Massa Impresses On Home Turf

Felippe Massa drove flawlessly in front of his home town supporters to take pole position for the last race of the formula one season. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton Is right behind with his rivals Raikkonen and Alonso right behind him. There are a number of situations where Alonso, Hamilton and Raikkonen can clinch the title.
1. Hamilton wins if he wins the race or finishes ahead of the other two.
2. Alonso wins and Hamilton finshes third or worse.
3. Raikkonen wins and Alonso finishes third and Hamilton finishes 6th.
It is a tall ask for Ferrari and Raikkonen will be hoping he can get all the help he can from team mate Massa. Alonso who is almost sure to leave Mclaren will be going all out to defend his crown and prevent Hamilton from making histroy. Being a Raikonnen fan I can only hope for a what I could call a miracle.

Its England VS South Africa For The Title

South Africa will surely start as favourites against the the team they hammered in the group stages, England. The Springboks had 36 unanswered points in the group stages against the defending champions. England who shocked Australia in the quarters and then beat hosts France to make it to the finals are a new and improved team. No one expected them to be at the finals hbut they are here. South Africa have had a relatively easy run to tis stage having beaten the Pumas comfortably in the semis. They cannot take England lightly and will hae to forget about the easy win in the group stages if they are to accomplish what they did in 1995. The surprise of the tournament were minnows Argentina who remained unbeaten till the semi finals where they went down to South Africa. I'm putting my money on the springboks but England will be looking to create history when they begin they fight to save their title.

Hamilton Faulters, Its Split Wide Open

Lewis Hamilton was on the brink of creating history but an error sent him into race retirement leaving Ferrari's Kimi Raikonnen to take the win. Mclaren teammate Fernando Alonso was second and Felipe Massa third. This result has opened the Driver's Championship wide open. Hamilton sits on 107 points folowed closeley by Alonso with 103 and Raikonnen is right behind on 100. It all comes down to the last race of the season in Brazil. Hamilton was had the race under control after starting from pole but tricky weather conditions caused his tyres to give way and spin out while heading for the pits. Raikonnen capitalised and never looked back. This is a bonus for F1 fans since the last race has so much at stake. Vettel and Button were the surprise of the race as they finsihed in fourth and fifth respectively, their best result of the season.I'm going to be optimistic and pray for a ferrari one-two in the next race with Raikonnen winning the title.

Springboks To Save Southern Hemisphere

Yesterday was one of the worst days Rugby history. At the start of the tournament everyone was asking what was wrong with The Northern Hemisphere rugby with all the big teams from the north putting in poor performances while the southern hemisphere teams were coasting. Half way through the quarter finals stage the roles have been reversed and now its the other way round. Two huge upsets have left people wondering what has happened to the South. England pulled of an upset win over the Wallabies and then later that night France shocked tournament favourites the All Blacks. 20-18. I feel the All Blacks were robbed with that last French winning try whcih clearly was a forward pass. The French defended with gut and strentgh but still that one refereeing error has changed the course of the world cup. From a mouth watering semi prediction between heavy weights Australia and rivals New Zealand, we have hosts Franc vs England. To salavage some pride of the Southern Hemisphere the Springboks should and must win against surprise package Fiji and Argemtina should beat Scotland. There could have been four teams in the semis from the South but now there could be just one. The Springboks should be favourite to take the title now.

Can France Repeat 1999?

I just saw England score a huge 12-10 upset win over the fancied wallabies. The wallabies just did not look like a team and created too many errors. It was however Wilkinson yet again with his four field goals that put the Aussies into their misery. However, my focus is on the other quarter final later tonight. The All Blacks are always the favourites whenever they get on a rugby field and are almost certain to pull off a victory against France tonight. The French firstly are not happy about their team playing in Cardiff when they feel they should have been playing at home. No one is giving them more than a 10% chance of winning tonight. So is it Possible. Retrace your mind to 1999. A certain legend by the name of Jonah Lomu put New Zealand up 24-10. A spirited Christophe Lamaison sparked an epic comeback and the Les Blues won the game 43-31. Lock Fabien Pelous, one of the two players in the present-day starting line up who was there on that October day eight years ago, says his team can be inspired. I hope the All Blacks really put in a game to remember. Im hoping for an All Black Springbok final.

