Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts

Run the London marathon / run the marathon


Sam Robson completed last week's London Marathon in a respectable time, then just decided to keep going - all the way home to St Ives.Mr Robson, 28, crossed the finish line near Buckingham Palace on Sunday just three hours and 45 minutes after setting off from Greenwich Park.But instead of stopping he carried on through the night and ran 99 miles to his hometown of St Ives, Cambridgeshire.

During his epic run he burnt off a staggering 15,000 calories and covered a 125.2 miles in just 29 hours.Epilepsy sufferer Sam, who works as a research scientist, said he completed the challenge to raise money for the Epilepsy Society.'For most people the finish line was the end but for me it was just the beginning,' he said.

'In terms of tiredness, my legs felt pretty good throughout the run and the worst bit was I had to keep eating to replace all the calories I was burning.'I had regular breaks to refill my water but whenever I stopped my legs seized up, so I couldn't rest long.'It was a great feeling crossing the line but I was pretty exhausted.

'Running was fine but stopping was the hardest part. It was a great feeling crossing the line although I was pretty exhausted.'I woke up this morning feeling surprisingly good. My hip was a bit sore last night but it feels okay now and my legs are absolutely fine.'Mr Robson, who was diagnosed with epilepsy aged 12, became a keen runner after he completed his first half marathon with his father in September 2009.He decided to attempt his London Marathon challenge after gradually increasing his endurance until he could 100 miles every week.

He set out from London at 9.45am on Sunday before crossing the finishing line 3 hours and 45 minutes later to complete his first ever marathon.However, instead of stopping Mr Robson carried on running through the night, before arriving in St Ives, Cambs., at 2.45pm on Monday.
During his run he did not sleep and only took a short two minute break every ten miles.His proud fiancee Jen Sykes, 28, a respiratory physiotherapist, led his support team and said she was 'amazed' he completed the challenge.'Sam has never wanted to things by the half,' she said.

Vettle tops the final practice



Sebastian Vettel topped the timesheets during the third and final practice session in Shanghai on Saturday, as the Red Bull driver maintained his advantage over the rest of the field. McLaren's Jenson Button followed some two tenths behind the reigning Champion, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton completed the top three.

McLaren and Red Bull were quick to set consistently fast runs as track activity increased 20 minutes into the practice hour. Vettel and Button traded the fastest times early on, before the German established himself firmly at the front of the field. He would be topped later in the session, only to put on a fresh set of Option tyres to become the pace-setter once again.




























Little drama occurred as the session progressed, although positions on the timing screens changed frequently up and down the order as most teams and drivers began to focus on qualifying. Behind the top three runners, Nico Rosberg proved to be best of the rest for Mercedes GP, with the German driver settling for fourth after briefly leading proceedings as the session passed the half hour mark

Fernando Alonso was next up in fifth, as the Spaniard began to look more comfortable at the wheel of his Ferrari 150° Italia on Saturday morning. Felipe Massa followed his team-mate by little over a tenth in sixth place, while Russia's Vitaly Petrov gave Lotus Renault GP some hope of securing a strong result in qualifying, by setting the seventh fastest time of the session.

Force India showed some promise after mixed feelings on Friday, with drivers Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta securing eighth and tenth respectively. Michael Schumacher separated the pair in ninth, and despite both men locking up frequently in search of more time, the Silverstone-based squad could pose a Q3 threat later today. Failing to make it into the top ten were Nick Heidfeld and Mark Webber, with the latter suffering from an electrical issue. The Australian ended his session with around ten minutes of the session remaining, leaving him less than pleased. Heikki Kovalainen led the way for Team Lotus in 19th place ahead of team-mate Jarno Trulli, who in turn was over a second clear of Virgin Racing's Timo Glock.

