THE CONVERGENCE OF THE PATHS OF LEO MESSI & CRISTIANO RONALDO: DESTINY?

Ikuti Turnamen Piala Kampoeng Semawis

Tim Persibo Bojonegoro, Jawa Timur, memastikan mengikuti turnamen segitiga Piala Kampoeng Semawis, yang digelar PSIS, Semarang, Oktober 2009 di Stadion Jatidiri, Semarang, Jawa Tengah.
Manajer Persibo Bojonegoro, Letkol Inf Taufik Risnendar, Sabtu, menyatakan, keikutsertaan Persibo dalam turnamen Piala Kampoeng Semawis, yang dijadwalkan berlangsung, mulai 30 Oktober hingga 1 November, akan dijadikan kesempatan untuk mengukur kemampuan timnya, dalam persiapan menghadapi kompetisi Divisi Utama.

Alasannya, semua tim Divisi Utama, ikut dalam turnamen itu. Di antaranya, tim tuan rumah, PSIS Semarang, yang semula berada di Super Liga Indonesia, terdegradasi turun ke Divisi Utama, sedangkan, PPSM Sakti Magelang, yang semula tim divisi satu, musim kompetisi tahun ini, naik ke Divisi Utama.

"Setelah melalui berbagai pertimbangan dengan pelatih, ikutnya persibo dalam turnamen itu, tidak ada masalah," katanya menegaskan. Apalagi, sete! lah tim Persibo terbentuk, untuk mengukur kemampuan para pemain, selalu kesulitan mencari lawan untuk latih tanding.

Dalam turnamen itu, lanjutnya, manajeman tidak memasang target, menang atau harus menjuarai turnamen itu. "Yang penting seluruh pemain bermain maksimal, sehingga evaluasi kemampuan Persibo, bisa benar-benar dilakukan," katanya menjelaskan.

Dihubungi terpisah, Pelatih Persibo Bojonegoro Sartono Anwar menyatakan, anak asuhnya sudah siap mengikuti turnamen di Semarang itu. Adanya, turnamen itu, cukup menguntungkan Persibo, sebab sesuai program, jadwal yang harus dilakukan tim yang berjuluk Laskar Angling Dharma yakni melakukan uji coba untuk evaluasi hasil dalam berlatih.

"Program setelah ini, melakukan uji coba untuk melakukan evaluasi para pemain," katanya menegaskan. Sebelum mengikuti turnamen itu, Persibo Bojonegoro, Minggu melakukan uji coba melawan Persiku, Kudus, Jawa Tengah, di Stadion Wergu Wetan, Kudus.(ant)

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USA Player Ratings

USA vs. Sweden Player Ratings (scale 1-10)

Hope Solo - 6 - Solid throughout.
Stephanie Lopez - 5 - Better performance.
Christie Rampone - 6 - Worked hard defending.
Cat Whitehill - 6 - Rarely challenged by mediocre Sweden.
Kate Markgraf - 5 - Same as Whitehill.
Leslie Osborne - 5 - Played within herself.
Carli Lloyd - 5 - Easier time against less mobile Swedes.
Lori Chalupny - 7 - Most effective US midfielder.
Abby Wambach - 7 - Worked hard, scorer of both goals.
Kristine Lilly - 6 - Quality pas to assist Wambach.
Lindsey Tarpley - 5 - Uneventful performance.

Greg Ryan - 5 - Ryan's tactical acumen was not tested by fitness-lacking, highly overrated Swedish team. It was almost amusing to watch Schellin play wide and the 5'2 Ljungberg chase down high balls in the middle.
Player of the Match - Abby Wambach

Naimo accuses former employers of lack of ambition

"Naimo was looking for a new challenge with a more ambitious club.
"...they didn't share my vision to get to the next level," he said. "I think it's important to have room to grow, and we weren't on the same page with that."

Vancouver wins W-League

Vancouver 3, Ottawa 0

Notre Dame 0, UNC 6

A soldout standing room-only crowd of more than 3,000 fans on hand at the new Alumni Stadium Friday night, hoping to the 2nd ranked Irish women's soccer team get its revenge on top ranked North Carolina in a rematch of last year's national championship game, won by the Tar Heels.
It didn't happen.
Jessica McDonald had two goals and an assist, while Casey Nogueira added a goal and an assist for North Carolina en route to a 6-0 win over the Irish.

20 million for the Honda from Red Bull

Monday, 22 June 2009
The news of the Red Bull offered 20 million for the Honda came to Barcelona (Montmelo GP). The house of energy drink that already sponsors personally to Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa would take the place of Repsol (the historic sponsor of Honda) on the fairings and consequently on the suits of the HRC Team. Up until this point, the Red Bull would like Andrea Dovizioso alongside none other than Jorge Lorenzo, team-mate of Valentino Rossi in Yamaha. In fact, the Yamah! a is discussing the renewal of the contract with Jorge Lorenzo and the choice of primary for the Majorcan is to be confirmed in Yamaha if there are no problems.

We see that the relationship between Valentino Rossi and the Mallorcan had deteriorated recently, he could take seriously the offer from Honda to himself. Also in Assen, we should already know the future of Marco Simoncelli who will move to MotoGP. The new rules require, however, that a novice can not begin on a factory team and therefore very likely that he will be riding for the Gresini Honda in 2010. Bearing in mind that the market has confirmed that Yamaha will not make more than 4 bikes in 2010 and that is why Aspar Martinez is talking to Ducati and Honda.

Federer, Nadal progress

Roger Federer is through to the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters, the world number one came back from 1-5 down to beat Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo who is currently ranked 132 in the world. Federer ended 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-1) a game which would have been one of great humiliation if he lost.

Rafael Nadal made easy work of beating Croatian Mario Ancic 6-0, 6-3. This was the third win for Nadal of four meetings with Ancic. The Spanaird is currently taking on his fellow countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero. The King of Clay is leading 6-4 in the first set.

Pic: www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Paris champ Ivanovic on top of the world

Ana Ivanovic's reign as world number one could be short lived if one looks at the talent currently playing the women's game. The 20 year old has matured by winning the French Open, although she did it in the absence of the retired Justine Henin. She claimed 850 ranking points to become the first Serb to be world number one.

Currently Maria Sharapova, Jelena Jankovic and Svetlana Kusnetsova are all within reach of her position with Wimbledon coming up. Then there's the other hopefuls Elena Dementieva, the Williams sisters, Anna Chakvetadze and surprise Roland Garros finalist Dinara Safina.

Nadal 'almost perfect'

After Rafael Nadal's fantastic performance against Andy Murray yesterday he has admitted his performance was 'near perfect'.

Nadal outclassed England's number one also ending any hope of a home player in the semi-finals. He showed his pure brilliance winning the first set 6-3 and the second set 6-2. Murray then put pressure on the world number two in third set but as usual Nadal showed his supremacy winning 6-4.

The Spaniard says he feels he is doing a lot of things better than last year, his slice and his position on the court have improved. He will face either Rainer Schuettler or Arnaud Clement in the semi-finals. Schuettler and Arnaud had a set each before rain intervened. They will finish their tie today.

Nadal is poised to meet Roger Federer in the final. Federer will do battle with Marat Safin. The towering Russian has never made it this far in the competition and will be hoping to dethrone five-time champion Federer.

Some fun at the games

Here are some of the lighter moments from the 2008 Beijing Olympics so far...


Cereal winner
Swimming's serial champion Michael Phelps, winner of an historic eight gold medals at the Beijing Games, will receive one of US sport's traditional accolades when his picture appears on boxes of cornflakes in supermarkets across the country in September.

Softball survival
Japan's upset win over the United States in the Beijing Games softball final may have marked the sport's farewell from the Olympics, but officials insisted the Fengtai softball field would remain. Low Beng Choo of Malaysia, secretary general of the Softball Federation of Asia, said the local government were keen to use the venue as a training facility and to host Asian international competitions. "It's a
legacy," Low said. "We have strong teams from Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia the Philippines. To develop these teams is v! ery important for Asia and important for softball."

Hyper-exposure
American David Payne, silver medallist in the 110m hurdles behind Cuban Dayron Robles, isn't among the many who believe the Olympic Games are too commercialized. Given the Games happen just once every four years, Payne says there can't be too much publicity. "We get this opportunity every four years, they might as well put all the publicity into it," he said. "I think they probably need to have a little more commercialization. There needs to be channels dedicated to individual sports - you should be able to watch waterpolo all day, you should be able to watch track and field all day, you should be able to watch fencing all day if you want to.

1,000 and counting
The goal scored by Carli Lloyd against Brazil in extra time of the women's Olympic football final gave the United States its 1,000th gold medal in Olympic competition. The gold medal w! on the the US, where football is as popular among girls as boy! s, was t heir third in four Olympic Games.

