VIDEO OF FERNANDO TORRES GOAL AGAINST MANCHESTER UNITED

My All NBA Team

PG Chris Paul - The best number 1 in the league averaging almost 22 PPG and 11 dimes. He is virtually unstoppable. He can get in the lane at will and has a deadly jump shot.

SG Kobe Bryant - Kobe is creeping up in the conversation for NBA MVP again. The closest thing to Mike since MJ suited up. Still the best closer in the NBA.

SF LeBron James - King James is the leading MVP candidate this season. Second in the league in scoring and a triple double waiting to happen.

PF Tim Duncan - The anchor of the Spurs on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court. He lives up to his nickname "The Big Fundamental" by averaging 21 points and over 10 boards a night.

C Dwight Howard - The best big man in the league is leading the Magic to an outstanding season. He is averaging 20 points, 14 boards and 3 blocks a game.

Foudy shreds Ryan

"Ryan did tactically made no sense, and there were a lot of decisions he made that I think many people would question."

"Take nothing away from that (51-game unbeaten streak); it's very tremendous what he's done, especially with everyone gunning for them. But when you look at a coach, you look at the progress over three years, how they played at the World Cup and the decisions that were made that impacted their performance.

"There are so many talented players out there, and you wonder, 'Is this program building? Is it growing? Is that the best soccer we can produce? Is this the direction we want to go in?' I don't think it is."

Washington Freedom

The Washington Freedom is playing 15 games in the W-League, the highest level of women's soccer in the country. The Freedom won its first two games, and the team opens its home schedule this weekend with games in Germantown. The games are fun, fast-paced and let kids get close to the players as well as the action on the pitch.
The Freedom has two games this weekend:
· Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Western Mass Lady Pioneers.
· Sunday at 6 p.m. against the Boston Renegades.
Tickets are $10 each for everyone ages 5 and older. All games are played at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown.
The team is loaded with top stars including forward Christie Welsh, the high scorer on the 2005 U.S. women's national team. Lots of the Freedom players are local stars who also coach area teams.

U-20s: China advance as US pay the penalty

China wins in penalty kicks.
Many felt that these two heavyweights of women's soccer would have made worthy finalists, but in truth, this was not the evenly-matched contest we had anticipated, with the Chinese made to look distinctly ordinary by an American team who bested them throughout.

Valentino Rossi and Davide Brivio comments on Qualifying Result at Jerez 2008

Valentino Rossi;
Position: 5th Time: 1'39.064 Laps: 25
"Our target today was the front row and I think we could have done a 1'38 and maybe been second, but unfortunately I had an electronic problem on my last qualifying lap and I had to stop, which was unlucky. This is a pity and of course it would be better to be on the front, but anyway we're not far away, the second row is not so bad and I think we can be competitive tomorrow. Our race pace is okay, I think with some small adjustments we can improve a bit more but we're close. Congratulations to Lorenzo, I don't know if we can be quite as fast as him on race tyres and he will be hard to beat tomorrow, but let's see! We still haven't decided on our final race tyre, we have to wait and see how the temperature is tomorrow, but it's going to be a very exciting race and we're all looking f orward to it!"

Davide Brivio;
Team Manager
"It was a pity that Valentino couldn't finish his final quali! fying lap today but unfortunately he had a small electronic issue, which we're now looking into to work out exactly what happened so that we can avoid it in future. The good news is that, apart from this lap, we were fast with the qualifying tyre as well as on race tyres and so this bodes well for the rest of the season's races. We still have to finalise our tyre choice for the race and make a few final adjustments, so we will be using the warm-up for this. Congratulations to Jorge and his team because he was very fast, I don't know if we have quite the same pace as him but anyway I think that we can fight at the front."

Akthar's Career Ends Prematurely

Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar's been banned for five years by the Pakistan Cricket Board. The PCB says it's for repeated violations of discipline. Akhtar's been publicly critical of the governing body for not awarding him one of the top contracts to play for the national team. The ban however can not stop the fast bowler playing in the new Indian Premier League.

Here's just an example of his bubbling tension...

Maties extend lead

Maties took a six point lead in the Cape Town club rugby Super A league after a 26-20 win over second placed Hamiltons.
UCT hammered Villagers 32-7.
SK Walmers scored 8 tries in their 55-20 win over Vics.
Durb-Bell got a 51-26 win over Helderberg.
Tygerberg beat NNK 37-22.

Butch Rested

Springbok flyhalf Butch James won't be considered for this weekend's test against Italy at Newlands.

He's been sent home to get some rest ahead of the extended Tri-Nations series which kicks off in just over two weeks. James played in all the world cup matches for the Boks and went into a long English season with Bath before returning for the first two tests against Wales.

Coach Peter de Villiers says James is a vital part of the team and it's essential to the team's success that he's fully rested.

Hamilton New Rain Master?

Is McLaren's Lewis Hamilton taking over from Michael Schumacher as the new reigenmeister? Hamilton once again showed at the weekend that copes better than most in wet weather conditions, where he led the British Grand Prix from practically start to finish and managed to keep his car on the track where the rest of the front-runners failed to do so.

The 23-year-old Briton drove a very similar race in Japan last year also in treacherous weather conditions and with the same result. This week, all ten teams are at Hockenhein for a three-day testing period ahead of the German Grand Prix in ten! days time. It was barely surprising when Hamilton went fastest around a wet Hockenheim circuit. He circled the track in one minute 15.483 seconds, almost four tenths of a second faster than Ferrari rival Kimi Raikkonen.

McLaren are experimenting with a new dorsal fin engine cover similar to that used by Renault and Red Bull. McLaren chief, Martin Whitmarsh, says they'll have to keep improving their car because Ferrari will no doubt be more competitive after their Silverstone disappointment.

The Formula One circuit returns to Hockenheim after a year's absence after it was decided to alternate with the Nurburgring.

PDV Courts Currie Cup Coaches

SA Rugby's issued a statement regarding Springbok coach Peter de Villiers's meetings with Currie Cup teams:

The Springbok management completed a successful tour of leading provinces on Wednesday, sharing information regarding Springbok players. Coach Peter de Villiers, his assistants and national teams' manager Andy Marinos met the coaching staffs of the Sharks and Vodacom Free State Cheetahs on Tuesday and the Vodacom Blue Bulls and Vodacom Western Province on Wednesday.

"It has been a long and exhau! sting season for our leading players and we spoke to the coaches about the players' form and fitness while they have been in our care," said Marinos.

"We laid out our plans for the end-of-year tour and for the British and Irish Lions visit next season and discussed the amount of rugby the players can expect to play.

"We understand though that the coaches have the Absa Currie Cup and Vodacom Super 14 to win and we won't be prescribing to them when to rest players and where to play them.

"They were very positive meetings at a coach-to-coach level and we all have a better understanding of where we want to go."

Smith and Logie advance

South Africa's Jordy Smith and Travis Logie have advanced to Round 3 of the R2.5 million Quiksilver Pro France, Stop No. 8 of 11 on the 2008 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, currently running on the South-West coast of France.
The Durbanites won their Round 1 heats on Saturday to skip the cutthroat Round 2 and move directly into the last 32 in the event.

Royden Bryson (East London) and Ricky Basnett (Bluff), the other two SA campaigners amongst the elite Top 45 on the Dream Tour, were eliminated on Sunday, losing out to Americans Chris Ward and Bobby Martinez respectively in Rou! nd 2 to finish equal 33rd.

Smith, ranked No. 22 in his first year on the ASP World Tour, has been seeded against fellow rookie and current No.20, Dane Reynolds (USA) in a Round 3 match up of future stars. In their only other clash this year, Reynolds beat Smith in Round 3 in Tahiti.

Logie, a four-year veteran at the highest level, faces an encounter with current World No. 6 Adriano de Souza (BRA). Logie, who has previously won a major World Qualifying Series (WQS) event in France, needs a good result in France if he is to requalify for the 2009 ASP World Tour.

Breakfast Headlines

Cricket South Africa has expressed concern after terror attacks in Mumbai, in India. The Nashua Titans and the Nashua Dolphins are due to leave for India at the weekend to play in the inaugural Champions' League competition, while Graeme Smith and Makhaya Ntini are also contracted to play for the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings. With some matches scheduled for Mumbai, CSA CEO Gerald Majola says the safety of players is of paramount concern at all times, although they'll take guidance from Foreign Affairs before taking any decisions.

