Gair Rhydd

The Word On... whether Carlo Ancelotti can deliver elusive European glory to Chelsea

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BECOMING THE fifth Chelsea manager in two seasons may be something of a poisoned chalice for the incumbent Carlo Ancelotti: he will be charged with succeeding where Mourinho et al. have failed.

The Italian, who left AC Milan after a successful eight season spell that included a Serie A title and two Champions League successes, has been employed by Roman Abramovich – not averse to hiring and firing managers on shotgun instincts – to bring Chelsea European success for the first time.

History remoulded

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SWEDEN’S ROBIN Soderling caused one of the biggest shocks in tennis history last week when he knocked Rafael Nadal out of the French Open.

The four-set defeat marked the first time the world number one has ever been beaten at Roland Garros, ending a 31-match winning streak which has seen Nadal claim the title four years running.

Twenty20 vision

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LAST YEAR’S stunning defeat of Australia at the hands of Zimbabwe is testament to the unpredictability of Twenty20 cricket. Its excitement and thrilling entertainment is sure to capture the imagination of cricket fans across the world once again this June.

Warming us up nicely for the highly anticipated 2009 ashes series, England will be host to some spectacular sporting moments this summer. Twenty20 is big business and the grounds hosting games will be looking to cash in on the huge interest that has been shown for the tournament.

Chung has the Cuefactor

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BEN CHUNG was crowned the Cardiff University Snooker Club Cuefactor League Premier Division champion despite a 4-2 loss in his final match against Huw Carpenter.

The Cuefactor League is a year – long handicapped snooker singles league split into two phases. The first phase consists of random groups and the second covers the final divisions which are decided by players finishing positions in the original groups.

Cardiff break Herts

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A STERLING debut from James Salter and a magnificent innings from Justin Yau sent Cardiff through to the semi-finals of the BUCS Knockout Cup after a nail-biting three wicket win against Hertfordshire at Llanrumney.

Having won the toss, Hertfordshire decided to bat on a placid track and it came to light soon enough that the wicket was not going to offer much for the bowlers until it started to wear and tear later on.

Fantastic Fours

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CARDIFF’S VOLLEYBALL club travelled down to Bournemouth last weekend with high hopes of performing well in the annual Volleyball England beach Student Cup.

However, in a tough field, which contained several GB players, Cardiff struggled to make any real impact on the top half of the doubles tournament. There was success for Cardiff’s mixed four team, returning home champions after destroying Oxford in the final.

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

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4 stars

Synopsis: Sardonic journalist Sidney Young (Simon Pegg) is sick and tired of being shut out of the celebrity party. Unfortunately, his magazine ‘The Post-Modern Review’ is no-budget, non-professional and going nowhere, leaving him to try and blag his way into post-awards bashes by the most ridiculous of means. When, after one particularly disastrous attempt involving a pig, Sidney is offered a job at New York’s ‘Sharps’ magazine, he eagerly accepts, hoping that his big break has arrived. Put on the celebrity gossip section, will he sink or swim? The title gives a hefty clue there, and he soon makes a name for himself as the magazine’s resident “Idiot Savant, without the Savant”.

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People takes its basis from Toby Young’s memoir of the same name and transposes it onto the basic Hollywood comedy of errors formula, with the typical “stay true to yourself” moral and predictably happy ending. It’s not a reinvention of the wheel – more a Devil Wears Prada with a British male lead. Kirsten Dunst ticks the obligatory “inevitable love interest totty” box as Sidney’s ‘Sharps’ co-worker Alison Olsen, and Danny Huston is the basic sleazy boss. It’s Pegg who takes his role to a whole new level, taking the part of the classic underdog arsehole from the memoir and adding his own loveable spin to it. By the end of the film you’ll be rooting for him despite yourself.

Innocent until proven guilty?

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Annika Henderson talks to Welsh film-director Marc Evans about how he came to writing and directing a film about Mumia’s trial, the uncooperative nature of the police and the astounding corruption that has been uncovered along the way

A quick glance at the cast of In Prison my whole Life and it appears that every American has something to say about the case. One may be surprised to find the likes of philosopher, Noam Chomsky and rap-artist Snoop Dogg in the same film but this simply reaffirms the diverse nature of the debate, which has kept America and arguably the entire world at the edge of their seats for 25-years. Any director willing to make a film about such a delicate and controversial matter would have to have a lot of guts.

Cardiff-born Marc Evans seems an unlikely candidate and admits: “when I started, I didn’t know anything about Abu-Jamal”. It was only after script-writer William Francome, a man who has been obsessed with the Abu-Jamal case after coincidentally being born on the same day he was arrested, showed him a digital movie on the case that he began to form a deeper understanding of the true nature of the American Justice system and got gradually more engrossed by the case. “I was brought up on the American Dream and the civil rights movement” Marc explains “and these were kind of secret histories”.

Are the Guilty REALLY Guilty?

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Freedom is something most of us take for granted. However, it is this that differentiates the general public from those in jail. But they deserve it, right?

Since deciding to do his PHD on ‘The Presentation of the British Prison on Television’ 17 years ago, Cardiff University Lecturer Dr Paul Mason has been actively working to combat social inequality and abuses of power within the criminal justice system.

He also runs the Prison Media Monitoring Unit and co-ordinates the School’s Innocence Project, as part of the UK Innocence Network. Paul is a member of the prison abolition group No More Prisons and the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control. He edited [jc2m] Journal for Crime,Conflict and Media Culture 2004-6 and has also taught at KIJAC in Kosovo and is a member of the Addis Research Group in Ethiopia.

Gorgeous George

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BBC newsreader George Alagiah discusses immigration. the media and future aspirations

First impressions do count. The criteria on which you are judged will differ according to your company. I am a firm believer in the handshake as a key signifier of the personality department (with firmness equating to strength of character). Many a time have I felt let down when a potentially intriguing candidate has a feeble first greeting. Every so often you will meet someone who knows exactly how to handle the initial meeting scenario. George Alagiah is one such individual. If he was judged solely on his handshake he would pass the personality test with flying colours. But he does not rely on this attribute. His open smile and willingness to make time for people makes him most endearing.

When we meet, he has just completed a book signing at the Hay festival. His queue of fans is particularly substantial and it is easy to see why. The warm reception he has received is reciprocated. Alagiah is a gentleman.