Tiger and Rory Setting the Stage for Historic Rivalry

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Prior to the showdown, there was very little attention given to the one-on-one golf matchup that pitted the world’s #1 ranked player against arguably the greatest golfer of all time, who just so happens to be the #2 ranked player in the world.

Rory McIlroy outdueled Tiger Woods in Zhengzhou, China by one stroke in an 18-hole challenge match that harkened back to the days over a century ago when the world’s top players routinely showed off their golfing prowess by taking on any and all comers in one-on-one matches.

The duel was made possible because a loaded Chinese real estate tycoon was willing to put up $3 million to see it happen (interestingly Woods received $2 million, Rory the other million) and was made special not only by the intense, yet friendly competition, but also because both players agreed to be microphoned for the duration which gave us an interesting glimpse into the personalities of both golfers. They traded good-natured barbs with one-another (with the occasional profanity thrown in for good measure).

Tiger and Rory Setting the Stage for Historic Rivalry

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Unforgettable Errors in Sports

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We love failure. Don’t deny it. Maybe we love success more, that’s possible; but we talk about failure – especially when it’s caught on camera. Some of the greatest moments in American history have been sheer and utter failures: Facebook stock, Obama’s first debate performance, David Hasselhoff’s reality show… we could go on and on. Sports failures, though, are something that hit closer to home. Whether it’s shooting at the wrong basket or dropping a handoff, sports failures can break your heart faster than a prom date’s “No.” Check out these five dream-killers from across the sporting world.

The Baton Death Run

• The Offender: USA Track and Field

• The Event: Men’s and Women’s 4x100m Relays, 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Going into the 2012 London Olympics, USA Track and Field had been the laughing stock of the running world. Despite holding superior team members and being heavily favored to win both races, neither the men’s nor the women’s relay teams finished their races because they couldn’t seem to hand each other the little blue stick. Superpower, huh?

Shankapotamus

• The Offender: Billy Cundiff

• The Event: AFC Divisional Playoffs, 2011 NFL Postseason

We’ve seen place-kickers choke before. These “Capt’n Blowit” moments are synonymous with football. Poor Billy Cundiff hasn’t caught a break since shanking a chip-shot that would have sent the Baltimore Ravens to the 2012 AFC championship game. Since this is the most recent famous flop of its kind, Cundiff will have to stand in representation of all the shankers who came before – until somebody else screws up.

Mookie!

• The Offender: Bill Buckner

• The Event: Game 6, 1986 World Series, MLB Post Season

To miss a grounder in the World Series is like getting “cat” wrong in a spelling bee. It just defies explanation. But in this haphazard world, anything can happen. And it did. In possibly the most famous MLB error ever, Buckner cost Boston a World Series title by giving Mookie Wilson’s grounder the freedom it had not earned. This incident is so famous that the ball involved was eventually auctioned for nearly $420K. Not sure if Buckner got any…

The Turnaround

• The Offender: Dorando Pietri

• The Event: Men’s Marathon, 1908 London Olympic Games

Here’s one you’ve never heard of, but your grandfather may have. Pietri tried so hard to win the race that when he entered the final 400 meters he lost his way from exhaustion, taking the wrong path inside the stadium and requiring redirection from race officials. It took him over ten minutes to finish the final 400m – which is incidentally the only portion of the race with an audience. Nothing new under the sun, apparently!

Attached Images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source 

Lanny Hayes, Marketing Manager writes about entertainment subjects that are found on the many great stations offered by Go Dish as well as the dish internet service that is available. Stop by their Linked In profile.

Unforgettable Errors in Sports

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Kevin Durant Latest Commercial "Perfection"

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After a successful stint in the London Olympics for winning the gold medal for USA Men's Basketball team, Kevin Durant is already working. He even made a movie called Thunderstruck.

 That would make him a workaholic but the latest sightings of Kevin Durant was hugging a beautiful lady in white at the birthday party of James Harden.

Here is the latest Kevin Durant advertisement for Foot Locker. Kevin Durant sitting calmly in one of the Foot Locker Store and talking about "PERFECTION". Also included are Scottie Pippen and Deron Williams and displaying their moves and styles.

Kevin Durant Latest Commercial "Perfection"

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Usain Bolt Wins Olympics Doubles: Sets a New Record

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It was a heroic day for Olympic Sprints Champion Usain Bolt and his fellow Jamaicans, as they made a clean sweep of the Men’s 200m race medals at the London 2012 Olympics games.

Usain Bolt led the pack as he clocked 19.32 seconds to equal Michael Johnson’s record which he set in 1996. Bolt was followed by fellow Jamaicans Yohan Blake (19.44 secs) and Warren Weir (19.84 secs), who won the silver and bronze medals respectively.

Bolt, by this feat, became the first sprinter to win both 100m and 200m races in two consecutive Olympics games. Bolt had earlier won the Men’s 100m race in record 9.63 secs (A new Olympics record).

After winning the 200m race, Usain Bolt had this to say, "This is what I wanted and I got it. I'm very proud of myself. After a rough season I came out here and did it. I thought the world record was possible. I guess I was fast but not fit enough.

"I could feel my back strain a little bit, so all I did was to keep my form. I'm very dedicated to my work and London meant so much to me."

The 25 year old Jamaican sprinter had lost to Blake at their country’s trials, but he came back to reclaim his Olympics position. He combined speed with endurance to ensure he made history once again on the tracks.

Bolt placed a finger to his lips, in what could be interpreted as silencing his critics – those who believed he could not re-enact his 2008 records. He also declared himself a living legend, "It's what I came here to do. I'm now a legend. I'm also the greatest athlete to live. I've got nothing left to prove." Bolt said.

Usain Bolt, you are our history maker of the day for setting a new Olympics record. Congratulatioooooooooooooooooooooons!

Usain Bolt Wins Olympics Doubles: Sets a New Record

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Nicola Adams Becomes First Olympics Female Boxing Gold Medalist

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Nicola Adamsof great Britain

Nicola (Babyface) Adams of Great Britain made history on the 9th of August 2012 at the London Olympics as she became the first woman ever to win an Olympics Gold medal in boxing. Her gold medal was won in the 51kg (flyweight) category, beating World’s number one Cancan Ren of The People’s Republic of China by 16 points to 7.


Nicola Adams outpunched her Chinese opponent in all 4 rounds to coast home to an emphatic victory. At round 1 she led by 4 points against Ren’s 2, having a 2 point lead. She maintained her focus and fought gallantly all through the four rounds without a losing any round to her opponent.

On resuming round 2, she extended her lead to 5 points, leading by 9 points to 4. She just was too smart for Ren who tried to catch up with her. She kept frustrating her with smartness, accuracy of punches and hitting the targets.

