Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Brilliant Bayern batters Barcelona



     Brilliant Bayern batters Barcelona


 Redemption is within grasp -- and for Bayern Munich the opportunity to exorcise the demons of yesteryear is in sight.
Tuesday's crushing victory over a Barcelona side which has dominated Europe's top competition for much of the past few years was yet another sign of the growing power of this Bavarian giant.
Last year's defeat by Chelsea at its home stadium still hurts, as does the memory of losing out to Inter Milan two years ago, but that pain and anguish has driven Bayern to the brink of history.
Not since 2001 has Bayern won Europe's elite competition, but surely this is the greatest chance they will ever have to end that drought after brushing aside a Barcelona team which has won this competition three times in the past seven years.
The German league title has already been wrapped up, while the domestic cup looks set to follow given the team's astonishing run of form.


That form was underlined with a display full of pace, power and vigor which blew Barcelona away with ease.
Read: Goetze set to join Bayern Munich
On the day it announced the signing of Borussia Dortmund's star playmaker Mario Goetze in a deal worth an estimated $48 million, Bayern showed they have quality in abundance.
Thomas Muller scored twice and further strikes from Mario Gomez and the outstanding Arjen Robben dismantled a Barcelona side currently 13 points clear at the top of La Liga.
"Of course, we're all very happy about the win, especially the size of the margin," Bayern manager Jupp Heynckes told reporters.
"We were first class," he said. "But we know we still have 90 minutes ahead of us in Spain.
"We want to enjoy tonight, but nothing more."
Read: Bayern brimming with confidence
Heynckes had bristled at suggestions he should seek advice from his successor in waiting, Pep Guardiola, for ideas of how to defeat the Catalan giant.
Guardiola, who will replace Heynckes at the end of the season, enjoyed huge success at Camp Nou, winning two Champions League titles and three league crowns before he departed in April 2012.

But it is Guardiola who may be asking for advice after watching Bayern ruthlessly destroy the team which he had built with such love and devotion.
Bayern, fresh from hammering Hanover 6-1 in the Bundesliga at the weekend, made a rapid start and should have forged ahead within the first three minutes.
Robben exchanged passes with Spain midfielder Javi Martinez before stealing in behind the Barcelona defense, but he could only fire his effort straight at Victor Valdes.
The Catalan side, playing in its sixth successive semifinal, appeared rattled by Bayern's approach and was fortunate not concede a penalty when Gerard Pique clearly handled Philipp Lahm's strike inside the penalty area.
But any sense of injustice soon disappeared as Bayern took a deserved lead with 25 minutes on the clock.
Robben was the architect, picking out Dante at the far post with looping cross to head the ball towards goal and allow Muller to nod the ball home.
Read: Spanish giants kept apart
Not since October 2008 had Barcelona won a Champions League match away from home when trailing at halftime and they never liked look repeating the feat here.
Barcelona's talisman Leo Messi, clearly struggling with injury, rarely looked like troubling the Bayern defenders, while Barcelona struggled to deal with the German side's superior ability at set pieces.
And it was no surprise that within four minutes of the restart Bayern had extended its lead to assume complete control of the tie.
Once again it was the home side's aerial prowess which caused Barcelona problems as Muller headed the ball across goal for Gomez to volley home.
Replays showed Gomez to have been in an offside position and while the visiting side may have had every right to feel aggrieved, it was nothing to what was to transpire with 17 minutes remaining.

Robben, a constant menace all night, was the man at the heart of the action, racing towards goal as Barcelona began to back off.
The Dutch winger looked to have beaten Alba, but his case was quite clearly helped by Muller bundling the defender to the ground.
While the visiting team stopped in anticipation of the referee's whistle, Robben continued his run and lashed the ball into the far corner before turning away to celebrate.
Read: Bayern humiliate Hamburg
Quite how the foul was missed by the referee and the extra officials behind the goal is extraordinary, but that scarcely mattered to a rampant Bayern.
Muller almost added a fourth when he raced clear only to be denied by a fine block by Valdes as Barcelona began to crumble.
Bayern's surpremacy was emphasized further two minutes later when David Alaba rampaged down the left and picked out Muller to flick the ball home.
"I think we knew we were able to give them good competition," Robben told ITV following his side's impressive showing.
"I think everybody said before it was a 50-50 game.
"We can be very proud, this team (Barcelona) has dominated Europe over the last five years and if you beat them like this in such terrific way I think you can be proud.
"But on the other hand, let's be quiet, enjoy this evening but not anymore, because there's still the second game to play and we have to be ready."
Barcelona now faces an "almost impossible" task to make the final and defender Pique admits his team was completely outplayed.
He told television channel TV3: "There's not much you can say, they've been faster, stronger and played the better football.
"We mustn't talk about the referee; I don't think he had any influence.
"It's almost impossible for us. They've been better than us, we need to congratulate them and show our best in the return leg, while thinking about finishing the league as soon as possible.
"We are Barca. We must go out at the Nou Camp to win the game for our fans."



