FC BARCELONA: WORLD CLUBS CHAMPIONSHIP 2009 DRAW

Lakers Too Soft In The Middle

The one thing that concerns me watching the Lakers play last night against the Nuggets is that L.A. is still soft in the middle. Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom are not physical enough. Countless times I watched Pau Gasol allow his man to get offensive rebounds and easy lay ins because Gasol did not box out. Whenever the Nuggets run the pick and roll Gasol looks lost. He doesn't know whether to come out on the shooter or to roll with the guy setting the pick. So a lot of time he winds up floating in no man's land in the middle of the court. It's pathetic. Andrew Bynum is shooting way to many jump shots for a 7 foot center and is not rebounding or blocking shots consistently. He is playing just like Brendan Haywood. Odom is an enigma. He has too much talent to be as inconsistent as he is on the court. He should be a threat to get a triple double any night but has become quite content at being a bench player. He doesn't play hard consistently. Carmelo and NeNe are going! to get there points and rebounds. But there is no reason that Kenyon Martin or Chris Anderson should be doing anything at all against the Lakers front line. They are garbage players.

Nevada's Patraw exploring legal options

Former Nevada women's soccer coach Terri Patraw said Wednesday night she is exploring her legal options and hopes to make a decision within the next couple of days.
Patraw said she was fired on Tuesday. Nevada athletic director Cary Groth said Patraw submitted her resignation, which was accepted. Patraw said she quickly rescinded that resignation.

Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy Elected to National Soccer Hall of Fame

The National Soccer Hall of Fame announced today that U.S. Women's National Team stars, two-time Olympic Gold Medalists, and two-time World Cup Champions Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy have been elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in the Player Category.

USA 2, Canada 0

The U.S. Women's National Team defeated Canada, 2-0, on a hot and humid day at SAS Soccer Park on a first half penalty kick from Abby Wambach and a second half goal from Natasha Kai to record its third domestic win of the year.

The Atlanta Beat announces head coach

"Atlanta Beat General Manager Shawn McGee announced Gareth O'Sullivan as the first Head Coach of the Beat, a 2010 expansion team in Women's Professional Soccer.
A native of Ballina, Ireland, O'Sullivan is a nationally respected coach with proven success at the youth, college and professional levels. Most recently he served as coach to Afturelding and KR in the Icelandic Premier League.
Prior to his years in Iceland, O'Sullivan coached collegiately in the United States. From 1997 to 2003, he led Christian Brothers University (Memphis, TN) women's soccer team to five Gulf South Conference titles, en route to capturing the university's first ever NCAA II national championship in 2002."

Its clear that McGee HAS NOT done his homework.
Why do you ask?
1. Call Chairman Guðjón Guðmundsson at KR and ask hard questions.
2. What happened at Christian Brothers University?

Honda: Bye-bye Nicky

Tuesday, 16 September 2008
As come to no surprise at all when there was official announcement about Nicky's moving to Ducati. Everybody has talked about it for months. It's totally big 'secret' for all... But Nicky keeps silent, just giving a little clue, as in Harry Potter's movie... You know who??? Well, we all know he has signed his pen for Ducati months ago.

What is so special then? Nothing! Other than Honda is still struggling now, I know they want to keep him, but Honda can't do nothing because Re! psol intervenes too much for the team. Pedrosa is the golden kid for Repsol and no wonder when Nicky triumphed 2006 world champion, Honda and Repsol was just not 'very happy'... They wanted Pedrosa to win, but Hayden won the title. Honda at least thought.. well.. better than nothing at all :)

I am so sad seeing the situation in HRC now, Puig plays too much role for the team, he keeps triple jobs, as Honda Repsol reps, agency for riders (Pedrosa and others) and advisor in Dorna.. What is going on here? What happen to my Honda?

Regarding the sudden switch from Michelin to Bridgestone for Pedrosa in the middle of the season, Nicky said," This is not a team"... Rite.. this is not a team. This is Spanish's Kingdom in Japanese's Machine. Honda seems unable to control his own team, somebody plays too much role there. Nobody is happy and very contrast to Yamaha and Ducati. I don't believe Dovizioso will be able to kick the Puig's gang over Repsol next year (i! f he is to join them :) ). It is going to be a long drought fo! r Honda. How sad...:(

Santana the man?

The Brazilian club Flamengo said late yesterday that their 59-year-old coach Joel Santana had accepted an offer to step in for Carlos Alberto Parreira and coach Bafana Bafana. "Joel is transferring to the South African national team after the final of the Carioca championship," Flamengo's football vice-president Kleber Leite said on the club's website (http://www.flamengo.com.br/).

Once again, it appears that we are in the unusual position of hearing news concerning a new coach from a source far removed from our own official governing body.

Go for goals says Arendse

The message from Andre Arendse to Bafana Bafana is to go for goals. The former goalkeeper also added that Bafana should get rid of their 'Benni complex. The team take on Equatorial Guinea on Saturday, Arendse says the bottom line is that they (Bafana) have to win and to do it they have to score which they did not do against Nigeria.

Breakfast Headlines

The Springboks have an opportunity to silence all doubters when they face the All Blacks in Wellington on Saturday. New Zealand fans are still quick to remind Bok supporters that they won the World Cup without facing the All Blacks, who are also in the hunt to reclaim the number one ranking in world rugby. Former Bok centre, Hennie le Roux, says it's one of the biggest matches of the year...

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World Cup winning Springbok, Hennie le Roux, says both Luke Watson and Schalk Burger have a role to play in the Bok squad. It's expected that Burger will start on Saturday and many believe Watson could play off the bench...

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Springbok captain John Smit says there was nothing wrong with the 'old laws', but adds that he'll adapt quickly to the experimental laws when the Boks take on the All Blacks. The hooker has never played under the new rules.

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It's been confirmed that Smit will join the Sharks for the Currie Cup and next year's Super 14.

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Rassie Erasmus believes his former team, the Cheetahs will be too careful around the breakdown when they face Vodacom Western Province at Newlands on Saturday. He says they know Willem De Waal will punish any penalties.

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The Proteas are hoping Neil McKenzie's found form again after scoring 63 off 109 balls on the final day of the warm-up match against Somerset. But the bowling wasn't that tight. Spinner Paul Harris also got his first half-century as the match ended in a draw.

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Manchester United return to pre-season training today - obviously preparing furiously for their clash against Kaizer Chiefs at Newlands on the 19th of July. But all the talk is still around the future of Cristiano Ronaldo. Former United star Lee Sharpe says he should stay put...

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Organisers of the Vodacom Challenge say soccer fans can expect Manchester United to bring the flair that made them the b! est team in Europe this year. The Red Devils will take on Pirates and Chiefs, as Premier and Champions League title-holders later this month. The first match is United against the Amakhosi at Newlands on the 19th of July.

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Andy Murray takes aims for a semi-final place at Wimbledon today when he faces world number two, Rafael Nadal. World number one, Roger Federer faces Mario Ancic. The last time Federer lost on grass at Wimbledon, it was against the Croatian six years ago.

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China's Zheng Jie is already earned the title of giant killer at Wimbledon this year and yesterd! ay beat Nicole Vaidisova to reach the semi-finals. Both Willia! ms siste rs also went through and are favourites to reach the final.

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Lewis Hamilton says he is in the best form of his career heading into the British Grand Prix on Sunday. He's put his recent bad run down to bad luck and FIA imposed penalties and says the 10 point gap in the championship, behind leader Felipe Massa, is no problem.