Nicola Adams Becomes First Olympics Female Boxing Gold Medalist

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U.S. Olympic Team Has More Women Than Men

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The Summer Olympics



For the first time in U.S. Olympic history, female athletes will outnumber their male counterparts at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.


There are a total of 530 U.S. Olympians competing this year in London, and 269 of them are women. That leaves 261 male competitors on the team, a first for the U.S. Olympic team.

United States Olympic Committee (USOC) CEO Scott Blackmun said the female majority was “a true testament to the impact of Title IX,” the law that increased opportunities for women in sports, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year.

The U.S. Olympic team will compete in 25 sports, and in total 246 of the 302 medal events available at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Of the 530 Olympians competing this year, 228 are returning from one or more previous Olympics, including five women. They are:

• Track and field star Amy Acuff

• Archery expert Khatuna Lorig

• Equestrian standout Karen O'Connor

• Shooting expert Kim Rhode

• Indoor volleyball star Danielle Scott-Arruda

At age 54, Karen O'Connor is not only the oldest female Olympian representing the United States in London, she's also the oldest Olympian on the entire team. Her Olympic experience started at age 30 in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, with returns in Atlanta in 1996, Sydney, Australia in 2000, and Beijing, China in 2008.


The youngest U.S. Olympian competing in London is Team U.S.A. swimmer Katie Ledecky. Born March 17, 1997, the high school sophomore from Bethesda, Maryland, still not old enough to drive, will compete in the 800m freestyle event.

It's a wonderful narrative that this year's U.S. Olympic team is bookended by the female athletes who represent the youngest and the oldest competitors. It's a testament to those still waiting to compete that they will soon have their chance, and motivation for those who might think they're possibly too old to contribute.

The American Dream is all about grabbing the bull by the horns and carving out your own glory, freedom, and opportunities. The 2012 Olympic Team, led by the most female athletes in our nation's short history, is proof positive the Dream is still alive and kicking.

About the Author: Porter Olson is a writer and blogger for UsDirect TV.

U.S. Olympic Team Has More Women Than Men

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Oscar Pistorius to Compete in London 2012 Olympics Games

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Oscar Pistorius made history by becoming the first amputee athlete cleared to compete among the able-bodied athletes in an Olympics games as he qualified to represent South Africa in the 400m race at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Pistorius had continually made a case to be allowed to compete alongside able-bodied men at major competitions. His second position in a time of 45.52s at the African Championship in Benin Republic meant that he did not meet the Olympic ‘A’ qualification standard (45.30s) for the individual 400m at the Games.

However, his inclusion in the South Africa’s relay team would eventually pave way for him to compete in the individual events. Pistorius would also participate in the Paralympics’ Games in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 4x100m relay

. After he was placed second in Benin Republic, the double amputee had this to say: "My race (today) felt good and I'm pleased to have won the silver medal at the African Championships. I am obviously disappointed that my time was just outside of the Olympic 'A' qualification time. I had felt very strong coming into this competition as my fitness and speed has been continually improving.

"I was in good shape to set the time and believe my speed will only increase over the next few weeks. I had a great early start to the season, setting the Olympic qualification time and I am hoping that there is still the opportunity for me to be selected to run for South Africa in the 4x400m relay.

"I am also extremely excited about the Paralympic Games in London and a big focus for me will be defending my three titles as well as being part of the South African team competing for a world record in the 4x100m relay at the Paralympics."

The 25 year old athlete popularly called the “Blade Runner” because of his prosthetic carbon fibre limbs was born in Johannesburg but lost his limbs 11 months after his birth, because of a congenital defect which resulted in his being born without lower limb bones.

However, this defect has not deterred him; it did not dampen his morale and his resolve to succeed. He was not satisfied with being called a disabled athlete. He wanted to make a statement on the track. He wanted to show to the world that disability was only a thing of the mind.

Today, what so many able-bodied men could not do, Oscar Pistorius has done it on prosthesis. He would be making history as he competes with both able-bodied athletes and physically challenged athletes as well at the 2012 London Olympics Games.

He has figured a way out of his disability. Today he can proudly say he does not consider himself disabled. Come to think of it, is Pistorius truly disabled? I don’t think he is. If he can do what great men cannot do, then he should not be considered a disabled man.

Oscar Pistorius is our ‘History Maker” of the week because of his ability to rise above his challenges and qualify to run alongside other able-bodied athletes at the London Olympics. He will not only make South Africa proud, he will also make other Africans proud by his great achievements. We are eagerly waiting to see him perform brilliantly at the Olympic Games.

Your comments are highly welcome. Is there any athlete you feel should make our “History Maker” of the week list? Please do let us know of such persons so we could include their names on our list. Share this post with your friends to help them rise above their circumstances.

Oscar Pistorius to Compete in London 2012 Olympics Games

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FIFA Approves The Use Of Goal Line Technology

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FIFA has finally given its nod to the clamour for the use of Goal Line Technology at international matches. This approval will finally lay to rest the controversies that have followed and almost completely robbed the round leather game of its beauty and shine.

A lot of soccer pundits, coaches, players and fans alike had thrown their weights behind the quest for the introduction of the goal line technology because of the human errors that have plagued the game for several decades. Some referees had erroneously awarded crucial goals where they ought not to have been awarded, while others had denied teams of vital goals that eventually made them lose matches they should have won.

One good case study is the crucial goal scored by Frank Lampard in their match against Germany in South Africa 2010. The centre referee erroneously ruled it wasn’t a goal and England ended up losing the game by a whooping 4-1. Perhaps that goal would have made a whole lot of difference in that decider.

Another good example was the goal ruled in favour of Chelsea FC in their FA Cup semi final match against Tottenham Hotspur. The replay showed that the ball did not cross the goal line. This went on to dampen the morale of the Spur players. Of course they lost the match to Chelsea by 5-1.

Just recently, at the EURO 2012 Championship, a legitimate goal scored by Ukraine against England was cleared from inside the post by John Terry after it had crossed the goal line and the referee ruled that it wasn’t a goal. Ukraine needed to at least draw that game; but they lost it by a lone goal which led to their early exit from the tournament. The list is endless.

FIFA had hitherto argued that introducing a goal line technology would rub the game of it human input and beauty. But its introduction became inevitable when it became obvious that the round leather game was heading for a major crisis if nothing desperate was done.

In the match between England and Ukraine, a fifth official was even standing directly behind the post, yet he could not see when such a great goal was scored. Perhaps he allowed his emotion to overrule his sense of judgment and as such his inclusion in such match could not be justified.

My greatest excitement is that human emotion will no longer play a nasty role in deciding the outcomes of matches to some extent. The technology will officially be introduced during the FIFA World Club Cup in Tokyo, Japan in December 2012. It would also be used during the confederation Cup in 2013 and finally at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

How Will This help Football

The introduction of the goal line technology would go a long way at helping to reduce those errors that had trailed the game of football for decades.
1. Accurate decisions: This technology combined with the input of the centre referee and his assistants would assist the officials at arriving at accurate decisions during football matches.