Sachin Tendulkar turns 40: Birthday wishes pour in for the God of Cricket


Sachin Tendulkar turns 40: Birthday wishes pour in for the God of Cricket



Sachin Tendulkar turned 40 on Wednesday with cricket administrators and his fans lining up a series of events to celebrate the senior Indian batsman, who will also appear in an IPL match in Kolkata.
The Sachin Special

The Mumbai Indians batsman, who happens to be in Kolkata for his IPL team's clash against Kolkata Knight Riders, will begin the day with a customary cake-cutting ceremony at the team hotel.

Earlier, the Cricket Association of Bengal celebrated Tendulkar's birthday a day in advance by cutting a 10-pound cake in the presence of 100 blind students.

The blind students from Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission Blind School and Light House for the Blind cut the cake in the evening.

"We are overwhelmed with joy. We want Tendulkar to live 100 years," a message from the CAB read.

Today's 40-pound cake cutting ceremony will be a private affair near the dressing room. Tendulkar's wife Anjali joined him last night along with team owner Nita Ambani for more celebrations.

The chocolate cake will be made up from special cocoa from Ghana and Madagascar. It will have an image of Tendulkar and it could be that of the World Cup-winning moment of April 2, 2011.

In a career spanning 24 years, Tendulkar has got almost all the batting record to his name other than Brian Lara's Test highest of 400 not out.


Tendulkar, who has called it quits from the ODI format to prolong his Test career, has a colossal 18426 runs from 463 matches with 49 hundreds at an average of 44.83.

In the leading run-getters list of Test matches, Tendulkar is sitting on 15837 runs with 51 hundreds, way ahead of South African veteran Jacques Kallis who with 13128 runs is the only playing batsman to be in the race at fourth place.

Tendulkar has played only one T20 for India as he has limited his Twenty20 ambition to his franchise Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Premier League: Patrick Vieira wants Samir Nasri to stay at Manchester City


Premier League: Patrick Vieira wants Samir Nasri to stay at Manchester City



Manchester City football development executive Patrick Vieira hopes Samir Nasri stays at the Etihad Stadium despite the club's unsuccessful season.
Victory in the FA Cup final could at least provide something to savour but a poor defence of their Premier League title and exiting the UEFA Champions League have been a lowlights.
City are subsequently expected to make several changes to their squad in the summer and Nasri could be one of the men to leave, although Vieira hopes that is not the case.
Amid reported interest in the 25-year-old from Paris Saint-Germain, Vieira told Radio Monte Carlo: "Samir could have done better. I think, he, himself, is disappointed with the level he played at for several different reasons.
"But in the end, he remains an important player for us.
"I see him almost daily. I think he has learned a lot this year. He has faced competition and, when he was not good enough, he has been taken off.
"It has been an important season for him and I am sure he will come back even stronger.
"I hope he will stay. Time will tell. It's important to build a team on the long term. Samir is a very good player, a young player and I hope he will stay with us for a long time."
Vieira also confesses City's season as a whole has been a disappointment, although the prospect of facing Wigan Athletic in May's FA Cup final provides some incentive.
He said: "Has this season been a success? No. The aim this season was to retain the title and do better in the Champions League so, no, you cannot say our season was a success.
"We're in the cup final so that is a good way of saving the season. But we had a team you would expect to do better. We could have done better."
"Has this season been a success? No. The aim this season was to retain the title and do better in the Champions League so, no, you cannot say our season was a success" Patrick Vieira

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

In Grisly Image, a Father Sees His Son


 In Grisly Image, a Father Sees His Son





              
 The family of Jeff Bauman, who lost his legs in the bombings, learned of his fate from an image of the bloodied young man being tended to by a man in a cowboy hat.


Jeff Bauman being wheeled away after the bombing.

