HANDBALL: BARCELONA WINS SPANISH SUPERCUP

US Open Cup

Ajax America 2, FC Indiana 1

World Cup winning coach joins WPSL

One of the most recognized and respected names in the world of women's soccer will be adding their organization to the North Division of the East Conference of the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) this upcoming Summer 2007 season. Team owner and head coach Tony DiCicco will head SoccerPlus Connecticut.
DiCicco served as the head coach for the USWNT from 1994-99 and during his five-year stint, Tony compiled an impressive overall record of 103-8-8, giving him the most wins of any U.S. National Team coach. Along the way his teams completed a unique double by winning the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics and the 1999 Women's World Cup. He also led his team to five consecutive U.S. Cup titles, the 1998 Pan American Games gold medal and a third-place finish at the 1995 WWC. He was an assistant coach for the 1991 U.S. Women's National Team - which won the first WWC - and spent two years as an assistant for the U.S. Men's U-20 National Team.

California Storm

Storm owner Jerry Zanelli has run a grass-roots operation for 18 years. While he would like to see more spectators at his team's games, Zanelli doesn't mind reaching into his pocket to support what amounts to an expensive hobby for the Sacramento lobbyist.

Although the Storm ranks as one of the best women's club teams in the world, Zanelli doles out transportation money to his players and directs them to a nearby restaurant for a postgame meal just as a recreation coach might.

"I spend about $50,000 a year, but being the owner and coach helps," Zanelli says. "Whether I have a winning or losing record, I won't fire myself."

Maryland Pride announce new GM & head coach

Thunder Soccer Club is pleased to announce that the TSC Maryland Pride of the East Conference of the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) has hired a new General Manager and Head Coach for the Summer 2009 season. The new G.M. will be Tony Corbett, who has been a long time coach in the Maryland area and will continue to serve as the Director of Coaching for all of Thunder's youth teams, as he has since 2001.
As part of the re-organization, the Howard County based club has also been interviewing for a new Head Coach and after an extensive search, they are very pleased to announce the appointment of Blackpool, England native Steve Knapman. The 33-year-old former professional has been coaching and playing in the Maryland area for the past 12 years.

Valentino Rossi: I remain long in Yamaha

Tuesday, 8 July 2008
The principle agreement has been found and it seems, almost 100%, Valentino Rossi will remain in Yamaha for at least for two more seasons. The announcement planned for later this month, even for some rumors already expected for next weekend at Sachsenring.

Valentino confirms that he will remain long there, with the team has created a unique feeling for him, five years work together. Why change?" he said.
If it is all coming that fast, then it will be good to Yamaha and Rossi's fans. Yamaha's bike has been very good this year. They develop a reliable and fast enough bike even still slower than the Ducatis.

Another good news is Capirex (Loris Capirossi) will race in Sachsenring. Having missed the last two races, the triple world champion has yesterday (7 july 2008) confirmed he will be fit to return to his factory GSV-R in Germany.

Where to Play Frans Steyn?

That's the big question being asked by Sports Illustrated in this month's issue.

What do you think? Flyhalf, Fullback, Centre or Wing? And is Scrumhalf too far-fetched?

I'm sorry to say that Dick Muir has turned probably SA's most promising player into a utility back. And that's where he'll be used for the Springboks, off the bench as an impact player. He won't play inside centre because of Jean de Villiers' new found form and it'll be tough for him to crack the nod at number 13 ahead of Waylon Murray, even though Muir favours the young Steyn ahead of Murray.

Fullback is totally out of the question because Conrad Jantjes is the obvious choice. I don't think Peter de Villiers will trust the young Steyn at flyhalf.

Renault Confident of Revival in Canada

Renault, Formula One's perenial optimists, are confident of scoring some points at this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

With six races of the season gone, Renault have only managed nine constructors points... all of which came from double world champion Fernando Alonso. His teammate, Nelson Piquet Junior has failed in all the races so far and already rumours are doing the rounds that he could be replaced if he doesn't start scoring some points.

Engineering Director at Renault, Pat Symonds, believes Piquet will start coming good quite soon, "His confidence is suffering a little bit, but we hope! to see him bounce back soon - he's definitely got the ability and we've already seen he's got the speed."

Symonds also believes the team will out-develop their rivals and have a strong second half of the season.

Gay runs fastest ever 100m

The 100 metre sprint has always intrigued me, as previously unbreakable records are inevitably bettered. Doping has obviously yielded some quick times, but the biggest variable seems to be wind. It makes sense that a strong gust from behind will improve times, the way it did for Tyson Gay at the US Track and Field Trials over the weekend.

Gay, who probably has the quickest final 50 metres in the sprint, ran the 100 metres in 9.68 seconds. That's .04 seconds faster than the world record of 9.72 held by Usain Bolt. It's also the quickest time ever recorded. It won't count as a world record though, as the wind was measured at 4.1 metres per second. Times only count if the wind speed is less than 2 metres per second.

Gay's time however is still an indication that the world's fastest men are consistent and improving and Gay himself has not ruled out a legal 9.6. Regardless, the Olympic sprint final will be a highlight at the Beijing Games with Gay, Bolt and ! Asafa Powell all able to lay claim to the title of the world's fastest man - ever.

Boks need to regroup

The Springboks have a week to regroup and find the confidence to face Australia in Durban, and coach Peter De Villiers said that the team need to become more streetwise in their approach, whilst getting back the basic hunger to win. Wallaby flanker Phil Waugh hinted yesterday that his coach Robbie Deans may deploy two 'fetchers' against the Springboks in Saturday's Tri-Nations Test , especially after seeing how effective the All Blacks had been at turning the ball over. Waugh said the Boks lost the game on Saturday as a result of not being able to protect the ball, and the All Blacks recorded 14 turnovers enroute to winning 19-0. The last time a Springbok team ended a home test with a blank scoreboard was 105 years ago.

SA Rugby Takes Stand Against Racism

The South African Rugby Union, its provinces and their sponsors will unite this weekend to make a dramatic statement against racism.

Provincial players will wear a special anti-racism message on their jerseys for this week's round of Absa Currie Cup matches – making the single biggest stand against racism ever undertaken by rugby.

The initiative has been backed by the game's sponsors – both the individual team sponsors and tournament sponsor Absa – as well as by Ziningi Shibambo, the victim of a racist attack ten days ago.

Absa and SA Rugby are funding the application of three-dimensional anti-racism slogans to the weekend's playing fields while the team sponsors have given up the prime space on the players' chests to accommodate the "No to Racism" message.

"This is a huge initiative that our provincial unions and sponsors instantly bought into," said Mr Oregan Hoskins, the president of the South African Rugby U! nion.

"We are putting the message squarely in front of our supporters and the whole rugby community so there can be no doubt about where rugby stands – we are utterly opposed to racism and will continue to campaign to get that message across."

The initiative is in response to a racist attack on Ziningi Shibambo during the Vodacom Tri-nations Test between South Africa and Australia at Coca-Cola Park on August 30.

SARU offered a R10 000 reward for information leading to the identification of the perpetrators, which has so far failed to yield a response.

"It was a hideously cowardly attack on Ms Shibambo but it has helped galvanise us on an issue that we hoped was dying its own natural death," said Mr Hoskins.

"We now have an anti-racism message on all our website pages and have added a sentence from our constitution to our letterhead which states 'the union will foster the game amongst all persons irrespective of race, co! lour, creed or gender.'

"But we wanted to go furthe! r and ma ke the most public statement we could manage and I think this initiative does precisely that."

Ms. Shibambo added: I'm glad that my experience has provoked such a visible response from rugby. We have to confront racism whenever we encounter it and this initiative sends out a very loud message

"My experience 10 days ago should serve as a timely reminder that racism can still affect us . We should also not forget that racism is still as much an issue now as it has ever been.

"I reiterate that I do not hold rugby officials, the sport of rugby itself nor the stadium responsible for what has happened to me and I believe this symbolic stand against all forms of discrimination in the game is most important. It is a concerted effort that will help combat the scourge of racism within our sporting codes.

"I have been overwhelmed by the support I have had from rugby people – I am glad I can back them in this campaign."

Happy Nts! hingila, Absa Group Executive Director said: "As a proud sponsor of SA Rugby and the Absa Currie Cup, we are firmly behind SARU's attempt to cut out any form of racism in South African rugby.

"Whilst this cowardly attack on a Springbok fan in no way represents the entire SA rugby community, we fully support this initiative. Absa is committed to a South Africa for all South Africans. We recognise the power that sport has to unite our nation and so condemn any acts of racism in rugby.

"Rugby is a game for everybody, to be enjoyed by everybody; hopefully this weekend's initiative will go a long way towards the entire country saying 'No to racism'."

The slogan will first appear on hoardings at the SAA National Club Champs in Stellenbosch on Thursday evening when the competition's semi-finals take place live on SuperSport at 4:05pm and 6:05pm.

