UFC Warriors Shane Carwin And Brock Lesnar On July 3

Now it appears the two gigantic heavyweights will meet this summer in a clash that will be the biggest challenges of both their prospective careers. The biggest fight is finally going to happen this summer! After Shane Carwin defeated Frank Mir last Saturday. After the fight the champion stepped into the octagon to confront the interim heavyweight champion and reiterated what he had said on ESPN’s Sportscenter earlier this week, “It was a good fight,but he’s still wearing a belt that’s a ‘make believe’ belt.” 

Shane Carwin seemed to take the statement as a challenge which will fuel him during his training camp leading into their ittle fight this summer. Now, Shane Carwin is now set to take on the former wrestler and UFC heavywight champion Brock Lesnar on July 3.

When UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and Shan Carwinr meet this summer in Las Vegas, it will be -- quite literally -- huge. In fact, the biggest title matchup ever, at least in terms of bulk. And the interest level for the fight might just match the oversized participants. According to the UFC President Dana White confirmed the plans at last night's UFC 111 post fight press conference.

Shane Carwin was supposed to meet Brock Lesnar at UFC 106 this past November, but the champion was diagnosed and sidelined with what was believed to be Mono at the time which was later discovered to be diverticulitis that could have ended his career. Carwin needed to defeat Mir in order to regain the number one contender’s role again and spoke about how he felt that meeting Lesnar in the Octagon eventually was his “destiny” after missing each other as wrestlers in College.

“It’s been a long time coming, I see it all as destiny, Brock and I were both national collegiate champions at about the same time in wrestling and we never got to meet in wrestling. Now here we are 10 years later and we finally get to meet and it’s on a much bigger stage. The biggest stage in the world, and I’m excited for it.” Shane Carwin said in the post-fight press conference. 

 

Speaking on SportsCenter earlier today, Brock Lesnar was first asked about his current condition.

“I’m 100 percent recovered. I’ve been able to step back and re-evaluate my life and re-evaluate my training, and I’m on track. I’m excited for Saturday night to see these two big heavyweights battle it out for the interim championship, and the winner of those two guys I’m looking forward to fighting in mid-summer.”

Asked about the fight this weekend for the interim title, Brock Lesnar said:

“That was a business decision that the UFC had to make. Really, that belt is a make-believe belt to satisfy the company and to satisfy the people in the heavyweight division. I’m still the heavyweight champion.”

“If Shane Carwin is a better version of Brock Lesnar, then the fight’s over in the first 30 seconds — I feel bad for Frank. Frank has a history of putting his foot in his mouth and let’s just see what happens Saturday night. I’m anxious to fight either one of those opponents. Both of them I’ve got some history with. … I can sit back and watch and let these guys fight over who wants to come after Brock Lesnar, the UFC heavyweight champion.”

Brock Lesnar was also asked about the disgraceful comments recently made by Mir towards him, explaining he saw it as purely entertainment value.

“What’s said outside of the Octagon is all purely entertainment. I dislike Frank — there isn’t an opponent in the Octagon that I really truly like. That’s the battle of competition. I’m not a grudge-holder, but the first and foremost thing to me is, When I get in that Octagon I respect no one. And that’s the bottom line for me.”

Sayali Bhagat's connection with Shoaib Malik

Tennis ace Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik, Pakistan's cricket captain, are all set to tie the knot. Now, though Sania Mirza's past engagement and the subsequent break-off made big news, it's common knowledge that Shoaib, too, had a fanciful past. The cricketer, it is heard, had a torrid affair with Bollywood actress and ex-Miss India Sayali Bhagat.
Yes, Pakistan’s cricket captain, the dashing Shoaib Malik, was dating former Miss India and Bollywood actress Sayali Bhagat. Sayali, who made her debut opposite Emran Hashmi in The Train, had hoped to keep their relationship under wraps. But the duo were spotted together in a hotel lobby then! Shoaib, at that time, was also in the news when a Hyderabadi family claimed that he had married their daughter. At that time, Sayali defended her man by saying “That was a marriage proposal that he said no to. Those allegations have been legally proved baseless. Shoaib was always single!”

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Champions League Quarters

Football Battles are about to commence today and tomorrow. The quarters finals of the UEFA Champions League are kicking off with some mouth watering encounters too look forward too. Two games stick out from the draw, obviously Arsenal vs Barcelona and Bayern Munich vs Manchester United.

The latter will be a tightly contested affair. A lot of people don't give Bayern enough credit when it comes to European Cups. Sir Alex and United had better not underestimate the 4 time winners! United are on a role at the moment and after last weeks results I think they are now clear favorites to win the Premier League, unless Chelsea can beat them at Old Trafford on Saturday. The team as a whole is reaching it's top gear at the right time and with one of Europe most on from strikers leading the line in Wayne Rooney, they have a lot to be confident about. Hopefully too confident for their own good. They are facing experienced opposition and make no mistake this will not be the Milan games. Bayern have a very strong squad. They are only really weak in goal, Butt is not up to standard. Defensively they have been inconsistent but the returning DeMichelis will be a boost for the team. They have arguably two of the best wide players in the world in Ribery and Robbin and if the latter if fit for the clash tonight Gary Nevile will be looking forward to a miserable time. On their day these two are unstoppable and with Klose upfront to finish off their moves they will always be a threat. They have grit in midfield too with Van Bommel playing the role of the enforcer and the technically gifted Schweinstiger distributing play. This will be a real battle and I think Bayern may just pull it off.

