sfortsnew.blogspot.com: 10/1/08

Friday, October 31, 2008

Secret football fan Robbie

Robbie Williams made a secret visit to the UK to watch his favourite soccer team.

The reclusive 'Angels' singer - who lives in Los Angeles - jetted home earlier this week to see his parents and Port Vale FC.

After visiting his mother Jan Williams, 57, and dad Pete Conway, 61, at their homes in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, the 34-year-old star arrived at the team's ground in a limousine where he was mobbed by fans before meeting club chairman Bill Bratt.

A source said: "He told us it was great to be home and he had really missed the place."

Lifelong fan Robbie - a major shareholder in the team - appeared tanned, relaxed and clean-shaven, in contrast to his bearded appearance of recent months, as he spoke to fans and players and happily posed for pictures.

It is not known whether Robbie has returned to America.

However, it was recently reported the 'Millennium' hitmaker is considering making an appearance at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Liverpool next month, accompanied by girlfriend Ayda Field.

A source revealed: "There's talk of him making an appearance at the MTV Europe Music Awards but as a presenter, rather than a performer."

Thursday, October 30, 2008

lara's 400 new video

The spectacular Mr Lara

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/7/934457_77963_front.jpg

You cannot discuss West Indies batting in the modern era without bringing up the names of Sir Vivian Richards and Brian Lara. I grew up watching Richards murder bowling attacks, chewing his ever-present gum with a swagger and arrogance all his own.

West Indian cricket has been a journey of thrills, fun, amazing peaks and disappointing troughs. For a team shackled with the burden of a heroic past, impeded in its development by wrangling within its cricket board, Brian Charles Lara has stood out and stood tall as one of the greatest batsmen the world has seen.

To an observer who is not West Indian, the Caribbean attitude is a strange one. Where most of us show immense emotion when confronted with challenges, many West Indian players hardly seem to change expression - whether they have won or lost, scored a duck or a hundred. This relaxed, laidback attitude, which has unfairly drawn huge criticism for being unsuitable to the pursuit of relentless success as styled by the Australians, has, however, succeeded in producing some of the most versatile and complete cricketers to have ever played the game. And that is exactly what Brian is: versatile and complete.

Like all great batsmen he has scored runs in every corner of the cricketing world against all the best attacks. What sets Brian apart from the other greats is the manner and attitude in which he wields the willow. There is panache; there is flamboyance, unpredictability, periods of consistent brilliance, and inexplicable runs of bad form. Never one to have been praised as a true team man, he single-handedly shouldered the burden of carrying West Indies' batting through a decade.

I have been unfortunate enough as a Sri Lanka cricketer to have witnessed him at his best at close quarters. The West Indian tour to Sri Lanka in November 2001 was The Brian Lara Show. In just six innings he scored 688 runs at 114.66, with three hundreds and a fifty. He did so at a time when Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas were at their lethal best on Sri Lankan pitches that had bite, bounce, turn and reverse swing. Yet West Indies still lost 0-3.

Brian's technique and style are not orthodox. Though he starts with a beautifully balanced stance, he progresses into a flamboyant and outrageously high back-lift that would be a coaching book no-no. His initial movement seems to be a spilt step-jump that flings his body into the position required to play his shots. Although unorthodox, these two movements, coupled with a fantastic eye and even better hands, allow him to generate incredible bat speed and power at the moment of impact. His sometimes extravagant follow-through is the result of this bat speed. Many are the times when, though his feet are nowhere near the required position they should be in to play a shot, the correctness of his balance and head position frees his hands and allows them to catch up with the ball at the exact right moment.

He is also the most destructive player of spin I have seen. To my mind he is the only batsman to have effectively tamed the threat of Murali and dominated him and Shane Warne. Brian has all the cliché attributes of a great player of spin: a good eye, quick feet, the ability to read from the hand, and an attacking attitude, combined with the most solid of forward defences. But to my mind what truly sets him apart and makes him such a fine player of spin, better than the rest, is that he is not content to react to the bowler. He keeps challenging himself in the middle of an innings to exploit the one area of the field the bowler wants him to exploit. I have seen Murali turn the ball square across him, with no midwicket, enticing him to play against the turn, and I have seen Brian keep driving, flicking and sweeping into that one vacant spot. Doing it once or twice is comprehensible, but to watch him do it for an entire session, it made you raise your eyebrows in amazement and wonder.