The first players to run out wearing the slogan will be those of the Pumas and the SWD Eagles! who play in Witbank and the Vodacom Blue Bulls and Boland Cav! aliers w ho meet at Loftus Versfeld, both on Friday night.

"We'd like to thank all our team sponsors for their co-operation in this initiative," said Mr Hoskins. "They are giving up their commercial rights this week but, like us, they believe it's a small price to pay to get the message across."



ISSUED BY SA RUGBY

What Will 2009 Hold for Hamilton?

Come Melbourne 2009, Lewis Hamilton will wear the tag of reigning Formula One world champion. After a turbulent second season of F1 he realised his dream and everyone was forced to acknowledge that he thoroughly deserves it.

Hamilton was given a hero's welcome at the McLaren HQ in Surrey today on his first visit there since he won the championship in an enthralling season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix. Hamilton passed Toyota's Timo Glock with two corners to go at Interlagos to claim the fifth place he needed to win the championship. Ferrari's Felipe Massa won the race and did all he could do but it wasn't meant to be though. The Brazilian was gracious in defeat and that's a sign of a world champion which he'll no doubt become.

But what does next season hold for Hamilton and McLaren? As a team, McLaren will once again be one of the top two teams on the grid but as far as the drivers go, I think Hamilton will get some stiff competition! from teammate Heikki Kovalainen.

The young Finn very much played a backroom role at McLaren, not challenging Hamilton on the track and basically getting used to the car and the team. His maiden grand prix win earlier this year will have inspired him to do better next season and with the package McLaren have, Kovalainen will definitely be more than just a solid number two.

After the success of this year, Ferrari will seriously have to think who they'll be backing as the number one driver. Kimi Raikkonen is still a world champion so logic says they should still back him at the start of the season but Massa's achievements this year can't be overlooked. Either way, both Massa and Raikkonen will still be a threat to Hamilton as will Renault's Fernando Alonso, who's been more than impressive in the latter half of the season. Expect BMW-Sauber's Robert Kubica to be there or thereabouts. A dark horse could be Williams driver Nico Rosberg who has shown that,! with the right car, he can be a real handful.

So ! already, it looks to be a very interesting 2009 season but ultimately it'll come down to who best deals with KERS and all the other new technical requirements.

Ajax on top for Christmas

Ajax Cape Town are exactly where they want to be going into the Christmas break of the ABSA Premiership.

The Urban Warriors are top of the log, a point ahead of Supersport after a 1-0 win against Sundowns on Saturday.

Santos' also read the script and beat pre-weekend log leaders Supersport United 1-0.

Ajax are only a point ahead of United on 26 points, while Wits bounced back to third, on 23 points, thanks to a 1-0 win over Swallows.

Golden Arrows are fourth, on 22 points, after a surprise 2-1 defeat to Bay United.

The People's Team are making steady progress up the log and are currently 5th on 21 points, ahead of Pirates and Chiefs, on 20.

The Buccaneers played out a goalless draw against Amazulu and Chiefs drew 2-2 with Platinum Stars.

The league resumes on 7 January with the highly anticipated Cape Town derby between Telkom Knock Out Cup champions, Ajax and Santos at Athlone S! tadium.

Kick off is at 19h30.

Last season Santos came away with a win and draw against Ajax.

Santos Chief Operations Officer, Edries Burton, says the Cape Town derby is always special.

"League position and current form will count for nothing and the focus is on who wants it the most on the night. It is more than winning the three points; it is also about the pride of Cape Town that is at stake."

"Ajax Cape Town has done really well over the last few months and will be very tough to beat. But as we have shown in previous derbies, we have very capable players and they are intensely focused to ensure we have a good start to 2009."

View from the Pitlane with Brian Sims

So after months of anticipation, we now know what the new Formula 1 regulations are all about. I found the Australian Grand Prix to be a mixture of a Boy's Own story, superb qualifying scenarios and a lot of excellent racing which was rather spoilt for me by some rather amateurish and contrived drama.

First there was the Ross Brawn fairy tale. If ever there was an example of Bernie Ecclestone writing the perfect script this was it. There wasn't a dry eye in the place! For years, if you ! wanted to win a Grand Prix, other than by default, you had to be in a silver or a red car. Suddenly we had the sight of not one, but two strange looking white and fluorescent yellow vehicles showing everyone else in the race just what it was all about. Incredible stuff! It reminded me of James Hunt's first ever Grand Prix victory in the 1970's in a team that had been set up almost for fun by the eccentric Lord Hesketh. Now we hear that F1's leading designer has quit Ferrari to team up again with Ross Brawn. The Brawn and Byrne Show It's all too much! Next thing we know Formula 1 will be run every evening as a TV sit-com! Fortunately it touned out to be an April fool hoax! I spoke to Rory personally to check this out, so you Ferrari fans can relax.

It had to be the most unpredictable qualifying session for years. One minute we had Webber in top spot, then seconds later he was down in 12th place, then it was Massa, only to find himself on the edge of the non-qualif! ication cliff seconds later. Stunning! It's what's been missin! g for ye ars.

The cars look a bit of a handful, except for the Brawn (a team name surely designed with newspaper headline writers in mind), but despite all the doom and gloom merchants predicting how ugly they would look, I thought they looked the part. Amazing the difference big fat slicks make.

There were two areas that somewhat spoiled the show for me. One was the incredibly tedious maneuvering that went on behind the pace car. It seemed to go on and on, but more importantly what I couldn't handle was the fiasco over the performance of the softer compound tyres, I always thought F1 was about hard racing, with some pit stop strategies thrown in for good measure. To watch drivers battling to stay within two to three seconds a lap of rivals, who they could normally outdrive every day of the week, lacked all credibility. This was Mickey Mouse stuff and not what F1 should be about. Apart from the potential safety risk of a driver over-driving to remain competitive! , it created a farcical situation and it should be stopped without further ado.

Having said all that, I still think that Australia was a breath of fresh air for Formula 1. Will I still think that when the Court hearings start on the 14th April in Paris over the diffusers. I don't know. Quite frankly, who really cares except a bunch of anoraks who find that sort of stuff turns them on. The fact of the matter is that a few designers did a better job than the rest. It's up to the others to catch up.

F1 has made a rod for its own back. It's shown us how entertaining it can be. Now it has to deliver again in Malaysia. So what might we expect to see this weekend? How about Force India on pole, Barichello docked points for having too wide a smile and Raikkonen taking over the TV commentary…………..You never know in F1!!!

Singapore hit by storm, more rain expected

Last night, Singapore was hit with a heavy tropical storm as heavy rain lashed the city state for more than six hours. Further downpours are expected thoughtout the remainder of the weekend which could make life for the drivers more difficult during the first ever night race in the history of Formula One.

Source: F1 Technical

Rafa Ready To Dent Blues

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez knows that Sunday's crucial meeting with Chelsea can contribute towards the outcome of the Premier League title race.

The Reds travel to London to take on their fierce rivals in determined mood as they aim to respond to critics who have already questioned their 2009/10 credentials.

Defeats to Tottenham and Aston Villa have already rocked Benitez's plans and allowed the doom-mongers to congregate around Anfield before August had come to an end.

But Liverpool have since stabilised in the league and their boss is adamant that there will still be plenty of ! twists in the battle for silverware as he aims to add pressure on Chelsea, who lost at Wigan last weekend.

Benitez told Sky Sports News: "It is always important when you play against the top sides because it can make a big difference.

"But you never know. It is important to do the right things and if you can win it is fantastic. If not, you have to keep going. It is an important game for both teams."

He added: "If we can win, it will be two defeats in a row for them. But my idea is always the same, it is a long race and there is still much to play."

Benitez heavily criticised his players in midweek following a comprehensive defeat at Fiorentina in the UEFA Champions League and he is expecting a reaction on Sunday.

But the former Valencia chief is also wary that Chelsea, who were unbeaten before their setback at Wigan, are looking to rediscover top gear.

He said: "Both teams will be desperate to win so we will! hopefully see a good game. You always have to go with the ide! a that y ou can win."

Benitez is set to renew rivalries with Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti on Sunday after twice crossing swords with the ex-AC Milan manager in UEFA Champions League finals.

Liverpool memorably got the better of Milan in 2005 in arguably the best European Cup final in history, however, Ancelotti's side gained revenge in 2007.

Benitez is therefore expecting another intriguing encounter with the Italian, saying: "It will be interesting because he is a great manager.

"We have played in the finals and, OK, it will be good to see him and hopefully we will see him again in another final.

"He knows how to manage a top side. He has experience at AC Milan where he did really well and here he is now doing a very good job with good players."

But Benitez - who has been critical in the past of the tactics from the Blues under former bosses Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant and Luiz Felipe Scolari - does not think Ancelotti! has had a radical impact.

When asked if he had noticed any difference in Chelsea's approach this season, he said: "Not too much. He has changed the shape of the team a bit, but the style of football is similar."

