SPANISH CUP 2009-2010 WEDNESDAY RESULTS

Lakers Clip the Hawks

It was a total team effort last night as the Lakers cruised to a 96-83 victory. The Lakers got back in the win column last night. L.A. coasted as the Lakers had a 25 point lead at the end of the third quarter. Six Lakers scored in double figures led by Lamar Odom with 15 points and 20 rebounds. Fisher had 14 and Kobe had a season low 10 points. Pau Gasol put together a triple double with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. The Lakers got 37 points off the bench led by Trevor Ariza and Jordan Farmar with 10 apiece. The Lakers starters were able to sit out the entire 4th quarter and watch the game. The Ha! wks appeared overmatched all night. L.A. took advantage of their significant size advantage inside. Atlanta was led by Joe Johnson with 14 and Josh Smith with 13.

The Lakers don't have much time to enjoy this win as they play Golden State tonight at 10:30pm. This should be an easy win for L.A. as the Warriors are not that talented and should be rusty from the long layoff.

The Ryan Blunder

Every rookie manager knows that swapping goalkeepers in and out unsettles a team. It might not make sense, but it does. (You're also, of course, disrupting the back four and your centre-halves in particular). There's a pretty good reason why you don't mess around with these things. Changing keepers is a big deal.

Ryan forgot that and thought he could reinvent the game. Serves him right then that the USA were humiliated 4-0 and that Briana Scurry, appropriately, had a shocker.

Sky Blue select team to host China

Sky Blue Soccer announced today that the Bedminster, NJ-based company will be assembling a select team to play against the Women's National Team of China in an international friendly match. The Sky Blue Select team will host China on Tuesday, June 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Yurcak Field on the campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, NJ.

College Women's 2006 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List

Women's 2006 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List:
Danesha Adams, M, Jr., UCLA;
Melanie Booth, D, Sr., Florida;
Laura Boyer, K, Jr., Marquette;
Jen Buczkowski, M, Sr., Notre Dame;
Ali Christoph, M, Sr., Tennessee;
Niki Cross, F, Sr., Connecticut;
Marian Dalmy, D, Sr., Santa Clara;
Holly Gault, D, Sr., Kansas;
Laura Georges, D, Sr., Boston College;
Tyler Griffin, K, Sr., Vanderbilt;
Kerri Hanks, F, So., Notre Dame;
Valerie Henderson, K, Jr., UCLA;
Christina Huang, D, Sr., Yale;
Ali Krieger, M, Sr., Penn St.;
Sel Kuralay, F, Jr., Florida St.;
Stephanie Lopez, D, Jr., Portland;
Heather O'Reilly, F, Sr., UNC;
Ashlee Pistorius, F, Jr., Texas A&M;
Megan Rapinoe, M, So., Portland,;
Amy Rodriguez, F, So., USC;
Becky Sauerbrunn, M, Jr., Virginia;
Brittany Timko, F, Sr., Nebraska;
India Trotter, M, Sr., Florida St.;
Sue Weber, D, Jr.! , Hofstra;
Angie Woznuk, M, Jr., Portland.

FIA reveals evidence that led to penalty

By Jonathan Noble Friday, September 14th 2007, 13:36 GMT

The FIA has published accounts of "systematic" contact between McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan and Ferrari's Nigel Stepney - evidence that led the governing body to severly penalise the Woking-based team.

In a 14-page document issued at the Belgian Grand Prix, the FIA details how the World Motor Sport Council reached its verdict at its hearing on Thursday.

As was expected, the evidence revolves around an email exchange between McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa and world champion Fernando Alonso, plus logs of calls and SMS messages between Coughlan and Stepney.

In the emails, extracts of which have been published, de la Rosa talks about information coming from Stepney.

On March 21 de la Rosa wrote an email to Coughlan stating: "Hi Mike, do you know the Red Car's Weight Distribution? It would be important for us to know so that we could try it in the sim! ulator. Thanks in advance, Pedro.

"P.S. I will be in the simulator tomorrow."

Coughlan replied to that email with a text message with the details that were required, although in the end those settings were not tried out.

On March 25 de la Rosa then sent an email to Alonso setting out Ferrari's weight distribution to two decimal places on each of Ferrari's cars for the Australian Grand Prix.

Alonso then replied under a section headed Ferrari: "Its weight distribution surprises me; I don't know either if it's 100 percent reliable, but at least it draws attention."

De la Rosa then replied: "All the information from Ferrari is very reliable. It comes from Nigel Stepney, their former chief mechanic - I don't know what post he holds now. He's the same person who told us in Australia that Kimi was stopping in lap 18. He's very friendly with Mike Coughlan, our Chief Designer, and he told him that."

The evidence then ! details emails from de la Rosa discussing a flexible wing, aer! o balanc e, tyre gas, Ferrari's braking system and the team's stopping strategy.

Furthermore, the FIA examined reports from the Italian police of call logs between Coughlan and Stepney.

The evidence said: "In total, at least 288 SMS messages and 35 telephone calls appear to have passed between Coughlan and Stepney between 11 March 2007 and 3 July 2007."

The World Motor Sport Council found that:

"- Coughlan had more information than previously appreciated and was receiving information in a systematic manner over a period of months;

"- the information has been disseminated, at least to some degree (e.g. to Mr. De la Rosa and Mr. Alonso), within the McLaren team;

"- the information being disseminated within the McLaren team included not only highly sensitive technical information but also secret information regarding Ferrari's sporting strategy;

"- Mr de la Rosa, in the performance of his functions at McLaren, ! requested and received secret Ferrari information from a source which he knew to be illegitimate and expressly stated that the purpose of his request was to run tests in the simulator;

"- the secret information in question was shared with Mr. Alonso;

"- there was a clear intention on the part of a number of McLaren personnel to use some of the Ferrari confident information in its own testing. If this was not in fact carried into effect it was only because there were technical reasons not to do so;

"- Coughlan's role within McLaren (as now understood by the WMSC) put him in a position in which his knowledge of the secret Ferrari information would have influenced him in the performance of his duties."

An Epic begins

The fifth edition of the Absa Cape Epic is underway.
Pre-race favourites Kevin Evans and David George from Team MTN, blasted away from the rest of the field to win the prologue stage, 17 kilometres at the Pezula Golf Estate, by 57 seconds.
Hardly any climbing today, but tomorrow's first stage from Knysna to George will see 3091 metres of climbing.
The ladies Trek team of Americans Susan Haywood and Jennifer Smith have also grabbed a lead.
The 8 stage race finishes at Lourensford, in Somerset West, next week Saturday.

Video fly-though of the 2008 Absa Cape Epic Prologue


Video fly-though of stage 1 of the 2008 Absa Cape Epic

The Stormers' Bok Hopefuls

The performance of the Stormers against the Brumbies at Newlands on Saturday has either cemented or placed a number of players in contention for a place in Peter de Villiers' Springbok squad.

The stand-out players for me on Saturday were the midfield pairing of Jean de Villiers and Gcobani Bobo. De Villiers led from the front and put in a man-of-the-match performance and should be the Bok coach's preferred choice at inside centre.

Bobo for me has been solid this season, maybe not as glamorous on attack as his partner, but silky passes and rock-solid defence has been a feature of his resurgence at the ! Stormers this year. His line break which led to his captain's try against the Brumbies might just be enough for him to get a re-call to the Springbok squad.

Luke Watson, Andries Bekker, Peter Grant, Conrad Jantjes and the hooking duo of Schalk Brits and Tiaan Liebenberg won't be far off Peter de Villiers' mind either.

SA Comrades winner?

