Terry denies race charge

Chelsea captain John Terry has denied racially abusing Anton Ferdinand and will stand trial for the offence, a court heard on Wednesday.
Terry did not attend the short hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, but his barrister George Carter-Stephenson QC, entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
Terry, 31, is accused of a racially-aggravated public order offence over video footage which appears to show him shout an offensive comment at Queens Park Rangers  defender Ferdinand  during a Premier League match in October.
The date of the trial has now been set for 9th July, after the end of Euro 2012 and before the start of the 2012/13 Premier League season.
England international Terry insisted he would fight to prove his innocence when the Crown Prosecution Service announced the charges before Christmas.
Chelsea  manager Andre Villas-Boas  has continued to give his support to Terry and stated that the player would be allowed time off if required during his court case.
Terry has faced jeers and taunts since the game in October, never more so than during his return to Loftus Road in Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round tie, four days before his court case was due to begin.

Deadline day drama

There may not have been as much money spent during the January transfer window as in years gone by, but Deadline Day proved to be typically dramatic as a number of late deals were pushed through.
Queens Park Rangers led the way on Tuesday by bringing in a pair of proven centre-forwards to boost their survival hopes, with Bobby Zamora coming in from Fulham and Frenchman Djibril Cisse recruited from Lazio.
Strikers were certainly in demand elsewhere with the arrival of Rangers' Croatia international Nikica Jelavic at Everton signalling the end of Louis Saha's Goodison Park career.
Saha has been offered a new start at Tottenham after Harry Redknapp gave the injury-troubled forward, 34 this summer, a short-term deal.
Negotiations between White Hart Lane and the Merseyside club also allowed midfielder Steven Pienaar to return to the Toffees on loan a year after leaving them.

Cabaye banned by FA

The Football Association has confirmed Newcastle United midfielder Yohan Cabaye has been banned for three games.
The Frenchman was charged with violent conduct following an incident in the club's FA Cup fourth round defeat by Brighton on Saturday.
The FA took retrospective action against Cabaye  for catching Brighton defender Adam El-Abd in the face with a boot after referee Lee Probert failed to spot the incident at the time.
With the suspension taking immediate effect, the 26-year-old will miss Wednesday's Premier League clash with Blackburn along with their subsequent games with Aston Villa  and Tottenham.

McLaren unveil the MP4-27

McLaren have launched their MP4-27 car as they seek to challenge the dominance of World Champions Red Bull this coming season.
In an unveiling broadcast live by Sky Sports News, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button were on hand to pull the wrapping off the new chassis at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking.
"I think the car is probably the most refined-looking car we've had for some time now, so I'm very excited to get back into it," Hamilton said.
Although at first glance the car can best be described as an evolution of last year's, there are obvious changes, notably in the nose and sidepods.
"We've changed the sidepods. We had the L-shaped sidepods last year but the car is generally the same," Hamilton explained, in reference to the distinctive sidepods on the MP4-26.
"Obviously the nose is a little bit different to last year," he added. F1 rules in 2012 stipulate a lower nose for safety reasons, although the MP4-27 does not have the step that, for example, the Caterham launched last week carries.
Hamilton, who was involved in a number of accidents with Ferrari's Felipe Massa last year, also said he was happy the car had new wing mirrors.
"We've changed the wing mirrors a little bit, so hopefully we'll be able to see a lot better," he quipped. "Felipe will be very happy with that."