The Arsenal/Barcelona clash is truly mouth watering. I have been excited ever since the draw was made. I would have definitely preferred that Arsenal play anyone else, CSKA to be more accurate but this clash just promises to be too good. The positive thing here is that the risk of the managers spoiling the game is almost non existent, both team are programmed to attack. They are almost identical to one another. They depend on ball possession with slick passing and incredible off the ball movement. I think Arsenal are the more on form team at the moment. Barcelona overall are having a bit of a dip with Messi the obvious exception. The midfield battle will be an exhilarating one. Cesc, Song and Diaby (Densilson) vs Iniesta, Xavi and Toure. On current form I'll give the edge to Arsenal, however this is not the full story. Although defensively Barca have been lacking a bit this season I don't feel Arsenal have the strikers to punish mistakes. Bendtner is on a good run but is he that good? Arshavin needs to be at his best if the Gunners are to fashion anything. Nasri too, but will Wenger surprise us with Theo? I think Theo would be useful at the Nou Camp with counters if Arsenal can get a positive result tomorrow. Defensively is where I think Arsenal are going to have the most trouble. Containing Messi is almost impossible these days. On an average day he is unplayable. Not sure if Arsenal would have it in them to stop him even if Gallas was playing. I think he will have a great time dribbling past Clichy today. Zlatan is another problem, his technical ability and physical presence are a huge threat but I think Sol can play a good game on him. As for Henry , I think it might be difficult for him to play at his best or maybe not since this is the Emirates and not Highbury. Overall I think Barcelona have more quality and killer instinct than Arsenal but don't underestimate the young gunners just yet! Iniesta is likely to miss the clash at the Emirates and Cesc is facing a late fitness test.

O fim está próximo?

Vírus que mata milhares de pessoas em todo o mundo pode estar condenado


Desculpe-me se lhe instiguei com o título, mas foi essa minha intenção... Há muito tempo não se ouvia falar em estudos ou testes que beneficiariam não só países de primeiro mundo! Não quero parecer inconveniente, muito menos disseminador de assuntos que ninguém aguenta mais ouvir; trago boas novas... Sabemos que existem especialistas que trabalham em busca da cura de várias doenças, mas a verdade é que nem sempre a solução implica a todos. Parece que um dos principais problemas de saúde mundial está chegando ao fim...

Foi publicado em 2010, um estudo revolucionário e um pouco curioso na Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, publicação americana muito conhecida nas áreas das ciências biológicas. O artigo relata que uma mutação do inseto Aedes Aegypti poderá impedir a disseminação da doença e suprimir a população original de transmissores em um período de seis a nove meses. O novo método, de acordo com os cientistas britânicos e americanos, é muito eficiente, uma vez que a modificação genética afeta apenas o vôo das fêmeas, responsáveis pela transmissão do vírus, sem prejudicar os machos. A idéia da equipe é que os machos com o DNA alterado cruzem com fêmeas selvagens e repassem seus genes. Há também uma pretensão de distribuir milhares de ovos de mosquitos geneticamente modificados para que as fêmeas de sua prole tenham um crescimento limitado das asas e, dessa forma, não consigam voar.

De acordo com a Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), estima-se que ocorra cerca de 50 milhões de casos de dengue por ano em todo o mundo, sendo que 2,5 bilhões de pessoas (dois quintos da população mundial) estejam sob risco, principalmente, na África e no Sudeste Asiático. O vírus é transmitido através de picadas e nenhuma vacina ou tratamento foi desenvolvido até então.
Segundo os cientistas, esse novo método oferece uma segura e eficiente alternativa aos pesticidas e pode ser usado para prevenir outras doenças transmitidas por mosquitos, como a malária.

Eis que surge uma ”luz no fim do túnel”. Até agora, os estudos e ideias são otimistas. O líder do estudo, Luke Alphey, da Universidade de Oxford diz que "todas as pessoas nas áreas tratadas são igualmente protegidas, independentemente de sua riqueza, poder ou educação". Agora é esperar e ver para crer...

Tennis star Sania Mirza is engaged to Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik

India’s Tennis sensation Sania Mirza will marry Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik, Pakistani news channel Geo TV have confirmed the report.
According to the channel, the Tennis star will marry Shoaib Malik in April this year.
Though, Sania Mirza’s family hasn’t confirmed anything about the report.

Malik too has denied the reports of getting married to Sania. Couldn't understand on what basis, Geo TV has aired the report of their wedding!

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MMA's Majesty is regal, real and ready to reign

In 1973, the classic martial arts film 'Enter the Dragon' was Hollywood's introduction of Bruce Lee to the world. However, it also featured a young and exciting new martial artist named Jim Kelly, whose character 'Williams' was a confident, smooth talking ladies man with fast hands and lethal skill. 37 years later, meet this generation's Williams, Muhammed 'King Mo' Lawal.