The History of Hamiltons RFC

Robbie Fleck and Hugh Bladen look at the history of Hamiltons Rugby Club on Greenpoint Common. It's the oldest club in the country.

Poor Chiliboy

Sharks prop, Jannie du Plessis, is likely to replace brother Bismarck for the final tour test against England at Twickenham on Saturday. But that leaves just one question: What about Chiliboy Ralephele?

Bismarck left the field with a serious hamstring injury against Scotland at Murrayfield after just four minutes and has been sent home with Jannie being placed on standby. Captain John Smit is expected to pack down at hooker on Saturday with Brian Mujati promoted to the starting lineup at tighthead. The Boks have ! another hooker in the squad in Ralephele but he'll probably lose out to Jannie in the match 22 which seems a bit unfair.

Here you have a guy in who so much has been invested, on tour, taking part in all the practice sessions and yet he could lose out to a guy who hasn't played rugby since the Currie Cup final. Why then pick Ralephele to be part of the squad and not have any intention of playing him?

Same can be said for Earl Rose who has been watching the Boks play from the stands.

Jannie hasn't been called up to the squad yet but if he is, I think Ralephele can feel justifiably aggrieved.

Davids signs for Supersport

Lance Davids has returned to South Africa and has joined SuperSport United on a six month deal.

He will be at the club till the end of the season from Swedish side Djurgardens.
The 23-year-old has never played football in South African because he left the country nine years ago to play in Germany for the Bundesliga side as a youngster.

He said that with the Swedish League only resuming in April, his choice was not hard to make.

"The league is starting late, so for me idling in Europe and waiting is not going to be a good thing especially with the national team playing next week. So I decided why not come to a team like SuperSport."

Davids also mentioned that one of the reasons he came back to SA was to get some game time to better his chances of getting a place in the Bafana Bafana squad for the Confederations Cup later this year.

Most of Europe has been gripped by a bitterly cold winter and Da! vids said even though he was happy to be back in the sunshine, he was still getting used to it.

"For the last two days I have been battling with the weather and even though we train at 08:00 there is little relief but its not easy especially being in Pretoria but the sun is out so that is ok."

Odendaal hails IPL a succes in Cape Town

Western Province Cricket CEO Andre Odendaal said on Tuesday he was pleased to see this year's IPL had created more cricket fans.

The tournament kicked of in Cape Town two weeks ago with the last match taking place on Sunday at Sahara Park Newlands.

Cricket supporters in the Mother City were treated to some explosive cricket with the world's best cricketers on show along with some top class entertainment.

Odendaal said the event showcased Cape Town's ability to hold a world class sports competition.

"It was a wonderful fortnight, we were under incredible pressure and there was a lot of activity going on. I think we showed what a beautiful venue and city this is for sports events."

The IPL will continue to take place around the country as the eight games allocated to Cape Town have been played.

Odendaal said the experience of being part of such an event is one that did not happen very often.!

"There was an incredible energy in the stadium and to see a packed Newlands with 17 000 people along with the glitz and glam of the event was something none of us have experienced before."

Ecclestone gets gold medal for lunacy

I have tried to refrain from discussing the proposed plan by FOM leader Bernie Ecclestone that instead of a points system, the world championship will be decided by awarding medals (gold, silver, bronze). However, today Eccelstone has declared that this system will be introduced in 2009.

Basically the system would award the driver's title to the driver with the most gold medals. So in 2008, Massa would have won the title because he had 6 wins to Lewis Hamilton's 5 (6 golds to 5). The premise of implementing such as system in Ecclestone's rationale is that this would help increase overtaking because there would be more incentive for a driver to go for the win.

There are multiple criticisms and problems of such a scheme. In addition there are far less radical solutions that would keep the sport's historical context relevant.

We must consider race stewards in this equation. We have had plenty of drivers in 2008 go for overtaking opportunities an! d be aggressive in these opportunities in addition to race starts. Their reward has been getting penalized by race stewards. If Formula One is looking to get even more politicized instituting this system would be confirmation of the sports demise. I guarantee there will be a avalanche of protests of questionable driving else the penalty system is significantly overhauled.

Moreover, what about a driver that gets a lucky win due to rain conditions and never gets near what would have been the traditional points positions? Is that win more valuble then a driver that consistently finishes 6th or 7th in inferior equipment? I don't think so.

Why does not Ecclestone propose awarding the driver that wins the race with more points or increasing the gap between 1st and 2nd place (as was the case in Formula One's past). This was the case for many years until the points system was changed to award 2nd place driver with more points and to extend points allocations t! o 8th instead of 6th. In my opinion the current system is fine! , as it rewards consistent drivers and teams. I am much more impressed with a driver and team that can consistently do well as opposed to drivers and teams that are sporadic in the sense that they are race winners one day and finish 6th or 7th the next. Nevertheless, if the system is to change, increasing the gap is very sensible.

Former Formula One team principal Eddie Jordan believes Bernie Ecclestone's plan to replace the Formula One points system is nonsense. Moreover, Jordan railed against the system saying to BBC Radio Five Live, " The points are necessary. I was one of the team principals in the team principals' meetings who advocated that the points should go down to eighth place because one point to a team down there is as important as a win is to the likes of McLaren and Ferrari and we must never forget that. I can promise you, having been in that position, two points against no points is a huge difference. Drivers like Massa, who started at the very bottom and ! worked his way up, know how important those points are at the back of the field. Everybody that's involved in the financial side knows how important it is and the extraordinary excitement there is for getting a point at the back. McLaren and Ferrari are working on a budget of perhaps 250 million, and then you have other teams like Force India and Toro Rosso, who to everyone's surprise won a race this year, who would have maybe ten or eight times less budget to play with, and inferior drivers because they're learning their trade and they will come and be world champions in years to come. But they have to find their feet somewhere, and that place has to be in the smaller teams because they're the people who take the risks. He's tinkering with something that in my opinion he has lost the understanding of. He thinks people are only interested in winning the races. I'm sorry, but there's just not enough thought put into this. It should be put to one side and discussed by him and! Max Mosley, and for Bernie Ecclestone to say it's coming with! the ful l approval of all the teams, I simply don't believe it."

I am with Jordan, I simply do not believe Ecclestone's statements that teams and the FIA are backing it. If they truly want F1 to be about 2, maybe 3 teams and destroy interest in the other teams and consign F1 to a spec series with no purpose other than for the sake of its own existence (as was having 2 open wheel series in the USA) they truly are mad. Moreover, I would be curious to how the Concorde Agreement relates to such a radical change.

Keisuke Honda Not Ruling Out Move To Liverpool Or Everton

Keisuke Honda's agent has admitted the player would be interested in a move to the Premier League.

Both Liverpool and Everton are reported to be interested in the Japanese international, who has set the Eredivisie alight with his scintillating displays for VVV Venlo, scoring seven goals from nine appearances so far this season.

The Settsu-born star was instrumental in winning Venlo promotion to the Eredivisie last season and has also reportedly drawn interest from Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam and PSV Eindhoven.

"There are a lot of clubs following him, but there is nothing concrete at the moment," the 23-year-old's agent, Kees Ploegsma, told Sky Sports! .

"I don't know anything about Liverpool and Everton and we will wait and see what happens in January.

"Of course Keisuke would be interested in playing in England. England is a very good country for playing football.

"If a club makes an offer and Keisuke likes that club something could happen, but we will wait and see."

Honda has been capped seven times by Japan and is estimated to be worth £3 million.

Rafa Benitez Stands By Steven Gerrard Selection

Liverpool FC manager Rafa Benitez insists he did not take an unwise gamble on Steven Gerrard's fitness in the 2-1 Champions League defeat at home to Lyon.

The Liverpool FC manager believes too that the Reds can still reach the last 16, despite having only three points from three Group E matches so far. The loss of Gerrard after just 25 minutes with a recurrence of his groin injury was a savage blow, with Fernando Torres and Glen Johnson both also sidelined.

Benitez said: "It was not a gamble to play Gerrard. He wanted to play and had trained normally for two games."

H! e added: "He was given the all-clear by the doctor, and what happened was just bad luck. He felt something wrong in his groin, and it was wise to come off."

Benitez will oversee a succession of scans for his injured stars before being able to start preparation for Sunday's visit of Premier League champions Manchester United.

Liverpool have staged miracle survivals in the group stages of Europe before - and will need another one now.

Benitez recalled: "We have come back before - and we can do it again.

"We now must be ready for the next match. I have confidence that we have the quality to overcome these problems.

"We have to push players now, to keep working and to maintain our confidence. We just had too many problems before and during the game. Losing Glen Johnson before the match, and then Gerrard and Martin Kelly during the match, was just too much to contend with.

"It was a difficult game with all our pro! blems, and we had done well to be leading at the break. Then w! e had tw o or three chances soon after the interval."

