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A Knight to Remember

In a bittersweet historic moment in cinema, Heath Ledger has received a posthumous Academy Award nomination that was announced on the one-year anniversary of his death on January 22, 2008. The late, great actor who had critics and moviegoers cheering his riveting role in The Dark Knight has already received a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in director Chris Nolan’s blockbuster, and now comes a nod by Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, which pits Heath against Philip Seymour Hoffman, Josh Brolin, Robert Downey Jr. and Michael Shannon.

“It was an exhausting process,” Heath revealed to MTV News in 2007 while filming The Dark Knight. “If I had to do that every day, I couldn’t have done what I did.”

For the full list of Academy Award nominees, as well as recap of one of Heath’s greatest roles, see below, then check out the 81st annual Oscars ceremony on February 22 and prepare to raise a toast (hopefully) to one of the greatest young actors of our generation.

United 3 Chelsea 0

At the start of a crucial week in United’s season, the Reds issued a defiant message of intent by beating Chelsea comprehensively at Old Trafford. Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov scored the goals to cap a weekend where United got under the skin of both major title rivals.

The Reds, who started the match eight points behind the league leaders, could feasibly leapfrog Liverpool by the time the Merseysiders play their next league fixture - a difficult derby a week on Monday. To do that would require United beating Wigan on Wednesday at home, and Bolton Wanderers away on Saturday. But phase one – seeing off Chelsea – was comfortably completed on Sunday.

If the chaotically congested first half to the season was a task of laying foundations, then now the real work starts. And if a game against Chelsea early in 2009 wasn’t enough to announce that the title race really is gathering pace, Rafael Benitez’s bizarre, almost comical, rant on Friday certainly was the ignition to a significant weekend in the Premier League calendar. Liverpool’s 0-0 draw at Stoke City on Saturday presented United – and Chelsea, of course – with the chance to pile on the pressure.

Rio Ferdinand’s late withdrawal was a disruption ahead of the game, but the able Jonny Evans again deputised for Rio, who missed the four matches prior to this clash. Michael Carrick was a surprise omission, kept on the bench with Ryan Giggs starting in the centre of midfield alongside Darren Fletcher. But the Welshman was hugely influential.

Sir Alex predicted in his programme notes that he didn’t expect a goal frenzy and, though he would later be proved wrong, the early exchanges saw few clear chances. Chelsea postured with possession football, while United hinted at an intent to break sharply from midfield with Giggs and Park’s surging runs.

On 22 minutes United claimed a penalty when Ashley Cole handled Ronaldo’s cross. But the linesman signalled a free-kick instead, which television replays seemed to support, and Petr Cech was forced to punch clear Ronaldo’s subsequent inswinging shot. Another set-piece two minutes later from the Portuguese – this time after Deco’s foul on Rooney – was deflected wide.

Match referee Howard Webb was seemingly determined to be top of the bill, brandishing four bookings in half an hour and increasing the tension of an already high-pressure encounter. There were more yellow cards than clear scoring opportunities in the first half, although United began to threaten at the end of the first 45 minutes. Berbatov had a scuffed shot saved, while Park's shot after a neat move on the edge of the area was blocked by Terry.

The Reds were denied a perfectly legitimate goal right at the end of the first half when a clever corner routine between Rooney and Giggs proved too clever for the officials. Rooney rolled the ball out of the ‘D’, pretending that he was leaving the corner for Giggs to take. Without Chelsea realising it, the ball was in play and the Welshman took it goalwards before crossing for Ronaldo to head home. But the perplexed officials disallowed it. Ingenuity of this kind should not be punished, but justice was nevertheless done on the retake, as Vidic headed Berbatov’s flick-on past Cech.

United began the second half with greater control and confidence, stroking the ball around with surpreme assurance. And the patient approach soon paid off. Ronaldo’s backheel down the left found Evra and his cross was side-footed home from a jubilant Rooney. Old Trafford immediately belted out renditions of ‘We shall not be moved’ and ‘Are you watching Merseyside?’.

Ronaldo went close with two late efforts, one a deflected free-kick which Cech had to tip over, and another long-range effort that fizzed narrowly wide. The Portuguese had a significant influence on United’s third goal, though he did not score it. His fearsomely struck free-kick from wide on the left was slammed home by Berbatov to complete an emphatic win for the Reds.If this was indeed the weekend the title race really started to hot up, United responded by scorching a team many still claim could be the Reds’ fiercest rivals.