sportswoman lost her leg pushed out of a moving train

A 23-year-old national-level sportswoman lost her leg when she was pushed out of a moving train near Bareilly by three men who attempted to rob her.
Sonu Sinha, a national-level football and volleyball player, was pushed from the Padmavat Express on Bareilly railway stations while she was travelling to Delhi to appear in an examination, police said.
As she fell on the track, she was hit by another train moving on a parallel track. Her left leg below the knee was crushed.
A profusely bleeding Sonu was rushed to the district hospital here. "When she was brought here, she was in a very serious condition. Her left leg was badly damaged and her right leg had injuries. She had also suffered some head injuries. Our entire team has been treating her. Her left leg has been amputated. Her general condition is fine," a doctor treating her said.
With her legs and head in bandages, Sonu said the robbers tried to pull her gold chain. "I resisted and they pushed me out of the train. I could not move. I remember seeing a train coming towards me. I tried getting up. By then, the train had run over my leg. I don''t remember anything after that," she said.
Sports minister Ajay Maken said in Delhi that he will seek details in this matter and help Sonu. "We will ask the Railways to probe the matter and nab the culprits. We will extend the best medical treatment to the player," he said.
A fight broke out in the compartment. "Sonu claims one of the men reached for her neck. She thought it might be an attempt at chain-sntatching. There was a struggle. Whether she was pushed out or her fall was accidental, only the investigation will tell," Railway official A K Jain said.
She boarded the train from Lucknow and was travelling in the general compartment, they added.
Police have registered a case of attempt to murder. None of her attackers have been traced.

gifts and prises


Real estate firm Amrapali on Tuesday said it will gift villas worth a total of Rs 9 crore to the entire World Cup winning Indian cricket team at its township in Noida extension.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is at present the brand ambassador of Amrapali.
"Dhoni was presented with an exotic grand villa covering 2,900 sq ft worth Rs 1 crore, while other team members were gifted villas worth Rs 55 lakh each, covering an area of 1,690 sq ft," Amrapali Chairman and Managing Director Anil Kumar Sharma told reporters here.


The company will offer the villas at its luxury township -- Amrapali Dream Valley Project -- at Noida extension, he added.


When asked if there is a possibility of renegotiation of Dhoni's endorsement fees due to his increased brand equity, Sharma said: "He is a very generous person, he is not business-minded. Whatever previous commitment he has, will not change. So we will not have any impact because of increase in his brand value."


Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is the highest earning cricketer in the world, is the most heavily insured player for the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 4 T-20 tournament which begins on April 8. An insurance firm official confirmed that the Indian captain, who led CSK to victory in IPL 3, has been insured for Rs 34 crore by the Oriental Insurance Company (OIC)—a rise of Rs 24 crore over his insurance cover for IPL 3. CSK has paid a premium of Rs 16 lakh, which includes travel risk cover, including medical emergencies, personal accident and loss of baggage.

   

Suresh Raina, retained by CSK, will get an insurance cover of Rs 20.5 crore. Incidentally, little master Sachin Tendulkar, who will play for Mukesh Ambani's Mumbai Indians for the fourth consecutive season, has an insurance cover of only Rs 12 crore.
   
 
Mahela Jayawardene, the skipper of Kochi Tuskers Kerala, has been insured for Rs 20.5 crore. "He seems to be most highly insured overseas player for the tournament," said a source. adding, "Speedster Dale Steyn from South Africa, who will be playing for Deccan Chargers, has been insured for Rs 16 crore."
    One of the rules of IPL is that
even if the player is benched due to a disability, he has to be paid his dues by the franchisee. The cover is being taken by the franchisee to cover his or her financial interest. Many owners are still in the process of finalizing the cover for their team.

Indian team (128 points) has been sitting on top of the Test Championship table since December 2009. South Africa (127 points) will pocket USD 75,000 for ending in second position in the Test Championship table at the cut-off date of April 1.

Schumacher pleased with his car improvement


"We had a pretty good first day on track here in Sepang," Schumi began. "We definitely made a step in the right direction, we were closer to our level of performance from Barcelona (testing) than in Melbourne and I am hopeful there will be more to come.

"We had two typical Friday sessions, trying out a lot of things for future developments, and it looks we can make further improvements. Today, our aerodynamics and our KERS system worked very well and I look forward to more to come in the next two days."

