50centf’s Weblog


Napoli: folle idea, Saviola al San Paolo
March 25, 2008, 1:37 am
Filed under: Napoli, proteste | Tags: , , , , ,

(AGM-DS) – 24/03/2008 14.34.32(AGM-DS) – Milano, 24 marzo – Il Napoli potrebbe aver trovato il giocatore per il salto di qualita`: Javier Saviola. La voce e` incredibile. Ma non si tratta di uno scherzo da primo aprile come qualche mese fa, quando si parlo` addirittura di Lionel Messi in azzurro. In Spagna stavolta si parla sul serio. E si riferisce di un possibile futuro a Napoli di Saviola, attaccante argentino del Real Madrid. Una seconda punta veloce e tecnica che potrebbe integrarsi alla perfezione con il potente Ezequiel Lavezzi in un tandem d`attacco tutto albiceleste.

Saviola, secondo i ben informati, sta gia` cercando da tempo una nuova squadra. Al Real Madrid, infatti, non ha trovato grande fortuna. Arrivo` un anno fa a parametro zero dal Barcellona, ma subito e` divenuto la riserva di Raul. E tutti sanno la stagione eccellente della quale si e` reso protagonista il capitano `merengue`. Gli spazi, in altre parole, sono divenuti angusti. L`aria quasi irrespirabile. E l`ipotesi di rilanciarsi a Napoli non e` piu` un sogno. (more…)



Pellegrini show: oro e record mondiale
March 25, 2008, 1:36 am
Filed under: Torcia, mondiale, proteste | Tags: , , , ,

oro e record mondialeEINDHOVEN, 24 marzo – Grande, grandissima Federica Pellegrini. La nuotatrice azzurra ha stabilito il record del mondo nella finale dei 400 stile libero donne agli Europei di Eindhoven.
La Pellegrini ha nuotato in 4′01″53. Seconda la francese Coralie Balmy (4′04″15), terza la romena Camelia Potec (4′05″62). Quarto posto per l’altra azzurra Alessia Filippi. Il precedente record del mondo, 4′02″13, era stato stabilito a Budapest dalla francese Laure Manaoudou. (more…)



Ferrari e Raikkonen ok, Massa preoccupa
March 24, 2008, 12:27 pm
Filed under: Ferrari | Tags: , , , ,

24 marzo – Dopo le prime due prove in Australia e Malesia, in Ferrari è scoppiato il caso Felipe Massa: due ritiri, molti errori, zero punti in classifica contro le più concrete prestazioni e la brillante vittoria di ieri sul circuito malese di Sepang del compagno di squadra Kimi Raikkonen, campione del mondo in carica, che ha guidato la riscossa del Cavallino rampante dopo la batosta di Melbourne.

SUBITO GREGARIO? – Il brasiliano a questo punto non solo rischia di uscire prematuramente dalla lotta per il titolo iridato, ma anche di essere costretto a fare da gregario per tutta la stagione al finalandese che nella gara della Malesia sembra aver recuperato quella freddezza nordica che lo scorso autunno gli aveva consentito di conquistare il suo primo titolo mondiale. (more…)



Torcia olimpica al via tra le proteste
March 24, 2008, 11:46 am
Filed under: Torcia, proteste | Tags: , , , , ,

OLIMPIA (GRECIA), 24 marzo – Parte male, malissimo la marcia di avvicinamento alle Olimpiadi di Pechino. Oggi a Olimpia, sede degli antichi Giochi greci, era in programma la cerimonia di accensione della torcia olimpica. E com’era previsto ci sono state manifestazioni contro la Cina per la repressione della resistenza tibetana. Nel corso dell’evento, trasmesso in diretta nei cinque continenti, alcuni dimostranti hanno provato a penetrare il cordone di poliziotti che proteggeva il palco per rubare la fiaccola, ma sono stati fermati. Un manifestante di 48 anni, a quanto pare di origine tibetana, che portava un cartellone nero su cui al posto dei cinque cerchi erano disegnate cinque manette, ha cercato di aggredire Liu Qi, capo dell’organizzazione delle Olimpiadi cinesi, che stava tenendo un discorso. Anche lui è stato stoppato dalla polizia greca. Liu Qi o non si è accorto di quanto stava accadendo oppure ha fatto finta di niente. Certo, le sue parole sono sembrate paradossali viste le proteste. «La fiamma olimpica – ha detto il dirigente cinese – irradierà luce e felicità, pace e amicizia, speranza e sogni sul popolo cinese e al mondo intero». Visto l’inizio, c’è da pensare che la Marcia della torcia, che durerà cinque mesi, lungi dall’essere motivo di festa per i paesi attraversati, darà invece decine di occasioni per azioni dimostrative a quanti si oppongono al regime di Pechino. E non sempre la polizia sarà in grado di fermare i manifestanti. (more…)



Happy 50th for Celtics
March 11, 2008, 2:19 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

PHILADELPHIA – Doc Rivers noted that you don’t get a trophy for 50 wins in the regular season. Ray Allen said he’d look in his mailbox at home today to see if there was a prize for getting 50 wins. And Kevin Garnett basically couldn’t care less.

With their focus on the big picture of an NBA title, the Celtics were ho-hum about becoming the league’s first 50-win team after a 100-86 victory over the Sixers last night at the sold-out Wachovia Center.

“I didn’t even know we had 50 wins, to tell you the truth,” said Garnett, who had his 23d double-double of the season with 26 points and 12 rebounds. “I haven’t even looked at our record. I’ve looked at who we’ve played and the person I’m going to guard.