There's a good chance of a South African winner in this year's Comrades Marathon according to Runner's World editor, Mike Finch. He says the Russian runners, who are very strong on the 'up run' from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, will face a strong challenge from the South Africans this year.

Finch believes the Comrades runner to watch on Sunday, from a South African point of view, is Brian Zondi. "I think Brian Zondi on the last 'up run' was probably the biggest surprise. He went away from the field about 30km into the race and almost held on for a surprise victory."

Meanwhile the women's race could see another Russian blitz with favourites, twins Elena and Olesya Nugalieva, expected to dominate.

Organisers are hoping for a memorable, but safe race this year, after two deaths tainted last year's event. This year's Comrades theme is 'the definition of self' and organisers say it's not just a race, but a journ! ey that defines runners, and either makes or breaks them.

Breakfast Headlines

Springbok captain John Smit is back in SA, but not before making his feelings very clear to the media in Wellington, about the incident with Brad Thorn. An angry Smit said had Bakkies Botha done the same to Richie McCaw, it would have brought world rugby to a standstill, and he added that someone who was not from New Zealand did not seem to enjoy the same rights in the game as a player in the All Blacks.

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WP coach Alister Coetzee meanwhile will resist the temptation to rest his main players against Griquas in Kimberley on Saturday, followed by the Valke and Boland Cavaliers. The coach made it clear that all the matches in the competition were tough, adding that the time for experimentation in the team is over.

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Just one day to go ahead of what should be a riveting test series between South Africa and England, and the Proteas brains trust have revealed that they are expecting the England middle order to be the weak link in the! side. Mickey Arthur said the South Africans thought Ian Bell at number five and Paul Collingwood one place lower would be under pressure, especially with the South African pace attack showing more depth than it has for some time. The weather could still be the joker in the pack, with intermittent showers expected all week.

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South Africa have moved above India and England into second place in the ICC test rankings, although they are still 23 rating points behind runaway leaders Australia. ICC test rankings for batsman show Jacques kallis at number 6, with Kumar Sangakkara on the top spot. In the bowling rankings, Dale Steyn is at number 2 behind Muttiah Muralitharan, with Makhaya Ntini at 5. kallis is the world's top ranked all-rounder.

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Australian cricket officials said yesterday meanwhile that they could decide within a fortnight whether or not to pull out of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan because of security concerns.
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The Port Elizabeth stadium has been ! removed as a venue for the 2009 Confederations Cup because it's unlikely to be finished in time, according FIFA. It will be OK in time for the 2010 World Cup.

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New Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari said yesterday that Frank Lampard would remain at the club, and he's added that Didier Drogba is 200 percent part of his plans for the new season as well.
Lampard and Drogba have been the subject of intense speculation that they would move to Italy to link up with former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho, who has taken over at Inter Milan.

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German Stefan Schumacher grabbed the Tour de France leader's yellow jersey with a win in the fourth stage yesterday, a 29.5-km time trial. He clocked a best time of 35 minutes and 44 seconds on a windswept course to beat Luxembourg's Kim Kirchen of Team Columbia by 18 seconds.
Robert Hunter of team Barloworld moves up to 36th place overall on the standings.

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Hank McGregor ! opened the defense of his Isuzu Berg River canoe marathon time title in the best possible way with a win in the pre-race time trial held on a flooded Berg river in windy andicy conditions yesterday. McGregor covered the 5 kilometers of the time trial, which is held to determine the front row seeding for the race proper, in the fast time of sixteen minutes. The race gets underway today. Cape Town paddler Abbey Mediema, as expected, set the fastest time for the ladies.

Bok Boost for WP

The cavalry's arrived! Western Province will be hoping to get out of the trenches and on the path to victory with the return of a powerful arsenal of Springboks. Coach Allister Coetzee has named seven returning Boks in his match 22 to face the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday. Kick-off is at 15h00.

Besides the seven Boks returning from Tri-Nations duty, Coetzee has also named at least five other players who ran out in the green and gold this year. That means Province could have as many as 12 Boks on the field to torment the Cheetahs with. The rest of the team is made up of seasoned Super 14 campaigners, former Boks and two very promising teenagers.

Jean de Villiers strips Gcobani Bobo of the captaincy and forces him to outside centre. Conrad Jantjes will be hoping to keep Province on the front foot when he returns at fullback ahead of Percy Montgomery, who hasn't even been included in the match 22 because of a stomach bug. He'll be flanked by wings, Thonderai Chavanga and Sereli Naqelevuki. Ricky Januarie starts ahead of Bolla Conradie, which should be great news for Peter Grant, who returns at flyhalf after an injury. Joe Pietersen and Wylie Human are the reserve backs.

The Stormers loose trio is completed with Luke Watson at number eight, Schalk Burger at six and Francois Louw at seven. The gigantic Andries Bekker returns to the Streeptruie, while Ross Skeate, who was captain at the start of the season, but is now planning a move to Toulon, drops out of the match 22 completely. He's ! apparently been struggling with a shoulder injury for weeks no! w, but h as been battling on for the sake of the team. Adriaan Fondse keeps his place and AJ Venter is on the bench as back-up.

Brian Mujati will anchor the scrum at tight-head next to Schalk Brits and Wicus Blaauw. As usual the exciting Deon Fourie should come on at hooker in the second half. Teenage prop, JC Kritzinger is on the bench after making his debut against the Blue Bulls last week and young loose forward Nick Koster completes the team.

I have a feeling this side will have just too much firepower for the Cheetahs and will score the tries needed to make the semi-finals, but I'm quickly reminded that rugby is not played on paper...

Team list:
15. Conrad Jantjes
14. Tonderai Chavhanga
13. Gcobani Bobo
12. Jean De Villiers (C)
11. Sireli Naqelevuki
10. Peter Grant
9. Ricky Januarie
8. Luke Watson
7. Francois Louw
6. Schal! k Burger
5. Andries Bekker
4. Adriaan Fondse
3. Brian Mujati
2. Schalk Brits
1. Wicus Blaauw
Reserves:
16. Deon Fourie
17. JC Kritzinger
18. AJ Venter
19. Nick Koster
20. Bolla Conradie
21. Joe Pietersen
22. Wylie Human

Natalie's visit

Natalie du Toit paid us a visit at out studios earlier today. South Africa's star swimmer and the Paralympic team are back after their most successful games. The team overall won 30 medals of which 21 were gold. Five of them coming from Natalie as she showed her domination in the pool.
Now that the 2008 Paralympics are over Natalie says she is now looking ahead to London 2012.

Breakfast Headlines

Vodacom Stormers skipper Jean de Villiers has been named SA Rugby player of the year and Players' Player of the year. Sharks number eight, Ryan Kankowski won Super 14 player of the year. Stormers fullback, Conrad Jantjes, was also nominated in the Super 14 player of the year category and says he's looking forward to next year's competition...
Adi Jacobs, Beast Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis and Ryan Kankowski were also nominated for the top award. Sharks flanker Jean Deysel won Currie Cup player of the year. Cheetahs and Sevens centre Robert Ebersohn is South Africa's best young player. Ricky Januarie's match winning try against the All Blacks at Dunedin was the clear winner in the try of the year category.