A content Michael Schumacher made the top five in both Friday practice sessions at Sepang on Friday, managing third place in the morning period before dropping back to fifth in the afternoon.



" W02 to be in a better shape at Se pang"



After departed Melbourne's Albert Park 11 days ago looking as sick as a parrot
The seven-times World Campion was forced to retire on lap 19 due to damage sustained on lap one.

But it was the fact Mercedes were woefully off the pace throughout the weekend.
That left both drivers and team principal Ross Brawn at a loss to understand where their car's end of pre-season testing form had disappeared to.
Ahead of this weekend's second grand prix of the year in Sepang,

Schumi said: "Naturally we have studied our issues and problems and made solutions available.
"But we have to figure out how much they fit and cure what we have seen because we've had no testing.
"It is only Friday that is available to us, to figure out whether all the modifications we have made after Australia are spot on or not.
"We will find out this weekend whether we have made a step forward because in Barcelona (in testing) the car was functioning, but in Australia I don't think we saw the real car."


FootBall: Messi Shines on his Return



Geneva: Lionel Messi won his personal duel with his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo lighting up Argentina's 2-1 win over Portugal by making one goal and scoring the winner in a lively friendly international in Geneva.

Messi, FIFA's World Player of the Year for the last two years, and Ronaldo, who won the award in 2008, were both on the scoresheet but Ronaldo, who came off after an hour, ended up on the losing side as Messi gave the South Americans victory, scoring from the penalty spot after 89 minutes.

Coincidentally the hugely entertaining match was played in Geneva, a little over 24 hours after Europe's most powerful clubs expressed their concerns at the amount of friendlies being played every year at their annual assembly in the Swiss city.

The managers of almost every important European club would have preferred this international date to have been dropped from the calendar, but more than 30,000 neutral Swiss braved a chilly night to watch one of more than 30 friendly matches which were being played around the world.

The most high profile games capturing the spotlight were in Europe where international managers, in contrast to their club counterparts, were happy to use the games as preparation for next month's resumption of their Euro 2012 qualifiers.

World champions Spain swung back into action after the winter break with a 1-0 win over Colombia in Madrid thanks to a late winner from David Silva.

The victory ended a poor run of form for the world champions who lost 4-1 to Argentina and suffered a 4-0 defeat to Portugal in friendlies.

But although David Villa failed to get the goal that would have taken him past Raul's all-time Spanish record of 44 goals, Silva came off the bench to score from close range in the 86th minute.

Tennis: Del Potro wins at San Jose

Juan Martin Del Potro Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina plays a backhand in his second round match against Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus during day four of the 2011 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 20, 2011 in Melbourne, Australia.

Juan Martin Del Potro was in impressive form as won his first-round clash at the SAP Open in San Jose.
The Argentinian got the better of Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-3 6-2, indicating that he is getting back to his US Open-winning form following his lengthy injury lay-off.

Fabio Capello Insists "Rooney is still The Main Man"



England manager Fabio Capello insists Wayne Rooney remains his main man ahead of Wednesday's friendly against Denmark.
The Manchester United striker last scored for England back in September 2009 and has yet to rediscover his form on the international stage since his abysmal 2010 FIFA World Cup campaign in South Africa.
But his recent club form has been an encouraging sign for Capello as the Italian prepares to place his faith in the 25-year-old once again.
Capello was quoted as saying in The Sun newspaper: "He's suffered ankle problems but, in terms of assists, he has had 12 and scored two goals last week."

The Italian added: "Sir Alex Ferguson said he was really happy with Rooney's performances this season.
"He said the reason Dimitar Berbatov has played well this year is because Rooney played well and helped him a lot.
"But, for a forward, scoring goals is important too.
"He scored twice against Aston Villa and that was really good for him. Rooney is really important but not only for Sir Alex."
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Force India launches 2011 Challenger

Force India presented their 2011 Formula One car, the VJM04, in a simple online launch on Tuesday. They completed their first winter testing session in Valencia (Spain) last week with the old car.

The engine has been sourced from Mercedes Benz and is a 2.4-litre, V8 engine. The Kinetic Energy Recovery System is also from Mercedes Benz, while the seven-speed transmission is from McLaren.