At just 29 years old and only six fights into his professional fight career, this self proclaimed King has taken the MMA world by storm and is about to make his own introduction to the world on network television in less than three weeks. On Saturday April 17, airing live on CBS, King Mo will challenge Gegard Mousasi for the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship of the World.

Mousasi, another young rising star in MMA, has had 31 fights in his career, winning 28. Comparing the two records, one would think the odds are against Lawal winning this fight, but take a closer look at his competition career, whether it's been wrestling at the amateur, pro and international level or mixed martial arts, and you'll see King Mo's been beating the odds all along.

Originally born in Tennessee, King Mo was raised in the south, as his family moved from state to state, eventually settling and growing up right outside Dallas, Texas. A happy go lucky personality at heart, who is all about having fun, for some reason King Mo would always find himself in the middle of a scrap growing up. Not one to back down from a challenge, he actually noticed he enjoyed fighting.

Blessed with lightning quick hands and feet, he was a natural athlete, which made his transition into wrestling that much smoother. In a state where normally football, especially at the high school level, is king, no pun intended, King Mo was introduced to the sport of wrestling at the fairly late age of 16. It was an outlet for him to utilize and harness his natural aggression and skill.

Most amateur wrestlers by trade, especially those that excel in high school, have been applying themselves at their craft since the ages of four and five. However, just like Matthew Modine's character in the movie 'Vision Quest', Lawal and wrestling seemed to be made for each other; that God given ability just flourished in the sport as he went on to become a Texas State Champion while wrestling at Plano East High School.

This natural raw talent landed at Division II Central Oklahoma University where he would work his way to a second place National runner-up finish in 2001. He would follow that up by winning the whole thing in 2002 and becoming an NCAA Champion. While at Central Oklahoma, Lawal would commute to Division 1 wrestling powerhouse Oklahoma State in the off-season to work on his wrestling with the likes of All-American wrestlers such as Daniel Cormier and Mark Munoz.

The hard work paid off as King Mo was offered a scholarship and transferred to Oklahoma State where he would go on to become a Big 12 champion and earn a third place overall finish in the 2003 NCAA Championships. The accolades would continue for Lawal as he went on to become one of the most decorated wrestlers in the past decade.

After college he participated in a now defunct organization called 'Real Pro Wrestling', which used rules closely resembling freestyle wrestling. In its only year of existence, King Mo was crowned champion. He then went on to win the U.S. Senior National Championships in 2005, 2006 & 2008, along with a runner-up finish in '07, and just barely missed making the 2008 Olympic team by literally seconds as he was winning his final match up until the very end.

To put into perspective what an accomplishment all this truly is, two-time Olympian Cormier, a current training partner and close friend of King Mo's, was a guest on MMA Junkie Radio earlier this week. When I asked him to explain how remarkable this achievement was, he said, "That is unheard of; wrestlers of that caliber begin training before elementary school and for Mo to accomplish all he has in wrestling after starting in high school is a testament to how hard he is willing to work."

Why does he work so hard? Well, it depends on which Muhammad Lawal you ask. If you ask "King Mo," his alter ego, he's all about 'GDP', "gettin' dat paper," which is slang for making money. However, in my phone interview with him over the weekend, Lawal told me "What I want is to be a legend; I want to go down in history as one of the greatest fighters that ever lived. I want my name to be mentioned the way people refer to names like Ali, Holmes, Robinson, Pep etc."

I asked him how he knew so much about boxing history and he said he would always watch fights growing up with his father and his siblings. Boxing and fighting were part of his childhood, which would explain his foray into MMA. In his first pro fight he was a last minute replacement against MMA and UFC veteran Travis Wiuff.

Fighting far from home in Tokyo, Japan where most first time fighters would probably suffer from jitters and home sickness, Lawal went out and TKO'ed Wiuff in less than three minutes of the first round. More of the same followed in his next five fights as he won four of five by either KO or TKO and the only fight that went to a decision was against Ryo Kawamura, Pancrase Light Heavyweight Champion, and that was only after suffering an ACL tear of the knee in the first round. Of course he went on to fight two more rounds with the damaged knee and earn the victory; unbelievable!

That brings us to April 17 and his approach to the biggest fight in his career. He is currently training in California with an All-Star line-up and virtual who's who of MMA. He told me he has been working with the aforementioned Cormier and Munoz along with, Rashad Evans, Fabricio Werdum, Renato 'Babalu' Sobral, Mike 'Joker' Guymon, Rodrigo Nogueira and that is just to name a few. He's also working his Boxing with Mike Wilson, Jiu-Jitsu with Marc Laimon and his Muay Thai and overall stand up game with Rafael Cordeiro along with his secret training partner Syiar "The Killa from Afghanistan."

I was lucky enough to meet King Mo last summer in Las Vegas while he was a guest host on Junkie Radio. I got to co-host a show with him and then got to know him a little afterwards. Most people that only see the flamboyant "King Mo" image side of him would be surprised to know that, he's incredibly knowledgeable about the sport and extremely cerebral towards his approach to it.

