Sport Blog Now

Soccer Games

Sebastian — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 07:15:49 +0000

Go to soccer games because they’re happening now! That’s right, in the US and Europe, people want to see live football games, all over the world. The Premier League season has kicked off with some wild results, including last weekend’s decimation of North London by the two Manchester clubs, who won 1-5 and 8-2, respectively. There’s also been some crazy transfer window mayhem that saw Arsenal replace Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas with Yossi Benayoun and Mikel Arteta – not exactly an upgrade. You never know though; Benayoun and Arteta have shown they can play, so let’s await the fun and games. it’s Arsenal make-or-break season, something we’ve all heard before, but this time manager Arsene Wenger will surely find his head before the cannon should the Gunners fail to land a trophy. Manchester City have been up to their usual tricks, taking the permanently crippled Man United reject Owen Hargreaves for reasons nobody can fathom. The City midfield is now more crowded with world class talent than, er, a world class talent sardine can (or something) and it’s impossible to imagine what possible use they’d have for a player whose natural state is “injured”. Oh, hold on, I can think of one; City’s obsession with neighbors United which probably means they’ll do all they can to have Hargreaves fit for the derby day clash in November, in the hope he’ll come on and score. The transfer window also affected things in the MLS, as Robbie Keane went to LA Galaxy. Tickets to Galaxy games have presumably taken on more value as their roster slowly accumulates a distinctly souped-up character, with the likes of Beckham, Donovan and Juninho adding power and width. The Galaxy vs. Red Bulls game recently had the air of a Euro superclash, with Thierry Henry and Juan Pablo Angel fighting it out with the Galaxy’s big-hitters, and there’s plenty more to come on the NY Red Bulls schedule, so keep a close eye on it.

Richards Reaches Los Angeles

Sebastian — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 11:50:32 +0000

Mike Richards was traded to Los Angeles Kings in the month of June. He will do the role of forward for the kings. He was playing for Philadelphia flyers in the last season. There are rumors that he was sent away by the Philadelphia flyers because of his party boy activities and for not taking the role of captain seriously. Though Richard had denied the allegations by the media the officials of flyers are not satisfied. Richard talked with the media people and tried to clear him of their allegations .he was given support by the Kings fans.

Mike Richard was having a high position in Philadelphia but in Los Angeles kings he will be sharing his position with the top center Anze Kopitar. One of his teammate from Philadelphia will join him in Los Angeles. John Stevens the head coach of Philadelphia has been already appointed as an assistant to the Kings coach Terry Murray. It was with the help of Terry; Richard had made this transition happen. Simon Gagne an old friend of Richard will also join him in Los Angeles Kings

Richard who wants to have a new start is hoping that thing will go smoothly in Southern California. Richard is happy that he has reached a place about which he knows. He thinks that it will be therefore easier for him in focusing his energy in learning the pros and cons of his opponent rather than learning about the players in his own team. Richard believe that things will be lot more easier as he will get a chance to play with Simon Gagne, his former team mate, Dustin Brown the Captain of Kings, Kopitar and Justin Williams. He wants to leave behind him the allegations and accusations as party boy and want to move on. He is sure that he will be able to adjust to the conditions in Los Angeles within a short time.

When questioned about the reason for his trade he said he is not aware of any proper reason. But there were reports on news papers that some flyers have revealed that Richards’s hard partying nature has pushed him in to trouble. Richard is really unhappy about what is going behind him. He said that it is mentally draining to hear something about him that is not true in any sense. His fans hope that he will be more focused in LA.

Given Waiting for Some Action

Sebastian — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 11:36:25 +0000

Shay Given, the new entrant to the Aston Villa team, is happy with his switch. Shay Given who is 35years of age has been appointed as the new Aston Villa goal keeper. He was taken as Manchester City’s goal keeper in the last season by Joe Hart. But poor given was deprived of any action last season. So, he was happy to grab the offer by Aston Villa by both his hands. He described the offer of Aston Villa as too good to avoid. He was actually lured by the fact that he will be able to be moving on the ground at least this season. Given said that he did not want to spend one more campaign by just sitting on the bench. He is now approaching the new season with more optimism.

Given was all praise for the Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish. Given said that he had met Alex before and is very impressed with Alex’s capabilities as the manager. So, when he received a call from Aston Villa he was very much interested to switch. Given said that he is only concerned with playing football as it was his career and he wanted to play as much game as he can. It was really frustrating for him in Manchester City but was not able to complain about it as he respected the decision of the manager.