The VJM04 is the first machine created by team's new technical director Andrew Green, who has also worked on the legendary Jordan 191 car in the past.

"Everything is different, but visually a lot of it is subtle," Green said. "There are a lot of differences under the skin."

For the 2011 season, double diffusers and F-ducts, that gave a lot of downforce at the rear of the car, have been banned. That would have posed a lot of challenges to the engineers to design the car. But Force India believe they have done a fair job.

"We've recovered a lot of aerodynamic performance, we believe. We still have a little bit to go, but we are still in the process of the realignment after the end of last season because it does take a long time to move aerodynamically from one position to another."

With the tyres available to teams changed from Bridgestone to Pirelli, getting the best out of the new tyres would be another challenge.

Winning World cup 2011 is superstitious : Say's Sehwag

 Sehwag adopts a more defensive stance and drops short of calling India favourites.   His surprising stance is more to do with superstition rather than the team's strength. Sehwag feels India has  a balanced side with solid batting as well as bowling but would rather not jinx its chances.  The Najafgarh bomber said he would not term India favourites despite the team's formidable line-up.   "It is superstitious, perhaps, but the team billed as the strongest inevitably fails to do well," he said recalling instances from past World Cups in 2003 and 1996 when South Africa and India were picked to win but failed to.   

The man who is slated to open the innings with Sachin during the tournament feels it is imperative for the bowling and batting to click for the team to claim the Cup.  Sehwag, however, doesn't fail to remind fans that cricket, after all, is just sport. "Winning and losing is part of a sport. It should be taken in the same spirit. Burning a players' effigy, like in the 2003 World Cup, does not help his performance. Encouraging them when they are down lifts the team."

14-year-old girl was a guest in our fine country


A 14-year-old girl was a guest in our fine country, learning how to ski on a beginner's slope in Vail, Colorado.
 If you've ever been skiing before, you know That Learning Can Be Difficult - When You're 14 and especially from a country with no damn snow.



The beginner's course is cans be a particularly weird place, since it's filled with people WHO do not know how to ski. So the Mexican girl was Trying to navigate her way down the hill Pls someone fell in front of her. She naturally swerved to get out of the way, but That the caused her to Collide with the 4-year-old son of Scott Filler.

Pertinent facts about Mr. Filler: He's 41, from Decatur, Georgia, and a huge Douchebag.

When he saw his son get knocked over, he Did not say to Himself, "Hmmm, the collision occurred on the beginner's hill, Where There's a 367 percent probability That it was an accident. Maybe I Should check to see if everyone's alright. "

No, he decided to jump on top of the girl and punch her in the face. Surely Would this teach her to stay in Mexico and never have 3-mile-per-hour skiing accidents.The girl's ski instructor Could intervened before he hit her again.

Quickly Filler lawyered up, with his Barrister claiming he Did not know he was punching a little girl. We're not sure how They handle punching people out in Decatur, Georgia, but the rules here in True Crime dictate Land That you never smack someone under 5-foot-3 with long hair which looks like WHO They watch Degrassi marathons on Teen Nick.

Maybe we're just picky that way.

Filler has since been charged with child abuse and has been banned from the slopes. He's now rumored to be stalking the lodge day care centers, looking for 3-year-old boys think they're tough guys WHO.


Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

the ancient royal warrior dynasties of India and have roots to Rajputana, which is a part of Rajasthan. In India, they liev in Uttar Pradesh (UP), Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh(MP),Gujarat, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh (HP), Jammu & Kashmir, Uttaranchal, Delhi, and Maharashtra in India. Within the Hindu caste system, present day Rajputs constitute one of the principal groups belonging to the Shudra varna even though their forefathers were Kshatriya varna. A large portion of Rajputs that practice Islam in India and Pakistan are also referred to Muslim Rajputs.

