Welcome to Kicking Off, the quick way to get abreast of the day’s Scottish sports agenda
Today
- Scotland’s management and players say they can get better quickly
- Eddie Jones off to fine start as his England side consigns Scotland to record eighth successive Six Nations defeat
- King Kenny backs rocking Ronny to keep his job if Celtic win title
- Gary Mackay-Steven urges Celtic to press home their advantage
- Stubbs reckons nothing is beyond his Hibs side after stunning derby comeback
- Dominic Ball admits Rangers got 'carried away' with their attacking play earlier in the season
- Lewis Macleod on the road to recovery after finally making his Brentford debut
- Greg Kiltie hopes Killie have turned the corner after Rangers draw
- Motherwell midfielder Morgaro Gomis blasts ref over Inverness winner
- Loan Ranger Tom Walsh relishing Dumbarton experience
- Graham Gano misses out on becoming the second Scots-born Superbowl winner as Broncos defence trample Panthers
- Storm Imogen blasts through Perth one last time as Bankier bows out in style
- Weekend from hell for Braehead Clan
Here we go again
He loves a good glower but after Scotland suffered a record eighth successive Six Nations Championship defeat that could also pass for a look of resignation
Best foot forward
Eddie Jones makes a sure footed arrival in Six Nations Championship rugby by claiming a trophy on his first outing as England retain the Calcutta Cup
Regal proclamation
King Kenny has decreed that there will be no need for an abdication or a coup at Celtic Park if the title is won this season
Keen to make advantage count
Gary Mackay-Steven reckons Celtic must now capitalise on their Premiership lead
We can go this far
Jason Cummings celebrates the moment that revived Hibs' Scottish Cup bid
Up in the air with feet on the ground
Dominic Ball is eager to ensure that Rangers don't get carried away again as he reckons they did with their early season attacking form
Kiltie warrior
Kilmarnock winger Greg Kiltie hopes his side have turned a corner by battling for a draw with Rangers at ibrox
Mo way
Motherwell's Morgaro Gomis was deeply unhappy with officialdom after his side's last gasp defeat to Inverness
Loan Ranger
Tom Walsh (left) is making the most of his time with Dumbarton as trhey enjoy their cup run
Unlucky mate
Scots-born place-kicker Graham Gano is consoled by Carolina Panthers team-mate Brad Nortman after hitting the post with a crucial attempt during their side's Superbowl defeat to the Denver Broncos
Bowing out elegantly
A retiring Imogen Bankier savours a 10th successive mixed doubles win at the Scottish National Championships
Hell weekend
Braehead Clan head coach Ryan Finnerty has much to ponder after a difficult few days (pic courtesy of Al Goold)
06.05 Radio Scotland sports headlines
Hibs striker Jason Cummiongs is 100 per cent confident his side can beat Hearts in their Scottish Cup replay... the Scotland rugby team is to analyse where it went wrong against England at a team meeting today... Denver Broncos have won the Superbowl, beating Carolina Panthers
06.35 Radio Five Live sports headlines
John Terry says there has been no further discussion between him and Chelsea about a new contract for next season following their draw with Manchester United... Arsene Wenger says Arsenal had to register the win they claimed against Bournemouth to stay in touch with leaders Leicester ahead of next week's meeting of the sides... Celtic are through in the Scottish Cup after win over East Kilbride, but the Edinburgh derby goes to a replay... Joe Schmidt admits to relief at getting a Six Nations draw after seeing his Ireland side surrrender a 13 point lead against Wales... Denver Broncos claim an against-the-odds Superbowl win against Carolina Panthers
The Back Pages
The National leads with Alan Stubbs suggesting his side is capable of anything after their late cup comeback, as does The Herald which also carries a report that Ronny Deila felt he could not pick Callum MacGregor at the weekend because the youngster was not ready to play just days after being arrested for drunk driving, as well as Scotland rugby coach Vern Cotter’s claim that his team will get better. The Evening Times meanwhile focuses on Celtic’s scramble to a cup win over Lowland League side East Kilbride and Rangers shift of focus back to basics.
Grandstanding – sports comment
In the Evening Times Alison McConnell suggests the win over East Kilbride has earned Ronny Deila some breathing space but in The Herald Scott Mullen unleashes both barrels at the under pressure Celtic manager.
Firing people up
Ronnie Deila's situation is stirring emotions
Sporting Twitterati
How others see us... after all the usual pre-tournament hype the standard start invites blunt assessment of Scotland's Six Nations prospects:
Scotland’s Six Nations winless streak hands Vern Cotter grim prospects | Robert Kitson https://t.co/4StIg05Zin via @guardian_sport
— The Guardian (@guardian) February 6, 2016
The gang’s all here… after successful defences of her women's singles and doubles titles Kirsty Gilmour takes a selfie with the rest of the winners and beaten finalists at the Scottish National Badminton Championships:
Delighted to win my 5th national singles title and 4th doubles title with @rebekkafindlay 😁🙌🏼 #SquadSelfie pic.twitter.com/fjfJjsYhsM
— Kirsty Gilmour (@KirstyGilmourr) February 7, 2016
The Sixties fondly remembered with a look back to the first Superbowl on the weekend of the 50th:
Len Dawson smokes a cigarette & drinks a Fresca at halftime of Super Bowl I (Credit: Billy Ray/TIME) pic.twitter.com/POLvcBHAgr
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 8, 2016
And a child of the fifties tries to work out what on earth is going on:
Martin O'Neill broke the internet #SB50 https://t.co/JIjVRKSor7 pic.twitter.com/o0u30Ca9rB
— Indy Football (@IndyFootball) February 8, 2016
Behind the sporting headlines
The Six Nations Championship got underway in front of full houses in Edinburgh and Dublin, if not a still deeply unsettled Paris, but the greatest sporting show of this weekend and all others this year was taking place on the other side of the Atlantic.
The USA's National Football League just gets so much right when it comes to sporting entertainment and that is setting aside the Superbowl half-time show which, as we were reminded, has featured, among others, McCartney, The Stones, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, The Boss, James Brown, U2 and Whitney Houston and was this time headlined by Coldplay who teed up a sing off between Beyonce and Bruno Mars which was apparently too uncool to keep our trendy young colleague Scott Mullen tuned in to the wee sma’ ‘oors.
This is a collision sport where, for the most part, when the action stops so does the clock, ensuring that spectators get the fullest possible value for money.
Behind that lie player recruitment and commercial structures designed to maximise competitiveness so that the widest possible number of teams have a real chance of tasting success every few years.
A six month competitive season which begins in September and ends in February also ensures that spectator fatigue is never a factor.
The 50th staging of the NFL’s showpiece event saw even more error riddled attacking than the previous day’s Calcutta Cup and if it also generated some irritation because the brilliance of the Denver Broncos defence contributed to the mythology that surrounds Peyton Manning by compensating for their veteran quarterback’s inadequacy, it was still compulsive viewing.
The only thing that could have made it better was the presence of the most effective player ever to have played the sport, who missed out in the Superbowl equivalent of the semi-finals after leading his side to a fifth successive championship game, something those aforementioned structures were supposed to make as impossible to achieve as an outright victory at a Scottish parliamentary election.
Next time Tom Brady, next time… and then and thereafter here’s to the next 50 Superbowls.
That's entertainment
Coldplay, Beyonce and Bruno Mars provide a nice wee break from the real action at the Superbowl
Thanks for reading. Back tomorrow to run the rule over another day’s Scottish sports agenda.
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