TIM Henman has said the appointment of Leon Smith as Davis Cup captain would be a “steep learning curve” for Andy Murray’s former coach.

The former British number one said Smith could be just the sort of coach that Britain needs right now to head up the team.

But he also criticised the current crop of players below Murray for not “maximising their potential.”

WHEN most people hear the words unlicensed boxing they think of illegal, underground, bare-knuckle bouts like those seen in Snatch or Fight Club.

But on Saturday, 1000 fight fans will descend on the Cardiff City Stadium for the ground’s first boxing event. Like professional boxing, unlicensed boxing has all the same regulations; there is a referee, a round system, gloves and Queensbury rules, the only difference is that it is not covered by the British Boxing Board of Control.

CARDIFF Devils’ netminder Stevie Lyle has been praised for his solid and outstanding performance by coach Gerad Adams. The praise came as the Devils put their Challenge Cup nightmare behind them to score a victory in their match against Nottingham Panthers on Sunday.
The team can now approach their two Elite League matches against Hull Stingrays and Edinburgh Capitals this weekend with confidence.
The Devils kept their cool playing the Panthers to secure a 3-0 win. Netminder Stevie Lyle won man of the match as his unyielding defence kept the Panthers shut …

12:08:34 PM: Good afternoon and welcome from me Alain Tolhurst,your host for today’s LV Cup semi-final clash between the Cardiff Blues and Gloucester
12:09:57 PM: It’s a repeat of last years final at the City Stadium where Nicky Robinson returns to Cardiff for the first time
12:10:47 PM: Also Andy Powell starts for the first time since Buggy-gate as the Cardiff squad is down to it’s bare bones with injuries and intl duty
12:11:44 PM: 5 minutes to kick off there are plenty of cherry and whites in here looking like a better …

A wheelchair basketball club in Cardiff is looking for new members. Cardiff Celts, who have two teams in the second and fourth divisions of the GB National League, are playing their next match on March 27 against the Essex Outlaws at the Eastern Leisure Centre, Llanrumney Avenue, and want to find new recruits.

Cardiff Devils head into the biggest game of their season tonight riding on a wave of confidence after their late comeback against Newcastle Vipers on the weekend.

The Devils play Nottingham Panthers in the second leg of the Challenge Cup final and they must battle back from two goals down, after a 4-2 first leg defeat.

But they are full of confidence after beating the Vipers 7-4 on Sunday, despite being 3-0 behind eith 21 minutes to play.

Two of Penarth’s most prominent sports clubs have received a welcome boost with the news that their long-term future looks to be secure.
Both the Penarth Gymnastics and Boxing clubs were facing uncertain futures, but they will now be housed in St Paul’s Church on Arcot Street.
The Gymnastics Club which is run by 75-year-old former Olympian, Gwynned Lingard faced being left homeless as a result of the Pavilion Project which is coming into fruition. The club, which was set up by Mrs Lingard in 1961, has been based in the Grade II listed building on Penarth’s Pier for the last 10 years. But with the redevelopment of the Pavilion, the club was facing an uncertain future.
Dave Nebitt, the Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council’s Operational Manager for Leisure and Tourism, said: “We’re at an exciting time in terms of the Penarth Pavilion development and the art centre there.
“But obviously that means the Gymnastics can no longer be there. St Paul’s Church is now vacant and housing the gymnastics club there is an option, with the possibility of including the boxing club in this.”
The Penarth Boxing Club has been housed at the church, which overlooks the Billybanks housing estate, for more than 35 years, and used to run alongside a martial arts club, whic has subsequently moved on.

THE CARDIFF Devils scored six times in the final period to end a hat-trick of consecutive defeats as they beat Newcastle Vipers 7-4 last night.

Goals from Max Birbraer, Tylor Michel (2), Ryan Finnerty, Matt Miller, Phil Hill and Mark Smith helped cement their fourth-place position, and widen the gap with Sheffield Steelers who are now eight points below them in the Elite League.

