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Monday, 2 April 2012

Barclays Premier League: April fools Liverpool

Liverpool looked like a bunch of April fools as they were outperformed by Newcastle at the Sports Direct Arena. A brace from January signing Papiss Demba Cisse was enough to secure victory for the Magpies, who are still feasibly in with a chance of qualifying for the Champions’ League.

Date: 1st April 2012
Venue: Sports Direct Arena
Attendance: 52,363
Score: 2-0
Scorers: Cisse (19,59).
Yellow Cards: Perch, Tiote, Cisse; Flanagan, Shelvey, Carroll.
Red Cards: Reina.

Super Eight T20 Cup Sialkot Stallions Won


Sialkot Stallions defended their title of the Faysal Bank Super Eight Twenty20 Cup defeating Karachi Dolphins by an impressive margin of eight wickets here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Chasing a rather difficult target of 168, captain Shoaib Malik and Haris Sohail hit unbeaten half-centuries to help the Stallions complete the victory in 18.5 overs.

Summarised Scores:
Sialkot Stallions 170-2 (Shoaib Malik 62*, Haris Sohail 55*)
Beat
Karachi Dolphins 167-8 (Khalid Latif 81*, Raza Hasan 4/33) by 8 wickets
Man of the Match: Shoaib Malik, Haris Sohail
Batsman of the Tournament: Khalid Latif
Bowler of the Tournament: Raza Hasan
Wicket-keeper of the Tournament: Shakeel Ansar
Fielder of the Tournament: Shoaib Malik

Diego Maradona blasted fans as “cowards”


Diego Maradona blasted fans as “cowards” on Thursday after he rushed from his dugout to the stands to rescue his girlfriend from an ugly confrontation, media reports claimed. The Argentine legend had just seen his Al Wasl team lose 2-0 to Al Shabab in the UAE league when players’ wives and girlfriends had to be escorted out of the Al Mamzar stadium. The trouble started, according to the Gulf News, when Ciel, a Brazilian striker who had scored one of the goals, was targeted by Argentine supporters amongst Maradona’s entourage. Al Shabab fans then unleashed insults in the opposite direction with Maradona’s partner Veronica Ojeda and the girlfriend of Al Wasl player Juan Mercier caught up in the melee. As wives and girlfriends were escorted to their cars, Mercier’s girlfriend tripped and fell down the stairs. “Some people are cowards. They only attack women and have no courage to confront men,” Maradona told www.gulfnews.com. “This is the first time I am upset with the fans. If they are angry with me they should know that I did it (climbed the stands) for my wife because someone was calling her names. They shouldn’t be angry with me they should be angry with the people who did this. They are cowards, not real fans.”

China women win gold to complete sweep


China completed cleansweep of gold medals at world team table tennis championships on Sunday. Their women s team also beat defending champions Singapore 3-0 in Sunday s final. China's male team had earlier beaten hosts Germany 3-0. After the men had downed hosts Germany 3-0 earlier in their final, the Chinese dragon roared again as the women s team took revenge for their defeat in the world team final two years ago in Moscow with victory over Singapore. China s Ding Ning put her side ahead in the opening match with a 3-1 win over Feng Tianwei, while compatriot Li Xiaoxia also had few problems in her 3-1 win over Wang Yuegu. It fell to Guo Yue to seal victory and she dominated Li Jiawei with a 3-0 win in straight games. It was the Chinese women s 18th gold medal at the world team championships and their 2010 defeat was the only time they have lost a world team final since 1991. Overall, China have won 36 gold medals in both the men s and women s world team championships since the tournament was first held in 1926. The world championships doubles as an Olympic qualifier with London places up for grabs for the highest-ranked nation from each of the six continents and China are the defending champions in both the mens and womens events.