I Will Only Play For Spain If I Am 100 Per Cent - Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres has insisted that he will only play in Spain's final World Cup qualifier against Bosnia if he is 100 per cent fit and poured scorn on reports of a rift between Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez and the national team.

"I still have some discomfort and it will not be decided until Wednesday if I will play... Only if I'm OK I'll play," he told AS.

"The final decision depends on the coach. Along with the doctors, physios and myself, we decide what is best. Spain is qualified and this is not a time to take risks."

The striker pointed out that the absences of the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Carles Puyol and Xavi were in the best interests of the pla! yers, but he and Andres Iniesta had a chance to feature in the game and as a result stayed with the squad.

Daniel Guiza, Carlos Marchena and Xavi are all out through injury while Puyol is serving a suspension. Fabregas has been allowed to leave the squad for personal reasons.

"Xavi, [Carles] Puyol and Cesc have left because that was better for them. The coach decides. Andres and I are here because we have options to play."

"Rafa [Benitez] has been interested in my state, of course, because we have had a difficult month but he never pushed for me to leave."

"He spoke with doctors and they are in contact. I hope I am with amongst friends here. If I play, fine, if not, I have been very well cared for, working for Wednesday or for the weekend with my team [Liverpool]."

Liverpool Insiders Fear Fernando Torres May Quit Anfield

Liverpool fear another season of failure could spark Fernando Torres' departure from Anfield.

Nobody doubts the brilliant Spaniard's commitment to the Anfield cause. But since arriving from Atletico Madrid in a £20 million move 28 months ago even Torres' goal-scoring brilliance has not inspired the Reds to lift a trophy.

There is mounting concern that another barren campaign will prompt the striker's advisers to start pressing for a move to a more successful club.

That woul! d be a body-blow to the Anfield cause. A club insider said: "Fernando is a great lad and a fantastic player. We don't worry about his attitude but the issue will be if rival clubs start making it clear to his advisers that he can win more by joining them.

"He's hungry for success. We don't want to lose him."

Torres has scored 46 goals in 64 games for Liverpool. He is idolised by Liverpool fans and acknowledged as one of the world's finest strikers.

He also signed a new contract at Liverpool in August that ties him to the Anfield cause until 2013. But any hint that he is unfulfilled by life at Liverpool would be seized on by major rivals.

So far in his career the only club honour he's won is the Spanish Second Division title in 2002.

Lee Hyori Young Singer from Korea

Lee Hyori Young Singer from Korea

Show scored a success

From the Toronto Motorcycle Show

TORONTO, ON -- The Toronto Motorcycle Show is only three years old and is already considered a world class event. In December, it attracted almost 35,000 motorcycle enthusiasts to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from all over Ontario.

"Our exhibit space was sold out with a waiting list more than a month before show time. The Toronto Motorcycle Show is firmly established as Toronto's premiere industry event," said Sherri Verdec, show manager of the Toronto Motorcycle Show.

There were more than 125 exhibitors on the almost 200,000 square foot exhibit floor.

The 2005 edition of the Toronto Motorcycle Show returns to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from Friday, Dec. 2 to Sunday, Dec. 4.

Inside Motorcycles // www.insidemotorcycles.com

Taylor and LaVallee win

From WPSA Racing

GAYLORD, MI — After a long night on Saturday, and fighting ever-changing track conditions, Steven Taylor (Pro Open) and Levi LaVallee (Pro Stock) won their respective finals during Sunday's PowerSports Snowmobile Tour Michigan Snocross. The event was held on the ski slopes of the Otsego Club and Resort.

The duo also raced in the weather-delayed AMSOIL Duluth National, which was held on Saturday, as well as the early rounds of the Michigan Snocross, which followed the Duluth program, lasting until nearly 11pm. The Duluth event was postponed due to heavy fog.

Taylor (Blair Morgan Racing Team/Ski-Doo) traded the lead with teammate Dave Allard twice before running away with the Pro Open final, winning his second career national event and the first of the season. Allard (Blair Morgan Racing Team/Ski-Doo) finished second, ahead of Robbie Malinoski (Olah Racing/Arctic Cat).

"Our ! sleds are definitely the best out there," said Taylor. "I followed Dave around for a few laps, and copied a few of his lines. He lost a little bit of ground halfway through, and I passed him. It was great to be up front with a teammate and a friend."

Allard also finished on the podium in the Pro Stock final, grabbing third.

"I'm really, really happy," said Allard of his first Tour podiums. "Working with Blair Morgan Racing has been a great experience. This will give us good luck going forward."

LaVallee, who sat out most of last season with a knee injury, proved his recovery was complete, winning the Pro Stock final. LaVallee took the lead from Kurtis Crapo (Arctic Cat), after making accidental contact with Crapo. Carl Schubitzke (AMSOIL/Polaris) finished second, followed by Allard.

"As I popped off that jump, Kurtis came across in front of me, and I saw him while I was in the air," said LaVallee of the incident with Crapo. "I jus! t clipped the rear end of his sled as he was trying to jump. I! t was ju st an accident. I spoke with Kurtis afterward. He's a great guy and he understood."

Other winners were: Semi-Pro Open, Phil Johnson (Kowalski Racing/Ski-Doo); and Semi-Pro Stock, Willie Elam (Blair Morgan Racing Team/Ski-Doo).

Inside Motorcycles // www.insidemotorcycles.com

Is this the Greatest Week for Sports?

With all that has gone on in sports during this time of year I am curious and convinced that this is the greatest week of sports in any given year, please let me plead my case.

During the span of this week (or even past 8 days)

NCAA Final Four and National Championship
Major League Baseball Opening Day
NBA- teams making playoff push
The Masters starting on Thursday
WWE Wrestlemania this week
NCAA Hockey Frozen Four Tournament
Women's NCAA Final Four and Championship
NHL teams playing somewhere in colder climates
You could even make a case for NFL Draft conversation

With all of this activity I am convinced that this is the greatest week for sports. Your thoughts?

Moeller Star Griffin McKenzie Receives Offers from Xavier and Cincinnati

Griffin McKenzie, a 6'9 power forward out of Moeller high school, recently received scholarship offers from Xavier and Cincinnati. McKenzie was injured most of last year and averaged only 9.7 points per game in limited time. The senior to be also recently picked up offers from Tennessee and Wake Forest. Many sites have rated McKenzie as the #2 power forward in Ohio for the class of 2010 behind Adreian Payne.

I like Xavier's chances of getting McKenzie. They seem to do a good job of recruiting local talent, especially from the GCL (i.e. Josh Duncan, Johnny Wolf, etc.).

Steelers Week- Never Forget

All-Star Festivities

-Keefe

The Celtics have officially hit the All-Star break, and at a league's best 41-9 by the way. As promised here are a few quick thoughts about all of the festivities that take place during NBA All-Star Weekend. (Note: I am going to keep it regarding on the court activities, and not try to guess the next Adam "Pacman" Jones, although that could be fun too.) There are technically 6 different events, but I am only going to talk about 5, because the "shooting stars" is a waste of time for everyone involved. The schedule really gets going Friday night with the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge. You think we might see the D-Wade/ Barkley commercial a few times this weekend?

Rookie Challenge: The rookie roster (in order they were drafted this year): Kevin Durant (2nd), Al Horford (3rd), Mike Conley (4th), Jeff Green (5th), Yi Jianlian (6th), Sean Williams (17th), Juan Carlos Navarro (40th), Luis Scola (56th), and Jamario Moon (undrafted).
The roster starts out true to form with 5 of the top 6 players from this past June's draft with the notable omission of the injured Greg Oden. After that you can start to see where teams may have stumbled in the draft. Just because you don't make the rookie game after 50 games of your career doesn't mean you won't be a solid player, but chances are you won't be on the team that drafted you. As a Celtics fan I thought Glen Davis would find his way on this team (before he hurt his knee last night), but I can't take anyone of this list.

Sophomore team: Brandon Roy, Rajon Rondo, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Gay, Daniel Gibson, Paul Millsap, Andrea Bargnani, Jordan Farmer, and Ronnie Brewer.

Busy weekend for Gay (dunk), Gibson (3 point), and Roy (All-Star). It's not going to matter as the sophomores always win this game, and usually big. I expect the same. Prediction: Sophomores

Saturday Night

Skills Chall! enge: Jason Kidd (who knows what jersey he'll be wea! ring), D wayne Wade (Who's in your 5?), Deron Williams, and Chris Paul.

Williams is the only one making his first appearance in this skills game, and is the only one not playing in the game on Sunday. Kidd and Wade have both won it in the past. Not sure how you pick a winner here, but I'll go with one of the best players from the first half. Prediction: Chris Paul.

Three Point Shootout: Jason Kapono (defending champ), Peja Stojakovic (2-time champ), Steve Nash, and 3 first timers in Kobe Bryant, Rip Hamilton, and Daniel 'Boobie' Gibson.

