Sky Sports Rob Dorsett talks us through his time behind the scenes at Leicesters Premier League title celebrations.
Antonio Brown Jersey . A three-tiered cake, all in blue. Two water melons, carved with the faces of Claudio Ranieri and Jamie Vardy. A stuffed fox, draped in a Leicester scarf.These are some of the more outlandish gifts that Ive seen delivered to the King Power Stadium in the last week, in recognition of the most unlikely Premier League Champions. A water melon with Claudio Ranieris face carved into it It has been a strange week. A bizarre season. Captain Wes Morgan reflected on just how surreal it has all been when we spoke at the clubs training ground last week, the day after Spurs drew at Chelsea and that famous party at Jamie Vardys house in Melton Mowbray.At that party, Morgan was seen lying on his back, being dragged along the kitchen floor by Marcin Wasilewski. Now, the morning after the night before, Morgan looked stunned. He didnt know what to say, on or off camera. A strange-looking Jamie Vardy appears on another water melon Rob, I cant believe it. Whod have thought it? When I reminded him that he would be the one lifting the Premier League trophy, he was silent for a moment. He then started laughing quietly.Ive known Morgan since he was 17, when he came through the academy at Nottingham Forest alongside the likes of Michael Dawson and Jermaine Jenas. Leicester captain Wes Morgan admitted he felt drained after lifting the Premier League trophy In truth, Dawson and Jenas were always seen as the more stellar talents at the City Ground, by academy staff and fans alike, but it is Morgan who has gone on to greatness: his character is stamped all over the Leicester City squad.Strength of mind and body, honesty, resilience, determination. Morgan is the leader on the pitch and in the dressing room. If you want a message to get through to the players, you go through Wes. If theres a squad get-together to be sorted, Wes will sort it. Wes Morgan and Claudio Ranieri lift the trophy amid ecstatic scenes at the King Power stadium Frank Clark was the Nottingham Forest chairman who sold Morgan to Leicester in January 2012.I dont think Wes was appreciated enough by anyone at Nottingham Forest, he told me.The club had allowed him to get into the last year of his contract and he would have walked away for free in the summer. So in the end, we did well to persuade Leicester to pay £1m for him.But I dont think anyone realised what a force, what a character Forest were losing. Claudio Ranieri reflected on Leicesters amazing season and says he wants the fans to keep dreaming Now, that force is standing alone on the side of the training pitch, clutching a bottle of water, speechless. Overcome with emotion.It was an amazing feeling at Leicesters training ground last Tuesday. The club had kept a dozen or more camera crews and scores of reporters outside - we were the only live crew to be invited in.I was so busy chatting to the players that Leicesters head of media, Anthony Herlihy, had to prompt me to do the big interview of the day.Dont you want to interview the manager? he asked. Claudio Ranieri had been waiting a few metres away for a couple of minutes, apparently. By that time, we had already done Danny Drinkwater live to Sky Sports Now, and Morgan too. Kasabian member and Leicester City fan Serge says there is not much more he could wish for after seeing his beloved Foxes win the Premier League title I had just grabbed a few words with Ranieri in a huge scrum at the main gate, where several Italian broadcasters were literally fighting with each other to get their camera near to Ranieris drivers-side window.I managed to get my microphone under his chin, but as his car was surrounded, my cameraman Chris Alcock could not get a clean shot. So he made the inspired decision to go in front of the bonnet - this served the dual purpose of providing a clean shot of Leicesters manager through the windscreen - and prevented him from driving away. Genius.We got a few answers from him - and so did the Italians - before he inched forward and forced his car through the gates and into the sanctuary. Andrea Bocelli sang Nessun Dorma to Claudio Ranieri and the Leicester fans before their game with Everton Moments later, Leicesters team chef, Gary Payne, arrived with a tray full of bacon sandwiches and coffee for us, as he has done so many times before. It exemplifies the friendly, genuine way in which Leicester is run. It was Garys way of making sure we, at Sky, were made to feel part of the party. This time, though, it seemed only right we share with our Italian counterparts and the feast was gone in seconds.Now pitchside, Ranieri and I had all the time and space to chat freely.He was the same as ever: smiling, calm, charismatic - taking it all in his stride. Former Chelsea manager Gianluca Vialli insists fellow Italian Claudio Ranieri should be ranked as one of the best managers in the Premier League Yes, he admitted, this achievement had vindicated his own, deep-held belief that he would one day win a top division title. Yes, it was a special feeling. But, typically modest, he gave all the credit to his players.Those players were now in the middle of a training session, killing time while waiting for the clubs Thai owners to arrive in their personal helicopter so that they could start the official Premier League photoshoot.In truth, at this stage, the players were like kids playing on the local park. Nathan Dyer went in nets, while Vardy and Robert Huth rained shots at him. The diminutive Dyer then pulled off a brilliant flying save, high to his right, and went on a lap of honour before being tripped by Marc Albrighton and dived upon by his teammates. Leicesters vice chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha says there isnt any truth in reports the clubs owners are buying every player a new car We heard a low rumble overhead that announced the impending arrival of the owners, Vichai and Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha.The pitch had been cleared for the owners entourage to arrive, all smiles and glamour. As the group of 20 or so made their way to the lower pitch, Leicesters club photographer, Neil Plumb, was trying to organise the players into a group ready for the team photo. While he was doing so, Wasilewski and Jamie Vardy managed to nutmeg him three times with a water bottle.He never noticed, but the Sky Sports News pictures became something of a cult internet hit thereafter. Myths busted by Leicester We look at the myths Leicester have busted on their incredible Premier League-winning season As they unfurled the Champions banners, and started chanting, I was again live in the background, offering a commentary. The Thai entourage closed in, camera phones primed and ready, and I