United Finally Amongst The Goals

Manchester United finally found their scoring touch with a 4-0 win over Wigan at Old Trafford which puts them on top of the table temporarily. It wasn't all smooth sailing though for United in the first half. Defenders Vidic and OShea had to be substituted within the first half hour of the game due to injury. which led to a lot of reshuffling in their formation. Refereeing decisions also seemed to be going against them and the crowd were surely voicing their opinion. A brilliant finish by Carlos Tevez in the second half led to the flood gates being opened. Ronalso added the second with his head and he made the point known that he was playing with stitches. He got his second of the game and Rooney completed the rout over Wigan. Its good to see United finally finding their goal scoring touch. Hopefully there will be better days to come.

Englands Last 80 MInutes On The Field As Champs?

England seem to realize that they will have only 80 minutes on the field before their reign as rugby world champions end. England face off today against arch rivals, the Wallabies, in what is a rematch of the 2003 finals where a dramatic field goal gave the english a stunning win to lift the trophy. England have struggled a bit through this tournament to make it to the quarters which included a 36-0 drubbing to the Springboks. Australia start as firm favourites but a 25% chance of rain might favour England. England have made five changes, bringing in Simon Shaw, Jason Robinson, Mike Catt, Phil Vickery and Mark Regan. Australian fly half, Steve Larkham is injured and will be replaced by Berrick Barnes. The good news for Australia is that captain Stirling Mortlock is back after missing two games due to injury. Andy Farrell, the former Great Britain captain injured himself during training and will have to be replaced by Catt. John Connolly took over as coach from Eddie Jones in 2006 and has made a formidable team.England vs Australia matches are always spicy and a treat to watch. their famous rivalry always adds to the occassion and this time will be no different. The two teams are tied 2-2 against each other and this world cup quarter final will be a must watch affair. Later on in the day favourites All Blacks take on host France in the other quarter final.

Stevie's Most Delicate Discussion

England coach Steve McClaren has to do something that he claims is the hardest thing to do in his entire career, and that is to tell captain John Terry that he might not play for England against Estonia in next saturdays Euro qualifier. Terry's dedication to the team is of legendary nature not only for England but also for his club. Right from the start of the season, Terry has been taking injections for his broken toe so he could play for Chelsea. Last week he came to Valencia to play the crucial Champions League match with a face mask, prtoecting his broken cheek bone. However, McClaren is not concerned about his fitness or form, but it is the yellow card the captain carries into the game, which is raising doubts in the coach's mind. He wants Terry to be a part of the team for the more crucial tie against Russia later on. Should Terry be reasonable enough to understand what all he is putting himself through, considering this could shorten his career in the long run? Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand are also carrying yellow cards causing the coach to be more cautious.
Surprisingly McClaren has also included Lampard and Owen n his squad though they are to make a return from injury this sunday only. If Lampard comes back then he will have to drop Barry who has been in form and could cause a bit of disharmony among the English creating a pool of 'untouchables'. However Lampard is also the second highest goal getter. McClaren says that if Owen is fit he will surely start. Good Luck to McClaren for sortng out his troubles and his tongue.

Blatter Will Kill The Game

FIFA should start preparing for a series of court cases unless president Sepp Blatter removes the new rule he wants implemented by 2010. Blatter wants that all clubs should not have more than 5 foreign players in the starting line up. The EU has promised to make a big hue and cry about this should this rule come into existence. The G14 which represents 18 of the biggest clubs in Europe warned the president about the complications of this rule. Blatter claims to have the support of Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff and Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson. Arsenal in their last Champions League outing last week had only one English born player. Blatter has asked a newly formed committe to look into the situation of the rule and hopes to make a decision by next may.