Rafael Benítez Under Fire As Liverpool Slump Again

Rafael Benítez is facing renewed speculation over his future at Liverpool after his nine-man side collapsed to a humiliating sixth defeat in seven games. The 3-1 loss at Fulham, during which defenders Philipp Degen and Jamie Carragher were both sent off, was their fifth league defeat of the season. However Benítez last night dismissed suggestions that his job is in doubt and pledged to appeal against both red card decisions.

Liverpool had dominated a first half in which Bobby Zamora had put Fulham ahead and Fernando Torres e! qualised, but when Erik Nevland put Fulham in front for the second time and Torres was taken off, the London club eased to victory – Clint Dempsey scoring a late third for the home side.

Benítez said: "It's hard to take the defeat. The first half was one-sided: we just made one mistake and conceded a goal. The second half they were more offensive and we made a massive mistake when we conceded the second goal. We worked hard with nine players, but it was very difficult. The red cards were two incidents in a few minutes when we were losing and they were difficult to take. The first one was a yellow card. The second one you can clearly see Carragher was kicking the ball."

Benítez dismissed questions over his future at Anfield, saying people needed to be "realistic" about the run of results, and shrugging off boos from Liverpool fans after he substituted Yossi Benayoun. "We still have confidence: we just need to take our chances and not make mistakes like ! we did today," he said. "You have to stay calm and keep workin! g hard a nd find solutions. We also have to be realistic, and focus on three points from the next game against Birmingham."

Liverpool now face going into the crucial Champions League match against Lyon on Wednesday without Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard. Benítez said he would "have to see how Gerrard progresses" with his troublesome groin injury, while Torres is still not fully fit and was taken off after 60 minutes at Craven Cottage.

Benítez said: "We decided to play Torres against Manchester United last Sunday and it was a difficult decision because he was not 100% fit. He needed four days to be ready and is still not 100% fit. We decided to put him on the pitch today, but we had to protect him and that's why we took him out. I don't want to lose an important player for one month."

Carragher insisted the referee, Lee Mason, was wrong to send him off. "I felt it was harsh," the defender said. "I got a toe on the ball and I don't know if the refer! ee was in the best position to see that. And when Bobby Zamora said I got the ball that says it all really." Asked if Liverpool's crisis was hurting, he replied: "Yeah, it's hurting a lot."

Kitty Zhang Yu Qi Chinese Girl Artist

Kitty Zhang recently become the focus of media attention due to favor shown to her by reowned Hong Kong actor Stephen Chow and has been dubbed a play on the familiar Bond Girls. She is liked by Stephen Chow on the grounds that single eye lids actresses a! re far and few in between and he holds a belief that foreigner! s will p refer single eye lids Asian girls more.

Sexy Young Indian Girls

Sexy Young Indian Girls Photo

Yamaha unveils MX line-up

From Yamaha Motor Canada

TORONTO, ON -- Yamaha Motor Canada announced today the members of its two motocross teams.

Riding out of the official Yamaha Canada/Shift Racing semi are Doug Dehaan (MX1), Brad Hagseth (MX1) and Kyle Beaton (MX2west/MX1east). Simon Homans (MX1/MX2east) will also ride for Yamaha Canada out of his own race transporter.

In the Western half of the series, the emerging young speedster Beaton will race MX2 on his Mongoose Machine-tuned YZ250F, for the eastern rounds he will pilot the potent YZ250 two-stroke in the MX1 class alongside Dehaan and Hagseth. Hagseth, the only American on the team, is not eligible to race the MX2 class by virtue of his two previous championship seasons on the blue bikes in that class.

For the Eastern leg, Dehaan and Homans will pace the blue team in both classes. Dehaan looks to improve upon his third place overall finish las! t year in MX2, when some unfortunate luck kept him from standing on the top of the box. Yamaha can also expect some consistently fast results out of Homans, the 2002 125 East champ.

Team manager is former Yamaha Canada factory rider Jari Heinonen. "Yamaha has put together a very solid team to contest the CMRC Pro Nationals and I'm really looking forward to working with our riders and mechanics. They bring lots of heart and dedication, with each of them putting in an all out effort to place Yamaha atop the podium. With this team's personnel and positive outlook, it is going to be a good summer for Yamaha and we are going to have a great season."

The factory team will receive support from Clearbrook Yamaha and Atlantic Yamaha, plus product support from Shift, M2R, Pirelli, GYT-R, Alpinestars, Renthal, Bill's Pipes, Works Connection, Enzo Suspension Canada, Ready Racing filters and D.I.D. Racing Chain.

Yamaha Canada's satellite team, Morgan Mot! orsports Yamaha will be orchestrated by veteran manager Chris ! Morgan. Returning to the blue team, but staying with Morgan, will be Californian Craig Decker on the big YZ450F. Decker, a consistent podium finisher is thrilled to be back on the big thumper. Filling out the trailer will be last years MX2 podium finisher, Erick Vallejo. The Texas-based rider has been contesting the U.S. Supercross Series and looks forward to racing the MX1 and MX2 classes north of the border. Vallejo is confident the experience gained last year will improve his results.

Along with the National race effort, Yamaha will be offering free rides for youngsters as part of its Yamaha Riding Academy (YRA) program at each round of the nationals. Kids aged 5-12 will receive professional instruction and take a free spin on a Yamaha PW or TT-R series motorcycle. Some restrictions apply. See the YRA tent at the track for full details.

Inside Motorcycles // www.insidemotorcycles.com

Zox signs Lacombe

From Motovan Corporation

Zox has announced that an agreement has been reached with Canadian Superbike rider Kevin Lacombe.

The 23-year-old Granby, QC native is currently riding with Picotte Yamaha Racing and will be sporting a Zox Spectra R helmet.

For more information on Zox helmets visit www.zoxhelmets.com.

Inside Motorcycles // www.insidemotorcycles.com

Bengals Release RB Chris Perry and Others

In the day after the draft the Cincinnati Bengals have terminated the contracts of five players which include last years starting RB Chris Perry. The cuts include:

Chris Perry, RB
Perry was drafted by the Bengals in the first round of the 2004 draft. He battled injury throughout most of his career but was named the starter in 2008. Perry played in 13 games for the Bengals in 2008 starting 6. He rushed for 269 yards averaging 20.7 ypg.

Mike Doss, DB
Doss was acquired by the Bengals in 2008, he played in three games but only registered 1 tackle. Doss showed some promise for Indianapolis early in his career but slowly fizzled after just three seasons with the Colts.

Nate Lawrie, TE
Lawrie played in 8 games for the Bengals in 2008 starting for three of them. He only managed 2 receptions for 11 yards on the season. Lawrie was acquired by the Bengals in 2007.

Eric Henderson, DE/LB
Signed as a College Free Agent in 2006 Henderson spent most of his time with the Bengals on the practice squad. He did manage to make the roster in 2008 and get two tackles before injuring his neck in December and being placed on injured-reserve.

Gary Russell, RB
Russell is a three year veteran of the league and was acquired by the Bengals on April 17th. Russell played the last two seasons with Pittsburgh where last year he rushed for 77 yards but had 3 TD's.

Some Mid-Morning Thoughts on the Bengals

* Andre Smith's agent Alvin Keels announced yesterday on his Twitter page: "Sent over what I thought was a very good and fair proposal today to the Bengals! Let's hope it does the trick. If not back to square one!"

Keels definition of very good and fair may not be the same as Mike Brown and Katie Blackburn. Keels is requesting an increase of pay over the pick that was selected after Smith, which is typically the case. But the Bengals are holding to the fact that the Raiders have overpaid for their pick. Really this whole thing is a mess but it is not all together Keels and the Bengals fault. The system is severely flawed. Rookies are being paid astronomical contracts without proving a thing on the field. Meanwhile players who have proven that they can contribute are struggling for contracts. The superstars will always get paid, but it is the marginal stars and role players who suffer. I would say this should be address in the next collective barga! ining agreement. They should reference the NBA how they use "slotting" to determine rookie contracts.


* I really enjoyed Hard Knocks last night some of the highlights and thoughts from me:
- How bad did you feel for Reggie Kelly? That one will hurt the team. Carson has really been a supporter of the impact Kelly has had on this team. From what we saw yesterday you could tell he is a leader and his presence will be missed. That one will hurt.
- I really don't like the way that we cut players. Jim Lippincott, director of player personnel, walked into J.D. Runnels room at 5:30 in the morning, woke him up and told him he was cut. I get why they do it early, so he has a chance to find another team. From what I have seen of the show the Chiefs director of players calls the player in after practice. Jerry Jones would call the players in for the Cowboys. I don't know if that is how they handle every release, but that one didn't look go! od to me. I surely hope they did not do that for veteran Kenny! Watson.
- Chad is stupid, but I love Chad I just can't help it. Child Please!
- I am now very worried about Chase Coffman at TE this season.
- Roy Williams looked very soft in the footage that they covered him, I hope that he turns it up on game day.
- The City of Georgetown and Cincinnati looked very good on camera. HBO does it better than anyone.
- I am really excited to get a better look at Mike Brown and how he handles this franchise. We had a sneak peak in on some of the meetings that he had with the whole team and whole staff. I think this footage may answer some questions for Bengals fans.

