Friday 31 May 2013

Here's What The Medals For The 2014 Olympics Look Like

The medals for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia were released yesterday.

Gold:



Silver:

FRENCH OPEN ROUND UP



Defending champion Rafa Nadal stuttered for the second time so far at the French Open before moving through to the third round with a 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-3 victory over Slovakia's Martin Klizan.

The result meaning the spaniard is going to play two matches on consecutive days due to Thursday’s rain delays. The world number 4 was clearly unhappy and he went all out on the organisers of the event

'I think everybody knows in this room that the schedule of yesterday was wrong. That's the real thing.

Leaked Photos Show Oscar Pistorius Crime Scene For The First Time

           

Miss Steenkamp was shot four times on Valentine's Day at Mr. Pistorius' Pretoria home. The sprinter, who had been hailed as a hero in his native South Africa after he became the first double amputee to race in the Olympics in 2012, has been charged with her murder.

Mr. Pistorius has said he mistook his girlfriend of three months for an intruder and shot her through a locked bathroom door. He said he was not wearing his prosthetic legs when he shot her, and so was only standing on his stumps.

TRANSFER BATTLES: Fabregas, Tevez, Suarez, Mangala, Bale.

                    

Manchester United continue to be linked with Barcelona's Cesc Fabregas but it looks like they will need some help from Premier League rivals Arsenal to land him. David Moyes would love to make the Spanish midfielder his first big signing but Arsenal have the first buy-back option on their former captain.

As part of the deal that brought Fabregas to the Camp Nou in 2011, Arsenal inserted a clause which says they must be notified of any offer for him and then be given the first option of buying him back for £20-£25m if Barcelona decide to sell.

John McEnroe, Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic respond to Gulbis after the latvian declared WAR

                      Hitting out: Gulbis described tennis's elite players as 'boring'

Ernest Gulbis labelled the top 4 tennis players in the world 'boring' and demanded blood and war on and off the court (HERE). 

It came as little surprise to hear John McEnroe on Thursday expressing sympathy for the Latvian's view and less predictable was to find three of the targets of the criticism expressed by the outspoken 25 yr old - Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic - appearing to either back up or agree with his sentiment.

PSG director Leonardo banned for NINE months for barging into ref as his chances of replacing Ancelotti take a huge hit

              

Paris St Germain sporting director Leonardo has been banned for nine months by the Ligue de Football Professionnel for pushing a referee during a Ligue 1 match.

The LFP's disciplinary committee handed down the punishment for the incident which occurred during a match at home to Valenciennes on May 5 after meeting yesterday with Leonardo and officials from the match.

The Brazilian was alleged to have barged into referee Alexandre Castro after the game and has since been provisionally suspended.

Third-quarter blitz from James leads Miami to victory

                  

A blistering third quarter from LeBron James helped the Miami Heat to a 90-79 win over the Indiana Pacers that moved the defending NBA champions into a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

A misfiring Miami were trailing 44-40 at half-time and were fortunate to be so close, but James turned on the style in the third quarter when the Heat dominated Indiana by a 30-13 margin.

The four-time MVP out-scored the Pacers by himself in the quarter, scoring 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and was superbly supported by Udonis Haslem, who scored 10 points in the quarter without missing a shot.

Thursday 30 May 2013

TRIVIA?

The largest stadium capacity in the world Rungnado May Day stadium with 150,000 capacity is in which country?

- North Korea
- South Korea
- Japan
- China

DID YOU KNOW?

Andre Agassi, 43, won eight Grand Slam championships and an Olympic gold medal during his career (1986-2006). 




Andre Agassi wore a wig in the early part of his career.

The former tennis star wore a lion mane-style wig during the 1990s to hide his baldness.

The tennis legend admitted, in an extract of his book, that during one match he struggled to stop it falling off altogether - and lost as a result.

'Every morning I would get up and find another piece of my identity on the pillow, in the wash basin, down the plughole.

England football team head to Copacabana Beach after arriving in Brazil

England's weary players headed straight for Copacabana Beach after touching down in Rio de Janeiro ahead of their eagerly anticipated friendly with Brazil at the Maracana stadium, just 12 hours on from their disappointing draw against the Republic of Ireland



Roy Hodgson's men are seventh in the FIFA World Rankings, a staggering 12 places in front of their opponents on Sunday.

Wenger reigns supreme! Arsenal boss has been in charge for more days than the other 19 Premier League bosses combined

                            

Arsene Wenger may have not won a trophy at Arsenal since 2005 but Gunners fans can console themselves the Frenchman can claim to win one competition - he has managed the club for more days than the other 19 Premier League bosses combined.

