future is bright while past players claim the present was rui

Paulo Sergio has tipped former club Hearts to see off Hibernian in the Scottish Cup this weekend while admitting he would jump at the chance to get back into management in Scotland. The Portuguese, who guided Hearts to their memorable 5-1 rout of their City rivals at Hampden in May 2012, missed out on a possible return to the Premiership this year but concedes he has a very good feeling about British footballing culture.He told Sky Sports News HQ: Hearts are favourites but as always when you are favourites you have to prove it on the pitch. Hibernian are used to winning games too because they are fighting to get promotion so its a team that is also playing good football. Sergio enjoys the acclaim of his players - and the supporters - at Hampden Park I believe it is going to be tight, its going to be difficult because Hibs are a team that are playing good football too, so the Hearts team has to be very, very focused and cant relax at any second.Reflecting on the Scottish Cup win over Hibs four years ago, he said: If you remember we were lots of times without getting paid, we sold important players in January. So the tightness and the strength of this group was amazing with young players and older ones helping a lot. For everybody it was a great, great memory. For me too it was the year that we played four times against the rivals in the city and I think its unique too because all four times we beat them. Robbie Neilson says Osman Sow could come back for one final hurrah against Hibs Having seen a job opportunity in Saudi Arabia fall through, Sergio - who left Hearts just three weeks after the Cup success - revealed he let a recent opportunity to return to Scotland slip through his fingers. Sergio admits he loved the atmosphere and respect he enjoyed across Scotland I had a phone call from a Scottish club this year but in the end it was my fault, he said. The chairman was waiting to speak with me on Skype but I had people in my house and after this I didnt speak with the chairman but I would love to have a chance to return to the UK for sure.I love the atmosphere of singing, people supporting the players. I always respect everybody so I always felt respected in Edinburgh and when I came here to Hampden, Ibrox or to Celtic Park to see games. So I have a very good feeling about football here and I would love to get the chance to do my work, my career here in the UK.Watch Hearts v Hibernian in the Scottish Cup, live on Sky Sports 2 HD from 12pm on Sunday. Also See: Sky Live: Hearts v Hibernian Souttar seeks upturn at Hearts Hearts fixtures Hearts stats Bet ￡5 Get ￡20 Free Get Sky Sports Nike Air Max 270 From China . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. Nike Air Max 270 Outlet . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. https://www.cheapnikeairmax270china.us/ . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. Nike Air Max 270 Sale . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Fake Nike Air Max 270 . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. A captain sits in a basement, a solitary figure, under siege. Confronted by glaring lights and uncomfortable questions, he speaks of embarrassment, of humiliation. He pleads for players who will stand with him and fight. A leader of a broken team that stems from a broken system and will now be scattered across the country to play in a domestic competition that is, quite literally, broken in two. Some of them will not return.A captain stands on the boundary edge at the MCG, a solitary figure, under siege. He doesnt speak at all. Instead, he quietly watches as his new charges stand shoulder to shoulder, behind their most senior member, who does all the talking. Their faces are angry, the words are defiant and the message is clear: were here to fight for our captain.The contrast between the two scenes is clear.The rest is chaos.****A dead rubber has suddenly taken on enormous significance for both sides: one in a frantic race to piece together the fragments after two shattering defeats and to avoid a historic whitewash, the other in a battle to prove the integrity of the man who has led them to this famous series victory.Observers and fans are lining up on either side to condemn the other. The Australians are sore losers, they say; they blamed the pitches in Sri Lanka and now they are blaming breath mints. The South Africans are cheats, they say, led by a convicted cheat, and now we know why their bowlers can swing the ball so well.Lost is the fact the Australian camp didnt make a complaint and at least one senior figure in Australian cricket supports everything Amla said at Saturdays extraordinary press conference.South Africa must contest the charge after such a strong display but clearly feel so aggrieved that such a stance is warranted. The last time Melbourne saw anything like this, it was a rugby league team - the Melbourne Storm - walking shoulder to shoulder across a field in a show of solidarity amidst a salary cap scandal. Storm were stripped of their premierships; South Africa will hope their brothers-in-arms moment has a happier result.Mints, chewing gum, Brylcreem, sunscreen, lip balm, sweat, saliva, dirt, zippers, energy drinks, bottle tops, biltong, teeth and even Red Frogs (a chewy candy) - surely, the most surreal - are being offered as alchemical ingredients that, when combined with leather, produce swinging gold. Or not.Everyone is suddenly an expert on the science behind a reversing ball when, in reality, bowlers who can find reverse often cant expllain the physics that cause it or predict when it will happen.ddddddddddddIn a game fighting for relevance and survival, threatened by flat pitches and dominated by big bats, the art of reverse can undoubtedly bring bowlers back into the contest. Players jump up to claim everyone does it and only the unlucky are spotted; that will be a difficult defence to mount if the ICC determines South Africas captain used saliva - only in cricket could spittle be so highly scrutinised - mixed with an artificial substance to shine the ball. Perhaps its the laws that deserve the scrutiny.Meanwhile, the Sheffield Shield is suddenly the most keenly followed domestic competition since the Big Bash rolled into town. The contenders and the condemned are graded day by day, session by session. Rod Marsh may have absconded but the entire nation has replaced him. Armchair, laptop and Twitter selectors name their XI and conduct heated selection meetings in the comments section.Blood young players, some experts cry. Pick the best players, regardless of age, insist others. Remember Mike Hussey? Yeah, well, what about the mid-80s? That turned out okay.Officials point to the recent success of Australia A and maintain the future is bright while past players claim the present was ruined by altering the Futures League. The man who introduced those changes, since abandoned, is now an Australian interim selector. Budding Mike Husseys abandon hope.A red ball is being used to audition for a pink-ball Test. A few weeks ago, a pink ball was used to prepare for a red-ball Test. The irony? That Australia were confident enough that the series would still be alive in Adelaide to think pink-ball practice was relevant before the opening match in Perth. They also assumed their Test batsmen would have earned a rest this week, so wouldnt be playing in the Shield anyway.****Amid the cacophony, two captains must prepare their sides for a Test that has no bearing on the series and, yet, suddenly has so much meaning. On one side, an unknown squad, pulled together by an embarrassed leader needs somehow to conjure victory in a losing cause and restore some pride.On the other, a leader who may be under a cloud - who may not even play - but is secure in the knowledge all of his players will fight for him, both on and off the field.And for that, alone, Steven Smith must envy Faf du Plessis. ' ' '