Nadal king of the world

Rafael Nadal is officially the world's number one tennis player after he dethroned Roger Federer from the coveted top spot. The Spaniard put the cherry on top of the cake when he won the gold medal for tennis at the Olympics.

The next step for Nadal is the US Open which will take place on the 25th of August. The Spaniard is the top seed at the event, however he will face stiff competition as Roger Federer is the four time defending champions and close rival Novak Djokovic was runner up at last years event. If Nadal is successful in his quest for the US Open, he will be the first man to win, The French Open, Wimbledon and The US Open since Rod Laver in 1969.

A player like Nadal does not come along very often, his sheer brilliance when making a shot is wonderful to watch and I am sure he is destined for more greatness.

Pukke are Club Champs

Two penalties in the last five minutes by replacement flyhalf Marcel du Toit gave Pukke a nailbiting 17-12 victory over College Rovers in the 2008 SAA National Club Champs final played at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch on Saturday.

The Potchefstroom students, playing in their fifth final in seven years, trailed 9-8 at halftime and for much of the second half it seemed as if the KZN champions would hold out in a match played in stifling heat.

But Pukke! gradually fought their way back into the match, thank in no small part to centre and man of the match, Paul Bosch, and forward of the tournament, flanker Wilhelm Koch.

"I'm just so delighted for the boys," said Pukke coach Matthew Proudfoot. "It's been a long, hard year. We didn't play well but I think, as in the semifinal, our desire got us through."

Proudfoot said he gave his side a "tongue-lashing" at halftime, after which Pukke came back into the game. "We played better in the second half," he said. "We applied pressure on Rovers and they started leaking penalties, and that took the game for us."

The coach said Pukke were now aiming to become as successful on the club scene as Maties, whom they beat in the semifinal this year. "We know where we want to be and we have to go back and work towards that now," he said. "Everyone targets you the next year so we'll have a bull's-eye on our back in 2009. We really want to ta! ke a step forward next year because we haven't been the big do! g on a c onsistent basis. You take a step up one year and the guys take a bite out of you. But we don't want to slip back this time."

Proudfoot said he was impressed with the standard of rugby at the tournament, and singled out open clubs Rovers, Brakpan and SK Walmers. "They have really taken a step forward," he said. "They're putting their hands up and that can only be good for South African rugby."

Disappointed College Rovers' hooker and captain Alistair Schwikkard agreed. "This year the standard was definitely higher than in previous years, while it also gave us the opportunity to measure ourselves against the likes of Tukkies and Brakpan and now Pukke," he said.

Schwikkard, 24, in his first year in charge of Rovers, praised his players for their efforts but was left to rue a number of missed chances that could have given his side victory. "We thought we were in it, especially when we led at halftime, but at the end of the second half I felt we we! re our own worst enemies," he said. "We didn't hold onto possession when we had the opportunities to score. In the end the better side won but we're very disappointed."

Schwikkard echoed Proudfoot's view that non-university clubs were becoming a force in South African rugby once more. "The club rugby around the country has been centred around the varsities because that's where most of the hype is," he said.

"But we just showed that a club without a huge player base can perform alongside them, and I just hope that what we've done will encourage clubs like us who are in the same position. All hope isn't lost and hopefully we'll come back next year and give it another bash."

In the final, the appearance of Du Toit with ten minutes remaining signalled a change in Puk fortunes: no sooner had he run on than he gave his side a 14-12 lead and then almost immediately afterwards extended the gap to five points with a second penalty goal.

In! a tense final characterised by tight defence from teams, Pukk! e scored the only try of the match, through fullback Warren Pietersen in the first half, while Rovers had flyhalf Andrew Borgen to thank for their points by way of four well-struck penalties.

Du Toit's second kick in the dying moments sparked a frantic last-ditch effort from Rovers, who were seeking to reverse their 2006 final loss to the same opponents, but the Puk defence held firm to give the students their third title in five years.

• In a clean sweep of the awards on offer, Pukke left wing Lolo Waka walked away with the backline player of the year trophy to go with those won by Bosch (man of the match) and Koch (forward of the tournament).

ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN RUGBY UNION

Breakfast Headlines

It seems the disciplinary action against Luke Watson is off after SA Rugby failed to get the hearing constituted properly yesterday. Meanwhile, Watson's quoted in the papers this morning as saying he'll never play in a Bok jersey, but is committed to South Africa.

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Springbok afrigter Peter de Villiers se hy wil eers seker maak van sy eerste keuse wedstyrd 22 voordat hy nuwe spelers 'n kans gee. Suid Afrika sal presies dieselfde span span op die veld stuur wanneer hulle Saterdag kragte meet met Skotland op Murrayfield. Skotland het een verandering gemaak Rory Lamont vervang sy beseerde broer Sean.
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Bok skipper John Smit will play his 80th test to equal Os du Randt's record. He says playing prop is tougher than hooker.
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Arsenal fielded a team with an average age of 19, but still beat Wigan 3-0 to reach the League Cup quarterfinals. Carlos Tevez ended a 12 match goal drought as he helped Man United to a 1-0 win ov! er Queens Park Rangers.
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Ajax Cape Town and Santos resume their league campaigns. Ajax play Golden Arrows and Santos face Sundowns at Athlone Stadium at half past seven.
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Former Bafana Bafana striker Shaun Bartlett is ready to make a comeback and will begin training with struggling Premier Soccer League outfit Bloemfontein Celtic.
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Rain could impact the third and final one day match between the Proteas and Bangladesh today. The match starts at 14h30 at Buffalo Park.
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Today's big match at the Masters Cup in Shanghai is Roger Federer versus Andy Roddick. Both lost their first matches. Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic beat Nikolay Davydenko to become the first player to reach the semifinals. South african's Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie lost in the round robin doubles.

Chelsea under pressure for FA Cup win

Chelsea could bring some pride back to the team tonight. The Blues will face Southend in a FA Cup third round replay.

The London side could only manage a 1-1 draw with the League One side in their last meeting. Chelsea will be under pressure to get a good result after they were thrashed 3-0 by Manchester United last weekend.

They will want nothing less than a win as their last victory was against bottom of the log West Brom in December.

Southend will also fancy their chances this evening after holding Chelsea to a draw. However Blues coach Luiz Felipe Scolari says, his team must match their apponents desire.

"If our spirit is not the same spirit as Southend players it will be difficult to win but if we have the same spirit and if we are thinking about (winning) the FA Cup, we have a very good chance (to win) against Southend. We have good players and are a better technical side but we must prove it on the pi! tch."

Meanwhile reports have suggested that striker Didier Drogba has been told he can leave the club. This comes after the Ivory Coast international was dropped from the squad for tonight's match.

Scolari says he won't put pressure on players to stay if they don't want to.

Newcastle and Hull face each other in an all premier league affair, both teams will be looking to progress after they played two a 2-2 draw previously.

Arthur still to decide on final team for last ODI

Proteas coach Mickey Arthur says he's still undecided on which team he'll field in the fifth and final one-day international against Australia at the Wanderers.

South Africa wrapped up the series with a crushing 61 run win in the fourth ODI in Port Elizabeth yesterday.

Herschelle Gibbs came good in an emphatic way, scoring a majestic 110 to lead South Africa to a total of 317 - 6.

In reply, the Baggy Greens were bowled out for 256. Arthur says he's chuffed with the team's per! formance.

