Monday 30 September 2013

Premier League: Romelu Lukaku Scores Twice as Everton beat Newcastle

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Romelu Lukaku's first-half brace on his home debut helped Everton go fourth in the Premier League with a 3-2 victory over Newcastle at Goodison Park.

The Belgium international's performance was one, but not the only, reason why his new team displaced parent club Chelsea in the Champions League places as Everton made it six matches unbeaten - a league start not matched for seven years. Lukaku's fledgling partnership with Ross Barkley, playing behind in the hole, also resulted in Everton's other goal as the 19-year-old collected a lay-off from the Belgian to score his side's second after charging through the middle of an obliging Magpies defence. Substitute Yohan Cabaye, a surprise omission from the starting line-up, made Newcastle's only real impact with a brilliant 30-yard strike just after the interval.  But even conceding their first goal in 11 hours 27 minutes could not knock Everton out of their stride and Loic Remy's 89th minute goal gave the scoreline a lop-sided look.

Everton's pace and passing was fast and crisp and Kevin Mirallas often, and right-back Seamus Coleman slightly less frequently, tore the left side of the visiting team to shreds. It was also not as if Newcastle had not had due warning about the threat of Lukaku. Ever since he arrived on deadline day he was talked about as being the Toffees' game-changer.  Within two minutes he had opened up the visitors' defence but his cheeky backheel into the net was the clue he already knew the flag had gone up.  Three minutes later there was no reprieve as Mirallas left Davide Santon trailing in his wake to cross low for Lukaku to stroke home despite Tim Krul's best efforts to keep out the shot.  Lukaku and Barkley had a practice run for the second goal when the big striker laid the ball off for the attacking midfielder to fire first-time wide of the far post.

They perfected the move midway through the half when Sylvain Distin and Mirallas picked out Lukaku who fed Barkley through the middle and he charged past Fabricio Coloccini to clip past Krul for the academy graduate's first Goodison goal.  Everton's third goal was pure route one as goalkeeper Tim Howard's punt downfield was seized upon by Lukaku, easily beating a statuesque Coloccini and rounding Krul before gleefully firing into the open net from close range.  Lukaku found the net again but was denied by another offside flag before Newcastle finally registered their first shot, Howard easily saving low from Hatem Ben Arfa. The Frenchman and Mapou Yanga-Mbiway were replaced at half-time by Cabaye and Mike Williamson respectively.  Newcastle, who have won one of their last 11 league trips to Goodison Park and have taken just 16 points from their last 23 away games, pulled one back within six minutes thanks to Cabaye's blistering long-range strike.  But there was to be no inspiring comeback like the 4-4 draw against Arsenal from an even worse position in 2011 and, even though Remy poked home from close range late on, it was little consolation.



Sunday 29 September 2013

Marquez wins Aragon Moto GP

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Spain's Marc Marquez steers his Honda before winning the Aragon Moto GP grand prix at the Alcaniz circuit in Spain.  Marc Marquez extended his points lead by winning the Aragon MotoGP on Sunday, but his victory came only after he played a part in the crash of Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa.  Marquez grazed the back of Pedrosa’s bike when he was trying to pass him with 18 laps to go, causing Pedrosa to lose control and slide down the track with sparks flying.

I touched him a little with the front of my bike, and they tell me I may have broken a cable and that’s why he fell, said Marquez. It was very unlucky. That doesn’t usually happen.

The 20-year-old Marquez went on to overtake defending champion Jorge Lorenzo, who had jumped ahead with a great start on his Yamaha.

Marquez finished the race at the 5-kilometre (3.15-mile) MotorLand Aragon circuit in 42 minutes, 3.4 seconds. Lorenzo was 1.3 seconds behind.

We knew before the race that it was going to be tough, said Lorenzo. We had a lot of difficulties this weekend. The bike was unstable. But there are no excuses. Marc was faster and he deserved to win.

Valentino Rossi finished third, more than 12 seconds back on his Yamaha, ending a run of four straight fourth-place finishes.

Marquez’s sixth win of the season gave him one more than Lorenzo and broke his closest challenger’s run of winning the previous two races.