His confidence may lead some to believe he's cocky, but it is just the opposite as he could care less about winning or losing. His philosophy on fighting and life are both the same, "Just go out and have fun," and he's totally serious and very real when he talks about it. I told him that he reminds me of Kelly in 'Enter the Dragon' when his character tells the evil Mr. Han, "I don't even think about losing because when it comes, I'll be too busy looking good." Regardless of which it is, one thing is for sure, MMA's Majesty is about to reign on his empire.

I want to thank King Mo for granting me the time for an interview during his very busy schedule and for always keeping it real.

King Mo thanks his Manager Dr. Ryan Parsons and Percy Crawford of FightHype.com. Also, Cage Fighter, Iomega, Future Clothing and EA Sports. He also wants to acknowledge all his training partners, Team Thirsty and finally, "anyone out there that is about pursuing greatness."

UFC 111 draws varying opinions; good and bad

With much anticipation, the Ultimate Fighting Championship made its return back to the east coast Saturday night with UFC 111 @ The Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Topped with two championship co-main events, one featuring arguably the sports most popular fighter, and stacked heavy with New Jersey born and bred entries, the outlook was promising for an exciting evening of fights.

While some delivered the "knockout punch" UFC brass and its fans were hoping for, others left a bad taste regarding the sport of MMA and some of its fighters. Hard to believe, but this event drew adjectives such as overrated and boring from some of its fans to describe it and more often than not a chorus of boos were heard throughout the night. I did not subscribe to any of these, but then again I am a hardcore fan, which led me to wonder why such an overall negative response?

As I watched the fights unfold in Hi-Def at a friend's house with seven others, I started to notice an underlying tone of disenchantment with the way many of the fights were playing out. This particular fight card was top heavy with fighters who either prefer or come from a grappling background. Rousimar Palhares, Ricardo Almeida, Nate Diaz, Mark Bocek, Jim Miller, Jon Fitch, Kurt Pellegrino, Fabricio Camoes and even Georges St. Pierre are all so proficient at their wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, there was no question that all of their fights were going to start and end up in a clinch.

In one case, the fight between Pellegrino and Camoes, the transitions and submission attempts were so frequent; it made for an exciting bout. However, the others were either so predominately one-sided or void of action due to the nullifying of each other's advancements that the casual fan quickly lost interest. Boos frequently rang out throughout the arena and within the crowd I was with, there were numerous expletives flying, especially at the referees for not separating and standing up the fighters.

Ironically, there were two separate cases where a fighter was being chastised for either being too aggressive in his submission attempt or not aggressive enough. Rousimar Palhares, who is known for his expertise in leg locks, made quick work of Tomasz Drwal when he caught him in a heel hook; unfortunately, his decision to let go of the hold wasn't as quick, causing obvious damage to Drwal's knee and distaste among the hardcore MMA community. So much so, he has since been handed a 90-day suspension for unsportsman like conduct.

On the other hand, Georges St. Pierre, who once again completely dominated his opponent with his superior wrestling and underrated Jiu-Jitsu skills, was actually being booed for not breaking one of Dan Hardy's limbs when he had the opportunity. On two separate occasions he had Hardy in serious trouble with a deep arm-bar (pictured above) and a nasty Kimura respectively and both times, when he could have obviously caused some serious damage because Hardy refused to tap, he inevitably let go of the hold. This did not go well with the audience in attendance at the arena and in the living room. They wanted to see a finish, regardless of the consequence.

On another note, one fight that did excite the fans was the Interim Heavyweight Championship between former champ Frank Mir and Shane Carwin. When these two behemoths entered the cage, you knew it wasn't going to last long and it didn't as Carwin unleashed a flurry of fury on Mir that left the former champ laying flat, face first on the mat. Great performance, at least I thought, but one other hardcore fan saw it differently. Instead of looking at it the way I did, he chose to describe Mir as "overrated". That's right, in reference to a two time former heavyweight champion, he used the 'O' word. His argument, who has Mir beaten?

He used the names Tim Sylvia (a former three-time champion), Wes Sims and Tank Abbott and talked about he had lost to Pe de Pano Cruz and Brandon Vera, a light heavyweight, and how he barely scraped by Dan Christianson. My response was he forgot to mention wins over Brock Lesnar (the current champion), Rodrigo Nogueira and Cheick Kongo; also, as for the losses and poor performance against Christianson, those were right after his return from the motorcycle accident where he was not fully dedicated to his training.

Mind you, I am far from a Frank Mir fan as I have openly stated I think he is cocky. Yet I don't think overrated is a fair word to use in his case. Have we as fans gotten so spoiled with the rapid ascension of the sport and the UFC that it's gotten to the point where anything less than a stunning first round knockout, flashy submission or complete dominance is a letdown?

Joe Rogan, color commentator, openly shares his disappointment when the referee intervenes to separate fighters during either a stand-up clinch or tussle on the ground for dominant positioning. He tries his best to describe the intricacies that are taking place during the chess match that is going on, but he is also quick to point out that American fans are "just not used to or familiar with this type of fighting". In Japan, 70,ooo plus fans will sit quietly while this type of scenario is playing itself out, then they will applaud eloquently, as if at an opera house, when even the slightest maneuver for position is executed.

