Norway vs Sweden Live Rugby Stream Viking Tri Nations Rugby 2011 online coverage

Watch Norway vs Sweden (Norge vs Sverige) Viking Tri Nations Rugby 2011 live stream.We will ensure you the best online Rugby live streaming channel. Watch Norway vs Sweden (Norge vs Sverige) Viking Tri Nations Rugby 2011  live stream Rugby match from your pc. Don't hurry be patience & stay with us. We can provide You 100% HDQ picture TV Link of this match.

Click Here To Watch 

Tournament Info:

Tournament: Viking Tri Nations

Game : Norway v Sweden

Date: 03-09-2011

Time: 14:55 local, 12:55 GMT,

  Stadium: Fana Stadion, Bergen, Norway

Status : LIVE/REPEAT

 

 

 

Watch Live Streaming Rugby or any other sporting event with the highly rated Live Sports for PC! “This software is absolutely amazing…” You don’t need any additional hardware or third party software, you can literally watch Live sports from anywhere in the world.

 

 

 

 

China wins FIBA Women's ABC; India finish 6th

China continued their dominance over Asian basketball, especially in the Women's division, by bagging the biggest title in the region once more. China's stars Nan Chen and Miao Lijie came up big in the crucial moments of the game and took their side to a 65-62 win over Korea and clinch the gold medal in the 24th FIBA Asia Basketball Championship for Women in Omura, Japan, on Sunday.



This was China's 11th victory in this competition, which has been held 24 times. Their opponents in the final, Korea, have won the gold 12 times. China have now won the FIBA Asia Women's Championship five out of the past six times. The two finalists, with 23 of the 24 golds in the tournament's history shared between them, are certainly familiar with each other, as this was their fourth consecutive meeting in the final of this competition.



The final was a close, up-and-down game, in which neither team refused to give the other much breathing space. After trailing by 2 points at the end of the third quarter, China pulled away in the fourth, hitting some crucial baskets, for the emotional three point win. Miao Lijie, who was named MVP of the tournament, paced China with 20 points, Me Zengyu added 19, and Nan Chen had 17 for China.



Earlier on Sunday, hosts Japan beat Chinese Taipei 83-56 to finish third in the competition.



Meanwhile, a rebooted Indian side, with its experienced American coach Pete Gaudet, didn't exactly show many performances to write home about. India had been handed the gift and the curse of playing in 'Level I' of the competition, with all the powerhouse sides in Asia, for a chance to play meaningful games and win the tournament. While India have proven to be stronger than the majority of Asian teams in this tournament in recent years, there is still a wide gulf when it comes to competition against the best. The Indian team lost all five of their Preliminary Round games, but won a playoff against Malaysia to qualify for Level I again in the 2013 Championship and return with a 1-5 record.



India played their first game against Chinese Taipei, who started off slow, but quickly settled in and blew past us. Led by Liu Chun-Yi's 19 points, Chinese Taipei defeated India by 28 points, 81-53 - the only positive for India in this game was that the performance against the same rivals was better than what India showed at the William Jones Cup only weeks earlier. India were led, unsurprisingly, by the stalwart Center Geethu Anna Jose, who had 18 points and 8 rebounds in the game.



Eventual finalists Korea were next on the bill for the Indian Women: Once again, India started well defensively, as Korea held to a slim 17-12 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. However, India had offensive problems of their own, and no one but Geethu showed any capability of being able to score easily. Geethu had another dominant game - 27 points and 10 rebounds - scoring more than half of India's points on the night. It wasn't enough, as Korea used a 19-2 run to close the first half and cruise to a 83-47 win. Ajeong Kang had 17 points for Korea.



Things didn't get any easier for Gaudet's squad, as the very next afternoon, they faced China. China unleashed their giant Center Wei Wei - the tallest player in the tournament - to counter Geethu. Standing at 6 foot 9 inches, India had no answer for her, despite a surprisingly strong start (once more). The game was tied 12-12 at the end of the first quarter, and India led by 2 a few minutes into the second. But China woke up and completely flipped the game around, going on a 32-8 run in the third and then 27-12 in the fourth quarter, destroying India by 49 points to win 87-38. After the game, Gaudet conceded that his team threw in the towel in the second half. “There was a point at which we realized we couldn’t continue fighting hard and last the competition. I am glad we fought very hard in the early part."



Hosts Japan played India in their fourth game, and this time, India failed to notch a positive start, scoring only five points in the first quarter. Behind 22 points and 14 rebounds by Moeka Nagaoka, Japan saw no resistance from India, apart from a 16 point outing by Geethu. Japan won 79-51.



So far, each of India's opponents had been ranked far ahead them in the FIBA rankings, but when India (ranked 41) took on Lebanon (ranked 55) in the last Preliminary Round game, it was our chance to get a crucial victory and hope to improve on last tournament's showing by finishing 5th. Alas, it was not to be: Lebanon put the clamp on India's offense early and flew to a 17 point lead in the first quarter. India played well in the second quarter, but led their opponents run away again after halftime. A huge run in the fourth was still not enough to stop India from going down by 19, 71-52. Chada Nasr of Lebanon had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Brittany Janelle Denson added 16 points with 7 rebounds. For India, it was again the Geethu lone show, as the Keralite scored 21 points to go with 9 boards.



Finishing at the bottom of Level I, it came down to a crucial playoff game against Level II top-finishers Malaysia for India to hope to remain in the competition. The game between the two closely-matched sides was as exciting as advertised, as the teams exchanged the lead during the first two and half quarters, before India began to pull away for good. For the first time India had a major high scorer apart from Geethu, as her Southern Railway teammate Anitha Pauldurai paced the side with 23 points and five assists. Geethu added 18, to go with 10 rebounds. Malaysia made a comeback in the fourth, but two clutch drives by Prashanti Singh sealed India's lone victory in the competition, 66-60.



India’s best player during the course of the championship was, not-so-shockingly, Geethu Anna Jose, who finished as the tournament’s third leading scorer (18.7 points per game) and sixth leading rebounder (7.2 rebounds per game). Geethu led India in points, rebounds, and blocks.



Siddarth Sharma has done a great job in compiling all the stats - totals and averages - of the Indian players in the six games that India played in the tournament in an article for SportsKeeda. Besides Geethu, the only other Indian player to average double digits in points was Anitha Pauldurai, who chipped in 10.5 points per game, and also led India with 2.7 assists per game.



The team returns back from Japan on Monday night, and will be relatively free of any major tournaments in the near future. Before heading to Japan, Gaudet only had a few months with the squad - we hope that by the time we return to this tournament in 2013, India would be ready to take the next step, and maybe win a game or two in Level I!



Final Standings



1. China

2. Korea

3. Japan

4. Chinese Taipei

5. Lebanon



Tournament All Star Team:

Miao Lijie (China) MVP

Choi Youn-Ah (Korea)

Yuko Oga (Japan)

Sin Jung-Ja (Korea)

Nan Chen (China)

GD Goenka Boys, Montfort Girls win 2nd Delhi School Basketball League

A month of action, over 60 games between dozens of teams, at dozens of courts around Delhi, and it all boiled down to the last minute and the last shots. In an exciting finale to the 2nd edition of the Delhi School Basketball League, the Boys’ team from the GD Goenka School survived a late rally by hosts Delhi Public School (Mathura Road) to win 52-50 and clinch their first championship on Monday. The Girls’ final was relatively anti-climatic, with an excellent Montfort side doubling up their victory from last year and once again defeating Modern 49-20 in the final to finish first for the second consecutive year.