Sunday, 1 April 2012

Xbox 360: FIFA Street 4


FIFA Street 4 was released on March 13 for PS3 and Xbox. The innovative sport of street soccer is continuing to take the world by storm with the release of the fourth edition of FIFA Street from gaming company EA Sports. The game has ranked number one on the videogame charts in the UK for two weeks and number three around the world. Part of the success stems from the moves of popular street soccer player Jason "Jayzinho" Quezada, who is making his video game debut in the edition. "For me it was a dream come true, I ve been playing FIFA Street and FIFA all my life, growing up as a kid and when they asked me to be a part of the video game it was a dream come true. I mean, I couldn t believe it - to have my actual character in the game and my own movements, I have no words for it. So for me - I still can t believe it," said Jayzinho. The 22-year-old will also appear in EA Sports  first ever music video for a video game soundtrack song, "Let s Go" by Drop the Lime. Jayzinho first started playing soccer when he was three-years-old. He enjoyed a career in regular soccer in France and Chile before becoming a street soccer player six years ago. "The difference between street soccer and real soccer is like I said, you can play it anywhere, street, parking lot, it can be on the field, it can be on the beach it can be anywhere. But street soccer it s your own creativity, your own imagination and basically it s more to humiliate your opponent, it s about style. In soccer, in regular soccer match it s more about tactics and winning the game. In the street soccer sometimes it not about winning the game, it s how you play it, the style," explained Jayzinho. Considered one of the best freestyle players in the world, the young star has a few moves named after him. "I have a Jayzinho 360 shot which I made up and I love doing," he said before performing the trick while "Let s Go" played in the background. "Another favorite move that I do, I didn t create it, but it s one of my favorite moves it s called "The Swirl." You basically sit the ball on your foot, let the momentum carry through, let the ball go behind your back and it ends up in front of you, it s a really big move," Jayzinho told Reuters.

South Africa defeated India

South Africa defeated India by 11 in a rain affected Twenty20 match in Johannesburg.  A blazing innings by India s Gautam Gambhir could not prevent a South African win in a rain-hit one-off Twenty20 international at the Wanderers Stadium on Friday. Gambhir slammed 49 not out off 28 balls as India raced to 71 for no wicket in 7.5 overs in reply to South Africa s 219 for four in 20 overs. But South Africa s big total meant that India were 11 runs short of the Duckworth/Lewis par score when a thunderstorm broke over the ground. Jacques Kallis and Colin Ingram shared a rapid century partnership as South Africa posted a formidable total. Kallis made 61 off 42 balls and the left-handed Ingram raced to 78 off 50 deliveries after South Africa were sent in to bat. The pair put on 119 of 80 balls for the second wicket. Indian captain MS Dhoni used eight bowlers but runs flowed as the batsmen took advantage of a good batting pitch, short boundaries and a fast outfield. Richard Levi gave the hosts a fast start, hitting four boundaries before being caught at slip for 19 off seven balls. The Kallis-Ingram stand enabled the later batsmen to go for their shots, with new cap Farhaan Behardien hitting an unbeaten 20 off 11 balls and Justin Ontong 22 off seven before Albie Morkel, coming in with only three balls remaining, hit Suresh Raina for two sixes and a four. The run feast continued when India started their innings, with Gambhir hitting seven fours and a six. But opening partner Robin Uthappa could only manage 18 off 19 balls, while South African opening bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe conceded only 15 runs off three overs. The hastily-arranged match was billed as an annual fixture for the Friendship Cup and a tribute to South African all-rounder Kallis, with profits going to the Jacques Kallis Foundation which provides scholarships for talented cricketers from under-privileged areas to attend good schools.

PSG crash


The win lifted Nancy three places to 11th. Yohan Mollo scored an 89th-minute goal to give Nancy a 2-1 win over title-chasing Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday and condemn Carlo Ancelotti to his first Ligue 1 defeat as PSG coach. After Mohamed Sissoko had cancelled out Bakaye Traore s opener for the hosts, Mollo struck at the death to extend PSG s winless run to four games in all competitions and leave them behind Montpellier on goal difference at the summit. Montpellier are not in action this weekend, as their trip to Marseille has been pushed back to April 11 to allow OM to focus on the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final at Bayern Munich on Tuesday. The win lifted Nancy three places to 11th and means they have now beaten Lyon, Montpellier and PSG in the space of a month.

Saturday, 31 March 2012

LA LIGA STANDINGS (SPANISH LEAGUE)


LA Liga BBVA Standings:

ClubPldPtsWDLFA
Real Madrid297524329526
Barcelona296921628422
Valencia294713884536
Málaga2947145104441
Levante2944135114140
Osasuna2943101363542
Espanyol2940117113739
Atlético Madrid2939109103935
Sevilla2939109103331
Getafe2939109103237
Athletic Bilbao293891194440
Rayo Vallecano2937114144249
Mallorca293699113137
Real Sociedad293396143244
Betis293295153343
Villarreal2931710124042
Granada293194162646
Racing Santander2925413122344
Sporting Gijón292567162854
Zaragoza292567162551
Colour coding: Green - Champions League; Blue - UEFA; Red - relegation