His nemesis in international cricket for a long time was Glenn McGrath, whose success against Brian was based on his ability to exploit the angle of bowling around the wicket. When Glenn came around the wicket to Brian it was almost a given that he would edge to slip. This was a matter of hot debate in our dressing room: many are the times we have tried to replicate the strategy, many are the times I have watched other teams attempt to do so, both with no great continued success.

So the question remains: was it really the one technical chink in Brian's armour or was it McGrath's special ability? Murali, wanting an answer, in his own direct and engagingly blunt fashion asked Brian himself when we were having dinner together at Mahaweli Reach in Kandy once. "Brian," Murali said, "why are you getting out all the time to McGrath?" Brian's answer was: "Murali, I have to get out somehow, and if I get out to McGrath, so what, it does not bother me." He simply did not believe there was a problem.

This was a personality trait that helped make Brian so successful. The situation of a match did not seem to bother him - the pressure, the expectations, his form; it just didn¹t seem to prey on his mind. Brian played as if for the moment. Each ball a fresh start, each stroke unhindered by the immediate past. He always believed that his ability would triumph. It is a degree of self-awareness and self-confidence that is extremely hard to achieve.

Maybe it was this, too, that undermined his effectiveness as a leader and allowed the perception to develop that he was not always a total team man. I cannot be sure this was the case, not having shared a dressing room with him. I question whether being so much better than the rest made it hard for him to relate properly to the lesser players in the team. Although he was certainly an astute and intelligent captain, he struggled to get full team cooperation and respect. It is hard to drag a team along that does not fully believe in you.

One question mark I have in my mind about Brian is: why the bad periods? He was brilliant, but he could also be inconsistent. On song, unstoppable; but there were times when he struggled badly. Technically he didn't change all that much through his career. It could just be that he couldn't synchronise his back-lift and exaggerated trigger movement. He needed rhythm as a batsman.

If you assess his achievements, he undisputedly ranks at the very top - 501 in first-class cricket for Warwickshire, 375 not out and then 400 not out in Test cricket; the highest run-scorer in world cricket for years until Tendulkar pipped him recently. That he achieved most of these feats when the opposition was swarming all over his team is remarkable.

However, perhaps the true value of Brian was his entertainment power. Whatever he did on the field he did with style and grace. He was not just a cricketer, he was a performer. There have been many great players, but few with the same ability to thrill a crowd. With Brian batting, the record books were constantly threatened. Every game had the potential to produce something amazing. When he was batting well, there was no greater sight in world cricket.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Gambhir ton : india on fire day one

India v Australia, 3rd Test, Delhi, 1st day

India 296 for 3 (Gambhir 149*, Tendulkar 68, Laxman 54*) v Australia

Billy Bowden defuses the situation between Gautam Gambhir and Simon Katich, India v Australia, 3rd Test, Delhi, 1st day, October 29, 2008

It took Gautam Gambhir nearly four years to make his second Test century having posted his first against Bangladesh in Chittagong; within nine days he has added a third. And if scoring two hundreds against the world's No. 1 Test team within a fortnight was not enough of a thrill, Gambhir can celebrate striking his highest Test score at his home ground and giving India an excellent start to a match that could deliver them the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

When Gambhir, who had been impressively patient throughout the day, brought up the milestone with an unexpected six slammed nonchalantly over long-on off Shane Watson, the roars around the Feroz Shah Kotla were loud and long-lasting. The fans had been denied a century from Sachin Tendulkar, who was in magnificent touch until he fell for 68, but the Gambhir hundred was ample compensation.

The only ones not cheering were the Australians, who were witnessing an opening day that bore worrying similarities to the first three sessions in Mohali. Ricky Ponting insisted at the toss that his men had identified the problems that lost them the second Test and had worked tirelessly to fix the issues.

But apart from pinching two early wickets, Australia again had few causes for optimism. Their concerns included a lack of pace in the pitch, the absence of a frontline spinner, the inability of their fast men to consistently swing the ball, and the concentration of India's batsmen. It was a very familiar list of troubles.

The day went firmly in India's favour as soon as Gambhir and Tendulkar bedded down for a patient and important 130-run partnership. For most of their time together it was Tendulkar who looked by far the more dangerous. Unburdened by questions over when he would break the Test run-scoring record, he was in superb form.

