FA Cup Third Round - Man United beat Man City 3-2

After a 3-0 lead at the end of first-half, it turned out to be a nail-biting second half at the FA Cup match between Manchester United and Manchester City last night our time. Man Utd won 3-2. (Phew!)

Source: Man Utd website

Manchester United is drawn to play Liverpool in the Fourth Round.

Closer to home, it is a super start for Datuk Lee Chong Wei as he downs Olympic champion Lin Dan in a thrilling three-setter 12-21, 21-18, 21-14, in the US$1.2mil Korea Open Sunday.

Datuk Lee Chong Wei(L) and Lin Dan
Source: thestar

Lionel Messi named World Player of the Year

More soccer news..

Messi (not to be confused with the Octopus though it is named after him) has been named World Player of the Year.

Messi collected more than 60 percent of the votes cast in the annual poll of the British magazine’s readers from more than 40 countries – a record haul since the awards began in 1982.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid and Portugal came in a distant second with 9.3 percent of votes while last year’s winner, Messi’s Barca team mate, Xavi, was third with 7.6 percent.

In fact, European champions Barcelona swept the board in World Soccer magazine’s prestigious annual awards with Lionel Messi named World Player of the Year, Pep Guardiola Manager of the Year and the side that won the Spanish and Champions League last season named as Team of the Year.

So, looks like Messi the Psychic Octopus is on its way to stardom as the next psychic octopus. He did correctly predict Barca to beat Real, didn't he?


Source: The Star..Barcelona sweep the board in World Soccer awards

Barclays Premier League Table - Current standings

Some Barclay's English Premier League (EPL) soccer update:

Games played yesterday included Queens Park Rangers vs Manchester United with a scoreline of 0-2. Camera zoomed in on owner, Tony Fernandes, during the game - saw him on Astro - who didn't look too happy which was expected with his team trailing MU.

United was back on top of the table after beating QPR but that was for just a few hours before Man City got its top placing back with a win 1-0 over Arsenal.

Other games played:

- Aston Villa 0 - 2 Liverpool
- Tottenham H. 1 - 0 Sunderland
- Manchester C. 1 - 0 Arsenal

After 16 games, Manchester City, with 41 points, is still top of the table as you can see from the current standings below. Man Utd is at second, two points behind, while Tottenham Hotspurs at third with 34 points and one game in hand.

Click on table to enlarge print. If bigger print is desired, you can click on the source at Barclays Premier League Table

Image sources:
- The Star
- Premierleague

Messi, the Psychic Octopus

Remember Paul, the Octopus, (who can forget Paul!), the psychic Octopus that became world famous during the last World Cup after correctly predicting all the results involving the German team, as well as that of the final, won by Spain? We now have a new psychic octopus, in Spain.

According to this article in The Star,
Psychic octopus tips Barca to beat Real.

Messi the “psychic” octopus predicted on Monday that Barcelona will beat Real Madrid during the first Clasico of the season this weekend.

The octopus, named after Barcelona’s Argentine forward Lionel Messi, forecast the win by choosing to eat a sardine from a glass bottle decorated with the Catalan side’s crest, instead of one from a bottle with Real’s crest, at the Sea Life Aquarium in the southern city of Benalmadena.

Real face arch rivals Barcelona at home at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. They are currently at the top of the league table with 37 points, three more than second-placed Barcelona.

By the way, fans of Chelsea FC would be pleased to know that Chelsea made it through to last 16 of Champions League. Didier Drogba scored two goals and set up another for Chelsea to qualify for the knockout phase of the Champions League as Group E winners by beating Valencia 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

Tiger Woods clinched the Chevron World Challenge

THOUSAND OAKS, California, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Tiger Woods ended a frustrating victory drought of just over two years when he clinched the Chevron World Challenge which he hosts by one shot on Sunday, holing a six-foot birdie putt at the last.

This makes it the 95th tournament win of his career - but his first since the 2009 Australian Masters.

Woods' world ranking pulummeted from number one to 52nd while he struggled for fitness and form over the last two years with his private life in tatters.

I know practically nothing about golf. I am just happy for the guy.

Read more about the game..Tiger ends two-year title drought with Chevron win..The Star

Football final at the 26th SEA Games - Indonesia v Malaysia

Ooh, Barracudas!

Barracudas will be the mode of transportation for the Malaysian football team who will be playing the Indonesian side in tonight's highly-anticipated football final at the 26th SEA Games.

The game will be held at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

An anticipated 100 Malaysian supporters will brave 100,000 screaming Indonesian fans to root for Malaysia. Telekom's Team Malaysia will also be part of the cheering squad. The Malaysian team athletes and officials involved in the Games will not be attending the final according to chef-de-mission, Datuk Naim Mohd, who held a briefing for the Malaysian supporters on specific security matters.

Regarding the ride in Barracudas,

Team manager Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said the Barracudas were “most inconvenient”. He has asked the organisers to find a better way to transport the team.

“This is the third time that a Malaysian team will be travelling either to or from the stadium in an armoured vehicle. It isn't good for the sport,” said Hamidin.