2. No sentiment: Before now, some referees had awarded or cancelled crucial goals based on emotion and sentiments. They had indirectly favoured the teams of their choice and punished the opponents. But with this technology, such emotions and sentiment would be ruled out completely. The technology would not support or oppose any team; it would only award a goal based on merit.

3. Lesser argument: Arguments in the pitch of play would be reduced to a large extent. Players, fans and coaches had always questioned the accuracy of the decisions made by match officials. But when the decisions are now jointly made by both humans and electronic devices, such arguments would definitely reduce.

4. No more blaming of referees: The blames that had come to centre referees at crucial matches would be minimized as they would no longer award goals in errors. All goals would be thoroughly scrutinized before they are awarded. Any team that loses a match would do so on a level play ground.

5. True Champions: When goals are awarded in error, the true champions would not emerge at the end. When potential champions are eliminated as a result of human error, the eventual champions would not be seen as people who truly deserve to be champions. But when goals are awarded on a clean note, true champions that would be respected by all would emerge.

However, this is not to say that the technology would be 100% perfect. Issues that need to be considered include whether the technology would be powered by batteries, electricity or solar energy. In case of power failure or mechanical fault, there is bound to be error in results. In such cases, the final decision would be made by the officials.

FIFA Approves The Use Of Goal Line Technology

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Spain Create New European Championship Records

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Spanish national football team is our history maker of the week after emerging the new Champions of Europe in Poland and Ukraine 2012. Spanish national football team broke all the jinxes that have plagued them for several years, to enter our history makers’ book.

First, it was the jinx over France that had to be broken at the quarter final stage of the competition. It was on record that Spain had never beaten France in any competitive tournament (Both at the World Cup and at the European Championship). But all that became history at the end of 90 minutes of play as the Spaniards defeated the French players by two goals to nil.

As though the Spaniards were not satisfied with breaking their age-long jinx against France, they went ahead to beat a highly skilful Portuguese side in the semi final and then the Azzurri of Italy by a whooping 4-0 in the final. Italy had never been beaten by Spain in any competitive match since 1920. But on Sunday night, all those records were shattered by the new kings of European football.

Spain went ahead also to become the first team in the history of the tournament to win it back-to-back. This they did in a stylish way, beating Italy by 4-0, a new Championship scoring record as well. The Spanish team deserved to be crowned kings, to say the least.

They were labeled “The most boring team” before their encounter against Italy. Considering the manner with which Italy sized up England and eliminated the star studded German team at the semi final stage, soccer enthusiasts had expected that Italy would give Spain a run for their money and even give them a bleeding nose. Surprisingly, it became the easiest match the Spanish side played in the championship.

Iker Casillas became the first player to win 100 international matches for his country. Besides, 13 of the Spanish players were the first to appear in and win two consecutive European Championship finals.

Xavi Hernadez and Fernando Torres were not left out as they became the first players to score and also provide assists in two of the games. The final match also saw all three Premiership players featured for Spain (Fernando Torres, Juan Mata and David Silva) registering their names on the scorers’ sheet.

Fernando Torres won the Golden Boot of the tournament even though he started in just two matches out of six and came in as a sub in two matches and was even left out in some. His 3 goals were enough to earn him the Golden Boot.

Not only football records were broken on the night, twitter records were also broken. Twitter all-time record for tweets per second related to sports was also shattered. Global traffic peaked at 15,358 tweets as Spain scored their fourth goal – The twitter blog.

The previous record of 12,233 tweets per second was set at this year’s Super Bowl; but all that is now history. Spain has created a record that would take sometime to break, having won three major tournaments in a roll – Euro 2008, FIFA 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 Championship.

The Spanish team has played as a compact team, displaying individual skills and team work, making all soccer followers to enjoy their money as they watched them display their soccer artistry. They truly deserve to be Champions and history makers.

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1. Fernamdo Torres Bundles FC Barcelona Out of UEFA Champions' League

Spain Create New European Championship Records

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Who Were The Greatest Jockeys of All Time?

Pin It Now! In the world of horse racing, all eyes fall on the racehorses. While it’s the horse’s name that’s usually splashed across the headlines after a big win or tough defeat, the jockeys who ride these horses deserve some credit, too.

Jockey Mario Gutierrez was able to lead I’ll Have Another to victory in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, rocketing him from relative obscurity to the cover of sports publications worldwide. Twenty-five-year-old Gutierrez is just one name in a long line of jockeys who have led their horses to victory and fame. The following are some other noted jockeys in horse racing history, as well as information on their long list of accomplishments.

Eddie Arcaro: This jockey receives little notoriety even when the discussion of the all-time greats arises. However, he is the only jockey to ever win two Triple Crowns. Despite his success on the track, he also maintained a reputation similar to that of professional baseball’s Ty Cobb. Cobb, who once physically attacked a person in a wheelchair, is considered on of the sport’s greatest villain.

Arcaro, who was tossed out of the sport for a year after being charged with attempting to harm a fellow racer, defended himself by saying, “I wasn’t trying to hurt him. I was trying to kill the son of a [expletive].” Arcaro was famous for riding Lawrin, Whirlaway, Cirtation, Hoop Jr., and Hill Gail to victory and worked with major trainers, including Ben Jones and James Fitzsimmons.

Bill Shoemaker: Bill “The Shoe” Shoemaker won more than 8,800 races and broke an impressively long list of records. He wasn’t the only one responsible for his success, however. He worked with the same agent for 40 years and worked alongside Charlie Whittingham, a master trainer. Shoemaker was famous for riding Swaps, Tomy Lee, Lucky Debonair, Damascus, and Avatar to victory in many races. In addition to Whittingham, he also worked with other famous trainers such as Frank Catrone, Frank Whiteley, and Meshach Tenney.

Another factor contributing to his success was his ability to stay healthy. During his career, he was able to avoid most falls and serious injury. However, Shoemaker became a quadriplegic after involvement in a car accident during his retirement years.

Pat Day: Day’s career got off to a fast start and then quickly bottomed out. Day won four Eclipse Awards, 12 Breeders’ Cup races, routinely manhandled the competition at Churchill Downs, and eventually became the highest money-winning jockey on the planet with more than $297 million won during his career.

Day is famous for riding Lil E. Tee, Dance Smartly, and With Anticipation to victory. Notable trainers who helped in the process include Lynn Whiting, Jim Day, and Jonathan Sheppard.