http://www2.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20080812/0013729e4abe0a0b46632c.jpgThe Rajputs were designated by the British as a "Martial Race". The martial race was a designation created by officials of British India to describe "races" (peoples) that were thought to be naturally warlike and aggressive in battle and to possess qualities like courage, loyalty, self sufficiency, physical strength, resilience, orderliness, hard working, fighting tenacity and military strategy. The British recruited heavily from these "martial races" for service in the colonial army.
http://im.rediff.com/sports/2006/jun/10rathore.jpg
Rajput dynasties played a prominent role in the history of northern India and Western India(Gujarat). They developed an ethos of warlike chivalry that served as the benchmark for other Indian communities as the latter ascended to regional dominance. This martial ethos did not preclude patronage of the arts: distinctive forms of painting and architecture developed under the aegis of Rajput courts, and classical music found support. Thus, the Rajputs have contributed directly and indirectly to many facets of the Indian culture.

Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (born January 29, 1970 in Jaisalmer , Rajasthan ) is an Indian shooter WHO won the silver medal in Men's Double Trap at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens .

He is the first Indian to win an individual silver, after Norman Pritchard won two silver WHO Medals at the 1900 Paris Olympics .

Rathore scored 44, second best behind Almaktoum's 45 giving uterus Had he won 25 Medals in International Competitions in his highly competitive sport of Doubletrap Shooting.

Rathore failed to qualify for the finals of the Men's Double Trap event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics , placing 15th in the qualification round. Rathore failed to qualify for the Finals of the Men's Double Trap event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics , Placing 15th in the qualification round.


Tiger Woods: The Celebrity Endorsement Paradox

Tiger Woods: The Celebrity Endorsement Paradox
Written by: Sandhya Bhatia
The multi-millionaire athlete, Tiger Woods (Woods) had been long viewed as an ace golfer, and a family man. Following his popularity, consistent performance and clear image, many companies signed Woods to lucrative endorsement deals. However, towards the end of November 2009, Woods had to face the allegations of extramarital affairs followed by his indefinite break from golf. The series of crisis events set to affect his career, his image and his endorsements.
Woods is not the first celebrity revolved around by controversies. However, it raises a question for the marketers who link their brands with celebrity endorsers.
Tiger Woods: A Celebrity Endorser
Eldrick Tont (Tiger) Woods was born in 1975 and became a professional golfer in 1996. Tiger Woods (Woods) has had an unprecedented career, winning total about 93 tournaments including 14 of golf's major championships.
Being a top class athlete, popular all over the world, Woods had been considered as an impactful endorser with a combination of likeability, believability and popularity. With these qualities of an endorser, Woods had many of the global corporate brands endorsement on his account such as: global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company – Accenture; premier communications company – AT&T Inc.; the world's leading interactive-entertainment software company – Electronic Arts (EA); sports drink – Gatorade (a unit of PepsiCo Inc); Gillette (a brand of Procter & Gamble); the world's leading golf publication – Golf Digest; worldwide leader in fractional aircraft ownership – NetJets; golf equipment manufacturer – Nike Golf; Luxury watch maker – Tag Heuer; Tiger Woods-designed golf-course community – Tatweer; The Tiger Woods Dubai; TLC Laser Eye Centers; and the leading provider of sports collectibles – The Upper Deck Company, LLC.
With big companies trying to tie Woods performance and spotless image to their brand, for years, Woods had been one of the most coveted celebrity endorsers. His array of endorsements helped him become the first sports star to earn $1 billion.1 Nevertheless, Woods's image took at hit following a series of events.
The Tiger Woods Controversy
On November 25th 2009, The National Enquirer2 published reports that Woods, married to a Swedish model, Elin Nordegren having two young children, was having an affair with a nightclub hostess and an event planner named Rachel Uchitel (who called these reports untrue). On November 27th 2009, Woods had an early-morning car crash outside his home. Some media reports speculated that the accident followed a dispute in the Woods household. The Hollywood entertainment website tmz.com claimed that Woods had an argument with his wife after she confronted him about the affair allegations and that she had chased after his car.
Later, a Weekly magazine in the US, quoted a cocktail waitress, Jaimee Grubbs, who told the magazine that she and Woods shared a romantic relationship. A third publication, Life & Style magazine, reported Woods had been seeing Kalika Moquin, a marketing manager for a Las Vegas nightclub.
Amid the various claims of extra marital affairs, on December 2nd 2009, Woods accepted to have cheated his wife. “I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family,”3 mentioned Woods on his website.
In view of the controversy, on December 11th 2009, Woods announced taking an indefinite leave from golf. “After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person,"4 stated Woods.
From accident to extra marital affair allegations and indefinite leave from golf - the series of events transformed the titan of golf into a distraction. After the controversy around Woods, Los Angeles Times ran an online poll asking, “Has your opinion of Tiger Woods changed in light of recent events?” Of 2,344 total votes, 63.7% of respondents replied that they had lost respect for Woods.5
The controversy that led to tarnish Woods public image came alarming for his corporate sponsors. Some of his sponsors ended their association with him, while some had been supportive and others re-evaluating their relationships with Woods.



