Latest Sports News

Archive for 2011

The sad death of the Welsh national team manager Gary Speed a few weeks ago sent shock waves around the football world. Since that sad day, football fans from all around the country have been paying tribute to the former Leeds, Everton, Newcastle, Bolton and Sheffield United midfielder in a series of moving moments of applause. As well as an overwhelming number of replica shirts and scarves, some fans took the decision to send flowers to be left in front of the statue of Leeds legend Billy Bremner outside Elland Road.

Last week I was at Celtic Park for the Europa League tie against Atletico Madrid and, even there, during the minute’s applause, the enormous respect fans of both Celtic and Atletico had for Speed was clear for all to see. Football fans are often given a bad press – and a lot of times this is fully merited – but in terms of the genuine warmth of feeling they have shown for the late Wales manager they cannot be commended enough.

As a player, Speed was part of the title-winning Leeds United side of the 1991-1992 season. That season was the last league championship before what we now know as the English Premier League came into existence, and Speed played a pivotal role in United’s success. Forming a formidable midfield alongside Gary McCallister, Gordon Strachan and the combative David Batty, Speed played in 41 out of 42 league fixtures that season, and chipped in with a handy seven goals.

After his spell at Leeds, Speed got a dream move to his boyhood heroes Everton in the summer of 1996, and he went on to become club captain the following season. After his relationship with manager Howard Kendall soured, Speed was signed by Kenny Dalglish in a mid-season transfer to Newcastle United in February of 1998. The move enabled the Welshman to appear in two FA Cup Finals and a UEFA Champions League campaign.

The later years of his professional career were played out at Bolton Wanderers (2004 – 2008) before a loan move to Sheffield United at the start of 2008 that ultimately become permanent.

Speed was a committed, classy and consistent footballer, and his career stats show this. With 85 caps for Wales spanning 14 years, he was their most capped outfield player. His superb total of 535 Premier League appearances is only bettered by his compatriot Ryan Giggs and David James, and he scored in every Premier League campaign he took part in. Impressive stuff.

Although his managerial career started at Bramall Lane in the early weeks of the 2010-2011 season, it was to be a brief spell in charge as in December of 2010, Speed took control of the Welsh national side. Despite a difficult start that included heavy defeats to the Republic of Ireland and Scotland, he had presided over four impressive wins in his last five matches in charge. All the signs were that Wales were a national team very much on the up. Playing a high-energy, up-tempo game, Speed looked to be getting the most out of a promising crop of young players, led by Tottenham’s Gareth Bale and his new young captain, Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal.

The fact that he was doing such a remarkable job as Wales manager makes the sad news of his death even harder to comprehend, but the incredible outpouring of sympathy and warmth from football fans all over the country just shows the high regard all football fans, regardless of their allegiances, had for Gary Speed. You only need to look at how many people left their scarves and football tops, or even some fans living abroad chose to send flowers to the UK to show their respect. All these acts only show how much Speed will be missed.

The MotoGP world champion reached the final qualifying session of the U.S. GP. UU. with the unknown to know how he felt about the YZR-M1 after the sharp fall suffered during FP3 this morning. With time running out, and after setting the fastest time of the morning free, Jorge output when rehearsing with the traction control off and without shifting (action again active control), the Spaniard went down in the Turn 5, a violent exit that left Lorenzo ears sore in the land of Laguna Seca.

Recovered from the shock and somewhat bruised, Jorge Lorenzo has taken the lead in the qualifying session from the first bars of the same, down to 1’22 “with a time of 1’21″ 610, while nobody has been able to beat . With fifty minutes ahead, only Dani Pedrosa went to Yamaha, running to tens of Lorenzo and being the only two drivers who, for much of the session, have been shot in the range of 1’21 “.

With signs of discomfort, Casey Stoner has tried to keep pace with Lorenzo and Pedrosa, making down to 1’21 “to forty minutes at the end of the session. Frenchman Randy De Puniet fell at turn five, the one where George fell this morning, a few minutes later, Bautista also went down in Turn 3 when he was in eighth place on the timesheets.

Spies was another driver who has gone down even earlier, with fourteen minutes remaining, the Texan was the first time pole down so far marked by Lorenzo, albeit with soft tires. With a time of 1’21 “578 and pole time, Lorenzo returned to the attack to lower the record of his teammate at 1’21″ 336 and then 1’21 “221.

Not satisfied with this time, George has again beat its own record for pole with 1’21 “202 at its thirty-sixth round. Stoner, in his last outing in 0072 managed to complete Lorenzo, a second ahead of Pedrosa, which closes the front row at the pole 0178.

