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The Hottest Sporting Buzz: England WAGs banned from attending World Cup

May 22, 2014 10:35 IST
England footballer Chris Smalling's girlfriend Sam Cooke during a vacation

The WAGs of the England national football squad have been reportedly banned from the Brazil World Cup, as their presence would tend to cause distraction among players.

Roy Hodgson, manager of the England squad, said that such arrangements are made to ensure his meticulous preparations are not disrupted and the team arrives in Brazil in their best form.

According to Daily Star, the FA bosses have imposed stringent safety measures as they have tightened security around the camp with a team of forces guarding the area on quad bikes.

Reports have further revealed that the England stars were ferried around in a blacked-out bus and eat together in a private room.

Teams such as Portugal have been barred from socialising with women and are on a stipulated night curfew.

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Tiger Woods is a great dad, says ex-wife

May 22, 2014 10:35 IST
Elin Nordegren

The ex-wife of Tiger Woods said she has a good relationship with the golfer and called him a "great father" in her first media comments on their relationship since their marriage was dissolved four years ago after his serial cheating.

Elin Nordegren, 34, told People magazine in an interview published on Wednesday that she has put Woods' publicized affairs in the past.

"I have moved on, and I am in a good place," Swedish born Nordegren said. "My relationship with Tiger is centered around our children, and we are doing really good - we really are - and I am so happy that is the case. He is a great father."

Woods, 38, and Nordegren divorced in 2010, less than a year after his string of at least a dozen affairs came to light in one of the biggest sex scandals in the world of sports.

The revelations tarnished the highly crafted image of Woods, one of the world's richest and most popular athletes, costing him tens of millions of dollars in endorsements at the time and providing months of fodder for tabloids.

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'It was a dream that the kids can have loving parents that show respect for each other'

May 22, 2014 10:35 IST
Tiger Woods and with Elin Nordegren (left)

The couple has two children -- daughter Sam, 6, and son Charlie, 5 -- and live near each other in Florida. Nordegren, a former model and nanny, married Woods in 2003 and her divorce settlement with Woods was estimated to be worth $100 million.

"In the beginning, you tamp down the animosity for the kids' sake," said Nordegren, who went through intensive therapy at the time of the split and says she still sees a therapist weekly.

"I'm not going to deny that I went through the wringer. But I don't think I doubted we'd end up here," she said.

"That was always my dream, that the kids can have two loving parents that show respect for each other. And I feel that's what they have."

Woods, a 14-time major champion winner, is now in a relationship with Olympic alpine skier Lindsey Vonn.

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England footballers release favourite tracks ahead of World Cup

May 22, 2014 10:35 IST
England's footballers go through the grind at a training session as Wayne Rooney looks on in Almancil, near Faro on Wednesday

The England football team has released a new compilation of their favourite football tracks ahead of the World Cup.

According to the Daily Star, the compilation, called ‘The England Players' Playlist’, set to be out June 2, reveals that keeper Joe Hart is partial to chilled Balearic beats in the form of Klangkarussell's Sonnentanz.

The football tracks are being compiled to raise funds for the England Footballers Foundation.

Talking about the release, captain Steven Gerrard said that it has been enjoyable pulling together the team's favourite tracks.