Billabong Pro Tahiti Champion to be Crowned Today

quinta-feira, 15 de maio de 2008

The final 17 heats of the 2008 Billabong Pro Tahiti will run today. The last two heat of Round 3 featuring Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Miky Picon (FRA) and Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Bruce Irons (HAW) are up first. Conditions are in the four foot (one plus metre) range this morning and the first heat of the day hit the water at 6:30am.
Martinez, Andy Irons (HAW) and C.J. Hobgood (USA) are the only previous event winners still in contention. An event champion will be crowned by roughly 4pm local time this afternoon. The Billabong Pro Tahiti will be webcast LIVE on aspworldtour.com and billabongpro.com.

Mauro Zarate - A very popular Argentine ace

The Argentine striker, Mauro Zarate, has left Birmingham City after a very successful five-month spell at the club.
Birmingham signed him on loan from Al-Sadd, Qatar, during the January transfer window. During his short spell at St. Andrews, he made a huge impact and become a firm favorite among the fans.

Birmingham manager, Alex McLeish, said: “I would like to thank him for his spell here and he made an impact.”

“He will be a good asset to one of the big clubs. It’s just a shame that our situation counted against us.”

Many clubs in Europe have taken notice and it looks like he will leave Al-Sadd this summer. The club is said wanting around £25million for his services.

The latest rumour has linked the player with a move to Arsenal.

www.soccernews.com

Ronaldinho out of Brazil World Cup qualifiers

Barcelona superstar Ronaldinho was again ignored by Brazil coach Dunga when the squad for the next round of 2010 World Cup qualifiers was announced on Thursday.

Instead, Inter Milan's Adriano, who is currently at Sao Paulo on loan, was the only new addition to the 25-man squad for the games against Paraguay and Argentina in June.

Ronaldinho, who has been sidelined at Barcelona since April 4 with a hamstring injury, also missed out on selection for the last two qualifiers against Peru and Uruguay in November 2007.

Brazil play Paraguay on June 15 in Asuncion before facing bitter rivals Argentina on June 18 at Belo Horizonte.

Before that, Dunga's team will tackle Canada in a friendly in Seattle on May 31 and Venezuela on June 6 in Boston.

Paraguay lead the South American zone standings for the 2010 World Cup with 10 points from four matches with Argentina on nine points while Brazil are a point further back.

Brazil squad:

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan/ITA), Diego Alves (Almeria/ESP), Doni (AS Roma/ ITA)

Defenders: Alex (Chelsea/ENG), Juan (AS Roma/ITA), Lucio (Bayern Munich/GER), Luisao (Benfica/POR), Daniel Alves (Sevilla/ESP), Marcelo (Real Madrid/ESP), Gilberto (Hertha Berlin/GER), Kleber (Santos), Maicon (Inter Milan/ITA)

Midfielders: Anderson (Man United/ENG), Diego (Werder Bremen/GER), Elano (Man City/ENG), Gilberto Silva (Arsenal/ENG), Josue (Wolfsburg/GER), Julio Baptista (Real Madrid/ESP), Kaka (AC Milan/ITA), Mineiro (Hertha Berlin/GER).

Attackers: Adriano (Sao Paulo), Pato (AC Milan/ITA), Luis Fabiano (Sevilla/ESP), Robinho (Real Madrid/ESP), Rafael Sobis (Real Betis/ESP).

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A conversation with Kona's Barry Wicks about targeting the World Cup circuit

quarta-feira, 14 de maio de 2008

CYCLING:Barry Wicks is already a household name in the domestic cyclocross and mountain bike scene, but this year he is trying his hand at joining mountain bike racing’s elite crowd on the World Cup.

Wicks made his first foray into European World Cup racing in April, racing World Cups in Houffalize, Belgium, Offenburg, Germany and Madrid, Spain. In terms of results, Wicks didn’t blow anyone’s door down. He started at the back of the herd, and had to fight tooth and nail for top-80 results.

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Hull one game away from Premier League

Hull are 90 minutes away from playing in the top flight of English football for the first time in their 104-year history after beating Watford 4-1 on Wednesday in the Championship semi-final play-off.
Hull's win at their KC Stadium in the second leg of this tie gave them a 6-1 aggregate victory.

It means they will now face Bristol City at Wembley in the play-off final on May 24, a match billed as “the richest game in football,” with the winners receiving some 60 million pounds (120 million dollars) for gaining a place in the lucrative Premier League.

Goals from Hull-born former England international Nick Barmby, Caleb Folan, Richard Garcia and Nathan Doyle helped the north-east club build on their 2-0 first leg advantage after Watford's Darius Henderson cut the Tigers' overall lead to just a single goal.

It wasn't until two minutes before half-time that Barmby, who netted in the first leg together with fellow Hull-born forward Dean Windass, settled home nerves following Henderson's 12th minute opener.

Three goals inside the final 20 minutes from substitute Folan, Garcia and Doyle sealed a victory that set Hull on their way to Wembley.

Wednesday's win was particularly sweet for Hull manager Phil Brown, who took over in December 2006 and steered a club seemingly destined for relegation to second-tier survival.

Watford, who earlier in the season looked destined for one of the two automatic promotion places following their relegation from the Premier League last season, ultimately paid the price for a run of just one win in 16 games.

Neither Hull nor Bristol City have played in the Premier League although City did appear in the old First Division, most recently in 1981.

www.soccernews.com

Real Madrid: “We can afford Cristiano Ronaldo”

Real Madrid general director Angel Arroyo has just recently claimed that the club could afford to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United.

For the past two seasons, the Portugese winger has constantly been linked to Real Madrid, and the Spanish giants are doing all they can to unsettle the player away from England.

Reports suggest that it would take a record-breaking £100million to at least get the negotiations going, but even at that amount, Manchester United are unlikely to be interested.

Angel Arroyo stated, “Real Madrid have the solvency and the financial liquidity to be able to take on a signing of the magnitude of Cristiano Ronaldo.”

www.soccernews.com

Angry Eto’o leaving? Tottenham & Inter want him

terça-feira, 13 de maio de 2008

After Barcelona’s humiliating defeat to their arch-rivals Real Madrid, who won 4-1, the team has been heavily criticized by many supporters. This is said to have upset Eto’o greatly, who was also whistled and booed at during the match against Mallorca. It was believed that he deliberately picked up a yellow card in order to miss the Real Madrid game.
This have alerted Tottenham and Inter Milan, who both want to add the Cameroonian striker to their ranks.

Reports say that Tottenham are leading the chase, and they are currently organising a package to try and tempt him to White Hart Lane.

Reports also say that club officials and friends have tried to calm Eto’o down and convince him not to leave, but the latest treatment from his own fans might be more than he can take.

www.soccernews.com