The tournament was organised by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).



GD Goenka, who finished at third place at last year’s tournament, entered into a hostile environment as the home crowd brought loud support behind the DPS (MR) side at the final. DPS, who had finished at the top of their Super League group, seemed to be favourites, but sharp, focused play by the visitors gave them an 8 point lead at halftime. DPS began their comeback in the third quarter, and made it a three point game before the final period. It remained close, but DPS failed to take the lead as the time ticked down.



With 1 point between the two sides in the last minute, Goenka’s inspirational guard and scoring leader Dhruv Barman hit a crucial three-pointer to seal the game for good, 52-50. Dhruv led the way with 20 points for the winning side.



“I can’t describe the feeling of having won this, it’s the greatest!” said Dhruv, “The Seniors of the team, like me, were all very emotional to have been able to win this championship before we leave school. The team depended on me to hit the final shot, and I have won it for them and for my coach.”



The girls final, a repeat of last year’s final, turned out to be a dud, as Montfort sped to a fast lead and never looked back. Playing without their leader Manini Rai, Montfort had no problem sharing the load amongst the rest of the squad. Tough defense completely shunned Modern School from scoring, as they only managed nine points in the last three quarters of the game. Montfort cruised to a comfortable 49-20 win and their second straight victory at this championship.



“We had to come out and play without Manini, and the whole team stepped up to play well today,” said leading scorer for Montfort, Aastha Goel, “It feels great to get this win.”



Earlier in the day, Modern Boys played out a close contest against Montfort in the third/fourth place game, which was decided in overtime. Modern came back from a four-point deficit at the beginning of the fourth quarter to tie the game in regulation and clinch a four-point victory at the end of overtime, 77-73. Archit (26), Satyam (24), and Pranav (21) all scored a high rate for the winning side. For Montfort, Unnat had 25 points in a loss.



Third place for the girls had been won by Bal Bharti Public School, who defeated Carmel Convent School a few days ago.



Winning teams in both the sections were awarded Rs. 75,000 each by the BFI. Runners-up received Rs. 50,000 each, and second runners-up were given Rs. 25,000 each.



Final Scores



Boys

GD Goenka School (Dhruv 20, Daksh 15) bt. Delhi Public School (Mathura Road) (Roopender 15, Ramit 15) 52-50 (15-10, 14-11, 10-14, 13-15)



Girls

Montfort School (Aastha 15, Gayatri 12, Shaifali 12) bt. Modern School 49-20 (17-11, 19-1, 9-6, 4-2)

Justin Verlander Shouldn't Win The AL MVP Award

Justin Verlander is having one of the best pitching seasons in recent memory. He leads the league in nearly every pitching category including wins, innings pitched, strikeouts, and WHIP. Not surprisingly, he has been the ace of the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers. After beginning the season with a 2-3 record, he is an incredible 18-2 and has not recorded a loss in the months of May, June, and August. To go along with his 20-5 record and 218 strikeouts, Verlander has also thrown a no hitter, which he did on May 7th against the Blue Jays. Verlander is no doubt the clear front-runner to win the AL Cy Young, but he shouldn't win the AL MVP award ahead of guys like Adrian Gonzalez and Curtis Granderson.

In order for a pitcher to win an MVP award there has to be a combination of two things. First, the pitcher has to be having an incredible, record-breaking season. Second, and most important, there has to be no position player who has had a season worthy enough to deserve the award. Although Justin Verlander is having a great pitching year, there are definitely position players who have had seasons worthy of the MVP. Adrian Gonzalez is having an outstanding first season with the Red Sox and has been on a tear lately. He is in the top 5 in nearly every batting category in the AL. He is 1st in hits, 3rd in on base percentage, 4th in slugging percentage, 4th in runs, 4th in doubles, and 4th in on base plus slugging percentage. Gonzalez also leads the MLB with a .345 batting average and is tied with Curtis Granderson for the league lead in RBIs with 103. Often times, the MVP race comes down to the last 2 months of the season. Gonzalez is stating his case that he deserves to win the award as he has led the Red Sox to a two game lead in the AL East over the Yankees. In his last 7 games, Gonzalez is 12-31 (.387) and has 5 home runs and 10 RBIs. Curtis Granderson is another position player who has had an MVP season. Granderson is second in the league with 36 home runs and he is tied for the league lead in RBIs with 103. Granderson's 119 runs scored lead the league, and he has scored 24 more runs than any other player in the league this season. The Yanks centerfielder has also caused havoc on the base paths with his 24 stolen bases. Gonzalez and Granderson have both had seasons that are worthy of an MVP.

It is extremely rare for pitchers to win an MVP award. Since 1931, only 11 pitchers have ever won the AL MVP award, and just 4 have won the award since 1972. The pitchers who have won the award have had an all-time, great season and they have also been in a year where there was no position player who was a clear-cut MVP candidate. In 1971, Vida Blue won the AL MVP as a starting pitcher for the Oakland Athletics. Vida had an incredible season, as he was 24-8 with an astonishing 1.82 ERA, 24 complete games, and 8 shutouts. None of the players that finished in the top 20 of the MVP voting in 1971 had over 35 home runs or more than 100 RBIs. Sal Bando, who finished in 2nd that year, had just 24 home runs, 94 RBIs, and batted only .271. In 1992, Dennis Eckersley won the AL MVP award as the closer for the Oakland Athletics. Eckersley had a record-breaking season as he had 51 saves, an MLB record for the most in a single season at the time, and he also had an ERA of 1.91 in 69 appearances. That same year, Kirby Puckett was the runner-up for the MVP, but he had only 19 homers. Joe Carter, who finished third, had 34 home runs, but batted just .264. Verlander is having a great season, but it is not like Vida Blue’s year in 1971 or Dennis Eckersley’s in 1992 where they were the only dominating performer in all of baseball. 

Many pitchers have had great seasons, even better than Verlander's, and have not won the MVP award because there were position players who deserved it. In 1989, Bret Saberhagen of the Kansas City Royals had one of the best single seasons in AL history and won the AL Cy Young award. Saberhagen led the major leagues with 23 wins and only one pitcher since then, Bob Welch in 1990, has had more than 23 wins in a single season in the AL. Saberhagen also led the league with a 2.16 ERA, but didn't win the AL MVP because guys like Robin Yount and Ruben Sierra had terrific seasons.  In 2000, Pedro Martinez had one of the greatest pitching seasons in American League history. The Red Sox pitcher was 18-6 with a 1.74 ERA, which was the lowest in the AL since Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees had a 1.74 ERA in 1978. Pedro's finished 2000 with a WHIP of 0.737, which was the lowest single season WHIP in MLB history. However, Pedro didn't win the AL MVP because there were position players who had great seasons. Jason Giambi, Frank Thomas, Alex Rodriguez, and Carlos Delgado all had over 40 home runs, 130 RBIs, and batted over .315 and all received more votes than Pedro for MVP. By the way, Jason Giambi, who later admitted to using steroids, won the award. 