Pretty good cast here featuring 3 All-Stars. I'm interested to watch Kobe in action in this event. I think Boobie and Rip both struggle in their first competition. In the end I think Kapono defends his crown, and earns some of that money he got to go to Canada. Prediction: Jason Kapono

Slam Dunk Contest: Gerald Green (defending champion), Dwight ! Howard, and 2 first timers in Rudy Gay and Jamario Moon.

Gerald is still in the league? Or did they just ask him back as the defending champ? Could he be the first player to win both the NBA and D-League slam dunk contest? Some people around here were reluctant to include Green in the KG deal. I'm not sure he'll even be in the league when his contract runs out. With all that said, he can dunk, and that's the point on Saturday night. Dwight Howard wants to move the hoop up to 12 feet. Why not let him? His height is going to once again hurt him. Gay has had some unbelievable in game dunks this year, and no one is really talking about him in this. Prediction: Rudy Gay

Sunday's All-Star Game:

East Starters: Jason Kidd (how does this work if he's in Dallas?), Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett (Doc will make a decision here), and Dwight Howard.

Reserves: Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh, Chauncey Billup! s, Richard Hamilton, Joe Johnson, Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler! (injure d), Rasheed Wallace (replacement), and Ray Allen (replacement).

West Starters: Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan, and Yao Ming.

Reserves: Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Amare Stoudemire, David West, Brandon Roy, Carlos Boozer, and Dirk Nowitzki.

Really not sure what the deal is with Jason Kidd, but point guard play goes a long way in these games and with Nash and Paul running the show for the West I like their chances. Similar teams from 2007 and I think its going to be a similar result. Prediction: West

I am looking forward to all of these events, and a great second half of the NBA season, particularly in the Western Conference.

The Sports Brief's MMA rankings 11.19.08

Heavyweight:

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
3. Brock Lesnar
4. Andrei Arlovski
5. Josh Barnett
6. Randy Couture
7. Tim Sylvia
8. Alistair Overeem
9. Frank Mir
10. Gabriel Gonzaga

Honorable mention: Shane Carwin, Ben Rothwell, Fabricio Werdum, Heath Herring, Chiek Kongo, Aleksander Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, Junior Dos Santos

What an impressive performance by Lesnar at UFC 91. At this point, you have to think that guys like Fedor, Nog and Mir have the best chance to take him down with their ability to win a fight off their back. Gonzaga had a solid showing, as well, and with his size, grappling and jiu-jitsu technique, perhaps he's on his way to another title challenge. Shane Carwin is a sleeper, as well. His striking may be more ferocious than Lesnar, but his wrestling, while credible, is not up to par. It'll be interesting to see how the UFC! develops him as a potential star. Nonetheless, the Fedor-Arlovski fight on the Affliction card should be a blockbuster.

Light Heavyweight:

1. Forrest Griffin
2. Quinton Jackson
3. Lyoto Machida
4. Wanderlei Silva
5. Rashad Evans
6. Maurcio 'Shogun' Rua
7. Chuck Liddell
8. Thiago Silva
9. Keith Jardine
10. Babalu Sobral

Honorable mention: Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Tito Ortiz, Vladimir Matyushenko, Brandon Vera, Luis Cane

Pretty cool that UFC 92 will feature four of The Sports Brief's top-5 light heavyweights in the world on the same card. Machida and Silva will finally touch gloves at UFC 94, with the winner potentially looking at a title shot in the near future. Shogun returns at UFC 93 against Mark Coleman, and there are rumblings about a Chuck Liddell-Anderson Silva fight headlining UFC 95 in London, England. A lot ! of activity in this division in the coming months as the top f! ighters are competing against each other. It'll be interesting to see how the division shakes out once the dust has settled.

Middleweight:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Matt Lindland
3. Dan Henderson
4. Rich Franklin
5. Robbie Lawler
6. Cung Le
7. Yushin Okami
8. Gegard Mousasi
9. Michael Bisping
10. Nathan Marquardt

Honorable mention: Denis Kang, Cael Sonnen, Paulo Filho, Frank Trigg, Patrick Cote, Frank Shamrock, Kazuo Misaki, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Thales Leites, Demian Maia, Chris Leben, Ricardo Almeida, Ronaldo Souza

The Anderson Silva-Patrick Cote was disappointing in how it ended, but I don't feel Silva should have caught that much flack. I interpreted his performance as slow and methodical, picking apart his opponent in Roy Jones like fashion (his idol, by the way). While it was unfortunate to see Cote injure his knee to end the fight, there's no doubt he wa! s on his way to a loss. Perhaps the most unfortunate part of all this is that he almost deserves a rematch because of the premature ending, something that I certainly don't want to see.
But the division is becoming more and more interesting. Lawler could potentially come over after EliteXC closed up shop, and Denis Kang has just been added to the mix fresh off a devastating knockout over "The man formerly known as the Beastman" Marvin Eastman.



Bisping and Maia seem in line for a contender clash, as well. Meanwhile, Henderson and Franklin will mix it up at 205. What does that do for anyone? Okami returns soon and will most likely be granted the next crack at Silva, but I don't see him winning that fight if he even gets it. And with the WEC folding, Cael So! nnen is now a name to be discussed. His win over Filho, howeve! r, is ta inted due to Filho showing up fat and disinterested.

Anyone see Mousasi kick the snot out of Ronaldo Souza? Look out for this guy. I'd be interested to see who he fights next.



Welterweight:

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Jake Shields
4. Thiago Alves
5. Josh Koscheck
6. Diego Sanchez
t-7. Matt Hughes
t-7. Matt Serra
9. Karo Parisyan
10. Carlos Condit

Honorable mention: Nick Thompson, Mike Swick, Marcus Davis, Drew Fickett, Jay Hieron

This weight class has been fairly inactive as of late aside from Thiago Alves destroying Josh Koscheck. But I'll tell you this: I became a huge Koscheck fan because of that fight. He took the fight on two ! weeks notice, took all that punishment but continued to come forward and scored some notable points against Alves. He had his moments and even appeared to hurt Alves at one point. And despite that convincing loss he's still headlining the Dec. 10 Fight Night against Yoshida. The St. Pierre-Penn fight is still a couple months away, and this division will continue to be fairly quiet for a while. Hopefully Jake Shields signs with the UFC. He's a legitimate threat to anyone in this division, especially the titleholder.

Lightweight:

1. BJ Penn
2. Eddie Alvarez
3. Joachim Hansen
4. Shinya Aoki
5. JZ Cavalcante
6. Takanori Gomi
7. Josh Thomson
8. Tatsuya Kawajiri
9. Sean Sherk
10. Kenny Florian

Honorable mention: Gilbert Melendez, KJ Noons, Nick Diaz, Victor Ribero, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta, Frankie Edgar

What an effort by Kenny Florian, and kudos ! to him for calling out BJ Penn. There's no one left in the div! ision fo r him to fight right now, not even Sean Sherk (at least not at the moment). The only unfortunate thing is that is will still be a long time before a fight with Penn happens, considering he is not fighting GSP until Super Bowl weekend.

Meanwhile, overseas where most of the lightweight talent is these guys all appear heading towards the K-1 New Years Eve event, where Hansen and Calvalcante are already scheduled to fight. Alvarez was supposed to fight Diaz on the Nov. 8 ShoXC event, but that was obviously scrapped. That would have been one hell of a fight. Suprisingly, Gomi lost a split decision to Johnny No Name last week, but we'll chalk that up to a bad night. He's still one of the best of the world.

Pound 4 Pound :

1. Anderson Silva
2. Fedor Emelianenko
3. Georges St. Pierre
4. BJ Penn
5. Miguel Torres
6. Forrest Griffin
7. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
8. Mike Brown
9. Quinton Jackson!
10. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar creeps in with his impressive performance over Couture, and honestly, the sky is the limit for this guy. Don't be surprised if he makes his way up this chart over the next year. Meanwhile, let's all welcome unheralded Mike Brown to the mix, as he pops in at number 8 on the list. His impressive destruction of former WEC featherweight champ and pound for pound elitist Urijah Faber was shocking to some, but somewhat expected by others. He was bigger, stronger and more powerful than the former champ, and up until he caught Faber with that short right, he had been dominating and controlling the fight. I interpreted Faber's ridiculous spinning back elbow as a somewhat desperate move, a sign that he realized it would take something spectacular and unordinary to chop down Brown.

Well there you have it. Let us know what you think and if we missed any fighters that you feel should be mentioned here. Chances are we may have,! but for the most part we think we've accounted for the best i! n the wo rld here.

-Bess

Manny & Ortiz Busted for Roids; Who Knew?

Well it shouldn't come as a major shock but Manny and Ortiz have surfaced on that "confindential" list of roughly 100 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs back in 2003. With all of the "leaks" and a pair of players coming clean, we've got I believe 7 players from that list. They are...