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Jantjes says they really had to shake off some test rustiness before the record breaking performance against England...
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It's all but confirmed that Nashua Cape Cobras fast bowler Monde Zondeki will replace Paul Ha! rris in today's second test against Bangladesh at Centurion. Cobras spinner Claude Henderson believes it's a sign that the Proteas will rely on the seamers for wickets in Australia...
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Cricket SA will today decide whether to approve a new double innings Twenty20 competition. As a big fan of Twenty20 cricket I'm not too sure about it.
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In Champions League soccer, Man United and Villareal have qualified for the knockouts after a goalless draw. Arsenal also secured a place in the next round after a 1-0 win over Dynamo Kiev. FC Porto are through thanks to a 2-1 win over Fenerbahce. Juventus played out a goalless draw with Zenit St. Petersburg to secure a place in the next round along with Real Madrid who beat BATE 1-0. Bayern Munich and Lyon are through after wins over Steaua Bucuresti and Fiorentina. Tonight Chelsea face Bordeax and it's Liverpool versus Marsielle.
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Santos are up against Thanda Royal Zulu in Durban at 15h30 on a big day i! n the ABSA Premiership. Log leaders Golden Arrows face Kaizer ! Chiefs t onight. Ajax Cape Town are only three points behind Arrows and face third placed Wits at Athlone Stadium at 19h30. Ajax captain Brett Evans says they must try to stay among the log leaders with the holiday break fast approaching...

Defence key for Stormers

After the Stormers' scrappy win over the Reds at Newlands last Friday, the Newlands faithful will be looking for a vast improvement against the Blues this weekend.

The Aucklanders were given a hammering next to none from the Bulls last Saturday and coach Frans Ludeke rightly said, the Blues looked flat on their feet. There was no fluency in their moves and their handling errors would have made a primary school rugby team look good. In their defence though, they did have quite a few top players missing.

But no such luck for the Stormers this weekend. Stalwarts Joe Rockok! oko, Jerome Kaino and Taniela Moa are expected back in the side after paternity leave and injury and will bolster the team significantly. They are still without All Blacks Ali Williams and Anthony Tuitavake but they should still be competitive enough on Saturday. Veteran flanker Justin Collins makes his 100th Super rugby appearance on Saturday.

The Stormers will be focussing on defence this week. Last Friday night was the first time under Rassie Erasmus' leadership that the team conceeded four tries and it must've no doubt given the Cape side's ego a bit of a knock.

However, assistant coach Gary Gold told the Stormers website that the Reds game served as a timely wake-up call for the team so we can expect an improvement in that department.

In terms of team news, there are no injury concerns at this stage apart from fullback Conrad Jantjes who sat out training this week because of muscle stiffness. But he should be fit to tackle the Blues.
Kick off is 19:10.

Tevez' future still in the balance

Soccer analyst Richard Gomes said Monday a cloud still hangs over Manchester United's Carlos Tevez' future at the club.

The striker could have waved his last goodbye at Old Trafford after he was substituted against Arsenal in their 0-0 draw this weekend.

The point is all the Red Devils needed to secure their 18th league title.

Gomes says Tevez has increased speculation as to whether he will remain at United after he did not attend the club's awards last night.

"Manchester United had their Player of the year awards last night and the news today is that Tevez did not show up at function. Reading between the lines its looks like he is going to be on his way out."

Meanwhile Chelsea still has a lot to play for as they could still finish the league in second place. Liverpool occupies second spot but the Blues will need a win and a few goals to take the runner's up place.

Gomes says interim ma! nager Guus Hiddink has done wonders for the club during his short stint.

"Guus Hiddink has made a massive impact at Chelsea. His record speaks for itself, he has played 12, won 10, drew one and lost one. This shows that he is a world class manager."

Canadian Grand Prix dropped for 2009

In a move that seemed unexpected, Formula One is not coming to Canada in 2009 thus leaving North America with no F1 races after having dropped the United States Grand Prix several seasons ago. The trend in Formula One has been one of cost cutting and standardizing the series with spec tires and essentially spec engines is the byproduct. Given that North America already has multiple standardized or "spec" series (the American LeMans Series being the notable exception) I suppose that transforming into another spec series simply makes Formula One just part of the landscape.

However, the move to axe Canada should be of no surprise to anyone. All sorts of grand prix have been dumped, shuffled, added or re-added over t! he years: Spa, Mexico, Imola, United States, Suzuka, etc.; Canada is just another causality in the quest for less expense and more profit in a game in which F1 clearly articulated they were willing to engage in dumping traditional markets for new ones (i.e. Middle East and Asia). Maybe Canada or the United States will end up back on that re-add list when the powers that be eventually take a race from Italy or from France for whatever reason.

I am sure we will get numerous explanations and rationalizations as to why this was done, but simply put, Formula One quit on North America and chose not to compete with NASCAR and other domestic series......cowards.

http://www.fi! a.com/en -GB/mediacentre/pressreleases/wmsc/wmsc08/Pages/wmsc_071008.aspx

Morecambe Look At Lindfield

Morecambe have taken former Liverpool youngster Craig Lindfield on trial, skysports.com understands.

Lindfield is looking for a new club after having his contract at Liverpool cancelled by mutual consent.

The 21-year-old came through the ranks with the Reds and helped them win the FA Youth Cup in 2006 and 2007.

However, Lindfield failed to make the breakthrough into the Anfield first-team being sent out on loan to the likes of Notts County, Bournemouth, Chester City and Accrington Stanley in the last few years.

Lindfield had been on trial at Carlisle last month, but a deal failed to materia! lise.

Morecambe have now offered the talented striker the chance to win a move to Christie Park and Shrimps boss Sammy McIllroy will cast an eye over him in training before deciding whether or not to pursue his interest.

Sunderland Boss Steve Bruce Dismisses Touchline Row With Liverpool's Rafael Benitez

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has brushed off his furious touchline clash with Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, following his side's 1-0 victory at the Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats further dented the Reds' fast-fading title hopes, thanks to a controversial Darren Bent goal, his eighth of the season flying past goalkeeper Pepe Reina after taking a wicked deflection off a beach ball that had been thrown on to the pitch by a Liverpool fan.

Things got heated in the second half when Benitez complained about the length of time for which Kenwyne Jones was receiving treatment on the field, drawing a furious response from Bruce, with the two managers embroiled in a heated debate on the touchline. Both Jones and Lee Cattermole were carried off injured in a robust second half.

Bruce did not think much of the incident, but conceded, with the benefit of hindsight, he probably should not have confr! onted his rival manager.

"It was handbags. It's all over, it's done," Bruce said, according to The Daily Mirror.

"You do things in the heat of the moment which, when you look back at it, you think, 'Maybe I shouldn't have done that', but there you go."

Benitez suggested that the Sunderland boss had inflamed the situation.

The Spaniard said: "I didn't have any argument with him [Bruce]. I was just asking for time because three or four times they were on the ground - in 10 minutes, three or four times, the game was stopped.

"I was talking with the fourth official and he [Bruce] was coming and he wanted to argue with me.

"I was surprised because I was talking with the fourth official about the time."

Bruce insisted that the curious nature of Bent's goal should not overshadow his team's impressive performance. Sunderland outplayed Liverpool for the majority of the match, and striker Bent could easily h! ave picked up a hat-trick on another day.

Bruce sai! d: "I th ought we deserved it, I hope that's not just going to be the headline [the goal].

"In the second half, we had three one-on-ones - Darren [Bent] went round the goalkeeper twice, he hit the post and Reina got back and made a great save, Steed [Malbranque] had a wonderful chance and I was just thinking, 'We need to take the second one'.

"But my goalkeeper [Craig Gordon] only had one save to make - it was a good one - and overall, I thought we thoroughly deserved the victory."

Bruce said of the goal: "Listen, I thought it was a deflection off a player. I have to say when I have just seen it there, if anybody knew that rule - that it is supposed to be a drop ball - then you are a saddo.

"They have got it on telly with the guy who threw it on and it's got Liverpool crests all over it. What a shame."

Liverpool: The Ref Was Right

Contrary to what Sir Red Nose said, the ref was right in not sending off Carragher when he brought down Owen outside the box. In an article in Tuesday's Guardian a senior, un-named, ref agreed with Marriner's handling of the matter.