Marquez is aiming to become the first rookie to win the championship since American Kenny Roberts in 1978.

Marquez leads Lorenzo by 39 points with four races left. Pedrosa came in level on points with Lorenzo in second place but now trails Marquez by 59.

Pedrosa, who won here last year and turned 28 on Sunday, had to be carried off the track by the medical crew. He later said that he was fine except for some pain in his pelvis.

Pedrosa, however, was angry at both his teammate’s riding style and the race stewards’ decision not to penalize the incident and others like it.

It’s easy to sum up what happened. Marc always rides to the limit when he has riders in front, said Pedrosa. He hit me from behind and that’s where my race ended. It doesn’t matter what he says. I would also like to say something about the race stewards. There have been some things that have happened in recent years. We pilots with more experience have tried to calm down those with less, but (the stewards) have just let things go by as if nothing happened.


Friday 27 September 2013

ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, FLORENCE, MEN'S ROAD RACE

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Tour de France winner Chris Froome says his best chance of winning Sunday's road race at the World Championships in Italy is to go for a solo victory.  The 272km (169.2mile) race finishes with 10 16km circuits of Florence which take in a couple of climbs on each lap.  Briton Froome, who is not known for his sprinting speed, knows he needs to distance his rivals before the finish.  "If I am to win, I'm going to have to try and go clear on possibly the last couple of laps," he said.  The 28-year-old is aiming to become the third British winner of the race - after Tommy Simpson and Mark Cavendish - and the first man to win the Tour de France and world title in the same year since America's Greg Lemond in 1989.

He will be helped by seven British team-mates, including Sir Bradley Wiggins, who won the silver medal in the time trial on Wednesday, 2011 winner Cavendish and Olympic track champion Geraint Thomas.  Thomas told BBC Sport he expects to be one of the key helpers early on in the race while Froome hopes Wiggins will be influential in the latter stages.

"I'm expecting Brad to be there in the last few laps in Sunday," Froome said.  "He's definitely going to be one of the key guys towards the end of the race. It would definitely be great if he could help me towards the final stages."  Tactics will play a huge part in a race which is expected to be one of the most open in recent years and Froome knows that winning a one-day race has an element of good fortune attached to it.  "Given that it is a one-day race, it's quite a gamble - it is a bit of a long shot to go for the win there and anyone who wins will need a little bit of luck in their favour.  "Even if it does come to a sprint, it's very much still about who's got legs. You can be explosive and fast but if you don't have the legs it's not going to help you any more."

The two hills on each circuit - the 4.3km ascent to Fiesole and the 600m climb of Via Salviati, which has an average gradient of 10% but has sections at 16% - are not particularly taxing in their own right but when tackled 10 times, are expected to split the peloton.  Froome has said he will be "trying to make it the hardest race possible" in an effort to eliminate the pure sprinters and puncheurs - riders who can get over small climbs and sprint - such as Belgium's defending champion Philippe Gilbert.

The Italians are also planning on riding aggressively and their team coach Paolo Bettini said: "Rather than chase all day, we want to be chased. We won't hold back.  "The circuit is fast - they'll do the Fiesole climb at 30kmh (18.1mph) and it'll be very hard when the racing is hard. There's very little time to recover or organise a chase because there are two climbs per lap."  Bettini expects Giro d'Italia winner Vincenzo Nibali to be in with a chance of winning.

"He's unusual as a rider," said the two-time world champion. "He can win Grand Tours but can also blow one-day races apart and win. He can do something on Sunday."  The intention to make it a climber's race could also play into the hands of Spanish trio Alberto Contador, Joaquim Rodriguez and Alejandro Valverde, Colombian duo Nairo Quintana and Rigoberto Uran and Irish pair Dan Martin and Nicolas Roche, who are all comfortable on ascents.  However, as well as Gilbert, Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara and Slovakia's Peter Sagan could find the circuit to their liking.  Gilbert has won numerous one-day classics, which have a similar terrain to the Worlds course, but he had endured a testing season in the rainbow jersey before finally recording his first win of 2013 by taking stage 12 of the Vuelta a Espana earlier this month.
Cancellara has been in excellent form throughout the year, winning the Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders one-day races in the spring, and the 32-year-old held his form through the summer before winning the time trial at the Vuelta and bronze in the world time trial earlier this week.

