Jason Akermanis sorry for attack on late Jim Stynes

The spokesman said the explosive comments from Akermanis could not have come at a worse time for the family, which is preparing for Stynes' funeral on Tuesday.


"The timing of his comments is pretty appalling.


"But in this situation, Jim would be the first person to get on the phone to Jason Akermanis and say, 'Mate, let's go have a beer or come to the footy and let's have a chat', which is the mark of a man.


"He was a hard Irishman but he was genuinely compassionate person."


Akermanis initially defended himself after labelling Stynes as "nasty'' and declaring his state funeral was "overkill''.


In an explosive radio interview with Mix 92.7 FM on Queensland's Sunshine Coast today, the former three-time Premiership-winning player said the public outpouring of sympathy and grief at the passing of Stynes, who lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday, was "overkill.''


Stynes has been lauded as an inspirational player on and off the field, recognised for his youth work with the Reach Foundation.


He is expected to be honoured at a State funeral in Melbourne on Tuesday, before his ashes are returned to his home town in Ireland.


The apology comes after Akermanis defended himself after an explosive radio interview with Mix 92.7 FM on Queensland's Sunshine Coast today, in which he said the public outpouring of sympathy and grief at the passing of Stynes was "overkill''.
He has been sacked from the radio show but says he would have quit the show anyway, adding the "$100 a week was not worth it".
Akermanis told breakfast hosts Mark Darin and Caroline Hutchinson that Stynes "was a nasty man in his day. He had a nice turn of phrase and he made sure you knew how he felt".
"What amazes me is yes, he was a legend of the game and did a great job and wonderful things with kids, but you know there are a bunch of people who have done just as much who don't get any recognition. I just think it's a bit out of kilter.
"He got a state funeral - do all football players get a state funeral? There's something about it all that just made me feel uncomfortable. Jim's good, but is he that good?''
The family of Jim Stynes slammed the loudmouth footy star, saying his comments were appalling, ill-informed and could not have come at a worse time.
A spokesman for the family said today Stynes could never have been defined as a nasty person.

Irish students honour the story of Jim Stynes half a world Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/irish-students-honour-the-story-of-jim-stynes-half-a-world-away-20120321-1vkno.html#ixzz1pw1m3zUg

 SOME of Jim Stynes’ old mates gathered on Tuesday night in the Gaelic football clubroom where his teenage championship team photo hangs on the wall, and the Australian rules football he signed as a gift is still on show
There was as much laughter as regret. Sean Flynn was chairman of the juvenile section of the club when Stynes began as a 10-year-old. He still can't help but chuckle every time he remembers how the tall, stubborn lad in centre field, six foot by the time he was 11, effortlessly stymied the opposition every time. Other teams would put two or three players on him but he would still snatch the ball and burst forward with it. ''He was just as exciting at that early level - 11, 12, 13 - as he was an adult,'' Mr Flynn told The Age earlier in the day. ''The opposition couldn't deal with him at all.'' A former teammate, Ben Molloy, remembers his ability to take the hard knocks. ''If he got a few belts from the other players he would never complain. The other teams could never understand how he would just get back up and play football.''


"He wasn't a natural student. He wouldn't have been top-notch in terms of intelligence, but he made up for it in terms of hard work."
He said he was extremely well liked by teachers and fellow students. "People were on to me last night just to chat; they just wanted to talk a little bit about him."
Stynes attended the college from 1978 until he left for Australia in 1984.
History teacher Eugene Ryan, who played the YouTube video for his students, said: "I think the students are always interested in those who have sat in the same desks. He's a good role model for them."
The college was flying its flag at half-mast in Stynes' memory and there was to be a minute's silence at a school-related rugby match overnight.
A day earlier, some of Stynes' old mates gathered in the Ballyboden St Endas Gaelic football clubroom where his teenage championship team photo hangs on the wall, and the Australian rules football he signed as a gift is still on show.

Jason Akermanis sorry for attack on late Jim Stynes saying he was a 'nasty man' treated like a 'demigod'

He has been sacked from the radio show but says he would have quit the show anyway, adding the "$100 a week was not worth it".
Stynes' family hit out at Akermanisearlier today, saying his comments were appalling, ill-informed and could not have come at a worse time.


A spokesman for the family said today Stynes could never have been defined as a nasty person.