He said: "Ferguson clearly doesn't understand the law about the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.

"The fouled player has to have full control of the ball and has to be moving towards the goal but Michael Owen did not fulfill either condition.

"Andre Marriner was absolutely right to award a yellow card and a direct free-kick.

He added: "It would have been totally wrong for him to have sent Jamie Carragher off. And Sir Alex should never have said that Andre Marriner was not an experienced referee when he is on the Fifa list and got all the important decisions right on Sunday."

The fact that Ferguson doesn't understand the law ! would come as a great surprise to you all I'm sure, he's been only managing football clubs for 30 odd years, not nearly long enough to learn the law apparently.

Sexy Young Girl Photo by Rina Akiyama

Rina Akiyama, a model photo of Japan. Cute, sexy and the classy born and big in Japan. Meets with an talent searcher agent when she is learning dances to her mother.

Courtney Hardin Teen North Carolina Miss Contest 2009

Courtney Hardin teen North Carolina miss contest 2009

New SuperMoto team announced

By John Hopkins

ORANGEVILLE, ON -- Motocross star Dan Rounding has joined Wes Cyr and Fred Kesak to form Team D4/BWR Suspension Racing. According to a Mar. 9 press release from the squad, Team D4/BWR Suspension Racing will compete in the 2005 Supermoto Canada national and regional series, along with some of the AMA Red Bull Nationals in the U.S.

Cyr and Kesak both raced in the Supermoto Canada series last summer, earning national numbers 12 and 17, respectively. After a distinguished motocross career Rounding will make his SuperMoto debut in 2005.

Jeff VanNiekerk will be team manager for the outfit with Bob Wilson of BWR Suspension acting as suspension chief.

Sponsorship for the program comes from D4 Performance Engines, BWR Suspension, Hindle Exhaust, Wrex Racing, Tric Carbon, Pro-Action Suspension, All Season Storage, CEPS, East Coast Wheels and Recluse Clutches.

Inside Motorcycles // www.insidemotorcycles.com

Spring show coming soon

From Bar Hodgson Productions

TORONTO, ON -- The 2006 Toronto International Spring Motorcycle Show kicks the riding season into high gear Apr. 8-9 at the Toronto International Centre, 6900 Airport Road. Presented by SUPERSHOW Events, this is Ontario's Spring Motorcycle Marketplace, now in its 17th year.

The Toronto Spring Motorcycle Show is a traditional season opener for motorcyclists as they prepare to get their bikes on the road. Vendors will have bargains on new bikes and all types of riding apparel, accessories, new parts and hard to find used parts, as well as information on safety and rider training.

Stage shows featuring Leather Fashions by 'On The Fringe' and musical entertainment run both days of the show. Over 30 clubs, associations and race tracks will be on hand to meet the public and present their 'Summer 2006' activities.

The Used Bike Market brings out the deals on used bike! s with a great selection of motorcycles of all types for sale by individual owners. The finest vintage, touring, off-road, racing and custom Showbikes compete for over $15,000 in cash and awards, with a top prize of $3,500 for Best Bike in Show.

The Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, The Ride for Sight and the B.A.D. Ride have been named the Official Show Charities and the Brampton Motorcycle Association is the Host Club.

Show hours are Saturday;10am-9pm and Sunday;10am-6pm. Admission is $12 for adults, youths 6 to 12 yrs $5 and children under 6 are free. Parking is free. For more information visit www.supershowevents.com.

Inside Motorcycles // www.insidemotorcycles.com

Cincinnati Bengals Announce 2009 Schedule

Tonight on the NFL Network, the NFL announced team-by-team schedules for the upcoming 2009 football season. It feels awesome that football season is right around the corner. In what is not shocking news, the Cincinnati Bengals play zero primetime Monday night, Sunday night, or Thursday night games this season. Looks like we are back to the Bengals of the 1990's. I guess that is what you get when you only when 4 games. Whats even better is that I still can't wait for football.

Here is the schedule:

Sun, Sep 13 Denver Broncos 1:00PM (ET)
Sun, Sep 20 @ Green Bay Packers 1:00PM (ET)
Sun, Sep 27 Pittsburgh Steelers 1:00PM (ET)
Sun, Oct 04 @ Cleveland Browns 1:00PM (ET)
Sun, Oct 11 @ Baltimore Ravens 1:00PM (ET)
Sun, Oct 18 Houston Texans 1:00PM (ET)
Sun, Oct 25 Chicago Bears 1:00PM (ET)
Sun, Nov 01 BYE
Sun, Nov 08 Baltimore Ravens 1:00PM (ET)
Sun, Nov 15 @! Pittsburgh Steelers 1:00PM (ET)
Sun, Nov 22 @ Oakland Raiders 4:15PM (ET)
Sun, Nov 29 Cleveland Browns 1:00PM (ET)
Sun, Dec 06 Detroit Lions 1:00PM (ET)
Sun, Dec 13 @ Minnesota Vikings 1:00PM (ET)
Sun, Dec 20 @ San Diego Chargers 4:05PM(ET)
Sun, Dec 27 Kansas City Chiefs 1:00PM (ET)
Sun, Jan 03 @ New York Jets 1:00PM (ET)

Where Are They Now? Akili Smith

I'm sure everyone remembers the #3 pick from the 1999 NFL Draft, Akili Smith, and the great numbers he put up during his NFL career..... just to think the Bengals passed on Donovan McNabb and payed Smith a 10.8 million signing bonus to be the franchise of the Bengals for years to come. Unfortunately that didn't work out and Smith's life has taken him elsewhere, away from the field.

A recent report from SI stated that during his playing career Smith was prone to jetting back to San Diego [his hometown] and partied. He constantly got calls from multiple women, his boys, club promoters ... and he gave in to temptation. In his own words, "I was a complete embarrassment off the field."

After he retired from football in 2007, he returned to San Diego to take on a QB coaching job at Grossmont Junior College. He's also working towards his masters in theology and divinity. You may ask, why is Smith working towards a masters in divinity? Reason is he's follow! ing in the footsteps of his father, Ray, who's a pastor at the United Missionary Baptist Church, where Akili is already a deacon. He's also quarterbacking the church's flag football team named God's house.

From Top 5 draft pick to a deacon and flag football starting QB in less than 10 years..... how time flies.

Bengals vs. Ravens Observations

* I know that Shu hit on this in a previous post, but it is time for Brad St. Louis to go. Unfortunately the longest tenured Bengals player has just seemed to have lost his head. I was listening to an interview from Darrin Simmons, Bengals Special Teams coach, and Simmons was talking about how important the chemistry is between long snapper, punter and kicker. All three have to work together to get it done. This team has fought all year to win games and Brad St. Louis has been making it too hard on them. Time to go Brad. Thanks for the memories.

* Once again the Bengals offense came out blazing but mishaps on Special Teams leave us with no points and seem to take the wind out of the offense.

*Larry Johnson was the last RB to rush for 100 yards against the Baltimore Ravens in 2006. Cedric Benson was able to grind out 120 yards on 27 carries for an average of 4.4 yards per carry. Ced looked like he earned every yard he got too often breaking the first t! ackle or making something out of nothing. He has really started to get it going. Right now Cedric Benson is the NFL leading rusher with 487 yards, just six more yards than Adrian Peterson.

* This team is still making too many mistakes if they want to be a big time contender. I am not going to knock them too much because they are getting wins and finding a way to win. But I still think there are too many mistakes.

* Daniel Coats needs to catch that pass up the middle that hit his hands.

* Did you notice Laverneous Coles after dropping a pass in the first quarter was not really targeted the rest of the game. Has Carson lost faith in him?

