By Tim Stannard

Buffon linked with Boca move as keeper continues referee rant

Well, Mr Uppity Gigi Buffon seems to think that being old for a footballer and having permanent stubble since the age of eight gives the Juventus goalkeeper the right to say whatever the heckity-heck he likes.

Over the weekend, the Old Lady’s old goalie was doubling down on his comments over Michael Oliver, spot kick-giving referee for the Real Madrid against Juventus Champions League clash, a match official who now has police helping him sift through death threats against himself and his wife, for good measure.

“I’m not saying it wasn’t a penalty, I am saying it was a dubious situation,” admitted Buffon before arguing that the referee was too young to officiate a game. To be fair, anyone out on the pitch is too young for Buffon.

Any hoo, Monday teases the possibility of Buffon acting entitled in a whole new continent with a report from South America that Boca Juniors are after the keeper who is not expected to continue with Juve beyond this season.

Hammers look to knock Stoke into Championship

There is a bit of league and cup housecleaning to be performed this week across Europe. It all gets underway on Monday with the Premier League encounter between West Ham and Stoke City. The clip-notes version reads that should the Hammers pick up a win then that should be enough to stay up and start wrapping up a pretty dreadful campaign all round for the London club. By the same measure, a defeat for Stoke City would leave the Potters in the manure and stuck second-from-bottom and five points from safety.

In the Bundesliga, Mainz are continuing a battle to avoid relegation with the visit of Freiburg, a team just one place above them. Catch the best of the day’s action as well as look ahead to the week to come, which includes a full midweek round of La Liga, on the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT.

Vidal to miss Champions League double date with Madrid

Unfortunately, Real Madrid’s Casemiro is going to have to carry the full load of the midfield fire and fury in the upcoming Champions League semifinals between the Spanish club and Bayern Munich. However, Sports Burst has full faith in the Brazilian’s rabble-rousing abilities.

Bayern boss, Jupp Heynckes, revealed on Monday that Chilean pugilistic performer Arturo Vidal was set to undergo surgery for a knee injury and will be out for an unknown length of time. "What we know though is that Arturo is a fighter and I'm confident about his recovery," on the footballer whose injury was picked up during a training session on Sunday. Heynckes was talking ahead of the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal cup which puts Bayern away at Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke taking on Eintracht Frankfurt.

Boston marathon runners face wet and wild conditions

Sports Burst is rarely capable of sympathy but it is certainly feeling something resembling that emotion for the brave souls running the Boston Marathon on Monday. The weather conditions are going to be appalling for the 122th edition of the event. The 30,000 runners are expecting wet and windy conditions and temperatures of 40°F and even snow on the ground, looking at some pictures on social media of the event.

Elsewhere in the US of A on Monday, the NBA Playoffs continue with the start of the second round of games. The Philadelphia 76ers will be looking to cream cheese Miami Heat to take a two-win lead in the series while the Golden State Warriors host the San Antonio Spurs with a 1-0 lead.

WHAT IS SPORTS BURST?

The life philosophy of Sports Burst is that if you are not upsetting someone, then you are not trying hard enough. Sports Burst is a daily trawl and troll through the morning's sports news to bring you fact-nuggets to make you both smile and swear. Hopefully at the same time.