"We are very happy, it's something we worked quite hard at and to end our summer in this way is fantastic for us.

Arthur added they will be looking to finish Australia off on Friday.

"Something that we have spoken about a lot is when we have our opponents dead and buried we must go for the jugular. I have been so happy with the way the guys did it and the last three games have been perfect examples of that."

2009 Pre-Season Testing: Teams at Jerez & Algarve

Team were active in Portugal and Spain as Formula One made its official testing debut at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal, where Ferrari and McLaren kicked off their final test of the year and Red Bull, BMW and Williams continued their work at Jerez. McLaren's Gary Paffett and Ferrari's Felipe Massa were on hand at Algarve was Paffett was the fast man with a 1:31.788 and Sebastien Buemi continued to be the man at Jerez once again topping the timesheets with a 1:17.704. This time he was at the wheel of a Red Bull chassis instead of the Toro Rosso chassis he had been using.

Jerez Test Times

1. Buemi 1.17.704
2. Heidfeld 1.19.223
3. Hartley 1.19.586
4. Klien 1.19.655
5. Hulkenberg 1.20.704

Algarve Test Times

1. Paffett 1.31.788
2. Massa 1.32.926

John Aldridge: Clean Sheets Key To Liverpool FC Closing In On Chelsea

It was nearly the most satisfying of afternoons at Stamford Bridge last Sunday – until Didier Drogba decided to intervene.

There has never been a debate about Drogba's talent, the only question mark hanging over him, as we know, is his liking for acting the goat every now and again and there were signs of him doing the same again six days ago.

For some reason, though, he always seems to turn it on against Liverpool and by my estimation, Drogba has probably won six or seven games single-handedly during his time with Chelsea and Marseille.

The game, clearly, changed on one mistake from Javier Mascherano, which was so ironic as he had been the best player on the pitch up until that point but Drogba ruthlessly took advantage when he was eventually set free.

You have to say that his ball for Nicolas Anelka and the work he did to tee up Florent Malouda were two flashes of genius and! it has left many people saying that a tilt at the Premier League title is now beyond the Reds.

I don't, for one moment, think that is the case but there is no disputing we have left ourselves little margin for error now – at the very most, he can probably only afford to lose two more matches.

When you think we have got to play Everton, Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City twice, that is going to be some ask but you have got to take into account that the title will probably be won with fewer points this season.

The Premier League is ultra-competitive and the race to be crowned champions is bound to go right down to the wire but if we are going to be involved in the thick of it, we must work on the positives from Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool's defence has been criticised on several occasions this season but there were signs of things clicking back together and clean sheets will give us a platform to build on; the sooner we ! start keeping them, the better it will be for everyone.!

Javier Mascherano Reveals Crisis Talks Ahead Of Manchester United Showdown As Under-Fire Rafa Benitez Fights To Save His Job

Javier Mascherano has revealed that Liverpool will hold crisis talks as Rafa Benitez attempts to save his job ahead of the crunch clash with arch rivals Manchester United.

The Reds boss is under intense pressure after four straight defeats threaten to extinguish their dream of winning the Champions League and Barclays Premier League.

Tuesday's 2-1 loss at home to Lyon leaves Benitez battling to avoid the axe and Mascherano insists they must reverse the damage before it is too late.

'Rafa didn't say anything after the game, he didn't want to talk becaus! e everyone is disappointed,' revealed Mascherano.

'But I think on Wednesday we will talk a lot. We need to talk and we need to see all the mistakes we have done and try not to repeat them against United.'

The match against United at Anfield on Sunday is expected to ultimately decide Benitez's future. Defeat against their old foes would leave the Spaniard facing the axe.

However, Mascherano has attempted to shift the spotlight away from his manager by claiming that the players are to blame for Liverpool's woes.

'It's not the manager's fault. It's the players' responsibility,' he added. 'The manager can say how to play but on the pitch it's down to us. We were not intelligent.

'We are very disappointed as it was important for us to win. We lost, so we know we are in a difficult situation.

'We are a team that was doing well last season but we have got to keep going, we have to keep working really hard and we hav! e got to try to win the next game.

'United will be ! a massiv e test for us. It is all about confidence. When you have confidence you can do everything but we know the team is not playing well.

'Maybe a lot of players are not in the best form and it is difficult for the team and we are losing more confidence with these results.

'The supporters come to watch Liverpool win and it would be great for us if we could give them a victory on Sunday.

'In football, you never know what will happen but we can't afford to think about what has happened in the past. All we can think about is the future and we need to beat United.'

Liverpool could be without star duo Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard for the United showdown. Gerrard limped off after just 25 minutes against Lyon after aggravating his groin injury.

Fairclough: Reds Must Keep Rafa

Liverpool are facing the prospect of their worst run of results since the Bill Shankly era started 50 years ago - but under-fire boss Rafael Benitez has received backing from an Anfield legend.

Benitez is battling to overcome a horror injury list ahead of the make-or-break Champions League showdown in Lyon on Wednesday.

A loss there would mean seven defeats in eight games after Saturday's 3-1 setback at Fulham, when star striker Fernando Torres - himself struggling for fitness - was substituted at 1-1.

The Anfield club has never experienced such a run since Shankly was appointed, the! 50-year anniversary of the charismatic Scot's arrival in 1959 being December 1.

Former Anfield hero David Fairclough has supported Benitez, and said: "The club is moving in a certain direction, and this season it has been totally in Benitez's hands.

"So to sack the manager, or even think of sacking the manager, is only going to throw Liverpool backwards.

"We are going to have to stick with him and hope that we turn things around."

He added: "I know some fans who were disappointed when Rafa took off Torres at Fulham, but the lad clearly wasn't fully fit.

"Liverpool have been hit by injuries and illness, and clearly had there been any more injuries or problems late on in the game, it would not have been helpful for the team plan for Wednesday night.

"But I can see Liverpool getting the result they need in Lyon. When you are talking about a dozen or more players not being available, I believe things will look a! lot different come kick-off in Lyon.

"That situati! on will be turned around a bit, people will be fit by them, I'm sure.

"They go there knowing exactly what they have to do, and I believe Liverpool can win in Lyon. They have had situations like this before, and have produced the right results so they are more than capable of doing it again."

Benitez is facing a nightmare injury list which, apart from Torres and Steven Gerrard (both groin), sees Glen Johnson, Fabio Aurelio (both calf), Daniel Agger (back), Martin Kelly (ankle), Albert Riera (hamstring) and Andrea Dossena (groin) all struggling.

Additionally, Philipp Degen - red-carded at Fulham - was not named in the club's Champions League squad.

Liverpool also have four players - Alberto Aquilani, Martin Skrtel, David Ngog and Diego Cavalieri - suffering from a virus, although Benitez says: "It is not swine flu, we haven't got that here."

Benitez's own tenure as manager is now under close scrutiny inside and outside the club.
He is hopefully that top scorer Torres will be on the plane, but there is increasing doubt that skipper Gerrard will be.

Goalkeeper Jose Reina, who has confirmed he wants to sign a new contract, says of the worsening situation: "All of us have to keep everyone else's head up. In weak moments, strong people have to appear. I want to be one of them and support my team-mates if they need it.

"The key is to stay together and not read the critics. Belief is the word we need to use the most - belief in ourselves and our team-mates.

"We were a bit unlucky on Saturday. We didn't play as bad as at other times. It was not even close to our worst game.