"Jim was often strong-willed and self-determined ... not nasty but hard," he said.


"He had been running in the game of life since he was 14 and he didn't stop until he was 45. As a consequence he was a self-made man.


"I don't think anybody could define him as a nasty person."


The spokesman said the explosive comments from Akermanis could not have come at a worse time for the family, which is preparing for Stynes' funeral on Tuesday.


"The timing of his comments is pretty appalling.


"But in this situation, Jim would be the first person to get on the phone to Jason Akermanis and say, 'Mate, let's go have a beer or come to the footy and let's have a chat', which is the mark of a man.


"He was a hard Irishman but he was genuinely compassionate person."


Akermanis initially defended himself after labelling Stynes as "nasty'' and declaring his state funeral was "overkill''.


In an explosive radio interview with Mix 92.7 FM on Queensland's Sunshine Coast today, the former three-time Premiership-winning player said the public outpouring of sympathy and grief at the passing of Stynes

Venus, Clijsters make triumphant returns

Alisa Kleybanova won her first match back after studded Sony Ericsson Open as a wild card Tuesday.

Kleybanova was in the world top 20 and rising before she was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin's lymphoma last May.The 22-year-old Russian underwent chemotherapy treatments in Italy before returning to the practice courts back in December and had to fight back to beat Sweden's Johanna Larsson on Tuesday.Kleybanova dropped the first set, but rallied for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory and will face No. 22 seed Maria Kirilenko of Russia in the next round.Earlier, former top-10 player Jelena Dokic came up a first-round loser on the hardcourts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park.Russian Ekaterina Makarova handled the former world No. 4 Dokic 6-1, 7-5 while breaking her serve six times in the 80-minute match.Rising German Mona Barthel blitzed Hungarian Greta Arn 6-1, 6-0 in 55 minutes; while Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova drilled Croat Petra Martic 6-3, 6-2; and British wild card Heather Watson edged out Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4).Williams announced at last year's US Open she had been diagnosed with the auto-immune disorder Sjogren syndrome, an illness that saps her energy and causes pain in her joints."Just to be in this tournament is a huge win for me," Williams said."That's what I told myself going in, that this is a win. I have nothing to lose. I just tried to get in the tournament. There were a lot of tournaments I didn't make."Williams, who did play doubles for the US Fed Cup team last month, pulled out of last year's US Open after a first-round victory."At this point in time it's important for me to play smart," Williams said. "I'm an attacker. That's what I do best and that's what I tried to do today. I don't have the time to give any points away. I have to stay really focused on my game plan."The good thing is I'm playing well. I know how to play, so I haven't lost any steam in that, the fact that I can play tennis. That's comforting for me."Belgium's Clijsters, playing for the first time since her Australian Open semifinal loss to World No 1 Victoria Azarenka, rallied to eliminate Australia's Jarmila Gajdosova 4-6, 6-1, 6-0."It's always tough to get that first match rhythm under your belt," Clijsters said. "When it comes down to my game I felt I wasn't quite going through my shots as I should have."I was just trying to find that rhythm, but on the other hand maybe forgetting to still play aggressive tennis. But as I started to feel more comfortable with the conditions and being in a match situation again I was hitting better, and that definitely showed in the second and third sets."Clijsters, who won at Miami in 2005 and 2010, skipped last week's Indian Wells tournament to rest her injured ankle, the latest in a list of ailments in the past year that has also included a bad shoulder, wrist and abdomen worries."It's just a matter of getting those matches again," she said. "One thing I can count on is I have the experience. It doesn't take me that long to get used to it again. But it has become tougher."Saying her ankle is at 95 per cent, Clijsters pondered how close she came to downing top seed Azarenka in Australia and how strong the top-ranked player, now 23-0 for the season, has played."I felt like I was really close to winning that match," Clijsters said. "She has been playing really good tennis. I think she's in a state of mind where she feels very confident and is on a roll."It's really showing in her game and in the way she approaches matches. I know what it's like to be in that situation, where you feel very focused but at the same time playing freely, without any worries."Williams advanced to a second-round match against Czech third seed, and Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova, who had a first-round bye, while next up for Clijsters is her first match against Germany's 14th-seeded Julia Goerges.

Williams, Clijsters make winning returns to tour

 Ten-time grand slam champion Williams, who has not played a WTA event since pulling out of last year's US Open, defeated Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-0 6-3 in 77 minutes at the Miami WTA/ATP event.

