Still Time To Vote For Murray

There's a great article by Natasha Woods in yesterday's Sunday Herald on why Andy Murray should be Sports Personality of the Year.

You can read it at:

http://www.sundayherald.com/53094

If you've yet to cast your vote, you can do so at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1...

And don't forget to ask your friends to vote as well. Never underestimate fan power :-)

Andy Murray Wins Aberdeen Cup For Scotland

Well, it's been a great weekend of tennis, presuming of course you have Sky Sports.

If, like me, you don't then you'll have missed two helpings of Andy Murray vs Greg Rusedski, winning one match a piece. And also Andy Murray along with his brother Jamie Murray, defeating Greg Rusedski and David Sherwood in the doubles match.

You can read all the results including, of course, the games that didn't involve Murray at:

http://www.sportinglife.com/tennis/news/

Not having seen the games, I can't offer any intelligent comments other than to say that seeing the results feels anti-climatic.

Murray lost to Rusedski in the first match and then beat him in the second, but not before Rusedski picked up an injury. The final, deciding, match carries the question mark of whether Murray would have triumphed even if Rusedski had avoided injury, but then maybe that's just my frustration of not getting to see the games.

The real test comes next year when Murray, Rusedski and Henman will all be vying for the coveted GB number one spot.

Vote Andy Murray - 2005 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award

Last year Andy Murray won young Young Sports Personality of the Year after winning the US Open Juniors Title and announced his intention to be in the top 50 by the end of 2005.

It may be a bit early for Andy Murray to win the senior award, but that won't stop be voting for him and it shouldn't stop you either.

Thinking back on all the sport I've watched this year, I can think of no sports personality that I've enjoyed watching more so my vote has already gone in.

Please take a minute to visit the link below and complete the nomination form in the top right-hand corner of the page.

Vote Andy Murray for 2005 BBC Sports Personality of the Year

Current odds for 2005 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award:

Andrew Flintoff 1/40

Ellen MacArthur 9/1

Kevin Pietersen 12/1

Michael Vaughan 20/1

Paula Radcliffe 28/1

Andy Murray 40/1

Andy Murray Vs Greg Rusedski

This may be a friendly tournament, but don't expect any half-hearted performances.

Rusedski will be keen to demonstrate that he can replace Henman as the GB no. 1 and Murray will be playing in front of a home crowd.

The Aberdeen Cup will be shown on Sky Sports 2, this Saturday, from 5pm with Andy Murray and Greg Rusedski scheduled to begin at 8pm. If anyone in the Leeds area has Sky Sports, let me know and I'll drop round Saturday evening.

Also in the link below is news of Andy Murray's determination that the next Davis Cup match should be held in Scotland.

Source:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2094-1880436,00.html

Andy Murray Meets Amir Khan In The Boxing Ring

Andy Murray and boxer, Amir Khan, have happily traded complements on their respective successes. Last friday, they traded blows in the boxing ring.

Murray spent some time with Khan learning his training techniques and finished off with a sparring match.

To rise above the rest in any sport, you either have to be, potentially, better than everyone else or have the ability to succesfully implement ideas that no-one else has thought of.

If Murray can keep an open mind and be willing to try different training techniques to improve his game, this bodes well for his future.

Source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/...

Andy Murray Inspires Future Tennis Players in Scotland

Here's another story of two junior tennis players who are claiming Andy Murray as their inspiration - Euan McIntosh and Emma Devine.

Euan McIntosh in particular is noteworthy as he is the youngest scottish athlete in any sport to be accepted by the Scottish Area Institute of Sport network.

Source:
http://sport.scotsman.com/...

Andy Murray To Play In Auckland

On the one hand, you know a rest from the last few months of back-to-back tournaments will benefit Andy Murray in the long run. On the other hand, the wait to see Andy Murray in action again can become excruciating.

The forthcoming friendly tournament in Aberdeen aside, the Heineken Open in Australia may well be Murray's next competitive match as he recently confirmed his entrance. The Heineken Open will prove a useful warm-up to the Australian Open.

Source:
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/...

More Andy Murray Websites

Websites on Andy Murray are springing up all over the place. The quality varies wildly, but there are some real gems out there. Here are a few of the ones I've found:

www.murraysworld.com

www.andymurraytennis.org

www.atptennis.com/en/players/playerprofiles/default2.asp?playersearch=Murray,+Andy

www.biogs.com/famous/murrayandy.html

www.andymurray.com/

www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=61841&subForumID=163247

Free Advice For Andy Murray

This is an interesting article that features "words of wisdom" for Andy Murray regarding the various challenges he will face over the next few years.

The most compelling point is made by Jack Irvine, former editor of the Sun in Scotland:

"ANDY needs to appoint somebody to handle the media attention he is starting to get. He will enjoy an initial honeymoon period but it won't be long before the tabloids start sniffing around what he has done in the past - much like they have with David Cameron..."

Irvine then goes on to draw a comparison with Wayne Rooney.

Andy Murray seems like the kind of person who will shrug off any sensationalist media attempts set-up to damage his reputation, but it's sad to consider that this kind of media attack can be considered to be inevitable.

Which leads me to wonder whether I will post links to this kind of story when it arises. Does Andy Murray News have a responsibility to feature all news, regardless of how scurrilous or scandalous?

Well if I was completely impartial, then I guess that I would. But I'm not so maybe I won't.

Let's just wait and see. At the very least I doubt I could resist the urge to comment, even if it's just to show my contempt for tabloid journalism.

http://news.scotsman.com/features...