Yuvraj's Efforts Go In Vain

A brilliant 121 of 115 balls by Yuvraj Singh could not stop Australia from winning the third ODI by 47 runs. Australia's dominance in the season continued as they posted a huge 290 on the board after electing to bat first. Gilchrist and Hayden(60) got them off to a flier before the spinners slowed things down in the middle overs. Clarke (59) who has been in form with the bat put on a big partnership with hard hitter Andrew Symonds. Symonds taking over from where he left of last match blasted 89 of just 65 balls to give the faultering Indians a huge target to chase down. The Indian innings as usual got off to a disaster with Lee and Johnson making early in roads into the line up leaving the hosts tottering at 13/3. Tendulkar and Yuvraj then put on 95 runs before Sachin was bowled by Hogg. Captain Dhoni joined Yuvraj at the crease and soon things started looking up for the Indians as they added 65 runs but Dhoni's dismissal later on sealed the deal. Yuvraj went on to get his eighth ODI hundred but India were all out for 243. Man of the match went to Andrew Symonds for his blistering knock of 89.

Ferrari Also Accused Of Spying

In a dramatic twist to tale of espionage in formula 1, sacked Ferrari staff member Nigel Stepney has opened his mouth claiming that Ferrari were also spying on Mclaren. Nigel who was Head of Development claims that while he was with ferrari, he received information about the Mclaren car. weight distribution and other car parts is the information he claims to have received. Stepney claims the information was given to him by Mclarens Chief Designer Mike Coughlan who played an instrumental role in the 49.2 million dollar fine doled out to Mclaren last month. BBC has seen a copy of the letter sent by Stepney to Max Moxley, the FIA President claiming to have sent a letter to the governing body regarding a certain part of the ferrari car. Stepney feels that Ferrari got off lightly and that, like Mclaren should be docked points.

England Fight Back, Level Series

England needed a good performance after being drubbed in the first ODI and their fielding and bowlers did just that. England struggled in the batting department after winning the toss and electing to bat. No one could capitalise their starts and were soon struggling at 142/6 before Owais Shah (82) and Swann (34) took them to a respectable 235/8 in 50 overs. Mahroof was the pick of the bolwers scalping 3 wickets for 30 runs in his 9 overs. Defending a smallish total isn't easy but the English bowlers were right on target from the word go. Wickets at regular intervals, saw the hosts struggle to reach 100 for 6 in 25 overs. All the bolwers gave nothing away and kept the line tight for the batsmen. Sidebottom returned impressive figures of 10-2-23-2. Swann too was very economical and picked up wickets. His figures read 10-3-27-2. England had a slight problem picking up the last wicket and the pair added 43 runs in 10 overs with Mubarak unbeaten on 44. Sri Lanka were all out for 169 giving the English a victory by 66 runs.

Only One Home Win In Eight

In a surprising day of Champions League Fottball, it was all the away teams that were successful. Porto had a 1-0 away win at Beiktas with a 90th minute winner. Liverpool were stunned at home 1-0 by group leaders Marseille. Liverpool find themselves in a spot of bother with 1 point out of a possible 6. Schalke won 2-0 away to Rosenberg and in one of the heavy weight clashes of the night, Chelsea also beat Valencia 2-1 in Spain. One own goal and a goal by Drogba sealed 3 points for the visitors. Werder Bremen were also given a beating by visitors Olympiakos in a flurry of late goals, 3-1. Lazio grabbed one point from visitors Real Madrid 2-2 where Nistelrooy got a brace for Madrid and Pandev who replied likewise for Lazio. Benfica were beaten at home by Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 and in the only home win of the day Celtic shocked champions Milan 2-1 with a last gasp goal by Mcdonald. Not a good deay for home teams is all I can say.

English Classes For City

Manchester City coach Sven Goran Eriksson is flying high after his side's superb start this season which sees them lying in third spot in the League. This also includes a derby win over rivals, Manchester United. In order to continue this form Eriksson feels that communication is the key on the field. Eriksson has 15 different nationals in the squad and has therefore instructed all of them to take english classes to better their communications on the field which he hopes will help them perform better.Bizzare or a Brain wave? You be the judge.

Is 1-0 The New Trend For United

I am absolutely exuberent with United's 1-0 win at home against Roma. Rooney who hasn't scored for a long time answered his critics with a sublime goal. All the matches that United have one in the premier league this season have been 1-0 barring the win against Chelsea (2-0). It doesn't stop there, even the two rounds of Champions League saw United win 1-0. I don't care as long as they keep winning.
In other Champions League action, Lyon continued their poor run by getting a hammering at home by Rangers 3-0. Lyon have now conceded 6 goals in their two opening matches. Barcelona were comfortable 2-0 winners away to Stuttgart. Sporting Lisbon beat Dynamo Kiev away 2-1. Moscow drew at home to Fenerbahce 2-2 and Inter beat PSV with nine men 2-0. Sevilla got a 4-2 win at home against Slavia and Arsenal trhanks to a Van Persie goal won away Bucharest.