Devils fight back to defeat Vipers in thrilling final period – See Full Match Report here
6:02:56 PM: Cardiff Devils v. Newcastle Vipers live blog. Your commentators tonight are Tom Mooney and David Edward. http://myloc.me/4y6C6
6:08:16 PM: Decent crowd in at the Tent, Devils desperatly need some momentum ahead of Tuesday’s cc final 2nd leg http://myloc.me/4y6Yq
6:10:31 PM: Domish gets two mins for delaying. Quiet start. http://myloc.me/4y77T
6:15:15 PM: Goal! Kralj. Squeezes it past Lyle. Assists by Tinsley and Horde. 1-0 VIPERS http://myloc.me/4y7r2
6:18:05 PM: Latiluppe and Towe go close for Devils but Robinson stands …

3:48:23 PM: Good afternoon from the Cardiff City Stadium from me Alain Tolhurst,your host for today’s Cardiff Blues vs Leinster game,15mins til kick off
3:49:42 PM: Stadium bathed in sunshine for once as the teams warm-up on the field,plenty of pink in the stands for Ladies Day
3:56:06 PM: Cardiff Blues starting XV: Blair/James/Laulau/Shanklin/Czekaj/Sweeney/Cooper/Rush/Warburton/Molitika/Tito/Morgan/Powell/Thomas/Filise
3:56:37 PM: Andy Powell on bench for Blues – 3mins to KO
3:59:51 PM: Blues resplendent in Pink away kit for ladies day at Cardiff City Stadium,Leinster to kick off
4:02:26 PM: Bright start from the Blues or pinks as I …

Jamie Hayes enjoyed some extra game-time during last week’s clash with the Sheffield Steelers and the Devils youngster has set his sights on progressing further in the Welsh Capital.

“It’s been really good getting some time on the ice and I’m really enjoying it,” said Hayes.

The 19-year-old has come through the ranks at the Devils and is relishing the opportunity he has been given in his first full season as a professional.

After a second straight defeat, the Cardiff Devils will be looking for a return to the form they showed before the Challenge Cup final going into a double-header this weekend.
Cardiff-born youngster Ben Davies was man of the match for the Devils’ 5-4 defeat to Sheffield Steelers in the Elite League on Wednesday, a game in which player-coach Gerad Adams labelled his side’s defence “atrocious”.
The 19-year-old forward was handed more ice time as Adams appeared to ring the changes, and he was pleased with his own performance.
He said: “I think I …

Cardiff Devils coach Gerad Adams branded his team’s defence as “atrocious” after last night’s 5-4 Elite League defeat to Sheffield Steelers.

Devils were ahead four times at the Cardiff Bay Arena through Max Birbraer, Mark Smith, Ryan Finnerty and Tylor Michel. But they threw away their lead late in the third period as Sheffield scored two power play goals through Jeff Legue and Joey Talbot to seal the win.

The defeat leaves the Devils in desperate need of building some momentum in the weekend’s games with Coventry Blaze and Newcastle Vipers, ahead of their Challenge Cup final second leg against Nottingham Panthers on Tuesday.

7:15:21 PM: Welcome to tonight’s live blog of Cardiff Devils v Sheffield Steelers. As usual you’re commentators are Tom Mooney and Scott D’Arcy.
7:17:14 PM: Devils are looking to bounce back after the disappointment of losing their Challenge Cup final first leg on Sunday.
7:20:55 PM: Some traffic in Grangetown means we’re not quite at the ground yet. But we’ll hopefully be there by face off!
7:35:28 PM: We’re in just in time to catch the final verse of the national anthem. And Devils start throwing their weight around. Jarvis in the …

On the face of things, physical violence towards a team-mate should be at least on a par with putting a colleague through emotional turmoil.

So why is Craig Bellamy being hailed as a paragon of virtue for vilifying John Terry a mere three years after attacking John Arne Riise with a golf club?

Cardiff Devils forward Tylor Michel hit both goals in Sunday’s 4-2 Challenge Cup final first leg defeat to Nottingham Panthers – but he can’t get the mistake he made out of his head.
With the Devils trailing 3-2 late in the third period, Tylor’s misplaced pass on the powerplay led to a shorthanded goal for Panthers skipper Danny Meyers.
And the Canadian is struggling to shake-off the frustration.