As of yesterday, the 63-year-old has racked up a whopping 6,079 days during his 17-year reign with the other 19 bosses only totaling 5,909. 

Revealed: The secret weapon that has made Robin Van Persie injury free




A notoriously injury-prone player, Van Persie missed almost an entire year of action in his final five years at Arsenal with a succession of knee and ankle problems. But in the last two seasons, the Dutchman has stayed fit and healthy, allowing him to concentrate on what he does best - scoring goals.


Abidal in tears as he bids farewell to Barcelona

                                  

French defender Eric Abidal, who fought back from liver cancer and a subsequent transplant to play again, is not going to have his contract renewed at the Nou Camp. The 33-year-old had hoped for a new deal, but he has told a news conference that his time at Barcelona would end when his current contract expires next month.

Fans want blood and war not clones like Nadal and Murray, blasts Gulbis

Ernests Gulbis
If Gulbis is given the chance, he will smash the big 4 out of the game
Outspoken Latvian Ernests Gulbis, one of the game’s biggest talents, delivered the damning verdict on Roger and Co after being knocked out of the French Open by Gael Monfils.. Amid the tennis-unfriendly weather in France, the 25 yr old livened things up when he called the top tennis players in the world pretenders.

You too: Rafael Nadal was also the subject of the emerging talent's blast at Roland Garros
Rafa Nadal

Wrestling Has One More Shot To Stay In The Olympics

Olympic Wrestling 2020

The IOC surprisingly dropped wrestling from the list of core sports for the 2020 Games in February, forcing it to join seven other candidate sports that will battle it out for the one vacant spot when the IOC session votes in Buenos Aires in September.

The International Olympic Committee was mistaken to expect wrestling to go down without a fight.

TRANSFER BATTLES: Gareth Bale, Fabregas, Luis Suarez, Iago Aspas, Mark Hughes, Cavani, Pellegrini

English clubs join the chase for £80m Bale



The Tottenham star is attracting interest from Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, while Paris Saint-Germain are also in a position to move for the winger.

The fact that all five clubs are able to spend big could mean that although Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is ‘fighting a losing battle’ to keep Bale, he will be able to command a huge fee for the 23-year-old, with the bidding war could drive the price up to around £80m.

Lampard earns England draw with Ireland, Podolski scores after nine seconds as Germany beat Ecuador...Benteke strikes twice as Belgium outclass US

Golden cap: Ashley Cole was honoured before kick-off for passing 100 appearances for England


Wayne Rooney was provided with the chance to let his football do the talking, picked for his first start since April, and partnered in-form Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge. Ashley Cole was given the honour of leading the team out to celebrate the 100th cap he picked up against Brazil in February.

Butterflies: Joe Hart follows Cole out of the tunnel, with Robbie Keane leading out the Irish

The match itself began at walking pace, with both sides feeling the effects of gruelling domestic campaigns and taking time to reacquaint themselves with their respective countrymen. England struggled to control the ball, while Ireland – through Long – looked especially dangerous on the break.

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Alex Ferguson's first United team sheet up for auction

History: Sir Alex Ferguson's first Manchester United team-sheet is being auctioned
Sir Alex Ferguson's first-ever Manchester United team sheet is going under the hammer to the highest bidder.

Written by Ferguson's own hand before a 2-0 loss to Oxford United, the team sheet is expected to sell for around £2500 by the auction house in Wiltshire where it will be sold.

Nike Cuts Ties With The Livestrong Foundation



Nike will no longer partner with the Livestrong Foundation founded by Lance Armstrong.

The company has been making apparel for Livestrong since 2004 and has helped raise $100 million since then, the charity says.



The company also created the yellow wristbands that have been a huge success.

FRENCH OPEN ROUND UP

             

Men's results

Round 2

2-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Somdev Devvarman (India) 6-2 6-1 6-1

4-David Ferrer (Spain) beat Albert Montanes (Spain) 6-2 6-1 6-3

6-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) beat Jarkko Nieminen (Finland) 7-6(6) 6-4 6-3

Here's What The Miami Heat Big 3 Looked Like When Tim Duncan Won His First NBA Title



At age 37, Tim Duncan is having one of the most remarkable years of his career. He made First Team All-NBA at a stage in his career when he should be declining and he reached the NBA Finals 14 years after winning his first title.

Duncan won his first championship in 1999.