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Suid Afrika sal spel hervat op 20 vir 1 op dag twee van die tweede toets teen Bangladesh op Centurion. Neil Mckenzie is gister uit vir 'n nulletjie. Makhaya Ntini het 4 vir 32 gevat in 19 boulbeurte en Morne Morkel het ook 4 laat kantel, maar hy het 73 lopies afgestaan.
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In the MTN Championship, the Nashua Titans beat the Nashua Dolphins by three wickets with eight balls to regain! top spot.
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Virender Sehwag hammered 91 off 73 to lead India to a six-wicket victory over England and a 5-0 series lead. Kevin Petersen scored 111.
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Ajax Cape Town are joint top of the log with Golden Arrows after a 2-1 win over Bidvest Wits at Athlone Stadium. Arrows suffered a 1-0 defeat to Kaizer Chiefs, who moved to fourth on the log. Supersport are still third after a goalless draw with Bloemfontein Celtic. Sundowns and Pirates played out a goalless draw at the new Orlando Stadium. Santos beat Thanda Royal Zulu 1-0 in an afternoon match in Durban. The People's team is now 9th, only 5 points behind the log leaders.
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Liverpool are through to the Champions League knockouts after a 1-0 win over Marseille, but Atletico Madrid still top the group after a 2-1 win over PSV. Barcelona have qualified after thrashing Sporting 5-2. Chelsea drew 1-1 with Bordeaux which means they're not yet secured a place in the next round. Roma beat Cluj fro! m Romania 3-1, but could still miss out when the final group m! atches t ake place in two weeks time. Panathinaikos beat Inter 1-0 to improve their chances.
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Former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan has laughed off Bernie Ecclestone's plans to have the drivers' world championship decided by gold medals rather than points.

Breakfast headlines

Cricket:

Proteas batsman, AB de Villiers, says the worst thing they can do is to underestimate the Australians. The test series starts at the Wanderers on Thursday. De Villiers says he enjoys being on of the senior players in the side.

Meanwhile, Aussie batsman, Mike Hussey, says their entire batting unit needs to fire if they're to stand a chance against the Proteas.

Younis Khan was 310 not out with the first test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka heading for a draw on the final day. Pakistan are 588 for 5 in reply to Sri Lanka's 644 for 7 declared.

The Proteas women kick-off a training camp at UWC today ahead of the World Cup in Australia which starts next weekend. Boland's Sunnette Louscher captains the side. Top order batter Kirstie Thomson is out of the competition due to injury and will be replaced by youngster Marizanne Kapp.

Football:

There were three draws in last night'! s UEFA Champions League first leg knockouts. Atletico Madrid drew 2-2 with Porto, Lyon drew 1-1 with Barcelona and Inter and Man United played out an exciting goalless draw. The only win belonged to Arsenal, who beat Roma 1-0, thanks to a Robin van Persie penalty. Tonight's big matches are Real Madrid versus Liverpool and Chelsea against Juventus.

In the FA Cup, Fulham beat Swansea 2-1 and Coventry beat Blackburn 1-0.

Ajax Cape Town face bottom of the log Bay United at Athlone at half past seven tonight, but coach Craig Rosslee has conceded his team's league title race is virtually over after slipping to eight points behind Supersport United.

Rugby:

Auckland Blues coach, Pat Lam, says he's reading nothing into the Vodacom Stormers performance against the Reds. The two sides clash at Newlands on Saturday night.

Golf:

Tiger Woods makes his long awaited return to tournament golf! at the Accenture Matchplay Championship today after eight mon! ths on t he sidelines following knee surgery.

Other:

The Sports Ministry has wished Oscar Pistorius a speedy recovering after his boat accident. They say they can't help but worry about the impact it will have on his participation IAAF World Championships later this year.

Chester gives Bulls the thumbs up

If the Bulls thought they weren't going to get any support from Cape Town this weekend, they are very much mistaken. The Bulls probably have just as much support in the Cape as they'll have at Loftus on Saturday.

World cup-winning Springbok wing, Chester Williams, says there's no reason why the Bulls can't beat the Crusaders on Saturday and advance to the final. Williams, who co-owns a catering business these days, says there are a few reasons why the Bulls will walk off Loftus as victors.

"The Bulls are playing at Loftus and that already gives them a good chance of beating the Crusaders. The 'saders have had to travel from New Zealand and that's going to be a big factor in the game."

Williams says the Bulls have been playing a winning brand of rugby this season.

"The structure and the game they play suit the Bulls. Even though they have one of their centres struggling with injury and the other out through sus! pension, I think the Bulls should still be able to impose themselves on the Crusaders."

Kick off at Loftus on Saturday is at 15h00.

Japanese Grand Prix: Points of Interest

We are winding down the Formula One season and the championship is still up for grabs. Lewis Hamilton has a 7 point lead with 3 races to go, but given the unpredictability of last year's Japanese Grand Prix, Felipe Massa can pounce on any mistake. We are back to the reconfigured Fuji Speedway and in addition to observing this title fight, the points of interest for this race will have a distinct Japanese flair.

1. Toyota. Can they rebound in terms of their performance on home turf? They currently sit 5th in the Constructor's Championship behind an improved Renault. They will need quality drives from Trulli and Glock after not scoring any points as a team in 2 of the last 3 races.

2. Honda. Will Honda be able to save face and perform respectably? After shifting focus to the 2009 season they seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth and have not scored a point since the British Grand Prix. Button had a decent performance in Singapore, so Honda has a! small opportunity to show some pride.

3. Kazuki Nakajima. When Takuma Sato drove for Honda and Super Aguri you could count that he would have a good race at his home track in Suzuka. After being confirmed for 2009, can Nakajima perform well in his home grand prix and represent Toyota given that he has a relationship with them. Also, it's Toyota's home track.

Alberto Aquilani Hands Rafa Benitez Fitness Boost

Alberto Aquilani could finally get his Liverpool career up and running within a fortnight after Rafa Benitez today issued a positive fitness bulletin.

The Italian international has yet to kick a ball in anger for the Reds since his £20m move from Roma in August but his manager hopes that will all change within the month.

Benitez has been delighted with the way Aquilani has responded to treatment on the ankle which required surgery in the summer and is now tentatively looking for a suitable starting point to take t! he wraps off the 25-year-old.

An optimistic target would be for the playmaker to be involved in the squad for the first time in two weeks – when Lyon are due at Anfield for a crucial Champions League fixture – but Benitez is erring on the side of caution.

A more realistic target is likely to be the Carling Cup clash against Arsenal on October 28 and Benitez hopes he will see Aquilani take another big step forward with his rehabilitation during the international break.

"I have been speaking to the doctors and things are going well with him," said Benitez.

"Alberto is progressing all the time. It could be two to three weeks before he is back.

"But we need to use caution. If it is two weeks everyone will say 'that is fantastic' but if it is three, everyone will say it is not a problem. I think that we have to be careful.

"We will take it one step at a time and we have the international break to look forward to n! ow. That will be good for him, as he will have some more time ! (to reco ver without missing any games)."

Aquilani arrived at Anfield during the first week of August following Xabi Alonso's departure to Real Madrid and there is little doubt his cunning and guile in the engine room will make him a welcome addition.

Clearly, though, it is going to take a period for Aquilani to get adjusted to the hustle and bustle of the Premier League and Benitez will, understandably, look to ease him to the team initially.

"He is running and swimming – I think he will have the record in the swimming pool by the end of his program – and he is working in the gym," said Benitez.

"He is doing almost everything and he is doing some things with the team. The only thing he is not doing is kick a ball – not yet anyway."

Carra gher Seeks Reds Response

Jamie Carragher has vowed Liverpool will stick together as they prepare for a crucial period that could decide their season.

The Reds saw their title hopes suffer a further blow on Saturday after going down 1-0 to Sunderland, thanks to a fortuitous goal from Darren Bent.

It was Liverpool's fourth defeat in the Premier League and their third in a row in all competitions as they prepare to tackle Lyon in the UEFA Champions League before league leaders Manchester United make the trip to Anfield next weekend.

Carragher, who captained Liverpool at the Stadium of Light, is confident Rafa Benitez's men can bounce back from th! eir latest setback against Lyon.

"It was frustrating for us but Chelsea also lost so there is still a long way to go," said Carragher.

"Now is not the time to talk about the title. We are looking to the next game.

"We now have the Champions League tie against Lyon which will be in front of our own supporters at Anfield to restore some confidence before we take on Manchester United next Sunday.

"We will stick together and work hard on the training ground to put things right. We know we've got a good team, good players and a good manager so we've got to have belief in ourselves and keep going.

"We have the quality and the belief we will get back to winning ways soon, hopefully starting on Tuesday against Lyon."

Carragher also refused to blame the absence of star duo Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres for the insipid display at Sunderland.

"It's easy to say we missed Stevie and Fernando and yes they a! re world-class players, but we have a big squad and we have wo! n withou t them before.

"Sunderland played well. We weren't at our best but we can bounce back and restore some confidence."