1. Alex Rodriguez

2. Jason Grimsley

3. David Segui

4. Sammy Sosa

5. Barry Bonds

6. Manny Ramirez

7. David Ortiz

I'm not going to try and finger point and predict the rest of the group. Although that could be entertaining. Rather just take a look at the rosters from the 2003 All-Star Game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Major_League_Baseball_All-Star_Game

What a crew!

-Keefe

Tottenham Hotspur 5 Burnley 0

The Premier League match report between Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley at White Hart Lane on Saturday Sept 26, 2009.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp kept faith with Robbie Keane, at White Hart Lane today, and the Irishman responded with four goals to lead Tottenham back to winning ways.

Peter Crouch, who scored a Carling Cup hat-trick in midweek, was dropped to make way for Keane and, after squandering an early chance, he responded with the goals that erased the recent memory of defeats by Manchester United and Chelsea.

Keane c! onverted an early penalty and, after Jermaine Jenas added a second goal, the former Liverpool striker became the third Spurs player to claim a hat-trick this season, following in the footsteps of Jermain Defoe and Crouch.

The game was just 11 minutes old when Keane allowed Brian Jensen, the Burnley goalkeeper to save when he should have scored.

Burnley, searching for their first away win in the top flight since 1976, responded when, three minutes later, David Nugent had an attempt blocked by Spurs goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini.

But with only 18 minutes played Spurs took the lead and, having a blatant penalty turned down last Sunday at Chelsea, they were awarded a spot kick. At Stamford Bridge, Keane was brought down by Ricardo Carvalho but he was denied a kick.

This time, Defoe had his legs taken by Burnley defender Andre Bikey and Keane converted the penalty, Spurs' first of the season, finding the bottom right ! hand corner.

Burnley were denied an equaliser in t! he 26th minute when Steve Fletcher beat Cudicini at his near post only to be ruled out by off-side, with replays suggesting the decision was harsh.

The pressure continued and Spurs added a second goal in the 33rd minute when Nico Kranjcar, making his Tottenham debut, had a shot blocked but Jenas met the rebound and scored when his shot took a deflection off Stephen Jordan's ankle.

Burnley remained buoyant, despite the score, and were denied a goal five minutes into the second half when Robbie Blake latched onto Tyrone Mears's cross but was denied by Cudicini.

But Spurs remained dangerous and when Keane fed Defoe, after 54 minutes, Jensen made another good save. But the striker injured his hand in falling and was replaced by Crouch.

Burnley continued to press and when Cudicini dropped Tyrone Mears' free kick, Robbie Blake stole in only to be denied by the left post.

However, in the 74th minute, Lennon set up K! eane for a delightful finish and, three minutes later, the Irishman scored his third and Spurs' fourth. The fifth came with three minutes remaining, when Keane put the ball through Jensen's legs.

Debrecen 0-4 Lyon

Lyon made it two wins from two in Group E of the Champions League as an irresistible first-half showing saw them coast past Debrecen.

Three unanswered goals in the opening 24 minutes - with Kim Kallstrom and Miralem Pjanic netting before Peter Czvitkovics beat his own goalkeeper - were enough to seal the win.

Bafetimbi Gomis' second-half strike merely provided the icing on the cake.

Lyon started the scoring with what was their first meaningful attack of the ! night, Kallstrom steering home a left-footed shot with only two minutes on the clock.

Pjanic claimed the assist from the corner flag, finding the Swede on the outside of the box as the Ligue 1 side cut through the home defence with ease.

Jozsef Varga and Czvitkovics tried in vain to make something happen for Debrecen but both men failed to find team-mates with hopeful crosses.

Almeida Leandro fouled Francois Clerc after 10 minutes to give Lyon another opportunity.

Kallstrom tried his luck from the free-kick but he did not seriously test Vukasin Poleksic.

The home side continued to concede fouls as they attempted to establish themselves as the more physically imposing side and it was from a 12th-minute indiscretion by Varga that the second goal came.

Sidney Govou was the man fouled but it was Pjanic who took the free-kick, stroking home from 25 yards out.

Leandro gave visiting Hugo Lloris a rare save to make after 17 minutes.

Kallstrom continued to cause problems in the home defen! ce and i t was his wicked cross from the right which forced Poleksic into a hasty save at the near post.

Lyon could not be restrained for long though and with just 23 minutes gone the margin was 3-0.

Pjanic was heavily involved in the build-up, but this time it was Czvitkovics who had the final touch, beating his own goalkeeper from 12 yards as things went from bad to worse for Debrecen.

The home fans did see some improvement in the latter stages of the first period, Zsolt Laczko and Zoltan Kiss both looking lively in attack and Czvitkovics attempting to atone for his own goal with a 34th-minute shot that represented his team's best effort to date.

Govou and Clerc both had chances to make it four but Bafetimbi Gomis was the man who did, striking left-footed into the roof of the net in the 51st minute.

Lyon cooled their attacking exploits after that goal, apparently content, but Gergely Rudolf forced a smart save from Lloris five minutes later.

Govou was by some distance his side's most lively player in the closing stages, frequently making inroads in the home defence and unleashing a handful of shots, two of which pressed Poleksic into action.

Rudolf and Kiss both had chances in the closing minutes to add a consolation, but Lloris was not unduly stretched.

Los Angeles Dodgers level series

An error-strewn eighth inning by the Philadelphia Phillies paved the way for the Los Angeles Dodgers to win 2-1.

The Dodgers have now pulled level in the National League Championship Series with a 2-1 win in Game Two at Dodger Stadium

Andre Ethier walked in the go-ahead run on a 3-2 pitch from JA Happ moments after second baseman Chase Utley's throwing error had pulled the Dodgers level.

Ryan Howard's home run for the Phillies in the fourth off Dodgers' starter Vicente Padilla was the ! only score in the game until the crazy eighth inning unfolded.

In a low-scoring encounter, most of the intrigue came from the match-up between Padilla and Phillies starting pitcher Pedro Martinez, both of whom were playing against their former teams.

Martinez pitched seven scoreless innings while Padilla allowed only Howard's homer over seven and one-third innings.

The best-of-seven series now moves east to Philadelphia for Game Three on Sunday.

With the experienced starting pitchers dominating, the tie was finally broken in the fourth when Howard hit an opposite-field home run off Padilla's curveball.

Chan Ho Park replaced Martinez in the eighth, and that was when the problems set in for the reigning World Series champions.

Russell Martin sent a double-play ball to third baseman Pedro Feliz, who got the man out at second base, but Utley made a hash of the relay to first, throwing into the crowd and allowing pinch-runner Juan Pierre! to score the game-tying run.

With Martin safe at first! , pinch- hitter Jim Thome hit a single before Rafael Furcal was walked by Ryan Madson. Happ then came on to face Ethier, who drew the bases-loaded walk to tee up the win.

Lizzie Armitstead wins second title at British National Track Cycling Championships

Lizzie Armitstead won her second title in two days with victory in the women's points race at the British National Track Cycling Championships in Manchester.

The 20 year-old from Otley, who won three medals at the World Championships in March, once again demonstrated her form before next week's Track World Cup at the same venue, adding the points title to her scratch win on Thursday.

The podium places were the same in both bunch races - Armitstead (Lotto Belisol) first, Hannah Mayho (100% ME) second and Dani King (Vision 1 Raci! ng) third.

In the men's points race, Olympic bronze medal winner Chris Newton (Rapha Condor) triumphed.

It was Newton's second title defence of the week, after his scratch race success, as he claimed the same double as Armitstead.

Andy Tennant (Team Halfords Bikehut) was second, and Jon Mould (Agiskoviner) was third.

The men's team sprint was won by Jamie Staff, Ross Edgar and Sir Chris Hoy - who were competing in Team Sky+HD colours as they prepare for next week's World Cup.

They clocked an impressive 43.759 seconds, with the North West Region - Matt Crampton, David Daniell and Christian Lyte - second in 45.170secs.

Halesowen won the women's team sprint, with Helen Scott and Jess Varnish clocking 34.946secs.

Chelsea 4 Bolton Wanderers 0

The Carling Cup game between Chelsea and Bolton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday Oct 28 2009.

If Chelsea were to follow the in-vogue trend for seeking stadium naming rights, they should simply change their stadium to Fortress Stamford Bridge after claiming a 10th straight home win and ninth of the season. They also extended their run without conceding a goal at home to an impressive 13 hours and two minutes.

Chelsea left some big hitters out! but still moved comfortably into the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup thanks to goals from Salomon Kalou, Florent Malouda, Deco and Didier Drogba to take their recent goal tally to 13 in three games, in three different competitions. This was a warning to the rest; whatever team Chelsea field in whatever competition they are in, they mean business.

Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, remained faithful to his promise to give striker Daniel Sturridge his first start since arriving from Manchester City, while Alex was back in defence after recovering from a groin strain in the summer.