BOSTON — When Jeff Bauman woke up in a hospital bed on Tuesday, an air tube was down his throat, both of his legs had been amputated at the knee, and his father was by his side. He tried to talk, but he could not.


 He looked angry, as he motioned his arms up and out like shock waves and mouthed: “Boom! Boom!”
Jeff Bauman is the man in the photograph that has become an icon of the Boston Marathon attack, the one showing a bloodied, distraught young man, holding his left thigh, being wheeled away by a man in a cowboy hat. If the world could not identify him immediately, Mr. Bauman’s father — also named Jeff Bauman — certainly could.
That was his son with his legs destroyed, wearing a favorite shirt. That was his son.
When the explosions went off at the Boston Marathon, Jeff Bauman, 52, called his son’s cellphone again and again — no answer. He knew his son was there, to cheer for his girlfriend, Erin Hurley, who was running her first Boston Marathon. For an hour, he kept calling, calling. No answer.
Then his stepdaughter, Erika, called him. “Did you see the picture?” she asked. “Jeffrey’s on the news. He got hurt.”
“Are you sure? Are you sure?” He was shouting now.
“Yes! Yes! I’m sure!” she shouted back.
Mr. Bauman found the picture on Facebook. It was not the whole picture, the one that showed Jeff’s left leg blown off at the calf. He started calling Boston-area hospitals and found his son registered at Boston Medical Center. He and his wife, Csilla, drove from their home in Concord, N.H., and reached Jeff’s side just before 8 p.m.
The surgery was already done. Both Jeff’s legs had been amputated at the knee. He had lost an excessive amount of blood. During surgery, the doctors had to keep resuscitating him, giving him blood and fluids, because he had lost so much.
Jeff, 27, is a good kid, never got in trouble, his father said. He likes playing guitar. He works behind the deli counter at Costco. He plans to pay off his student loans and go back to school at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
During the marathon, he was standing at the finish line waiting for Ms. Hurley, alongside her two roommates. Ms. Hurley was still about a mile away when the blasts went off, far enough away that she did not know what had happened. Why had everyone stopped?
Jeff was the first casualty brought to Boston Medical, his family was told. He went through the first operation and then a second, about 1 a.m., to drain internal fluids caused by the blunt trauma.
That night, Jeff’s half-brother, Alan, called from his boot camp at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Tex. His father told him Jeff had been hurt but did not say how badly. He planned to tell Alan the whole truth later.
The Baumans knew how lucky Jeff had been. “The man in the cowboy hat — he saved Jeff’s life,” Ms. Bauman said. Mr. Bauman’s eyes widened. He said: “There’s a video where he goes right to Jeff, picks him right up and puts him on the wheelchair and starts putting the tourniquet on him and pushing him out. I got to talk to this guy!”
The man in the cowboy hat, Carlos Arredondo, 52, had been handing out American flags to runners when the first explosion went off. His son Alexander was a Marine killed in Iraq in 2004, and in the years since he has handed out the flags as a tribute.
With the first blast, Mr. Arredondo jumped over the fence and ran toward the people lying on the ground. What happened next, he later recounted to a reporter: He found a young man, a spectator, whose shirt was on fire. He beat out the flames with his hands. The young man, who turned out to be Jeff Bauman, had lost the lower portion of both legs. He took off a shirt and tied it around the stump of one leg. He stayed with Mr. Bauman, comforting him, until emergency workers came to help carry him to an ambulance.
He helped only one man, Mr. Bauman.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Baumans wondered what had become of the man in the cowboy hat. They wanted to tell him that their son was alive, that he was moving his arms and legs.
But he might be in the hospital for two more weeks. What would he do when he was not so sedated? They plan to bring him his guitar. What would they say to him when he came to?
The elder Mr. Bauman covered his mouth with his hand. “I just don’t know,” he said, and he started to cry.        

Sunday, April 14, 2013

IPL 2013, CSK vs PWI: Warriors face tough task against formidable CSK

IPL 2013, CSK vs PWI: Warriors face tough task against formidable CSK

  

Chennai: Having pulled off a dramatic win in their last match, an in-form Chennai Super Kings will look to consolidate their position as they gear up to lock horns with laggards Pune Warriors in the IPL on Monday.

Starting their campaign in the sixth edition of the tournament with a loss, Chennai seemed to have got their mojo back after posting back-to-back wins, including Saturday's victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore, in a nail-biting finish.