Liverpool Keen On Sampdoria's Hungarian Youngster Vladimir Koman

Liverpool are keen on securing the services of Sampdoria midfielder Vladimir Koman, The Daily Mirror claims.

The Hungarian starlet is currently on loan at Bari and is valued at £4 million.

Koman, who is building a reputation as a free-scoring midfielder, is under contract in Genoa until 2012.

The 20-year-old caught the eye during the recent Under-20 World Cup, scoring five goals in six appearances as he helped his country to third place in the tournament.

It is understood that Reds boss Rafael Benitez is a fan of Koman and wants him to join the burgeoning Hungarian conti! ngent at Anfield, which includes fellow internationals Peter Gulacsi and Krisztian Nemeth - the latter currently on loan AEK Athens.

Sexy Red Dress with Drink and Phone

Michelle William, sexy red dress with drink and phone. Young girl with many workload and activity. She is contacting her friends for see contest of basket evening tomorrow.

Miss Teen South Carolinas

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This poor girl was harmlessly walking to Psych 301 class and smiled for a snapshot. Now she's being exploited more than Miley Cyrus or teenage Chinese gymnasts by people who take domain name monetization too far.

Gopher Dunes ready to go

By John Hopkins

It appears Gopher Dunes will be ready to host the CMRC Season Opener Motocross Races this Sunday after the track was blanketed with snow last weekend.

After extensive pumping and levelling Monday and Tuesday, the track was supposed to be open for practice today (Wednesday) and tomorrow, then closed again Friday and Saturday to prep for Sunday's races.

Open practice is $20 per rider per day.

Inside Motorcycles // www.insidemotorcycles.com

Brand new west coast show

From BCCOM

VANCOUVER, BC -- The new Westcoast Custom Motorcycle Show, scheduled for Abbotsford's Tradex Centre Mar. 25-26, is being heralded as the biggest pure custom motorcycle show in Western Canada.

Not only will it feature some of the hottest bikes in North America, but most of them will be produced locally, as this area is the undisputed home to some of the world's top custom builders including professional bike builder Roger Goldammer of Kelowna, who will have several bikes on display. Goldammer's amazing work won him first place at the AMD/Custom Chrome World Championship in 2004 and 2005.

This show, presented by the people responsible for the Gastown Motorcycle Show n' Shine in 2005 and the B.C. Custom Motorcycle Show from 1990-1998, will feature over 200 custom bikes on display, more than 30
classes including Foreign, Street, British, Vintage, Radical, "Specialty" and a new "Pro Builde! rs" class, with a $1000 prize for Best Bike.

Also featured are several vendor displays that range from custom motorcycle shops like North Shore Choppers and Jarz Performance to the B.C. Lottery Corporation and Easy Build Structures.

The Tradex Centre, renowned for its other two-wheeled event - The Vancouver Motorcycle Show - is just minutes off the #1 highway and conveniently located next to the Abbotsford International Airport. Proceeds of this event will go to support the B.C. Coalition of Motorcyclists (BCCOM). BCCOM is a professional lobbying organization that works on behalf of all motorcyclists rights in the province of BC.

For more information, visit www.westcoastcustom.ca.

Inside Motorcycles // www.insidemotorcycles.com

2009 NBA Playoffs: Eastern Conference Preview

No. 1 Cleveland vs. No. 8 Detroit

This is a matchup of two teams who are on the opposite side of the spectrum. Detroit is that team that had a dominating run with a group of talent that gave them a Championship in 2004. With their stars aging they are going to be rebuilding their team within a few years. The Cavaliers are riding LeBron James as far as he can take them. With only a few years left on his contract it is unknown if James will stay in Cleveland but the Cavs have finally built a strong enough supporting cast that could lead Cleveland to th! e Championship. Home court advantage throughout will help Cleveland as they are 39-2 on their home court, Cleveland should win this series easily and move deep into the playoffs.

No. 4 Atlanta vs. No. 5 Miami

Atlanta is a team that typically flies under the NBA radar. Last year they gave Boston all that they could handle all season and took the Celtics down to the wire in the playoffs. This will be the battle of two stars Atlanta's Joe Johnson vs. Miami's Dwayne Wade. Dwayne Wade has been an absolute beast this season making a very significant argument for MVP. He is without a shadow of a doubt the MVP of the Heat. I think that in the end the better TEAM will prevail and Atlanta will match up to play Cleveland.

No. 3 Orlando vs. No. 6 Philadelphia

Philadelphia pulled of a shocking win in Cleveland on the last game of the season to avoid playing Boston in the first round and secure the 6th seed ! in the playoffs. Andre Igoudala has been the leader for the Si! xers thi s season averaging 18 points per game. Orlando was able to achieve success this season despite losing their starting PG Jameer Nelson midway through the season. Orlando's star Center Dwight Howard should cause havoc on Philadelphia's front court and will take over this series. Orlando will survive and advance.

No. 2 Boston vs. No. 7 Chicago

Although their starting lineup would not indicate much of a change this is a different Boston team than the one who made a run last year. They will open this series without star Kevin Garnett who has been sidelined with injury the last 20 games of the season. The Celtics may have to shut Garnett down for the whole series against Chicago. Chicago is led by Ben Gordon, Derrick Rose, and John Salmons. How will rookie Derek Rose handle the increased pressure of the NBA playoffs? A tough loss to the Celtics. Celtics will advance.

Selig Considering Rose Reinstatement?

According to the New York Daily News Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is considering lifting the lifetime ban of Pete Rose, making him eligible for the Hall of Fame.

US Men's Soccer Team Qualifies for 2010 World Cup

The U.S. soccer team qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa following a 3-2 victory at Honduras Saturday night. Honduras, who experienced a coup earlier this year, struck first but was unable to hold onto the lead and even missed a penalty kick down the stretch. Conor Casey scored his first two! goals ever in international play and a final goal by Landon Donovan clinched the 6th straight ticket to the World Cup for the U.S.

MLB managers '08 chopping block - Round 1

We're over a month into the season and I figured what better time than to roll out the first chopping block of the '08 campaign for major league managers. As I mentioned in our season preview, there seems to be a lot of parody in the league this year and while the D-backs and Red Sox are off to solid starts, I don't think a team will eclipse 95 wins this year.

Despite the tremendous parody, upstart teams and early season surprises, there are a few managers around the league that are running out of excuses. With that being said, I'd like to see the following wheeled onto the block for their execution…ahem termination, excuse me.

Texas Rangers – Ron Washington
The Rangers are off to a 16-20 start and are coming off back-to-back shutout wins over the disappointing Seattle Mariners (read more below). That may have saved Ron Washington for now, who led his club to a 10-18 April, the worst in club history. Sidney Ponson and Vincente Padilla are simply ov! erachieving and will likely plateau sometime soon, getting lit up every five days as they're accustomed to doing in the real world.

There are some big names on offense, including Josh Hamilton who leads the league in RBI's. David Murphy, Michael Young, Ian Kinsler and Milton Bradley are some other notables who should provide the Rangers with firepower every night. Btu the team is batting a combined .264, which is a solid .001 higher than last year and on pace for the 2nd lowest in the last eight years. Given that they're 4th in the AL going into today, you can attribute that to a slow start across the league. But what's happening on the other side of the ball is what's keeping this team from winning more games.

The staff ERA sits at 4.80, 13th in the AL. Texas has surrendered the most hits, walks and highest BAA and has struck out the fewest number of opposing batters. Sure, you can point the blame at the Mark Connor. But let's face it. Ron Washington ! keeps trotting out Jason Jennings, who is 0-5 with an 8-plus E! RA. Jenn ings hasn't won more than 9 games since 2004. And his career ERA sits at a healthy and robust 5.00. And why does Kevin Millwood still sit at the top of the rotation? I realize he used to be a big name, but how many times are you going to let the guy stay in the game and get abused as he tires? His number suck from the 6th inning on, so throw him five then hand it over to the bullpen. I don't care if he's throwing a no-hitter. You leave him in there, he'll let it get away.

I will say that the bullpen, aside from the excessive use of Joaquin Benoit, has been managed fairly well. But here's what I propose is done with the Rangers:

One night usher everyone in the organization, from the starting lineup to the interns that makes faxes in a backroom, into the ballpark. Then blow the park into the high heavens and the organization can just start from scratch. As Rich suggested, you could have Kinsler, Young, Hamilton and Murphy wait outside the stadium and wait! , perhaps even lighting the fuse.

While that most likely won't happen, Washington's days in Texas should be monitored closely. Next time the Rangers drop 10 in a row, send him packing and don't ever let him manage another team again. I wouldn't want this guy coaching my brother's little league team.

