Archive for October 2014
Madrid halt Barcelona progress in El Clasico
Real Madrid defeat Barcelona 3-1 in season's first El Classico
- Barcelona's front-3 combined within 3 minutes to fire the first goal.
- Neymar opened the scoring for Barca with a superd goal in the 3rd minute thanks to a brilliant cross by Louis Suarez who looked great in the first half but rusty in the 2nd& ultimately was substituted in the 69th minute.
- Ronaldo leveled with style in the 34th minute thanks to Gerrard Pique who appeared to slip and accidentally conceded a penalty.
- Madrid went 2-1 ahead in the 50th minute with a bullet-header from defender Pepe on Toni Kroos' well crafted corner kick.
- Barcelona left themselves dangerously open at the back in an attempt to equalize but it backfired into a team move for Real as Iniesta played in to Ronaldo who connected with James Rodriguez to find Benzema for a through-ball. Benzema thus, sealing the victory for Real Madrid in the 61st minute with the scoreline reading 3-1.
- Lionel Messi missed several chances mainly due to being bogged down by too many Madrid defenders.
- Luka Modric & Toni Kroos controlled the pace in the Midfield.
- Iker Casillas had a superb game and answered his critics who questioned his place in the Madrid side.
Related:
Messi, Ronaldo brace up for Champions League Record
Star Players gear up for Champions League all-time Goal scorer Record
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| Image Courtesy: goal.com |
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| Image Courtesy: goal.com |
Its Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo once again, for what appears to be about the 3843732839244th time in the last decade, this time both of the greats gunning up for all-time scoring record in the Champions League.
The duo are inseparable rivals of the decade like any other sport has had in the past, Muhammad Ali & Joe Frazier in Boxing, Bjorn Borg & John McEnroe in Tennis, these two thrive due to each other, its almost as if they are parasites feeding of each others brilliance, trying to one-up each other on every step of their careers.
Currently the Portuguese captain Ronaldo has 69 goals in his account while Messi sits on 68.
Its just a matter of 'when' rather than 'if' the all-time scoring record of 71 goals held by Spaniard Raul will be surpassed.
The degree of competitiveness can be measured from the last 5 years since Ronaldo came to Madrid, he has netted 54 goals in 53 Champions league appearances whereas Messi scored 51 times in 55 matches.
Prior to this move, Ronaldo had scored only 15 goals in 52 appearances for Man Utd & Messi scored 17 goals in his 35 games for Barca.
It is quite evident that these two legends need each other. Ronaldo & Messi are destined to chase each other in the hunt for more trophies, achievements, records & goals till they finally hang up their boots.
One thing is for sure, barring any injuries, the mark for most goals scored by a player in Champions League is set be exchanged multiple times between the two of them for seasons to come.
Related:
LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki in favour of shorter Season
NBA planning exhibition game of 44 minutes
Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James & Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki spoke out ahead of this week's 44-minute exhibition match that a shorter league season would be a boon for the players.
They said that its the number of games which takes a toll on a player's body but not the number of minutes.
"Less games is less concessions and less tickets and all that, but at the end of the day we want to protect the prize, and the prize is the players," James said on Wednesday. "If guys are being injured because there's so many games, we can't promote it at a high level."
Both the players are willing to take less money if league is shortened.
Paul George, the star player from Indiana Pacers will miss the season due to a broken leg while 5-time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder) is expected to be out for at least 2 months with a broken foot.
James said that it does not matter if a player plays for 22 minutes or 40, but the frequency of games such as 3 games in 3 nights takes its toll on players. James recommends the league be of 66 games spreag through the 6-months period.
Dirk Nowitzki was also in favour of "60-odd" games being enough to decide the best 8 in each conference instead of the traditional 82.
Rahul Dravid praised in Pieteren's Book
Dubs Dravid as a 'Genuine Guru'
It is a highly substantial news for the followers of The Wall as he is the first person to be praised genuinely in the otherwise "score settling" book.
Kevin Pietersen praised the way Dravid motivated him & improved his playing technique and labels him as "a Genuine Guru". Pietersen writes, “Rahul was a great and heroic Indian batsman in his day. He is also a genius at dealing with spin bowlers. Our conversations and emails were a private masterclass from a genuine guru.