Julie Krone: Krone faced an incredibly high barrier to entering the sport of horse racing: her gender. Because of this, she experienced substantial intimidation and pressure from her peers. However, she did race with the best and held her own against the boys. Krone was able to win more than 3,700 races during her career, including having the notable distinction of being the only woman to ever win either a Triple Crown or Breeder’s Cup.

Krone is most famous for riding Moni Maker (trained by William Andrews) to a world-record time for 1 mile, 1:54 and 1/5 seconds, at the Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky.

Bet you didn’t know all of that information. Next time you are shooting the breeze, possibly with your fantasy horse racing buddies, now you know how to impress them.

You may also love to read:
1. 10 Baseball Players Who Age as Well as Dick Clark
2. Felix Baumgartner Threatens Joe Kittinger's Spacedive Record

About the Author:
Brian Russell is a horse racing enthusiast and freelance writer for MyFantasyStable, the fantasy horse racing league where it’s free to draft a unique stable of horses, jockeys and trainers, and manage your stable from week-to-week.

Who Were The Greatest Jockeys of All Time?

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Felix Baumgartner Threatens Joe Kittinger’s Spacedive Record

Pin It Now! For many people skydiving is considered the ultimate adrenaline rush. Jumping out of a plane at 14, 000 feet can feel mighty unnatural, but the sensation of freefalling towards the ground is known to be an exhilarating and amazing feeling. Well if 14, 000 feet isn’t high enough for you, how do you fancy freefalling from 120, 000 feet? One Austrian man is currently attempting just that.

The record for the highest skydive has been held by US Air Force Colonel Joe Kittinger, who jumped from a balloon at 102, 800 feet, but this is set to be beaten by Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian skydiver and BASE jumper who is known for some unique achievements including completing the highest parachute jump from a building and the lowest BASE jump.

Baumgartner plans to jump from the very edge of space, 26.7 km up, to complete the highest freefall jump and the first man to break the sound barrier unaided by machines. If successful, it will be the longest and fastest free-fall in history.

Skydiver, BASE jumper and spacediver Felix Baumgartner Due to the extreme height of the jump, there are a few additional considerations. Felix will don a pressurised suit for the jump, similar to those worn by NASA astronauts but even tougher and more mobile. The suit is important, as if its integrity is compromised his body tissue could swell up do to the air pressure, and the moisture in his face could boil. The suit also protects Baumgartner from temperatures as low as -70c.

The record holder, Joe Kittinger is an advisor for the project, and they have already completed a preparatory jump in Mexico, jumping from a balloon at a height of 71, 500 feet or 22km. Eight minutes after jumping, Baumgartner landed safely on the ground.

The Austrian has NASA to thank for making the jump possible – they spent time in the 1960s researching the possibility of an orbital escape system for astronauts. Space parachutes were developed including personal rockets and inflatable cones to protect astronauts against re-entry to the earth’s atmosphere. Without these technological developments it would be unlikely that Felix would be able to attempt the spacedive.

Retired US Air Force Colonel Joe Kittinger As Felix will be the first man to reach supersonic speeds unaided, it’s impossible to know what it will feel like, and there’s no way of accurately simulating the experience beforehand for preparation. Skydives around the world are following Baumgartner’s progress, aided by a team of scientists who can help plan the jump.

While Felix and his team of experts might be confident, he revealed that his mother is still scared and concerned about his safety, despite the fact that he has been skydiving since the tender age of sixteen. The spacedive is expected to take place later this year.

Author Bio:Alan Cairns writes on a number of subjects including tandem skydive essex and extreme sports.

Felix Baumgartner Threatens Joe Kittinger’s Spacedive Record

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Roberto Di Matteo Gets Chelsea Manager Job

Pin It Now! Coach Roberto Di Matteo has finally been confirmed as the manager of Chelsea FC of England after three weeks of disagreement between him and Roman Abrahamovich over what number of years he should get as manager.

Initial rumours had it that Roman Abrahamovich was tactically waiting for Josep Guadiola to come out of his temporary retirement to be given the Chelsea job hence he tried to offer Di Matteo a one year contract which the latter vehemently refused, demanding two years contract or nothing.

Di Matteo had this to say after his confirmation as the manager today, "I'm obviously delighted to have been appointed as manager and first-team coach".
"We all achieved incredible success last season that made history for this great club.
"Our aim is to continue building on that and I'm already planning and looking forward to the squad's return for pre-season."

The Italian did remarkably during his 11 months as a temporary manager for the club, helping the struggling team to a season’s double (English FA Cup and UEFA Champions’ League title).

Many of his critics believed he didn’t merit the position of a permanent manager and that he had won his silverwares by luck. They felt he had not convinced them enough he could handle the club and steer them to convincing victories both in the EPL and in Europe.

Di Matteo took over from Andrea Villas Boas when the entire team was in shambles and things seemed to have fallen apart. But somehow, he was able to motivate the aging players to put in their best thereby brushing aside the likes of Napoli, Benfica, FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich to lift the UEFA trophy against all predictions.

Having been confirmed as the team’s manager, it’s time for him to settle down to business, avoid all distractions, carry out an overhaul of the team and get new young, but talented players to complement the ones that would be left behind.

Good enough he has started shopping for quality players to strengthen the team. Having signed Eden hazard and Marko Marin, the Blues are looking forward to adding more legs to boost the squad and at least improve their attacking pattern instead of trying to play the unattractive defensive style adopted toward the end of the Champions’ league.

Di Matteo is expected to do better this time around. What do you think? Do you believe he will perform better than his previous season, or do you think he would still continue with his defensive pattern? Do you also believe Chelsea can beat Man City and the rest to the League title this season? Tell us what you think.

Roberto Di Matteo Gets Chelsea Manager Job

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Chelsea Win Champions League 2012; Beat Bayern Munich on Penalties

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Nobody gave Chelsea a chance from the beginning of 2012 UEFA Champions’ League; they were not in their best shape. The highly favoured English teams like Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal FC all got knocked out before the quarter final stage and the Blues were left to redeem the image of EPL. Nobody believed they could get beyond the round of 16 after they were dealt a deadly blow by Napoli in their first leg match at Italy.

They remained dogged and determined. After losing by a whooping 3-1 at Italy, they came back to upturn the table at Stamford Bridge, winning by an unbelievable 4-1 to advance to the quarter final stage. They defeated Benfica away by 1-0, and also beat them 2-1 at Stamford Bridge (though Benfica were reduced to 10 men).

Their Semi final matches were dramatic as they defended gallantly against FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge and ended up winning the match by a lone goal. The second leg at Nou Camp saw Chelsea down to 10 men and losing by 2 goals in the first half. But they fought back and pulled a 2-2 draw against highly favoured Barca.

