Ghana cycling is preparing to crown a new champion on Saturday as the three-day Cowbell Cycling League starts tomorrow at 9.00 a.m. at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The sport lost its most dominant rider and serial champion, Samuel Anim, last August when he died in a road accident on the Aburi Mountains. Anim’s absence has created a massive void ahead of the Ghana Cycling Federation's flagship tournament.

The road race, expected to be a very competitive scramble for team, as well as individual honours, will begin on a solemn note with a minute silence being held in honour of the departed 2014 SWAG Cyclist of the Year.

Accra-based technology tracking firm, Nsoroma GPS Tracking Systems, will kit the Nsoroma cricket team and provide equipment and logistics for their training as part of a new sponsorship deal.

The inaugural Rhythm and Rims community basketball tournament tipped off last Sunday with Tema Sharks defeating Korle Bu Kings 30-24 in a cagey encounter at the Accra Polytechnic basketball court.

Interestingly, the Sharks, coached by Emmanuel Wobil, trailed the Kings 2-3 after the first quarter, but rallied on the back of a solid defence and counter- attacks to lead 15-7 at the end of the second quarter.

Coach Wobil's side then maintained their hold on their tiring opponents with a 24-13 score in the third quarter, closing-out the clash 30-24 in the final quarter.

The management of Kumasi Asante Kotoko has assured the teeming supporters of the club of better times ahead as plans are underway to recruit quality players to help recapture their lost titles next season.

A statement signed by the General manager of Kotoko, Samuel Opoku Nti, yesterday recalled that “last season was a challenging one for the darling club as we failed to defend any of our titles won in the previous season.

“Efforts are being made by the board and management to recapture the trophies next season.”

The Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) has lauded Right to Dream Academy for their exploits over the years and said the association would seek to deepen its partnership with the academy as it identifies and develop highly educated football talents.

Yesterday some students of the academy, led by its founder Tom Vernon and its director of partnerships James Meller, presented to the leadership of SWAG a number of trophies the academy had won at international youth tournaments in Europe this year, as part the 16th anniversary of the academy based at Old Akradie, near Akosombo.

The Okyenhene Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin has called on stakeholders of golf to encourage the youth to take golf seriously for the benefit of the nation.

The Okyenhene noted that golf has a huge potential to build in individuals rich values like self-discipline and integrity.

Addressing the Okyenhene Invitational Golf Tournament in Tafo last week, Osagyefo said “I hold the strong belief that the game of golf requires and builds in all of us rich values like self-discipline and integrity.”

Lack of financial support that has become the bane of the lesser sports in the country is likely to hit Ghana's wheelchair racing team to deny them the opportunity to participate in  next year's Paralympic Games.

The team should have been in Doha by now to acclimatise and participate in the Paralympic qualifiers which kick-start on Wednesday, October 21.

Sadly, however, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Sports Authority are yet to foot their bill to enable them to fly out to participate in the qualifiers.

Ten badminton coaches were last Thursday awarded certificates after participating in the just-ended Level 1 technical course organised by the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) through the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Solidarity.

The one-week course held at the GHAPOHA Sports Complex in Tema saw the Badminton World Federation (BWF) collaborating with the GOC and IOC.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, the president of the Badminton Association of Ghana (BAG), Nestor Ghalley, said he believed the sport will grow in the country with the knowledge imparted to the coaches.

The president of the Ghana Weightlifting Federation (WTF), Ben Nunoo Mensah, says the current budget allocation of GH¢39 million to the Ministry of Youth and Sports is woefully inadequate.

He said the sports ministry, which is next to the Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs in terms of financial support, has a lot of agencies which rely on its resources, and that such a paltry sum was killing sports in the country.

“Unlike the tourism, communications and other ministries, the Sports Ministry does not generate any internal funds even though it has a lot of agencies like the GYEEDA, the Winneba Sports College, among others, who depend on its financial resources,” Nunoo Mensah said.

Raheem Sterling scored his first professional hat-trick for Manchester City on the day his former club Liverpool drew a blank on Jurgen Klopp’s first game in charge.

While Klopp was bemoaning an injury crisis at Anfield that saw him reduced to one senior striker for the 0-0 draw at Tottenham, Sterling and City were celebrating as they thrashed Bournemouth 5-1 to stay two points clear at the top of the English Premier League.

Manager Manuel Pellegrini said: “Sterling must improve, he is improving and I am sure this season he will score more goals than another season he played for Liverpool.”

Twenty minutes after the match, Mauricio Pochettino walked through the press room on his way to the media auditorium.

The Spurs boss glanced up at the TV screen and noticed that Jurgen Klopp was giving an interview.

He looked around and saw that many of the journalists were hanging on the new Liverpool manager’s every word. It made him smile. ‘Let’s listen to him,’ said Pochettino.

Then, he thought better of it and disappeared into the room next door. ‘Klopp will be coming up, you know,’ one of the Spurs officials said with an air of exasperation before he disappeared, too.

Ghana’s gold medalist at this year’s All African Games (AAG) in Brazzaville, Congo, George Darko, has expressed anxiety over the sports ministry’s lack of support for him and his partner after a successful tournament in Congo.

George Darko partnered Wisdom Narh-Adjrago to beat DR Congo in the men’s tennis doubles final to emerge Africa champions.

Darko, who has subsequently been regarded as Ghana’s number 1, came up with some brilliant displays and led the charge with perfect serves, while Narh aided with some brilliant techniques to defeat their Congolese counterparts. 

Arsenal Champions League hopes is hanging by a thread ahead of the midweek showdown and they must go for broke against Bayern Munich to get their campaign back on track.

 Arsenal must take the initiative if they are to spring a surprise against Bayern Munich tomorrow night.

The Gunners sit bottom of their Champions’ League group after galling defeats to Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos, meaning the pressure is on ahead of back-to-back clashes with the Bundesliga giants.

Bayern have started the season in sensational form, winning their first nine league matches and scoring eight unanswered goals in continental competition to date.

Novak Djokovic continues to reach new heights as the dominant world No 1 comfortably beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win the Shanghai Rolex Masters and end his two-week spell in China without dropping a set.

After a stunning victory against world No. 2 Andy Murray last Saturday night, Djokovic returned 19 hours later in the same vein to complete a run of 10 consecutive wins and 20 straight sets in Asia, needing just 78 minutes to beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 6-4.

Djokovic's Shanghai triumph is his 25th career Masters title which takes him to second ahead of Roger Federer in the all-time list. The Serbian needs just three more to overtake Rafael Nadal – who Djokovic beat in last week’s China Open final in Beijing—which very much feels like inevitability.

Two magical moments by Joel Fameyeh saved the local Black Stars from embarrassment, handing the team a deserved 2-1 victory over their Ivorian counterparts. The narrow wingave Ghana a slight edge to pick one of three tickets from Zone West B for a fourth appearance at the biannual CHAN tournament in Rwanda next January.

A late inclusion in the team, Fameyeh’s strikes, one in either half, saved the blushes of head coach Maxwell Konadu, as he seek to re-align and sharpen his attack, tighten his midfield, and, perhaps, find a fitting striking partner for Fameyeh, the revelation of the day.

Fameyeh's exceptional eye for goals brought back fond memories of former Premier League goal-king and Hearts of Oak arrowhead, Joe Fameyeh. The Asokwa Deportivo striker’s deft touches from a two-man move with Daniel Darkwah fetched Ghana's equaliser on the stroke of half time.