* First preseason game is this Friday night in New Orleans. Preseason game are worthless for the most part outside of the first few series. I am interested to see our run and pass defense against a good offensive Saints team. Also interested to see how the O-line holds up. Its still early but hope to open up with a bang!

Fui Vakapuna signed to the 53 man roster

In somewhat of a surprise move the Cincinnati Bengals have signed FB Fui Vakapuna to their 53 man roster. After releasing Vakapuna on their final cut day this season he was picked up by the Arizona Cardinals for their practice squad. The Bengals opted to keep Jeremi Johnson on the team as the FB and sign Chris Pressley to their practice squad. Last week Pressley was picked up by Tampa Bay. I see this move as a desperation move by Cincinnati. I would definitely rather have Chris Pressley on the roster than Fui, but I hope that he is able to figure i! t out. Jeremi Johnson is probable for this week against Baltimore. If he doesn't go this could hurt the running game.

Rich Reviews: The Dark Knight

Is there a better comic book movie? I haven't seen one. Simply put The Dark Knight is one of the best movies in years. The sequel to Batman Begins took home an opening weekend record of $155+ million. It was one of the most hyped up films in recent memory and more than lived up to it. I never wanted it to end. I'm not sure I have a single thing to complain about. It's easy to get let down by a movie after you've waited so long to see it, but that was not the case here. I want to see it again.

Christian Bale already became my favorite Batman following the last film. With all due respect to Michael Keaton, Bale was just better. He was a comparable Bruce Wayne, and a far superior Batman. Both men were better for the role than Val Kilmer and not even close to the forgettable effort my George Clooney in Batman & Robin. Bale brought the same intensity to his Batman and cockiness and swagger to his Wayne from the first. Bale's stat line would be 2-2, 2 HR.

Director Christopher Nolan certainly made sure to put the "dark" in Dark Knight. At times I was almost surprised the film was rated PG-13. I guess as long as you don't drop F bombs or show boobs anything can avoid the R rating. Clearly the movie executives wanted to make sure it wasn't an R so it could capture the highest gros! sing opening weekend, but you could see how they could have cr! ossed a line and just made it over the top. Perhaps an unrated DVD is in the future? But the film still delivered with implied violence and excellent camera work.

What put this movie over the top was the performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker. A year or two ago when I read that Ledger agreed to play the part, I admit I was very skeptical. How could he pull this off? I mean, Jack Nicholson was the Joker. It would be like recreating Star Wars with a new Han Solo or Ace Ventura with a different…Ace Ventura. Looked like an up hill struggle. But as you have seen, whether in the theater or on the previews, they just made him crazier, scarier, and well darker.

This ain't your father's Joker. Ledger por! trays an absolute psycho path who has nothing to lose. His makeup is fantastic, and his performance is one of the best villains I have ever seen on screen. As I have mentioned before other super hero movies like Iron Man or Hulk lack popular/ fascinating villains. It's the exact opposite in The Dark Knight. You'll find yourself more interested in the Joker and even the chilling reincarnation of Two-Face more than Batman. And it's no fault of Batman's because he too is very good.

The acting is unparalleled for the typical comic book movie. I enjoy this films so much I always over look the less than stellar performances by the actors/actresses in! movies such as X-Men! or Fantastic 4. The Dark Knight is on par with any other Oscar nominated film. Bale, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman reappraise their roles from the 1st film along with the additions of Ledger, Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent/ Two-Face), and Maggie Gyllenhaal (in for Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes.) The cast is a Dominique Wilkins slam dunk. Wind mill style.

What more can I say about it? It's one of the best movies I have seen in a while, I recommend it to everyone and anyone, whether you're a comic fan or not. Even though I assume most of you have seen the film, I didn't want to get into any kind of spoilers, but please leave a comment with your thoughts on the movie or any questions you may have.

Final ! Rating: 10/10

-Keefe

World Champion Cup Stacker

I got home this morning and my father had me pull up the DVR. On Fox News Boston this morning they had a World Champion Cup Stacker, some little kid like, 7 years old. Seems somewhat stupid, not newsworthy and semi retarded to be watching, right? Wrong. Watch this...it's amazing...



-Bess

Jimmy the Greek's Week 7 NFL picks

The Greek is about to head off and work the Northeastern football game. For those of you that haven't been following, The Greek's alma maters, both Northeastern and St. Paul's, are in the midst of seasons of futility. The Huskies are 0-6 and have been outscored 241-70. For those of you keeping score at home, that's an average of about 40-10. In fact they've lost a couple games 54-0 and 56-7 to B.C. and Villanova, respectively. Just awful. But equally as awful have been the Fighting Pelicans of St. Paul's, who stand at 0-4 and have been outscored 101-26, including back-to-back shutouts to start the season. So I'm gonna release a couple lines of my own today...who will lose by a bigger margin? NU plays Hofstra while SPS takes on St. George's. Both games are at their respective home fields, but let's be honest, that won't help anyone. They practically play all road games with the rabid fan bases they're bringing in at home.

In other news, BJal continues to suck at pi! cking games, going back to his losing ways with an embarrassing loss last night. I hope to God he is right with his ND pick today, but I can't handle back-to-back Irish losses, especially the latter to B.C. But let's face it, BJal picking your favorite team is like the kiss of death.

Onto The Greek's Week 7 NFL picks...I'm just giving you the picks this week, no breakdowns. As always, lines are courtesy of the elder Greek's office pool on CBS Sports...

Vikings (+4.5) over Steelers
49ers (+3.5) over Texans
Chargers (-4.5) over Chiefs
Colts (-13.5) over Rams
Pats (-14.5) over Bucs
Packers (-6.5) over Browns
Jets (-6.5) over Raiders
Panthers (-6.5) over Bills
Falcons (+3.5) over Cowboys
Dolphins (+6.5) over Saints
Bears (+1.5) over Bengals
Cardinals (+6.5) over Giants
Eagles (-7.5) over Redskins

-The Greek

Wigan Athletic 3 Chelsea 1

The Premier League match report between Wigan Athletic and Chelsea at the DW Stadium on Saturday Sept 26, 2009.

It all comes to an end sooner or later and as Wigan finally managed a victory against a big four team for the first time in 35 attempts, Carlo Ancelotti's perfect start to life in England was no longer.

Titus Bramble got Wigan on their way with an early header and after Didier Drogba equalised five minutes after the restart, Petr Cech felled Hugo Rodallega, earning himself a red card.

Rodallega made no mistake with the penalty ! that followed and 10-man Chelsea worried Wigan only when the hosts began to sit deep in the closing stages before Paul Scharner added a third in added time.

There was little to suggest what might be ahead as, even in the absence of Michael Ballack, Chelsea began with authority and purpose that saw Michael Essien and Nicolas Anelka threaten in the early stages, while Frank Lampard was also narrowly off-target after fine attacking work from Ashley Cole.

But at the back, they looked unconvincing, with the hard work of Jason Scotland, who is in his first season in the top flight after joining from Swansea in the summer, unsettling both John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho.

The Trinidad forward was slipped through by Charles N'Zogbia and had a shot deflected wide off Cech. N'Zogbia was once mistakenly called 'Insomnia' by former manger Joe Kinnear but he made Chelsea pay a heavy price for going to sleep at the resulting corner.!

No-one picked up the Frenchman's long run to receive! a short corner and his clipped cross was headed in by an unmarked Bramble.

After that breakthrough, there was little response from Chelsea, who were struggling to cope with Wigan's aggressive pressing and impressive use of the ball.

Paul Scharner was playing in an unusually advanced role just behind Scotland and the Austrian scooped over from the forward's strong off-load and only a well-timed slide from Terry stopped Scotland firing in after the ex-Swansea man seized on hesitation from Carvalho.

From the corner that followed, Wigan again played short and N'Zogbia's hanging cross was knocked back in for Emmerson Boyce to force a fine block from Cech.

However, the chance of a shock result were severely dented just a minute and a half after the restart when Malouda crossed from the left for Drogba to scuff through Kirkland's legs.

The game was turned on its head again five minutes later when N'Zogbia sent Hugo! Rodallega through and although the Columbian took the ball wide, he was clipped by Cech, with referee Phil Dowd pointing to the post and showing the Czech goalkeeper a straight red card.

Rodallega sent the spot-kick straight down the middle and past substitute goalkeeper Henrique Hilario to restore Wigan's lead.

Other than a Drogba lob over, there was little response from the visitors and when substitute Saloman Kalou swung at thing air after a rare threatening passing move before Scharner tapped in a late third.