Sagan is regarded as one of the sport's brightest prospects and has proved throughout the year he can keep pace with the climbers and also has the ability to beat sprinters on the flat. The 23-year-old has won 21 races in 2013, including the one-day sprinters' classic Gent-Wevelgem, and he finished second to Cancellara at the Tour of Flanders.

Tuesday 24 September 2013

World Sports Festival 2013

1 Festival, 11 Disciplines and Participants from 30 Nations – This was the World Sports Festival 2013!

 

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 Young sportsmen from the whole world participated in the 6th edition of the World Sports Festival which took place from 4th until 7th July 2013 in Vienna and Lower Austria. In the disciplines badminton, basketball, bowling, racketlon, wrestling, swimming, squash, taekwondo, tennis, table tennis and volleyball athletes gave their best and fought for goals, points and hundredths of a second.
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 One highlight of this year’s edition of the WSF was the presence of Michelle Cameron Coulter , Olympic champion in synchronized swimming in 1988. Moreover, South America was one more continent which was conquered this year. Volleyball was again the sports discipline with most athletes. The newcomers from India and Colombia impressed with their dedication and motivation.
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 The basketball team from Colombia reached the 3rd place in the U16 competition which was making their visit in Austria unforgettable. The nations winning the most competitions were Austria , Germany and Hungary ; the strongest swimming nation with 52 medals was Switzerland .
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Following the motto sports for a better world  it was not only about winning, but as well about having fun and sharing the enthusiasm for sports. The evening events like the Opening Ceremony and the Players Party were highlights for everyone and allowed participants to meet other nations and make friends for live.
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 Following the motto sports for a better world  it was not only about winning, but as well about having fun and sharing the enthusiasm for sports. The evening events like the Opening Ceremony and the Players Party were highlights for everyone and allowed participants to meet other nations and make friends for live.


Monday 23 September 2013

Pakistan to Appear in South Asian Junior Athletics

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ISLAMABAD - PSB-backed Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) president Major Gen (retd) M Akram Sahi has said that Pakistan team will participate in 15 different disciplines of the South Asian Junior Athletics Championship to be held in India.
Talking to The Nation on Friday, Gen Sahi said: “The camp of the junior players is currently underway at Jinnah Stadium, in which 25 players both male and female are getting training from highly-qualified coaches.” “We will try to invite more players for open trials before final selection of the team for the mega event, which will help the federation in finding fresh talent. We will soon announce the dates for the trials, in which U-20 players from across the country can participate,” he added.

He advised the players that those who wanted to appear in the trials should bring B forms, NICs and SSCC certificates so that confusion could be prevented. “We will select the team on merit so that it may perform exceptionally well in the Games and win laurels for the country,” Gen Sahi concluded.

Sunday 22 September 2013

Asif Claims Easy Win

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Asif started off with a 102-08 win in the first frame, allowing no room to his opponent for a comeback as he triumphed with game scores of 63-33, 80-12 and 71-29.

KARACHI: Mohammad Asif claimed another victory as he outplayed Majid Ali 4-0 yesterday on day three of the 3rd Jubilee Insurance Ranking Snooker Championship in Karachi.  The reigning world amateur champion, who was stretched by Babar Masih for a 4-3 victory in the last game, faced little resistance from Majid.

Asif started off with a 102-08 win in the first frame, allowing no room to his opponent for a comeback as he triumphed with game scores of 63-33, 80-12 and 71-29.  Khurram Agha also continued his winning streak, defeating Ayaz Khan 4-3 after a thrilling contest. Agha, who stunned top seed Imran Shahzad in the previous match, registered 84 and 86-point breaks during the win.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Sajjad’s dismal run continued as he faced another loss to Fahran Noor 4-2. Former world champion Mohamad Yousuf drew winning points after overcoming Mohammad Saim 4-2.

Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson Taken to Hospital Following UFC 165 Main Event

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Jon Jones was forced to overcome his toughest ever test in the Octagon to retain his UFC light heavyweight title with an unanimous decision over Alexander Gustafsson in the main event at UFC 165 on Saturday night in Toronto.

After such a bruising war, both Jones and Gustafsson were taken to the hospital and weren't part of the post-fight press conference. So you wanna know how good of a fight that was, neither the champion or challenger will be here, UFC president Dana White said at the post-fight press conference. Jones is already at the hospital and we're taking Gustafsson there now.

You could tell in the final round they were fighting on pure heart. I believe this is one of those fights where both of the fighters believed they were going to die.

Team Jones told Ariel Helwani of Fox Sports that Jones injured his left foot badly early on in the fight.

The fight was awarded the Fight of the Night honors with both fighters awarded $50,000 bonuses.

White said that, while he would like to see a rematch, it's too soon to make a determination just yet

Football Transfer Rumours, Juan Mata to Manchester City

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Today's mill is stroking its whiskered chin.  Once upon a time, there existed a man by the name of Michael Finnegan, famed for his ability to germinate facial hair. And a magnificent example of facial hair it indeed was – you might say that it defined him – but for its deficiency in one crucial aspect, namely that of wind resistance. Perhaps this was only to be expected, as it is frequently gusty in San Francisco, where he lived, and particularly so in the Bay area, where he worked, outdoors, at a job that restarts the very second it ends, namely painting the Golden Gate Bridge. He jumped off.

Adnan Januzaj is yet to sign a new contract with Manchester United. This, apparently, constitutes a "stand-off", to which Manchester City have been "alerted" – along with the entire rest of the world, to whom this information is also freely available. But City are ready to "pounce", in a move that "should add extra spice to the season's first Manchester derby of the season". The two clubs have played each other 165 times, the first of those in 1891. Adnan Januzaj has played for United once, for 23 minutes.

Which isn't that much less time than Juan Mata has been permitted so far this season, the unwitting victim of José Mourinho's one-man quest to destroy football. This, too, has caught Manchester City's covetous eyes, and they plan to buy him in January. Until January, they plan not to buy him.

And another displaced diminutive playmaker may also be moving. After André Villas-Boas signed every man who plays in his position that he could possibly think of, Lewis Holtby has shown rare perspicacity in deducing that Spurs may no longer require his services. Though he is tempted to quit football to focus on the formal-wear retail business that takes his name, his plight has been observed by Internazionale, who are contemplating a January offer.

Elsewhere, and after thrilling us all summer with his desire to leave Borussia Dortmund for Bayern Munich, Robert Lewandowski is back in the news. His agent has spoken to Napoli's chairman, a fact he was eager to share via radio interview, confiding that: "I can tell you that we have recently had contact." But, a man of genuine mystery, intrigue, fascination and captivation, he refused to reveal every riveting detail. "I cannot tell you how long I spoke with Aurelio De Laurentiis. It must remain between us." Oh, them! Oh, how they tease us so, with all their remaining, and all their unspecified period of conversational time.

Back in England, Newcastle are interested in the purchase of Leeds's right-back Sam Byram, not to be confused with his adoptive brothers, Angel Rangel, Gerardo Torrado, Willie Crilley, Nortey Nortey and half-brother, Gakdeniz Karadeniz. Meanwhile, Leeds are contemplating recruiting Luke Dowling as head of recruitment. Dowling has placed more partners in the City than any other consultant of his type, and as such, his signature would represent a major triumph.

Finally, both Arsenal and Liverpool are keen on Schalke's Kyriakos Papadopoulos, but it is now unlikely that he will move to Anfield – though Premier League clubs spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on their own scouts, many also use intelligence gleaned by their rivals. Whenever Arsène Wenger pays heed to a centre-back, all interest in him is immediately abandoned, a fact that cannot have escaped the unfathomably wise Brendan Brendan, who has a friend who went to Harvard. However the move has quashed, once and for all, the notion posited by some that with Arsenal's purchase of the world's best player, unwanted by any of the world's several superior clubs, the transfer market had ended forever. Please do remember poor Michael at this difficult time.