A couple of brilliantly executed back-foot drives that raced past point for boundaries off Mitchell Johnson were a hint that something special might have been coming. An exquisitely-timed cover-drive to an overpitched Brett Lee delivery was just as attractive and Tendulkar passed 50 for the 20th time in Tests against Australia with a delicate and seemingly effortless late cut for four off Stuart Clark.

A 40th Test century was looming when Tendulkar edged behind off Johnson in the final over before tea. But Australia's momentary spark was quickly extinguished after the break when Gambhir lifted his pace.

When the Australians were running through a pre-series analysis of India's batting line-up they must have assumed the major threats would be the usual suspects: Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. But the back-to-back centuries have come from Gambhir, the least experienced man in the top order.

Particularly impressive was the patience displayed by Gambhir after the early losses of Sehwag and Dravid. He comfortably saw India through a slightly nervous period, realising that there was not severe swing, seam movement or steepling bounce, and a sensible approach should work.

He did pounce at times - a pull off Watson comfortably cleared midwicket and sped away for four - but mostly Gambhir displayed his class with terrific timing and placement. A cover-driven boundary off Johnson rivalled anything Tendulkar had provided and he was quickly on to any seamers who strayed towards his pads.

When the platform was safely constructed, Gambhir changed gears more smoothly than Lewis Hamilton. Watson's around-the-wicket angle, which had tied down the left-hander, suddenly became a liability as Gambhir clipped balls repeatedly through the leg side. He began to cut and drive through the off-side more readily and capped off an attacking period by clubbing the six to move from 99 to 105.

The runs did not stop there. Laxman was almost unnoticed, inasmuch as that can be said of his glorious flicks through leg, in building a valuable half-century that helped stop any momentum Australia might have collected when Tendulkar departed. Laxman and Gambhir's unbeaten 139-run partnership became a major frustration for Ponting, whose troops performed admirably at times but failed to maintain the pressure.

The first hour had brought two mood-improving strikes for a team that had suffered a crushing loss in Mohali. In the third over Sehwag was beaten by Lee's speed and was struck dead in line, then as soon as Johnson came on he drew Dravid into an ill-advised drive that caught the edge and was terrifically snared by Matthew Hayden at first slip.

But the momentum eased, despite impressively tight bowling from Stuart Clark, who returned to the side having missed the second Test with an elbow injury. Australia's decision not to play the offspinner Jason Krejza meant Cameron White was again the leading slow bowler and his initial signs were not good.

Tendulkar contemptuously slog-swept a barely-turning White delivery over midwicket for four and drove him through cover, while Gambhir also attacked with delight. It took India 16 overs to take 27 runs from Clark; it took them four overs to strike the same amount off White, who was duly shelved and not seen again for the rest of the day.

Michael Clarke had a trundle and Simon Katich was given his first bowl of the series, although his major contribution was to antagonise Gambhir after comprehensively getting in the way of an attempted single. Words were exchanged and Billy Bowden inserted himself between Katich and Gambhir but the incident had no bearing on the final wash-up.

At a venue where India have won the past seven Tests a stumps total of 296 for 3 was precisely what Australia didn't want. They would hate to hear it, but it was an even worse outcome than the first day in Mohali, when India closed with 15 more runs but two fewer wickets in hand. Ponting has four more days to inspire his men.

thanks Cricinfo

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Boston Celtics LIKE it when U overlook them

What do you get for winning a title, reviving the NBA's greatest franchise and proving all your doubters wrong?

Picked to finish second this season is what you get.There's no end to the disrespect the NBA champion Boston Celtics have to endure. The team they're supposed to finish second to is the same Lakers team they rolled over in the Finals -- when the Lakers were favored too.

The Celtics, who finished nine games ahead at 66-16, weren't even the consensus pick a year ago in the East (ESPN's panel had them third behind the Pistons and Bulls.)

Gee, what does a storied franchise have to do to be favored these days?

"Oh, I don't care one way or the other," said Coach Doc Rivers last week when the Boston media brought it up. "We pick us. We picked us last year too."

Actually, he cares a lot, but that's their gift.

They never complain. They store it up, go out on the floor and take it out on whatever team is there. Like Mother Nature, it's not nice to fool with the Celtics.

The Lakers were not only favored last spring, they thought they had things in hand, not even bothering to hide their amusement at the local hyperventilating over Paul Pierce's wheelchair exit and heroic return in Game 1.