had to politely ask them to move slightly to the side so that our camera could still capture the moment. With a polite nod of the head, they moved a few feet to the left and we got some great shots.Those pictures inside Jamie Vardys front room, as the squad crowded together to watch the moment when they were guaranteed top spot.The players, led by Morgan, obviously, were determined to keep the party private. They wanted it to be an occasion for them, together, alone. Finally, they agreed to allow a single club camera in to film them, if the moment arrived as they hoped. The crowning of the champions Lifelong Leicester fan Jordan Halford reflects on the coronation of the champions When it did, and Eden Hazard scored the equaliser against Spurs, we needed to get the extraordinary images onto Monday Night Football as quickly as possible. The trouble was, I was outside the front of Vardys house, along with several hundred elated Leicester fans.The only solution was to get Leicesters cameraman who filmed them, Sam Chambers, to scale a low wall to the side of the property, and hand his camera over while two police officers gave us cover, just feet from the jubilant supporters. It is still a huge relief that we managed to do that, without the fans realising. Srivaddhanaprabha insists the club will just be taking it one step at a time next season After the players left the training ground, to head into town for a meal with the owners and staff, we headed to the stadium, in a journey that took 45 minutes instead of the usual 10.It was chaos. All car horns and flags, smiles and chants. I remember doing the most eclectic and unlikely live report at the King Power Stadium later that day. Again, the club allowed us exclusive access to go pitchside, while outside the worlds media had descended.I bumped into Kasabian bass player Chris Edwards, who was checking out the layout of the stadium before the band play there later this month. Just behind him was Leicester fan Mark Selby, who the night before had won his second World Snooker Championship. It was that sort of day. Leicesters perfect party Leicesters 3-1 win over Everton was the perfect way to celebrate their incredible title triumph Id already booked the de Montfort Gospel Choir to perform for us, but could not let this opportunity slip. So, we went live to Sky Sports News with a rock star, a World Snooker Champion and a gospel choir. It kind of worked.There have been so many wonderful moments that I have been lucky enough to experience this season, from being close to this story, and to Ranieri and his group of players.Seven years ago, the club was in League One. Now, they are the Premier League champions.Leicesters sensational season will live long in the memory. Also See: Five Foxes up for annual award Kante hints at Leicester stay Dembele wont move to Leicester Mahrez wins Foxes fans award
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Charles Woodson Youth Jersey . -- C.J. Cron hit an RBI single on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues, doubled his second time up and hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the sixth inning to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 5-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night.LONDON -- Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone on Wednesday disputed paying a bribe to ensure he stayed in control of the glamorous motorsport series, and then fabricating the reason to pay a banker. Under cross-examination at the High Court in London, Ecclestone said he was blackmailed by the banker tasked with selling a significant stake in F1, and paid him off to avoid being reported to the authorities over his tax affairs. "I made up my mind he needed to be kept quiet," Ecclestone said after claiming he was "shaken down" by BayernLBs Gerhard Gribkowsky. Former F1 shareholder Constantin Medien contests that Ecclestone and his family trust entered into a "corrupt bargain" with Gribkowsky to ensure BayernLBs 47 per cent F1 stake was sold in 2005 to the buyer desired by the sports long-standing commercial chief. Gribkowsky received an alleged bribe totalling US$44 million which led to investment group CVC Capital Partners acquiring the stake. Constantin Medien, a German media company, is suing Ecclestone and other defendants for up to $144 million, claiming F1 was undervalued by the BayernLB deal. Ecclestone maintained Wednesday that at the time of the deal -- and now -- he was not trying to safeguard his own future in F1, insisting he doesnt "want to die as CEO" of F1. "As long as I have got control of the company I will continue to be there ... I am in a fortunate position -- I dont need a job," Ecclestone said. Asked by Constantin Medien lawyer Philip Marshall about the prospect of retirement, the 83-year-old Ecclestone replied: "I dont mind, Ive got plenty of things to do." In a case that could threaten Ecclestones future with F1, a German court is deciding whether he will stand trial on charges of bribery and incitement to breaach of trust.
Tim Brown Jersey. . Ecclestones legal team maintains that a "consultancy package" was paid to Gribkowsky, who was jailed in Germany last year for 8 1/2 years for taking the payment. In the High Court, Ecclestone was asked why he responded to the apparent blackmail threat by seeking the advice of an in-house accountant rather than lawyers, and did not approach the police. "It doesnt make any sense," Marshall said. "You are in a situation where you are being asked to pay millions of dollars over a threat or an insinuation that may cause you tax problems. You dont ask any of the lawyers ... thats just something (a reason) you fabricated. You have made it up." Ecclestone, appearing for the first time in person in the second week of the civil trial, spoke quietly at times and regularly banged the desk as he grew increasingly frustrated with questioning. Ecclestone said he was happy to pay Gribkowsky $22.5 million himself to avoid any potential tax investigation, and saw little point in contacting the police. "I wanted to get rid of (Gribkowsky) making silly statements," Ecclestone said. Ecclestone built his powerbase in F1 from the 1970s and helped to create the Formula One Constructors Association that controlled the business side of the series, including selling the TV rights. The British-based company later became known as Formula One Management. CVC, having amassed a 63 per cent stake of F1, has reduced its holding as other investors have come on board in recent years, although a planned flotation has stalled. Constantin Medien is claiming it lost out due to the deal negotiated by Gribkowsky. Gribkowsky is a defendant in the case along with Ecclestones lawyer, Stephen Mullens, and the Ecclestone family trust, Bambino Holdings. ' ' '