For a person like given who was playing football through out his career sitting idle was unbearable. He added that it was a real tough decision to make between Manchester and Aston Villa. Given even praised Manchester by saying that Manchester City has a real good future and he is sure that Manchester will become a big name not only in premier league but also in world football. Given is of opinion that he is just 35 and he should be playing football regularly. He feared that sticking to Manchester will not do any good to him. So, he is now in the Aston Villa. He never blamed the Manchester coach for not allowing playing; he said that if the manager decides to keep him away from the ground he has to respect it. It is good to see that given has come out of Manchester with utmost dignity. The fans of Aston Villa are waiting to see how this man will work under his new coach and manager.

Clark Disappointed of His Irish Open Performance

Sebastian — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 11:36:35 +0000

Darren Clarke the British Open champion is disappointed about his low performance in the recent Irish Open. He was in danger of missing the cuts after falling 10 shots behind Jeev Milka Singh who was leading. This was his first tournament after making his first major win at the Royal St. George two weeks back. Over the second round he dropped four shots on his way to 3-over 74. He was left with 1 over the half way point. Clarke said that he was totally disappointed with the score and he is looking forward for a good game in the Bridgestone Invitational World Golf Championship that is coming up. He said that he was trying hard in the game but nothing was happening, he added that more than the physical fatigue the mental fatigue has set in after this game. Clarke’s fate was fully sealed by his Bogey at the par-4 last hole. He knew that his cut was under 1 and wanted to make his chip but couldn’t control it properly.
Singh was the leader of the game though there were players like Graeme Mc Dowell and Rory Mcllroy, the past and present U.S open champions present there. He said that he will take 1-under on that day. He struggled off the tee but was able to make par- saving putts. The Indian made his career best on the European tour with a round of 70 under 9. Singh was able to manage the two-shot lead he made with Simon Wake Field of England and Raphael Jacquelin of France, the closest contenders of him at the club house. Wake field who birdied the two out of three last holes reached 7-under with Jacquelin. It was Jacqueline who won the Sicilian Open in March this year. Raphael was also able to get eighth position at the British open. The northern Irish amateur Paul Cutler who is of 22 years of age made 67 to add to his first-round of 69. Another player who was resent at the club house along with Clarke and Singh is Ireland’s Damien Mc Grane. Harrington, winner of the 2007 tournament made two bogeys and another double-bogey. With these bogeys he lost the chance of making the cut in the tournament. Mcllroy who was ranked fourth was able to get 70 in the first round. Graeme Mc Dowell also from Ireland was able to card 72 to his credit.

Amir Khan Eyeing a Showdown with Mayweather at Wembley

Sebastian — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:34:30 +0000

The British boxing sensation, Amir Khan, is of the belief that a mega fight with arch rival Mayweather is on the cards in the next 12 months and he has chosen Wembley stadium as the venue for this prestigious bout of the Titans in boxing. The WBA and IBF lightweight champion has recently knocked out Zab Judah in a boxing battle and is planning on his next career move by arranging a fight with Mayweather in a major battle at Wembley. His next challenge though will be a fit against Lamont Peterson for the IBF belt and this will be followed by a tussle with the winners of the clash between Erik Morales and Jorge barrios in September.
Amir Khan’s ultimate goal is to fight against the champion American superstar boxer Mayweather in front of a capacity Wembley audience. Khan has said that every young champion will be vying to fight against the best player in the world and he feels that Floyd Mayweather is one of the best boxers along with Manny Pacguiao. He says that it is not practical for him to fight against Manny as both of them train together are the best mates in the boxing circles. But Floyd is in a different zone altogether and hence he is hopeful of fighting against him in the near future. If this ambition of Khan turns into a reality, Wembley stadium will be witnessing one of the greatest fights in the history of boxing.
Khan is sure that the fans will be coming in large numbers to witness this intriguing contest and is wanting to make an impact in one more fight in the light-welterweight category before moving on to the welterweight category. He says that many champion fighters are there in the welterweight category and he is interested in locking horns with these champion boxers.
He feels that it is vey hard for him to get fighters to box against him in the 140 pounds category. So, he has decided to move on to the 147 pound category after a final bout in the light-welterweight category. Amir feels that he has got the best training staff with him to advice him on his various moves. Khan is pretty confident that the showdown with Mayweather at Wembley Stadium will work out in the near future and fans at Wembley will be witness to one of the greatest boxing duels in the recent times.