Chelsea made a total of seven changes from the side that beat a Blackburn team suffering from an outbreak of swine flu on Saturday and Bolton Wanderers arrived with their manager Gary Megson admitting there had been ca! ses of the illness at his club.

That may have explai! ned the omission of John Terry, the Chelsea captain, who complained back in September that he had been spat at by Ivan Klasnic, playing for Croatia against England at Wembley.

Given the warning from the authorities, to Premier League players, to stop spitting to avoid the spread of the epidemic - and the fact that Klasnic was making only his third start since arriving on loan from Nantes, Terry was well out of the way.

Bolton made four changes from the side that won 3-2 against Everton, with goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi, an Omani international, given a rare opportunity ahead of Jussi Jaaskelainen. It was, in fact, Al Habsi's first start for Bolton for 17 months, when he featured in the last game of the 2007-08 season - at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea went into the game boasting a run of nine straight home wins, two short of the club record set in 2006, and had not conceded a goal at Stamford Bridge in 11 hours and 32 minutes prio! r to kick-off. Just one goal had beaten the Chelsea rear-guard all season, and given that Bolton had scored only seven away goals, the portents for an away win were not good.

And that possibility increased after just 15 minutes when they took the lead. With Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, who have scored 13 goals, rested, it fell to Salomon Kalou to claim his fourth goal of the season .

It was a simple goal: Paulo Ferreira crossed from the left and Kalou rose unchallenged to head into the top right hand corner. The Ivorian scored the winner in the previous round, against Queens Park Rangers, and his latest effort settled the nerves at Stamford Bridge.

Bolton tried to respond within a minute when Gretar Steinsson crossed from the right and the ball fell to Matt Taylor, whose shot was parried by Henrique Hilario but the goalkeeper struck his head on the ground and he needed lengthy treatment before continuing.

But just a few minutes later Hilario went down again, cl! early un able to continue, so allowing former Middlesbrough goalkeeper Ross Turnbull – the third choice at Stamford Bridge – to make his debut, after just 23 minutes.

And in the 26th minute Chelsea extended their advantage when Kalou fed Malouda, whose first touch bounced off Bolton defender Zat Knight before presenting the midfielder with the red boots with a simple finish.

Before the interval Al Habsi saved well from Kalou, with Sturridge completely missing the bounce from the rebound.

Both sides made interval changes with Bolton's Steinsson making way for Johan Elmander, and Chelsea replacing Kalou with Michael Essien.

And Chelsea wasted little time in threatening again, with Joe Cole's attempt not far off target. Juliano Belletti was allowed another chance that was squandered and Chelsea were given a reality jolt when, from Elmander's determination, Mark Davies saw a good attempt well blocked by Turnbull.

Then just before the hour mark, Sturridge had two chances to open his Chelsea account but the striker stabbed both efforts wide.

A third goal arrived in the 67th minute when Joe Cole crossed, substitute Drogba missed the ball, but Deco latched onto it before finding the bottom left hand corner. And in the final minute Drogba completed the rout.

Match details

Chelsea (4-1-2-1-2): Hilario; Belletti, Alex, Ivanovic, Ferreira; Deco; Ballack, Malouda; J Cole; Kalou (Essien ht), Sturridge (Drogba 62).
Subs: Turnbull, Lampard, Matic, Bruma, Borini.
Bolton Wanderers (4-5-1): Al Habsi; Ricketts, Cahill, Knight, Samuel; Steinsson (Elmander ht), Muamba, M Davies, Taylor (Basham 65), Gardner; Klasnic.
Subs: Jaaskelainen (g), Robinson, Cohen, Lee, A O'Brien.
Referee: A Marriner (W Midlands).

Davydenko marches on

Second seed Nikolay Davydenko remained on course for his fifth ATP Tour title after a straight-sets win over Juan Monaco.

The 28-year-old Russian took one hour and 42 minutes to see off the world number 30, coming through 6-3 7-5 at the Valencia Open.

It was not all plain sailing for the world number seven though, who committed four double-faults in the second set. He now takes on Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the quarter-finals.

In the first match of the day on! the Agora court, Russia's Mikhail Youzhny overcame Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas in three sets.

The 27-year-old world number 23 won a topsy-turvy match 6-2 2-6 6-1 in one hour and 34 minutes in the pair's first ATP Tour encounter.

Youzhny will now take on Frenchman Gilles Simon, seeded fifth, in the last eight.

Top seed Andy Murray faces Argentina's Leonardo Mayer tonight.

Who Will Win The South Africa World Cup 2010?

by Tim Lefoe

The World Cup 2010 is now only less than a year away with the qualifying campaigns coming to an end soon. Thus, it might be the best time to see who has done well and who might struggle. With the finalised teams to be decided once the playoffs are done, some of the eventual qualifiers could be considered as trophy favourites.
When trying to decide who might have the best chance of becoming champions, one of the first factors to consider would be the World Cup's location. The 2010 edition marks a landmark event as it will be the first time the competition is hosted in Africa. This could be a boost for African teams while those from Europe and the Americas could face travel fatigue.

The same could have been said when the tournament was first held in Asia in 2002. The end result was more of the same as the European and South American teams continued to dominate. But African teams have continued to evolve since then and are now a serious t! hreat to countries from the two main continents in football.

Of those who have already booked their place in the finals, only Spain and Brazil would be considered likely finalists. Spain have continued where they left off after winning Euro 2008 despite a hiccup during the recent Confederations Cup. That minor setback could prove to be a blessing in disguise as the Spanish now know what mistakes to avoid.

Brazil have outlived a difficult early period during Dunga's time in charge and now look increasingly the best team in the world. Their recent win over Argentina signaled their strong intention to run roughshod over the rest of the competition to claim the title. Whenever the Brazilians have managed to marry their natural talent with modern organisation as they are doing now, they have always come out on top.

Apart from these two representatives from each of the dominant continents, there are few who have also caught the eye. England, Holla! nd and Ivory Coast should be the next heavyweights to join Spa! in and B razil in the confirmed list of countries. But none of them have shown the consistent and fearsome form that the latter two have brought fans in the past year.

Until the dust settles down with the final group of countries who have guaranteed their place in the finals, the best choice for the likely 2010 World Cup winner would be Brazil. Their current form is hard to ignore and the country continues to produce top football talent. If the manager Dunga can keep his players motivated and at the peak of their powers, there will be few teams who could actually stop them from a date with destiny.

About the Author
Tim Lefoe is a writer with The Soccer Show where news and previews of the latest football matches all over the world are provided. You may also get to watch live football online via the site to keep up with the latest World Cup action.

Crotone:subito in campo

Fonte:fccrotone.it

Reduci dal brillante pareggio in casa del Frosinone, il Crotone di Franco Lerda svolgerà questa mattina una leggera seduta di allenamento presso la sede del ritiro laziale, dopo di che partirà alla volta di Crotone. Nel gruppo anche Ettore Mendicino e Andrea Mazzarani, tornato dall'Egitto.

Ma sono in... CHAMPIONS?!?!

fonte: www.goal.com

Urbano Cairo è perplesso. E ne approfitta per punzecchiare la Juventus. Dopo aver saputo degli spettatori bianconeri presenti martedì contro il Bordeaux (1000 in meno rispetto al Toro in Serie B), il presidente granata ha dichiarato: "Tiriamo più della Champions...".

La designazione

di Massimo Scavello
Fonte:fccrotone.it

Sarà il signor Daniele Doveri della sezione di Roma 1 a dirigere Crotone-Vicenza. Il fischietto laziale sarà coadiuvato dai signori Italiani di L'Aquila, Ponzioni di Avezzano e Giallanza di Catania (quarto uomo). I precedenti col signor Doveri: Crotone-Sorrento 2-0 (Lega Pro 2008/2009); Crotone-Juve Stabia 2-1 (Lega Pro 2008/2009); Empoli-Crotone 3-1 (Serie B 2009/2010). Un solo precedente col Vicenza: Vicenza-Gallipoli 2-2 (Serie B 2009/2010).

Juventus: probabile formazione

di Dario Rosella

Restano a casa e quindi saltano la gara con la Fiorentina Tiago e gli infortunati Marchisio, Salihamidzic e Del Piero. In difesa davanti a Buffon Zebina è preferito a Grygera, con Cannavaro (archiviato il caso "puntura d'ape") e Chiellini coppia centrale dopo la deludente prova di Legrottaglie a Palermo e Grosso in fascia a sinistra, ancora una volta titolare a dispetto delle buone prove di Molinaro. A centrocampo uomini sostanzialmente contati con Camoranesi, Melo, Pou! lsen (in vantaggio su Sissoko per una maglia da titolare) che formeranno la diga dietro al fantasista Diego. In attacco altra chance per Amauri preferito ancora a Trezeguet e Iaquinta, sottoposto ad un vero e proprio tour de force.