"Rahul improved my cricket and helped me develop the way I think about the game. His generosity will stay with me always."
“My playing of spin has gone up a number of levels since I’ve spent time in the IPL, and in particular, since I’ve spoken to Rahul Dravid…In England, batsmen get taught to play with the spin against spin bowlers. In India, the best players of spin get taught to play against it.” he added.
Dravid's mail to Kevin Pietersen when asked for advice can be seen here:
Rahul Dravid is the most respected cricketer in world cricket, and comments from Pietersen in his book further solidified his image as an all-time Great.
Most Debatable Quotes from Kevin Pietersen's Autobiography
Much awaited autobiography of Former England Cricketer Kevin Pietersen released on Thursday with expected fallout from the flamboyant batsman's career
ON COACH ANDY FLOWER
- A clique choked our team and Andy Flower let that clique grow like a bad weed.
- Andy Flower. Contagiously sour, Infectiously dour. He could walk into a room and suck all the joy out of it in five seconds. Just a Mood Hoover. That`s how I came to think of him.
ON THE ENGLAND AND WALES CRICKET BOARD (ECB)
- Money plays a part in my decisions, just as it has played a huge part in the ECB`s decisions. Like the decision to allow Allen Stanford to land his helicopter on the hallowed turf at Lord`s, bringing with him a box full of cash - $20 million in cash. I am straight up in it while the ECB are hypocritical.
- When we didn`t have success as a distraction, they needed a scapegoat. Preferably somebody big, boisterous and annoying. Somebody who left colourful footprints on the pristine white carpets.
- Textgate was different ... on nothing but rumours I was convicted of the greatest betrayal since Judas.
ON PETER MOORES, WHO WAS SACKED AS ENGLAND COACH IN JANUARY 2009 ON THE SAME DAY PIETERSEN WAS FORCED TO RESIGN AS CAPTAIN
- Moores had inherited a great team from Duncan Fletcher, but it was clear from our performances that he was turning wine into water.
- Where Duncan had given us freedom, Moores was tapping on our heads like a woodpecker all day, every day.
- (He was) like a triple espresso, so intense.
- I wanted Moores to sit on the back seat -- in hindsight I don`t think he`s actually capable of doing that. He never took his hands off the steering wheel for a moment.
- I saw Moores and (his then assistant) Flower as two parts of the same problem. However the ECB obviously saw my captaincy and Moores as two parts of the same problem. Peter and I never saw eye to eye.
ON HIS TEAM MATES MATT PRIOR, GRAEME SWANN, STUART BROAD
- The dressing room slowly became the territory of those biggest mouths among the bowlers -- and a wicketkeeper. They ran an exclusive club. If you were outside that clique, you were fair game for mocking, ridicule, bullying. That`s what those guys did.
- I’d spoken about the abuse on the field that Prior, Broad, Jimmy (Anderson) and Swann were giving the fielders. (Swann and Broad) argued that fielders should apologise to the bowlers if they’ve made a mistake. I just stood there and realised that it was the closest I’ve ever come to thinking I could willingly slap two guys on my own team.
- The way he (Prior) criticised people who`d made mistakes on the field to a playground or a workplace, this behaviour would be labelled as bullying. He does the managing upwards well. The schoolyard bully who is also teacher`s pet.
ON HIS SOUTH AFRICAN ROOTS
- Whatever passport I carry, I will always have South Africa in my heart. One big mistake was not respecting South Africa and what it stands for. When I scored my first hundred there, I should never, ever, have kissed the England badge on my helmet.
ON BEING MADE ENGLAND CAPTAIN IN 2008
- I was playing all forms of cricket, and playing them well. So I was elected. Or handed the poisoned chalice.
ON HIMSELF
- I don`t enjoy being ordinary.
- I think that me confronting mediocrity throughout my career has earned me this reputation of being destructive.
source: http://zeenews.india.com/sports/cricket/selected-quotes-from-kevin-pietersens-autobiography_1482260.html
NBA 2K15 Review
NBA 2K15 released in the USA
Written by Jon Shames for Hoopshabit
NBA 2K15 was released Tuesday, and after many months of hype–probably the most any 2K game has ever received–millions of gamers, including myself, were able to take the new title for a spin. It’s got its strengths and weaknesses, as expected with any new release, but overall, 2K’s developers did a great job. I played for a couple of hours, and gathered what I believe to be a pretty decent analysis of NBA 2K15.
