his hair
yellow, argue with photographers and start to lose a few kilos. He has plans to
play a game of football at some point but not until his doctors say that he is
healthy enough. Years of drug abuse have left his heart badly damaged and his
figure is rounder than ever. The star will spend at least six months in
rehabilitation clinics on the island and will have treatment for both his
addiction and his heart problems. |
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MIGUEL PRIETO'S PARIS-DAKAR DISASTER
Twenty-five days with his upper body in plaster and unable to
move. For someone as active and adventurous as the Alavan rally driver Miguel
Prieto this must be torture. But this is the price to pay for the unfortunate
accident that he had while competing in the world famous Paris-Dakar rally (in
which he was second last year). With a broken bone in his spinal column the
racing driver has to take every precaution during his recovery. The whole of
February prostrated in his home Vitorian before further tests to see if the
bone has fixed will be followed by months of rehabilitation. However his first
problem was during the journey back from Madrid where he had been operated on.
"I never thought that road, which f use every weekend, had no many potholea*.
It was torlufou.'-,. " This is what February holds for Preito; eat as little as
possible so as not to put on weight, drink two litres of water daily to keep
his liver functioning correctly, exercise his legs and arms regularly so that
they don't lose too much muscular mass and of course look after all those other
minor injuries suffered in the crash. But at least his humour is intact. "I
might have been knocked down, but I'm still standing. "
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ESTUDIANTES WIN THE 'KING'S CUP'
The Reyes brothers combine to
make the Madrilenos the best
Estudiantes is a team built from the bottom up which in
sporting terms means that the search for talent starts with children as young
as 4 years old and that the philosophy of the club doesn't include a large
cheque book used for buying the services of expensive and irregular Americans.
38 teams and 650 players of all ages all celebrated the victory in the final of
the 'King's Cup' that gave Estudiantes its second title in this tournament.
Victory over hosts and favourites Baskonia in the quarter-finals followed by a
semi-final win against Caja San Fernando meant that hundreds of fans made the
journey from Madrid to see their team play the final against Pamesa Valencia in
the Araba Arena, The ^demencia estudantii' then celebrated the victory of their
team in the bars of the old town of Gasteiz until the early hours of the
morning.
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CAMACHO THREATENS TO
LEAVE
Real Madrid's participation in
the Club World Championship has given Camacho and the Federation unexpected
problems. Friendly games involving the Spanish national side and league games
involving the 'whites' have coincided and subsequently created friction between
the club and the Federation. Camacho decided that the situation was ridiculous
and threatened* to resign if league and national side games clashed* again The
manager will not have to resign after all as the next game that Spain plays
will be two days after Real Madrid's league game. |
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RAMS WIN
SUPERBOWL
In one of the best games
in the history of the tournament the San Louis Rams won the 24th Super Bowl by
beating Lhe Tennesse Titans 23-16. In a thrilling* final quarter the Titans
came back into a game that the Rama had dominated in the previous three
periods. However the night belonged to the Rams' quarterback* Kurt Wamer who
threw a total of 414 yards and made two touchdown* passes. In the last minute
of the game he launched a 73 yard pass which wide receiver Isaac Bruce caught
and converted into the winning touchdown. The 73,000 crowd packed* into the
Georgia Dome were witnesses to one of the most exciting ends to a final that
paralizes the United States every January. |
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BUT WHAT
HAPPENED TO BASKONIA?
Perhaps the
defeat to the eventual champions was the only thing to expect as the host team
never wins the tournament despite having the advantage of playing in front of
an adoring crowd. The real reason however was that the team is still having
problems in its interior game where the pivots simply don't catch the rebounds.
When you add to this the fact that the 3-point specialists are not producing
and that Bennett is not directing the team with tbc same inspiration as a year
ago you can nol expect to compete with the best- At least the cup saw the debut
of Nocioni in officail competition, Italian at last! |