Here in the states, while the knowledge of the fans continues to grow, the overall majority is still ignorant to the game. Ignorant, meaning a lack of knowledge to fully appreciate the science and not the brutality behind fighting. It undoubtedly helps the appreciation if you have trained and found yourself in these positions once or twice before. Of course, regardless of how much time and understanding passes, you will always have those chosen few that still perceive this as a blood sport, which begs the question, are American fans blood-thirsty or just ignorant?

Some positives to be drawn from UFC 111 have to start with the heavyweights. The aforementioned new interim champ Shane Carwin is just one of the new breed of heavyweights that now dominate the division. Heavyweights that are bigger faster and more skilled than ever before. It wasn't that long ago that the division was stacked with names such as Fabiano Scherner, Cabbage Correira, Eddie Sanchez and Carmelo Marrero. Those names have since been replaced by the likes of Carwin, Lesnar, Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos to name but a few.

This heavyweight generation is the latest evolution in the sport. Also, the UFC has a bona fide superstar in welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. A young fighter in his prime who has clearly set himself apart in his division. He is dedicated to his craft and determined to be the best fighter he can be. Even during his complete reign over the sport, he has a drive to become the greatest pound for pound fighter that has ever lived. He is good looking, well spoken, well liked and most importantly respected by his peers, which makes for the perfect spokesman and ambassador of the sport. However, his overall dominance may ultimately be his undoing. This is just one of many varying opinions, good and bad, that have been drawn from UFC 111.

Badry, Referees and Zamalek

Last Thursday I watched Ahly take on Enppi in the Egyptian Premier League. Ahly managed to scrape a 2-1 win putting them 6 points clear at the top from second placed Zamalek with a game in hand. Ahly played extremely poorly and if not for a number of refereeing errors would have easily lost the match. Enppi scored 2 goals which were incorrectly disallowed for offside, but more on that later. The performance in itself was horrendous.

Not for the first time this season and especially in the second round of the competition Ahly has played aimlessly and extremely poorly. Hossam El Badry is yet to realize his starting eleven (or more accurately 13). The coach has changed around players and has rarely started with the same players for two games back to back. Some coaches do this to rest players and for squad rotation (Rafa Benitez comes to mind) but when you are leading the league and putting on OK performances why the confusion? Tactically we seem lacking too but this is not what I want to talk about today. I was always a bit critical of Badry, but was behind him as a new coach and for leading the team to top the league. After Thursday's game I have lost all respect for this man and I want to see him sacked sooner rather than later regardless of winning or losing the league! I have never seen watching football (and I watch my fair share of game:D) a manager react the way Badry did towards his players on every mistake or missed opportunity. The coach was swearing and shouting and waving his arms all through the game in disgust. The way he reacted after conceding the first goal was shocking to me. Slurring out words of disgust and looks of contempt. He even decided to swear at one of his strikers after missing a chance!! What kind of message does this send to the team and the fans? For starters he is the one who selected and trained these players. he has put them in the starting eleven. The way they play is first and foremost his responsibility and if it happens that certain individuals play poorly that's what you have the changing room for! Give them the hairdryer treatment in private. Players are human beings, if you insult them in public how the hell do you expect them to play for you?? Or was he just putting on a show for us viewers and off course his bosses too? Was he trying to tell us that this was not his fault by showing us that he wasn't OK with the performance? No matter what his reasons were for doing this , it is unacceptable. Being and Ahly fan all my life I take offense to what Hossam El Badry did. When you verbally insult your player you are actually insulting every fan and insulting the club itself! What he did during the game is just as equivalent as throwing your teams shirt on the floor after being substituted, remember what the board did to Hossam Hassan when he did this?

The fans started cheering to lift up the team after conceding the first goal against Enppi, they could see it was a horrendous defensive mistake yet they didn't care they got behind their team. What did the coach do? he abused his players. If Ahly management had some guts this man should be sacked out of respect for the players and the fans a like.

Refereeing has been a huge issue in Egypt the past couple of weeks or so. Things boiled over after the Ahly/Enppi game when the latter had 2 good goals disallowed. The thing is the referees are indeed making a lot of mistakes, but frankly this has been going on for years and years in Egypt. Overall though I think things have improved, they might be having more impact on games because they are making decisions. They are getting more involved, penalties, red cards and so on. Years back they usually did nothing, they would not dare give penalties in crucial matches or red cards, they wanted everything to just go smoothly. I remember Gamal El Ghandour (arguably Egypt's best ever referee) when he used to be in charge of Ahly/Zamalek derby games they always finished 0-0. He would blow for every single contact and their was never ever controversy because he never let the game flow to start with. One thing that has never changed for ages is that referees continue to favor both Ahly and Zamalek against lesser opposition. Alaa Sadek pointed this out and he was dead on. I would go a bit more and say that even in other games they tend to favor the more powerful club, this is unacceptable! Moreover they are the kind of referees who see how the game is going and base decisions on that, something must be done about this!