Soccer pundits still didn’t have faith in the Blues; they believed luck might not keep seeing them through. The fact they were to play the final at Allianz Arena, coupled with the fact they were playing against a highly experienced side made Chelsea clearly the underdogs. But it seemed that God was clearly with them, giving them victory where nobody expected them to succeed.

Munich came in with determination to win the match and be handed the trophy right in their own home. They bombarded Chelsea from the outset, with Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery firing full cylinders from the right and left flanks respectively. But the Londoners held their ground; they defended their territory gallantly.

But after series of onslaught by the Munich side, Thomas Muller’s nodding in the 83rd minute caught Petr Cech pants down, putting the host team ahead. They had only 7 minutes to redeem themselves and Chelsea fought back, with the introduction of Fernando Torres who replaced Salomon Kalou. They finally got a corner kick in the 88th minute which was nodded in by Didier Drogba for an equalizer.

The match eventually went into extra time. Just in the 3rd minute of added time, Drogba stepped on Franck Ribery’s heel in the 18 yard box to give away a penalty to Munich. The resultant penalty was taken by Arjen Robben, but Petr Cech denied him the opportunity to celebrate as he stretched full length to save the kick.

The match eventually went into extra time and after 120 minutes of play, score line remained 1-1. The match had to be concluded on penalties. Juan Mata took the first kick for Chelsea but Manuel Neuer saved it, creating tension in the Blues’ camp. The kicks went on and at the end, Munich lost two kicks (Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ivica Olic) and Chelsea lost one (Juan Mata) to end score at 4-3 in favour of the London side.

Roberto Di Matteo suddenly rose from a villain to a hero; he did what the likes of jose Maurinho, Guus Hiddink, Avran Grant, Filipe Scolari, Carlo Ancelotti and Andrea Villas Boas could not do. He rose from being a failure in WestBromwich Albion to a Champions’ league winner. He ended up winning the doubles (having won the English FA Cup earlier) for the season. The coach soccer analysts said had no pedigree to lead the Blues suddenly succeeded where Man U, Manchester City and Arsene failed.

The happiest men of the night were arguably Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and John Terry. It was sweet victory as Drogba led his team mates in victory celebration, having scored a crucial equalizer and then the winning penalty for his team. There was no better way to celebrate. The likes of Arjen Robben, Mario Gomez and Bastian Schweinsteiger couldn’t believe they just lost the trophy right in their backyard. They remained glued to the pitch.

Roman Abrahamovich was elated his dream of winning the Champions’ League finally came true courtesy of Roberto Di Matteo and his lads. Now that they’ve delivered, what happens to Drogba, Terry, Lampard and Ashley Cole? Should their contracts be renewed or should they leave on the expiration of their contracts?

Now that Di Matteo has proven to be a reliable coach, should Abrahamovich still sack him and get someone else to manage the team? He sure deserves to be retained since he was able to discover the magic wand needed for the team to succeed.

One thing is obvious; Chelsea needs more young talented players to beef up the attack, midfield and the defense if they hope to successfully defend the title next season. They need new hands to complement the efforts of the aging legs should they be retained.

What do you think? Should Roberto Di Matteo be confirmed as the coach of the team? Should Drogba, Terry, Lampard and Ashley Cole be shown the exit door or should they be retained? Kindly drop your comment here.

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Chelsea Win Champions League 2012; Beat Bayern Munich on Penalties

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10 Baseball Players Who Age As Well As Dick Clark

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Nolan Ryan

Okay, Nolan Ryan is a bit of a throwback, and hasn't been in Major League Baseball since 1993, but when you consider a couple of things you'll see why he's easily on this list. Ryan entered the big leagues in September of 1966 as a right-handed pitcher with a lot of potential. During his 27-year career, Ryan had a record of 324-292 and threw 5,714 strikeouts, a standing MLB record.

While Ryan did throw seven no-hitters, an MLB record to this day, he never threw a perfect game and never won a Cy Young Award. But he did appear in a Major League game in four decades, could consistently throw over 100mph at his peak performance, and consistently was over 95mph over the age of 40.

Jamie Moyer

Another one of those four-decade guys; at age 49, Jamie Moyer is currently making a bid to make the Colorado Rockies as a relief pitcher. In fact, he struck out four in four perfect innings during a recent spring training game in Arizona against the San Francisco Giants.

He sat out last season and played analyst at ESPN while nursing a banged-up elbow. He last played in June of 2010 at the spry age of 47. I can't believe he's almost 50; I get tired just watching him pitch. Here's to old guys like Moyer. Cheers!

Chipper Jones

I was too young to remember Nolan Ryan's debut, and don't specifically remember Jamie Moyer entering the bigs, although I've watched a great deal of his career. I do remember the day Chipper Jones came in swinging because he was the youngest player in baseball on September 11, 1993.

Perhaps not the granddaddy of the list, at age 39 he looks as good as he did at age 21. His youthful good looks betray his age, and unless you know he's been in the Major Leagues for nearly 20 years—all of it with the Atlanta Braves—you'd never guess he's 39. Expect to see him in the broadcast booth after this year, his farewell season. I suspect at age 59 we'll be saying the same things about this youngster!

Derek Jeter

Easily one of the best looking guys to ever round the bases, Derek Jeter joined the New York Yankees in May of 1995, where's he remained as a fan-favorite ever since. He's also one of the greatest shortstops to ever play the game, evidenced by 12 All-Star games and 5 Golden Glove awards.

Jeter always seems to be in the gossip columns. After all, his penchant for celebrity women is well documented. There's been Mariah Carey, Miss Universe: Lara Dutta, Vanessa Minillo, Minka Kelly, Jessica Beal, Joy Enriquez, and Jordana Brewster. Whew! Where does this guy find time for baseball?

Anyway, at age 37 he looks like he's found the Fountain of Youth, and if his body holds out he could play baseball well into his 40's.

Andy Pettitte

What is it with the New York Yankees and youthful players? I mean we're talking about life in the Big Apple, and there's no way these guys aren't playing and living hard. Anyway, Andy Pettitte, lefty fire-baller for the Yankees probably still gets asked for ID when he hits the night clubs!

At age 39, he's still got what it takes to play the game with the big boys. Even though he announced his retirement last year, he's already been signed to a minor league contract in the Yankees organization for a whopping $2.5 million. He's expected to spend some time tuning-up before coming back to New York and joining the Yankees' regular rotation.

Tim Wakefield

From July 31, 1992 through September 25, 2011 Tim Wakefield's world famous knuckleballs fanned 2,156 batters. The slow-pitch was definitely the key to his longevity in the Major Leagues, but there's no accounting for the fact that every time this guy took the mound someone in the broadcast booth would comment on his youthful good looks.

Perhaps it was the fact that he generally rolled with his own personal catcher, because his knuckleball was so difficult to catch. That's enough to stroke any guy's ego, easily shedding the years as quickly as they fall out of the calendar.

