Freddie Shires

Stories by Freddie

• Manchester's Menelik Watson Selected in NFL Draft
  Selected by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the NFL Draft, British-born Menelik Watson's unconventional journey is an incredible tale and one which still has many chapters to fill.
• Vikings 'Pillage' UK on NFL Roadshow
  NFL fans were treated to an audience with Minnesota Vikings players John Sullivan, Kyle Rudolph and Harrison Smith at Wembley on Thursday evening. The players were on the last leg of their week-long UK tour to promote their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in London on Sunday 29 September.
• Armstrong and Oprah: Teary Eyes and More Lies
  In his highly publicised interview with Oprah Winfrey, Lance Armstrong was seeking his first step on the road to redemption. As was expected, he fell spectacularly short.
• New Professional Basketball League Set for UK
  The British Basketball Association has announced plans for a new UK professional league, starting in 2014, which it's hoped will showcase leading British players alongside international basketball talent and provide a timely boost for the sport in the country.
• Arsenal Receive Some Luck-y Support
  Amongst their many famous supporters, Arsenal can also count Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, who, in his rookie year in the NFL, is taking the league by storm.
• BOOK REVIEW: David Walsh - Seven Deadly Sins
  The story of Lance Armstrong - the cyclist who recovered from testicular cancer and went on to win a record seven Tour de France titles, the man who wrote a bestselling and inspirational account of his life, the charitable benefactor - seemed almost too good to be true. And it was.
• The Top 10 Greatest Cycling Books
  2012 has certainly been an unprecedented year for cycling literature, with a number of heavily anticipated titles being released in the past 12 months. That's prompted the Sports Gazette to dust off the bookshelf and revisit some of the best titles from years gone by, in order to determine the top greatest books on the sport.
• SPOTY Contenders - Ellie Simmonds
  The BBC Sports Personality of the Year will be awarded on 16th December and in the weeks preceding the event, the Sports Gazette will be reviewing the contenders for the main award. In this edition we take a look at young paralympic swimmer, Ellie Simmonds, who was one of Britain's most succesful athletes in London this summer.
• Film Review: Trouble with the Curve
  Despite an all-star cast, baseball flick Trouble with the Curve proves to be no Moneyball.
• Big Leaguers Bring Baseball to Kids of Europe
  Organised by Dutch Major League Baseball pitcher Rick VandenHurk, the European Big League Tour has been bringing MLB players over from the USA since 2010, hosting free baseball clinics for kids across Europe. This year, between November 14-18, the Tour made it's first ever visit to London, during which time the Sports Gazette was fortunate enough to speak with VandenHurk and the fellow big leaguer, Chris Dickerson of the New York Yankees, about the Tour and the current state of European baseball.
• BOOK REVIEW: Tyler Hamilton - The Secret Race
  Ahead of the announcement of the 2012 William Hill Sports Book of the Year on 26 November, the Sports Gazette will be reviewing each of the seven books named on the shortlist for the award. In this installment, we look at Tyler Hamilton's now infamous autobiography, 'The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups and Winning at All Costs'.
• BOOK REVIEW: Bradley Wiggins - My Time
  2012 has brought unprecedented success for Britain and Team Sky's Bradley Wiggins. In his latest autobiography,'My Time', to be released on 8 November, he tells the story of the remarkable journey that led him from his lowest ebb to win the world's toughest race.
• Patriots' Zoltan Mesko Proud to Rep Europe for NFL
  As one of the NFL's few European-born players, the New England Patriots' Romanian punter Zoltan Mesko is championing the game's growing popularity overseas.
• Cycling: The Scapegoat for Sport's Doping Culture
  Cycling is frequently taken to task for its past doping controversies but other sports should also be called into question for too often turning a blind eye.
• Twickenham CC Benefit from Britain's Cycling Boom
  Local clubs across the country like Twickenham CC are thriving in the wake of British cycling success.
• Robbie Elliott's Epic Ride in Memory of Sir Bobby
  Ex-Newcastle defender Robbie Elliott taking on the daunting challenge of cycling 3,500 miles for his former manager Sir Bobby Robson's cancer charity.
• 'RideLondon' Bringing Top Pros Back to the Capital
  The RideLondon event aims to create a lasting legacy for British cycling, from the pros right down to the local level.
• Armstrong: The Cycling World Reacts
  A roundup of reactions from across the cycling world to USADA's damning report on Lance Armstrong and his former US Postal team .
• Interview: Jacksonville Jaguars Kicker Josh Scobee
  Back in August, the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars committed to play one regular season home game at Wembley Stadium for four consecutive years, beginning in 2013. The first of these games will be against the San Francisco 49ers it was confirmed on Thursday by team owner Shad Khan, who was in London this week to begin the campaign of promoting his team to a British audience. Accompanying Khan on his visit to the UK was the team’s long-serving kicker and all-time leading points scorer, Josh Scobee, who I was fortunate enough to interview for the Sports Gazette.