Maria Sharapova advances to quarter-finals at Pan Pacific Open in Japan

Former world No 1 Maria Sharapova has progressed into the quarter-finals of the Pan Pacific Open.

The Russian beat compatriot Alisa Kleybanova 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 to the relief of Tokyo organisers after a flood of early upsets at the $2 million event.

Sharapova, who has been struggling since returning from a 10-month injury lay-off, will face Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals on Thursday. Benesova defeated Taiwan's Chang Kai-chan! 7-5, 6-2.

Sharapova, 25th in the world rankings, took control of the match in the second set when she broke Kleybanova three times to open up a 5-0 lead. Kleybanova broke back in the sixth game and held before Sharapova served to win the set.

"She started off really strong," Sharapova said. "I was too slow in the beginning. Nobody had much of a warm-up today, we kind of had to warm up in the first few games and she did a much better job of that than me."

Sharapova, who broke the unseeded Kleybanova three more times in the final set before closing out the match, won her first tournament as a professional at the Japan Open in 2003 and won in Tokyo in 2005.

With the top six seeds all out of the tournament, she is positioned well for another shot at a title.

"Some of the other girls not in the top 10 have played really well here," Sharapova said. "You've got to expect that from every player you play ! and focus on the task at hand."

Jelena Jankovic of! Serbia advanced when Russia's Elena Vesnina was forced to retire with a left thigh injury.

Jankovic, the tournament's seventh-seeded player, was leading 6-1, 3-0 when the third-round match was stopped.

Jankovic is the highest seeded player in the tournament but said she won't allow that to add to the pressure of winning here for the first time.

"I don't really think about that," Jankovic said. "I just think about my game and what I have to do on the court. I don't want to put too much pressure on myself."

Jankovic will now meet France's Marion Bartoli in the quarter-finals on Thursday. Fourteenth-seeded Bartoli recovered from a set down to defeat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Valencia 0-0 Barcelona

Barcelona saw their Primera Liga lead cut to a solitary point by Real Madrid as they were held to a goalless draw by Valencia.

Pablo Hernandez went close from his own half and strike partner Juan Mata missed a host of chances, while David Silva was denied by Victor Valdes from the best opportunity of the match.

Rodriguez Pedrito and Yaya Toure threatened for Barca, but they will be happy to take a share of the spoils and remain a point ahead of arch-rivals Madrid, ! who beat Real Valladolid 4-2.

Valencia started brightly and Pablo Hernandez broke clear but finished poorly and allowed keeper Victor Valdes to make a brave save, before the same player's corner was headed over by Juan Mata.

Dani Alves shot wide from long range and thumped a free-kick straight into the wall either side of a shot by left-footed Luis Miguel from the left side of the penalty area which missed right.

Barca were carved open shortly after the half-hour mark and were grateful when Mata ballooned his shot yards over the bar after being picked out by David Silva's low cross.

Mata was struggling in front of goal and failed, admittedly under strong pressure from Carles Puyol, to control full-back Saltor Bruno's lofted through-ball.

Cesar Sanchez was quickly off his line to prevent Andres Iniesta latching on to Dani Alves' well weighted pass and Xavi hit another free-kick into the wall as the half ended goalless.

Lionel Messi t! hreatened shortly after the restart as a volley on his weaker ! right fo ot flashed wide, before Mata headed Jeremy Mathieu's cross wide of the post.

Messi drew a good save from Cesar with a 25-yard curler, back on his favoured left side, and Xavi shot wide from just outside the box.

Rodriguez Pedrito then had Barca's best chance to date when the ball broke to him in the box with keeper Cesar out of position. Faced with a crowd of defenders, though, he saw his shot on the turn deflected wide by David Navarro.

Mathieu shot wide for Valencia, who then brought the best out of Valdes twice in quick succession.

First Pablo launched an outrageous lob from the halfway line which the keeper had to scramble to tip over, and then Mathieu's cross picked out Silva, who was denied by Valdes from point-blank range.

Yaya Toure was almost gifted a late winner as his low shot was fumbled by Cesar, the veteran scrambling to recover the loose ball before holding up a casual hand of acknowledgement to placate the fans behind the go! al, whose hearts had been in their mouths.

But it remained goalless, with the hosts remaining fifth and two points ahead of Real Mallorca.

Birmingham City 2 Sunderland 1

The Premier League football match between Birmingham City and Sunderland at St Andrews on Saturday Oct 24, 2009.

Birmingham City welcomed their new owners to St Andrew's with a victory over Sunderland, a lavish celebration by their own standards at the home team managed to score twice in a Premier League game for the first time this season.

While Carson Yeung, the Hong Kong businessman who has taken control of the club, could afford a smile in the directors' box, the mood of Sunderland manager Steve Bruce more resembled a

Bruce departed Birmingham in acrimonious circumstances as the current owners began takeover talks with the old regime two years ago and his pre-match talk reflected his anger at the nature of his leaving.

His return, though, was blighted by Birmingham's desire to impress their new bosses and a relatively attacking 4-4-2 formation favoured by manager Alex McLeish.

It almost reaped its rewards when Chucho, the Ecuadorian forward making a rare start up front, supplied a centre for James McFadden that Kieran Richardson blocked bravely.

The creator almost opened his Birmingham account seconds later when Craig Gordon saved at the near post but the goal that had been threatening finally arrived in the 37th minute, albeit with more than a hint of offside.

Seb Larsson floated over a free kick from the left where Liam Ridgewell's knee got the final touch inside the six yard box.

They doubled that lead two! minutes after half time when Cameron Jerome flicked on Lar! sson's p ass to McFadden. The Scotland player composed himself, cut inside Phillip Bardsely and curled a fine finish into the bottom corner of the net.

Bruce's hopes of a happy return were revived when the jittery Joe Hart allowed Michael Turner to deflect Andy Reid's cross towards goal where Birmingham defender Scott Dann completed the job with a luckless own goal.

In a frantic finale, Darren Bent and substitute Frazier Campbell might have snatched a draw but without a stray beach ball anywhere in sight, Birmingham hung on deservedly for their first home win since Aug 19.

Swiss Super League Review

Basle missed a chance to put a little pressure on Super League leaders Young Boys as they were held 2-2 at FC Zurich.

Basle fell behind eight minutes after the break through Onyekachi Okonkwo, but turned the game round courtesy of strikes from Benjamin Huggel (61) and Valentin Stocker (63).

But Milan Gajic, who had been on the pitch only a minute, levelled four minutes from time, meaning Basle could narrow the gap only to six points.

Elsewhere, Mario Frick's! goal gave St Gallen a 1-0 win over Grasshoppers, while basement boys Aarau claimed just their sixth point of the season with a goalless draw against FC Sion.

Arsenal 4 AZ Alkmaar 1

The Champions League game between Arsenal and AZ Alkmaar at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday Nov 4 2009.

For all the recriminations about Arsenal 's failure to win a trophy since 2005, Arsène Wenger should soon have a rather more favourable statistic to recite to his critics.

Barring a truly extraordinary sequence of results, Wednesday night's resounding 4-1 victory over AZ Alkmaar has ensured that his team have now qualified for the last 16 o! f the Champions League in each of the past 10 seasons; a record that no other English club can match.

Once again, Arsenal's progress was built on the class both of their captain Cesc Fabregas and record-signing Andrei Arshavin. Fabregas scored twice to take his tally for the season to eight while Arshavin delivered yet another masterclass.

With a hectic festive period on Wenger's mind, injuries are a particular concern just now and the extent to which his Arsenal squad has already been depleted was evident in the selection of Nasri for a first Premier or Champions League start since breaking his leg during pre-season.

Nasri's ideal position remains a matter of some conjecture, with Wenger tempted in the longer term to develop the France international into one of his holding midfielders. However, with Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner injured, the preference last night was for an attacking role! in support of what has become Arsenal's 'Holy Trinity' of ! Robin va n Persie, Fabregas and Andrei Arshavin.

Immediately Nasri was involved, helping to feed Van Persie, who had found space to unleash a powerful shot just wide of Sergio Romero's right-hand post. Under further pressure, Romero then inadvertently handled a back-pass to provide Arsenal with a free-kick from the edge of the six-yard box that was blasted straight into a makeshift wall by Van Persie.

With Emmanuel Eboué again preferred to Bacary Sagna for the Champions League and Kieran Gibbs deputising for the injured Gael Clichy, Arsenal appeared to lack a little of their usual width and initially struggled to penetrate a crowded midfield.

Ronald Koeman, the Alkmaar manager, had been accused by Wenger of adopting defensive tactics when his PSV Eindhoven team eliminated Arsenal in 2007 and his players were again organised last night with particular attention to restricting their opponents.

The game-plan was si! mple: deny Arsenal space and, where possible, feed high balls in the direction of Graziano Pelle, a towering 6ft 4 ins presence, whose aerial strength had provided the assist for Alkmaar's equaliser in Holland two weeks' ago.