Seattle Mariners – John McLaren
Dude, what are you doing? I realize Mike Hargrove bolted mid-season last year and left everyone between a rock and a hard place, but the grace period has expired. And in my opinion, your time in Seattle has expired, as well. You traded for Erik Bedard in the offseason to solidify a starting rotation that was already littered with established major league pitching. King Felix, Carlos Silva, Miguel Batista and Jarrod Washburn are all capable of winning double digit games. Bedard and Felix should each win at least 15. You have JJ Putz as your closer. And while the rest of your bullpen may not be worth noting, it's certainly! not the worst thing I've ever seen.

Offensively, t! his team has more ability than people give credit for. Ichiro is the best leadoff hitter in the game. Raul Ibanez is one of the most underrated players in the game. Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson are 30-40 homer guys despite their lack of ability to hit for average and avoid only playing well in contract years. Jose Vidro needs to play the Placido Polanco card and take some time off before coming back. And instead of having Jeff Clement go 2 for 22 in May, maybe you should look elsewhere for an alternative in your lineup.

I'm also bothered by the fact that Putz has only thrown four times since his return on April 22. I realize the save situations haven't been in abundance, but the guy needs to work. That may be why he blew a save on May 1 and will probably blow his next save opportunity, as well.

There's too much talent on this team for it to be 14-22 and lose three straight to the Rangers while being shutout two days in a row. When you haven't scored for 22 s! traight innings, maybe you should try something different. Bunting, stealing, hit and run, things like that in hopes of creating opportunities rather than saying a prayer and waiting for them to be delivered.

Sorry, John, but it's just not working out.

San Diego Padres – Bud Black
Let's think about this. You have Cy Young winner Jake Peavy, 6-foot-12 Chris Young, future HOF's Greg Maddux and Trevor Hoffman, a solid bullpen and you're staff ERA is ranked 8th in the NL? Combine that with the worst offense in the league and you have problems. The pitching has been the biggest issue because the offense was the 2nd worst in the NL last year and the team still won 89 games. But nonetheless, you'd think adjustments would be made in your teams approach to find ways to score runs.

Bud Black has yet to do that, and he's paying a dear price. The team is 12-23 and going to have a hard time bouncing back with Arizona playing so well and Joe Torre ke! eping the Dodgers in the mix. The team is 2-8 in its last ten ! games, i s 6-9 at home and is 11 games back from Arizona. Wowzer. Good luck with alllll that.

My biggest beef with Black is his management of Trevor Hoffman. The HOF closer has thrown just three times in the last 18 games. While his 6-plus ERA is tough to fathom, you can't help but think that his inactivity isn't helping to bring that down and get him into a rhythm. Take, for example, yesterday's one-run loss to the Braves. A tie game in the 9th and a perfect opportunity for Hoffman to come in and hold the fort while also getting some much needed work in. Instead they cough up a run and another potential win.

Like the Mariners, there's too much talent to be falling behind so far, so early. Let's shake up the clubhouse and get a new guy in there to provide a resurgence of sorts.

Others to monitor closely…
New York Mets – Willie Randolph
The injury to Pedro and acquisition of Johan Santana will both keep him on ice for now, believe it or not. ! The Pedro injury is an excuse and Santana is the best left-hander in the game, so that should pile some wins up nicely. But after last September's collapse, Randolph better keep this train on the tracks. Otherwise, the leash will get shorter and shorter until the blade finally drops.

Toronto – John Gibbons
This pitching staff is awesome, led by Roy Halladay who at times seems like a comic book superhero. Four consecutive complete games and three losses to show for it. Super. This offense stinks, and with guys like Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, Scott Rolen and Matt Stairs, you'd think they'd do more. David Eckstein has been a bust at leadoff which hasn't helped, but this a team that is picked to break through the AL East barrier every year, and fails to do so. Whether Gibbons goes or not, J.P. Riccardi better watch his back, too.

Detroit Tigers – Jim Leyland
The bullpen has been ravaged by injuries and the starting pitching has been atrocious. A lo! t of that is not Leyland's fault, but he can't continue to let! the Tig ers lose games. With the 2nd highest payroll and a 15-21 record, the only thing saving his job is a high powered offense and a mediocre division that lands his team only 3.5 games back. For starters, he might want to tell Miguel Cabrera to stop playing like a prima donna. According to Jayson Stark on ESPN.com, a scout had Cabrera clocking in at over five seconds down the first base line. Most guys can jog down the line that fast, which is exactly what Cabrera is doing.

Stephon Marbury Free to Play Basketball Again

Can you believe it? All reports are that the New York Knicks and PG Stephon Marbury have agreed to buyout terms, and he will be waived. Because it happened before March 1st, Marbury will be able to join a team and be on their playoff roster.

Things are starting to fall into place for the Boston Celtics. Make it happen! ! In the last week the C's traded Sam Cassell and Patrick O'Bryant freeing up space on their 15 man roster. Between the trades and the injuries to Tony Allen, Brian Scalabrine, and most importantly Kevin Garnett the Celts are down to just 10 active players: Pierce, R. Allen, Rondo, Perkins, Powe, Baby Davis, House, Pruitt, Walker, Giddens. They could use some help, not just for now, but come playoff time as well.

Boston had the best record in basketball last year and still made 2 signings after the trade deadline in P.J. Brown and Sam Cassell. The former was far more important down the stretch then the latter, but it was obvious that the Celtics needed to make simil! ar moves this year. In fact, with the loss of James Posey, the! y needed to make at least that much noise.

The Green addressed their big man depth today by signing 7 foot journeyman Mikki Moore. Believe it or not Moore was on the Celts for '02-'03 for 3 games. In addition to Boston, Moore has played for Detroit, Atlanta, New Jersey, Utah, LA Clippers, Seattle, and Sacramento. What a find! Moore gives them length, energy, and 6 more fouls. In all seriousness not a bad move adding to the bench.

More importantly the C's mus! t bring in Starbury. Rondo is playing great, but who's the back up PG? Eddie House? (avg. 1.1 assists per game). Gabe Pruitt? (0.8 assists per game). House is a great 3 point shooter, that should be his role come playoff time, not running an offense. The 2nd unit needs scoring. House is currently the best scorer off the bench, you would only help him and the bench as a whole by bringing in Marbury.

Of course there will be objections.

When was the last time Steph played? Yeah, it was awhile ago. That's fair. But he turned just 32 last week, and he doesn't have to be the All-Star PG he was in the past to contribute on this team.

He's selfish. Really? He averages 8 assists a game for his career. Look a! t some of the teams he's been on in the past, he had to be "St! arbury" and put up a lot of shots. He's going to a team that had 3 other players who were used to being the go-to guy. I think he'll be just fine.

Will he accept his role? Why not? Cause he's selfish right? Well Marbury is in a contract year, and if he wants another NBA contract he better show that he can help a team win, in whatever role. And if he is a part of a long playoff run for the Celtics what better way to show himself off. He'd be on more nationally televised games in the post season then the Knicks had all season long.

As a huge Celtics fan I want Marbury. Maybe he will have already signed with the team by the time you read this. All I know is the Celts needed help to win the title last year, and they got it. They need help to win the title this year, and it just came available.

-Keefe

Mark Coleman pulls out of UFC 106 fight with Tito Ortiz

Less than an hour ago, Tito Ortiz announced via Twitter that he's searching for someone else to beat up at UFC 106:

"Coleman,coleman,coleman to bad he sissies out!!! Who's next??? I'm kicking someone's ass on Nov 21st!" -via Tito Ortiz's Twitter account

Interesting development as this was supposed to be a good barometer for both fighters, particularly The Huntington Beach Bad Boy as he makes his way back from back surgery. Whose ass can he beat now? Ideas, anyone?

-Bess

Chinese Super League Saturday Review

Zhao Xuri and Zhao Mingjian both found the back of the net as Dalian Shide beat Shandong Luneng 2-0 in the Chinese Super League.

At Dalian Jinzhou Stadium, the hosts proved the more dangerous from the outset with Zhao Xuri seeing a 30-yard long-range effort fly just wide.

Midway through the first-half, the visiting side created their first effort of note when Chinese international Han Peng headed Cui Peng's cross into the path of Brazilian forward Cardoso dos Santo! s Sandro but his volley failed to hit the target.

However, Zhao Xuri opened the scoring for the hosts one minute after the break with a superb free-kick from the right.

The visitors intensified their attacking play after conceding the first goal while Dalian went into a defensive shell to keep Shandong at bay.

And in stoppage time, Zhao Mingjian clinched the points with a spectacular volley.

"Dalian played good football today and they deserved the win," said Shandong's Serbian manager Ljubisa Tumbakovic.

"We dominated the game for a certain period of time in the second-half but it wasn't enough."

Shandong are now fourth in the table with 37 points, three adrift of current leaders Beijing Guoan who edged out Qingdao Zhongneng, Lang Zheng scoring the winner with an 11th-minute header.

