Changing room chat

Published on Wednesday 5 November 2008 22:37

Sportsmen on road to Capitol Hill

WITH US President-elect Barack Obama stealing the headlines yesterday, it perhaps didn't register that there were more than a dozen US sports figures running for political office.

So, in case you missed it, here's a run down of some of the athletes who were trying to follow in the footsteps of Menzies Campbell, Sebastian Coe and Henry McLeish...

Kevin Johnson: A former NBA star with the Phoenix Suns, Johnson was elected as the first black mayor of Sacramento, California.

Joe Mesi: The Democrat had a 36-0 record as one of boxing's top heavyweights, but he had a rough time in the political ring yesterday, losing his attempt to win a New York state Senate seat.

Heath Shuler: The North Carolina Democrat was a former NFL quarterback with the Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints, and he won in his first bid for re-election to Congress.

Sam Wyche: A former quarterback and coach with Cincinnati and Tampa Bay, Wyche won a seat as a Republican on the Pickens County Council in South Carolina, promising better roads and schools.

Queen tribute to new F1 king

I BET you didn't know that the Queen was a petrol-head.

It's true. Yesterday it emerged that Her Majesty sent a message of congratulations to Lewis Hamilton following his Formula 1 world title triumph on Sunday evening.

She wrote: "To Lewis Hamilton esquire, I'm delighted that you succeeded in winning the Formula 1 World Championship to become the youngest-ever champion. I send you my warmest congratulations on your remarkable and historic achievement. Elizabeth R."

Just the ticket for Bougherra

THE next Old Firm fixture of the season isn't for another few weeks, but Rangers player Madjid Bougherra has already got his ticket requests in.

The defender helped Rangers to a 4-2 win at Celtic Park in August and is looking for a repeat performance on 27 December so that he can impress his family. "All of my family are coming over from France because they have seen me playing against Celtic on TV and said they wanted to come and watch an Old Firm game," Bougherra said. "I've had a lot of texts looking for tickets so I can't let them down."

TALES FROM THE TABS

BROWN BITES BACK

KILMARNOCK assistant manager Billy Brown used his column in the Daily Record yesterday to hit back at claims his players were guilty of roughing up Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura in their recent Co-operative Insurance Cup quarter-final clash.

Celtic won the game at Rugby Park 3-1 but the fall-out centred on the plight of Nakamura, who had to come off injured at half-time. "It seems to me they are never happy," Brown said of Celtic. "They have all the money, get all the best players and win trophies as well. Now they don't even want us to tackle them. Are we supposed to sit back and allow them to walk all over us?"

Celtic midfielder Scott Brown said some of the tackling on Nakamura had been "ridiculous", but the Killie coach said that was a "cheap shot". He added: "I watched the entire game again and in my eyes there was one bad tackle – David Lilley on Scott McDonald. Nakamura claimed he could hardly stand up – and yet I'm sure I saw him warm up at Tynecastle on Sunday. To me that means he isn't injured."