Omar Vizquel

Here's one of those 44-year-old guys that make the 34-year-old guys a little nervous. Does he look younger than me? Will I look that good in ten years? Yes, and no, respectively. This Latino shortstop is arguably one of the greatest to ever play the game. He once went on a 95-game stretch without an error, and has a career fielding percentage of .985, which is the highest fielding percentage of any shortstop in Major League history.

No telling when this Venezuelan lothario is going to retire, but it won't ever be on the grounds that he just looks too old to play the game. This guy might truly be the Dick Clark of Major League baseball players.

Craig Counsell

Craig Counsell just retired at the age of 40 at the end of last season. He was immediately offered a front office job with the Milwaukee Brewers, a team he spent six of his 17 years with. The Brewers wer probably enthralled with his boyish appearance, and figured they'd get a good 40 more years out of him before he simply had to call it quits.

Counsell played for seven teams during his career, winning two World Series rings along with the NLCS MVP in 2001. Too bad this guy isn't going in front of the cameras. He'd easily be another fan-favorite for another 17 years. People would start talking about him and Dorian Gray in the same sentence!

Jim Thome

Listen up, kids. If you want to play a really long time, and want to look great doing it, take a page out of the Jim Thome playbook:

•Become a first baseman because it's closer to the dugout (less running to begin and end each inning).
•Hit lots of home runs (604) so you can just trot around the bases.
•Hit really well with runners on the bases (1,675 runs batted in), which means you can stroll to first base as the runner heading to home plate will draw all the attention from the defense. Still going strong at age 41, Jim Thome will lace them up once again with the Philadelphia Phillies where he's sure to make a big splash as the oldest first baseman in the league.

Jason Giambi

Say what you will about Jason Giambi, but this is a guy who's looked good every single day of his career. At age 41 (he's a few months younger than Thome); he'll once again be in the spotlight as the first baseman for the Colorado Rockies.

Over the years he's put on, and subsequently taken off, a little weight here and there, but it's never marred his perennial good looks. He'll be one of the big-leaguers who will retire when he feels darned good and ready to, and not a day before. A fan favorite for sure, he'll probably be around a few more seasons.

Can you think of any ageless baseball players I missed? Let me know in the comments below or via Twitter.

10 Baseball Players Who Age As Well As Dick Clark

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Preparing for The Big Game

Pin It Now! If you are an athlete or a sportsman or woman, then likely you will spend a lot of your time in training trying to improve your reactions, your strength, your running speed, your endurance etc etc. Preparation for a big game is something you should do continuously, but this becomes even more important in the build-up to the event itself and whether you play hockey or sprint, it's very important that you treat yourself correctly in these few days building up to the main event to ensure you are on top form. Here's what you need to do.,p> Rest
Training hard is advisable in the weeks leading up to an event or game. However in the few days before it's better to rest and give yourself some time to recover. Training is something that you can not cram in at the last minute and this means you don't want to suddenly hit the gym hard the night before your game. All this will accomplish is to make you tired and lethargic going into the event and will leave you with sore muscles.

When you train using resistance work this causes tiny tears to form in your muscles – aptly named 'microtears'. These tears are repaired by the body using amino acids that are sourced from the protein you eat, but this means that you need to rest to benefit from the training. Go into a game after training and you'll just be doing so with weakened and damaged muscles and you'll have increased your chances of pulling a muscle. And of course if you train too hard the day before then you'll also risk injury which is the last thing you want to do.

You also need to make sure that you rest psychologically, and it's important that you focus but also that you relax to make sure that you are on top form before the game. If you are too nervous and stressed it will affect your preparation and it will prevent you from getting the good night's sleep that you need to be on top form. If you're nervous then consider using cognitive restructuring techniques in order to help you relax. A great way to spend the night before a game or event is to relax reading a book (to keep your mind off of the event) and then go to bed early after a hot bath.

Diet
What you eat in the few days building up to your event is also very important. For instance if your event is going to last for a long amount of time then you might want to consider using some kind of carb loading. This essentially means that you will be eating carbohydrates in the form of complex sugars so that on the day your body has a wealth of energy sources to plunder to prevent you from tiring out too soon.

Likewise you should also ensure that you drink a lot of water and this can help you to stay hydrated which can further improve your performance and help prevent cramping. Something to avoid doing, however, is to eat anything too high in fat. Fat is very difficult for the body to digest compared to other food groups and this then means that you could risk going into the event feeling bloated and even suffering from indigestion.

Author Byline:- Chad Moreau being a fitness expert thinks online hockey training programs are the best way to get well trained. He also likes to share some of the good training programs on his blog.

Preparing for The Big Game

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Manchester City Win 2011/12 Barclays Premier League in Grand Style

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Manchester City has finally emerged the winners of the 2011/12 Barclays English Premier League season in what could best be described as the greatest dramatic comeback on the final day of the season. The matches between City and Queens Park Rangers, and the one between Manchester United and Sunderland were no doubt the most tensed as fans could hardly relax to enjoy the games. Everybody held on to his smart phone to hear what was happening from the other end.

United took the lead in through Wayne Rooney in the 20th minute of the first half of the match and maintained the goal till the very last blast of the whistle. Sunderland tried as much as possible to equal scores but that was impossible. Man. U looked good to clinch their 20th premiership title; they were sure of their victory over their host. They kept praying QPR should win or at least hold City to a draw.

Pablo Zabaleta put Manchester City on the lead in the 39th minute of the first half. Roberto Mancini’s lads had hoped to consolidate on their gains, but on resumption of the second half, their goal was cancelled out by Djibril Cisse who had latched on a loose ball that was headed backward by Joleon Lescott to drive a low shot behind Joe hart.

A moment later Joey Barton was shown the red card for elbowing Carlos Tevez by the edge of the 18 yard box. Down to 10 men, QPR resorted to defensive tactics, frustrating all moves by City to win the match. Even when ball possession was 80% - 20% in favour of the home side, QPR’s defense wall remained impregnable till the end of the 90 minutes.

While City were desperately fighting to score more goals, substitute Armand Traore gave a cross to Jamie Mackie who nodded it behind Joe hart thereby ensuring that 10-man QPR were in the lead once again. The result remained 2-1 in favour of the visitors for the rest of the second half.

Manchester United were already celebrating their victory and waiting for the final whistle signaling the end of the match between City and Rangers when something dramatic happened. Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero scored two quick goals in the last few seconds of the added 5 minutes injury time to end the hopes of United.

Manchester City had just won their first EPL title in 44 years, their very first under Roberto mancini. The stadium went into ecstasy. Of course in a matter of seconds, reality dawned on their neighbours that the title was no longer within their reach. Everything changed in split seconds.