LA GRANDE SORPRESA DEL MATCH CON IL GALLIPOLI

Di Pasquale Campanella
Fonte: forum triestina

Hottor: «Devo essere più veloce»

«Le parole del tecnico mi hanno dato fiducia e la carica giusta»

TRIESTE Un sorriso così pieno, ricco del calore della sua terra, così genuino e carico di entusiasmo è qualcosa che non nel dopo partita di una gara della Triestina mancava da tempo. Quel sorriso è frutto dell'innocenza, della forza, della spavalderia di una età, sedici anni, in cui molti dei suoi coetanei si cim! entano ancora con gli studi, con i primi amori, più che con il calcio ai massimi livelli. Edmund Etse Hottor però è fatto così: è nato per stupire. Classe 1993, al tredicesimo minuto della gara giocata dalla Triestina con il Gallipoli ha fatto il suo debutto tra i professionisti, con una grinta ed una autorevolezza tipica di chi sa di essere solo alla prima chance in un mondo difficile, abile a bruciare i giovani, quale quello del calcio italiano. Maglia numero quattordici sulle spalle, scelta forse non casuale, Hottor ha giocato una gara interessante dando battaglia al veloce francesino Mounard o all'esperto D'Aversa, tosti centrocampisti del Gallipoli, in mezzo al campo. La spavalderia non gli manca, come dimostra il tiro al volo dal limite dell'area con cui per poco non realizzava il due a zero nel corso della ripresa. Dice di lui Mario Somma: «Hottor merita un capitolo a parte: ha giocato con una serenità tale da sembrare un veterano. Chiunque vedendolo poteva pensare f! osse un giocatore di provata esperienza, ed invece è solo all'! inizio. Sono orgoglioso di averlo fatto esordire, pur considerando le tante assenze e le imperfette condizioni di Gorgone, però ha dimostrato di poterci stare. Complimenti alla società per averlo scoperto, nelle prossime gare verranno a vederlo in molti e questo significa che intendo farlo giocare anche in futuro». Il giocatore ovviamente non sta nella pelle: «Ringrazio il mister che mi ha dato l'opportunità di esordire nel campionato di serie B. E' stato un po' difficile all'inizio però poi ho trovato il ritmo partita». Hottor ha nascosto bene sul campo la sua emozione: «La fiducia di Somma, le sue parole mi hanno dato la carica giusta ». La vittoria ovviamente ha fatto la sua parte: «Tre punti fondamentali per noi. Personalmente non so cosa cambierà per me ma spero di trovare ancora spazio, di poter giocare ancora. Mi dispiace solo non essere riuscito ad insaccare quel tiro nella ripresa, ma quella palla andava calciata così, di prima». La differenza di passo, rispetto al torneo P! rimavera, non è sfuggita a Hottor: «Devo imparare ad essere più veloce nelle giocate, ma questo è solo l'inizio, devo solo allenarmi bene per prendere confidenza con i compagni e con il passo del campionato».

#012 Highlight della 17a giornata

Essere una delle big 3 è un bel problema: costrette a vincere, a confermarsi per non perdere terreno dalla capolista, a essere al centro delle polemiche quando l'arbitro o la terna non fa degnamente il suo lavoro. Sono loro , Inter, Milan e Juve, le tre protagoniste della giornata anche se non mancano i risultati interessanti per la graduatoria. Vediamo cosa è accaduto:

Atalanta – Juventus 1-3: La solita Atalanta capace in casa di dare anima e corpo impatta contro il muro bianconero del tandem Del Piero – Amauri abile a sfruttare le poche occasioni disponibili per portare a casa il bottino pieno. In casa nerazzurra si rivede Vieri con una certa continuità, in casa bianconera si taglia il panettone forse più dolce dopo Calciopoli.

Cagliari – Reggina 2-0 : Bruciante vantaggio di Acquafresca che trafigge al primo la difesa del neo coach Pillon. La squadra granata ha il merit! o di non demordere e raggiunge il pari su uno dei rigore più goffi della storia del calcio.

Catania – Roma 3-2 : Primo tempo da dimenticare per Spalletti: la sua squadra non capisce più nulla e Morimoto sembra Pelè in mezzo agli attoniti difensori giallorossi. La ripresa è una rincorsa al pareggio ma l'ennesimo infortunio di Totti e l'eccessivo nervosismo non aiutano la causa e la sconfitta è servita. Pessimo spettacolo all' uscita dal campo che come previsto diventa troppo presto una bolgia.

Chievo Vr. - Genoa 0-1 : Certo che il mondo è ingiusto. La squadra veronese fa la partita, il Genoa è ampiamente rimaneggiato e tenta la via del contropiede. Un palo, una partita in superiorità assoluta per i veneti, ma all'89° Oliveira li punisce eccessivamente. Per Di Carlo la situazione ora è disperata.

Lazio – Palermo 1-0 : L'! ambiente laziale è un pullulare di polemiche: serve una perla ! dell' uo mo più rappresentativo, Rocchi per decidere il match. Qualche decisione dubbia alimenta tuttavia la causa cospirazionista di Zamparini.

Sampdoria – Fiorentina 0-1: Sono tornati i viola dell'anno scorso. Capaci di vincere fuori dal Franchi, magari di rapina come oggi ma con la concretezza della squadra di vertice. La Samp le prova tutte ma serve qualche intervento sul mercato per evitare brutte sorprese e puntare in alto.

Lecce- Bologna 0-0: Ad animare la partita ci pensa il vento. Per il resto calma piatta. Ai punti forse meriterebbe di più la squadra di Beretta. Sicuramente non è una partita che resterà nella storia.

Siena – Inter 1-2: Peggior vittoria della capolista che conquista i tre punti letteralmente "di rapina" per un goal di Maicon in kilometrica posizione di fuorigioco. La brutta figura è dovuta però al gran gioco! senese, capace di rispondere con facilità allo sterile attacco nerazzurro di un Ibrahimovic in giornata decisamente negativa. Speriamo che le feste portino ai campioni d'Inverno il gioco che in molti si aspettano.

Milan – Udinese 5-1: Il Milan con il Golden Boy in tribuna, passeggia contro i friulani troppo imbarazzanti in difesa. Agli uomini di Ancelotti gira tutto decisamente bene e anche qualche leggerezza del reparto difensivo passa nel silenzio rispetto alle grida "di dolore" dei supporter bianconeri. Marino ora rischia davanti all' inconsistenza della sua squadra.

Torino – Napoli 1-0: Non voglio critiche, non voglio discussioni. Dio salvi Novellino! Oggi mi sono concentrato sul match dell' Olimpico. Diciamo non grande match ma in campo una squadra delle due puntava decisamente ai tre punti e Bianchi con Dzemaili sono stati ambasciatori di questa causa. Un Natale pi! ù sereno in casa granata.

#102 TotoCronista Evento 10

Martedì, parallelamente al turno infrasettimana di B si è giocato l'evento 10 del Toto-Cronista, il gioco di questo blog.

Fa il botto Eva Lenti che centra l'intera scaletta. Ci chiediamo come ci sia riuscita per la seconda volta consecutiva! Una vera fan!

Ecco la classifica di giornata
1 Eva Lenti 38
2 RaiBobo 26
3 Emanuele Borsatto 22
4 Andrea P. 20
5 Stefano Stradotto 18
6 Minuto x Minuto 18
7 Lele Pinto 16
8 Francesco Del Giudice 15 *

* Non ci è pervenuto alcun pronostico, questo risultato è assegnato come da regolamento.

Ecco la generale
1 Eva Lenti 31,22222222
2 RaiBobo 29,5
3 Emanuele Borsatto 25,4
4 Stefano Stradotto 24,7
5 Francesco Del Giudice 246 Minuto x Minuto 19
7 Lele Pinto 16,9
8 Andrea P. 16,2

Clicca qui per il prospetto completo di questo turno di campionato

SuperSintesi della 37a di A e 41a di B

Palinsesto della nuova stagione

RaiBobo torna in pista dopo la pausa.
Ecco il palinsesto per la nuova stagione

DOMENICA: Convocazioni (le convocazioni delle singole partite verranno fatto sulla pagina fan su Facebook, domenica troverete il riassunto di tutte le cronache della settimana). Fanno eccezione le puntate infrasettimanali di Tutto il calcio.

LUNEDI': Sintesi della giornata prodotta da RaiBobo e Highlights Serie A di Lele Pinto

MARTEDI': Highlights Serie B e C di Lele Pinto e MinutoxMinuto Serie A di Marco D'Alessandro

MERCOLEDI': Memories di RaiBobo

GIOVEDI': Toto-Cronista di Raibobo e Minuto x MInuto Serie B o coppe Europee di Ma! rco D'Alessandro

VENERDI': SuperClassifica di RaiBobo

SABATO: Monografie di Lele Pinto. A seguire uno speciale di avvicinamento a Sud Africa 2010.