It worked well for 25 minutes and, when Arsenal's possession was rewarded by a goal, it owed most to a goalkeeping mistake. William Gallas had unexpectedly burst forward and laid the ball into the path of Fabregas who simply cut inside Mendes da Silva and then looked as surprised as anyone when his shot dribbled between Romero and his near-post.

Fabregas continued to pose Arsenal's biggest threat and also headed narrowly over just before half-time.

The Fabregas goal had encouraged rather more adventure from Koeman's team and, while Moussa Dembele caused occasional problems for Gibbs, the flip-side was rather more space for Arsenal's most creative players.

This was duly exploited when! Andrei Arshavin split the Alkmaar defence with a cute thro! ugh-ball for Nasri. The 22-year-old still had work to do but, showing no hint of his recent lack of matches, brilliantly turned inside Hector Moreno and then shot beyond Romero.

With Arsenal continuing their record of scoring in every match this season, the only slight surprise had been Van Persie's failure to get among the goals. The pre-match compliments had certainly been plentiful. Koeman said that he was currently Holland's best player while Wenger, who always wears rather rose-tinted glasses when it comes to his own players, declared that he was currently the leading forward in the Premier League.

The key to Van Persie is not his goals, but rather the way he links play and creates space for others and, while not directly involved for the third, his run off the ball was still important. Arshavin again provided the assist, guiding a pass to Fabregas whose finish was utterly emphatic. Arsenal, though, were still not finished, w! ith Abou Diaby making it 4-0 when Arshavin (who else?) produced another defence-splitting pass.

Still revelling in their victory in the north London derby, Arsenal supporters wondered if they were again playing Tottenham and began serenading their manager. Wenger was unmoved and, in his quest for perfection from front to back, will have been more than a little irritated by Alkmaar's late consolation.

Manuel Almunia had made one outstanding save to deny Maarten Martens but, with the Emirates beginning to empty, was beaten at the near-post by Jeremain Lens.

What Do We Know About Manchester United

by Footballss

Manchester United Football club is one of the most successful and rich clubs in English football. The club was established in 1878 by the workers of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, and was called Newton Heath LYR. In 1885, the club has reached the final of Manchester Cup competition, and won it the following year. In 1902, the club was renamed and became Manchester United Football Club. John Henry Davies, a wealthy brewery owner, bought the team, saving it in time from large debt, and replacing its colors to the famous kit we today tend to associate with the club: red shirt and white trousers.

Man utd has won its first league in 1908; then followed many other trophies, starting from FA Cup in 1909. During its long history Manchester United Football Club has won the Premier League 16 times, and became the first English club to win the European club. The attacking style of their game brought them success; in the 90's, Manchest! er United won the Premiership, UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup. The number of their FA Cup titles amounts to 11. The club is known as one of the most lucrative football clubs in the world.

The club is based at the Old Trafford stadium in Trafford, Manchester; the capacity of the stadium is 76, 312 people. The manager of the club since 1986 is Sir Alex Ferguson. Manchester United is considered by many people as the most popular football club, having 50 million supporters around the world.

A big part of Watching Manchester united news is the interest in the Manchester united transfer rumous. The transferring of players and couches is one of Man utd most popular news updates.

This article has been bought to you by The Football Souvenir Store. We have a wide range of Manchester United gifts to suit fans of all ages.

About the Author

The Football Souvenir Store is a leading online shop with 1000's of football gifts all! at fantstic prices.

Sartori ha un rimpianto, si chiama Drogba

di Tiziana Garofalo

fonte: Gazzetta dello Sport

In ogni matrimonio che si rispetta il 25esimo anno è un bel traguardo uno di quelli da festeggiare in pompa magna. Un traguardo dal quale però sarebbe bello ripartire sempre con più voglia e determinazione. Sembra proprio questo l'obiettivo di Giovanni Sartori, direttore sportivo del Chievo che quest'oggi spegne le 25 candeline su di una torta tutta gialloblù. Tanti, infatti, sono gli anni di lavoro al Chievo tr l'attività di calciatore e quello di ds.

Ed il direttore sceglie di affidare alle pagine della Gazzetta dello Sport, proprio questo particolare giorno per svelare qualche aneddoto del suo lavoro, uno su tutti: "Nel 2002 Drogba (Nella foto, fonte commons.wikimedia.org), era appena arrivato al Guingamp,- racconta Sartori - giocava poco, andai a ve­derlo e capii subito che tipo di giocatore era. Ma costava troppo per noi, ci pensai a lung! o e poi cambiai obiettivo."

Un matrimonio quello con i clivensi che non sembra destinato a finire: Il mio futuro? Qui ho tutto. Mi porrò il problema solo se non mi vorranno più o se arriverà una proposta irrinunciabile. Altri­menti resterò al Chievo".

Secondo allenamento Rossonero

di Gianluca Tancini
Fonte:Ac Milan

dopo l'allenamento mattutino,nel pomeriggio la squadra si e ritrovata alle 15:00 all'interno dello spogliatoio per poi mezz'ora dopo iniziare la seconda sessione di allenamento la prima fase e stata dedicata al riscaldamento,esercizi con la palla e allo stretching,dopo questi esercizi la formazione rossonera si e impegnata in una partitella con le mani,su una porzione ridotta del campo di gioco.
Poi esercitazione tattica sulla metà campo:(tuta nera,pettorine verdi e gialle).
I rossoneri hanno studiato e provato i movimenti dei reparti cimentandosi in un lavoro attacco contro difesa.
Alla fine partitella finale con la durata di 30 minuti con attenzione particolare agli schemi di gioco

''Catania, puoi fidarti del nostro Catania''

di:Sebastiano Battiato
fonte: la sicilia

L'analisi è lucida, chiara, che la si condivida o no. Disteso, sorridente,disponibile. Nino Pulvirenti traccia un bilancio, il suo bilancio, dopo sette giornate di campionato, nel quarto anno consecutivo di Serie A. Stadio, centro sportivo, tifosi, città, investimenti, squadra, progetti e ambizioni di un Catania nuovo ridisegnato secondo canoni moderni, imprenditoriali, programmati anche in funzione di quello che è possibile fare. Nel rispetto dei ruoli, delle risorse, delle certezze e degli auspici. Cominciamo dal campiona! to e dal Cagliari, domenica pomeriggio al Cibali. ''Dobbiamno puntare ai tre punti - attacca il presidente- con tutto il rispetto per l'avversario, quadrato e solido dicono i risultati, soprattutto in trasferta. Il Catania ha dimostrato però di essere pronto a conquistare la prima vittoria, anzi, se permettete, dico che siamo pure in ritardo''. Lo scetticismo iniziale, dopo le tre sconfitte in altrettante giornate, sembra in parte esaurito. '' Credo sia giusto che la gente, quella che era rimasta spiazzata forse più dal risultato e non dal gioco, si sia ricreduta o lo abbia fatto almeno in gran parte. Il merito è dei giocatori e del tecnico che non si sono mai arresi, non hanno mai mollato, migliorando gioco, rendimento e prestazioni. Manca la vittoria è vero,ma la sensazione è che sia sfuggita anche per una dose di cattiva sorte. Speriamo che i novanta minuti col Cagliari ci regalino la prima grande gioia''. Lei crede che i cinquemila abbonati in meno siano figli solo di u! n' assuefazione alla categoria? ''In parte si, l'effetto purtr! oppo c'è stato. Ma è anche per colpa di una crisi generale, intendo economica, che ha portato una diminuzione degli abbonati in quasi tutta Italia. Il nostro obiettivo è comunque quello di riuscire un giorno ad avere uno stadio di soli abbonati, lasciando una minima parte agli occasionali. Vedrete che prima o poi ci riusciremo, convincendo la gente che il nostro modo di fare calcio è fatto di programmazione e di risultati, senza vendere illusioni, ma andando avanti sulla basa di fatti concreti. Fondamentale però è mantenere la categoria, nel calcio moderno è il punto principale''.

Inter tritatutto a Genova: cinque gol per ristabilire il proprio dominio

di Marco Spinelli
fonte:fcinternews.it

I timori della vigilia, provocati anche dalle assenze dei vari Eto'o, Milito e Thiago Motta, sono stati spazzati via da una grandissima Inter, che ha divorato in un sol boccone il Genoa con un eloquente 5-0 a domicilio. Successo meritatissimo, inappuntabile la prestazione degli uomini di Mourinho che hanno colpito al momento giusto e hanno controllato con tranquillità il pericoloso attacco rossoblù. Una prova autorit! aria che rappresenta un chiaro messaggio al campionato: i campioni d'Italia non hanno intenzione di concedere nulla a chi ha velleità di strappar loro il tricolore. Non c'è David Suazo, come ipotizzato inizialmente, nell'undici titolare nerazzurro. Mourinho preferisce affidarsi al solo Balotelli in attacco, supportato da Sneijder e Stankovic, con l'obiettivo di coprirsi un po' di più a centrocampo, frenando di conseguenza sul nascere le iniziative genoane. L'ex di turno Crespo resta in panchina nelle fila rossoblù: Gasperini gli preferisce Floccari nel tridente completato da Sculli e Palladino.