They worked hard for it; they believed in themselves that they could do it (according to their skipper Kompany). Malcini also added "I don't think I've ever seen a finale like this. We didn't deserve to lose. We had a lot of chances and we deserved to win the game and championship. It's fantastic for the club and the supporters after 44 years. It's been a crazy season and a crazy last minute."

Sir Alex Fergusson had this to say after City were declared champions, "It's a cruel way to lose the title. We've experienced many ups and downs in the 25 years I've been here, most of them have been great, we've won the title three times on the last day, today we nearly did it. "I'd like to say on behalf of Manchester United, congratulations to our neighbors -- a fantastic achievement to win the Premier League."

I think they truly deserved to be champions considering the fact they have the best attack and the best defense in the EPL this season. They scored a total of 93 goals and conceded 29, scoring the highest numbers and conceding the least.

Now they have qualified to represent England in the Champions’ league next season. It is no longer news that Mancini’s boys have won the EPL, and the question is no longer “Can Manchester City win the 2011/12 Premier League?” but now the question on everyone’s lips is “Can City successfully defend the title?” Whether they can defend the title or not the, only time shall tell.

Manchester City Win 2011/12 Barclays Premier League in Grand Style

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Who Wins The Barclays English Premier League 2012?

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The 2011/2012 Barclays English Premier League officially winds up today and the fate of some club sides would be determined at the end of the day. Only Wolverhampton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers have been confirmed relegated to the lower division. Aside from the two, only Chelsea FC is sure of its position; win or lose, they are sure of remaining in the 6th position on the league table.

This season remains the most competitive in a decade with virtually every club side having to wait till the very last day of the league to know its fate. The greatest competition is among the top 5, with Manchester City and Manchester United with 86 points each in a world of their own, but having to wait till the final blast of the whistle to know who emerges the EPL champions.

This season remains very interesting because for the first time in several years, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United are in serious contention for the 3rd place on the league table and also for a place in the UEFA Champions’ League for next season. As it stands now, no one is sure of the 3rd and 4th places yet.

Manchester City also is highly favoured to dethrone Manchester United after they successfully overcame the threat by Newcastle last week in a match soccer pundits believed would be the toughest for City. City proved everyone wrong by beating highly rated Newcastle side 2-0 in their own home. United now is depending on luck to upturn the table as the source of their confidence was frustrated. They had depended seriously on Newcastle to help them beat City but it didn’t work the way they expected.

The 3rd and 4th positions are still open and the battle seems to be fiercest here as Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United are srambling to take the 3rd place. Should Arsenal lose or draw and Tottenham wins by as much as 2 goals they would automatically displace Arsenal from the 3rd position. Should Tottenham lose or draw and Newcastle wins even by a lone goal, they would also displace Tottenham from the 4th position. If Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur both lose their matches and Newcastle wins, then Newcastle automatically takes the 3rd position and becomes guaranteed of a place in the Champions’ League.

Chelsea could still spring surprises to deny the other contenders of the 4th position. If they go ahead to win the Champions’ League in Munich on the 19th May, then they automatically qualify to represent England as the defending champions. In that case whosoever wins the 4th position on the league table would lose his chance and proceed to the Europa League. This is the more reason why the battle for 3rd place is so fierce because nobody wants to take chances.

What are we expecting?
Is this going to mark the arrival of a new giant in Manchester City? Should City win the League what would be of Manchester United and Chelsea who have exchanged this trophy between themselves in the past 7 seasons? Would City become perennial winners considering the array of stars they have or would their winning simply be a flash in the pan? Who joins Woverhampton Wanderers and Blackburn? Bolton or Queens park Rangers? These questions would surely have answers at the end of today.

What do you think? Who wins the EPL 2012? Who joins Wolverhampton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers on relegation?

Who Wins The Barclays English Premier League 2012?

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Life and Achievements of Rasheed Yekini

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Rasheed Yekini was one of the best strikers Nigeria ever had; his personal contributions to the Super Eagles secured the country a place at the FIFA Soccer World for the first time in USA’94 where he became the first Nigerian to score a world Cup goal.

Popularly called ‘Yeking’ in his hay days, he was one of the few players that sent cold sweat down the spines of their opponents whenever his name was mentioned. He had only 58 caps for his country and scored 37 goals, an average of 0.637 goals per match.

His achievements in the field of play earned him the ‘African Footballer of the Year’ award in 1993, making him the first Nigerian to achieve that feat. He consistently remained among the top scorers in all the Africa Cup of Nations tournaments he attended.

He had a wonderful professional career where he played in the Nigerian, Portuguese, Greek, Spanish, Swiss, Ivorian and Saudi Arabian leagues. Of particular interest was his scoring 34 goals in 32 matches for Vitoria Setubal to emerge the top scorer in the Portuguese League in the 1993/94 season.

Rasheed Yekini returned to the Nigerian Premier League where he had a brief romance with Julius Berger FC of Lagos and Gateway United FC of Abeokuta before he finally retired from the game that brought to stardom. By the time he returned to the Nigerian Premier League, he had already lost his goal scoring flairs; therefore the local fans could not really see much of him.

He had lived a secluded life since he was divorced in 1994; he lived with his two children and few tenants in his house at Ibadan in western Nigeria. It was even reported in the media later that he had run mad and was roaming the streets of Ibadan though no one could really verify the authenticity of the report.

The former African Footballer of the year died on Friday 4th may 2012 at a private hospital in Ibadan at the age of 48 years. He was buried in his home town Ira, Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara state in the North Central part of Nigeria.

He would fondly be remembered by football supporters in Nigeria, Africa and other parts of the globe where he plied his trade as a professional footballer. May his gentle soul rest in the bosom of the Almighty God. Adieu Rasheed Yekini.

Life and Achievements of Rasheed Yekini

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Chelsea Wins English FA Cup 2012

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It was celebration galore at Wembley stadium as Chelsea lifted the FA Cup for the 4th time in 6 years and their first major trophy under Roberto Di Matteo. Nobody gave them a chance considering their poor runs and their inconsistency in the league this season.

Ramires opened scoring for the Blues in the 11th minute after collecting Juan Mata’s pass from the midfield. The mercurial and fast paced midfielder simply outran Liverpool’s last standing defender Jose Enrique and drove a powerful shot that beat goal keeper Pepe Reina for the first goal. It would be recalled that his first goal was all they needed to qualify for the Champions’ league final at Camp Nou in their match against FC Barcelona last time.

It took Chelsea only 7 minutes on resumption of the second half to finish up their already started job. Didier Drogba scored the winning goal for the blues in the 52nd minute to become the first player to score a goal in 4 FA Cup finals in the 141 years history of the tournament. This victory also made it Ashley Cole’s 7th FA Cup title having won 3 with Arsenal FC previously.