Verlander's season is easy to compare to Roger Clemens's year in 1997 with the Toronto Blue Jays. Like Verlander, Clemens won his 20th game before the end of August and was the clear cut AL Cy Young favorite. If you put their numbers next to each other they are very similar. Clemens pitched 264 innings and was 21-7 with a 2.05 ERA and 292 strikeouts. With about 6 starts remaining, Verlander has pitched 215.2 innings and is currently 20-5 with a higher ERA than Clemens at 2.38 and 218 strikeouts. Verlander's innings and strikeouts will look much more like Clemens's after his final 6 starts. When the AL MVP voting was tallied in 1997, Clemens finished in 10th place. 

Tiger's manager Jim Leyland recently said, "I don't think a pitcher should be the Most Valuable Player. I'm not looking for arguments or controversy. I just think when a guy goes out there 158 times or 155 times and has a big year, an MVP type year, I don't think the guy that goes out there 35 times should be named over that guy. To me right now if you really wanted to look at it who is our Most Valuable Player? Is it Verlander or at this point today under all circumstances is it Alex Avila? You can make a case for what this kid has gone through. I'm certainly not taking anything away from Verlander and I'm not trying to change the voting.”

Men's Notable US Open First Round Matches

#32 Ivan Dodig vs Nikolay Davydenko: After being seeded 6th at last year's US Open, Nikolay Davydenko has taken a nose drive. After a horrible 2010 summer, where didn't win more than two matches at any tournament, he fell out of the top 20. By the end of January 2011, he had dropped to 35. Davydenko has not had a great summer and his ranking is now 39. Davydenko never won more than a match at any tournament this summer and didn't win a set off of Mardy Fish, Novak Djokovic, or Fernando Verdasco in three matches. Despite his rough summer and recent play, Davydenko shouldn't be totally dismissed in the early rounds as he has had past success at the US Open. He made the semifinals of the US Open in 2006 and 2007, and has made it past the second round of the tournament every year but once since 2006. While Davydenko has really struggled recently, Ivan Dodig has played very well. Last August, Dodig was ranked in the 140's, and now he is number 33. Dodig's best surface by far is the hard courts, as it is the only surface he has a winning record on. Dodig has a 14-8 record on hard courts this year including a 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5) win over Rafael Nadal in Montreal earlier this month. Dodig looks like the favorite to win the first round match because he has played well recently and Davydenko doesn't look like the same player that was in the top 10 for more than 5 years.

Prediction: 32. Ivan Dodig over Nikolay Davydenko in four sets.

# 27 Marin Cilic vs Ryan Harrison: United States tennis fans are hoping that Ryan Harrison can be the next great American tennis player. With just one American in the top 20, the struggling Andy Roddick, and Sam Querrey still recovering from an arm injury, Harrison has a lot of pressure on him to perform well at the US Open. Last year he beat Ivan Ljubicic in the first round. However, it may be a lot to ask of Harrison to do it again this year because he has a very difficult first round match with the big Croatian, Marin Cilic. After falling outside of the top 30, Cilic had a nice run in Montreal to pick his ranking back up to 27. Cilic beat Andreas Seppi and had a big win over Juan Martin Del Potro in Montreal before losing to world number 1 Novak Djokovic. Harrison will have to return very well because Cilic is in the top 15 in both st and 2nd service points won. Harrison has a good shot of winning if he can play like he did earlier in the summer when he reached the semifinals of both Atlanta and Los Angeles before falling to Mardy Fish both times. Ryan has shown he can beat some of the top players in the world, like when he beat Juan Ignacio Chela in the first round of Cincinnati in straight sets.

Prediction: Marin Cilic over Ryan Harrison in four sets.

#23 Radek Stepanek vs Philipp Kohlschreiber: Radek Stepanek was ranked in the top 20 last May, but he fell to as low as number 70 in April of this year. However, Stepanek made a huge comeback this summer and found himself ranked in the top 30. He made an outstanding run in Washington to win 6 matches and the 500-point tournament. Stepanek knocked out Fernando Verdasco in straight sets in the quarterfinals, and then ended up beating Gael Monfils in the final 6-4, 6-4. A few weeks later, Stepanek beat John Isner and Andrey Golubev enroute to a round of 16 finish in Cincinnati. Stepanek's two big summer tournaments enabled his rank to go from 54 to 23. He has a chance at making a run in the US Open as long as he can get by his tricky first round match against the German Philipp Kohlschreiber. Although Kohlschreiber can play some bad matches like he did when he lost to Sergiy Stakhovsky in straight sets in Montreal, he has shown that he can beat the best in the world. The German beat top 25 players Andy Roddick and Feliciano Lopez in Cincinnati this summer. Stepanek and Kohlschreiber met at the US Open in 2009, and Stepanek won that match in four sets.
Prediction: Radek Stepanek over Philipp Kohlschreiber in four sets.

28. John Isner vs Marcos Baghdatis: Marcos Baghdatis and John Isner have played twice recently, and the they will meet for a third time in three weeks when they play in the first round of the US Open. Their first encounter came in the first round of Montreal when Isner beat Baghdatis in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. Although Isner had just 8 aces, his big serve still caused a lot of problems for Baghdatis. Isner won 84% of his 1st serve points, and didn't allow Baghdatis to have one break point chance during the entire match. The two met again in the Winston-Salem quarterfinals just two weeks later. Although Baghdatis looked much better and returned Isner's big serve much more effectively, he fell in three sets 6-1, 3-6, 4-6. Isner won just 43% of his 2nd serve points and was broken three times by Baghdatis. Marcos won 37% of his return points, which is much better than when he won just 22% of his return points in Montreal. Although Isner has beaten Baghdatis twice this summer, it is extremely difficult to beat an opponent three times in a row, and Marcos has shown that he can return Isner's big serve as he did in Winston-Salem.
Prediction: Marcos Baghdatis over John Isner in five sets.

#16 Mikhail Youzhny vs Ernests Gulbis: In 2007, at the age of 18, Ernests Gulbis made a thrilling run in his first ever US Open. He beat two seeded players to make it to the round of 16. The Latvian teen was labeled the next great up-and-coming tennis star, but all of his immense talent has never led too much success on the tour. However, his recent success is a good sign that he can make a run in this year's US Open. Gulbis won his second ever ATP tour event when he won Los Angeles this summer. He knocked off Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarterfinals 6-2, 6-4 and then came back from a set down to beat Mardy Fish 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Gulbis will have a lot to deal with in the first round of the US Open though because he will play an experienced Mikhail Youzhny. Youzhny made it to the semifinals of the US Open in 2006, and again last year. Youzhny loves playing in front of the NYC crowd.
Prediction: Mikhail Youzhny over Ernests Gulbis in five sets.

BFI announces U18 boys’ & girls’ teams for 1st FIBA 3x3 Youth World Championship

The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) have announced the U18 boys’ and girls’ teams that will represent India at the first-ever FIBA Invitational 3x3 Youth World Championship in the city of Rimini, Italy, from September 9-11, 2011. Teams from India will be amongst 36 boys’ and 24 girls’ teams from around the world taking part in this competition.



3x3 Basketball is the formalised version of three-on-three, half-court basketball. The format got its first major international test at the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore. The fast-paced games are played on one half of the FIBA regulation court. Each team contingent will consist of four players, of whom three will be on court at any given time, and one coach.



The Indian U18 girls’ team will be led by Pete Gaudet, the American basketball coach who is also the head coach of India’s Senior Women’s team. U18 Boys will be led by Coach Kulwinder Singh Gill from Madhya Pradesh.