Il Genoa vuole imprimere sin dall'inizio il proprio ritmo, spingendo in particolare sulle fasce, ma come nelle ultime due trasferte a Marassi contro il Grifone l'Inter sblocca il risultato in apertura di incontro: Cambiasso è bravissimo a sfruttare un pallone vagante in area e a calciarlo verso la porta dove Amelia, complice anche una deviazione di Modesto nella tonnara, n! on può intervenire. Quasi come una belva ferita, il Genoa reag! isce e c erca di avvolgere la retroguardia nerazzurra con rapide verticalizzazioni e cambi di fronte, rischiando però lo 0-2 al 13': Sneijder verticalizza per Stankovic che prova a incrociare sull'uscita di Amelia, sfiorando il palo sulla sinistra. Pochi minuti dopo, ancora su cross di Maicon, il serbo non trova la porta di testa da buona posizione. Sul rettangolo di gioco non mancano gli scontri e il taccuino dei cattivi di Morganti si riempie con i nomi di Balotelli, Modesto e Stankovic nel giro di pochi minuti. L'attaccante, in particolare, viene subito preso di mira dai cori dei tifosi di casa senza però offese di matrice razzista.

La risposta di SuperMario però è da fuoriclasse: Zanetti ruba palla a Zapater, Sneijder serve Balotelli che da destra infila Amelia sul palo lontano per il 2-0 nerazzurro. Praticità allo stato puro, non c'è che dire e, soprattutto, primo gol per Balotelli in questa stagione, con tanto di gioia contenuta supportata dall'abbraccio avvolgente d! ei compagni. Al 41' Milanetto va in gol, ma prima di battere Julio Cesar scatta sul filo del fuorigioco e Morganti annulla. Una questione di centimetri. Nel finale accada l'incredibile: Amelia sbaglia il rinvio e Dejan Stankovic, da centrocampo e al volo, scaraventa la palla in fondo al sacco lasciando attonito Marassi. Un gol da favola, di quelli che fanno il giro del mondo e, soprattutto, stenderebbe qualsiasi avversario moralmente. Il 3-0, con cui si conclude il primo tempo, scatena una minirissa che viene sedata a fatica e termina con l'espulsione di Scarpi, portiere di riserva del Genoa.

Nella ripresa accade quanto preventivabile: i rossoblù tentano di abbozzare una reazione d'orgoglio, ma la difesa dell'Inter non cede di un centimetro e allontana ogni possibile minaccia a Julio Cesar. Tant'è che dopo una ventina di minuti di controllo del gioco, gli ospiti firmano il poker. Sneijder, ancora lui, pesca il taglio di Vieira (entrato a inizio secondo tempo al p! osto di Cambiasso) che, dopo aver resistito a una carica avver! saria, b atte Amelia con un sinistro forte a sufficienza da piegare le dita del portiere ex Palermo. Un tripudio nerazzurro a Marassi, forse la migliore Inter dopo quella ammirata nel derby, ma in condizioni tecniche decisamente più difficili, alla luce delle assenze di tre titolari. Per Vieira una bella iniezione di fiducia dopo la recente freddezza con la società. La grandinata sul Genoa però non è ancora terminata, perché al 71' Maicon sfrutta un rimpallo favorevole per andare in gol a tu per tu con il povero malcapitato Amelia. Un rotondissimo 5-0 che, a dir la verità, sintetizza perfettamente quanto si è visto in campo, con la squadra di Mourinho letteralmente straripante.

Il match a quel punto non ha più nulla da raccontare e la squadra di Mourinho addormenta ancora di più il clima, forti anche della demoralizzazione degli uomini di Gasperini, sotto choc per un risultato totalmente inaspettato. Gli ingressi di Crespo, Mancini e Cordoba sono gli ultimi segnali di vita! di una partita che rischia seriamente di dare la svolta a questo campionato: un 5-0 a domicilio contro una delle migliori squadre della Serie A non può che mettere in soggezione qualunque pretendente al tricolore. Oltre ai 3 punti, inoltre, Mourinho recupera psicologicamente gente come Balotelli, Vieira e Muntari, che alla lunga potranno essere fondamentali per il prosieguo della stagione e, in primis, per la partita di martedì in Champions League contro la Dinamo Kiev. Intanto, però, prima di pensare al prossimo impegno è giusto godersi la prestazione eccezionale di un'Inter finalmente da applausi scroscianti.

I convocati x Madrid

di Gianluca Tancini
Fonte:Ac Milan

ecco i convocati di Mister Leonardo per la traseferta di Madrid
Storari non recupera chiamati 3 giocatori della primavera in prima squadra,ecco i convocati:Dida,Donnaruma,Roma:Nesta,Thiago Silva,Antonini,Jankulovski,Zambrotta,Oddo,Kaladze,Pasini,Abate,Ambrosini,Flamini,Pirlo,Seedorf
Borriello,Huntelaar,Pato,Inzaghi,Ronaldinho,Verdi.
indispo! nibili:Storari,Onyewu,Gattuso,Di Gennaro

#024 Superclassifica del 17 Gennaio 2009

Arricchita di moltissimi dati, possiamo offrirvi gli ultimi aggiornamenti della Superclassifica.

Conduzione
Grazie ai turni domenicali della Serie B, condotti da Provenzali, la situazione conduzione è la seguente:
Alfredo Provenzali 20
Filippo Corsini 17

Classifica presenze:
Per quanto riguarda il campionato i più presenti sono Livio Forma (32 presenze), Tonino Raffa (30)
Giuseppe Bisantis (29); in Coppa invece comandano Francesco Repice, Giulio Delfino e Emanuele Dotto con 9 presenze.
L'unione dei dati genera la top 5 presenze
1 Giuseppe Bisantis 36 p.
2 Francesco Repice 35
3 Tonino Raffa 35
4 Livio Forma 32
5 Emanuele Dotto 31

Clicca qui per il quadro completo della "Classifica presenze"

Classifica a punti:
Qui a! nalizziamo i dati dati dalla somma di tutte le competizione. I tanti campi principali pesano sul capo-team Riccardo Cucchi che incalza il leader Francesco Repice. Ecco la Top 10

1 Francesco Repice 77,0
2 Riccardo Cucchi 76,0
3 Giuseppe Bisantis 68,5
4 Antonello Orlando 66,5
5 Tonino Raffa 60,5
6 Emanuele Dotto 59,0
7 Giulio Delfino 58,5
8 Livio Forma 45,5
9 Tarcisio Mazzeo 41,0
10 Ugo Russo 30,5

Clicca qui per il quadro completo della "Classifica a punti"

A richiesta via mail posso inviarvi il file excel con i tabulati utili per il calcolo. Contattatemi o commentate per qualsiasi curiosità.
A venerdì prossimo

#117 La SuperSintesi della 33a di B

Convocazioni del 11 Giugno

Play-off Serie B - Semifinali di Ritorno-
Giovedì 11 Giugno 2009
Brescia - Empoli
Radiocronista: Antonello Orlando *
Seconda voce: Tarcisio Mazzeo *

* Queste convocazioni vengono conteggiate nella classifica Coppe/Nazionale come da regolamento

La SuperClassifica torna per la graduatoria definitiva il 30 Giugno

Amarcord 2007-08 (Parte 2)

Vi sono debitore del finale "convulso" della stagione 2007-2008.
E' la giornata del diluvio di Parma, giornata stranamente colpita da incidenti fuori da qualche stadio, da storie strane e da mille polemiche (chiedere a De Rossi).