The Cardiff Devils saw their grip on the Challenge Cup loosened by an in-form Nottingham offense at the Bay Arena last night.
In a hot-tempered affair, the Devils struggled to impose themselves beyond the blueline despite a brace from Tylor Michel.
The Panthers scored three in the third period, including an unassisted short-handed goal from Danny Meyers, to dent the Devils hopes of a second Challenge Cup.
Simple mistakes
But player-coach Gerad Adams was positive about his side’s performance but said simple errors had gifted Nottingham victory.
He said: “It’s one of those things. We …

6:58:24 PM: Welcome to the Devils v the Panthers live blog. Your commentators tonight are Tom Mooney and Scott D’Arcy.
7:01:07 PM: The atmosphere at the Tent is buzzing. A capacity 2500 crowd in tonight and it’s a sea of red. Face off any time now after an hour delay.
7:02:47 PM: Cardiff Devils are on a 6-game winning streak after last night’s OT win at the Panthers and are looking for their second Challeng Cup win.
7:04:34 PM: Panthers looking for a third CC win after taking home the trophy in 2004 …

Cardiff City manager Dave Jones takes his team to Preston tomorrow, but he’s not looking for revenge for the Bluebirds’ 6-0 drubbing there last season.

Preston blew Cardiff away at Deepdale four games before the end of last season, a defeat that cost them a place in the play-offs and a shot at the Premier League.

But Jones insists his side are not thinking about revenge. He said: “It’s been well documented the hurt we suffered there last year and people say we should use that as a yardstick or as motivation to beat them. But it doesn’t work like that.

Cardiff is gearing up for a host of new challenges as the Six Nations rolls into town for Wales’s first Friday night home game, bringing with it an expected 100,000 supporters.
The police, trains, taxis and street pastors are all making plans for operations in the city before, during and after tonight’s clash with France at the Millenium Stadium.

CARDIFF Council has issued a plea for bidders which could give the capital its long-awaited Snow Dome, a permanent ice rink and a city-centre conference centre – but still no housing.

The property slump and the recession still threaten deals at the International Sports Village (ISV) in Cardiff Bay. One company has already gone bust and another lost its original contract with Cardiff Council.

Housing firm City Lofts bought an area of land at the site which the council sold to raise money for the ISV. They were supposed to build up to 40% affordable housing on the site, but they went into administration in 2008 and the land remains barren having changed hands several times.

An interview with Alun Michael, the MP for Cardiff South and Penarth, at his constituency office in Cathedral Road, Riverside.
Topics included the International Sports Village in Cardiff Bay, a hung parliament and working with Plaid Cymru, whether he has been damaged by the expenses scandal, devolution, fighting a general election through social media, and banning khat.

Cardiff Devils did their talking on-the-ice tonight, producing a masterful display to beat Belfast Giants 4-0 in their Elite League showdown at the Cardiff Bay Arena.

Goals from Ryan Finnerty, Brad Voth, Phil Hill and Mark Smith did the job for the Devils against a lacklustre Giants side.

The win makes it three-in-a-row for the Devils after the double over Hull Stingrays at the weekend, and keeps them in with a sniff of second place, while the Giants chances of making a charge for the title seem to have disappeared.

7:21:02 PM: New post: Cardiff Devils v Belfast Giants live text http://www.capturecardiff.com/?p=879
7:26:59 PM: #devils Cardiff look to maintain momentum after a good weekend but off the ice turmoil could derail their playoff hopes
7:29:18 PM: #devils Belfast looking for a return to the form they showed against Coventry on Saturday as they push for top spot
7:34:08 PM: #devils Big half-term crowd in for tonight’s game. Drummers are in an enthusiastic mood as usual.
7:41:21 PM: Nothing telling between the two sides yet. Belfast slapshot from the blueline saved low to Stevie …

Cardiff Devils enter a new era in Wednesday’s Elite League clash against Belfast Giants, after the appointment of Mark Richardson as team captain.

Great Britain international Richardson was handed the captaincy to take the pressure off under-fire Brad Voth.

Welsh rugby ace, Andy Powell has been arrested following an incident involving a golf buggy near the M4.

It is believed, Powell and another unknown male took the golf cart from the teams’ base at the Vale of Glamorgan Hotel, Golf and Spa resort and drove it to a service station on junction 33 of the M4.