* You can't really have too much praise for this Bengals defense. They are really a tough unit. They are extremely physical and have done a tremendous job stopping some pretty good offensive opponents.

* For the second straight week our opponents #1 receiver was held without a catch.! When is Leon Hall going to get credit for being a shutdown co! rner? Le on is phenomenal. I don't think he will get more INT's than Joseph because Hall's man will always be covered.

* The Ravens are complaining about some of the calls down the stretch, but I really think the calls were valid. Baltimore looked a little rattled during that drive, the Bengals had a lot of composure.

* I will continue my streak for calling for QB J.T. O'Sullivan. Palmer has got to learn to look at the play clock. But when I bitch about him and call for O'Sullivan we get the win!

NBA Awards 07-08

-Keefe

MVP


Chris Paul- (21.1 ppg., 11.6 apg., 2.7 spg., 4 rpg.)

What a year for the MVP debate. You can make a strong case for 4 different players this season. Besse gave you some solid reasons to pick Kobe, LeBron is putting up 30-8-7 playing alongside the likes of Wally World, and a very washed up Ben Wallace, and oh by the way KG has helped turn the Celtics from worst to first in the Eastern Conference, the single greatest season turnaround, and 66 wins, good enough for the 3rd most all time in that franchise's storied history. With all of that said I'm still going with Chris Paul.

Paul led the league in assists, steals, and still put up ! over 21 a game. Think about that, he average more dimes than Steve Nash, and came away with more thefts than Ron Artest. If that's not enough he got the New Orleans Hornets not only into the playoffs, but the #2 seed out West. In a division that had 4 50-game winners it was the Hornets finishing 1st, ahead of the Spurs, Rockets, and Mavericks. Unbelievable. Paul also made David West into an All-Star and reminded the world that Peja is deadly from behind the arc.

Four players all deserve this award. My vote (still working on getting a vote) would have to go to CP3. Great season in the NBA, great stories, great teams, great players, and he was the best.

Other candidates: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett

Defensive Player of the Year

Kevin Garnett

The individual numbers: defensive rebounds 7.4 (12th), blocks 1.25 (25th), steals 1.41 (18th). These stats alone may not warrant the D- Player of the Year award, but what KG brought to Boston can not be overlooked. He was not the only reason for this year's turnaround in Boston, however, it started with him and his defensive intensity was infectious. The Celtics finished just behind the Pistons (0.2 points) to lead the league in points allowed per game. The C's gave up an astonishing 90.3 ppg. One of the reasons for their 42 game improvement from a year ago is the defense. With the addition of KG the C's allowed 9 fewer points a game from 06-07 to 07-08. Plus KG has to win something this year right?

Other candidates: Ron Artest, Josh Smith, Marcus Camby

! 6th Man

Manu Ginobili- (19.5 ppg., 4.8 rpg., 4.5 apg., 1.45 spg.)

He's a 6th man? Technically, yes. In 74 games played this year he came off the bench 51 times. He played over 31 minutes a game, and led the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in scoring. This one could be unanimous.

Other candidates: None


Rookie of the Year

Kevin Durant- (20.3 ppg., 4.4 rpg., 2.4 apg.)

He was forced into an impossible situation this year in Seattle, and he made the most of it. Scored over 7.5 points more than any other rookie this season, while playing for a team where he was option 1-2-3. Sure his rebound numbers look low considering he was Mr. Double-Double his 1 season in Texas, but he played shooting guard the majority of the year compared to power forward in college. He will be a long time dominant scorer in this league.

Other candidates: Al Horford

All-NBA 1st Team

Chris Paul- (21.1 ppg., 11.6 apg., 2.7 spg., 4 rpg.)
Kobe Bryant- (28.3 ppg., 6.3 rpg., 5.4 apg., 1.8 spg.)
Kevin Garnett- (18.8 ppg., 9.2 rpg., 3.4 apg., 1.! 4 spg.)
LeBron James- (30 ppg., 7.9 rpg., 7.2 apg., 1.8 spg.)
Dwight Howard- (20.7 ppg., 14.2 rpg., 2.2 bpg., 60% FG)

-The first 4 guys are no brainers. The C spot will be up for grabs with the likes of Howard, Amare, and Duncan. I give big Dwight the edge here for his monster numbers, and doing it with the worst point guard in basketball.


All-NBA 2nd Team

Amare Stoudemire- (25.2 ppg., 9.1 rpg., 2.1 bpg., 59% FG)
Paul Pierce- (19.6 ppg., 5.1 rpg., 4.5 apg., 1.2 spg.)
Tracy McGrady- (21.6 ppg., 5.2 rpg., 5.9 apg.)
Steve Nash- (16.9 ppg., 11.1 apg., 50% FG, 47% 3FG)
Deron Williams- (18.8 ppg., 10.5 apg., 3 rpg., 50% FG)

-Pierce deserves a lot more credit for the C's success than he's getting. Amare has been an absolute force since the addition of Shaq. T-Mac kept ! the Rockets in the playoffs without Yao. Nash and D-Williams h! ad great seasons and still finished as the 2nd and 3rd best point guards in basketball.


All-NBA 3rd Team

Carlos Boozer- (21.1 ppg., 10.4 rpg., 2.9 apg., 55% FG)
Allen Iverson- (26.4 ppg., 7.1 apg., 1.95 spg.)
Tim Duncan- (19.3 ppg., 11.3 rpg., 1.9 bpg.)
Antawn Jamison- (21.4 ppg., 10.2 rpg., 1.3 spg.)
Manu Ginobili- (19.5 ppg., 4.8 rpg., 4.5 apg., 1.45 spg.)

-Duncan will probably be higher than 3rd team, but this is how I see it, along with his teammate Manu. Jamison and Boozer are 20-10 guys on winning teams, and AI continues to amaze.

Honorable Mention

Baron Davis- (21.8 ppg., 7.6 apg., 4.7 rpg., 2.3 spg.)
Carmelo Anthony- (25.7 ppg., 7.4 rpg., 3.4 apg., 1.1 BAC)
Dirk Nowitzki- (23.6 ppg., 8.6 rpg., 3.5 apg.)
He! do Turkoglu- (19.5 ppg., 5.7 rpg., 5 apg.)
Stephen Jackson- (20.1 ppg., 4.4 rpg., 4.1 apg.)

All Rookie 1st Team

Kevin Durant- (20.3 ppg., 4.4 rpg., 2.4 apg.)
Al Horford- (10.1 ppg., 9.7 rpg.)
Luis Scola- (10.3 ppg., 6.4 rpg.)
Al Thornton- (12.7 ppg., 4.5 rpg.)
Carl Landry- (8.1 ppg., 4.9 rpg.)

Shaq and the NBA All-Star Festivities - Random thoughts

Not sure if you all watched the NBA All-Star game last night, but the Shaq intro was one of a kind. It's becoming more evident that 2009 will be the final season for the future HOFer, and he went out with a bang bringin Jabbawockeez into the fold. The routine was priceless and I gotta say, Shaqtus looked like he was a member of the group. Perhaps they'll rename the group "Shaqawockeez". Here's the video...and if you're wondering, the routine was done to the instrumental of the new Nas track "Hero". The video for that is below, as well. Solid track.

Shaqawockeez:



Nas - "Hero":



By the way, I had my brother DVR the slam dunk contest from Saturday night and I had a chance to watch it before the game tonight. Rudy Fernandez got jobbed. The contest is becoming similar to voting for Gold Gloves in baseball...if you won the year before, or if you're name is synonymous with it, you get a pass. That's essentially what Dwight Howard and Nate Robinson got. It was evident in the judging and in the commentary by TNT. The line that bothered me the most was when one of the color guys said, "No one in this building knows who Fernandez is except for the Fernandez family..." Moments later, they mentioned that it was supposed to be Rudy Gay but he got injured and THE FANS voted in Fernandez. So hold on, the fans vote him in, but no one knows who he is? How does that make sense? Then he tosses it behind his back off the backboard and throws it down hard and gets a luke warm reception from the commentators. The fans loved, they went nuts, and the! n he got a 42. Check out the video below that shows both his d! unks and listen to the commentary. They absolutely hated on Fernandez and it was b.s. and unprofessional.