“Other than that, I [don't care] about the record. My focus is on who we play one game at a time. That’s it.”

At 50-12, these Celtics tied the second-fastest route to 50 wins in franchise history. The 1964-65 and 1985-86 teams both reached 50 wins with just 11 losses.

“It doesn’t really mean anything,” Allen said. “I haven’t thought about it. I don’t think any one of us has looked at the schedule or the record at 50 wins. I know 50 is 50.

“Any time you win 50 games in a season – and we have quite a few games left – it’s a pretty remarkable accomplishment. But I’m going to check my mailbox first to see if I’ve got any prizes in it for winning 50 games before I speak too soon. Other than that, you don’t win anything for 50.” (more…)



For Mets, Tradition Field Looks Like Red Sox Nation
March 11, 2008, 2:17 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Johan Santana received a pleasant round of applause when he was introduced as the Mets’ starting pitcher before Monday’s game. The fans, though, were just warming up their vocal cords. They were really waiting for the next player to be announced: “Leading off the game for the Boston Red Sox, the center fielder, No. 46, Jacoby Ellsbury.”

His name could barely be heard over the din. The Mets might have batted last and worn their white uniforms, but they were not the home team in Monday’s 10-inning 1-1 tie. Red Sox fans swooped into Fenway Park, er, Tradition Field, comprising a vocal majority of the largest paid crowd (7,353) in the stadium’s history.

A quick scan of the lower seating level could find Ortiz and Matsuzaka jerseys with every swivel of the head, although green Red Sox caps were popular, too. One man wore a T-shirt exhorting the Yankees to do, um, something not nice, but it was unclear where his allegiances stood Monday.

The Mets and the Red Sox, despite their memorable tussle in the 1986 World Series, are unofficial allies. They share a common enemy in the Yankees, whose senior vice president, Hank Steinbrenner, engaged in some kind-of, sort-of, not-really-unfriendly verbal jousting a week ago with Boston’s principal owner, John Henry, when Steinbrenner questioned the popularity of Red Sox Nation. (more…)



Billy Crystal to Join Yankees, Play in Spring-Training Game
March 11, 2008, 2:16 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

March 11 (Bloomberg) — Comedian Billy Crystal will sign a one-day contract with the New York Yankees and play in a spring- training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 13, one day before his 60th birthday.

Crystal is a New York native and lifelong Yankees’ fan who frequently attends games at Yankee Stadium. In 2001, he directed and produced the film “*61,” which chronicled Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle as they sought to break Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record in 1961.

Crystal’s minor-league contract was approved by Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and he’ll join the Yankees tomorrow for workouts at the team’s training facility in Tampa, Florida, according to a statement from the team.

“I’ve been waiting 50 years for this call,” said Crystal, who will wear uniform No. 60. “I’m overwhelmed by the generosity of the Yankees and Commissioner Selig. I know this (will) be tougher than the Broadway Softball League, but I’m looking forward to helping the younger players, which, by the way, is all of them.” (more…)



Federer beats Sampras in match at MSG
March 11, 2008, 2:14 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , ,

Pete Sampras shakes hands with Roger Federer

The Federer-Sampras match at Madison Square Garden brought plenty of excitement to New York. Above: Roger Federer, left, shakes hands with Pete Sampras after his 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (8-6)win at MSG. (Getty Images Photo / March 10, 2008)

| john.jeansonne@newsday.com

Masters of the universe and tennis superheroes Pete Sampras and Roger Federer last night brought some comic-book wish fulfillment to sold-out Madison Square Garden, a mighty collision of generations for the benefit of sports archeologists.

Federer, rightful heir to the Sampras throne of the previous decade, needed all of his powers for a 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (8-6) victory amid the true dynamics of a champions’ showdown. Sampras offered glimpses of the old chain-saw serve and slam-dunk volley to make Federer earn his keep, which he did with his elegant athleticism, stylish as the faux-tuxedo black attire he favors.

Sampras, as was always his custom, played the proven serve-and-volley fundamentals of an earlier era in the appropriate “classic whites.” And not raggedly, either.



WCC report: Will Saint Mary’s still go to tournament?
March 11, 2008, 2:13 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
What happens now with Saint Mary’s? What does Selection Sunday have in store for the Gaels, the team USD produced its incredible comeback against in Sunday’s West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals?
Will former USD assistant Randy Bennett’s team get an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, or will it get passed over?“I’ve said all along that I think they should (make the NCAAs),” USD head coach Bill Grier said last night. “I’ve been in their shoes before (at Gonzaga) and you certainly don’t want to leave it up to a committee to make that decision.“But if you look at their résumè and what they’ve done this season, I think they deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament.”

Saint Mary’s regular season stunningly ended with a 25-6 record. As of yesterday, according to realtimerpi.com, the Gaels had an RPI of 40 and strength of schedule of 136. The former number would seem a strong endorsement for inclusion in the 64-team event although some bracketologists might latch on to the strength of schedule and things like “good wins, bad losses” in attempting to make a case against the Gaels. (more…)



San Diego’s win means 3 WCC teams should get bids
March 11, 2008, 2:07 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

George Mason — The nation’s ultimate Cinderella story from two years ago is back dancing after knocking off William & Mary to capture the CAA tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. It was only fitting that two holdovers from the memorable team, Folarin Campbell and Will Thomas, combined for 38 points in the championship game on Monday night.
fond