India U18 basketball teams for the 1st FIBA 3x3 World Championship:



Boys

Kirti Goswami (Madhya Pradesh)

Love Neet Singh (Punjab)

Ajay Pratap Singh (Chhattisgarh)

Sivabalan Gnanasekaran (Tamil Nadu)

Coach: Kulwinder Singh Gill



Girls

Jeena PS (Kerala)

Aishwarya Natarajan (Tamil Nadu)

Amrutha Bhuskute (Maharashtra)

Shireen Limaye (Maharashtra)

Coach: Pete Gaudet



Here is the complete list of teams who will be participating in this tournament:



Boys: Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, England, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Guam, India, Italy, Jordan, Japan, Latvia, Netherlands, Nepal, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, South Africa, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Serbia, Spain, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Venezuela.



Girls: Angola, Australia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, England, Germany, Greece, Guam, India, Italy, Japan, Netherland, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Venezuela.

Duke Is Lucky That They Landed Austin Rivers

Enjoy All Blacks vs Wallabies Tri Nations Rugby 2011 live Streaming Video

All blacks vs Wallabies live streaming online Tri Nations Rugby 2011.We will ensure you the best online Rugby live streaming channel.Access this HD Tv link, you will get live scores and highlights also.Tri Nations Rugby 2011 between Australia Wallabies vs New Zealand All Blacks rugby match will take place on Saturday,27th August 2011.Just you need a simple CLICK below link.You can watch All blacks vs Wallabies live stream hq sopcast match on your pc or laptop.

 

 

 

Just Click Here 

 

 

Match Details

 

Play:All blacks vs Wallabies

Tri Nations Rugby 2011

Date: 27th August,Saturday 2011

Time: 20:05 local, 10:05 GMT, 15:35 IST

Brisbane,London

 

 

 

 

 

 

All blacks vs Wallabies Live Stream rugby Online TV. Watch Live HD Video Sop cast here in Web cast Internet telecasting TV. Just open the link & Enjoy Rugby all kind of Exciting Tournament. Never miss a wonderful game again. Match preview,Score,Exclusively 24/7. Also Entertain 4500 HD Channel.

Ireland vs England Live rugby Warm up Game 2011 Online on HD TV

Hello viewer's, how r u all? Are u waiting for watch International Rugby Event 2011 live coverage?Welcome to watch Ireland vs England,Rugby World Cup 2011 Warm Up Games Match will be held on Saturday,27th August.Don't hurry be patience & stay with us. We can provide You 100% HDQ picture TV Link of this match.

Ireland vs England Live Stream Here

 

SCHEDULE 

Ireland vs England Live

 Warm up Game Rugby World Cup 2011

Time : 14:30 local, 13:30 GMT

Venue:Aviva Stadium, Lansdowne Road

Date: 27/08/2011

    

England vs Ireland Live Stream rugby Online TV. Watch Live HD Video Sop cast here in Web cast Internet telecasting TV. Just open the link & Enjoy Rugby all kind of Exciting Tournament. Never miss a wonderful game again. Match preview,Score,Exclusively 24/7. Also Entertain 4500 HD Channel Full of different type of Program.

Former NBA champ Steve Smith to launch NBA Jam in India

Steve Smith, the former NBA champ will be visiting India to launch the 3rd 'NBA Jam'. Smith, who had a fairly productive career in the 1990s, which included an All Star appearance in 1998 and winning a championship in his ageing years with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003.



His years with the Miami Heat (1991-1995) and the Hawks (1994-99) were probably the most productive individually of his career (he averaged above 20 ppg three times in this stretch), and the stint with the Spurs was his high-point for team success, but I remember Smith mostly for his contribution to the Portland Traiblazers, for whom he played just 2 seasons from 1999-2001, but left some indelible memories.



That Blazers team will go down in history as one of the greatest to NOT win an NBA championship. In 2000, Portland boasted a team with Damon Stoudamire, Steve Smith, Scottie Pippen, Rasheed Wallace, and Arvydas Sabonis in the starting lineup, and Bonzi Wells, Detlef Schrempf, Brian Grant, Jermaine O'Neal, and Greg Anthony off the bench. Averaging 14.9 ppg, Smith was the 2nd leading scorer in this balanced squad. This team banded together to give the LA Lakers one of the most classic Conference Finals of all time, and on of the best NBA games ever. With the series tied 3-3, the Blazers blew a 15 point lead in the fourth quarter and watched the Lakers reach the NBA finals, and eventually become champions for the first time in the Shaq-Kobe era.



Smith did get his ring though, with the Tim Duncan-led Spurs three years later. A specialised shooter, he played his role of the bench to help the team succeed.



Since retirement, Smith has worked in broadcasting, both for the Atlanta Hawks and for NBA TV.



Smith will be launching the NBA Jam on September 10-11 at the Ambiance Mall in Gurgaon. From NBA.com/India

NBA JAM India is a four-city, five-week free interactive basketball experience, which captures the excitement of the NBA through basketball activities, entertainment acts, and off-court events. The opening event will take place on September 10 & 11 and then travel to five malls across Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore.



NBA Legend Steve Smith will launch the event in Delhi, interacting with the fans and spectators at the event and making various marketing appearances during his time in India.



At NBA Jam, fans are transported to the floor of an NBA arena on Center Court, which hosts exciting skill competitions and shooting contests. The highlight activity of NBA Jam will be the Sprite 3x3 tournament which will run daily at each NBA Jam stop.

Brian Kelly Made The Right Decision By Naming Dayne Crist The Notre Dame Starting Quarterback Over Tommy Rees

Notre Dame has had a difficult 18-year stretch. Since the Fighting Irish finished 2nd in the coaches poll in 1993, they have not finished a season ranked in the top 10. In the last four years they have had a record of 24-26 and have made just 2 bowl games. It's been a tough run for a program that has 11 National Championships. This year however there is reason for optimism with Notre Dame being ranked as high as number 16 in the AP poll, their highest preseason ranking since they were number 16 in 2006. The biggest question mark behind how successful the Fighting Irish will be this season will be the play of their quarterback. Brian Kelly had to make a huge decision on who would open the season at that position. It took Kelly all of spring football and nearly all of training camp to make the decision, but he chose to name senior Dayne Crist the starter over sophomore Tommy Rees. Brain Kelly said about Crist, "He is a much better football player [than a year ago], he's a much better quarterback and quite frankly and honestly he's the kind of guy I want to coach. He's tougher mentally. He handles himself in a leadership position the way I want our quarterbacks to handle it. Dayne will be the starter and I expect him to be the starter for 13 weeks. We have great confidence in his ability to lead us to a championship." Although neither Crist nor Rees were head and shoulders above the other, Crist was the better option for the Irish than Rees.

Crist's ability to sling the ball all around the field and to make difficult throws is something that Rees's can't quite do yet. Crist threw for more than 200 yards in every game he played in besides the Navy game. He also threw for over 300 yards on the road at Michigan St. and again in South Bend against Stanford. Crist threw 7 picks in 8 games, and had just one 2-interception game. With Rees, the Irish were much more limited in their passing attack. Rees only threw for more than 215 yards once, and he had the same number of interceptions as Crist in three less games. Rees threw three picks against Tulsa in a horrible loss at home 28-27, and he also had three interceptions on the road at USC. Notre Dame's star wide receiver, Michael Floyd, the only wideout with over 415 yards last season, averaged about 10 more yards per game with Crist as his quarterback.