"It's a tough moment but we have to stick together and try to sort things out on the pitch and in every single training session. We have pride in wearing this shirt and we have to defend it until the end.

"Any defeat hurts someone with ambition and someone who is hungry fo! r titles. But it doesn't matter how many times you fall down -! what ma tters is how many times you get up and keep trying to be the best.

"That's what we have to do now. We have to go back to our principles, sort out the problems we're having and go back to being the Liverpool everyone wants."

Jamie Carragher, who is hoping his own red card at Fulham will be overturned, defended Benitez's decision to substitute goalscorer Torres, saying: "Fernando has had a lot of problems lately and the longer he stays on the pitch, the more chance he has got of sustaining an injury.

"We know Fernando is not quite 100 per cent. If Fernando had got injured at the end, we would have had virtually nobody for the game in midweek but we still brought a Dutch international in Ryan Babel on. It should be enough quality."

Erika Sawajiri Beautiful Girl Model from Japan

She is my favorite girl, its name Erika Sawajiri. Virgin from active Japan is world modeling, catwalk and mannequin. She also drama player and is learning processing vowel. Erika wish to learn to become a singer.

VRRA releases 2005 schedule

Nov. 29

TORONTO, ON -- The Vintage Road Racing Association (VRRA) has unveiled a four-race schedule to celebrate its 25th anniversary season in 2005. Special events to mark the milestone will be held at each event.

After a Tune Up Day at Cayuga June 4 or 5 the season will commence in earnest with the Quinte TT at Shannonville Motorsport Park June 19-20. That will be followed by the Quebec GP at Autodrome St-Eustache July 23-24, the Vintage Festival at Mosport International Raceway Aug. 19-21 and the Runway Romp at the North Bay Airport Sept. 10-11.

"We are planning to make our 25th anniversary a stellar year for vintage and classic road racing in Canada with special races at each event to celebrate this Silver Jubilee," said VRRA president Ralf Scholtes. "Invitations are going out to all racing organizations who may wish to participate with us in our 25th year of vintage and classic racing and we invite any individual riders to come and enjoy the fun."

Formed in 1980 following a race at Mosport in 1979, the VRRA has grown to approximately 400 members in Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes and the U.S.

Inside Motorcycles // www.insidemotorcycles.com

Pasowisty clinches championships

From Race City Motorsport Park

CALGARY, AB -- Chad Pasowisty had no idea when the 2005 motorcycle racing season opened that he would finish it as a champion. In fact, the Edgewater, BC resident probably would have said he was retired. He was wrong.

When BC tuner Murray Newman, who provided the Kawasakis that Dale Yamada rode to the 2004 CMRA titles, called just prior to the first race of the 2005 season, Pasowisty decided that he wasn't all that retired after all.

On Sunday at Race City, Pasowisty set the seal on a very successful comeback season by taking both the Calgary Motorcycle Roadracing Association Superbike and Heavyweight Sport Bike championships.

At mid-season, after a couple of successful races, Newman and Pasowisty came to a parting of ways. Once again it looked as if Pasowisty was headed for the sidelines, but up stepped James McCarthy of Edmonton with a very quick 1000cc Kaw! asaki and the two quickly formed a very potent partnership.

Pasowisty finished second in Sunday's Superbike and Heavyweight races, trailing national rider Clint McBain, who won every race he entered on the weekend. In the final for the Superbikes Pasowisty admitted that he took it easy with the championship on his mind.

"I was going to stick with Clint because he was sort of showing me a good way around the track," Pasowisty said. "About halfway through I thought, 'Man, I can't let this [the championship] go,' and I started slowing down."

Pasowisty's only real challenger for the title, Mitch Rathje startled him on lap 8 by passing him for second on the back straight. "I started picking it up," Pasowisty recalled. "I thought, 'What am I doing?' and slowed down again."

Rathje was closing on McBain when the chain on his Yamaha broke, knocking him out of the race. Kel Davidsen of Calgary took over second place in the final standings w! ith his third place finish.

There was more grief fo! r Rathje in the Heavyweight race. A mid-race red flag for a crash stopped the entire field and the starting order was reset based upon the previous lap. Rathje's crew had calculated the fuel load a bit too optimistically and he ran out of gas halfway through the final lap.

McBain also won both races for 600cc bikes --­ Middleweight Superbike and Middleweight Sport Bike. Second both times was Guy Tomlinson, who finished the day as champion in both categories. Tomlinson even managed to lead each race, and had some close dicing with McBain before the latter finally took the point for good.

"Each time this weekend that he's been with me, he's taught me something," Tomlinson said, adding that he sees McBain as more a mentor than a competitor.

Carey Fougere of Calgary is also a double champion, earning the honour in both Sportsman and Formula II. Davidsen won the Senior Open title and John Jones is the champion in the Veterans class. Shawn Becker of Pe! nticton took the SV Cup title. Another BC rider, Shawn Jones of Coquitlam topped the Middleweight Sport Bike Amateur class and Cam Braaten of Regina was tops among the Heavyweight Amateurs.

Inside Motorcycles // www.insidemotorcycles.com

She is Thinking about e commerce

She is Thinking About e commerce

What a Series!

It happened again, I am absolutely hooked on the NBA. The Bulls-Celtics series has been completely amazing. What a matchup, with KG injured these two teams are a perfect matchup with Boston having a slight advantage of starting personnel but Chicago having a stronger bench. Last night Chicago took the Celtics into 3OT's before pulling out a victory. There are way too many highlights for me to go through each one but it seemed like every possession I was saying "Wow, that was clutch." Even the Royal D-Bag Joakim Noah made a nice play in the third OT. The game will now move back to Boston for Game 7. Both teams split the two games on the road and won their next home game, but I would have to think that Chicago comes in with the momentum. Either way, if you are not watching this series you should start watching now. Four of the six games have gone into overtime and another game was won on a last second shot. This series is the epitome of what NBA Playoff Basketball is and the r! eason why I watch every year.

Mike Brown Doesn't Get It

There are a million opinions and a million blogs out there about Mike Brown and his obvious lack of football intelligence, so I won't bore you with the monotony of another one. I only want to point out one thing; the reason he has never responded or seemed to care about all of the criticism is quite frankly, he doesn't get it.

ESPN recently did a writeup about the whole Mike Brown controversy. (It's a nice read and can be found here.) One quote from him really struct me as odd, but also explained a whole lot at the same time. That part of the story talks about Who Dey Revolution's attempts at a flyby during training camp with a banner reading "101-187-1...HIRE A GM!" Mike Brown's responds only by saying "Well, if they've got that kind of money, they ought to buy some tickets." (Seriously, that's the actual quote.)

Buy tickets?? That's his solution for the fans frustrat! ions?? He's actually suggesting that any frustrated Bengals fan should buy tickets, the one thing these frustrated fans do NOT want to do (as evident by the teams inability to sell out a single game when the last five consecutive seasons sold out.) I wish Brown would have finished by saying what exactly this would accomplish, other than making him more money of course.

AP All-American Team

Well today the 2006-07 AP All-American teams were announced. No real surprises here, but certainly some arguments could be made. None of these guys were on the preseason All-American list. I'll take you through the first teamers with some observations of each guy.