What is insane though is that the Zamalek board have the audacity to publish a formal letter on their official website saying that Egyptian referees favor Ahly and want to give them the league. Are they blind or do they just want to stir up feelings of injustice. I think Mamdouh Abass and co know very well that winning the league this season would be a miracle, even with Badry coaching Ahly, and they thought they might as well prepare excuses. Frankly they are either blind or clueless to attempt such an argument. I urge Zamalek fans not to fall for this hoax. Refereeing in Egypt favors both Ahly and Zamalek. Does everyone here have that short of a memory? A clear offside versus Arab Contractors at the end of the game gave Zamalek 3 points, no? Ismaily scored a clear goal against Zamalek that was given as a foul for no reason what so ever! The list goes on. Yeah the Zamalek board wanted to replay or worse get 3 points over Harass Al Hodod when they were beaten fair and square, over a technical error that had nothing to do with Harass. If anyone has a right to feel aggrieved it's teams like Ismaily, Enppi, Petrojet who have an actual chance to compete for the title if refs were fair. Also teams struggling for survival who lost points due to such bias. Wake up and smell the roses!

Dengue

These junkies are an addiction worth having (Part 2)

While attending the Arnold's Classic in 2008, George ran into his new friend Chuck Zito, who suggested that he had some friends at Sirius Radio who may be interested in the show the guys were producing. Thus, an eventual meeting was set up in New York, however after the meeting with Sirius; George was once again met with disappointment, as there was no interest on their part. Sirius felt the show needed a bit more polishing, which George totally understood.

Just about ready to give up on the show, a stroke of misfortune proved to be heaven sent. George missed his flight home; thus he was forced to stay in New York one more day. While there he had an epiphany and he decided he would give it one last shot, so he called Dann Stupp who was the editor and founder of a website he had started called MMAJunkie. Originally the site was just a blog called UFCJunkie, but just like the sport it was covering it slowly began to grow into a full-fledged MMA news site.

After the phone call, instead of flying back to the West Coast, George was on a flight bound for Cincinnati. George and Goze already had a relationship with MMAJunkie as they had been paying to post a banner on the site promoting their radio show. By the same token, Junkie was doing daily recaps of TAGG Radio shows on their site and noticed those were the columns that seemed to be drawing the most attention.

After the impromptu business meeting, where George was just hoping to be able to pick Dann's brain on what else he could possibly do to elevate the show, the two up and comers decided to merge and TAGG Radio was absorbed; it would now be known as Junkie Radio. With the new deal in place, George decided it was now time for him to make the move to Vegas where Trigg and Goze already were.

Also there was a woman behind the scenes, literally, as Goze's girlfriend Jenny had been an integral part of the show assisting in all facets of production, handling the phone calls and helping to take the show to the proverbial next level by adding a new wrinkle. Someone suggested the idea of a video stream and Jenny ran with it, learning how to do it and eventually working the camera. This new feature improved the show dramatically because it brought to life these characters we were listening to on a daily basis.

While in Vegas they continued to broadcast the show from their home, until one day an introduction to Rick Rosen gave them the contact they needed to reach out to Mandalay Bay. You see, word had gotten back to them about a seldom used studio that the hotel had inside the Race and Sportsbook and the brothers thought this could be the next step up in their evolution. They pitched the idea of using the studio to broadcast their show and the pitch was a strike; the radio show that started in a home in Southern California now had a new name and a new home.

Soon after the move to Mandalay Bay a new addition was added into the mix. John Morgan, a staff reporter and writer for MMAJunkie, decided to move to Las Vegas from Dallas to become Junkie's West Coast lead reporter. As part of the Junkie family, he was welcomed onto the show and the move was an instant success. The chemistry between the four was perfect; you had a lead host, a pro-fighter for analysis, an MMA insider and an ace producer. However, just as things were taking off, so was Trigg?

Offered an opportunity to continue his fighting career in the UFC, he left the show to dedicate himself 100% to what he needed to do; plus, the show would be considered a conflict of interest under the terms of his contract. Nonetheless, the fearsome threesome forged ahead and so did the show. Its unique style has made it the most popular MMA talk show on-line. The junkies have found a way to bridge a professional insightful show covering the sport of Mixed Martial Arts with a down to earth connection it has with its listeners.

One of the ways they have done this is by making the listeners a crucial part of the show. A long list of regular callers have become a cast of characters that are now anticipated as much by the listening audience as they are the hosts. Other distinct features such as Stun-Gun Monday's, Off-Topic Tuesdays and Goze's infamous 'Five Questions', that he asks all the fighters interviewed, are just part of what makes this show so popular. Those five questions by the way, are a descendant of something Trigg originally introduced when he was a co-host on 'Soundoff' with Ryan Bennett. Goze's unbridled sense of humor though has cultivated them into an art form that has reached legendary status.

Almost three years and over 700 shows later, Junkie radio has become to me and so many others worldwide what 'Soundoff' once was, a part of our everyday lives. So much so, that last year, through their encouragement, George and Goze helped me live out a dream that was unfulfilled. Back in the day, I had hoped to someday attend a UFC event in Las Vegas and finally meet Ryan Bennett and Trigg face to face during one of the remote broadcasts they would do in Vegas while covering the UFC.