"We put a lot of pressure on Shandong's midfield and it paid dividends," said Dalian coach Xu Hong.

"We are still a young side and we need! to continue to improve."

Dalian now climb to second on! 38 poin ts.

Elsewhere, Guangzhou Guangyao drew 1-1 with Shaanxi Baorong while Hangzhou Luceng played out a 2-2 draw with Chengdu Blades.

S.League Wednesday Review

S.League leaders Singapore Armed Forces suffered their first defeat of the season as they were downed 2-1 at Gombak United.

Kingsley Njoku opened the scoring in the 41st minute before Agu Casmir added a second for Gombak five minutes into the second half.

Aleksandar Duric scored from the spot in the 90th minute but it was too little too for the visitors.

Despite the defeat, SAF still have a 10-point lead at the top of the standings.

Genoa 0-5 Inter Milan

Inter Milan moved three points clear at the top of Serie A with a spectacular 5-0 win at Genoa.

Jose Mourinho's side gained revenge for their 1-0 defeat at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris inflicted by Genoa's city rivals Sampdoria three weeks ago with victory in a one-sided game.

Esteban Cambiasso opened the scoring in the sixth minute before Mario Balotelli and an extraordinary goal from Dejan Stankovic put the Nerazzurri firmly in command at half-time.

Patrick V! ieira and Maicon completed the rout in the second half as Inter moved three points away from Sampdoria, who can draw back level with the defending champions by winning at Lazio tomorrow.

Like last season when the two sides met at the Luigi Ferraris, Inter took an early lead to put Genoa immediately on the back foot.

Javier Zanetti hoisted a long free-kick forward from just inside the Genoa half and no defender managed to clear the danger as the ball fell for Cambiasso, whose shot on the turn took a telling deflection off Francesco Modesto to spin past Marco Amelia.

The goal brought an abrupt end to a bright opening from Genoa and the game was easy from that point on for Inter, who almost scored a second when Wesley Sneijder sent Stankovic through on goal, but he dragged his shot wide of the far post with just Amelia to beat.

Stankovic had two further chances to score as Genoa lost track of the Inter playmaker, but he headed and volleyed wide resp! ectively.

The second goal came in the 31st minute when ! Cambiass o stole the ball in midfield before feeding Sneijder, who in turn sent the ball into the path of Balotelli. The young forward made no mistake, drilling past Amelia into the far corner.

Omar Milanetto's goal in the 40th minute was rightly ruled out for offside, and that attack was only a rare punctuation in Inter's dominance.

Stankovic put the cherry on top of a perfect first half for the Nerazzurri, adding an astonishing third goal deep into stoppage time.

Amelia came a long way out of his goal to make a clearance, but the ball, without bouncing, approached the Serbian, who instinctively volleyed it back into the vacant goal from the halfway line.

There was no let-up for Genoa in the second half either as Balotelli came close to a fourth as he headed Sneijder's free-kick straight at Amelia, who made an instinctive save from point-blank range.

Half-time substitute Vieira added the fourth in the 66th minute when he used his strength to hold o! ff Modesto before volleying the ball past Amelia from 10 yards.

Genoa's heads dropped and they could no longer do the simple task of clearing the ball from inside their own penalty area.

Three Rossoblu defenders got in each other's way with the ball falling kindly to Maicon, who made no mistake in passing the ball past Amelia for the fifth with 20 minutes remaining.

Former Inter striker Hernan Crespo made his entrance for Genoa, but the damage had already been done as the defending champions picked up a morale-boosting win ahead of their Champions League clash with Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday.

B M'gladbach 0-0 Cologne

Borussia Monchengladbach ended a five-game losing streak with a goalless draw at home to Cologne.

The home side posed the greater attacking threat and Roel Brouwers saw a shot cleared off the line in the second half as both sides had to settle for a point.

The draw moved Monchengladbach up to 15th place, while Cologne are just two places better off.

Monchengladbach nearly gifted their opponents the lead in the 22nd minute as Dante's back pass beat his goalke! eper Logan Bailly but, luckily for the home side, also went wide of the post.

Cologne offered little going forward, though, and Gladbach's best chance came six minutes before the break when Juan Arango's free-kick from 25 yards went just wide to the right.

The visitors did though miss a golden chance just seconds before the break as Lukas Podolski played a ball through to Manasseh Ishiaku who could only shoot wide of the left post from 13 yards.

Cologne keeper Faryd Mondragon kept the scores level with a fine save 11 minutes after the break, batting away Arango's dangerous free-kick from 24 yards.

Roel Brouwers then saw his effort cleared off the line by Cologne's Miso Brecko with 16 minutes to play.

And Mondragon again denied the hosts with nine minutes remaining, preventing a certain own goal by diving to his left to keep out Youssef Mohamad's misdirected clearance from a dangerous free-kick.

Michael Bradley had Monchengladbach's ! last effort three minutes into injury time, but his shot from ! 20 yards went wide.

UAE League Review

UAE league pace-setters Al Ain continued their unbeaten run this season as they hammered 10-man Al Shabab 4-0.

Al Ain are top after their fourth win of the season - while Al Shabab have lost four and are second from bottom.

Argentinean striker Jose Sand opened the scoring with a 24th-minute penalty and added his second goal on the half-hour.

Three minutes before the break, Essam Dahi was sent off - and Al Ain took advantage to score the third goal on 82 minutes through Mohannad Salem A! l Enazi.

Brazilian striker Mauricio Emerson made it 4-0 six minutes later.

Al Wahda climbed up to second with a 2-1 win against 10-man Al Dhafra.

After a scoreless first half, Al Wahda took the lead through Brazilian midfielder Andre Pinga on 52 minutes - and his compatriot Fernando Baiano made it 2-0 just after the hour.

Al Dhafra's Nigerian defender Keneth Akobadjo was sent off on 81 minutes - but they still managed to pull a late goal back through Mohamad Saleh.

Improve Your Soccer Betting Using The Superiority Method

by Malcolm Nossiter

Improve Your Soccer Betting is a series of articles that describe some well known and well used statistical techniques that will help the soccer punter make more informed bets. Each of the techniques has its own advantages and disadvantages and using them in isolation will improve your chances of winning. However, together they will prove invaluable in your battle with the bookies. In each article we will describe in detail how a particular method works giving you enough information for you to go ahead and create your own forecasts. We will also give you information as to where you can already find websites that use this technique in comprising their weekly soccer betting forecasts.

The statistical methods described in this set of articles will help you to arrive at a better decision about the match, or matches, that you are betting on.

In this article we wi! ll be describing the well known Superiority method. The Superiority method is based on goal difference (superiority) for both teams in a fixture over the past set number of games.

Here are the basic rules...

Get goal difference for each team. This could be either;

a) All home games only for the home team and all away games only for the away team over the last N games.

Or

b) All games for each team over the last N games.

Next we need to count each occurrence of a particular goal difference. We need to do this for both the home side and the away side. We create a table which holds the counts and in our case we have chosen to have thirteen rows in our table that represent the following goal differences:

INDEX GOAL DIFF 1..........>-5 2..........-5 3..........-4 4..........-3 5..........-2 6..........-1 7..........0 8..........1 9..........2 10........3 11........4 12........5 13........>5

S! o for our N matches we will add one to the content of each ind! ex whene ver that goal difference is encountered. This may be a little confusing so let's look at an example.

Arsenal v West Ham

ARSENAL 2 -1 0 0 3 -2 1 1 1 5 1 0 0 -2 WEST HAM 0 0 -2 -3 -1 3 1 -1 -1 2 1 3 0 1

The above shows the goal differences for the last fourteen matches for Arsenal and West Ham, now let's add these to our goal difference table:

INDEX GOAL DIFF ARSENAL WEST HAM 1..........>-5.......0..........0 2..........-5.........0..........0

3..........-4.........0..........0 4..........-3.........0..........1 5..........-2.........2..........1 6..........-1.........1..........3

7..........0..........4..........3 8..........1..........4..........3 9..........2..........1..........1 10........3..........1..........2

11........4..........0..........0 12........5..........1..........0 13........>5........0..........0

Now each home team array count is added to the opposite array count for the! away side. So, the home teams' array index 13 is added to the away teams' array index 1, the home teams array index 12 is added to the away teams array index 2, etc. In our example this gives us;

INDEX GOAL DIFF COMBINED 1..........>-5.........0 2..........-5...........0 3..........-4...........0 4..........-

3...........2 5..........-2...........3 6..........-1...........4 7..........0............7 8..........1............7 9..........2............2

10........3............2 11........4............0 12........5............1 13........>5..........0

The forecast can now be determined. If we assume that a draw is represented by array index 7 then array indexes 1 to 6 represent an away win, and array indexes 8 to 13 represent a home win. So, the home win counts are totalled and so are the away win counts. In our example this gives us;

AWAY WIN9 DRAW7 HOME WIN12

The total number of counts = 28 Therefore, Away win! possibility = 32% Draw possibility = 25% Home win possibility! = 43%.< br />
Now it's your turn...