The players (in order of first-place votes):

Kevin Durant- Texas, (72 first-place votes) Fresh., 25.6 ppg, 11.3 rpg.
Unbelievable talent. He's been stealing the headlines all season long from Greg Oden. Out of all the tremendous freshmen playing this year, he was the best. Look at the! numbers he put up, and remember he did this on a Texas team that somehow got him the ball even less than they should have. He was the only guy selected unanimously, and his mom got to sit next to Danny Ainge during the Big 12 Championship game. So that's fun. She didn't even know who he was, but he certainly paid for it. He wasn't alone either as a number of NBA higher ups have been fined for discussing Durant. I think we learned the first rule about Kevin Durant... you do not talk about Kevin Durant. But people have been all season long, and it is well deserved. Unfortunately for the fans his Longhorns were upset in just the second round of the tourney to Tim Floyd's USC squad, robbing everyone a chance to watch this guy play on the main stage. I don't even have to say it bu! t he will be either the first or second pick in this year's dr! aft... i f he declares. Come on, like he's staying?

Alando Tucker- Wisconsin, (64) Senior, 19.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg.
Tucker doesn't exactly wow you, but he had a great senior season and led his Badgers to a #2 seen in the dance. Were they seeded too high? Maybe as they lost in the second round to 7th seeded UNLV, who haven't won a second round game since Grand Mama was playing for them. He was on the second best team in a weak conference, but they would have been much lower if not for his play. Tucker had a huge game against Pitt this year posting a 32-10 night, but had only 10 points in a tough loss to rival Ohio State back on March 11. ! 6'6'' but doesn't shoot the 3 ball well, and not sure what position he will be in the pros. A good college basketball player in the Big 10, so was Shawn Respert. Both deserved to be All-Americans, but an NBA game... we know about Respet, we will see with Tucker. For some reason he has "last guy left in the green room," written all over him. But he did receive the 2nd most first place AP votes! (Morrison and Reddick were unanimous... really? Well it's hard to be a good college basketball player.)

Acie Law IV- Texas A&M, (59) Senior, 18.1 ppg, 5 apg.
Law had! been a good player in hist first three season with the Aggies, but this year he became a great player. With a number of solid point guards, Law has cemented himself in the top tier. In early February during just a three day span A&M defeated both Kansas and Texas. Law hit for 23 points and 7 assists AT Kansas followed by a 21 point 15 assist night against Texas. Fun to watch, and hit countless big shots. How bout that double OT game against Texas where he went off for 33, and single handedly kept the game going. Depending on what other point guards enter the draft (i.e. Conley, Lawson, Collison...) Law should be a middle of the first round draft choice, and I was surprised he didn't get more first place vote than Tucker. Of course I don't get a vote, and just write a blog that no one wi! ll read... so take it or leave it.

Aaron Afflalo- UCLA, (52) Junior, 16.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 37.7 3pt %.
Afflalo declared himself for last years draft, but ultimately decided to come back to UCLA after the team made it all the way to the championship game, where the Bruins took a dump to the Gators. (So did Afflalo going 3-10 from the field with just 10 points.) His back court partner and classmate Jordan Farmer remained in the draft and went to the Lakers. Afflalo came back to school and is now ! playing in consecutive final fours. Solid shooter, better scorer, but maybe a step slow for the NBA. Has a decision to make of whether to comeback for his final season of eligibility or forgo it for a shot at the league. Afflalo struggled towards the end of the year with his shot, but looked good against Kansas. Two more solid games would certainly help his draft stock, which remains to be seen. Plus the dude is from Compton, so you know he's badass. Not sure if that will help his draft status.

Greg Oden- "The" Ohio State, (34) Fresh., 15.4 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 3.3 bpg.
You've heard it all before. This guy can dominate the game on the defensive end, he was playing with one hand for most of the season, and his kids swear he's only 19. Undoubtedly he will, along with Durant, be a top 2 pick in this years draft, assuming he's leaving school. Oden and Durant were the first freshmen since Chris Jackson in 1990 to be named AP first team All-Americans. (How sick was Chris Jackson? Changed his name and the whole thing went down hill, but that's a whole other topic right there.) The question is does Oden really deserve this honor. We can all agree this guy will be a great pro player, and everyone wants him to save their team, but if his name wasn't Greg Oden would he be on this list?! The nu mbers are good, but not amazing. I wouldn't say they're first team All-American good. Maybe the AP voters wanted people to be able to look back on their selections and see some decent pros making the list. I don't know. Morrison, Reddick, Sheldon Williams were all great college players, there is nothing wrong with that. Oden a great college player?

Here's some players who could make an argument to be on this list, in Oden's place or anyone not named Durant and Law, in my opinion.
Nick Fazekas- Nevada, Sr., 20.4 ppg, 11.1 rpg.
Had to be a little steamed being left off the first team list. He did make the second, but playing the WAC couldn't have hurt him as much as you might think. Both Morrison and Dan Dickau from Gonzaga were both first teamers, and even Blake Stepp made a second playing in the WCC. Will Fazekas be a better NBA player than Oden? Please. Fazekas will be lucky to be picked in the 2nd round, but 20 and 11 on an NCAA tournament tea! m, not b ad.
Jared Dudley- Boston College, Sr., 19 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3 apg.
ACC player of the year, Dudley led his team into the 2nd round of the tourney despite their best NBA prospect getting kicked of the squad. Dudley did a little of everything, was fun to watch, and put up numbers. Again not sure how his game will translate to the next level, but that's not the point when selecting the All-American team.
Jeff Green- Georgetown, Jr., 14.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.2 apg.
Big East player of the year, Green's NBA stock has gone up and up. Has led his team to both a Big East regular season and tournament title, and they're playing in the Final 4 this weekend. Stats don't do him justice, maybe that's the same thing you can say about Oden, but Green does deserve first team consideration.
Chris Lofton- Tennessee, Jr., 20.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 41.9 3pt %.
Afflalo is better than him? Oden had a better season? Lofton brought his team to the S! weet 16 even with a body painting coach. (I'm a huge fan of Bruce Pearl actually.) When Tennessee beat Texas back in late December, Lofton lit it up with 7 threes and 35 points 11 rebounds. Damn. In a game @ Vandy he went 11 for 15 from the floor including 6-7 threes en route to 29 points. He went for 25-20-24 in their three NCAA tournament games. Big fan of this guy. Just 6'2'' and more of a shooting/scoring guard, but again their NBA potential shouldn't be considered when selecting your All- American team.

For the record the guys I mentioned that did not make the 1st team still were recognized by the AP. Fazekas, Dudley, and Lofton were on the 2nd! team. (Joined by Noah and Hansbrough.) While Green got 3rd team honors with Aaron Brooks, Al Thornton, Aaron Gray, and Al Hortford.

My first team All-Americans? Tough choices but I'd have to go with Durant, Law, Lofton, Dudley, Fazekas. You ask 10 people and they might have 10 different combinations. Just another reason college hoops is so great. Final 4 weekend coming up. I had Georgetown winning the whole thing from the beginning so I got to stick with that. Don't think Jeff Green will mind he didn't make the AP's first team if the Hoyas cut the nets down.

-Keefe!

UFC 87 Results

Here are the results from Saturday night's UFC event, and you can see how the guys from the Brief did with their picks.

Ben Saunders def. Ryan Thomas via submission (arm-bar). Round 2, 2:28.

Chris Wilson def. Steve Bruno via unanimous decision.

Jon Jones def. Andre Gusmao via unanimous decision.

Cheick Kongo def. Dan Evensen via TKO (strikes) -- Round 1, 4:55.