Liverpool’s substitute, Andy Carroll pulled a goal back in the 64th minute but it was not enough to stop the Blues from winning the 2012 edition. The reds started to mount pressure in the second half of the match after the damage had been done. Andy Carroll almost got a second goal but his goal-bound header was saved by goal keeper Petr Cech before it could cross the goal line.

The London club now has silverware and has already qualified for the Champions’ League finals against Bayern Munich in Munich come 19th May 2012. They are also in the 6th place on the EPL table and can still play in Europe next season at least in the Europa League should they fail to lift the Champions’ League.

What happens if Di Matteo eventually wins the UEFA Champions’ League on the 19th of May in Germany? Would he then be confirmed as the Chief Coach of Chelsea or would Roman Abrahamovic still continue to search for a more experienced coach as many soccer pundits believe that Di Matteo does not have the pedigree to take the blues to greater heights?

Whatever be the case the coach has done remarkably well having won his first trophy with a team that was obviously in crisis when he took over from Andre Villas Boas few months ago. He has been able to return Chelsea to winning streaks again. Whether he remains at Stamford Bridge or not, he has proved his mettle and also proved a lot of pundits wrong.

Chelsea Wins English FA Cup 2012

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Fernando Torres Bundles FC Barcelona Out of UEFA Champions' League

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It was a moment of tears as FC Barcelona’s fans watched their darling team bundled out of the 2011/12 Champions’ League by a 10-man Chelsea FC at Camp Nou Tuesday night. The team failed to reach this year’s finals after the final result of the evening stood at 2 goals apiece.

The team had tried to overcome the 1-0 deficit they incurred at the Stamford Bridge a week earlier, but the resilient London club refused to budge to the Spanish side’s constant bombardment and made sure the points were evenly shared.

When the semi-final first leg was won in England, a lot of soccer pundits felt Chelsea’s victory was a flash in the pan. Andreas Iniesta and some of his team mates boasted they were going to teach the London club real soccer at Camp Nou; but that was not to be after all.

Barcelona started with their usual one-two attacking pattern and the blues were also prepared to match them strength for strength. They came with the mind to play a more beautiful football as against the compact defensive tactics used against the Spanish side in London. The first few minutes saw both sides making serious incursions into the opponents’ areas.

Within the first few minutes also Gary Cahill and Gerard Pique were down with injuries due to the momentum of the game. However, all that changed as John Terry made a very terrible mistake of hitting Alexis Sanchez from behind which led to the referee flashing a red card in Terry’s face.

Chelsea were now down to 10 men; it was particularly demoralizing because it was their captain that was involved. Cahill’s earlier exit seemed to compound the whole situation. No more central defender for the blues. This automatically changed Chelsea’s game plan to ‘mass defense’ to ensure they did not give away their 1 goal advantage.

Nevertheless, within a space of few minutes, Barca were already 2 goals up. At this time it appeared the blues would never make it again, but they fought back gallantly pulling back a goal at the added time of first half through Ramires, who received a pass from Frank Lampard and looped it over the on rushing Valdes.

The Catalan side became more desperate in the second half. They needed to now overcome Chelsea’s away goal advantage. But in the 2nd minute of the 3 minutes added time of the second half, Fernando Torres who replaced Didier Drogba received a pass from the defenders and overtook an unbalanced Charles Puyol. He took his time to dribble past Barca’s goal keeper and slotted in the ball for an equalizer. It was all over for FC Barcelona. The chance of playing in the finals evaporated with Torres’s goal.

With a 1-man advantage and with 2 goals up, Barcelona that were clearly favoured to win the match could not hold their own. Chelsea fought with 10 men and played a 2-2 draw at Camp Nou.

What happened to Barca?
They were obviously in a hurry to win the match. They went into mass attack, making them vulnerable at the rear. The ‘blues’ took advantage of that deficiency to undo them. Chelsea were very disciplined and never lost their focus. They tried not to concede more goals and they also got the important away goal they needed to put Barca under intense pressure.

Barca have not been able to win any of their last three matches (2 in the Champions’ League and 1 in the La Liga), making a lot of people to ask if Barca’s reign has finally come to an end. They have already relinquished the La Liga title to Real Madrid, and now they are out of the Champions’ League race.

I think Barcelona’s pattern of play is now being understood by others and they seem to have found the right key to unlocking their secret doors. What do you think? Is Barcelona’s reign finally over? Have they lost their usual confidence? Should Josep Guadiola change his pattern of play?

Fernando Torres Bundles FC Barcelona Out of UEFA Champions' League

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Real Madrid Dethrones FC Barcelona

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Coach Jose Mourinho’s dream of winning the La Liga may after all have been realized following Real Madrid’s defeat of FC Barcelona on Saturday evening to stay 7 points clear of their long time rivals with just four matches left for the season to wind up.

Sami Khedira’s 17th minute goal was all Real Madrid needed to put their opponent under intense pressure throughout the first half. Alexis Sanchez’s equalizer in the 71st minute could not save Barca as Cristiano Ronaldo sealed their fate in the 73rd minute to technically claim this year’s title for Madrid.

Barca has dominated Madrid and in fact the La Liga for some seasons now. The coming on stream of Jose Mourinho brought some ray of hope to Real; but after 2 seasons nothing happened as per way of breaking Barcelona’s dominance. He had to figure a way out.

Madrid has been really hot this season, scoring 108 goals as at Saturday to break the 107 goals record created in the 1989/90 season. Mourinho can only see himself now as a true champion after beating his fiercest rivals at Camp Nou. The 2012 League crown wouldn’t have made any meaning to the coach if he did not beat Barca to win the league.

As a matter of fact, soccer pundits now see him as a great coach, record breaker and also a record setter. Dethroning Barca is no mean feat. He continues to set new records and make the impossible possible wherever he goes. Who knows if he would also win the Champions’ league to become the first coach to win it with three different club sides?

What does this victory mean for Ronaldo?
Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 42nd goal of the league season on Saturday to stay a goal clear of Lionel Messi and has maintained his record as the first player to score over 37 goals for 2 consecutive seasons. Now they are sure of winning the league this season. If he ends up winning the La Liga title and emerges the top scorer and perhaps wins the Champions’ League as well, he may as well dethrone Lionel Messi as the reigning World Footballer of the year.

Only last week, Barcelona were beaten 1-0 at Stamford Bridge by Chelsea FC in the Champions’ League and losing to Madrid made it 2 losses in a roll. Does this mean that Barca’s reign is coming to an end? Is diminishing return setting in? Now the hope of winning the La Liga has evaporated and the hope of winning the Champions’ League is also dim.

This victory may just signal the arrival of a new Giant in Real Madrid and the exit of the World, European and Spanish Champions, FC Barcelona.

Real Madrid Dethrones FC Barcelona

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