Spies, Simoncelli and Dovizioso up the second line, Dovi being the last of the riders who lapped in 1’21 “. Valentino Rossi opened the third line in seventh place, three thousandths faster than Hector Barbera, eight ahead of Nicky Hayden, another driver who has also been dropped without any consequences.

Crutchlow, Edwards and Bautista, twelfth, shape the fourth line; Abraham finished thirteenth, fourteenth and Aoyama Randy De Puniet fifteenth. Capirossi, Elias and close the grill Bostrom of the U.S. GP. UU.

We’re not talking about the 80 kW engine are the new kings of the legendary American circuit, this time the comparison has been done, apart from the speed, has yielded some interesting data regarding the electrical system reliability with respect to models such as the Tesla Roadster or the Mini E.

But to make sense of this news we have to go back a few months ago, when the founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, branded the Jurassic Leaf pack, to use a system to understand too conservative and classic, with respect to its modern cylindrical batteries. Now, after the experience at Laguna Seca, the pilots have ruled in favor of the Leaf because according to these “transmission, battery management system Battery Leaf are solid. To my surprise, almost all electric vehicles had used heat management problems after two to five laps.

In particular, the Tesla Roadster were getting dangerously close to cutting power to reach the fourth or fifth round. For its part, Nissan Leaf has worked smoothly throughout the day and the temperature gauge did not move the battery “Are times? Is unimportant but for those who need to satisfy the curiosity that the Tesla, with almost twice the power of the Nissan, managed to finish a lap in 1 minute 50 seconds, 20 seconds faster than the Leaf.

Coaches for college/professional teams as well as top tier personal trainers are integrating perhaps the oldest exercise equipment into cutting edge fitness routines.

Medicine ball training is one of the first recorded forms of strength and conditioning training. There are pictures of wrestlers training with sand filled bladders from Persia nearly 3000 years ago. The physician Hippocrates in ancient Greece had animal skins stuffed with sand and ordered his patients to throw them back and forth for injury prevention and rehabilitation. In the late 1800s, there was the, “Four Horsemen of Fitness” were the dumbbell, the Indian club, the wand and the medicine ball.

Some of the most popular exercises with a medicine ball are described below. It is important to select a weight that is comfortable and that you can do at least 10 reps comfortably. Be sure to warm up your entire body first, these exercises work all main muscle groups.

Medicine Ball Sit-up: Grab a medicine ball with both hands and lie on your back on the floor. Bend your knees 90 degrees, place your feet flat on the floor, and hold the medicine ball against your chest. Now perform a classic sit-up by raising your torso into a sitting position. Lower it back to the start. Rest for 30 seconds and repeat. Try to do 3 sets of these repetitions.

Big Circles: Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent; hold a medicine ball with your arms extended directly above your head. Without bending your elbows, rotate your arms counterclockwise, using the ball to draw large imaginary circles in front your body. Do 10 circles, and then reverse direction to clockwise and do 10 more. Rest for 30 seconds and repeat. Try to do 3 sets of these repetitions.

Squat to Press: Stand holding a medicine ball close to your chest with both hands, your feet just beyond shoulder-width apart. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and lower your body until the tops of your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Then simultaneously drive your heels into the floor and push your body back to the starting position as you press the ball over your head. Lower the ball back to the start. Rest for 30 seconds and repeat. Try to do 3 sets of these repetitions.

Woodchopper: Stand with your feet just beyond shoulder-width apart. With your arms nearly straight, hold a medicine ball above your head. Now bend forward at your waist and mimic throwing the ball backward between your legs, but hold onto the ball the entire time. Quickly reverse the movement with the same intensity, and return to the starting position. Rest for 30 seconds and repeat. Try to do 3 sets of these repetitions.

Standing Russian Twist: Hold a medicine ball with both hands in front of your chest and your arms straight. Without dropping your arms, pivot on your right foot and rotate the ball and your torso as far as you can to the left. Then reverse direction: Pivot on your left foot and rotate all the way to the right. Rest for 30 seconds and repeat. Try to do 3 sets of these repetitions.

A great site for basic information about the medicine ball can be found at exerciseball.net. There are short, informative articles also about the cousins of the medicine ball – the Swiss Ball, Fitness Ball and Gym Ball. They all make great workouts if you are looking for cardio, strength, pilates, yoga and general strength and conditioning. Surprisingly, there appears to be a current trend in offices to sit on exercise balls rather than traditional office chairs. Some of the physical and medical benefits are detailed at exerciseball.net. with some cool pictures!