Although last year Dayne Crist was 4-4 in games where he played the majority of the game and Tommy Rees was 4-1 in games where he played the majority of the game, Rees got a lot of help from his defense and from his running game. In the 8 games Crist played, the Notre Dame defense allowed an average of 24.5 points per game. The Notre Dame rushing attack averaged just 112 yards per game, including less than 100 yards in the big games against Michigan St., Stanford, and Pittsburgh, which left most of the responsibility on Crist to put together scoring drives for the Irish. In the 5 games Rees played, the Notre Dame defense was significantly better as they allowed an average of just 13.4 points per game. The Irish rushing attack averaged about 150 yards per game when Rees was playing, which was nearly 40 more yards than the rushing attack averaged with Crist. Obviously, it wasn't entirely on Crist for the 4-4 record, and it wasn't entirely Rees's great play that gave the Irish a 4-1 record to end the season.

If Crist can get some help from his running game and the defense can hold down the fort, then the Irish have a chance to once again become an elite college football team. They play just three ranked teams, and two of them are at home against #17 Michigan St. and #25 USC. Let's see if they can win one for the Gipper!

NBA players go Wild, International

It's been 55 days, 7 hours, 5 minutes, 14 seconds, and counting since the NBA announced that it will commence a lockout of its players, until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), as per the excellent counter on SLAMOnline.com. There was never going to be basketball in the off-season, anyways, but with a lockout, there will be no official training camp, no Summer League, no pre-season, and no regular season until the agreement is reached.



Take a deep breath, inhale the disaster and depression of this happening, and then exhale it all out. There is an extremely faint silver lining to all this doom and gloom.



One of the most interesting lists currently online is on the excellent basketball website, HoopsHype.com. Go to HoopsHype.com/Overseas.htm and you will immediately unlock a wealth of information in one short html page. This is because this page currently lists NBA players who have signed a contract to play with international teams during the lockout, and another list of players who are considering it. NBA players aren't just the world's biggest basketball superstars, they are also the world's hardest working basketball players, and like you and me and your cousin and that guy you punked on the court last week, they really, really love the game. A prolonged period without competitive basketball can be hell for even the best of them, and that's why, many NBA players are opting for the next best solution: playing overseas until the issue is resolved. FIBA cleared the way for NBA players under contract to play overseas until work stoppage, and many players are taking advantage of this.



Now, NBA players have been flirting with the overseas option for a long time. Amongst the American players who have made the jump recently have included former MVP Allen Iverson (who played for Besiktas in Turkey last year), Stephon Marbury (played in the Chinese Basketball Association, the CBA, for the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons and the Foshan Dralions, and was the CBA's all star MVP!) Josh Childress (played for Olympiacos in Greece from 2008-10), Rafer Alston (for Zhejiang Guangsha in China), Casey Jacobsen (who has spent several years in the German League, and has dominated, winning Finals MVP twice), and Steve Francis (who had a failed stint with the Beijing Ducks in China). Of course, a lot of the NBA's international players have also chosen to go back to their home countries in the past after a stint in the NBA, such as Rasho Nesterovic, Juan Carlos Navarro, Fran Vasquez, and many many more whom I can't think of right now.



But now, the situation is different. Of course, the NBA is considered to be the Mecca for basketball stars, as the ultimate destination for the world's best players. Earlier, NBA stars went overseas if they weren't getting their desired salary/role/opportunity to play with the NBA; now, with the lockout, none of the players will be getting their desired salary/role/opportunity. It's a free for all.



The biggest name to sign an overseas contract so far in this lockout has been Nets' point guard Deron Williams, who made waves by announcing that he was going to sign with Besiktas in Turkey for the duration of the lockout. Williams, one of the best point guards in the NBA, immediately becomes the best "in his prime" player to take his talents outside the NBA, at least in recent years.



Since the lockout, Williams has been followed by many more. A quick glance of the list of 30 players (and growing) on HoopsHype shows up names such as Toronto's Leandro Barbosa, who has signed with Flamengo in his home country of Brazil, Nenad Krstic, who will be heading to play for CSKA Moscow in Russia, Ty Lawson has signed a contract with Zalgiris Kaunus in Lithuania, and Nicolas Batum of the TrailBlazers is going back to France to play for Nancy.



The biggest name who has been linked with overseas play though has been Kobe Bryant. Kobe was recruited heavily by Besiktas in Turkey and by Shanxi Zhongyu in China. So far, there has been no formal commitment by Kobe, but watch this space.



China seems to be by far the best destination for NBA players, and funny, that the one to make the breakthrough in this country was NBA-nutcase Stephon Marbury. But the problem with China is that the CBA have aren't happy with NBA players using them and leaving them: they have decided to ban players already with an NBA contract to sign a contract with a Chinese team. Immediately, players like Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Amar'e Stoudemire, etc, who had expressed interest in China before, had to back off a bit. Kobe could still play in China though, as Shanxi Zhongyu has invited Kobe to play for the team in some warm-up games or exhibition games before the CBA season starts, which is not against the rule.



Amongst the other players who are showing interest in going the international way include Ron Artest, who has been flirting with the Cheshire Jets, a team of the British Basketball League. Brandon Jennings, who spent one year playing in Italy before coming to the NBA, is considering heading back out there again. Other players showing 'high' interest to jet overseas include Stephen Curry, Andrei Kirilenko, Aaron Brooks, Jared Dudley, and many, many more.



Not everyone, of course, feels that it is necessary to sign a professional contract overseas to play overseas: the mother of all lockout/international news came from the Philippines, where Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Durant, Chris Paul, JaVale McGee, James Harden, Derrick Williams, and Tyreke Evans played in two exhibition games. News is that after the success at Philippines, NBA stars like Durant, Rose, Paul, and Pau Gasol will head to Australia for a tour next.



Back in the States, Kevin Durant has been absolutely killing the street basketball world this lockout, including an impressive 66 point game at the Rucker Park. Kobe and James Harden have had impressive performances at the Drew League. There have been several other notable streetball appearances by NBA stars.



And then there are players who are getting even more creative with their time: The Lakers Luke Walton has joined the University of Memphis as an assistant coach. Former Kentucky players like John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, Eric Bledsoe, and Jodie Meeks might go back to complete their education. A former Volleyball superstar, the Rockets' Chase Budinger returns to try his hand again at the sport.



And it's a good thing, too, because there is nothing more dangerous and being idol in many cases. Already, the off-season has seen NBA players get themselves in all sorts of wildness. Michael Beasley was caught with weed, and later shoved a fan during a streetball game. Matt Barnes punched a fan, too. Darius Miles, who was arrested for trying to bring a loaded gun through airport security, Rafer Alston, who was sued over his alleged role in a strip club fight, and Samaki Walker, who allegedly tried to eat eight grams of marijuana during a traffic stop in Arizona, during which police also confiscated prescription drugs and liquid steroids. The great Kobe Bryant is being accused of hitting someone who tried to take a cell-phone photo of him in church.



Aaaaahhh... How I miss the good ol' days when the daily basketball related news items were about Derrick Rose winning an MVP or LeBron James choking against the Mavericks. Now, we have to deal with an off-season of emptiness, with no horizon in sight, although it has been mildly improved by the NBA players' enthusiasm at playing the game they love, whenever and wherever!



The NBA may or may not be coming soon (probably the latter), but there is hope ahead: The European Basketball Championship, or EuroBasket, featuring the best players in Europe, including several NBA stars, kicks off in Lithuania in a little more than a week. As the message on the T-shirts that some NBA players wore of the Goodman-Drew streetball game says: 'Basketball Never Stops'.

