johnnyrocket - MyTwoCents

Daily sports briefs | Liverpool voted most popular team, Cristiano Ronaldo trains with rugby studs, NBA heads to Disney World - and more!

LIVERPOOL THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL

Liverpool have been voted the UK's most popular team according to a poll conducted by YouGov. Further bad news for Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea and Everton fans is that Liverpool's lead over their rivals was almost as significant as their current EPL lead. Liverpool polled 8.3% vs 6% for the Red Devils followed by Chelsea with 3.1%, City and Arsenal at 2% and Spurs at 1.8%. Merseyside rivals Everton came in 9th with 1.4%. The study apparently took in 16 different metrics including the public's perceptions of clubs' management, players and coaches, fan culture, tradition, their record of success and even their style of play.

Most polls need to be taken with a pinch of salt as we don't have details of the size and geographic location of the polling. That said, we doubt Jose Mourinho's bus parking tactics would have done Spurs and favours in the survey!

CR7 TURNS TO RUGBY STUDS TO GAIN AN EDGE

Always dedicated to improving his game and finding an edge, Cristiano Ronaldo has started using rugby studs on his boots in training as he believes it will help him improve his fitness and pace on the pitch. The longer wider rubber studs grip the surface better than soccer's metal studs, although it is unclear whether or not Ronaldo will be able to use the studs in matches or only for practice. Ronaldo is notorious for his meticulous fitness and nutrition methods - he has 6 meals a day and takes 5x90 minute naps to make up his 7.5 hours of sleep a day. Bizarre stuff but it seems to work!

The man is a machine and shows impressive dedication to his craft. There are very few athletes in the world who can match his application.

... AS HE HITS THE BILLION DOLLAR CLUB

CR7 has become the first footballer to earn $1 billion and just the third athlete after Tiger Woods and Floyd Mayweather to hit that figure while still actively competing, according to Forbes magazine. According to Forbes, $650m of his career earnings have come from salary with the balance coming from endorsements and image rights. He is the only athlete, along with Michael Jordan and LeBron James to have a life-time contract with Nike.

Like any true sportsman, Ronaldo is driven more by trophies and accolades than by money ... although there is no doubt that $1bn doesn't hurt.

NBA HEADING TO DISNEY WORLD

The NBA is set to host the remainder of its season at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex at Disney World, according to a report in the New York Times. Games are expected to start on 31 July with the playoffs running until mid-October. The complex has more than a dozen courts with extensive media facilities making it the perfect venue to stage the resumption of the season.

Players will have access to a wide range of facilities, pools, restaurants and theme parks on offer which will all be otherwise closed to the general public. They will have a fantasy world all to themselves. To coin a phrase from a popular TV commercial ... "what could go wrong?"