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wives and girlfriends of footballers



The coach of England’s World Cup team recently described the wives and girlfriends of footballers as “a virus.” He also declared his intentions to only allow them visitation with players once a week for the duration of their time in South Africa. This was, in part, a reaction to the activities of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, when several prominent wives and girlfriends of English players stayed near the team cap in the spa town of Baden Baden, and then proceeded to go on widely publicized shopping, restaurant, and clubbing trips around
town, in effect overshadowing the performance of England’s athletes during the World Cup. The media covered their petty arguments and competitions with more zeal than they offered to their male counterparts actually taking part in the tournament. The WAGs flaunted their wealth and displayed their unmatched talent for drinking, partying, and shopping. They downed champagne in excess and danced on tables in nightclubs. Ecuador’s Alex Aguinaga famously proclaimed, “The English wives and girlfriends are causing a circus.” These three-ring-style antics were more than a mere sideshow, however. The distraction caused utter embarrassment for their partners, and for English soccer as a whole. When England shockingly lost in the quarterfinals, the antics of the WAGs, along with the paparazzi they attracted, were widely blamed. Following the 2006 World Cup, the WAGs were banned from attending future tournaments.
In fact, recent drama with regards to two English footballers, Wayne Bridge and John Terry, further highlights the unnecessary conflict and distraction caused by these desperate women. As a result of a four-month fling between Terry, who is married with twins, and Vanessa Perroncel, a French underwear model who is Bridge’s girlfriend and the mother of his child, Terry was subsequently stripped of the England captaincy and Bridge withdrew his name from the World Cup squad. WAGs are widely being accused of corrupting team chemistry.

The most frustrating aspect is that the attention paid to WAG activities seems to overshadow their well-deserving partners, who have worked long and hard to become the elite athletes of their sport. WAGs live wild celebrity lifestyles and throw their money around town, but they will not get within ten feet of a ball during the World Cup. These women, who simply relish in the spoils of their husbands’ and boyfriends’ efforts, cause them serious embarrassment, distract them from their game, and make them tabloid fodder.
Following the women’s liberation movement, you would think women happily identifying themselves by the men they married was a thing of the past.

Footballers Wives - The Complete First Season However, this is not the case for women desperate to land themselves a footballer. These wives and girlfriends openly embrace their WAG identity, and happily exploit it to get on TV, or otherwise find fame. They appear on reality television shows, go on game shows, and become television presenters. In England, there was even a program called “WAGs Boutique” wherein, WAGs were divided into two teams that set up rival fashion boutiques next to each other. The women then fought and argued, ultimately leading to reality and tabloid popularity. Additionally, Carly Cole, the wife of Joe Cole, starred in “I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.” In a special called “Come Dine With Me”, you spend time in the homes of WAGs. Other miscellaneous programming exploiting the frightfully meaningless lives of WAGs includes “Wags Kids” and “World Cup Dreams.”