Tutto il calcio n°10

Tutto il Calcio Serie B
Giornata 6
(Martedì 22/09 ore 20.45)
Conduce: Filippo Corsini

1 Torino - Padova Livio Forma
2 Ascoli - Cesena Giuseppe Bisantis
3 Frosinone - Reggina Emanuele Dotto
4 Brescia - Sassuolo Giovanni Scaramuzzino
5 Gallipoli - Ancona Enzo Del Vecchio
6 Modena - Empoli Antonio Monaco
7 Cittadella - Vicenza Massimo Zennaro
S Crotone - Grosseto STUDIO
S Mantova - Albinoleffe STUDIO
S P! iacenza - Salernitana STUDIO
S Triestina - Lecce STUDIO

Aspettando Sud Africa 2010

Cari lettori, questa settimana rivisiteremo le vicende del sesto Mondiale di calcio svoltosi in Svezia dall'8 al 29 Giugno 1958 e che vide trionfare per la prima volta il Brasile.

Le città che ospitarono l'evento furono: Boras, Eskilstunas, Goteborg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Malmo, Norrkoping, Orebro, Sandviken, Stoccolma, Uddevalla, Vasteras.

Fu un mondiale con tante assenze importanti che finirono per favorire quella che alla fine si rivelerà la! squadra più forte.

L'Italia dopo le deludenti prestazioni nelle edizioni precedenti, in Brasile e Svizzera, mancò addiritura l'appuntamento con la fase finale del Mondiale, per la prima volta nella sua storia. A beffarla fu l'Irlanda del Nord che sconfisse per 2-1 gli azzurri nella sfida decisiva a Belfast.

Non si qualificò neppure l'Uruguay che si lasciò travolgere dal Paraguay nelle qualificazioni. L'Ungheria nonostante si trovasse nel lotto delle qualificate, si ritrovò irrimediabilmente provata dalla rivoluzione scoppiata nel 1956.

In Svezia approdarono 16 squadre che furono divise in quattro giorni da quattro squadre ciascuno. Solo due furono i continenti rappresentati, infatti parteciparono 4 squadre americane e 12 europee. Per la prima volta partecipò l'Urss ed il Galles che, con Irlanda del! Nord, Scozia ed Inghilterra, andò a completare il lotto delle! naziona li britanniche.

Il Brasile vinse senza faticare troppo: le avversarie più temibili, l'Inghilterra e la Germania Ovest, furono eliminate una al primo turno, l'altra in semifinale dalla forte Svezia del trio Gre-No-Li (Gren-Nordhal, Liedholm). La finale, disputata a Stoccolma, vide i padroni di casa passare in vantaggio per poi subire la rimonta dei brasiliani tra le cui file militava il grande Pelè (allora diciasettenne). Terza arrivò la Francia di Just Fontaine.

Le partecipanti: Argentina, Austria, Brasile, Cecoslovacchia, Francia, Galles, Germania Ovest, Inghilterra, Irlanda del Nord, Jugoslavia, Messico, Paraguay, Scozia, Svezia, Ungheria, Urss.

Fase a gruppi:

Girone A: Germania Ovest-A! rgentina 3-1, Irlanda del Nord-Cecoslovacchia 1-0, Argentina-Irlanda del Nord 3-1, Germania Ovest-Cecoslovacchia 2-2, Germania Ovest-Irlanda del Nord 2-2, Cecoslovacchia-Argentina 6-1.

Spareggio: Irlanda del Nord-Cecoslovacchia 2-1 d.t.s.

Classifica: Germania* 4; Irlanda del Nord* e Cecoslovacchia 3; Argenina 2. (*qualificate ai quarti di finale)

Girone B: Francia-Paraguay 7-3, Jugoslavia-Scozia 1-1, Jugoslavia-Francia 3-2, Paraguay-Scozia 3-2, Francia-Scozia 2-1, Paraguay-Jugoslavia 3-3.

Classifica: Francia* e Jugoslavia* 4; Paraguay 3; Scozia 1. (* qualificate ai quarti di finale)

Girone C: Svezia-Mess! ico 3-0, Ungheria-Galles 1-1, Messico-Galles 1-1, Svezia-Unghe! ria 2-1, Svezia-Galles 0-0, Ungheria-Messico 4-0.

Spareggio: Galles-Ungheria 2-1.

Classifica: Svezia* 5; Galles* ed Ungheria 3; Messico 1. (* qualificate ai quarti di finale)

Girone D: Brasile-Austria 3-0, Urss-Inghilterra 2-2, Brasile-Inghilterra 0-0, Urss-Austria 2-0, Inghilterra-Austria 2-2, Brasile-Urss 2-0.

Spareggio: Urss-Inghilterra 1-0.

Classifica: Brasile* 5; Urss* ed Inghilterra 3; Austria 1. (*qualificate ai quarti di finale)

Quarti di finale: Francia-Irlanda del Nord 4-0, Svezia-Urss 2-0, Brasile-Galles 1-0, Germania Ovest-J! ugoslavia 1-0.

Semifinali: Francia-Brasile 2-5, Germania Ovest-Svezia 1-3.

Finale 3° posto: Germania Ovest-Francia 3-6

Finale 1° posto: Svezia-Brasile 2-5. Marcatori: 4° Liedholm, 9° e 32° Vavà, 55° Pelè, 68° Zagallo, 80° Simonsson, 90° Pelè. Arbitro: Guigue (Francia)

Ecco il Brasile Campione del Mondo: Gilmar, Bellini, Djalma Santos, Didi, Zagallo, Pelè, Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Orlando, Zito, Vavà, Castilho, Dino, Oreco, Zozimo, Moacir, De Sordi, Mauro, Joel, Josè Altafini, Dida, Pepe. Allenatore: Vicente Feola

Capocannoni! ere: Just Fontaine della Francia con 13 reti.

Cari amici, con questo è tutto. Appuntamento a sabato prossimo con le vicende del Mondiale del 1962. Buon week-end a tutti!

Real Marcina

Fontana
Burdisso
Juan
Barzagli
Sissoko
Pizarro
Vieira
Montolivo
Lucarelli
Tavano
Quagliarella

Castellazzi
Gamberini
Motta
Ambrosini
Santana
Lavezzi
Pazzini

ALBUM RICORDI

In linea con la mia filosofia di giocare accompagnando le vittorie con un sano e simpatico sfottò, vorrei dedicare queste 5 foto a Celestino Campopiano ma soprattutto a Rockerduck Piero Pancrazio. E ovviamente a chi spera ogni anno in un flop dell'Armata. E chi s'offende è fetente.

PATO, per poco non passava alla PPP. Meno male che Piero ha rifiutato. Bastavano solo 20, inutili crediti d'autunno. Momento cappello per Rockerduck Pancrazio.

Il gol di KAKA'? Quando la palla è antrata all'incrocio, in quel preciso momento, Celeste ha imitato Piero e si è mangiato un cappello. Momento Rockerduck per Celeste.





La terza foto è per il capitano di questa squadra: CASERTA. Dopo l'infelice parentesi alla corte della Tofa eccolo li nella sua Armata rende sempre bene: 2 partite due gol. Ringraziamo Campos per averlo lasciato tornare nell'Armata.



La quarta foto è per MILITO. Inizialmente in panchina è poi entrato per l'assenza di Mutu. Giocatore per il quale il presidente stava per sacrificare anche il gioiellino Pato. Investiti 113 crediti per lui dopo cessioni importanti.



Infine una foto di stima per FRANCESCHINI, pagato 1 credito. Gol in panchina. Ma se Santana non avesse giocato sarebbe entrato lui, rendendo ancora più rotondo il risultato.




E l'allentaore dell'Ar! mata dice: "Non sono sorpreso. Se giochiamo bene possiamo ! ottenere buoni risultati. Adesso pensiamo alla partita di mercoledi. Ma quest'anno l'obiettivo è il terzo posto".

A&J formazione ufficiale

E vediamo se vinciamo (mannaggia salerno)...ma tutti i miei giocatori che fine hanno fatto?

Navarro
Carrozzieri
Manfredini
Ferrari
Criscito (c)
Dzemali
Muntari
Galloppa
Succi
Castillo
Martinez

Handanovic
Siviglia
Bellini
Nocerino
Bellucci
Russotto
Denis

MERCATO

Siccome Piero non mi risponde e se Piero (come al solito) non mi risponde, io non posso fare i conti...vi chiedo la cortesia a tutti quelli che hanno fatto mercato venerdì...di scrivermi nei commenti a questo post i vostri acquisti e le vostre cessioni...altrimenti addio conti...
p.s. Se poi qualcuno di voi fosse così gentile se non partecipo io al mercato di segnarsi i "movimenti" su un foglio e di farmeli avere la prossima volta, ve ne sarei grato.
Siamo il Fanta più egoista del mondo.
Il presidente

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This famous 1996 contest was entertaining, but any match with such poor defenses will lack a crucial degree of credibility.










I have fond memories of watching this classic with Gregers & Trond in Singapore...-Ed.