Of course you may choose to use different values to those shown above and by experimenting you may come up with better values to use.

If you have the necessary skills you could go away and build your own spreadsheet of data or even write a piece of software to take in results and fixtures and apply the Superiority method to your data. Or, if you're lazy like me, you could grab some free software that already does this for you. If this last option is for you then visit 1X2Monster where you can download a FREE copy of the Footyforecast 2.0 soccer betting software which utilises all of the statistical methods described in this series of articles. You will also be able to download FREE weekly database updates for your software, how cool is that?

Here is a list of all the articles in this series...

Improve Your Soccer Betting Using The Rateform Method Improve Your Soccer Betting Using The Footyforecast M! ethod Improve Your Soccer Betting Using The Win Draw Loss Method Improve Your Soccer Betting Using The Simple Sequence Method Improve Your Soccer Betting Using The Score Prediction Method Improve Your Soccer Betting Using The Superiority Method

About the Author
Malcolm Nossiter is the owner of 1x2monster.com and footyforecast.com. He has been providing hundreds of 1X2 tips every week since 1999. Please visit 1x2monster.com for a fountain of information on soccer betting.

Top Ten Women Tennis Players Ranking

1. Safina Dinara ( RUS ).

2. Williams Serena ( USA ).

3. Williams Venus ( USA ).

4. Dementieva Elena ( RUS ).

5. Kuznetsova Svetlana ( RUS ).

6. Jankovic Jelena ( SRB ).

7. Zvonareva Vera ( RUS ).

8. Azarenka Victoria ( BLR ).

9. Wozniacki Caroline ( DEN ).

10. Petrova Nadia ( RUS ).

Torino, è il momento della verità: svolta o mercato totale

fonte: Tuttosport

Tutti a rischio, però la crisi si può superare: ottobre è il mese nero.

TORINO, 13 ottobre - Chissà se i giocatori un poco arrossiranno a con­frontare i propri guadagni con quelli dei colleghi che domeni­ca li hanno battuti, i calciatori del Modena. Il rapporto è di ol­tre quattro euro a uno: 20 mi­lioni contro 4,8, allenatori com­presi. Rossore o meno, l'unica cosa importante sarà la reazio­ne. Il ! Torino, inteso come squa­dra, deve reagire sul campo con impegno, sacrificio e orgo­glio. I giocatori devono essere consapevoli della propria for­za, ma sostenerla con l'umiltà che è condizione necessaria per affermarla. La crisi dell'ultimo mese può essere contingente, legata a fattori di forma dei singoli, ma va stroncata subito. Con un'intensità, una sana cattiveria agonistica e quella fame che sono fondamentali virtù per emergere in B. Non basta il talento, ammesso e non concesso che sia proporzio­nato al monte ingaggi pagato da Cairo. Il Torino malamen­te retrocesso ha l'obbligo di vin­cere questo campionato: ben sapendo, oltretutto, che alla fi­ne non ci sarà proprio niente da festeggiare. Tuttavia se la squadra non riprenderà forte­mente in mano il proprio de­stino, se nei prossimi tre mesi non troverà costanza di presta­zioni e risultati, a gennaio an­drà rifatta da capo a piedi: via tutti gli inadeguati, che! siano stelle o meteore. I nomi non contano, contano i fatti.
COME L'ATALANTA - Ciò det­to, la tesi che possa essere "so­lo" un momento no è sostenu­ta dalle statistiche. Le squadre di Colantuono a ottobre non sono mai andate alla grande (media punti di 1,31, frutto di 10 vittorie, 12 pareggi e 10 sconfitte). E' il periodo dell'an­no in cui il tecnico pareggia di più e perde maggiormente. L'ultima vittoria in ottobre di una sua squadra risale addi­rittura al 22 ottobre 2006, Ata­lanta- Sampdoria 3-2 in A; poi 8 gare di campionato disputate tra le panchine di Atalanta, Palermo e Torino: 6 pareggi e 2 sconfitte. Altro piccolo confor­to: l'Atalanta targata Colan­tuono, che vinse poi alla gran­de il campionato di serie B 2005/06, dopo 9 giornate aveva subìto 3 sconfitte come l'attua­le Toro, sebbene i punti in sac­coccia fossero 18, frutto di 6 vit­torie e nessun pareggio.

SQUADRA ASSEMBLATA - In attesa della reazione grana­ta o della riparazione me! rcan­tile, alcune considerazioni irri­nunciabili. Il Torino non è una squadra costruita, bensì è squadra assemblata. Figlia di un mercato dominato dalla ne­cessità di bonificare pregressi errori: è rimasto chi non si è riusciti a piazzare e si è preso quel che si è riusciti a prende­re in relazione a quanto con­sentito dalle uscite. A Colan­tuono s'è chiesto di cavare il meglio da quel che passava il convento. E' dunque una for­mazione che vive sulle prodez­ze dei singoli: quando manca­no, una squadra costruita sop­perirebbe col gruppo; il Toro as­semblato, invece, va in crisi.

E IL REGISTA? - Conferma a questo discorso è la recente ri­cerca di altre soluzioni, attra­verso un diverso sistema di gioco, proprio per rimediare agli affanni. Cosicché si è par­titi con il regista, Loviso (sen­za mai dare una chance al suo giovane vice, Gorobsov), e poi si è provato a farne a meno. Non solo, ma le ultime scelte hanno sconfessato il mercato estivo anche con Belin! gheri. L'alternanza di più interpreti in parecchi ruoli è un'u! lteriore conferma dell'incertezza pro­gettuale, ma sull'altro lato del­la medaglia porta insicurezza nei singoli. Esemplare il caso Rubin-Pisano. Ci sono, in­somma, scelte discutibili e scel­te imposte, o di forza maggiore, per l'allenatore. L'insieme por­ta alla conclusione che il Tori­no è ancora alla ricerca di se stesso. Il che potrebbe anche essere un'ottima notizia. So­prattutto se si ricorda che esi­stono risorse ancora largamen­te inesplorate, nell'organico.

Marotta blinda i suoi gioielli

di Rocco Fortunato

fonte:sampdorianews.net

L'Amministratore Delegato BeppeMarotta, ospite negli studi diPrimocanalesport, ha definito AntonioCassano come il miglior giocatore italiano, a suo parere le convocazioni azzurre non verrebbero effettuate selezionando i migliori calciatori in circolazione, ma quelli più congeniali al credo tattico del commissario tecnico. Il genio barese starebbe risentendo per l'esclusione dal giro azzurro, ma il nostro Direttore lo rincuora, affermando che "La sua Nazionale è la Samp".

In merito a Giampaolo Pazzini, ha ammesso il forte interesse di altre società nel corso del mercato estivo, ma, dopo aver incontrato gli investitori, è stato posto il veto sulla sua cessione. La valutazione dell'ex bomber viola è sicuramente raddoppiata, grazie all'incredibile rapporto goal - presenze.

Della Samp della promozione 2003 è rimasto soltanto Angelo Palombo, per il quale il nostro Direttore Generale ha avuto parole di grande stima, considerandolo "il nostro soldatino in trincea nei momenti più difficili", evidenziando le sue grandi qualità umane ! e professionali anche all'interno del gruppo, e si augura che ! possa es sere il Capitano della Sampdoria per tantissimi anni.

In campo domenica 18 Ottobre 2009

fonte: www.empolifc.com

• Allievi Nazionali: ore 10.30 Arezzo vs Empoli, campo sportivo B. Nespoli, Arezzo
• Allievi Professionisti: ore 11.15 Viareggio vs Empoli, campo sportivo Del Chiaro, Viareggio
• Esordienti Professionisti: ore 10.00 Empoli vs Figline, Centro Sportivo Monteboro
• Esordienti 98 (Mister Arrighi): ore 9.15 Firenze Ovest vs Empoli, c! ampo sportivo di Peretola

Nella foto: Mister Arrighi (PH Gianni Nucci)

Ancona: Colacone recupera

di Massimo Scavello

In vista dell'incontro di oggi allo stadio Granillo di Reggio Calabria sono confermati i rientri di Zavagno in difesa e di Colacone in attacco al fianco di Mastronunzio. Mustacchio partirà dalla panchina.

Primavera Tim Cup: ottavi di finale

fonte: www.empolifc.com

Mercoledi' 21 Ottobre 2009 alle ore 14.30, la Primavera di Ettore Donati sara' impegnata nella gara di andata degli ottavi di finale della Tim Cup Primavera 2009/2010.