When he was hoisting the trophy, the three stars of the Miami Heat — who will probably face San Antonio in the Finals — were still pimply teenagers.

Here's what they looked like:

LeBron James was a 14-year-old going into his freshman year in high school


FIFA drops age limit and mandate proposals

I am sure we all have pondered in our silent moments why somebody will just spend donkey years in office regardless of his or her achievements. Nobody has been more bothered than me, to think out of 7, 000, 000, 000 people in the world, only one Swiss is allowed to preside the affairs of the most important institution in the world.

Blatter: We will continue adapting our governance and look at sport political matters
FIFA president Joseph Sepp Blatter

FIFA president Sepp Blatter 77, has been in office since 1998 and hes going to run for office again in 2015 when he will be a year short of being an octogenarian.

CRISTIANO RONALDO AND RIHANNA HOOK UP

Cristiano Ronaldo clearly enjoys nothing more than mixing it with the biggest names in the music business after catching up with pop star Rihanna backstage at her concert in Lisbon.



TRANSFER BATTLES

Kolo Toure to join Liverpool

               

Liverpool have confirmed that they have agreed a deal with Manchester City defender Kolo Toure. The former Arsenal man will officially become a Liverpool player on July 1 after he completed a medical ahead of his move to Anfield.

               

Athletics sees Olympic Games revenue cut by IOC

                             

Athletics will get a lower share of Olympic revenues in the future after the International Olympic Committee recalculated federations' revenues according to their contribution to the Games.

The 26 sports federations at the London 2012 Olympics divided up £344 million based on their IOC ranking, with athletics, the flagship sport of the Games, expected to receive around £31 million as the only one in the top earning Group A.

However, the new plan for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 revenue distribution has five categories of sports instead of four, with athletics no longer enjoying all of the Group A pot.

Basketball - Pacers fend off Heat to square series

Indiana Pacers 99 92 Miami Heat      
   
   

The Indiana Pacers withstood a late Miami charge to beat the Heat 99-92 and square their Eastern Conference final at two games all.

Roy Hibbert recorded 23 points and 12 rebounds, Lance Stephenson scored 20 and the Pacers responded to a blowout loss in Game Three with a determined home-court effort.

Game Five is on Thursday back in Miami where the defending NBA champions will try to regain control.

Tuesday 28 May 2013

Obituary: Olympic volleyball star Ingrid Visser 'murdered after business dispute, three people arrested

         

Visser, 35, and her partner Lodewijk Severein, 57, were reported missing on May 17, the Spanish police said in a statement. Two bodies fitting the descriptions of the couple were found in a shallow grave in a lemon grove outside Murcia on Sunday.

       Ingrid Visser (Imago)

During their two-week search, the police were led to a building in the town of Molina de Segura, near Murcia, where the couple were thought by police to have arranged to meet the three suspects.

Tennis star tries to shame umpire by tweeting picture after disputed line call

                  

Athletes use social media for a number of things and you can add to that long list of things thanks to Sergiy Stakhovsky.

The 27-year-old Ukrainian disputed a call during his first round match at the French Open, saying the ball was in while the chair umpire called it out. Stakhovsky was so set on the fact that the ball was in that he pulled out his cell phone, took a picture of the spot and eventually tweeted it out after the match.

Here's the pic he took,

Superstars who transcended Sports

Every once in a while, there are a few athletes who come along that aren't just your average cup of tea. They become bigger than their sport.

Whether they came in with all the hype that LeBron James did from his high school days or just out of nowhere like Tom Brady, they're true icons in the biggest form of the word.

Like every year, we continue to see big-name stars call it quits, leaving us looking for those who can step up and take some of these stars' places.

But since there are only a few that become bona fide A-listers that even non-sports fans have heard of, Sportunes will be giving you the ones that most transcended their sports.

Mia Hamm

      

Without Mia Hamm, who knows how popular the sport of soccer would be for women around the world?

See What Tennis Legends From The Past Look Like Today

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams  have dominated tennis in the last decade and as we speak they are breaking hearts in France.

But not too long ago the world was obsessed with another crop of leading men and women that set unrivaled Grand Slam records and left a lasting impression with their style and determination.

Jennifer Capriati, Pete Sampras, Steffi Graf, Ivan Lendl, Monica Seles, Stefan Edberg, Martina Hingis, Martina Navratilova were some of the fresh-faced players that reigned in the 1970s, 1980s, and the 1990s.. They all have earned the right to say VENI VIDI VICI

Pete Sampras, 41, won 14 Grand Slam singles titles (1988-2002).

