SPORTS FOR ALL...

     

TONY PULIS has highlighted the win over Chelsea as the result that turned Crystal Palace's 
season.

The Eagles looked doomed when Pulis replaced Ian Holloway Park but the former Stoke boss has pulled off mission impossible.
Palace are safe with three games to go and Pulis believes beating Chelsea 1-0 was the turning point in their survival bid.
He said: "Beating Chelsea at home really gave the lads the belief and the confidence to push on.
"After that game there was a real good mood in the camp and almost a belief that they were capable to get the results we needed."

Palace have another chance to affect the title race when they host Manchester City on Sunday.
While Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has hinted he could rest his big stars, Pulis is pledging to give it his all.
He said: "It's our responsibility to the Premier League and to the rest of teams to give it the best we possibly can.
"We play in the most competitive league in the world so it's very important we do set our sights to do as well as we possibly can.
"The games we do have are very difficult, against two top teams [City and Liverpool] and Fulham are still fighting to get out the bottom three.
"It's all to play for. It's fantastic for the players and also brilliant for the supporters.
"They have been absolutely first class this year. To finish with Manchester City and Liverpool is a dream for them."

    

      

      

CAL CRUTCHLOW has been ruled out of Sunday's third round of MotoGP in Argentina due to a hand injury.

      

The Ducati rider fell heavily during the previous race in Texas dislocating and sustaining a tiny fracture in the little finger on his right hand that needed an operation to pin the damage.

Crutchlow is in intense pain which prevents him using the front brake properly and he is now focussing on being fit to race in Jerez next month. He will be replaced in Argentina by Michele Pirro.

MAYBE BLONDIE (9.24) may be the answer to the £500 Owners Bonus Series final at Romford tonight. 

      

It’s a competitive decider with even slowest qualifier Desert Mary given some sort of a squeak through a plot draw on the rails, but Maybe Blondie is a bitch performing at the top of her game and her all-round pace will see her run a big race.
That is the bonus with Martyn Wiley’s bitch, she’s no one trick pony and, while a wider draw than four would have been preferable, she will be menacing to all if turning within a couple of lengths of the pace.
Sister-track Hove stage the main betting shop action of the afternoon with WARNHAM SHADOW (2.47) standing in the shutters of the last chance saloon. Jason Heath’s dog has never been the most prolific of winners but returns eye-catching runs that ensures he carries support in subsequent races.
That’s where we are now with the trap two runner after he put up solid ex-lame runner-up efforts on 29 March/5 April, but he hasn’t built on them the last twice.
Kennelmate RIVERSIDE BELLE (4.47) needs to lead to have an earthly but can do just that in the A5 affair. The 515m trip is a huge strain on her stamina hence a modest 12% strike rate but this is a contest where she may just get away from her field.
He may be approaching his fourth birthday but CABRA BOLT (3.48) strung together a hat-trick that any springheeled puppy would have been proud of last month.
The grader had caught up with him but relents this afternoon and the downgrade and his lone wide seed status could tip things his way.
IN the absence of the lame Fear Emoski, Farloe Tango is now 1-3 favourite with sponsors Coral ahead of tomorrow night’s Regency final at Hove.

AMIR KHAN is fully focused on becoming a world champion again now he is only fighting opponents and not the scales.

      

The former world light-welterweight champion has stepped up to welterweight after years of battling to make the 10st limit.

Khan, 27, faces big-hitting southpaw Luis Collazo on Saturday May 3 on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather's latest outing against Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas.

He is looking to get his career back on track after surrendering his light-welterweight world titles to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia in the last three years.

And the Bolton fighter is confident he is big enough to be a dominant force at 10st 7lb now he does not have two battles on his hands.

Khan said: "​It is my first fight at 147lb so I'm excited and I feel much more better at this weight because I remember when I used to make 140 in the light welterweight division.

 

   

"I used to be at least 12 to 15 pounds over a week or two before the fight and it was just too much weight I used to lose.
"I mean I used to look at myself in the mirror and just think to myself, 'How am I going to lose that weight?'.
"And to put that stress back in my body again and put that weight back on, it was just impossible.
"So, that's why we decided to move up to 147.
"I think I'll be a much better fighter when you're not killing yourself and making weight."
Khan believes he should have made the move a long time ago after seeing two opponents he beat - Maidana and Paulie Malignaggi - both win world titles at welterweight in recent years.
He added: "I think I'm the only guy left who was at that weight for such a long time.
"I think if you look at the success the other fighters have had—Maidana and Malignaggi —they've had a lot of success becoming world champions at the 147 division.
"I think definitely I'll be much more happier at this weight and I'll be much more stronger as well."
Khan vs. Collazo is live on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD & Virgin 546) next Saturday night. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.