Alas, once Ryan passed away, I assumed my dream died with him. However, last year Goze invited me to come to Vegas for UFC 100, even offering to let me stay at his home for part of the trip and sharing a hotel room with me the rest of the time to help me defray the cost. These two guys, just a couple of voices behind microphones, had picked up where Ryan Bennett left off; They became friends and if that's what being a junkie is all about, then this is an addiction well worth having.


George and Goze would like to acknowledge all their co-hosts over the years, guests hosts included, especially Frank Trigg, John Morgan and Marc Laimon. They also would like to thank 'Jenny from the block', Dann Stupp and the entire staff of MMAJunkie.com (Recently voted the #1 MMA News Site @ The World MMA Awards)

I personally want to thank Gorgeous George and Goze for this interview and more importantly, for their continued friendship.

Top Sports Man Tiger Woods Leaked Mistress Tape video

Tiger Woods apologized for his behavior in a tightly controlled, televised event, but he kept the golf world and his sponsors hanging by failing to say when he would return to competitive play. CNN name, logo and all associated elements ® and © 2010 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company.
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MI Vs KKR: Tendulkar Unbeaten On 71

 

Sachin Tendulkar scored a fine unbeaten 71 to guide Mumbai Indians to a seven-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Brabourne Stadium here on Monday.

Mumbai Indians easily chased the target of 156 runs, losing three wickets, in 18.3 overs as Knight Riders suffered their fifth consecutive loss to the Mumbai team.

The Mumbai Indians bowlers bowled a tight line and length to restrict the Knight Riders to 155 for three in 20 overs after captain Sourav Ganguly opted to bat first.

Chris Gayle, playing his first match of the tournament, struck 75 off 60 balls while Ganguly and Owais Shah scored31 runs.

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Jelena Jankovic & Andy Roddick advances in the BNP Paribas Open

Jelena Jankovic defeated Australian Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-4 Friday to reach the women's final of the BNP Paribas Open, where she'll play Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki.

Jankovic will try to win her first title in seven months on Sunday. Wozniacki is in her biggest final since losing last year's U.S. Open to Kim Clijsters.
Andy Roddick advanced to the men's semifinals with a 6-3, 7-5 win over 18th-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain, who lost to the American for the 11th consecutive time.
Roddick will next play No. 6 seed Robin Soderling after the Swede defeated No. 4 seed Andy Murray of Britain 6-1, 7-6 (4).

These junkies are an addiction worth having (Part 1)

According to former baseball manager Leo Durocher, "nice guys finish last", which I hate to admit seems to be generally true in this dog eat dog society we live in. Also, normally when you hear the words junkie and addiction in the same sentence, it is never about anything positive or good. However, in the supposed violent world of MMA, there are a couple of nice guys who have proven that being addicted and classified a junkie defies all of the negative stereotypes that come along with it.

Ironically, to tell their story, I have to begin with another extremely nice guy who was also addicted to MMA. The late great Ryan Bennett was a well-established sportscaster with an NBC affiliate in San Luis Obispo, California. He was also a huge fan of Mixed Martial Arts, thus prompting him to use his broadcasting skills to host a daily Internet radio show dedicated to the sport. 'Soundoff' was the Godfather of MMA radio and could be heard daily Monday-Friday for one hour from 9-10AM Pacific Time or 12-1PM here on the East Coast.

He would co-host the show with MMA fighter Frank Trigg and I was such an avid listener and fan of the show, I would schedule my lunch break either before noon or after 1PM, just so I could listen to the show live while I worked at my desk. It instantly became a part of my daily routine and something I looked forward to intently. Thus, when Ryan suddenly passed away in an auto accident in May 2006, I felt a void in my life. It was so strong that I was compelled to write a column in tribute to Ryan Bennett in a local newspaper all about how I had lost a friend. Hard to believe, but the show had become a part of my overall being.

Little did I know there were a couple of other guys on the other side of the country who felt the same way I did. Brothers George and Brian Garcia, better known as 'Gorgeous George' and 'Goze', are originally from Santa Ana in Orange County, California or as they like to refer to it, The O.C. At the time that I was religiously listening to 'Soundoff' on the East Coast with my lunch hour routine, they too were listening, only they were just starting their day with a dose of Bennett and MMA. Just like me, it became part of their daily fabric; unfortunately, also like me, they felt the void that was left with Ryan's untimely passing.

Sure the show was ultimately carried on by a couple of Ryan's friends @ MMAWeekly, however it just wasn't the same. The time slot was moved from morning to evening, thus knocking Trigg, a vital part of the show, out of the equation since his schedule would not allow his participation. Also, no slight on the hosts of the show, but they paled in comparison to Ryan's engaging demeanor and quick wit. With the rapid growth of the sport, other MMA radio shows soon popped up, but nothing seemed to fill the void. In all fairness, there were some pretty big shoes left to fill following Ryan Bennett and 'Soundoff'. I assumed it wasn't possible; that was until TAGG Radio.

Born out of a conversation one-day at an IHOP restaurant about this void that was left in their day and how at that same time of the morning they would normally be listening to 'Soundoff', Goze unexpectedly said to George, why don't you do it? In other words, why don't you host your own show. At the time George had stopped working to try his hand, no pun intended, as a professional poker player and Goze decided to go back to school full-time and work on a college degree, so they had some free time on their hands.