"It was definitely a bit nerve-wracking ... but I was able to get a great start and settle in and play well against a really difficult opponent. It was definitely an ideal start."


Williams announced at last year's US Open she had been diagnosed with the auto-immune disorder Sjogren syndrome, an illness that saps her energy and causes pain in her joints.


"Just to be in this tournament is a huge win for me," Williams said.


Williams, who played doubles for the US Fed Cup team last month, pulled out of last year's US Open after a first-round victory.


Clijsters, who won at Miami in 2005 and 2010, skipped last week's Indian Wells tournament to rest her injured ankle, the latest in a list of ailments in the past year that has also included a sore shoulder, wrist and abdomen.


"It's just a matter of getting those matches again," Clijsters said. "One thing I can count on is I have the experience, though. It doesn't take me that long to get used to it again. But it has become tougher."


Saying her ankle is at 95 per cent of peak fitness, Clijsters pondered how close she came to knocking off top seed Azarenka in Australia and how strong Azarenka - now undefeated this season in 23 matches - has played.


"I felt like I was really close to winning that match (at Melbourne Park)," Clijsters said. "She has been playing really good tennis. I think she's in a state of mind where she feels very confident and is on a roll.


"It's really showing in her game and in the way she approaches matches. I know what it's like to be in that situation, where you feel very focused but at the same time playing freely, without any worries."


Williams advanced to a second-round match against Czech third seed, and Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who had a first-round bye. Next up for Clijsters is her match against Germany's 14th-seeded Julia Goerges.


First round matches began in the men's draw with Russian Nikolay Davydenko outlasting American James Blake 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, to book a second-round date with US 10th seed John Isner, the runner-up to Roger Federer last week at Indian Wells.


Colombia's Alejandro Falla was leading 6-1, 2-1 when Uzbek Denis Istomin retired with an injury, advancing the South American into a second-round match with British fourth seed Andy Murray.

Tom Hanks apologizes and Dame Edna retires

 Australians will have one last chance to see Dame Edna Everage on stage, with creator Barry Humphries revealing his new show will be his last live tour.

At the age of 78, Humphries has told News Ltd it's time to move on.
"Look, the fact of the matter is that I'm beginning to feel a bit senior," Humphries has told the Sunday Telegraph.
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"It's the best aerobics you could do, leaping around on stage, but it's gruelling when there are other things to do," he says.
For fans this means Dame Edna, Sir Les Patterson and Sandy Stone will be retired from the stage for good, but not before one final goodbye tour.
Humphries says his Australian tour Eat Pray Laugh!, which kicks off in Canberra in June, will be his "fond farewell".


After 57 years, Australian actor Barry Humphries is hanging up the purple hair and oversized rhinestone glasses of his Tony Award-winning drag character, Dame Edna Everage.
He’ll take Australia’s self-proclaimed housewife-superstar on a farewell tour — “Eat Pray Laugh!” — over the next two years. “She’s a little weary of touring and strange hotels,” the 78-year-old actor said.
Marie Osmond: Wet and wild
So what made Marie Osmond laugh so hard recently on stage that she actually peed her pants and wiped up the mess with a towel?
She and brother Donny were on the last night of their Donny & Marie Cruise when “there was a video that they put together of the entire cruise, and it was the worst thing I have ever seen in my life,” Donny says.
“At the very end of it, Marie and I looked at each other like, ‘What are we gonna say?’ So we were trying to be very polite, saying that it was sweet, and I said, ‘I wonder who put that together?’ And Marie said, ‘Well, whoever did it is not going to do it next year!’ And that just started the process.”
Marie started laughing, “then I lost it, and finally she just peed her pants! She tried to cover it up, but there’s no way to cover it up,” says Donny. “It just got worse and worse and funnier and funnier.”
An ‘SNL’ reunion
Good news for anyone missing the good ol’ days magic of “Saturday Night Live.” Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase are collaborating on an upcoming script.
“Chevy (Chase) and I are about to start work on a script concept for a comedy movie,” Dan wrote recently on his Facebook page. “Cannot say too much about the concept, but the joy of working with him again is one that I am extremely excited about. Chevy is one of my favorite people, and one of the great anarchistic and physically committed comedians in the business.”