First and foremost, we’ve got to address the graphics. We didn’t see a huge visual jump from NBA 2K13 to NBA 2K14, but that was far from the case with 2K15. Even on Xbox 360, the game just looks gorgeous. The player skins are spot on, the jumpers are smooth, and the new aesthetics, like the redesigned scoreboard and court designs, give the game a more modern feel.
Of course, one of the most realistic features of NBA 2K15 is the new player animations. In years past, the players had been somewhat rigid with their mannerisms. All big men behaved a certain way, and all guards did another. With the use of much more personalized animations for each player (especially superstars), 2K15 does a great job of making the players feel like their real-life counterpart.
With that said, one-on-one defense in 2K15 is significantly harder than it was in last year’s title, largely thanks to the implementation of improved ball-handling abilities for guards, notably things like “double moves” (a combination of two dribble moves). Man-to-man sets seem to be the way to go, especially considering the infamous 1-3-1 trap defense has been removed from the game.
Turnovers aren’t as frequent, and it appears as though the game designers have partially corrected the issue of missing easy layups. Overall, the game just seems balanced, and plays more like a real NBA game would. Scoring in isolation is much more difficult than in years past, and in order to win games, ball movement is essential.
Besides general gameplay improvements, NBA 2K15 has added a few new defining features, the most prominent being the new shot-release system and the face scan. The former appears on all four major consoles, and has generally gotten positive feedback.
Personally, I don’t love the new system. While the meter removes the necessity of learning each player’s individual release, like it had been in the prior games, looking at the meter distracts the gamer from the artistic beauty of the new shooting strokes. Additionally, without having to understand how to read and time a player’s release, less skilled gamers have it significantly easier this time around.
The other ground-breaking feature in 2K15 is the new “face scan” capabilities on the next-gen consoles. The idea is to use the camera on the PS4 and Xbox One to, well, scan your face into the game. When done correctly, it actually works very well.
Unfortunately, according to Twitter, for all the scans that worked correctly, there have been twice as many that have gone horribly, horribly wrong.
Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho involved in on-field spat (Images included)
Arsene Wenger pushed Jose Mourinho during the game
Jose Mourinho got pushed in the chest by an angered Arsenal Boss, Arsene Wenger when the two legendary managers confronted each other during the 1st half of the game Chelsea vs Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
The incident happened when Wenger entered the Chelsea technical area following a hard foul on Alexis Sanchez, one of his star players.
The incident happened when Wenger entered the Chelsea technical area following a hard foul on Alexis Sanchez, one of his star players.
Verbal barbs between the two have been common, but this time it turned physical. Eventually, Chelsea sealed the encounter 2-0 to extend its lead in the standings.
Arsene Wenger said that the push was just "a little one" & stated "what is to regret after that?"
"I wanted to go from A to B and somebody confronted me in between without any sign of welcome," Wenger described. "B was Sanchez, to see how badly he was injured."
Mourinho later said that all of us should just "forget" the incident.
"It becomes heated because this is a big game, big clubs, big rivals, (an) important match for both teams. These conditions make a game of emotions," Mourinho said. "To be fair, I do so many wrong things in football ... but not this time, because this time I was just in my technical area and it was not my problem. Game over. Story over."
Wenger is expected to face disciplinary action from the EFA, and looked prepared for an onslaught from the media.
"Look I trust you that you (journalists) will teach me all the moral lessons over the next 3 weeks," he said. "And I can accept that."
Here are some pictures from the incident:
Here are some pictures from the incident:
CSK decimate KKR to lift CLT20 Title
CSK defeat KKR comfortably riding on Suresh Raina's Ton
Suresh Raina hammered one of the best T20 hundreds ever seen in world cricket. Feel sorry for KKR who piled up 180 in the finale, riding on their 14-match winning streak. KKR's bowling looked lackluster without Sunil Narine who was banned from bowling in the final. Raina brutalized KKR bowling attack but with such perfection, he launched 8 resounding sixes in his unbeaten 109 off 62 balls.