The Footballer's WifeFootballers Wives - The Complete Third SeasonAnd when sexual scandals arise with regard to their significant others, they continuously, and suspiciously, choose to ignore them. In general, normal women would not take their husbands’ infidelities with such ease. After all, Coleen Rooney’s husband, the great Wayne Rooney, had a notorious liaison with a stripper known as “The Auld Slapper.” Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand cheated on his wife, Rebecca Ellison, with a flight attendant, and a model at his stag (bachelor) party. And of course, she is still around. Toni Poole, wife of the aforementioned John Terry, forgave her husband after his recent affair with a teammate’s girlfriend. With every WAG’s willful acceptance of these indiscretions, their unions begin to sound more like business relationships than romantic ones.

While “gold diggers” have existed in some form or another for centuries, the continued popularity of the WAG seems to make this practice more socially acceptable. And the more attention paid to them by the media and popular culture at large, the more we legitimize them, their practices, and their lifestyles.

Jabulani and its issues

http://soccerdistrict.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/jabulani-angola.jpg
Jabulani - meaning 'to Celebrate' in the isiZulu language - is the name of the new ball for the FIFA World Cup 2010™.
Made, as ever, by Adidas - the world's leading Football equipment manufacturer, the Jabulani ball builds on their years of scientific excellence. With their history of official FIFA World Cup balls (from Telstar to Teamgeist™) the balls have improved year on year, though not without attracting some controversy along the way.
Regular balls are made with 32 hexagonal panels. The Teamgeist for World Cup in Germany 2006 had only 14 panels. The Jabilani ball has an amazing 8 panels.
Goalies will be happy with the 'grip n groove' texturing, which is also to aid smooth flight (think golfballs).
It is a heavy ball, and has bonded 3d panels - moulded spherically to retain shape and create a seamless spehere.
The number 11 carries heavy symbolism - the tribes of South Africa, the players in a football team. In honour ofthis, there are 11 colours used on the ball.

This wonder of technology that took 50 people five years to develop has landed at this monthlong celebration of nationalistic pride with such a thud that some fear it will hurt the level of competition.

The intention was to make a ball that would withstand the rigors of heat and cold, rain and sun. It was supposed to perform equally at high altitude and sea level. It was to be an airtight, waterproof, seamless, ultra-light synthetic marvel of human technology and ingenuity.

But not all see it that way.

"It's very weird," Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano said. "All of a sudden it changes trajectory on you. It's like it doesn't want to be kicked … like someone is guiding it.... It's supernatural."

Teammate Julio Cesar was more succinct.

"It's horrible," the Brazilian goalkeeper said.

Complaining about the World Cup ball is nothing new, of course. Every four years Adidas introduces a new model and every four years just about everyone complains about it.

http://www.jabulaniball.com/images/teamgeist-versus-jabulani.png

FIFA Standards / Jabulani Ball Stats

FeatureFIFA Reg.JabuliniStanding
Weight420-445440/td>Heavy
Circumference68.5-69.5cm69.0 +/- 0.2Average
Roundness1.5% Variance1.0%Good
Water AbsorptionMax 10%0%Amazing
Bounce Variance10cm6cmGood
Leakage20% from 3 days10%Excellent
This table shows that the moulding technique means the ball retains its shape, and the lack of seaming means there is essentially zero water retention, which will reduce sluggishness of the ball if South Africa defies the odds and rains throughout the World Cup
The weight is interesting - being towards the higher end of the allowed scale means the flight will be truer and more predictable making keepers happy, but also rewarding accuracy for strikers.
http://www.fifakorea.net/screenshot3/09-12-17//JabulaniPreview.jpg
This time, however, the criticism seems more universal, centering on the ball's speed and unpredictability — it simply doesn't react like other balls do. And no one seems to know for sure why, though designers at Adidas lay much of the blame on South Africa's thin air.

"It moves around so much … this ball can go anywhere," said Marcus Hahnemann, the backup U.S. goalkeeper. "You can't judge it. And it's taking the skill away from the game.... You can't pinpoint a pass anymore."

The ball was built with improved aerodynamics in mind by using eight thermally bonded three-dimensional panels textured with grooves.

"Players will be confronted with very warm and cold temperatures, wet and dry games, venues at various altitudes," said Hans-Peter Nuernberg, a senior development engineer with Adidas. "Football is an extremely dynamic and fast-moving sport, and it will continue to evolve in such a way.