Dame Edna Everage bids 57-year stage career adieu

If the global gladioli market took a tumble yesterday the cause was to be found at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne. There, resplendent in red, dazzling in diamantes, was Dame Edna Everage, back from whatever royal soiree she has most recently graced to announce ''that's all, possums''. After 56 years on the stage (and film and TV and even, occasionally, record), she's calling it a day.
''I feel quite old when you mention that,'' says Edna, when reminded — as if it were necessary — how long it has been since she made her stage debut in a Melbourne University revue in December 1955.
''It's been a journey,'' she adds. ''It began in Melbourne and I'll be achieving closure in Melbourne with this beautiful show. But it will linger in people's minds, like a virus.''


Another of Humphries’ characters, drunken Australian cultural attache Sir Les Patterson, will join Dame Edna on the farewell tour.


Dame Edna’s career began as the more dour Mrs. Edna Everage when she first stepped onto the stage of a Melbourne University review in 1955 in Humphries’ hometown of Melbourne.


She was “Auntie Edna” in the 1974 Australian comedy movie “Barry McKenzie Holds His Own,” in which she was made a dame — a British title that is the female equivalent of a knighthood — as part of the plot during a cameo appearance by the then-Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.


Dame Edna was a staple of television and stage in Britain and Australia before Humphries won a Tony Award in 2000 for his Broadway show “Dame Edna, The Royal Tour.” Its sequel, “Dame Edna, Back with a Vengeance,” was also nominated for a Tony, the leading U.S. theater award, in 2004.
Humphries was not available for an interview on Tuesday.


The show’s producer, Dainty Group, described the show in a tongue-in-cheek statement as an all-singing, all-dancing spectacular in which Dame Edna promises to empower audiences as she meditates on the big issues of gender, ethnicity and climate change.

Rabbits rampant as Greg Inglis is now Maguire's No 1 man

It was in 2005 when Inglis was 18 and they were playing for Melbourne. Billy Slater was injured, so Craig Bellamy called up Inglis to debut.

"And after the game," King said, "we all sat there scratching our heads wondering where Billy was going to play when he came back."


It makes you wonder why it took this long for someone to switch the light on at Souths.


Bellamy said for years if he didn't have Slater, Inglis would have been wearing No 1 long ago. At one point he considered switching Slater to the wing permanently.


When Michael Maguire was appointed as the Rabbitohs' new head coach, one of the first calls he made from England was to Inglis to float a possible move.


Now, one of the game's most naturally gifted athletes has the chance to reach his potential - and we have the stats to prove it.


Not only will Inglis get more ball at fullback, but better ball, which in turn helps teammates like John Sutton play to their strengths.


Every Rabbitohs fan will tell you one of their biggest gripes before last Sunday was that their highest-paid player didn't see enough action and too often when Inglis did get involved, the defence was already in his face.


"I think the last time I played that position was 07," Inglis said. "Madge (Maguire) has come through during the week and asked if I wanted to go back there and I was more than happy to. In the end we had to find a way to get my hands on the ball more and that was my job today.


"I'll play anywhere which is best for the team. (But) being back there I found my rhythm."


Inglis effectively broke the Panthers' spirits in the second half. With his team up 22-12, he latched on to a clever pass from John Sutton and made a beeline for the tryline, trampling over the top of poor Panthers fullback Lachlan Coote in the process. It gave Souths a comfortable lead at 28-12 and it was only onwards and upwards from there.


The only question that deserved to be asked of Souths after the game was whether Maguire would leave Inglis at fullback when Merritt returns from a toe injury. The coach probably knew the right answer but toed a diplomatic stance yesterday.


"At the moment I'm pretty lucky," Maguire said. "I've got Nathan Merritt who is pretty close to coming back. He's unfortunately still having trouble with his toe. While Greggy's there and the opportunity is there for Merritt coming back, there's some good pressure on the team and on me to make some decisions." Inglis wasn't the only standout player for the Rabbitohs in a performance that franked their form against Melbourne and proved they are legitimate finals contenders this year. Backrower Dave Taylor came up with two tries including an enterprising effort in which he grubber kicked ahead for himself.


Sutton has long been an enigmatic player for the Bunnies but turned in a strong game while rookie halfback Adam Reynolds looks more polished with each match he plays.


In the rival camp, Penrith coach Ivan Cleary lamented his side's slow start in both halves but said his players never completely gave up hope.