Roma Seek Redemption

Manchester United have defending problems for the second round game in the Champions League. Visitors Roma, will be hoping for a certain payback after they were humiliated here 7-1 last season in the knock out stage. United are going to be without keeper Van Der Sar who is out with a toe injury and will be replaced by Kuscak.Wes Brown and Vidic are also unsure of a start with O'Shea and Pique named as back ups. Ferguson is unsure about Hargreaves who has also been injured and will start with Rooney and Tevez with Saha on the bench. Roma are without defenders Cassetti and Panucci and Cicinho is likely to get a start. Surely we cannot expect a repeat of last season but with United playing I always hope for the best

Smoking Banned In Taxis Before 2008 Games.

Amongst all other efforts to get Beijing ready for the game, the government has banned smoking in all 66,000 taxis in Beijing. Drivers will be fined 13-26 dollars for smoking while passengers will be "exposed through media". The number of cars on the roads are to be limited and foul smelling factories are to be closed. Beijing is going heavy on its pollution and cleanliness checks to get the city ready for the Olympics 2008. Strange tactics if you ask me.

Aussie's Start Revenge Tour In Style

After India knocked Australia out of the Twenty20 World Cup, there could only be one thing on the Aussies mind. Revenge. In the first ODI Australia got 306 only to have rain interrupt their charge when they had the hosts at 9/1.
In the second ODI, thanks to Symonds(87), Hayden(75) and Haddin(87*), Australia set 307 yet again. India kept losing wickets at regular intervals and never really looked like making a match out of it. Utthapa got after the bowling to score a quick fire 41 of 30 balls. A last wicket stand of 32 between captain Dhoni (58) and Sreesanth helped India cross the 200 mark before they were all out for 222 giving the visitors a comfortable 85 run victory. I hope the selectors give the new youngsters a chance in place of Dravid and Tendulkar. Their time has come and change is due. Even without them India won the Twenty20 World Cup.

No More Mercedes At ATP

After being a major sponsor for tennis and the ATP Mercedes Benz will not renew its contract when it expires in 2008. Tennis fans and viewers have been very used to seeing the mercedes logo on the nets of over forty tennis tournaments. The german carmaker plans to shift its sponsorship deals towards other fields such as golf, equestrian and soccer. it also plans to branch out in fashion and lifestyle. The CEO of the ATP has thanked Mercedes for its tremendous support. However all said and done I really dont see how Mercedes could get into the fashion line. Sure their cars are one of the most luxurious on the road and are a certain fashion statement but somehow after such a long time the ATP will surely miss them.

Sri Lanka Trounce Hapless England

England got of to a disastrous start in their Sri Lankan tour. Playing their first of five mathces in Sri Lanka, they were humbled by the hosts, losing to them by 119 runs. The hosts won the toss and opted to bat first scoring 269 in their 50 overs. All the batsmen contributed tot he score with the captain leading the way with a brilliant 66. England got of to a decent start with debutant Mustard (wicketkeeper) and Cook putting on 43 in 7 overs.It was all down hill from there thanks to some superb bowling by Mahroof who finished with 4/31 in 10. The middle order was just blown away to leave them at 102/6. Bopara and Swann put up a little resistance but they were bundled out for 150 in less than 35 overs. One thing I cant understand is what is wrong with the English Keepers? Why so many changes? Jones, Prior, now Mustard.England really need to get their game socks on.

Kasparov For President?

We all know that the United States Of America is having its elections in 2008, but another heavyweight, Russia, is also having its elections the same year. The surprise or the important news from there?- Former World Chess Champion Gary Kasparov has won a primary in Moscow to be the opposing party candidate. People may hate me for this but I don't consider chess to be a sport neither do I call the players athletes but yet chess forms a part of the sporting world. Now a former world champion running for the president of such a huge country has got to be some news. Good Luck to him but I always feel that sports and politics should always stay poles apart.