Who hasn’t desired that once in a lifetime chance to do something great with their life? Essentially everyone in the world wants to have that experience. This is where Ivory FC found themselves after winning the Nivea sponsored Great Football Experiment.

The idea behind this great experiment was to give amateur football teams the chance to learn to practice like the England national team. They would be working with the coaches from that team and learning how to do all of the practice techniques and drills to become a much higher quality team.

This Nivea sponsored event is something that attracted the attention of literally hundreds of teams from all around the country. Everyone wanted to be part of this truly unique experience.

Playing football is not just a game for the people of most of the world. It is something that they live each and every day. It is an emotional experience when one’s team wins and brings great pride. Therefore, the chance to go to a Nivea sponsored football camp to learn from real professionals was truly amazing. The team that went was hoping to be able to learn enough to really step up their game. Some of the players on the team were talking about how they would be able to hopefully crush opponents after their experience practicing with the English national team.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the whole experience for those taking part was the chance to play against a team of England legends. It is just a little added bonus that Nivea worked to throw in for them.

The free media exposure and the absolutely wonderful time playing football are likely to encourage even more teams to apply when the opportunity arises again. It is only a matter of time before this experiment becomes a tradition.

The business rolling again. And that, although the situation was not too flattering a year ago. The number of teams on the grid had grown from 10 to 12. And despite this, the advertising spending suffered its biggest decline in five years, according to Formula Money sectoral report. The economic recovery in most major world markets, and the spectacle offered by the pilots until the last race of last season have worked the miracle. The teams have billed a $ 831 million (586.5 million euros) in respect of sponsorship, 9.6% more. Fit note that this item is on average 60% ​​of the income of a team. This ratio, of course, varies from Ferrari (the big bet of Santander to unify its brand) and Spain, which relies on the contributions of businessman Jose Ramon Carabante and Pilots. The Spanish team, incidentally, recently reached an agreement with El Corte Ingles.

The advertising landscape, in any case, it was changing as the season progresses. Ivba soon became clear that to be an open tournament, and this circumstance led to many advertisers were joining the circus as they advanced the big prizes. That was the case of the eight million dollars (5.6 million) who joined the British manufacturer Mercedes GP Autonomy software. The same investment held in the telecommunications Lotus Malaysian Maxis. Read the rest of this entry »

(F1 Rules Changes 2011) Like every year, Formula 1 is renewed quest to provide better show for the millions of fans around the world. However, this year the changes are noted for their innovation and little more for the correction of controversial articles.

As usual every year, the International Federation of Automobile (FIA) offers a number of changes in regulations, technical and sports, in order to correct errors or clarify doubts from certain controversial articles, as well as boost overtaking, the great battle of Formula 1 in recent years.
Looking to 2011, the FIA could not miss the appointment, but unlike the last two seasons, the changes are not as sharp, but not lose their importance.

World champion Globus uses vibrations to win.
The vibrations , initially used by astronauts, have become a fundamental and revolutionary method even in the F1 and sports a very high level. Fernando Alonso, 2 times F1 world champion, was the first driver to have understood the fundamental importance of the vibrations to improve their performance in competition .

Globus Physio Plate is in fact the only instrument for athletic preparation that generates accelerations similar to those submitted the pilot during a Grand Prix producing specific training to the stress of competition. “Fernando once again surprised everyone, how ‘ve come to the choice of vibration and Globus Physio Plate?

Rta: “To win at the highest levels, you should always take care of every detail and choose the solutions without admitting earning less. Fabrizio Borra, my physio staff, I was convinced of the value and importance of preparing with the vibrations and we chose Physio Plate platform because I want the best. “

Fabrizio Borra, therapist for over 20 years dealing with rehabilitation sport, both in research and in application, has worked with several elite athletes, and in recent months following the full-time Spanish rider, who is this year’s McLaren team organization.

He would have asked: “Why is it important to use the vibrations in Formula 1? ”
Rta: “I started to use the vibration for several years in rehabilitation and in athletic training with the support of friends and coaches with excellent results. I thought then to use the vibrations even for F1 because Physio Plate is the only machine that can reproduce gravitational acceleration on the track is going at a speed of over 350km / h. The results are indisputable proof.”

“Fabrizio, what programs work, in particular, can do with Physio Plate?”

Rta: “With Fernando we have several programs about specific muscle strengthening , of relaxation and rest as well as stretching (stretching) of the different muscles involved in training and skills. There is, of course, now I do not want secrets, obviously reveal. “

We return to Fernando: “How do you find this method of training?