Tamdan McCrory def. Luke Cummo via unanimous decision.

Demian Maia def. Jason MacDonald via submission (rear-naked choke) -- Round 3, 2:44.

Kenny Florian def. Roger Huerta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Rob Emerson def. Manny Gamburyan via TKO (strikes) -- Round 1, 0:12.

Brock Lesnar def. Heath Herring via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26).

Georges St. Pierre def. Jon Fitch via unanimous decision (50-43, 50-44, 50-44), to retain his Welterweight Championship.


The Spor! ts Brief Picks

Besse: 8-2
Keefe: 6-4

UFC 2009 Undisputed

Perhaps the next great video game is hitting stores in 1 week. That game? UFC 2009 Undisputed. It will be the first UFC game for the XBOX 360 and PS3, and the first UFC game in about 5 years. The demo was released a few weeks back and I immediately downloaded it on the 360. It allows you to fight as either Shogun or Liddell and you can even go through the tutorial. Simply put, the game is awesome. I will be getting it May 19th. All the moves are there and it is quite realistic. In addition to the great fighter graphics they leave no stone unturned with the likes of Michael Goldberg and Joe Rogan on commentary and the great Bruce Buffer on the in-ring microphone.

My only hesitation was, what would the roster look like? How many fighters would be in there, would it only be the top few guys then a bunch of dudes from the reality show? Well take a look at the playable characters in UFC 2009 Undisputed... I can really only think of 1 very notable omission, Randy Couture.

Heavyweights: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Brandon Vera (LH), Gabriel Gonzaga, Cain Velasquez, Cheick Kongo, Eddie Sanchez, Heath Herring, Andrei Arlovski, Mirko Crocop Fabricio Werdum, Tim Sylvia, Mark Coleman, Antoni Hardonk and Justin McCully

Light Heavyweights: Chuck Liddell, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Forrest Griffin, Tito Ortiz, Keith Jardine, Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio "Sho! gun" Rua, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Stephan Bonnar, James I! rvin, Wi lson Gouveia (MW), Houston Alexander, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Thiago Silva, Tim Boetsch and Ryan Bader (DLC).

Middleweights: Anderson Silva (LH), Rich Franklin (LH), Dan Henderson (LH), Michael Bisping (LH), Kendall Grove, Chris Leben, Jason MacDonald, Nate Marquardt, Drew McFedries, Ricardo Almeida, Evan Tanner, Yushin Okami, Demian Maia, Martin Kampmann (WW), Amir Sadollah (WW) and Thales Leites.

Welterweights: Georges St. Pierre, Matt Hughes, Matt Sera (LW), Jon Fitch, Karo Parisyan, Josh Koscheck, Diego Sanchez, Mike Swick (MW), Marcus Davis, Thiago Alves, Chris Lytle, Ben Saunders, Josh Burkman, Kyle Bradley, Matt Arroyo and Anthony Johnson.

Lightweights: BJ Penn (WW), Sean Sherk (WW), Kenny Florian, Roger Huerta, Joe Stevenson, Mac Danzig, Nathan Diaz, Spencer Fisher, Tyson Griffin, Gray Maynard, Thiago Tavares, Joe Lauzon, Rich Clementi, Mark Bocek, Hermes Franca, Frank Edgar! and Efrain Escudero (DLC).

As you can see some of the fighters can partake in 2 different wait classes while a couple guys have to be downloaded. Throw in the fact that you can create your own fighter and there's a career mode, I am on board.

I'll let you know more about the game in a week.

-Rich Keefe

Keefe's 2009-2010 NBA Preview: Eastern Conference

Yesterday I gave you the Western Conference from top to bottom, today it's the Eastern Conference. Tomorrow I will conclude my 2009-2010 NBA Preview with Awards, Conference Finals match ups, and of course the NBA Champion. To the East!

Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
3. Orlando Magic
4. Washington Wizards
5. Miami Heat
6. Chicago Bulls
7. Toronto Raptors
8. Indiana Pacers
9. Atlanta Hawks
10. Detroit Pistons
11. New York Knicks
12. Philadelphia 76ers
13. Charlotte Bobcats
14. Milwaukee Bucks
15. New Jersey Nets

1. Celtics
Who's Back: Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis, Eddie House
Who's New: Rasheed Wallace, Marquis Daniels, Sheldon Williams, Lester Hudson

Turns out Glen Davis is even a bigger idiot then we thought. The big fella who signed a 2 year $6.! 5 million dollar deal in the off season was messing around with a friend and broke his thumb, he is now out 6-8 weeks. Not good, when it would have been ideal to ease KG back from his injury. This is annoying, but I still think the C's are the best in the East when healthy.

2. Cavaliers
Who's Back: LeBron James, Mo Williams, Big Z, Boobie Gibson, Anderson Varejao, J.J. Hickson
Who's New: Shaquille O'Neal, Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon

Everyone is talking about Shaq, but I think their best moves this off season were the signings of Parker and Moon. Two guys with some size at the 2-3 spot who can knock down the 3. Delonte West is an unknown, so suddenly those guys are even more important. And of course they have LeBron.

3. Magic
Who's Back: Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson, Marcin Gortat
Who's New: Vince Carter, Matt Barnes, Brandon Bass, Ryan Anderson, Jason Williams (white one o! ut of Florida, not the one who killed his driver or the one wh! o ruined his NBA career wrecking a motorcycle.)

The East is clearly a 3 team race, and each team went out and tried to improve their club. Orlando is the defending Eastern Conference champions... which no one seems to remember. I like the addition of Vince, and Barnes and Bass were 2 guys I really wanted the Celtics to bring in. So even though they lose Hedo, I think the Magic are even better than they were last year. (Note: Rashard Lewis out the first 10 games after getting busted for roids.)

4. Wizards
Who's Back: Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, Brendan Haywood, Nick Young, Andray Blatche, DeShawn Stevenson
Who's New: Mike Miller, Randy Foye

If healthy this is a scary team, but of course, they are never healthy. Season hasn't even started and Jamison is already expected to miss the first 8-13 games. Gilbert played in only 2 last year, making it a lost year. When they go small thought look out: Arenas, Foye, ! Miller, Butler, Jamison... fun to watch, should be the highest scoring trio in the league too with Gilbert, Caron, and Antawn.

5. Heat
Who's Back: Everyone
Who's New: Q

D-Wade is the 2nd best player in the NBA in my mind. If he can get anything out of Jermaine O'Neal and Haslem up front, and if 2nd year players Beasley and Chalmers get better they should be a playoff team.

6. Bulls
Who's Back: Derrick Rose, John Salmons, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Kirk Hinrich, Brad Miller
Who's New: James Johnson, Jannero Pargo, Taj Gibson

Ben Gordon is gone, but I expect Derrick Rose to be even better than his Rookie of the Year campaign a season ago. They still got Hinrich coming off the bench and a pair of 1st round picks (Johnson & Gibson) who should contribute. Normally this might not be a playoff team, but the East is weak.

7. Raptors
Who's Back: Chris ! Bosh. Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani
Who's New: Hedo Turk! oglu, De Mar DeRozan, Marco Belinelli, Jarret Jack, Amir Johnson, and Sports Brief favorite Antoine Wright

If they put it all together this could be a tough team, but thats a big if. DeRozan may have been the best athlete in the draft, how will he develop? Is this Bosh's farewell season in Toronto? Does he go out with a bang or 1st round play off exit... again.