The beauty of the sixes he hit over long off and long on against spinners cannot be described in words. Great use of the feet, high backlift, ball meeting the middle of the bat, perfect follow-through, it was totally copybook style.
Earlier, Kolkata got off to a blistering start thanks to openers Uthappa 39(32) & Gambhir, 80(52) who fired after a long time. Manish Pandey 32(19) & Yusuf Pathan 20(9) finished off the innings with a late flourish to take Kolkata to 180/6 in 20 overs.
Pawan Negi had a dream finale as he picked up 5 wickets for just 22 runs in his 5 overs whereas Ashish Nehra was having a nightmare, he was hit around the park going for 54 runs in his 4 overs.
Earlier, Kolkata got off to a blistering start thanks to openers Uthappa 39(32) & Gambhir, 80(52) who fired after a long time. Manish Pandey 32(19) & Yusuf Pathan 20(9) finished off the innings with a late flourish to take Kolkata to 180/6 in 20 overs.
Pawan Negi had a dream finale as he picked up 5 wickets for just 22 runs in his 5 overs whereas Ashish Nehra was having a nightmare, he was hit around the park going for 54 runs in his 4 overs.
In reply, CSK lost Dwayne Smith in the 1st over, but after that it was just Raina going all over the distance again and again. He murdered the KKR bowling like a butcher, getting to 50 off just 27 balls, duly accompanied by Brendon McCullum 39(30) nurturing together a partnership of 118 runs off 74 deliveries. Raina was unstoppable and a treat to watch as he raced from 50 to 100 with some towering sixes of the spinners. He completed his 100 off 59 balls.
In the end Dhoni sealed the title with a six, CSK getting home in 18.3 overs, thus ending Chennai's trophy drought after 3 years.
In the end Dhoni sealed the title with a six, CSK getting home in 18.3 overs, thus ending Chennai's trophy drought after 3 years.
Pawan Negi was named Man of the Match for his five wicket haul whereas Suresh Raina bagged the Player of the Tournament award for his consistent performances.
Sunil Narine banned from bowling
Narine reported for suspect action again
West Indies Mystery spinner Sunil Narine has been banned from bowling in the final, this comes off as a big blow to Kolkata Knight Riders one night before the Champions League T20 finale against Chenai Super Kings.
Narine had been reported for 3 of his deliveries in the previous match against the Dolphins, warning him that another complaint against his action might bar him from bowling in the final. This time though, umpires Rod Tucker, S Ravi and Vineet Kulkarni, had noted in their written complaint that several of the 24 deliveries Narine bowled against Hurricanes were suspect. "It was 3 deliveries in the last match. But this time all his 4 overs were reported," an official privy to the complaint said.
Narine is the 4th bowler to be reported for suspect action in the CLT20 after Mohd Hafeez & Adnan Rasool of Lahore Lions and Dolphins' Prenelan Subrayen. But he is the only one off them to be reported twice.
Related:
Another Mystery Spinner reported for Suspect Action
Saeed Ajmal banned by ICC
Barcelona rattled by PSG in Champions League
PSG defeat Barcelona 3-2 in an epic contest
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| David Luiz celebrates after scoring. |
"This is the best win of my life", said Nasser Al-Khelaifi, PSG President.
Luiz put his name on the score-sheet in the 10th minute, but the early advantage was equalized by Lionel Messi in the 12th minute. Verratti snuck in through the poor Barcelona defence in the 26th minute to put PSG ahead again.
But it was midfielder Blaise Matuidi, who showed some finishing skills to give PSG a 3-1 lead in the 54th minute but Brazilian star Forward Neymar Jr scored for Barcelona just 2 minutes later, making it 3-2.
After that, Barcelona tried and tried to equalize & same themselves from embarrassment but luck was not on their side.
Meanwhile, Messi scored his 68th Champions League goal & 402nd career goal, just 3 behind all-time leader Raul Gonzalez.
Related:
Liverpool Hammered by West Ham
Man Utd Humiliated again, this time by Leicester
Real Sociedad beat Real Madrid 4-2
Swansea shock Man Utd in Premier League Opener