Top 5 College Football Games In Weeks 1 and 2

#3 Oregon vs #4 LSU in Week 1: Only once last season did two teams that were ranked in the top 5 play each other, and that was in week 10 when number 3 TCU beat number 5 Utah 47 to 7. Therefore, when you have a non-conference game between two top 5 teams in the first week of the season, there is obviously going to be a ton of hype. Oregon was a field goal miss away from winning the National Championship last season and starting quarterback Darron Thomas and Heisman Trophy runner-up LaMichael James have returned to school to win that title. Their quest will begin right away when the Ducks play LSU at Cowboys Stadium in week 1. James will have to carry the Oregon offense once again this season, as he did last year when he led the FBS in rushing yards with 1,731. He will have to come up big against the Tigers defense, which held great running teams like Alabama to just 102 years last season. Darron Thomas will have to find a new target on the outside as star wide receiver Jeff Maehl graduated. LSU head coach Les Miles said about containing the Ducks offense, "We're going to do the things that we've done, and done well on defense. I don't know that we'll have a lot of changes." If the LSU defense has difficulty stopping the Duck's attack, it will be imperative that Jordan Jefferson leads the LSU offense to some scores. The dual threat quarterback will have to improve upon last season when the Tigers averaged just 155 passing yards per game.

#5 Boise St. vs #19 Georgia in Week 1: The last four years Boise St. has had to go out and play a difficult non-conference schedule to try and validate their case that they are good enough to make a BCS Bowl, and even a National Championship game. In 2008, Boise St. beat number 12 Oregon in week 3 in a high scoring game 37-32. The next year the Broncos beat number 14 Oregon once again 19-8 and went on to finish with an undefeated record of 14-0, concluding with a Fiesta Bowl victory over TCU. Last year the Broncos beat number 6 Virginia Tech at FedEx Field 33-30 in week 1. Boise St. is hoping that Georgia can be their next non-conference victim when the two preseason top 20 teams square off in Atlanta in week 1. The Broncos have their Heisman Trophy candidate Kellen Moore back at quarterback, but he will have to adjust without his great wide receivers Titus Young and Austin Pettis. The Georgia defensive will still have a lot to handle with the Broncos offense that scored the second most points in the FBS last season. Georgia will be expecting their sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray to build upon his performance from last year when he set a Georgia freshman passing record by throwing for 3,049 yards. If the Bulldogs lose to the Broncos, they could be in grave danger of falling to 0-2 as they play number 12 South Carolina the following week in a big SEC East game.

#20 Mississippi St. at #23 Auburn in Week 2: Auburn is just the second defending National Champion to be ranked outside the top 15 in the preseason rankings. In 1961, Minnesota was unranked in the preseason poll after winning the National Championship in 1960. Auburn is missing a whole lot from their National Championship team last season. The Tigers can no longer rely on Heisman winning quarterback Cam Newton, or wide out Darvin Adam, or Vince Lombardi award winning defensive tackle Nick Fairley, all of whom have left for the NFL. The Tigers will look a lot different this season and they won't have a long time to adjust to each other because right out of the gates in week two they play their first top 25 opponent, Mississippi St., at home. A lot of pressure will be on sophomore running back Michael Dyer to run well against the Bulldogs because Cam Newton's successor, Barrett Trotter, threw just 9 passes last season and is very inexperienced. That might be a tough ask though because Mississippi St. held Auburn to their second fewest yards rushing last season. The Bulldogs were one of the biggest surprises in the country last season. After going 5-7 in 2009, the Bulldogs improved their record to 9-4 last year and had one of the best running games in college football. Their running combination of quarterback Chris Relf and running back Vick Ballard is going to cause an Auburn defense that lost 9 starters from last year's team havoc.

#16 Notre Dame at Michigan in Week 2: The Big House will be packed to its capacity in week 2 when the beloved Michigan Wolverines take on Notre Dame in the first ever night game at Michigan Stadium. Michigan athletic director David Brandon said, "This also adds a new chapter to the storied rivalry between our two great programs." The rivalry, which Michigan leads 22-15-1, has been won by Michigan the last two years, but Notre Dame will be motivated to get a statement win on the road. With Brady Hoke replacing Rich Rodriguez as the new head coach at Michigan, there will be changes on both sides of the ball for the Wolverines. Quarterback Denard Robinson was worked a lot last year, as he was in the top 20 in the FBS with 256 rushes. Although he was second in the FBS with 1,702 rushing yards, Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges has said he will not run as much this season because he wants to keep him healthy for the entire year. He said, "[We'll] try not to [get him] beat up...Because we’re trying to get to more of a power-offense style, we’re trying to take some of the burden off him as a runner and more than anything, try to keep him in one piece.” However, we will see if Borges isn't tempted to let Denard run wild if Michigan begins to struggle offensively, especially after last season when Robinson ran for 258 yards in a 28-24 victory over the Fighting Irish. After a solid 8-5 season in Brian Kelly's first year at the helm in South Bend, the Irish will be looking for even more success this year. The biggest question mark for the Irish is at the quarterback position. Brian Kelly has still not named a starter, although the season is right around the corner. How it all works out for Kelly remains to be seen. If Kelly chooses Dayne Crist for example, Crist could feel pressure to perform knowing that Tommy Rees is right behind him ready to play. Either way, the Michigan defense that allowed an average of 35 points per game last season will be ready. Brady Hoke said about the new look defense, "They’re getting more comfortable. We've made really good strides from practice 7 to 14."

Utah at #25 USC in Week 2: When Utah officially joined the Pac 12 on July 1st, Utah athletic director Chris Hill said, "We're not afraid of the high expectations. It's not easy, but at the same time our fans expect us to do well... We didn't win a game today, but I feel like we won our future at the University of Utah." Utah's dream move to the Pac 12 will begin with a splash when they travel to the Coliseum to take on the 11-time National Champion USC Trojans. Utah has 7 returning starters on the offensive side of the ball, including quarterback Jordan Wynn and his two top receivers DeVonte Christopher and Jereme Brooks. The Utah secondary will be a key to watch against USC because of the Trojans ability to throw the ball around the field with quarterback Matt Barkley. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said, "Defensively we are on track. We've done a lot of good things, particularly the secondary. That has been a pleasant surprise, the way the secondary has performed through the first half of camp. We felt all along the line was strong and it has been." If you look ahead at Utah's schedule, they don't play another ranked team all season because they don't play number 3 Oregon or number 7 Stanford this year. If Utah can come away from the Coliseum with a victory, who knows what could happen. This is the final season of USC's two-year postseason ban, so they will be looking to finish with a great record, despite not being able to play in the Pac 12 championship game or a bowl game.

Indian Women at 24th FIBA Asia Championship: A Preview

*Photos here are all from India's games at the 2009 FIBA Asia Basketball Championships in Chennai



There are at least half a dozen little cliched phrases bouncing around in my head right now when trying to describe the challenge that the Indian basketball team are soon about to face at the 24th FIBA Asia Championship for Women in Omura, Japan. Baptism by fire. Against all odds. Backs against the wall.