NBA sides trying for new collective bargaining agreement

Sebastian — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:31:39 +0000

The owners and players of NBA are trying to develop a collective bargaining agreement. The talks for the same are expected to be resumed on Monday. It has been a month since the lock out stared and both owners and players want to settle the differences as early as possible. It was on June 30th the old collective bargaining agreement was expired. Since July 1 the representatives from different sides have met and had discussions for several times. It is expected that top officials like Commissioner David Stern, President of Lakers Derek Fisher, and union executive director Billy Hunter will also attend the meeting on Monday.
The lock out started in august and NBA fans fear that due to work –stoppage, the regular season games will be affected. This is the second lockout in the history of the NBA league. Despite the lock out the NBA released the complete play schedule for 20110-12 on last Tuesday. The schedule will begin on November 1st. usually the schedule were released in late summer but this time as there were no transactions and with the league activities on hold due to lock out there was no reason for NBA to wait for announcing the schedule.
There is a possibility that the NBA will lose games this season also because the economic issues regarding the changes in the division of revenue and changes in the salary cap are to be sorted out. In 1998 summer, due to the first lockout in NBA league, the season was started only in February and the sides got only 50 games to play that season. the NBA says that it is difficult to make profit under the old collective bargaining system with 57 % of the basket ball related income went to the players. In last season NBA claims that it lost about $300 million.
Players agrees to reduce the share to 54.3 % but according the last proposal of the owner’s in the new collective bargaining agreement the share is only 40% and the players are not happy with that. If the sides cannot decide on their differences the schedule will be at risk. The deal is expected to be completed soon so that the season will be saved. In that case the NBA champion Dallas Maverick will open the season with the Chicago Bulls and will have their final rematch on Christmas day.

Blanton regains forms in Miami

Sebastian — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 11:30:18 +0000

Improvement seen in Blanton’s performance
Phillies right-handed player Joe Blanton showed a marked improvement in his game during the match against Martins. However, most people think that it may be too early to predict consistency in his improvement. Blanton commenced Monday with a 6-4 victory over the Marlins at a match played at the Sun Life Stadium. A medially impinged right elbow has troubled him since April 23 and it was seen bothering him at times even while he was playing the match on Monday. When asked about his elbow bothering him, Blanton said that it was a little different in the first two innings but after that he was feeling fine. He also mentioned that returning to a game after a break always feels a bit different as he tries to get back in to the game.
The impinged elbow still strained
Although, Blanton played the match on Monday and pitched well enough, he is definitely not past the medial impingement in his right elbow. The Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee says that the elbow may still be a little troublesome and at the same time Blanton may be a little rusty in his game. Although not being able to give 100 percent to the game, Blanton feels that he will be able to pitch. Contrary to this, Dubee says that there may be certain pitches where the player may feel the pain in his elbow more than other pitches. The team and the player in the interim have decided to see how Blanton progresses.
Phillies team supporting Blanton
During the match on Monday, Blanton gave away eight hits, three runs, and two walks while striking out two in five innings. He gave two runs in the first innings, one run in the second inning, before ending with three scoreless frames. In addition, the pitcher received immense assistance from his defense, which played four double plays killing four rallies by the Marlins. Blanton was thankful for his teammates who enabled him to get some ground balls when required. Jimmy Rollins, Pete Orr, and Placido Polanco turned the balls giving Blanton the much-needed support.