FIVE NFL cheerleaders are suing their former team, the Buffalo Bills, after claiming they were forced to work unpaid and were auditioned using a "jiggle test".

      

The women, known as the Buffalo Jills, claim they were regularly subjected to groping and sexist remarks as well as being assessed on how well the firmness of their bodies when dancing.
The complainants say the NFL team avoided paying them the £5.75 an hour New York minimum wage and they were forced to work for free at numerous games and other public events.
The women's lawyer Frank Dolce said: "We definitely want our organisation and other organisations in the NFL to respect the rights of these cheerleaders."

CONTROVERSY: The women say they were subjected to sexist remarks and forced to perform a "jiggle test" [GETTY] 

Records filed with the courts state the cheerleaders were even give a rulebook with instructions on how to properly wash "intimate areas" and how often to change their tampons.
Despite having one of the lowest payrolls in the NFL, the Bills still paid over £41m in salaries in the 2013 season.
Their highest-paid player is 27-year-old safety Jairus Byrd who takes home over £4m per season.

    

David Moyes's Manchester United reign came to an end in spectacular fashion earlier this week, but instead of a clean break and a quiet exit, the Scot has had to endure one final jibe about his management of the club from his successor, Ryan Giggs.

Giggs, who will serve as interim manager until the end of the season, delivered one final parting blow to the Moyes regime in the very first team talk he gave as boss. According to a report by the Daily Telegraph, Giggs told his players "We will go back to playing like Manchester United".

One of the biggest criticisms of United all season has been a lack of passion and energy in the team's performances. The style of play has not been in keeping with United's on-field traditions and Giggs now seems determined to rid the club of Moyes's influence.

Giggs has wasted little time in trying to bring back the old United spirit, with Nicky Butt temporarily promoted from his position as Reserve Team Manager to assist his former teammate. Fellow Class of '92 graduate Paul Scholes has also been handed a first team coaching role, while Phil Neville, formerly part of Moyes' staff, has been kept on.



The fallout from Moyes' departure has raised serious questions about his connection, or lack thereof, with the playing squad. It is suggested that the manager couldn't command the respect of his players in the same way that Sir Alex Ferguson could. It is believed that the news of his dismissal was greeted with indifference in the dressing room and none of the United players, usually very active in social media circles, offered Moyes any kind of message of support on Twitter. Tellingly, Moyes made no reference to the players in a statement during which he thanked everyone else at the club.

There were rumours earlier in the season, suggesting that there had been a breakdown specifically in the relationship between Moyes and Giggs, with the Welshman feeling marginalised in his role as player-coach. Since Moyes's dismissal further rumours have highlighted the fractious nature of their relationship, suggesting that Giggs had become very difficult to manage in the last few weeks and months.

United will begin their post-Moyes era on Saturday with the visit of Norwich to Old Trafford. Giggs is expected to give recalls to United academy graduates like Tom Cleverly and Danny Welbeck, while Marouane Fellaini, signed by Moyes last summer, is at risk of spending the rest of the season on the bench.

   

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been cleared by the Chelsea hierarchy to field a weakened side in this weekend's title showdown with Liverpool at Anfield, report the Mail.

The Portuguese boss believes that his side are now out of the title race and Mourinho is looking to rest players on Sunday ahead of next Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid. However, he also indicated that he would need to seek the approval of club officials above him to effectively surrender the title to the Reds.

Speaking after the first leg in Madrid on Tuesday, Mourinho said; "I would play the players that are not going to play next Wednesday. I can't decide by myself. I'm just the manager. I have to listen to the club."

It appears that Mourinho asked for permission on Wednesday, and Chelsea’s football board consisting of Dave Barnard, Bruce Buck, Ron Gourlay, Marina Granovskaia and Eugene Tenenbaum gave Mourinho the go ahead to rest the remaining fit players ahead of next Wednesday's match.

With John Terry and Petr Cech already out until the end of the season, Mourinho is looking to rest a number of his key first team players at Anfield to give his side the best chance of making the Champions League final.

This could mean starts for youngsters Tomas Kalas, Nathan Ake and Andreas Christensen, who will likely now have to deal with the league's top scorer in Luis Suarez.

The German international has been repeatedly linked with a switch to Old Trafford and a contract extension in Bavaria remains unsigned