Local football: A.E.K. Karteros 2 v Rouvas 0:

After only two minutes, Panayiotis Psanithakis opened up the scoring for A.E.K. Both teams then played some attractive football and in the 15^th minute a free kick for A.E.K. resulted in a near miss. A good through ball from Ksimerakis of Rouvas sent Anastsakis through the A.E.K. defence, but his excellent shot was met with an even better save from A.E.K. goalkeeper Mihalis Deligiannis. The game went into a midfield battle until the 40^th minute when Rouvas brought another good save from Deligiannis, and in the 44^th minute Anastasakis shot across the goal, but there was no one to tap the ball in. In the 53^rd minute a great shot and goal by Andonis Vasilakis made it 2 – 0. Mihalis Sitherithis made a good run a through ball to Arian Tzertzi, but he hit the side netting. In the 63^rd minute Rouvas hit the crossbar and then carried on pushing forwards for a goal. Mihalis Deligiannis made a great save off Fragiadakis and then the save of the match off Ieronimakis. A.E.K. came back into the game and held onto their lead, winning 2 – 0.

The Khronicles Man of the Match was Mihalis Deligiannis who kept A.E.K. in the game with a string of superb saves.

Athletics:

Disgraced Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou has been awarded Marion Jones’ 100m silver medal from the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton. An IAAF spokesman said the governing body’s decision to award Thanou the silver medal was a reluctant one, but “legally we had no other choice.” After serving a two year ban for failing to attend a drugs test, Thanou returned to competition last year at the European Indoor Athletics Championship in Birmingham, England where she finished sixth in the 60 metres. The Greek sprinter was booed by the fans.

Football:

The Greek national team coach, Otto Rehhagel (Germany) has delayed his contract renewal decision. The Greek Soccer Federation want to extend Rehhagel’s deal for the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers which start in September, but Rehhagel stated, “If I had to provide answer now as to whether I would stay, my answer would be 50 – 50.” His decision will be announced this month.

Rugby:

Athens’ Rugby Club wrapped up their third successive championship after a 67 – 0 win away at Spartakos. The reigning champions took their win to record a remarkable ten wins in ten games.

Ice Hockey:

The Greek ice hockey team did not fare too well at the World Championship Division Three in Luxembourg. They won one and lost four, but did not disgrace themselves, as they played well but did not get any luck. Greece and Albania are the only two countries in Europe without an ice rink and have to travel to other countries to train, sometimes at their own expense. Surely it is time the government provided funds for a proper rink and give the players a sporting chance to compete.

Swimming:

Greek swimmers struck gold for the first time ever at European level at the European Championships held in Holland. Yiannis Drymonakos  and Aris Grigoriadis each won a gold and silver medal. Drymonakos set a new European record time in the 200m butterfly, which ranks as the second fastest performance of all time behind American Michael Phelps.

Basketball:

Millions of euros spent but for what? A total of 50 million euros has been spent in the transfer market this season by Greece’s top teams. Panathinaikos spent 22 million and Olympiakos 20 million, to name just two, but all to no avail as all the Greek teams were eliminated from the Euroleague. Last years champions Panathinaikos were the biggest disappointment – its most expensive squad ever did not fulfil its dreams.

Weightlifting:

Greek weightlifters fail dope tests. Eleven out of fourteen athletes, five male and six female, have been implicated in this doping scandal. The names of the athletes have not yet been released, but the coach, Hristos Iakovou, has resigned after samples from the athletes turned out positive. The future of the entire Greek team in the Beijing Olympics is in jeopardy, as they are being threatened with disqualification, due to the large number of positive tests.

Darts:

The local international darts team from Wuibys in Kokkini Hani have had a successful season, beating the team from The Bull in Kato Gouves in the weekly winter competition. The Wuiby’s team is truly international, with its members hailing from Crete, England, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

 Sport to watch in May

Boxing

May 3: Oscar De La Hoya (U.S.A.) v Steve Forbes (U.S.A.), Carson City U.S.A. Non title welterweight.

May 24: Ricky Hatton (England), defending his title, v Juan Lazcano (Mexico), City of Manchester Stadium, England. I.B.O. Light Welterweight Championship.

Football

May 17: F.A. Cup Final, Wembly Stadium, England. Portsmouth v Cardiff City

May 17: Greek Cup Final, Olympiakos v Aris, Kaftantzoglio Stadium, Thessaloniki

May 21: Champion’s League Cup Final, Moscow, Russia. Liverpool or Chelsea v Manchester United or Barcelona

Athletics

May 10 to 11: European Triathlon Union European Championships, Lisbon

Tennis

May 26 to June 8: French Open Championships, Roland Garros, Paris

Formula One

May 25: Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo