Time for Hatton to retire...Your views

After crumbling to the second defeat of his professional career, Ricky Hatton has to take a serious look in the mirror.

With wins over the likes of Kostya Tszyu and Jose Luis Castillo, the Mancunian has proven over the years that he is a good fighter.

But there is a difference between good and great. Hatton has now twice had the chance to dethrone the pound-for-pound king but on both occasions has fallen well short.

First versus Floyd Mayweather Jr and now against the lighter Manny Pacquiao at Hatton’s natural weight of 140lb. A win would have probably cleared the path for a rematch against Mayweather who is set to return to the ring in July.

However, after his devastating loss to Pacquiao, Hatton looks to be heading into a cul-de-sac. The "Hitman" can be proud of what he had accomplished during his sparkling career but he isn’t getting any younger. He has made his money and should concentrate on life outside the ring because he is putting his health at risk.

What did you make of Hatton’s brutal defeat to Pacquiao? Where does the “Hitman” go from here? Is it time to retire? Send in all your post-fight thoughts in the boxes below.

Hamilton cleared to race

McLaren will be breathing a massive collective sigh of relief following their punishment dished out by the FIA in Paris on Wednesday after the "Liargate" affair.

Team boss Martin Whitmarsh had headed into the hearing with rumours in the newspapers of the planned penalty ranging from another multi-million pound fine, much like the one they were hit with over the "Spygate" scandal, to being thrown out of this year's Constructors' Championship.

But in the end they were handed a three-race suspended ban which effectively gives the warning of misbehave again this season and they'll be forced to sit on the sidelines for a trio of Grand Prix's.

McLaren, who sent a letter of apology to the FIA written by Whitmarsh ahead of the hearing, will be happy with the verdict which is probably fair enough considering they twice lied to race stewards at the season opening Australian Grand Prix which is basically cheating.

The FIA, for their part, have dealt with the matter well and maturely. They have made it clear that McLaren have learnt a huge lesson and have promised to behave better in future. And as a result of the ruling, talk in F1 will once again be all about the racing in a scintillating World Championship rather than the political in-fighting that has been so rife in the sport in the past. Blessedly, F1 fans can get on with enjoying the show once more.

Do you think the punishment for McLaren was fair or was it too harsh or lenient? Post your comments below...

From the Touchlines: Pick your Player of the Year

The regular part of the Guinness Premiership drew to a close at the weekend and this week the shortlist for the league's Player of the Year has been announced.

The quintet in contention are leading Premiership try scorer Joe Maddock of Bath, England's Six Nations stars Tom Croft and Delon Armitage, Armitage's London Irish team-mate Seilala Mapasua and Harlequins' Chris Robshaw.

All have a good shout of bagging the prize when it is unveiled in a plush awards ceremony in London next Tuesday. Robshaw has been a key figure in Quins' resurgence, Maddock's 11 tries have helped catapult Bath into the play-offs while Mapasua has been a towering presence in the Exiles.

But, for us, it should be a straight fight between Armitage and Croft. The two are probably the unluckiest players in the British Isles to be overlooked for the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa, and their club outings have made them guaranteed starters for England.

If we were to put a bet on it we'd tip Armitage to sneak it... just.

Do you agree that Armitage deserves the gong? What do you make of the five-man shortlist and which players, if any, have been overlooked? Post your comments below...

Giggs named PFA Player of the Year

 

Manchester United's evergreen midfielder Ryan Giggs has been named PFA Player of the Year for the first time in his glittering career.
 
The 35-year-old was voted for by his fellow professionals ahead of Steven Gerrard, Cristiano Ronaldo, Edwin van der Sar, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, in a season which looks likely to end with his 11th Premier League title.

Giggs said: ''It's right up there, with personal accolades it's the best to have as it's voted by your fellow players. I've been fortunate to win a lot of trophies, I won the young player award twice, but this is the big one."

The Welshman has only started 12 league games this season but has been a regular in the squad for all competitions, and if he plays against Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final first leg this week, it will be his 800th appearance for United.

The Red Devils also dominated the Team of the Year Awards - check out how many players from your team made the line-ups for the season:

Premier League Team of the Year

Championship Team of the Year

League One Team of the Year

League Two Team of the Year

Do you agree with Giggs' award after starting so few games this season? Is it just a patrontising pat on the back? Who would you have had in your Team of the Year? Send in your thoughts and line-ups below:

Premier League team of the week...your view

Paul Robinson - Blackburn: Instrumental in keeping Wigan at bay and easing Rovers' relegation worries.

Emmanuel Eboue - Arsenal: Good in defence and creative going forward against Boro. Provider for the second goal.
Ryan Nelsen - Blackburn: The skipper was resolute as ever, and popped up with a rare goal to seal the win.
John Terry - Chelsea: Looked back to something like his best against West Ham after a season of injury niggles.
Kieran Gibbs - Arsenal: The young full-back is getting better and stronger by the game. Quick and handy on the ball.

Cristiano Ronaldo - Man Utd: Like most of his team-mates, he was poor in the first half against Spurs. But what a second half he had. Two goals, and assists too.
Stephen Ireland - Manchester City: Busy as ever, and brought a cutting edge that yielded three points at Goodison Park.
Cesc Fabregas - Arsenal: Two goals and much more besides against tough-tackling Boro.
Robinho - Manchester City: Back in favour and back doing what he likes best - making and scoring goals.

Dirk Kuyt - Liverpool: The oft-criticised striker rightly earned praise from Rafa Benitez after his brace at Hull.
Wayne Rooney - Man Utd: His stunning second-half display sparked yet another sensational comeback by United. Spurs simply couldn't cope with him.

Do you agree with our selections? Send in your XIs using the boxes below

Button wins again

The Bahrain Grand Prix was strangely reminiscent of Michael Schumacher's heyday as, after an initial few laps of jostling for position, it became all too predictable as Jenson Button romped to a comfortable win.

Prior to the race, the suggestion had been that the Red Bulls would be the quickest cars on the grid but Sebastian Vettel was no match for Brawn's pace in second. And the other pre-race prediction was that KERs would play a major part but the highest KERs finisher was Lewis Hamilton, who enjoyed an improved weekend in fourth place.

But in the end, Bahrain proved something of a change for this season's world championship. For once it was a surprisingly dull race with just one retirement, that of Kazuki Nakajima. Despite the relative boredom levels - compared to the thrillers in Australia, Malaysia and China, excitement is high in the paddock ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix and talk has already turned to Catalunya in two weeks time.

Most of the teams will unveil massively updated aerodynamic packages on their cars there which could potentially turn the grid upside down. That might mean the end of Button's dominant run and quite possibly mark a return to Ferrari and McLaren battling, if the two teams' car improvements are as electric as they suggest.

For now, it's certainly too early to start talking about Button as a world champion in the making despite the quality of his drive at the Sakhir circuit. There's a long, long way to go and he knows it.

What did you make of the Bahrain Grand Prix? Can Button now go on to become world champion? Post your comments below...

Nelson's Column: Flintoff needs surgery

The news that Andrew Flintoff's stint in the IPL has been cut short by injury will come as no surprise to anyone other than the player himself.

Flintoff's creaking body barely made it through the winter. If anyone needed a break before the Test series against the West Indies, it was the all-rounder. Yet he and his advisors crazily opted for a quick dash to the IPL, unsurprisingly to cash in on his box-office status.

After two less-than-impressive displays, the show is over and it remains hard to see how Flintoff can now get himself in shape for The Ashes.

Flintoff has been badly managed in the past by England, but this latest setback is his own doing. Patience is starting to run thin.

What are your views on Flintoff's latest injury setback? Should he have gone to the IPL? Is he putting money before his country's sporting needs? Send in your views using the boxes below.

From the Touchlines: Lions squad announced

There was little surprise when Ireland lock Paul O'Connell was unveiled as British and Irish Lions captain at Heathrow Airport at lunchtime on Tuesday.

But there were still a fair few shocks sprung by coach Ian McGeechan among the 36 players that will travel with O'Connell to South Africa and, perhaps more tellingly, in those that have been overlooked.

The biggest surprise inclusion was Simon Shaw, the only man to have toured with the Lions in South Africa before - all the way back in 1997. For much of the Six Nations, Shaw was not deemed good enough for England let alone the Lions but McGeechan, in his other role as Wasps boss, clearly believes Shaw offers something different.

Any suggestions of club nepotism against McGeechan, though, are unwarranted. Few would argue against the other Wasps players lining up: Phil Vickery, Joe Worsley and Riki Flutey. Interestingly, however, McGeechan has overlooked the club's star man, Danny Cipriani despite praising him when England did likewise.

England flanker Tom Croft - one of the form men of the entire Six Nations in its latter stages - can consider himself unlucky to miss out as can countryman Delon Armitage, Wales captain Ryan Jones and Scotland skipper/scrum-half Mike Blair.

But generally speaking, McGeechan will get little stick over his squad. He appears to have a bright mix of electric pace and the brute force required to upset the Springboks and, by selecting 14 Irishman, he shows that he's clearly gone on form rather than past reputations.

What do you make of Ian McGeechan's Lions squad? Who would you name in your squad for the South Africa tour and who would you miss out? Post your comments below...

Daily F1 gossip: Hamilton chases title

Our F1 expert claims that Lewis Hamilton and McLaren are still confident they can defend the world title this season.

Read more from the pit lane and post your views using the boxes below.

Team of the week...Your view

Mark Schwarzer - Fulham: Another top performance to keep a clean sheet against his former club.

Nemanja Vidic - Man Utd: A rock at the back in FA Cup semi-final.
Phil Jagielka - Everton: Stood up to everything Man Utd had to offer.
Brede Hangeland - Fulham: No nonsense defending from the giant defender to deny Boro.
Ab Faye - Stoke: Won everything for Stoke to keep out Blackburn.

Chris Brunt - West Brom: Scored twice and unfortunate to be on the losing side.
Tom Huddlestone - Tottenham: Fantastic range of passing which caused Newcastle problems.
Liam Lawrence - Stoke: Netted the winner against Hull and was always lively.

Didier Drogba - Chelsea: Scored late on to send Chelsea into the FA Cup final.
Djibril Cisse - Sunderland: Key goal to boost Black Cats' survival hopes.
Robinho - Man City: Looking back to his best after shining at Eastlands.

Do you agree with our selections? Send in your XIs using the boxes below