(Note: I had not seen this part of the dunk contest until Besse posted it. That is incredible. I normally like those guys, Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, and Kenny Smith, but come on. Did they do any homework? Harlan says Fernandez was only in the contest because he was voted on after the Gay injury... well that's half right. Rudy was voted on (beating out rookies Russell Westbrook and Joe Alexander), but well before Rudy Gay got hurt. Why was J.R. Smith invited then? Oh right, to replace Gay.

And then how about a round of applause for Miller and the Jet for not knowing who Fernando Martin was, who Fernandez wore a jersey of his in his tribute, then proceeding to make fun of the guy until Harlan told them he was not only the 1st Spanish player in the NBA, but died in a car accident. Tough effort TNT.)



-Bess

NHL Preview (sort of)

I am going to try and follow hockey a little more closely this year. It was never my favorite sport, but from 1994-2004 I would have categorized myself as a fan. Then two things happened. A strike prevented play in the 2004-2005 season, and then the very next year the Boston Bruins traded Joe Thornton. He became the only player in the history of sports to be traded during the season and win the MVP. Think about that for a second. You made it out of that still a Bruins fan, god bless you.

I already liked the NBA, NFL, MLB, and college football and basketball more, so when you combine a missed season with trading away an M! VP then forget it. Throw in the fact that they didn't re-sign my favorite Bruin ever, Bill Guerin after a 40+ goal season, and I had enough.

But even with all of that, I will always have NHL 95 for SEGA. No matter what happens that game remains on of the best games of all time. Not just a sports game, not just a SEGA game, but one of the best video games of all time. (5 Best SEGA games = NHL 95, NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat, Sonic, ToeJam & Earl)

The Bruins open up the 2009-2010 season tonight, and I'm going to go back to a time when I enjoyed hockey the most, 1994-1995. Here are my predictions for that season... you know if The Sports Brief existed 14-15 years ago.

Prince of Wales Trophy: Boston Bruins

Clarence S Campbell Bowl: Detroit Red Wings

Stanley Cup: Boston Bruins

Individual Trop! hies:
Hart (MVP): Cam Nee ly, Bruins
Lady Byng (sportsmanship): Wayne Gretzky, Kings
Vezina (goalie): Ed Belfour, Blackhawks
Ross (points): Jeremy Roenick, Blackhawks
Norris (defense): Ray Bourque, Bruins
Conn Smythe (playoffs MVP): Adam Oates, Bruins
Selke (D-forward): Ron Francis, Penguins


All-Star 1st Team:
G- Ed Belfour, Blackhaws
D- Ray Bourque, Bruins
D- Paul Coffey, Red Wings
LW- Brendan Shanahan, Red Wings
C- Jeremy Roenick, Blackhawks
RW- Cam Neely

All-Star 2nd Team:
G- Martin Broduer, Devils
D- Chris Chelios, Blackhawks
D- Brian Leetch, Rangers
LW- John LeClair, Flyers
C- Joe Sak! ic, Nordiques
RW- Brett Hull, Blues


-Keefe

As for my pick 3, since I'm doing terrible, not explanations this week, just the picks.

Bengals (-6) over Browns
Giants (-9) over Chiefs
Bears (-10) over Lions

Last week: 1-2
Overall: 2-4

Queens Park Rangers 5 Barnsley 2

The Championship game between Queens Park Rangers and Barnsley at Loftus Road on Saturday Sept 26 ,2009.

On the pitch, at least, it's 'Flavio who?' as QPR staved off a spirited fightback to secure their first home league victory of the campaign with a 5-2 win over Barnsley.

Mikele Leigertwood's opener, plus two goals a brace from Hungarian Akos Buzsaky, left QPR in the driving seat at half-time.

But a rejuvenated Barnsely hit-back through a Stephen Foster header and an penalty from Andy Gray penalty after Damion Stewart brought down Adam Hammill in the box.Sensing at least a point, the Reds ploughed on and Hammill had a long-range effort tipped over.

But Ben Watson's lashed shot was too much for goalkeeper David Preece fumbled a Ben Watson shot for and failed to claw the ball back before it trickled over the line to stretch QPR's fourth and fragile lead.

Foster then provided the killer blow for Barns! ley as he flicked Kaspars Gorkss' header into his own net.

"We've raised the bar," said Rangers manager Jim Magilton.

"I was worried about today because I know Mark Robins is a very good manager and his side have improved under him, so it was always going to be a tricky game for us, especially after all the hype.

"We had to do whatever we could to get three points and some of our play was extremely good."

Robins, who gave full debuts to three defenders, said: "We shot ourselves in the foot. They were poor goals to give away.

"We can point to the fact it was a new back four but they are decent players."

Match details

QPR: Cerny, Gorkss, Borrowdale, Stewart, Leigertwood, Routledge (Faurlin 69), Buzsaky, Rowlands, Watson, Vine (Taarabt 69), Simpson (Pellicori 80).
Subs: Heaton, Ramage, Mahon, Ephraim.
Booked: Borrowd! ale.
Barnsley: Preece, Foster, Butterfie! ld (Kozl uk 57), Dickinson, Shotton, Colace, De Silva, Hammill, Doyle, Hume, Andy Gray (Campbell-Ryce 76).
Subs: Rusling, Bogdanovic, Devaney, Julian Gray, Thompson.
Booked: Shotton, De Silva, Kozluk.
Referee: K Evans (Greater Manchester).

NEC Nijmegen 1-1 FC Utrecht

FC Utrecht's solid start to their Eredivisie campaign continued as they picked up a point from a tricky away encounter at NEC Nijmegen.

Coming into the match on the back of five wins and just one defeat in their opening seven games, Utrecht had the chance to move into fourth place with a win and were on target to achieve just that when Jacob Lensky netted the opener after 33 minutes.

However, NEC are no pushovers - as shown by their recent away win at champions AZ ! Alkmaar - and fought back to rescue a point through Erton Fejzullahu's 66th-minute effort.

Utrecht were immediately on the front foot after kick-off, just 43 seconds on the clock when Ricky van Wolfswinkel drew a smart stop from Gabor Babos after being played in by Dries Mertens.

Michael Silberbauer also took aim after 17 minutes but this time Babos made a routine save, while 10 minutes later the hosts carved out their first chance of the night when Dominique Kivuvu played in Bjorn Vleminckx, whose 25-yard effort was tipped to safety by the alert Michel Vorm in the Utrecht goal.

Utrecht went ahead just after the half-hour when the NEC defence failed to clear their lines after a corner. The ball fell to Van Wolfswinkel, who laid the ball into the path of Lensky to hit a low shot from just outside the area that Babos should perhaps have kept at bay.

Jacob Mulenga spurned an opening to make it 2-0 when he scooped an effort over the bar from inside t! he box after 54 minutes, while at the other end, Vorm had to b! e on his toes to deny Moestafa El Kabir.

The Utrecht keeper had no answer when NEC attacked again after 66 minutes, however, Arkadiusz Radomski's cross landing perfectly for Fejzullahu who gave Vorm no chance with a powerful effort from the edge of the area.

And the Sweden Under-21 international might have claimed all the points for the home side 11 minutes from time when he connected with Youssef El Akchaoui's cross but saw his effort come back off the post, while Vorm recovered quickly to deny Fejzullahu again with a fine save from the rebound.

Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 Hannover

Eintracht Frankfurt claimed their first home win of the Bundesliga season today at the expense of Hannover.

Goals from Nikos Liberopoulos and Alexander Meier did the damage at the Commerzbank Arena with Hannover's reply coming from the boot of Jiri Stajner.

The result sees Eintracht climb to ninth in the table, two places and four points better off than their opponents

Hannover made the brighter start and gave Oka Nikolov a scare after nine minutes with the ! home goalkeeper forced to parry away a 25-yard free-kick from Arnold Bruggink.

Eintracht responded with the opening goal after 24 minutes. A corner from Markus Steinhofer found Liberopoulos at the near post with the striker heading home from close range.

Nikolov was called upon again four minutes later to preserve his team's advantage by tipping over a header from Hanno Balitsch.

And the Eintracht goalkeeper made another vital save moments later, diving to his left to palm away a powerful strike from Stajner.

Hannover's performance deserved a goal but they had to wait until the 69th minute before finally getting back on level terms.

The home defence failed to pick up on a cross into the area by Jan Rosenthal, leaving an unmarked Stajner to stab the ball home.

Eintracht quickly picked themselves up from the blow and were back in front six minutes later thanks to Meier, who tapped home on the rebound after goalkeeper Florian Fromlowit! z had stopped a header from Liberopoulos.

The goal knoc! ked the fight out of Hannover, and they could have conceded another with eight minutes remaining but Ioannis Amanatidis headed Steinhofer's corner onto the roof of the net.

B Munich 2-1 E Frankfurt

Bayern Munich came from behind to snatch victory over Eintracht Frankfurt with a last gasp winner from Daniel van Buyten.

Alexander Meier put the visitors in front on the hour mark, but Arjen Robben equalised for Bayern within 10 minutes.

And Van Buyten saved the home side from more angry whistles from their own fans with a winner two minutes from time.

Van Gaal picked Thomas Muller, Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni in his attack, with Robben starting on the ben! ch just three weeks after undergoing knee surgery.

And all three Bayern strikers had chances to open the scoring in a bright first half for the hosts.

Klose placed his sixth-minute shot wide with just Oka Nikolov in the Frankfurt goal to beat, while Toni's first effort, a header from Bastian Schweinsteiger's cross, landed just a foot wide of the post.

Toni then had another effort saved by Nikolov, who pounced on the rebound to deny Muller.

Nikolov made two more saves from Klose, who found himself free in front of the Frankfurt keeper, and Toni again as the visitors held on until half time.

Michael Skibbe's side then emerged with more confidence and they went ahead after 60 minutes through Meier.

Bayern's fans were still applauding the entry of Robben for Klose when Patrick Ochs sent the ball through to Meier, who stayed ahead of Philipp Lahm and silenced most of the 69,000 fans in the Allianz Arena by beating Hans-Jorg Butt with a f! irst-time effort.

Mario Gomez was next on for Bayern, r! eplacing Anatoliy Tymoschuk to give Van Gaal's side four forwards on the field.

His first chance typified his lack of luck in front of goal recently as he took a long ball down well on his chest, but slipped as he prepared to shoot.

At the other end, Ochs almost made it two, but Butt pushed his cross-shot wide of the far post.

Gomez's luck then turned as he won a fortunate rebound off Nikolov and the ball fell for Robben to tap in the equaliser in the 69th minute.

Bayern went in search of the winner with Toni denied by Nikolov before Van Gaal gambled by moving Van Buyten up from the back to play as an additional striker.

And the move paid off as the Belgian headed in the winner two minutes from time to grab a win for the hosts.

Serena confirmed as Number One

Serena Williams was thrilled to end a year which included victories in the Australian Open and Wimbledon on top spot.

Dinara Safina was forced to withdraw from Sony Ericsson Championships, leaving Serena Williams to end 2009 as the world's number one.

The 23-year-old Russian was serving at 1-1 in the opening set against Serbia's Jelena Jankovic today when she had to retire.

Safina's place at the Australian Open could now be in doubt due to the injury as she ! said she will have to take at least six weeks off from tennis.

"I've been having pain since (winning) Portoroz (in July). I've been using anti-inflammatories to play with this pain for about three months," she said.

The Russian was replaced in the tournament by compatriot Vera Zvonareva, who will play the remaining two White Group opponents Safina was supposed to play, beginning with Caroline Wozniacki tomorrow.

Serena defeated Venus 5-7 6-4 7-6 (7/4) in two hours and 41 minutes for her second win in two days after her defeat of Svetlana Kuznetsova yesterday.

It was Venus' second loss of the tournament, following her defeat by Elena Dementieva.

Earlier, Denmark's Wozniacki defeated Belarus' Victoria Azarenka 1-6 6-4 7-5.

The contest lasted two minutes short of three hours as Wozniacki won her first match of the tournament, inflicting Azarenka's first loss after her defeat of Jankovic yesterday.

"2009 has been a truly memorabl! e season for me during which I enjoyed some of the biggest win! s of my career," Williams said.

"Capturing the year-end world number one ranking is a huge accomplishment for me and I am thrilled that all the hard work has paid off."

Some Profiles of My Favorite FootBall Players

Wayne Rooney

DOB: October 24, 1985. Birthplace: Liverpool. Height: 5' 10''. Weight: 12.5. Age: 22.

He first time play in pre-season friendlies for Everton to the start of the 2002-2003 season.

Shot 8 goals in 8 games in the FA Youth Cup in 2001-2002 .

At the age of 17, he joins England team and he is the youngest player in the team.

In September, he became the youngest ever goalscorer when netting against Macedonia in
Euro 2004 qualifier.

But this youngest player also picked up 12 yellow cards in 2003-2004.

When he first plays for Manchester United he scored 11 goals.

In 2005, he received the first red card in United when play against Villarreal because he clapped t! he decision in the ref's face.

Un cinico Modena apre la crisi del Torino

di Marco Fundoni

Importantissima vittoria in trasferta per un Modena rimaneggiato, infatti mister Apolloni è costretto a fare a meno di tre pedine importanti come Pinardi, Giampà e Perna, riuscendo però a recuperare in extremis Catellani.La partita la fanno i granata sbagliando ripetutamente la palla del vantaggio con un Modena costretto a stare sulla difensiva. Proprio quando tutti si aspettavano un pareggio al 43' arriva la doccia fredda per il Toro, Troiano calcia una punizione dalla trequar! ti Tamburini tutto solo non ha difficoltà ad incornare e trafiggere Calderoni (subentrato all'infortunato Sereni), non succede più nulla da li alla fine aprendo così la crisi granata.

TORINO F.C.: Sereni (46' Calderoni), Colombo, Zoboli, Pratali (77' Loria), Pisano, Diana, Coppola, Zanetti (65' Belinghieri), Gasbarroni, Di Michele, Bianchi.

A disposizione: Rubin, Loviso, Vailatti, Comi.

Allenatore: Stefano Colantuono

MODENA F.C.: Narciso, Gozzi, Rickler, Diagouraga, Ricchi, Tamburini, Colucci, Troiano (93' Daminuta), Cortellini (83' Luisi), Catellani (70' Gilioli), Bruno

A disposizione: Alfonso, Spezzani, Napoli, Girardi.

Allenatore: Gigi Apolloni

Arbitro: Sig. Nicola Pierpaoli di Firenze.
Assistenti: Sig. Giancarlo Rubino di Salerno e Sig. Claudio La Rocca di Ercolano.

Rete: 89' Tamburini!