Kim in Houston Triumph

Sebastian — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 11:51:31 +0000

A Great Win
A two year draught for Anthony Kim has been spectacularly ended when he won the Houston Open. This marks the end of a period in which Anthony Kim must have been in despair of the inability to get the majors in. The more he worked, the less the success seemed to come in. There might have even been rumors as to whether he can ever really continue winning majors on a consecutive basis. However they say that a champion is always a champion so at some stage the magic was meant to come back. The opponent who lost out was the fellow American Vaughn Taylor. As the celebrations continue Anthony Kim might was to reflect about the victory and what it means for his vindication as a serious threat at majors no matter what condition he is in at the time.
The triumph came at the end of a long play off that promised tension because of the prizes that were at stake. For Anthony Kim this could easily turn into the next chapter of a long draught or it could even provide redemption. Fortunately for him redemption won through and he is now the proud honor of the Houston title. When the final round was being held up, Anthony Kim was tied in the lead. He then hesitated in the regulation phase where he could have put his opponent away. The last hole was bogeyed after a frustrating miss on a six foot par putt. Perhaps it was the nerves or the excitement of the occasion which conspired to keep him trapped.
After carding a seventy score to tie with his opponent Taylor, Kim scored a birdie for the last sixty eight. At this point he was twelve points under part and stood at two hundred and seventy six in Redstone. Taylor had to qualify for the United States masters series in August which is actually his home town. The first playoff hole was something of a nightmare but he managed to win with a par score. This is the third win on the United States PGA tour for Kim. This will give him confidence when he comes to contest the masters.

Jerry Sloan is Packing it In

Sebastian — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:52:11 +0000

It has been reported in NBA Basketball news that Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan is resigning. He has been the longest serving head couch in the four major North American professional sports. The resignation was scheduled to happen on Thursday. The relevant report was filed in the Salt Lake Tribune. At 68 years, Sloan has been a steady hand for the teams that he has been looking after. He was head coach for the team since 1988. That is an entire generation of NBA Basketball players. It also means that he is in an ideal position to determine some of the most important changes in the game.
An astounding career in NBA Basketball
It is not often that you get a coach of the caliber that Jerry Sloan brought to the table. This development was a surprise to many given the longevity of his tenure but on the other hand some people might argue that it was to be expected in the circumstances. He had been working on that team for ages and something was bound to give at some stage. There were reportedly long discussions behind the door before the decision was made. Kevin O’Connor, the general manager of the team was involved in the discussions as well. The Utah Jazz had lost by 91-86 against the Chicago Bulls. That might have been one of the considerations that led to this decision. In any case it was pretty clear that the results of the game were not as impressive as expected and that something might have to give in the negotiations.
After the meeting Sloan was reported to be visibly shaken. He was not willing to discuss the details of the meeting or any of the conclusions that had been made. Perhaps it was reasonable to conclude that the meeting did not go well. This was on the back of an agreement in principle early in the month. He was going to coach the team through the 2011 December season but it appears that all that is off the table now. Interestingly Sloan has also coached the Chicago Bulls before. He holds a career record of 1221-803, which is fairly impressive. He is currently the only NBA Basketball coach to win one thousand games during tenure with a single franchise. The Utah Jazz was currently 31-23 in this season. They have refused to confirm or deny the rumors but have promised to make a significant announcement soon.

Boston Defeats Magic in NBA Basketball

Sebastian — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:52:45 +0000

Rajon Rondo is the NBA Basketball assist leader as well as being a Point Guard. Recently he turned into a lead scorer when the Boston Celtics managed to get a win of 91-80 against Orlando Magic. These are great rivals within the Eastern Conference and the game had just the right amount of tension to capture the interest of the viewers. Rondo was responsible for eleven of the twenty six points in the third quarter. They completely tool control and received their second win over the rival team. This was the third and final meeting in order to tally the scores.
A high energy basketball game
The key to success in this game was controlled aggression. The players could not afford to hold back and hope that the other side would make a mistake. Instead they had to take their chances. At the same time too much aggression could have led to unforced errors. In this instance they got the balance right and they were able to win the game. In the first half the team seemed to be at loss as to where to go. They had plenty of technical fouls but credit has to be given to them for holding their composure amidst all the challenges. During the game the Boston reserve Marquis Daniels developed a neck injury. He had to be taken off court on a stretcher. Even that incident could not take away from the drama of the game.
In fact it would seem that the injury helped Boston to catch up. In the case of Dwight Howard, there were twenty eight points scored. He also had thirteen rebounds. The visitors then fell behind by 15 points during the 3rd quarter. This was the third loss in four games and they will really need to get their act together for the rest of the NBA Basketball season. The two teams have met before and there was a testy atmosphere on the pitch. Howard had a technical foul in the first half after throwing an elbow in the direction of Kendrick Perkins.
Paul Pierce was a good score with eighteen points. Kevin Garnet had sixteen points and 9 rebounds. The game was a battle of wills and technique. Each team pretty much tried to be aggressive while not giving away free points on technical fouls. For the fans, the games with fewer errors are the ones that are most enjoyable.