Tre i campi al centro della vicenda:
Parma con Cucchi e Delfino
Catania con Repice e Pandolfini
Empoli con Ugo Russo

Riviviamo quell' ultimo turno
Giornata 38

le voci che quelle sopra indicate

Highlights 8^ giornata Seconda Divisione Lega Pro

Anche in Seconda Divisione si è disputata l'ottava giornata. Nel girone A, l'Alghero viene fermato in casa dal Rodengo Saiano. Due sole le vittorie interne, tre invece i successi esterni, quelli di Legnano (0-2 contro la Canavese), del Mezzocorona (0-5!!! contro la Pro Belvedere Vc) e del Feralpisalò (0-1 contro la Pro Sesto). Partita spettacolare tra Crociati Noceto e Pro Vercelli con ben 6 reti (3-3). Nel girone B, il segno X si riscontra in ben cinque partite. Una sola la vittoria esterna, quella del Prato (1-3 contro il Bellaria Igea M.). Prima vittoria per il Fano, mentre il San Marino incappa! nella prima sconfitta stagionale. La capolista Lucchese infine pareggia in casa contro la Sangiovannese. Nel girone C, infine, ben quattro le vittorie esterne, quelle di Scafatese (2-3 a Cassino), del Melfi (1-2 a Manfredonia), dell'Aversa Normanna (0-1 contro il Monopoli) e del Catanzaro (0-1 a Vibo Valentia). Il Gela capolista vince 1-0 contro il Brindisi, che perde la prima gara della stagione. Finisce in parità il match-clou del girone tra Juvestabia e Cisco Roma. Ecco tutti i numeri della giornata:

Seconda Divisione, girone A
Alghero – Rodengo Saiano 1-1, Canavese – Legnano 0-2, Crociati Noceto – Pro Vercelli 3-3, Pavia – Villacidrese 2-0, Pro Belvedere Vc. – Mezzocorona 0-5, Pro Sesto – Feralpisalò 0-1, Spezia – Olbia 1-1, Sud Tirol A.A. – Sambonifacese 1-1, Valenzana – Carpenedolo 1-0.
Classifica dopo l' 8^ giornata: Alghero 17; Pavia 15; Sp! ezia, Carpenedolo, Feralpisalò e Mezzocorona 13; Sud Tirol A.A! . 12; Sa mbonifacese ed Olbia 11; Rodengo Saiano (-1), Valenzana e Pro Vercelli 10; Crociati Noceto 9; Villacidrese 8; Legnano (-1) e Canavese 7; Pro Belvedere Vc 6; Pro Sesto (-1) 2. (Rodengo Saiano, Legnano e Pro Sesto -1 punto in classifica)
Prossimo turno, 9^ giornata 18/10/09 ore 15.00: Carpenedolo-Sud Tirol A.A., Feralpisalò-Crociati Noceto, Legnano-Pavia, Mezzocorona-Spezia, Olbia-Canavese, Pro Vercelli-Alghero, Rodengo Saiano-Valenzana, Sambonifacese-Pro Sesto, Villacidrese-Pro Belvedere Vc.

Seconda Divisione, girone B
Bassano Virtus – Giacomense 1-0, Bellaria Igea M. – Prato 1-3, Carrarese – Poggibonsi 1-1, Celano Olimpia – San Marino 3-2, Fano – Pro Vasto 3-0, Lucchese – Sangiovannese 0-0, Nocerina – Itala San Marco 1-1, Sacilese – Colligiana 0-0, Sangiustese – Gubbio 0-0.
Classifica dopo l' 8^ gior! nata: Lucchese 19; Prato 15; San Marino 13; Celano Olimpia, Sacilese e Carrarese 11; Nocerina, Giacomense, Sangiustese e Sangiovannese 10; Bassano Virtus, Itala San Marco, Gubbio, Colligiana (-1), Poggibonsi e Bellaria Igea M. 9; Fano 7; Pro Vasto 6. (Colligiana -1 punto in classifica)
Prossimo turno, 9^ giornata 18/10/09 ore 15.00: Colligiana-Bellaria Igea M., Giacomense-Celano Olimpia, Gubbio-Nocerina, Itala San Marco-Bassano Virtus, Poggibonsi-Fano, Prato-Sacilese, Pro Vasto-Lucchese, San Marino-Sangiustese, Sangiovannese-Carrarese.

Seconda Divisione, girone C
Barletta – Isola Liri 2-0, Cassino – Scafatese 2-3, Gela – Brindisi 1-0, Igea Virtus – Siracusa 1-1, Juvestabia – Cisco Roma 1-1, Manfredonia – Melfi 1-2, Monopoli – Aversa Normanna 0-1, Vibonese – Catanzaro 0-1, Vico Equense – Noicattaro 0-0.
Classifica dopo l' 8^ giornata: Ge la 20; Catanzaro (-3) 19; Cisco Roma 15; Juvestabia e Cassino 14; Brindisi 13; Scafatese 12; Melfi, Monopoli, Aversa Normanna e Siracusa 11; Barletta* (-1) e Manfredonia* 8; Igea Virtus B. (-1) 6; Vico Equense 5; Vibonese (-1) e Noicattaro 2; Isola Liri 1. (* una partita in meno, Barletta-Manfredonia verrà recuperata il 21/10) (Catanzaro -3 punti, Barletta, Igea Virtus e Vibonese -1 punto in classifica)
Prossimo turno, 9^ giornata 18/10/09 ore 15.00: Brindisi-Aversa Normanna, Cassino-Gela, Catanzaro-Barletta, Cisco Roma-Manfredonia, Melfi-Igea Virtus B., Noicattaro-Juvestabia, Scafatese-Monopoli, Siracusa-Vico Equense, Vibonese-Isola Liri.

Anche per la Seconda Divisione è tutto, appuntamento a martedì prossimo. Buon campionato a tutti…….

URGENTE: questione recuperi + Formazioni!

Miei cari fantallenatori, sollecitato dal buon Paolo Passafiume sulla questione dei recuperi di mercoledì, volevo ricordarvi che i risultati ufficiali saranno conteggiati soltanto dopo il recupero anche della terza gara tra Atalanta e Milan, data non ancora decisa, visto che i rossoneri saranno in volo per Tokyo nei prossimi giorni.

INOLTRE, volevo comunicarvi che sulla questione formazioni mi sono consultato con Celestino per il regolamento Ufficiale del Fantacalcio. Lo stesso dice: che le formazioni date a suo tempo non potranno essere modificate, ma che saranno consentite sostituzioni illimitate per quei giocatori che non dovessero giocare nei recuperi e, allo stesso modo, riserve d'ufficio illimitate. Nessun 6 politico, insomma, dopo le tre sostituzioni, se ne saranno necessarie altre, ci aspetteranno ! tutta una serie di 4 d'ufficio.
Spero che la regola sia chiara a tutti e, onde evitare polemiche inutili, vi avviso sin da ora che qualsiasi reclamo in merito verrà respinto perchè per me parla il Regolamento...OK?
A voi!

A beneficio degli SMEMORATI di collegno ecco le formazioni della giornata che fu caratterizzata da gare sospese e rinviate.

P.S. OCCHIO alla foto della settimana: LEO VALLONE è con noi!



!

pask	p.p.p.	paolo	tommy
FREY	DIDA Nelson	AMELIA	FONTANA
DOSSENA	CHIVU #	PANUCCI @	JUAN
DELLAFIORE @	KALADZE Kakhaber	CAMPAGNARO	CORDOBA K
SALA	Modesto	DAINELLI	UJFALUSI
FOGGIA	CAMORANESI	JANKOVIC	MONTOLIVO
SEEDORF @	LEON	ROSINA	GALLOPPA
CIGARINI	MANCINI #	HALFREDSSON	PIZARRO K
GIULY	VANNUCCHI	DE Rossi@	SIMPLICIO
MONTELLA	DI NATALE	CRUZ	CAVANI
RONALDO	GIOVINCO	VUCINIC	LAVEZZI
DEL PIERO	MACCARONE	BELLUCCI	PAZZINI
LUPATELLI	Kalac Zeljco	ELE	AGLIARDI
BOVO	Tosto Vittorio	PASQUAL	COMOTTO
CRISCITO	Stovini Lorenzo	MESTO	BARZAGLI
BAIOCCO	D'Agostino	HAMSYK	AMBROSINI
BEHRAMI	Conti Daniele	PIRLO	MISSIROLI
VIERI	Reginaldo	ROCCHI	TAVANO
BOGDANI	Mascara	PALLADINO	QUAGLIARELLA
RAF	GIO'	Felix	Celestino
BUFFON	JULIO CESAR	DONI	Handanovic
CASSETTI	MAGGIO COST.	SAMUEL#	Oddo @
NESTA@	CAPELLI	CHIELLINI	Zapata
LEGROTTAGLIE	DOMIZZI	MAICON	Portanova
KAKA	SAIHILIMIDIC	LEDESMA	Volpi @
PERROTTA	MORRONE	SEMIOLI	Cesar
DACOURT@	GARGANO	ZANETTI J.#	Almiron
CORINI	CAMBIASSO COST	CASERTA	Doni
TIAGO	SUAZO	MUTU	Inzaghi
CARACCIOLO	IBRA	DI MICHELE	Figueroa
VENTOLA	ZALAYETA	AMORUSO	Trezeguet
BELARDI	ORLANDONI	CURCI	Chimenti
LORIA	TERL! IZZI	ZACCARDO	Cannavaro
STENDARDO	LUCARELLI	FELIPE	Cribari
ZANETTI	GASBARRONI	TISSONE	Konko
DECEGLIE	INLER	MORFEO	Liverani
ASAMOAH	CRESPO	IAQUINTA	Corradi
PAOLUCCI	OSVALDO	SPINESI	Sosa