At the Suzuki Cup AFF Championships 11 months ago, the national team rode to the stadium in the Barracudas due to security concerns.

On Thursday, after beating Indonesia 1-0 in the last Group A match, the national Under-23 team were forced to take the Barracudas back to the hotel to escape a hostile crowd.

The Star online today carried this image captioned:

Angry Indonesian football fans torched the ticketing booth in Senayan after tickets for today's men's football final between Indonesia and Malaysia were sold out.

I think it is sad that friendly games are not able to be played in a friendly atmosphere without any form of aggression or violence.


Sources:
- Army Guide
- The Star

Syabas Nicol David!

ROTTERDAM: Nicol David created history by winning her sixth world title in emphatic fashion at the Luxor Theatre here yesterday with the promise of more to come.

The undisputed queen of world squash was in devastating form as she pulverised long-time rival and world No. 2 Jenny Duncalf of England 11-2, 11-5, 11-0 in just 29 minutes in the final of the World Open.

More..Nicol claims her record sixth world title in emphatic style, The Star

MotoGP horror at Sepang circuit / Turkey earthquake

Just one week after the horrific crash and death of Dan Wheldon in the IndyCar championship's finale in Las Vegas, we have another fatality in a motor sport. This time, it is on our own shores.

From The Star..
SEPANG: The world of motorsports was rocked when Italian MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli was killed following a horrific crash at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix here.

The 24-year-old Gresini Honda team rider's machine veered across the track on the second lap of the race that started at 4pm yesterday and into the path of his compatriot Valentino Rossi of Ducati and American Colin Edwards of Yamaha.

It is the first fatal crash at the Sepang International Circuit since it opened in 1999.
More..

Italian MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli lying motionless on the ground after the crash at the Sepang International Circuit on Sunday.

Seems like the world is never short of bad news. Over the weekend too, Turkey was struck by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that saw more than two hundread dead and hundreds more missing. Turkey sits atop a fault line separating three tectonic plates, the Eurasian Plate, the African Plate and the Arabian Plate.

The quake struck at 1041 GMT.



Source: The Star

Some Interesting Videos

Good morning and a happy Monday! I would like to share a few short videos this morning. The first two, which in real life, almost all of us would never get to experience in person. Enjoy all of them!

Flying At 35000ft., Passing Between Three Airliners
COCKPIT VIEW...


View from inside Jenson Button's racing car. Jenson Excited – Ever wondered what goes through Jenson’s mind when he’s driving?


If you are a Trekkie or a Star Wars fan, you will like this one..LEGO StarWars


Here's one for the techies..Samsung GALAXY Note – Samsung GALAXY Note is a new type of smartphone, borne of consumer insights and innovation.


If you have been to a video arcade, you would identify with this. How do you choose? – A mother and her son in a supermarket buying/choosing their fish with a device that is normally used at fun fairs to catch prizes.


Last one - about quitting smoking and running a marathon

Kuala Lumpur International Jump Malaysia 2011

What do you see in the image above? You are right if you say the above is a picture of someone falling from the sky or jumping off a tall building.

To be exact, the caption on the image borrowed from Toronto Sun says: A BASE jumper leaps before parachuting down from Kuala Lumpur Tower September 29, 2011.

This jumper is a participant in the Kuala Lumpur International Jump Malaysia 2011 event which started on Wednesday, ending today, Sunday. This year's jump coincides with the 15th Anniversary of Menara KL and to join in the celebration are jumpers from Malaysia, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Britain, Japan and the United States.

(BASE stands for "building, antenna, span, earth", which are the fixed objects from which jumpers with parachutes leap off.)

This year's event attracted 90 jumpers, five of which are women BASE jumpers.

Jumps were/are from 10am to 6pm. Night jumps which were introduced last year were held on Friday and Saturday from 8.30pm to 10.30pm.

Image from The Star

Visitors were able to watch the event at the tower’s open deck with exclusive premier tickets priced at RM100 and RM150 for the day event.

For the night event the tickets were priced at RM150 and RM200.

If you are in the vicinity of the KL Tower, you could probably see them in the sky.

Image from The Star

Sources:
- The Star
- Toronto Sun

Cristiano Ronaldo Tested to the Limit

Fans of Cristiano Ronaldo might be interested in these videos. They show a series of recent tests by Castrol being conducted on him to study his Body Strength, Mental Ability, Technique and Skill. Take a look, they are pretty interesting even if you are not a football fan.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo became the most expensive player in football history after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer deal worth £80 million (€94m, US$132m). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he was to be paid £11 million per year over the following six years, made him the highest-paid football player in the world at the time, and his buyout clause was valued at €1 billion as per his contract. (Wikipedia)

Body Strength


Mental Ability


Technique


Skill

UEFA SuperCup 2011 - Barcelona wins 2:0 against Porto

FC Barcelona 2-0 FC Porto
The Spanish champions claimed the trophy for the fourth time thanks to goals from Lionel Messi and Cesc Fàbregas against nine-man Porto.

Lionel Messi and Cesc Fàbregas scored late in either half as FC Barcelona defeated nine-man FC Porto at Stade Louis II to win the UEFA Super Cup for the second time in three editions and a fourth overall.