"Our ball has to reflect these performance aspects and the evolution of the sport. It would not be honest to the players only to change the graphics of a ball."

But what they've done with this ball isn't honest either, say the players.

The official presentation of the Jabulani in Capetown, Dec. 4, 2009"The ball's terrible," U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard said. "You're going to hear that now, you're going to hear that next week and next month."

Added U.S. defender Jay DeMerit: "It's very unpredictable. That's the biggest problem with it. And for goalies and defenders, that makes our day even more difficult."

Not surprisingly, Adidas, the German shoemaker and sports apparel giant that has made every World Cup ball since 1970, defends its work. The company's first official match ball, the Telstar, was also considered revolutionary when it was introduced, yet it remains the world's most popular model 40 years later. Its 32 hand-stitched panels — 12 black pentagons and 20 white hexagons — debuted the same year FIFA put the tournament on live TV in much of the world, and the Telstar, named for a communications satellite, was given much of the credit for making the World Cup a ratings success.

Now comes another ball the company calls revolutionary despite the harsh reviews.

"In general, we can say that aerodynamic studies have shown that any round object shows these movements. Any ball does," said Adidas designer Klaus Rolshoven, who added that the player criticism was "logical because they have to adapt to a different ball."

The tournament opens Friday, so most World Cup players have had only a month to practice regularly with the ball. And the U.S. team's unfamiliarity with it was obvious in last Saturday's "friendly" with Australia, with defenders going up to head balls that suddenly veered off and forwards making passes that never came close to open teammates.

In response to the critics, Adidas, which said it tested the ball in Russian, Dutch, German and Argentine leagues last winter and spring, has launched a damage-control campaign, dispatching many of the players on its payroll — among them Brazil's Kaka, Michael Ballack of Germany and England's Frank Lampard — to counter the criticism, with Ballack calling the ball "fantastic" and Lampard predicting "a lot more spectacular goals … and a lot more spectacular misses."

Kaka went even further, grabbing a ball and giving it a kiss last week at Brazil's Johannesburg hotel.

"I'm not going to criticize the Cup ball," he said. "Everything that's new, new technology, makes a different impression. But who knows if that won't change during the World Cup?"

But whether Kaka's right or whether the critics are doesn't really matter because, as one of his Brazilian teammates said, this is the ball FIFA chose and there's no changing that now.

Liverpool's Gerrard cleared over bar brawl

http://www.futbolwallpapers.com/wallpapers/steven_gerrard.jpgLiverpool captain Steven Gerrard was cleared on Friday of attacking a businessman in a fight over music being played in a bar.
The 29-year-old England midfielder was found not guilty of affray by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court over his role in the incident last December, the Press Association reported.
"I'm really looking forward to the season and concentrating on the football now," he told reporters outside the court.
During his trial, Gerrard admitted striking Marcus McGee, 34, who lost a front tooth crown in the bar brawl, but said he had been acting out of self-defence.
Prosecutors said McGee had been in charge of music for the night at the Lounge Bar in Southport, near Liverpool, and had refused to let Gerrard take control of a CD player.
Gerrard was celebrating with friends after he scored twice in a 5-1 Premier League win at Newcastle United.
The court was told that one of Gerrard's friends had elbowed McGee and the player then landed punches "with the style and speed" of a professional boxer.
Gerrard told the jury he estimated he had been seven out of 10 on a drunkenness scale but had not lost control.
He said he had been given permission by the bar manager to help choose music but McGee had snatched a music card from him.
A fight then erupted after Gerrard approached McGee to find out why he had been so aggressive.
"It was very difficult at the time to explain to police why I did throw that first punch. We were arguing and I told the police I felt that Marcus came towards me and that's why I raised my arms," he told the court.
"I firmly believed Marcus came towards me to hit me."
The Liverpool player's six co-defendants pleaded guilty to being involved in the brawl.
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said he was "really pleased" at the news of Gerrard's acquittal.
"We have been supporting him all the time and were just waiting for the decision," he said in a statement.
"Now he can concentrate just on football and hopefully play at the same level as last year."