The Celtics didn't even react to Lakers Coach Phil Jackson ("Was Oral Roberts back there in their locker room?") before Game 2, aside from Rivers' oh-I-don't-care number ("Oh, I don't care. Aren't we skeptics anyway now about everything? So what the heck. Let it begin. . . . Lee Harvey Oswald did it.")

Only after the Lakers lost Game 2 did it dawn on them that they didn't have anything in hand. Nor did getting serious turn out to be the answer.

Without Andrew Bynum, it was as though the Lakers were en route to a bonus championship before Bynum came back and they really started dominating.

Meanwhile, the Celtics had Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Pierce in their first title shot, which, at their ages -- they're now 33, 32 and 31, respectively -- could have been their last.

Having won a title, they still look hungry. It's never an issue on a team that has Garnett, who looks even hungrier.

"I didn't think he could go to another level," said Pierce last week, "but he has."

Unfortunately for the Celtics, if hunger isn't an issue, they have others.

* Age.

Last spring, they had to acquire Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown, both 38, to back up their Three Thirty-Something Amigos.

Brown has retired and Cassell may have, sitting out the preseason while Rivers played second-year Gabe Pruitt, hoping not to have to turn to the creaky, non-defending Cassell again.

Pruitt shot 36%, so they're still in the hopeful stage.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Los Angeles Sol unveils its true colors

After months, and more likely years, of being aware that it was going to field a team in Women's Professional Soccer, the league's Los Angeles franchise finally has a name and a logo. Details on latimes.com .

The logo, while lame, is still infinitely better than the name, which is about as bleak as it gets.

Who names a team Sol? It sounds like somebody's doddering uncle from New Jersey.

Shannon Boxx runs with the flag in Beijing after winning the gold medal match. Headline writers will appreciate its brevity -- "Sol Shines in Victory" will make all too frequent appearances. But Sol? How cliche can you get in Southern California? Perhaps those who arrived at the name had something longer in mind but were interrupted in their planning.

Perhaps it was supposed to be Sol-itude -- which is what Shannon Boxx (seen at left at the Olympics) and friends will feel at the Home Depot Center come April unless they play doubleheaders with the Galaxy.

Perhaps it was supposed to be Sol-o -- which is better and would have been better still had L.A. contrived to sign goalkeeper Hope Solo instead of allowing her to go to St. Louis.

Perhaps it was supposed to be Sol-emn -- which is what WPS will be feeling when the league inevitably closes its doors and the copy editors trot out their "Sun Sets on Sol" headlines.

We wish Sol well, but the name makes us feel we've been Sol-d out.

SOURCE :

Geoff Lawson dismiss as a pakistan coach

Geoff Lawson has been removed as coach of Pakistan with immediate effect. He will be given three months advance salary.

Lawson had a meeting with the PCB chairman, Ijaz Butt, earlier this afternoon, at which it was decided that a decision would be given to him tomorrow

"Geoff Lawson has been removed as coach of Pakistan," PCB spokesman Raza Rashid told Cricinfo. "As per his clause he has been given three months' salary."

On October 12, Lawson said he had no plans of stepping down from his post before his two-year term finishes next year. Butt, in the two weeks since he was appointed chairman, had no contact with Lawson until today. On October 18, he had met with Shoaib Malik and the temporary chief selector Saleem Jaffar, but not Lawson.

Two days later, Butt publicly announced that Lawson's contract would not be renewed after April 2009.

Lawson was appointed by Butt's predecessor Nasim Ashraf in 2007 on a two-year contract but his impact since then has been sketchy: though Pakistan reached the final of the World Twenty20 in 2007 and won the Kitply Cup this year, they also lost major series at home to South Africa and away to India . They also failed to qualify for the final of the Asia Cup earlier this year.

Lawson had also been the target of intense media criticism almost from the day he arrived in Pakistan.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Beckham failed US football tests

Victoria Beckham pictured wearing a pair of spiky gold high heel shoes, whilst on a nightout at the J Sheekey seafood restaurant, London, with her husband David Beckham

With sweat pouring down his face and his physique looking less buff than in his glory days, David Beckham seemed to be feeling the heat during a gruelling training session yesterday.

The 33-year-old, who looks set to be loaned out to AC Milan from his U.S. club LA Galaxy, knows he has a big task on his hands if the move is confirmed as he battles to compete with Europe's footballing elite.