Because what India are about to face (actually, what they have already started facing, since I wrote this after our first game against Chinese Taipei), is their toughest, most brutal stretch of basketball in recent memory. India finished 6th at the FIBA ABC in Chennai in 2009, and it was good enough for us to qualify in the 'Level 1' of the championship this year. What it means that we will be playing most of our games against the best teams in Asia this time. India is ranked #41 in the world FIBA rankings; In the five days between August 21-25, India will play five games, against Chinese Taipei (rank 22), Korea (9), Asian Champions China (8), hosts Japan (15), and Lebanon (55). That means that, apart from Lebanon, each team we will face will be ranked far above us. Even Chinese Taipei, who are the lowest of the 'Big 4' in our group, defeated us by 45 points at the William Jones Cup a few weeks ago.



Indeed, its going to be tough pickings for India's new coach Pete Gaudet, who has spent barely two and half months at the helm of the team after a career that spanned 40 years in basketball, mostly holding on to assistant coaching roles in NCAA D1 colleges like Duke, Vanderbilt, and OSU. Gaudet got a chance to test the team out a little at the William Jones tournament in Taiwan two weeks ago, where India got just 1 victory - albeit a wonderful won - over the Korea 'Samsung' team.



The 2011 Women's FIBA ABC is divided into two levels: Level I and Level II. The two lowest finishers of Level I meets the top two finishers to determine which teams qualify for the top Level of the 2013 championship. The losers are relegated to Level II. India and Lebanon are likely to be these two teams. Level II consists of six teams all ranked below India (Indonesia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan). For India to remain in Level I in 2013 and have a chance to actually enter the knock-out stage of the tournament, they will have to beat a team that has finished in the top 2 from Level II.



There is of course the other possibility that India perform a miracle and finish in the top 4 of Level I. Unlikely, I know, but I still have to discuss the possibility: it that happens, we will enter the Semi-Final round of the championship.



As for our team: once again, everything India does will start and end with our inspirational, superstar Center, Geethu Anna Jose. Geethu was the best individual performer in the 2009 championships and is the only Indian to complete a trial with WNBA teams. The 26-year-old is just entering her prime, and with a coach like Gaudet who is an expert on post play (he actually wrote a book about it), Geethu should once again be India's superstar.



Point guard Akanksha Singh captains the team for the first time, and is one of the best ball handlers I've seen in India. Alongside her in the starting line-up will be India's former captain and Akanksha's older sister, Prashanti Singh, and their Delhi teammate, Raspreet Sidhu. Anitha Pauldurai, who was one of the best players for India at the William Jones Cup, rounds up the starting five. India's bench will really have to step up and I have a feeling that many of them will not be getting a lot of minutes at the FIBA ABC, forcing greater strain on the starters. Girls like Pushpa Maddu and Kokila Subramani have the potential to have good stretches. I'm also excited about 16-year-old Shireen Limaye, who made her Indian debut at the William Jones Cup and will become one of our best players in the future.



Yes, India will lose a lot, and yes, India will lose big, but let's not lose heart: India has qualified into Level I, and have 'earned' the opportunity to lose big against Asia's biggest, instead of playing less meaningful games against the second-tier teams. Even if we don't make it to the top 4, hopefully we can put up a good performance against Lebanon and in our qualifying round match against a Level II team.



Improvement will come step by step: We finished at 6th place in Chennai. I predict that our girls will be able to do one better, finish 5th this time around, and a better, badder team will return in 2013 after a couple of years with Coach Gaudet and aim for greater heights.

If Arsenal Wants To Contend In The Premier League, They Will Have To Spend Some Money

The last time Arsenal finished out of the top four in the Premier League was more than 15 years ago in 1995-1996 when they finished in 5th place. Arsenal has not looked like a top four team this season. They have just 1 point in two games and have not scored a goal in their first two games for the first time in 42 years. The Gunners lost to Liverpool at home for the first time in more than ten years, and their next premier league fixture is against the defending league champion Manchester United. If Arsenal isn't willing to spend any money to bring in some new players, they will likely be watching the Champions League next season instead of playing in it.

Arsenal has had a thin roster for their last two games because guys have left their team or are on loan. On July 4th, Arsenal lost their starting defender Gael Clichy to Manchester City as he signed a four-year deal worth 7 million dollars. He was tied for the team led with 33 starts at outside back last year. On August 16th, Arsenal lost another defender, Emmanuel Eboue, to the Turkish club Galatasaray for 3.5 million dollars. Without Clichy and Eboue, Arsenal has been struggling to find a solid defender. They have experimented with both Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson, but they are both very young and unproven. The Gunners have also been troubled with whom to pair in the middle with Laurent Koscielny, as they have gone away from Sebastien Squillaci and they have begun to use the inexperienced Thomas Vermaelen. 

Considering that last season with Clichy the Gunners let up 43 goals, 10 more than Chelsea and Manchester City, they will be conceding much more this season with unproven guys in the back. Arsenal needs to some cash and bring in some fresh faces to play in the back, and even Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted that. "Certainly, we will have to find one more defender. We are working on it." Arsenal's 12 million dollar bid for center defender Phil Jagielka was turned down by Everton and it will most likely take an offer around 18 million for the English defender to come to Emirates Stadium. Although 18 million is a lot for a defender, Jagielka would be a great pairing with Koscielny in the middle and it would please many of the very unhappy Arsenal fans who want the team to spend some money in the market. If Arsenal is reluctant to spend that much on Jagielka, they could also look at Gary Cahill of Bolton, Chris Samba of Blackburn, or Scott Dann of Birmingham City, all of whom would cost less than Everton is asking for Jagielka. 

Although bringing in a defender should be Arsenal's first prior, they also need some help in the midfield and up front. Arsenal no longer has their captain, Cesc Fabregas, in the mix. The Spanish midfielder returned to his former club Barcelona on August 15th after years of speculation if he would go back to play for them. He was signed for a fee that could be worth as much as 39 million, which would obviously give Arsenal a lot of room to make some moves. More money should be available to Arsenal as their French midfielder, Samri Nasri, is reportedly close to going to Manchester City for around 25 million. 

Without Fabreags or Nasri in the middle, Arsenal will need to bring in a quality player in the midfield. Jack Wilshere is still out with an ankle injury and Andrei Arshavin has really struggled with the club since his great start in 2009. Mathieu Valbuena of Marseille and Eden Hazard of Lille are the two most likely targets for Arsenal. Although Marseille said that they would listen to offers for Valbuena, they are unlikely to deal him at this time. The more likely option is Eden Hazard, but it will definitely cost the Gunners a lot of cash. Arsenal will have to be willing to pay Lille 30 million for the Belgian winger. It's more likely that Arsenal signs a defender before they would spend 30 million on Hazard, but the French League One Player of the Year would be a great threat to a depleted Arsenal side.

While Arsenal have lost Clichy, Eboue, Fabregas, Vela, and Denilson on transfers or loans and are about to lose Nasri and Bendtner, other top premier league teams have bolstered their squads in hopes of making a run at the premier league title. Liverpool were big buyers this summer. To sure up their midfield issues, they brought in Stewart Downing and Charlie Adam. Liverpool spent about 20 million to get Downing from Aston Villa and the long suspected transfer of Adam to play in Anfield Stadium finally concluded for a cost of about 7 million. They also shored up their left back position by bringing in Jose Enrique from Newcastle for about 6 million. As always, Manchester City spent a lot of money to make a run at the title. Besides the signing of Clichy for 7 million, they also bought defender Stefan Savic for around 6 million. Their big splash came when they signed Argentinean striker, Sergio Aguero, in the second biggest Premier League transfer deal for 35 million dollars from Atletico Madrid. Chelsea signed Orio Romeu from Barcelona for 5 million and the young Belgian striker, Romelu Lukaku, for about 20 million. Manchester United spent the most money of any premier league team with their three big signings that cost a combine 54 million dollars. They bought young England defender Phil Jones for about 16 million, Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David De Gea for about 18 million, and Ashley Young from Aston Villa for about 20 million. With Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Manchester United all spending a lot of money to bring in quality players, Arsenal will have to bring in some new players or they will likely fall out of the top four.