Ammoniti :Colombo(T), Rickler(M), Colucci(M), Ricchi(M), Tamburini(M), Pratali(T), Gozzi(M) e Gilioli(M)

Marotta: "Avrei voluto prendere Pastore"

di Davide Pampanin

Intervistato da Primocanalesport, l´a.d. della Sampdoria, Beppe Marotta, ha dichiarato di essere un grande estimatore del trequartista argentino del Palermo, Javier Pastore. Marotta ha affermato che gli sarebbe piaciuto prendere il giocatore qualche tempo fa ma il costo del suo cartellino non rientrava nei paramentri della Sampdoria. l´a.d. blucerchiato si è anche detto stupito del fatto che nessun grande club europeo lo abbiamo comprato. (Mediagol.it) .

Allenamento pomeridiano

di Massimo Scavello
Fonte:fccrotone.it

Seduta pomeridiana a Steccato di Cutro per il Crotone che si prepara alla sfida casalinga col Vicenza. Chi è sceso in campo a Frosinone ha svolto un lavoro differenziato insieme ai preparatori atletici Borelli e Massara, mentre il resto del gruppo ha sostenuto una sgambatura con l'Isola Capo Rizzuto di mister Francesco Lomonaco, formazione che milita nel campionato calabrese di Eccellenza.

Il Mantova stringe i denti

Di Pasquale Campanella
Fonte: tuttomantova

Cominciamo, per una volta in questo tormentato inizio di stagione, dalle buone nuove. Mattia Notari, Claudio Grauso e Mirko Bellodi saranno a disposizione per la partita di domani pomeriggio con l'Empoli, crocevia fondamentale di questa annata. Serena potrà dunque contare sull'esperienza dei tre biancorossi "storici". Non saranno certamente al top della condizione, ma la loro presenza in gruppo è quantomeno benaugurante. Bellodi, tra l'altro, ha buone possibi! lità di giocare titolare, al posto di un Handanovic non troppo convincente nelle ultime uscite. Non saranno del match invece Locatelli e Carrus, oltre a Marco Esposito, alle prese con il periodo post-operatorio.

Promossi&Bocciati di Ascoli-Torino: Che ingenuità Frezzolini, personalità Ogbonna

di Marco Fundoni

fonte goal.com

Amoroso è di categoria superiore, Ogbonna che personalità!

Amoroso: Guida il centrocampo dell'Ascoli con carattere, classe ed esperienza: con Luci forma una coppia davvero ben assortita, solida e propositiva al tempo stesso. Chissà se Colantuono (voto 6) non abbia un po'invidiato il collega, dato che i suoi centrocampisti fanno solo legna…Voto 7

!

Ogbonna: Non fosse per la trattenuta che costa al Torino il rigore del momentaneo pareggio, la sua sarebbe la partita perfetta. L'Under 21 di Casiraghi impressiona una volta di più per qualità fisiche e tattiche (aspetto questo che ha migliorato enormemente nell'ultimo periodo). Duro da affrontare per qualsiasi attaccante, dimostra una personalità fuori dal comune che lo porterà lontano Voto 7

Bianchi: Il bomber non sembra nella sua giornata migliore: stretto nella morsa dei centrali ascolani, tocca pochi palloni e sembra avuls! o dalla manovra. Inoltre, a inizio ripresa si divora il due a ! zero sol o davanti al portiere… Ora le note positive: gol e assist, e il Toro vince due a uno. Punto. Voto 6.5

Frezzolini: L'estremo difensore di casa ha sulla coscienza la sconfitta: su un retropassaggio di Micolucci, si tuffa ma il pallone gli sfugge, ed è un gioco da ragazzi per Bianchi soffiarglielo e depositarlo nella porta sguarnita…Peccato perché poco prima era stato strepitoso su Di Michele (Voto 5). Voto 4.5

Il centrocampo del Torino: E' vero, il Toro torna alla vittoria, e lo fa con una prestazione caparbia, di sofferenza. E questo forse è proprio il punto. Perché, una volta di più, si ha la sensazione che a questa squadra manchi qualcosa in mezzo al campo, in termini di qualità e fantasia. Loviso (voto 5.5) ha dimostrato in carriera di avere queste qualità, ma deve ancora trovare la sua dimensione nel centrocampo di Colantuono: da lui ci si attende di più. Voto 5.5

Il pubblico di Ascoli: I tifosi di casa si dimostrano corretti e civilissimi: prima applaudono all'uscita dal campo l'ex Belingheri (voto 6.5! .), che li aveva puniti col gol del vantaggio, e poi si ripeto! no con F rezzolini, che alla fine del match si mostra disperato per l'errore decisivo e chiede scusa a tutti. Voto 8

Juve e Samp su Badu?

di Rocco Fortunato

fonte:sampdorianews.net

La Sampdoria è stata indire! ttamente protagonista nell'ultimo Mondiale Under 20 disputato in Egitto, grazie alle ottime prestazioni fornite dai suoi campioncini: da Fiorillo a Mustacchio, da Koman a Rabiu, quest'ultimo diventato campione del mondo con il suo Ghana.

Proprio la compagine africana è ricca di grossi talenti. Il quotidiano La Gazzetta dello Sport ha riportato alcune indiscrezioni di mercato, secondo le quali diversi club italiani starebbero seguendo da vicino le prestazioni di Agyemang Badu,centrocampista di quantità, dotato di buone qualità balistiche e grande duttilità tattica, riuscendo a svolgere in maniera soddisfacente anche mansioni puramente difensive.

Il Recreativo è stato vicino a siglare un accordo definitivo per il trasferimento del ragazzo, ma, negli ultimi giorni, i sondaggi italiani, in particolare di Sampdoria eJuventus, avrebbero preso sempre più quota. Il club blucerchiato ha seguito, con grandissima attenzione, i Mondiali Under 20 e pone grande importanza all'attività di scounting a livello di settore giovanile.

#045 Amarcord 4

Ultima giornata del campionato 1999-2000.
Quello di Perugia-Juventus, del nubifragio del Curi per intenderci

In studio Alfredo Provenzali
Perugia - Juventus Riccardo Cucchi
Lazio - Reggina Bruno Gentili
Alcuni inviati riconosciuti dal video
Torino - Piacenza Antonio Monaco
Bari - Bologna Enzo Del Vecchio

#139 MinutoxMinuto 16

Questa puntata della rubrica che prende spunto dal Canale You Tube MinutoxMinuto si divide in due fasi.

Il ricordo di Tutto il calcio verso le vittime del terremoto abruzzese


Torniamo a una parvenza di normalità, con la partita della giornata.
Complice la brutta immagine mostrata dal derby, abbiamo deciso di assegnare il nostro "campo principale" a Genoa - Juventus 3-2, radiocronaca di Francesco Repice e Tarcisio Mazzeo da bordocampo

Amarocord 1994-95 (Parte 2)

Si conclude con uno speciale l'analisi del Campionato 1994-95, quello del dopo mondiale statunitense.
Vediamo l'ultima decisiva giornata da due punti di vista

Giornata 32

da studio Alfredo Provenzali
da Torino per Juventus-Parma Sandro Ciotti
da Roma per Lazio - Sampdoria Riccardo Cucchi
da Genova per Genoa-Foggia Bruno Gentili
da Cremona per Cremonese-Padova Livio Forma

Focus on Juventus-Parma(radiocronaca di Sandro Ciotti)

Mike radiocronista: il ricordo

SuperSintesi della 8a di A e 10a di B

REAL MARCINA SABATO MATTINA

Castellazzi
Comotto K
Ferrari
Felipe
Sissoko
Vieira
Emerson K
Aquilani
Lucarelli
Cavani
Quagliarella

Fontana Barzagli Gamberini Pizarro Montolivo Pazzini Lavezzi