Rta: “Fantastic. I have chosen a Platform Globus even at home, in my personal gym to train even when I’m away from the track, following the custom programs that Fabrizio has prepared for me and I put into the Physio Key, a key my personal needs.

An efficient and simple to perform that has made ​​even my family uses it, with obejtos clearly different. “

As everyone knows, this year is still a walk to Michael Schumacher, who has already won his 7th world title. What you may not know all the world, is that the car in Formula 1 is too important. But it has not always been so. These years have been bad for the sport, that, in addition to the racing cars have gotten worse, decisions made by managers are not correct. And to top it off, Schumacher has been seen only with a car infinitely superior to the others, and with his teammate, by contract, could not fight for the title.

15 years ago, in 1989, McLaren won 15 of the 16 World Cup races. Only one not won at Monza, that the two pilots crashed together. But the championship was equally exciting. Why? Because both drivers wanted to win the world championship. It’s that simple. And let the fight McLaren, not Ferrari. And yet, got the constructors’ title with 199 points, and even managed to create controversy at the end of the season on the same computer. All that the two drivers, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were competitive and wanted to win the world title. Schumacher has never had (because he did not want) a teammate who could cast a shadow. That has been so successful harvest, which once would have gotten nowhere near. If McLaren for 15 years has been appointed to Senna and Prost as number 1 and number 2, probably the Brazilian would have gotten a lot more than those 3 titles, which, although not reach even half of those achieved by Schumacher, he are considered the best pilot ever. At the time, opponents and the attitude displayed in the track.

Moreover, the F1 today is much easier. The cars are too powerful, they have too many electronic aids, and the pilot has little presence. Should look back and re-use slick tires. Reducing the power of the cars, provided to encourage overtaking. All this, together with a qualifying session like 10 years ago, and a rivalry on the track by all the riders much greater than it is now, would get to make the sport more attractive F1 yet. Much safer and as attractive as 10 years ago.

The distance achieved with each suit is very relative, depending on the speed with which each player hit with each club.

In general we can say that the distance is in reverse The numbering of the sticks, so the lower the club number, the greater the distance achieved.

The choice of a stick in each hole depends not only on the distance or that a club is best suited for a coup or another; before taking each shot, it is best to try to imagine the flight and the distance you intend to roll the ball, after that, we will be selecting the stick with which to us to play every shot.

In the following sections some indication of the achievable distance with each club, but each player should be your table with their distances with each club. THE DRIVER Put the ball in play Although the drive is not the major hit of golf, and although we should not fall on the topics that you should always drive and leave the parties are won in the 1 tee, the drive is the stroke that puts the ball in play on many occasions, and therefore should not be neglected. If your strokes with the drive are too short, or too far right or left, you will not have many opportunities to get a good result in the hole. Choosing a driver to choose the best driver does not just go to the store and buy the one that is using Tiger. Although it is a good quality suit may not suit our game. When you get to compare drivers, look for manufacturers that drivers categorized primarily in terms of head size (in cubic centimeters). Although this is an important factor, should not be the one to take into account in our decision.

The material of the head, face degree and type of rod are also important elements to consider. The head size of the head size, or volume, has a direct bearing on the permissibility (the amount of sorry we will not stick if the ball hit the sweet spot col). In other words, the greater the driver’s head will have less pressure off the tee in your having to hit the ball just to the center of the face to get an accurate shot. But the size of the head is not a cure for all your ills with the drive and you should not play a large extra drive head if you’re not comfortable with it. The material of the head There is no magic material that makes our blows with the drive to go further. The average player does not notice the difference between a drive and a titanium steel. Why put so much emphasis on making the heads with extremely hard and resistant material?. Metals stronger, lighter, such as titanium and new steels, allow manufacturers to make thinner heads. By making the head lighter we can make them larger.

The sides also produce thinner called spring effect which is that the face is deformed inward on impact the ball hugging and return to their normal way (like a spring) pushes the ball with more speed by throwing out . It’s technically called COR (coefficient of restitution) that are regulating the golf authorities to limit which drivers are valid and which are not. We should try different types of materials they find the one that best suits our game because it is a factor that can have an immediate impact on our total punches. Grades Loft loft angle refers to the steep face that is stick and has a direct relationship with the angle at which the ball goes out to beat her. When compared to choosing materials and size, choose the angle of loft of a driver is relatively easy. The higher the number the higher levels and reach the path less meters but will stick easier to manage. Read the rest of this entry »