Hall of The Worm

I was 11 when I first decided to give the game of basketball a chance. I wasn't very inspired and wasn't very good. I played mostly in the Ridgewood Dorm basketball court in my boarding school, a court that had some of the most unique dimensions I have ever experienced: two nine-and-half-feet high baskets, separated on a not-so-straight open court, barely two-thirds the size of a real court. The basket on one of the ends was on a tree. Yes!



But it was here that I first tried out my very limited hand in the game, and I did what every bumbling, struggling, out-of-sync newcomer does: find out that one thing that I was comfortable with, and then specialise in it. Some of the guys were great at outside shots from their hot-spots. Some were aspiring Jason Williams', focusing more on how beautiful their dribble looked than their actual shot. Some had become so familiar with the backboards that they had an uncanny and unstoppable skill of Dwyane-Wade-esque difficult layups, a skills that came especially handy when playing Air-21.



I had an awkward shot, the worst handles known to man, and little to no court vision. But I did have incredibly long arms, giving me a wingspan longer than even the boys who were taller than me. During shoot-around, we played the simple 'make it - take it' system: if you make it, you get the ball back. Otherwise, the dozen or so people standing below the basket hustle and fight for the rebound to get a chance at their own shot.



And so, my longer-than-average-arms, and the challenge to win a rebound against a dozen others against low odds, combined to gave me my first real basketball skills: rebounding. And it was during my rebounding dominant moments that some NBA-affluent friend called me a 'Worm'.



"A what?"



"A Worm. The Worm. Like Dennis Rodman."



Rodman.



I didn't know squat about the NBA beyond Magic & Michael when I first heard the name Rodman, but it wasn't going to be easy to forget him once I dug a little deeper. I found out that this cross-dressing, cameraman-kicking, hair-bleaching, strange man was also the man synonomous with rebounds. As a matter of fact, I will be shocked if Oxford made an Official Basketball Dictionary and a photograph of Dennis Rodman didn't take up the full page next to the definition of 'rebounds'.



Because Dennis Rodman, or 'The Worm' as he was nicknamed, is the greatest rebounder of the basketball in history. And now I'm going to tell you why.



A week ago, Dennis Rodman was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame, a moment he capped off with one of the most emotional speeches ever given at the Hall. At only 6-foot-7 inches, Rodman constantly played bigger than his size, defending both the forward positions and the Center with ease, and playing power forward for most of his career on the offensive end. The post-merger NBA has never seen a more tenacious rebounder: Rodman led the league in rebounding an unbelievable SEVEN times, from 1992-1998! And this was in an era where he regularly went up against the likes of Hakeem Olajuwan, Charles Barkley, Shaq, Charles Oakley, Kevin Garnett, and Karl Malone.



Here was a man who averaged just 7.3 points per game during the course of his career and now finds himself in the Hall of Fame. It was his rebounding and defense that got him enshrined in the Hall, and the rebound stats in particular tell more than their share of the tale. Since 1973, no player has had a better rebounding average than Rodman, at 13.1 a game. Since 1973, Rodman owns five out of the top eight single season rebounding records, with a top two of 18.7 rpg and 18.3 rpg in 1992 and 1993 respectively. Take a look at those dates again: these otherworldy stats weren't achieved in the 'black-and-white' era of Chamberlain-Russell NBA, where the NBA only had a few taller athletic players and a fast paced to the game meant that the likes of Chamberlain and Russell got most of the rebounds available. These stats are from relatively recent years - the 90s, an era that Rodman dominated.



And as the old adage says, "Defense and Rebounding wins championships" - and Rodman did his fair share of winning too, getting five rings. He was the defensive heart and soul of the Detroit Pistons Bad Boys teams that won two rings in 1989 and 1990, and part of his responsibility was shutting down Michael Jordan. He spent a couple of seasons with the Spurs, where he began to stake his claim as the most dominant rebounder in the league. And as most recent history will remember him, he joined Jordan and Pippen in the legendary Chicago Bulls team for their second three-peat, winning three more championships from 1996-98.



And on a sidenote: how damn great was that Bulls team? They had the greatest player of all time, the greatest wingman/do-it-all player of all time, and the greatest rebounder of all time. The best part of the Jordan-Pippen-Rodman trio was that not only were they the teams three biggest stars, but they were the three best defenders, perhaps three of the top six or seven defenders in the league at their time.



During the course of his career, Rodman was named Defensive Player of the Year twice while with the Pistons, was an all star twice (few players not named Ben Wallace become all stars by averaging below 10 points a game), and seven times into the NBA All Defensive first team.



He did some time with the Lakers and the Mavs before calling it a day, but one of the most amusing things for me to now check up Rodman's career are the names of the teams he played for AFTER his NBA career: these include the Long Beach Jam, Orange County Crush, and Tijuana Dragons of the ABA, a team in Finland (Torpan Pojat) and in England (Brigton Bears).



On the course of his journey, Rodman did a lot of crazy shit too, and it is perhaps his extracurricular activities that made him so unpredictable off the court. Out of the large number of these activities, here are my top 3:

1) He wore a wedding dress to promote his autobiography.

2) He was a part time pro-wrestler, and fought alongside Hulk Hogan

3) He was in a movie with Jean Claude Van Damme, called Double Team. Find it: it's great! (ok, keep your expectations low)



Despite all this though, his on-court production never changed, and even at an old age, he continued to hustle hard, defend hard, rebound hard, and win rings.



And now, here is perhaps the greatest part of the Rodman story: how he fought against all the odds to become what he did. Dennis Rodman was never supposed to be the greatest ever rebounder, never supposed to be a hall of famer. He suffered an unhappy childhood, struggled through poverty and tragedy, and somehow made the NBA despite having outstanding offensive skills, and even then was a rookie at the advanced age of 25. He kept persisting, kept improving, won the rings, the DPOY accolades, the rebounding titles, and became a part of one of the greatest teams ever. And by his last title, he was already 37 years old, still reading the NBA in boards!



I didn't know these things when I was 11, when I was falling in love with the art of the rebound, when someone called me a 'worm' and I failed to realise that it was a compliment and not an insult. I added several more arsenals to my game since then, but that love for the boards never changed, and neither did my respect for Dennis Rodman. What I see now is that, 'The Worm' stood for more than just the ability to get rebounds. 'The Worm' stood for perseverance, hustle, an undying love for the game.



His career, and his life, mirror his rebounding skill. Without having the size to do it, he had the uncanny skill to break the odds and position himself for success. He jumped higher than anyone else, even those bigger and more skilled than him, to either grab the ball, or tip it away, back to himself, just like in life, he was able to tip the favours towards himself, to grab the NBA's biggest challenges by its horns. And then he would secure the rebound, just like he would secure success, and then he would do it over and over again, becoming the best at one of the most beautiful arts in basketball.