Showing more tattoos than arm muscle these days, and with a thinning barnet, Beckham is hoping the Italian job will keep him fit over the winter and save his England career.

Ageing David Beckham showed off his thinning hair at training yesterday

Thinning: Beckham's barnet

With 107 caps under his belt he is clearly desperate to at least match, if not surpass, England legend Bobby Moore's record of 108.

But with age no longer on his side, the father-of-three had to guzzle down profuse amounts of high energy drink Gatorade as he trained in the scorching heat yesterday.

Clearly the globe-trotting, endless flights and attending the many Brand Beckham launches with wife Victoria is taking its toll on the once revered footballer.

Reports suggest that he is set to make a move out to Milan by January before returning for the new American football season in April.

His brief move across the waters has already created a fervour in Italy, with unofficial black and red No. 75 shirts, emblazoned with Beckham's name, already being touted around the streets of Milan.

Feeling the heat? David Beckham trains with LA Galaxy yesterday and clearly showed he was feeling the heat as he guzzled down high energy drink Gatorade

But according to reports it appears Beckham will be making a solo move to Milan, leaving his wife behind in Los Angeles.

Victoria will most likely have to remain in LA with their three children, and fly out only in the school holidays.

The couple are said to be unwilling to uproot Brooklyn, nine, Romeo, six, and three-year- old Cruz by taking them out of school or away from friends just a year after their move to America.

The deal, expected to begin in January, could see Beckham spend up to four months in Europe away from his family.

Unofficial AC Milan football shirts were being touted in Milan yesterday

It will mean he gets an immediate, if brief, re-entry into the realm of the top European football and to play for one of its most renowned teams, nicknamed 'the rossoneri' after their stylish black and red kit, alongside other global stars like Ronaldinho and Kaka in the vast San Siro stadium.

More...

But this is not the first time Beckham has been separated from them for a long period of time.

The last time, when he left to go to Real Madrid, there were allegations of an affair with his former personal assistant Rebecca Loos.

Other recent reports have already suggested that the couple's marriage is under strain.

Hollywood elite: The Beckhams, pictured in London last week, may have to conduct a long-distance relationship if Beckham heads for AC Milan in January to avoid uprooting the children from LA

But sources close to them said yesterday that Mrs Beckham would fly out whenever she could and would fully support her husband if he went.

'Victoria supports everything he does,' the close friend said. 'But they will not want to move the children from their school.'

The source added: 'Victoria stays wherever the kids are. She won't move out, but she will just be there when she can.'

When she does visit, Victoria can indulge her love for clothes shopping in a city crammed full of fashionable boutiques and which is the home for some of fashions biggest names, such as Georgio armani, Versace and Dolce & Gabanna, all designers she is close to.

Her husband is also sponsored by Armani and models his Emporio Armani underwear in advertisements.

Shopping heaven: Victoria is likely to enjoy the shops in Milan - the fashion capital of Europe - when she visits David

The mother of three, who recently launched her own clothing line, has said: 'I always wanted to be a fashion designer.

'I was never going to be the world’s best singer, but I hope I can be a good designer.'

With a repertoire of A-list celebrity friends from Eva Longoria to Gwen Stefani, the Spice Girl has become a big hit Stateside and recently won the critics over with her new fashion line.

For Beckham, moving to England coach Fabio Capello's former club will improve his fitness and boost his chances of remaining a fixture in the national squad.

Milan confirmed yesterday that they are trying to sign Beckham from the Los Angeles Galaxy club.

Head coach Carlo Ancelotti claimed it would be 'a pleasure' to have the 33-year-old at the worldrenowned San Siro stadium.

He said: 'For me it would be a pleasure to have Beckham here, he is a serious athlete, a great professional-If he were available for months we would be very happy.'

Victoria, pictured with David, Romeo (left), Cruz (being held) and Brooklyn (right) in New York earlier this year, could be reluctant to pull the boys out of school

Beckham is under contract with LA Galaxy, but their regular season finishes on Sunday.

He would have to return to the U.S. for their new soccer season in April.

The planned deal was disclosed by Adriano Galliani, the AC Milan president, who said: 'He will be a club player for a few months and then leave. Beckham chose Milan.

'Our team is ultra competitive and will remain so but Beckham is something different and intriguing.'

A spokesman for Beckham said: 'Nothing has been confirmed. If he does go, it will be a short-term loan, he will remain a Galaxy player.'