Cardiff University student, Nathan Cleverly has vowed to smash Italian Antonio Brancalion and win the vacant European light-heavyweight belt when the pair go toe-to-toe tonight.
The undefeated 22-year-old, who has vacated his Commonwealth crown to take up the fight, will face the 34-year-old Italian in a top-of-the-bill bout, at Wembley Arena.
And the Cefn Fforest fighter, who has been tipped to follow in the footsteps of Joe Calzaghe, is in confident mood:  “I’m really looking forward to the fight and I’m getting really excited.  It will be great to get back in …

Cardiff hotels are booked out as early as June as rugby fans save their places in the city for a boisterous celtic Six Nation match weekend.
Hotels and bars across the city are squashing in the last few customers today as the city fills with Welsh and Scottish supporters preparing for tomorrow’s match.
At the Cardiff Marriott in Mill Lane, where all 184 rooms are full, they received bookings as early as June when the preliminary fixtures were released. Other hotels said customers had made a blanket booking for the whole of …

A BOXER, I am told, has to be special. He has to be disciplined, focused and self-motivated, three qualities which are not synonymous with the stereotypical teenager of today.
But when I was buzzed through to Phoenix Fitness in Cowbridge Road, Ely I met two such examples of the characteristics the sport instils.

Fifteen-year-old Chris Mardon of Heol Trenewydd, Caerau and 14-year-old Craig Wilford of Heol Pant Y Deri, Caerau were lacing their trainers and preparing to go for a standard four-mile warm-up run as I entered the sweat-smelling gym.
Kevin Moore, 46-year-old …

Wales have made two changes to the side tripped up at Twickenham ahead of Scotland’s visit to the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
Jonathan Thomas replaces Luke Charteris to form an all Osprey second row with Alun Wyn Jones, who has escaped further punishment for his indiscretion at HQ, and Leigh Halfpenny coming in to the side at the expense of his regional team mate, Tom James.
Wales head coach, Warren Gatland said: “Jonathan’s been playing well for the Ospreys, we felt we wanted that experience in out tight-five and also he gives …

American football’s showpiece event, the Superbowl, is always an ostentatious spectacle; and proof, if it was needed, American sport is almost peripheral to the commercial interests of everyone else involved — other than the two teams.
But even though it is a bloated and hyperbolic event, all the peripheral grandstanding does give the event an aura which makes it one of the highlights of the sporting year. Although the timing of games is prohibitive to British audiences, the NFL is growing in this country.
On Sunday, Cardiff’s Hard Rock Café stayed open …

LOCAL residents are “up in arms” about plans to hold two major concerts in a 10-day period at Cardiff City Stadium this summer.

Welsh band Stereophonics are playing a sell-out show in the 32,000 seater venue on June 5, while an announcement about the act or date for the second show has not yet been made.

But Canton councillor Ramesh Patel has accused Cardiff City football club of “moving the goalposts” on an agreement not to hold concerts at the Leckwith Road ground.

CARDIFF Devils’ player-coach Gerad Adams has pledged to make life “uncomfortable” for his players this week after their disappointing showing in the 1-0 defeat by Edinburgh Capitals in the Elite League on Sunday.
Canadian forward Owen Fussey scored the only goal of the game as the Capitals shutout Cardiff thanks to an inspired performance by net-minder Cody Rudkowsky.
Defeat leaves Cardiff looking over their shoulders at the chasing pack and all but ends their chances of a late-season title charge.
A frustrated Adams said: “We are working hard but not playing smart enough, …

Some lighter goings-on in Cardiff this week.

Cardiff Devils 1 – 0 Edinburgh Capitals

A frustrated Cardiff Devils side slipped to a 1 – 0 defeat to Edinburgh Capitals last night, effectively ending their chances of mounting a title challenge.

As the Welsh rugby team gets into its stride for tomorrow’s match against England, businesses around Cardiff are also gearing up for an influx of fans coming to the city to take in the buzzing atmosphere.

Cardiff Devils travel to the Whitley Bay Arena for Saturday’s Elite League game against Newcastle Vipers in good spirits following their dramatic late win over the same opponents last weekend.
The Devils needed a third-period hat-trick from Matt Miller to steal a 5-4 victory in the dying seconds of Sunday’s match at the Cardiff Bay Arena, a result that just about keeps them in touch with the leading pack.
Devils skipper Brad Voth said: “We will have a bit of confidence going into Saturday’s game. We outplayed them last week and they …

Welsh legend Neil Jenkins has hinted he would be in favour of a Wales A team.

The current national team kicking coach said: “It would be nice to have an A team.

“I know England play so many games a year with it, and go to the Churchill Cup. Its up to the WRU to decide.”