8. Pacers
Who's Back: Danny Granger, Troy Murphy, T.J. Ford, Brandon Rush, Roy Hibbert, Jeff Foster
Who's New: Dahntay Jones, Tyler Hansbrough, Earl Watson

Like in the West I had to go with a sleeper to make the playoffs. This pick is based soley on how good I think Danny Granger is. Because the East has only 3 dominate teams, I believe 1 elite player can get his team into the playoffs (See: Wade, Rose, Bosh... now Granger.)

9. Hawks
Who's Back: Everyone
Who's New: Jamal Crawford, Joe Smith

Yes Joe Johnson should be on ! the same list as Granger, Bosh, and Rose, but I have a feeling the Hawks fall off a bit this year. They've gotten better each of the last 4 seasons, however I believe they have hit a wall. How much further can they get with a core group of Bibby (aging), Johnson (legit), Marvin Williams (sucks), Josh Smith (all over the place), and Horford (above average rebounder)?

10. Pistons
Who's Back: Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey, Kwame Brown, Jason Maxiell, Will Bynum
Who's New: Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Chris Wilcox

Detroit forgot that all the good free agents were next off season and blew all of their money on Gordon and Villanueva this year. I just don't like this team. I wish a hardy goodluck to 1st year coach John Kuester.

11. Knicks
Who's Back: David Lee, Wilson Chandler, Al Harrington, Danilo Gallinari, Chris Duhon, Nate Robinson, Larry Hughes, Eddy Curry
Who's New:! Darko!, Jordan Hill

Trivia question, who led the N! BA in do uble-doubles last year? Answer: David Lee. Pretty ridiculous considering Lee plays in the same league as Dwight Howard. 1st round pick (8th overall) Jordan Hill has "a ways to go" according to head coach Mike D'Antoni, that sums up the entire squad I'd say. They'll score a lot and lose a lot. What happens if they don't get LeBron? Could Gallinari break out this year?

12. 76ers
Who's Back: Elton Brand, Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams, Samuel Dalembert, Willie Green, Marreese Speights
Who's New: Jason Kapono, Rodney Carney, Jrue Holliday

Andre Miller is gone, meaning Lou Williams gets the job at point. What about 1st round pick Jrue Holliday? Well the guy who I said needed to return to school more than any other underclassmen, did not play in a single preseason game for Philly, and not because of injury, but rather he is so far out from the rotation. Nice.

13. Bobcats
Who's Back: Ger! ald Wallace, Raymond Felton, Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, Vlad Radmanovic, D.J. Augustin, Nazr Mohammed
Who's New: Tyson Chandler, Gerald Henderson

Still everytime I hear the name Bobcats or see their uniforms I have to convince myself it's an NBA team. Seems more like an NBDL or Arena Football or something. Raja Bell is putting off surgery, but if he reinjures his left wrist he could be out for good. Okafor out Chandler in, means less than their 35 wins from a season ago.

14. Bucks
Who's Back: Michael Redd, Andrew Bogut, Luke Ridnour, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
Who's New: Hakim Warrick, Brandon Jennings, Carlos Delfino, Kurt Thomas, Ersan Ilyasova

They lose Villanueva and Sessions from a 34 win team, of course Michael Redd played just 33 games due to injury. Speaking of injury former 1st rounder Joe Alexander (who sucks) is out 8-12 weeks. I do like Brandon Jennings a lot, and he is a reason to watch a Bucks game thi! s year.

15. NetsWho 's Back: Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, Yi Jianlian, Bobby Simmons, CDR, Josh Boone
Who's New: Courtney Lee, Terrence Williams, Skip to my Lou, Russian Owner

Like the Kings, Bucks, and T-Wolves, NJ should watch a lot of college basketball this year. There is a tremendous Freshmen class this year with the likes of Wall, Favors, Cousins, Henry, Sidney, and Stephenson. Goodluck Nets!

-Keefe

Enjoy the 1st Night of the NBA Season! Celtics/ Cavs, Wizards/Mavs, Rockets/ Blazers, and Lakers/ Clippers. I'll have all the awards and pick my NBA Champ tomorrow.

Essex secure promotion to division one

Essex pipped Northamptonshire to the second promotion place by chasing down a target of 359 in 65 overs with five overs to spare against Derbyshire at Derby.

An unbeaten 108 from 59 balls by Dutch international Ryan ten Doeschate swept Essex to victory and £70,000 in prize money.

Ten Doeschate shared a sixth-wicket stand of 156 in just 17 overs with his captain, Mark Pettini, who hit the winning run.

Unbeaten champions: Durham became the first side since Warwickshire in 2004 to go through a First Division campa! ign unbeaten after they drew with Worcestershire at New Road. But the home side completed their worst campaign since 1928, the only other season they failed to win a championship game.

Steve Davies, who was due to fly to South Africa last night as a standby for England's ill wicketkeeper Matt Prior, steered Worcestershire to safety with 97 from 75 balls in his final championship innings before joining Surrey.

Runners-up: Nottinghamshire collected the runners-up cheque for £225,000 by beating relegated Sussex by 35 runs at Trent Bridge.

Samit Patel's career-best six for 84 helped send Sussex to their sixth defeat of the season.

Valedictory innings? Surrey's Jonathan Batty made 120 to help secure a draw against Glamorgan at The Oval. Batty has a year left on his contract but his future is in doubt because of Davies's arrival.

Burnley 2 Birmingham City 1

The Premier League match between Burnley and Birmingham City at Turf Moor on Saturday Oct 3rd 2009.

Burnley maintained their remarkable 100 per cent home league record when Birmingham City, promoted with them last season, were comprehensively beaten in a one-sided Turf Moor encounter.

Steven Fletcher! and Andre Bikey delivered their first Premier League goals as Burnley followed up previous home victories over Manchester United, Everton and Sunderland to establish a comfortable mid-table position.

Scottish international Fletcher, a £3 million summer-signing from Hibs, opened the scoring shortly into the second half before striking a post and forcing a splendid save from the visiting goalkeeper, Joe Hart.

Bikey's second 10 minutes later merely emphasised home superiority and Sebastian Larsson's added time free-kick was a mere consolation for out-classed Birmingham.

Burnley's early urgency suggested the visitors might be in for a torrid time and so it proved. Despite playing into the teeth of a fierce wind, they monopolised the first half although it was Birmingham, having sustained early pressure, who created the best opportunity of a somewhat ragged opening period.

Burnley's earl! y authorities stemmed from the first minute when Fletcher's ! attempt was deflected. Tyrone Mears shot wide and Robbie Blake delivered into the hands of Hart before the visitors responded with a 23rd-minute Rodger Johnson shot that was blocked.

Wade Elliott set up David Nugent and the striker's low shot brought a fine diving save from Hart.

A further Bikey shot came back off the visiting defence before the visitors replied to create the best opening so far. Johnson drove hard and low across the face of the home goal but Lee Bowyer with the goal invitingly at his mercy finished wretchedly.

But Burnley finally made their superiority count in the 52nd minute when Fletcher drove low under Hart following a surging run by Mears.

Five minutes later Fletcher almost had a second when his shot came back off a post after Blake had set him free and then in 59th minute Fletcher was again denied, this time by Hart.

However, a second quickly followed for Burnley and after playing a! neat one-two with Nugent Bikey drove beyond Hart before Larsson gave the score respectability with his added time free-kick.