On the other hand, Pune have already suffered three losses in four outings, their only win coming over Rajasthan Royals.

Two-time winners Chennai are placed fourth in the points table with as many points while Pune Warriors are lying low in the eighth position with two points in the nine-team T20 league.

With Pune still struggling to come to terms, the match at the M A Chidambaram Stadium will be an opportunity for Chennai to head north in the table.

The hosts have the resources in abundance, in both batting and bowling, and it will be interesting to see what strategy Pune employ against the side led by India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.


Friday, April 12, 2013

Leishman and Garcia lead the field on first day of play at Augusta

Leishman and Garcia lead the field on first day of play at Augusta

 sports , games

Australia's Marc Leishman and Sergio Garcia of Spain were the leaders after the first day of play at the Masters in Augusta.

Garcia hit six birdies in his opening round to finish six under par with a round of 66, a benchmark which Leishman, who had gone out earlier, had already set.
Tipped by many to win his first major since 2008, Tiger Woods shot a two-under 70, which is the same opening score as in three of his four victories at Augusta.
"It's a good start," Woods said. "Some years some guys shot 65 starting out here, but right now I'm only four back and I'm right there.

"We've got a long way to go. You just go out there and play shot for shot."
Tianlang, who beat the previous record held by Italy's Matteo Manassero, who was nearly 17 when he set the previous mark in 2010, bogeyed his first but responded swiftly with a birdie at the third.
He finished with a putt off the green that sunk into the hole at the 18th to earn applause and acclaim from spectators and fellow competitors.
Meanwhile, Welshman Jamie Donaldson also earned himself a place in the Augusta record books after hitting a hole-in-one at the sixth, only the fifth player in the competition's 77-year history to achieve the feat.
With a heavy thunderstorm expected overnight that will soften the greens, Woods warned "the golf course is going to be very different" on Friday.
Elsewhere, three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson carded a one under par 71, while young Northern Irish star Rory McIlroy went round in 72.
However defending champion Bubba Watson faces a uphill battle to defend his title after he struggled to a 75 -- leaving him nine strokes off the pace already.


 

Sreesanth slams Bhajji, wants video of incident released

Sreesanth slams Bhajji, wants video of incident released

 






      
          Just when one thought that the Sreesanth-Harbhajan spat was dead and buried, the Kerala medium pacer came out with sensational new revelations about the unsavoury incident that happened during the IPL five years ago.

Sreesanth was reacting to a newspaper report comparing that incident with the clash between Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli during Thursday's match between KKR and RCB.

Sreesanth was upset with the term 'Slapgate' being used to describe the run-in between him and Bhajji. He claimed that Harbhajan never slapped him and implied that what the then Mumbai Indians skipper did was much worse.

In a series of tweets, Sreesanth said that Harbhajan was a 'backstabbing person' and asked for the video of the incident to be released so that the truth would be revealed to the world.

Here are a few of the tweets that a disturbed Sreesanth dashed off on his keyboard this morning:

"enough of this s#%^t..Stop it.. I can't keep silent Anymore."

"(Bhajji Never Slapped me...all I did is play the game the way I had all my life.he lost it badly ..being the captain of MUMBAI he Lost it"


"He had no control over his anger..,Nd one more thing I wanna clear..he (nanavati sir ) knows the truth and the full ipl..he had lost it"

"Every one blaming me Nd always writing and talking about slap gate??it really s**#s.the truth is in the video ..which is with ipl.."

"I want the world to c it..Whn I went to shake hands afte the match..he had lost it..he had already planned to hit me(elbow me)all his anger"

"I don't want Bhajji to feel bad now..I need to tell the truth to the world..wht happend was bad..it's not my fault at all..and all media ???"

"Disgusting ..that's all I can say..u should get hold of the video..them u all will know te truth..wht he did is completely out of control"

"All blamed me for getting emotional ..??c mon who doesn't get emotional whn u know the person who u worship is a backstabbing person Nd .."

"It's not my fault at all ..Nd I keep getting compared to all this bull s##*..whn ever anything bad happens in ipl or cricket match..crazy"

"And wht a name??slapgate)wow..I really really really want u all to see the full video..please ..it's a request..all I did is play the game"

"The real incident video..which is been kept hiding..c mon let the world see it..I wanna tell u all ..I'm really sorry to have kept quite"