L'Empoli ospitera' presso il Centro Sportivo Monteboro la compagine del Siena.

Nella foto: Mister Ettore Donati

#022 Convocazioni del 14 Gennaio 2008

Tim Cup - Coppa Italia
Ottavi di finale ad eliminazione diretta
Juventus-Catania Radiocronaca: Emanuele Dotto

Campionato di Serie A
Recupero Roma - Sampdoria
Radiocronaca: Antonello Orlando

#114 La Superclassifica del 27 Marzo

Senza partite durante la settimana i nostri impegni sono in crisi ma questo semplifica i calcoli per la SuperClassifica di questa settimana.

Alla conduzione Provenzali avanti su Corsini 33-27.

Entra in graduatoria all'ultimo posto l'esordiente Giovanni Scaramuzzino.

Nella classifica presenze ecco le prime posizioni che non mutano di tanto

1 Tonino Raffa 57
2 Francesco Repice 52
3 Giuseppe Bisantis 52
4 Livio Forma 49
5 Emanuele Dotto 47
6 Tarcisio Mazzeo 46
7 Antonello Orlando 46

Nella classifica a punti invece rimane avvincente la lotta in testa tra Cucchi e Repice

1 Riccardo Cucchi 115,5
2 Francesco Repice 114,0
3 Giuseppe Bisantis 105,0
4 Antonello Orlando 98,0
5 Tonino Raffa 96,0
6 Giulio Delfino 91,0
7 Emanuele Dotto 87,5
8 Livio Forma 70,5
9 Tarcisio Mazzeo 64,5
10 Ugo Russo 55,0

! Clicca qui per il quadro completo delle classifiche.

Alla prossima settimana.

Convocazioni del 27 Maggio

Champions League - Finale 2009 -
Mercoledì 27 Maggio

Manchester United - Barcelloma
Radiocronista: Riccardo Cucchi
Seconda voce: Francesco Repice

La Fiorentina avanti assieme a Repice

Per la prima puntata del giovedi della rubrica "minutoxminuto", ci soffermiamo sul play-off di Coppa dei Campioni giocato dalla Fiorentina. I ragazzi viola allenati da Cesare Prandelli ce l'hanno fatta e si accodano alle tre grandi per antonomasia del nostro calcio italiano, nella missione di riportare in alto la bandiera del calcio italiano in campo internazionale, dopo due stagioni di vacche magre. Due pareggi possono bastare. Soprattutto se preziosi. Avanti la Fiorentina con la voce trascinante di Francesco Repice, sia in Portogallo che nel ritorno del Franchi, dove c'è stata anche la presenza della seconda voce di Enzo Baldini. Ci riviviamo le emozioni migliori di questo turno, ricordando la perla di Alberto Gilardino di grandissima importanza all'Alvalade e poi, la qualificazione ottenuta nella partita di Firenze: dalla grande paura del primo tempo alla magia di Jovetic. E Repice ci ha accompagnati così, con il sottofondo del grido di gioia di tutto lo stadio. Stavolta ! con un esito positivo. Già nella scorsa stagione la sua voce ci aveva coinvolto nelle speranze dei viola nella partita, purtroppo persa, contro il Lione, nonostante la sua spinta. Stavolta si comincia con il piede giusto.

Highlights 7^ giornata di Serie A

Sono diciannove le reti di questo settimo turno, per un totale stagionale di 162 realizzazioni. Tre le vittorie interne, quelle di Inter, Roma e Palermo. Cinque i pareggi, due sole le vittorie esterne, quelle del Genoa a Verona e del Genoa a Bologna. In classifica troviamo Sampdoria ed Inter appaiate in testa, poi sette squadre in tre punti. Restano a secco di vittorie: Catania, Livorno e Atalanta. Ecco le partite in dettaglio:

Atalanta – Milan 1-1: Al Atleti Azzurri d'Italia finisce in parità il derby lomb! ardo. L'Atalanta ottiene un buon punto visto che dal 38° minuto ha giocato in inferiorità numerica per l'espulsione Radovanovic. La prima frazione si chiude con il meritato vantaggio dei bergamaschi che al 21° minuto sbloccano il risultato con Tiribocchi. Nella ripresa è il Milan a fare la partita ma la mole di gioco creata non viene concretizzata con successo in diverse occasioni. L'Atalanta si difende bene e riparte in contropiede. Al minuto 83 Ronaldinho, entrato dalla panchina, trova il pareggio salvando forse la panchina di Leonardo. Per l'Atalanta terzo pari consecutivo, il Milan è al secondo pareggio di fila.

Bari – Catania 0-0: Brutta partita al San Nicola. Ci si aspettava di più dal Bari vista la gara giocata domenica scorsa a Milano contro il Milan. Il ritmo gara è basso per tutti i novanta minuti nel corso dei quali le emozioni sono pressocchè nulle. Nel primo tempo l'unico sussu! lto è dato da un incredibile palo colpito da Kutuzov che divor! a il gol davanti ad Andujar. Nella ripresa poco da raccontare, neppure i cambi animano il match. Alla fine il pareggio è il risultato più corretto, il Catania infatti non impegna mai Gillet né mette pressione alla difesa pugliese. Per il Bari quinto pareggio stagionale, il Catania centra il quarto pareggio consecutivo.

Bologna – Genoa 1-3: Il Genoa rovina la festa del centenario al Bologna. Gli uomini di Gasperini partono subito bene ed all'11° minuto si portano in vantaggio con Kharja su rigore. Il Bologna non reagisce e lascia campo agli avversari. Al 35° Sculli raddoppia, chiudendo di fatto il match. Nella ripresa il Bologna prova a riaprire l'incontro,cercando di sfruttare la superiorità numerica (espulso Mesto) ma l'imprecisione e la sfortuna (Di Vaio centra un palo) non permettono ai felsinei di accorciare in tempo le distanze. La partita si rianima all'85° quando Di Vaio trasforma un penalty,! ma il Genoa non perde tempo e colpisce in contropiede con Zapater al 90° minuto per l'1-3 finale. Per i genovesi secondo successo in trasferta in campionato. Il Bologna perde la seconda partita interna della stagione.

Cagliari – Chievo Vr 1-2: Chievo Verona corsaro a Cagliari. Partono meglio i sardi ma il Chievo ribatte colpo su colpo. Al 38° il vantaggio cagliaritano siglato da Matri sembra segnare il match, ma il Chievo non si scompone e pareggia già al 41° con Marcolini. Nella ripresa in campo c'è solo il Chievo. Il Cagliari infatti appare confuso e senza idee. Al 71° Marcolini raddoppia e regala ai clivensi un successo importante in chiave salvezza. I veronesi salgono a quota 11 punti in classifica, il Cagliari continua a non far punti fra le mura amiche.

Fiorentina – Lazio 0-0: Partita bella e vivace! sino alla fine, ma il punteggio resta inalterato. Le due squa! dre si e quivalgono alternando buoni momenti di gioco da ambo le parti. Le occasioni non mancano ma solo l'imprecisione delle punte lascia inviolate le porte. Nella ripresa la Fiorentina si lascia preferire ma alla distanza cala anche per le fatiche di coppa. Da segnalare un gol fantasma non assegnato ai viola. La palla dalle immagini sembra dentro ma non era facile stabilire se la sfera avesse varcato la linea di porta. Stesso discorso per la Lazio che paga la vittoriosa trasferta a Sofia in Europa League. Per i viola primo pareggio interno della stagione. La Lazio invece non vince da cinque turni, in questi tre pareggi e due sconfitte.

Inter – Udinese 2-1: Al Meazza vittoria in zona Cesarini per gli uomini di Mourinho. Partita vivace nei primi 45 minuti, con le due squadre che giocano un buon calcio. Al 22° passa in vantaggio l'Inter con un bellissimo gol di Stankovic che capitalizza al meglio l'as! sist di Eto'o. Ma l'Udinese riordina velocemente le idee ed al 27° pareggia con Totò Di Natale. Si va alla pausa. Nella ripresa affiora un po' di stanchezza e nessuna delle due squadre prende il sopravvento: l'Inter prova a condurre il gioco ma rischia in contropiede, Di Natale infatti divora un'incredibile occasione regalando il pallone a Julio Cesar. Quando tutto sembra avviato verso il pareggio, arriva la stoccata vincente di Sneijder che su azione personale al 92° trafigge Handanovic dal vertice piccolo dell'area di rigore. L'Inter porta a casa i tre punti e la quinta vittoria in campionato. L'Udinese mastica amaro, vista l'ottima prova, e subisce il secondo ko stagionale.