Also, through Ryan Bennett prior to his death, George had been given an opportunity to meet Frank Trigg, who at the time was also living in Southern California. So the plan was simple, they would start their own show at the same time 'Soundoff' used to be on 9-10AM Pacific, George would host it along with Trigg and Goze would produce it. Simple, except they didn't have professional broadcasting experience like Bennett and more importantly, they still had to get Trigg to buy into it.

After constant prompting and selling, Trigg finally agreed and in April, 2007, literally days after a fight he had in Hawaii, Trigg got off a plane in LA, was met by George at the airport was taken directly to their homemade studio at their house and TAGG Radio was born. TAGG, an acronym for Trigg and Gorgeous George, did not start without an audience either. Goze, who used to blog regularly on Myspace, a social network to over half a million people, had so many followers, he was accorded top ten status; so the word was already out about the show and it had an instant following.

The question now was what would it be like? By their own admittance, they were extremely nervous at first; so much so they had to take tequila shots before the show to calm their nerves. Also, as was to be expected, the bumps in the road were many, but they forged ahead. Because of their affiliation with Trigg, one thing the show had that others didn't was instant access to professional fighters in the SoCal area. Thus, on only their second day, they already had an in-studio guest when Trigg brought in Mike 'The Joker' Guymon; not bad, for a couple of guys whom nobody knew.

Before long the kinks were ironed out and the show started to take flight. With a "couple of guys sitting around shooting the stuff about MMA approach", people started to embrace the show, even becoming a part by calling in regularly. Surprisingly after about a month, offers actually started coming their way from professional entities such as ProElite and The Fight Network. Never expecting this to happen, the brothers were at a crossroads; do we take one of these offers ultimately selling off on something we started that could get bigger or do we go ahead on our own and see what else may be out there?

They eventually decided on the latter, but to their dismay, the expected offers dried up and now thoughts of having to throw in the towel, due to finances and other circumstances, were seriously being considered. Trigg had moved his base from California to Las Vegas and Goze was accepted as a full-time student @ UNLV, so he too had made the move to Vegas, thus two-thirds of the show were in the desert while the host was still in California.

Amidst all this, they still had a show to do and covering MMA meant they had to do just that. So, when Strikeforce decided to put on a card at The Playboy Mansion, Trigg, George and Goze just understood business is business, so they obtained press passes; it's a tough job, but somebody has to do it! While there, Goze noticed Actor Chuck Zito was also in attendance. Knowing of Zito's tough guy background and his role on the HBO series 'OZ', Goze thought it would be cool if they could get him on the show.

So, with some assistance and name dropping of Trigg, Goze introduced himself and asked if Chuck would be interested in doing the show. One thing led to another and eventually Chuck did the show live at the studio in SoCal with George hosting while Trigg and Goze were in Vegas. A few shared stories later along with a bite to eat afterwards and now George had another friend, who was not only an MMA fan, but also a contact in the entertainment industry.

Part 2 of 'These junkies are an addiction worth having' will follow on Thursday

1.21 Jigawatts!!!!

I have enough power in this monster to operate a flux capacitor. I'd love to warp back to 1985 to see the birth of Troy and drive him off the showroom floor. But that could have grave consequences for the space-time continnuum. The photo above and left shows the flux capacitor and the warp regulator. This runs through the undercarriage to the fuel rods. U-235 is for sissys and can barely power a Delorean. I'm running on UB 12550! Woot Woot! I'm going back to terminate Michael J. Fox at birth so I can replace him and star in Teen Wolf. Better start growing my beard right now.
"oh God, I don't know how they found me Marty, but they found me."
"Who found you Doc."
"It's the Lybians!"
Some of you may remember this most classic of cinematic scenes and you will also recall that 'the Lybians' are driving a late 1970's Volkswagen Vanagon with the roof cut out to accomodate a terrorist with a shoulder launched RPG. So bitchin'. I may add a gun turret to Max in the future.

we have water

The plumbing is in. It goes through the floor and onto the ground just like I like it. No gray water hassle. I toyed with the idea of throwing a T-junction on the pipe and adding a ghetto urinal. I guess I don't have space for both a urinal and a sink. But I guess the sink could act as a urinal. Or the urinal could act as a sink. Maybe, just maybe, I have both a urinal and a sink.....or did I just blow my own mind?

Maria Sharapova withdrawn for Sony Ericson Open with elbow injury

Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from next week's Sony Ericsson Open because of a bone bruise in her right elbow. Sharapova, who won the Memphis title last month, withdrew after an MRI revealed the injury that is expected to sideline her three to six weeks. She last played at Key Biscayne in 2007.

The tournament announced on Wednesday that second-ranked Dinara Safina and 2008 champion Nikolay Davydenko have also withdrawn. Safina withdrew because of a back injury. Davydenko pulled out because of a broken left wrist.

The field still includes Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Serena and Venus Williams, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters.

Cheerleaders in the grounds

These cheerleaders making the game cricket, NFL,Beach  Volley Ball, Football, basket Ball what not every game more interesting all the time. Some times they are attracting the viewers to stadiums also.