Fresh from becoming the first recipient of the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, Messi was the epitome of coolness on a sweltering night in Monaco as he seized upon Fredy Guarín's back pass, jinked his way past Helton and rolled in the 39th-minute opener. More on uefa.com

Manchester United 3, Tottenham Hotspurs 0

I couldn't stay up to watch this morning's game between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. MU's second successive win puts the league's champions at second place behind neighbours Manchester City. MU is in search of a 20th domestic title.

According to Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson: "The second-half performance was absolutely fantastic."

Here are the stats if you are interested.

Source: bbc.com.uk

Manchester United wins the Community Shield

Manchester United kicks off the season by winning the Community Shield beating Manchester City 3-2. What a game!

In the space of 13 frantic second-half minutes, goals from Chris Smalling and Nani turned around a two-goal deficit and seized back the momentum Manchester City had stolen at the end of the first period. Then, with the match in the fourth minute of injury time and seemingly poised for penalties, Nani charged down a Vincent Kompany clearance on the halfway line, sprinted clear, rounded Joe Hart in the City goal and slid the ball home to clinch the season's first piece of silverware.
Continue..

Manchester United vs New York Cosmos 6-0, Testimonial match for Paul Scholes

The Manchester United vs New York Cosmos Testimonial match for Paul Scholes took place yesterday, Friday local time, at Old Trafford. Manchester United gave New York Cosmos a thrashing beating them 6 goals to nil.

Eric Cantona was back at Old Trafford as director of football for the New York Cosmos. 20 players were brought over and the team included Gary Neville, Nicky Butt and Dwight Yorke.

The Man United lineup include De Gea, Kuszczak, Lindegaard, Amos, Evra, Jones, Ferdinand, Smalling, Vidic, Fabio, Rafael, Evans, Anderson, Giggs, Park, Carrick, Nani, Scholes, Young, Fletcher, Valencia, Obertan, Gibson, Cleverley, Pogba, Norwood, Morrison, Owen, Berbatov, Rooney, Welbeck, Macheda, Diouf.

New York Cosmos lineup included (Brad) Friedel, Calderone, Neville, Bridge, (Fabio) Cannavaro, (Sol) Campbell, (Michel) Salgado, Reyering, Murphy, (Patrick) Vieira, Pires, Butt, Diaby, Iraheta, Gaitan, Yorke, (Robbie) Keane, Dimitrov, McBride.

Video to watch..

Syabas, Nicol David!

If there is ever a sports legend in Malaysia, it has to be Nicol David! The World No 1 squash-player just won her seventh successive CIMB Malaysia Open squash title when she beat Jenny Duncalf of England 11-6, 12-10, 11-5 in Kuala Lumpur Saturday.

I've always admired Nicol for her consistency and cool-headedness on and off the court. Syabas, Nicol! You make Malaysia proud.

France's Gregory Gaultier won the men's title.


Image source: The Star

Saga of the Manchester United fan at Bukit Jalil continues..

Technology has made the world smaller and contemporary social media has accelerated communications across the world. Remember the ManUtd fan at the Liverpool training session who was pressured to remove his MU Rooney No. 10 jersey? The striker himself got wind of it and hailed the lad "a legend" on Twitter. Check out the tweet..

Yes!!

A True Manchester United fan at Bukit Jalil

The video must be going viral today at least in Malaysia. It shows an MU fan attending a Liverpool training session (on their Asian tour) Thursday evening at the Bukit Jalil national stadium wearing an MU Rooney 10 jersey and being pressured to remove it. He was even given a Liverpool shirt to put on in place (what gall!) and I'm glad he refused it. He showed up later in a Malaysia shirt instead. Kudos, Manchester United fan! The Star has the story.

Watch the video..


Would you consider this a violation of human rights akin to the yellow shirt episode? Heck, even the Queen of England is wearing yellow. But of course, yellow is the color of royalty.

.
Read also:
- Rooney hails the lad a legend on Twitter
.
.
Image source: The Star

1-2-3 at the San Marino Bowling Championship

Kudos to the Malaysian bowlers who stormed to a 1-2-3 finish in the San Marino Open bowling championships which ended on Sunday.

Alex Liew won the crown after beating compatriot Adrian Ang in the final. Esther Cheah ended up joint-third together with the other losing semi-finalist Robert Andersson of Sweden.

The womens team is now in Barcelona for the City of Barcelona International Trophy which starts today until July 17.

EPL comes to KL

I miss soccer, watching the game, I mean. Can't wait for EPL (English Premier League) to start its season again in August. I enjoy watching bowling too though these days, it's difficult to catch a game on the telly. I watch wrestling as well, in fleeting moments if you can call that watching. The game is stomach-churning for me, to say the least.

By the way, Arsenal team arrives today in Malaysia to kick-start a 10-day tour by English Premier League teams including Liverpool and Chelsea.

Arsenal, whose last visit to Malaysia was almost 12 years, will be playing the national team at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Wednesday.

While Liverpool, making their maiden visit to our country, meet the national team on Saturday. Chelsea then take on a Malaysian selection at the same venue on July 21.

Got your tickets yet?