Palermo – Juventus 2-0: La Juventus regala la partita al Palermo, praticamente i bianconeri non hanno giocato. Il Palermo molto ordinato sfrutta le occasioni avute e sciupa molto in contropiede. I siciliani chiudono i! l match praticamente in cinque minuti, al 37° sblocca il punte! ggio Cav ani e cinque minuti dopo Simplicio, smarcatosi bene in area, insacca su cross di Miccoli. Nella ripresa la Juventus prova invano a rimontare ma rischia in contropiede, il Palermo spreca molte occasioni. Pessima la prova dei bianconeri. Il Palermo torna a vincere in casa dopo la prima giornata. La Juventus perde l'imbattibilità e non vince da tre turni.

Roma – Napoli 2-1: All'Olimpico Francesco Totti mattatore del pomeriggio romano. Partita viva con la Roma che si lascia preferire nella manovra. In apertura di gara continua la sfortuna della Roma con i portieri, si infortuna Julio Sergio, al suo posto Lobont. Il portiere rumeno al 25° minuto non trattiene un tiro di Lavezzi che porta in vantaggio i partenopei. La Roma rafforza la propria pressione ed al 37° pareggia con Totti. Nella ripresa giocano meglio i capitolini che al 63° raddoppiano ancora con Totti. Per i ragazzi di Ranieri terza vit! toria in cinque partite. La panchina di Donadoni ora traballa decisamente dopo il quarto ko esterno consecutivo.

Sampdoria – Parma 1-1: Bella partita a Marassi, è la Sampdoria però a giocare meglio. Il Parma è più attento in difesa senza scoprirsi eccessivamente vista la genialità della coppia Pazzini-Cassano. Accade tutto nel primo tempo. Passa in vantaggio la Samp con Pazzini al 23°, ma l'euforia per il vantaggio costa caro ai doriani che si distraggono e lasciano spazio al Parma che al 30° minuto pareggia con Galloppa. Nella ripresa ottima la manovra della Sampdoria ma il Parma imbriglia bene i padroni di casa e controlla il genio di Cassano. Per la Samp 16 punti in classifica; il Parma coglie il secondo pari esterno della stagione.

Siena – Livorno 0-0: Partita brutta al Franchi di Siena. Il derby toscan! o si conclude in parità. Nel corso dei 90 minuti non ci sono g! randi az ioni da segnalare, il Siena va vicino al gol nei primi 45 minuti. Al 37° espulso Marchini del Livorno. Maccarone al 39° fallisce un rigore ben parato da De Lucia. Il Livorno praticamente non manovra e crea pochissimo o nulla. Nella ripresa nulla di rilevante. Pareggio giustissimo. Le due squadre mostrano grandi lacune tattiche ed in fase di impostazione scarso palleggio. Per il Siena, secondo pari interno di fila. Il Livorno ottiene il primo punto in trasferta.

Classifica dopo la 7^ giornata: Inter e Sampdoria 16; Juventus e Fiorentina 14; Genoa 13; Chievo Vr, Udinese, Roma e Parma 11; Lazio, Milan e Palermo 9; Bari 8; Cagliari e Napoli 7; Bologna 6; Siena 5; Catania 4; Atalanta e Livorno 3.
Prossimo turno, 8^ giornata 17-18/10/2009 ore 15.00: Catania – Cagliari, Chievo Vr – Bari, Genoa – Inter (17/10 ore 20.45), Juventus – Fiorentina! (17/10 ore 18.00), Lazio – Sampdoria, Livorno – Palermo, Milan – Roma (ore 20.45), Napoli – Bologna, Parma – Siena, Udinese – Atalanta.

Gli highlights dedicati alla serie A torneranno lunedì 19 Ottobre alla ripresa del campionato. Adesso ci sarà un turno di pausa per permettere alla Nazionale di disputare le ultime due gare di qualificazione al mondiale in Sud Africa. Ecco il programma dell'Italia: sabato 10, Irlanda-Italia; mercoledì 14, Italia-Cipro.

Con questo è davvero tutto, appuntamento alla prossima giornata di Serie A. Buon calcio a tutti....

Triplice Fischio del 5 novembre 2007

Mettetevi comodi. E' una storia da raccontare. Da questo lunedì ho deciso di inaugurare una piccola rubrica di commento alla giornata fantacalcistica che trae spunto dal titolo di una trasmissione radiofonica che in tempi non sospetti ideammo io e il buon Paolo Passafiume...Triplice Fischio è l'analisi a bocce ferme senza prenderci troppo sul serio dei fatti accaduta nella domenica fasntacalcistica...Adesso che il dolore vissuto in questa settimana lascia lentamente spazio ai ricordi, posso dare il VIAA...!!!

Che dire, la capolista non vince più! Una sconfitta e due pareggi nelle ultime tre gare, ma attenzione, la Lellite non è ancora pass! ata, nessuno si illuda. Guardate Caracciolo, l'airone sembrava un piccione nei primi tre mesi di questo campionato, lo compra Culello e torna a volare (e Celestino rosica!)...meno male che ci ha pensato il buon Tommy a frenarlo sul 2-2 con una prestazione tutta classe e fantasia. Ah se quel Galloppa fosse finito subito in campo...

La favorita di tutti è la corazzata Il Giorno dei Giorni, che rispolvera un Leon d'eccezione e asfalta la malcapitata Tofa (dov'è finito lo stellone?) facendo registrare anche la migliore media fra tutte le fantasquadre...

Al terzo posto la sorpresa I Love Giorgia...nonostante l'errore Giuly, lasciato in panchina dopo il confronto fra patron Campos e ! il diesse Gigios, i due riescono ad avere la meglio sull'affra! nto pollo giò...e qui ci sta bene il pianto greco che lo contraddistingue. Le partite si vincono anche senza segnare, soprattutto se hai un portiere come Frey...

Nell'ultima sfida della 9/a giornata torna al successo l'Amici Miei di ser Celestino, nonostante il rigore di Doni e Volpi in panchina...Corradi, preziosissimo cecchino in assenza di Trezeguet, regala i tre punti contro un irriconoscibile Mani Pulite. Paoletto sceglie un disastroso Vucinic (ma era logico) e lascia in panca l'infallibile Julio Cruz...

La regola dei 4 punti intrafascia

Tommy e Piero propongono di reinserire la seguente regola: qualora due squadre totalizzino punteggi che rientrano nella stessa fascia di attribuzione goal (60/65,5 - 66/71,5 - 72/76,5), ma tra le due ci siano almeno 4 punti di distacco, quella con il totale squadra più alto ottiene un goal supplementare e vince.

A voi la parola. Votate gente, votate...

Mercato di Novembre

Per chi partecipa appuntamento alle 21 e 15 su messenger. Start alle 21.30, chi non si collega per quell'ora sarà ritenuto fuori dall'asta.
Con affetto
il presidente

ASTA RIMANDATA

Attenzione, prima che qualcuno faccia un offerta: l'asta è rimandata. Il procuratore ha smentito la notizia e ha detto che non è ancora ufficiale l'acquisto da parte del Napoli perchè bisogna aspettare gli impegni della nazionale Under 21.

Comunque ripeto l'asta è SOLO rimandata, ma si farà al più presto. Nel frattempo voi osservate il giocatore in Under 21. Appena sarà chiara la destinazione sarà effettuaa l'asta. Ciao, R

The best World Cup goals

If it wasn't for the pointless narcissism and erratic production values I'd petition the government to attach wires to the head of every adult in the UK and feed 24-hour YouTube coverage into their otherwise befuddled heads.

Obviously I can't do this, so the next best thing to do is mention footy highlights I recently spotted on a blatantly transparent trawl. You may not agree with these choices, but here are some fantastic goals from the history of the world's greatest sporting tournament:

Del Piero wraps up the semi against Germany with this extra time beauty in 2006. The other one wasn't bad either.

Bergkampf's winner against Argentina in 1998. Worth it for the commentary alone.

Owen takes his bow on the world stage.

The second one against England in! 1986. The first is criminal, but this is still superb.

Gemmill for Scotland in 1978. I'll never tire seeing the locals lap this one up.

Gerd Muller and the second goal in the 74 final. Class from one of the greatest ever strikers.

Gerson's screamer from the 1970 final. The last goal was brilliant showboating. This was genius, and looks even better from behind the goal.

1966 and all that. This one put England on the way to the final.

I'm sure I've missed a few, but this is all a matter of personal choice. And yes, I will get around to finding footage from earlier tournaments in Chile, Sweden, Switzerland and Brazil. Anyone looking for film ! from France (1938), Italy (1934) or Uruguay (1930) thinks I ha! ve too m uch time on my hands. Talking of which, here are some people who actually do have too much time on their hands:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uD1LLAbCMw

All hail the marvellous Sean Lock.