Liverpool 1-2 Lyon

Liverpool conceded an injury-time goal which puts their Champions League future in grave doubt.

An injury-ravaged home side had produced a display of spirit and effort which did not deserve to see them finish as losers.

But they have now lost four games in succession for the first time since 1987 as their season plunges into despair.

Captain Steven Gerrard's groin problem forced him off in the first half, as Liverpool lost this Group E match to a side who no! w top the group with nine points.

Liverpool led at the break through Yossi Benayoun, but Lyon slowly edged their way towards victory with goals from substitutes Maxime Gonalons and Cesar Delgado.

An air of nervous tension hung over Anfield, such were the levels of distress from fans unused to their side losing with such regularity.

The beach-ball embarrassment of the defeat at Sunderland just about summed up Liverpool's indifferent season.

Their form has been poor, a situation made worse by having their squad systematically deprived of its best players.

Fernando Torres was again out, while Glen Johnson was missing with a groin injury. At least Gerrard was back - but that lasted only 25 minutes.

Teenager Martin Kelly, Whiston-born and academy produced, made his full debut at right-back, having had just a handful of minutes prior to this as a late substitute against PSV Eindhoven in Holland last December in this competition.

Fa! cing them were a clever, experienced team - full of neat passi! ng, soli d possession and pacy movement which threatened a fragile Liverpool.

It needed a close-range save from Jose Reina to keep out a powerful header from Argentina striker Lisandro before patched-up Liverpool - who had David Ngog in Torres' role - continually wasted possession.

Former Liverpool and Lyon boss Gerard Houllier watched from the directors' box as the Reds struggled, while co-owner George Gillett was also in the posh seats, fresh from his trip to Saudi Arabia.

And there were signs of Liverpool defiance, a Dirk Kuyt headed disallowed for offside from Gerrard's deep cross.

That was virtually the only contribution from the skipper, who trudged off to be replaced by Fabio Aurelio. The groin injury sustained on England duty had given way again. No real damage we were told, but facing Manchester United on Sunday looks a long shot.

It needed a performance of defiance, spirit and sheer desire from Liverpool to survive this. And there were sig! ns to warm the Kop.

Defender Cris was booked for a foul on Kuyt, the Dutchman's knee crashing into his head as he fell. The Brazilian did not last much longer, carried off in a daze.

Liverpool were beginning to show genuine fight now, and somehow France number two 'keeper Hugo Lloris kept out an Ngog effort after fine work by Kelly, Kuyt and Aurelio.

Aurelio had a powerful header saved by Lloris' left-hand from Kelly's run and cross, before Liverpool took a 41st minute lead.

Benayoun showed calmness to lift the ball over Lloris from eight yards, after Aurelio's cross evaded Kelly in the six-yard box.

Ngog was booked for a foul on Jeremy Toulalan, then Lyon skipper Sidney Govou was cautioned for flattening Emiliano Insua.

Benayoun, with a fine header, and Ngog - from eight-yards - could have stretched Liverpool's lead in the second period, while Lloris needed to be at full stretch to keep out Kuyt's header from Aurelio's cross.

Lyon sent on striker Bafetimbi Gomis to partner Lisandro in ! place of Ederson - and they began to stretch Liverpool.

Bosnian teenager Miralem Pjanic, followed relentlessly by Lucas, was starting to find space to produce the sort of tricks which have helped his country into the World Cup play-offs.

The pressure increased and Lyon equalised in the 72nd minute.

Liverpool failed to clear a corner, Reina made two outstanding saves from Toulalan and Govou before the ball reached substitute Gonalons, who dived to head home.

The hosts then lost young Kelly with an ankle injury, with Martin Skrtel taking over in a defence under increasing pressure.

Benitez sent on Andriy Voronin for Benayoun, to boos from the Kop, as Liverpool searched for a second.

But the decider came in injury-time from substitute Cesar Delgado, arriving at the far post to sidefoot past Reina from Govou's cross.

Jonzon leads in Spain

Michael Jonzon, with one European Tour win in 290 starts leads the Castello Masters in Spain with a round to play.

The former Portuguese Open champion is 158th on the money list and needs to finish first or second to be sure of keeping his Tour card.

But even after a six-under-par 65 swept him to 16 under, Jonzon is under enormous pressure because joint second are defending champion Sergio Garcia on his home course and also Martin Kaymer, who can return to the top ! of the Order of Merit by winning his first event since breaking toes in a go-kart crash in August.

For a while it looked as though England's Sam Hutsby, playing only his third Tour event as a professional, was going to provide the story of the day.

The 20-year-old from Hampshire, runner-up in the British Amateur in June and a Walker Cup debutant last month, kept pace with Jonzon for much of the round, but he bogeyed the last for a 66 that sent him down to fourth place on 14 under.

Jonzon, fourth at halfway two behind Kaymer and Australian Robert Allenby, turned in 33 and then added further birdies at the 10th, 13th and 14th before parring in.

He is 482nd in the world, whereas Garcia is ranked 10th and Kaymer 12th.

Hutsby, though, is down at 1,374th - the position given to all those who have zero ranking points.

On his two previous starts since switching codes he missed the cut at the Dunhill Links and Madrid Masters, but this time h! e has been making the most of an invitation from tournament ho! st Garci a.

"I'm enjoying every minute," he said.

"It's not really sunk in yet that I'm playing on Tour. Hopefully I can sleep well tonight and then keep to my course management plan under pressure."

If he was to win he would instantly earn a two-year exemption without the need to go to the qualifying school.

Garcia shot a bogey-free 67, saving par from 18 feet on the last after driving into sand, while Kaymer came back from a double bogey at the short second to record a 68.

Allenby dropped two shots on the second after going over the green and then chipping into water and fell back to seventh with a level par 71.

Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie, meanwhile, is in a share of 12th place after a day that began in nightmare fashion, but ended on a real high.

Completing his third round first, Montgomerie had double bogeys at the 16th and 17th to fall 10 behind, but then birdied the last and followed with a 64 that was his lowest round s! ince his last victory at the 2007 European Open.

"I've gone back to a short putter and am putting much better," he said.

"But this year has a complete and utter ... one to write off.

"I need to go and get my game sorted out - my irons are not accurate enough."

He is 98th on the money list and has not finished that low since he turned professional in 1987.

Italian Serie A Saturday Review

Napoli moved up to fifth in the Serie A table with a dramatic yet thoroughly deserved 3-2 win at Juventus.

Napoli came from two goals behind for the second time this week but this time went one better than they did against AC Milan on Wednesday by winning in Turin.

David Trezeguet's goal in the 35th minute and a Sebastian Giovinco strike early in the second half put the Bianconeri in control.

But Napoli's never-say-die attitude saw them reduce the arrears th! rough Marek Hamsik five minutes later before Jesus Datolo scored a deserved equaliser in the 64th minute.

Hamsik's seventh goal of the season was enough to win the game for Walter Mazzarri's resurgent Napoli, who have picked up more points in their last four games than they did in the previous seven under Roberto Donadoni.

Marco Borriello netted both goals as Milan climbed to fourth with a 2-0 victory over Parma at the San Siro.

Borriello was the Rossoneri's hero in a lacklustre clash between two sides who showed more tiredness than lucidity in their third game in six days.

Borriello opened the scoring in the 12th minute and added the winner in stoppage time to give Milan the best possible result in preparation for the visit of Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Match Reports

Juventus 2-3 Napoli

AC Milan 2-0 Parma