 

Shame on Bassong: The Cameroonian is caught posing with a gun in his garden

                          Foolish: Sebastien Bassong posed with this gun

Norwich City defender Sebastien Bassong has posed with a gun and posted the controversial pictures on his Instagram account.

In one picture the 26-year-old holds the pistol in a firing position, while in the second he looks to be blowing down the barrel as if he has set off the firearm.

                   Trigger man: Bassong posed with the gun in what he described as a 'garden shooting session'

Basketball - Spurs sweep into NBA Finals

                San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker (L) celebrates after the Spurs eliminated the Memphis Grizzlies to win the NBA Western Conference final play-offs (Reuters)

The Spurs started fast and finished strong as they seized the Western Conference Finals with a 4-0 best-of-seven triumph that put them back in the NBA finals for the first time since 2007.
Parker was sensational in making 15 of his 21 field goal attempts and Tim Duncan added 15 and eight rebounds in the clinching game.
San Antonio has earned an extended rest period as they now await the winner between Miami and Indiana in the East for a championship match-up that does not begin until June 6.

Monday 27 May 2013

PALACE IN WONDERLAND! Eagles soar back up to the Premier League as veteran Phillips slams in extra-time penalty at Wembley

                          
                            Super Eagles: Crystal Palace are back in the Premier League after a seven-year absence

Crystal Palace returned to the Premier League as they beat Watford 1-0 after extra-time in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.

Two days after Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund fought it out for Europe's most prestigious club prize at Wembley, Watford and Palace took to the same pitch chasing an even more financially lucrative reward; although the quality on display could not have been more of a contradiction than Saturday’s Champions League final.

Australian footballer confronts child who allegedly called him an 'ape' - and has her thrown out

Racism is a common enemy of our sport, week in week out players are taunted on their skin color, religion, race and what have we. over the years victimised athletes have devised means in which they can weather the abuse, most significant one in recent years is Ac Milan's Boateng walking off the pitch after being on the receiving end of this menace.

   

Neymar bids teary farewell to Brazilian football as Bale becomes the most wanted footballer in the world

Neymar played his last game for Santos yesterday, after it was announced that the sensational super star will be joining Barcelona. Just like David Beckham's weepy farewell on his last ever match, Neymar also emulated the English man by shedding tears on his last ever game for the Brazilian giants where he has spent 9 glorious years.

                      

Basketball - Heat burn Pacers to take control of Eastern Finals

Indiana Pacers 96 114 Miami Heat

                    LeBron James and Paul George

The Miami Heat displayed championship fight as they routed the Indiana Pacers 114-96 on Sunday to regain control of the Eastern Conference Finals.

LeBron James scored 22 points, Dwyane Wade had 18 and eight assists and the Heat used a complete team effort to overwhelm Indiana and grab a 2-1 best-of-seven series lead.

It was the first home defeat of the playoffs for the Pacers, who will try to rebound in Game Four on Tuesday back in Indiana.

Sunday 26 May 2013

Lulic strike wins Coppa Italia for Lazio as Celtic down Hibs to complete double

                

 Lazio denied Roma a record 10th Coppa Italia win after triumphing 1-0 in the final thanks to a goal from Senad Lulic at the Stadio Olimpico.

                

The Bosnian scored the only goal of a disappointing game as Lazio took Italy’s final Europa League place. Roma struck the bar moments after going behind but both sides lacked invention in what was a tense final.

Formula 1 - Rosberg wins incident-packed Monaco Grand Prix

                     .


Nico Rosberg stayed out of trouble to win Monaco Grand Prix, but his Mercedes team face a protest over a 'secret test'

It was a slow-burner of a race, brought to life by the deployment of the safety car on two occasions, and even a red-flag incident.

Rosberg, top of the pile, found his tyres more forgiving than they have been elsewhere this season and had more than enough to hold off Red Bull duo Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber for second and third. Lewis Hamilton, undone by bad timing at his first pit stop, slipped to fourth place.

Bayern Munich celebrate champions league glory on the dance floor

Bayern Munich celebrated their Champions League triumph in style, by partying into the night after toppling Borussia Dortmund in a thrilling Wembley encounter.

Arjen Robben, who created the first goal before scoring the winner, was joined by his team-mates at the Grosvenor House hotel in Park Lane for the after party.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, who missed a penalty in last season's Champions League final, looked delighted as the Germany midfielder tied a scarf around his head to lead the proceedings.

                      

                       
Schweinsteiger holds the trophy next to his partner Sarah Brandner