http://www.gcjob.net/index.php Sports news en jayduchuang@126.com Copyright 2010 Pivot Pivot - 1.40.3: 'Dreadwind' Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:38:57 +0800 60 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=169 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=169#comm
Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain collected a long clearance from Angel di Maria before beating defender Per Mertesacker, slipping the ball past Germany goalkeeper Rene Adler and slotting it into the empty net for the 45th-minute winner.

Argentina's victory was clouded by an injury to defender Martin Demichelis, who suffered a broken cheekbone when he was hit accidentally in the face by the knee of Germany captain Michael Ballack.

Both Argentina and Germany qualified for the June soccer gala.

Argentina, a two-time World Cup champion, is in a group with Nigeria, Greece and South Korea at this summer's World Cup, while Germany is with Australia, Ghana and Serbia. ]]> 169@http://gcjob.net/pivot/ default Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:38:00 +0800 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=143 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=143#comm

Shane Mosley is already tired of Floyd Mayweather's pre-fight antics and will knock him out when the two meet in May, the boxer said Wednesday.

The two American fighters scuffled on their opening day of their press tour in New York and 24 hours later at the Lincoln Theater in Washington went nose-to-nose jawing at each other.

"I'm a mild-mannered guy. People must understand I'm a gentleman when the other person has been a gentleman as well," Mosley told reporters. "If he wants to get feisty, that's OK.

"His personality is to fight before the fight. Since I'm older I understand this. He can't do the same thing he's done to other fighters because I know his tactics.

"He's not in my head, no. I've waited for this fight for too long."

Whether or not the pre-fight clash was merely boxing theater, it is clear Mosley does not care for Mayweather, who has been hurling insults this week as quickly as his jab.

"I'm just happy this fight is taking place," said Mosley. "He can say what he wants to say, he can do what he wants to do. It doesn't matter to me.

"I just want him to show up in the ring. There's nothing he can say to me that would make me mad. I just want to see him on May 1 and we can settle it with our fists."

The Mayweather-Mosley fight at the Las Vegas MGM Grand was signed only after the mega-fight between Mayweather and WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao collapsed.

Mosley (46-5, 39 knockouts) bristles at the idea that he was an afterthought, having long sought a fight against either Mayweather or Pacquiao.

"I was waiting for a year to fight either one of these guys," the WBA welterweight champion said softly. "Did they care if I was going to wait? No. But it's the fans who are going to benefit from this fight."

"I don't play. I give 100 percent. I'm going to give everything that I have. Mayweather knows that."

The 38-year-old Mosley was nattily attired in a charcoal gray suit, with a light-green shirt and a green floral tie. He glanced at Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs), who was casually dressed in a sweat suit.

Mayweather, 33, laughed with fans, signed autographs and posed for pictures. Each signature was accompanied with an insult lobbed toward Mosley.

Mosley shrugged and said: "I'm going to knock him out. I can't wait to get into the ring and dig my teeth into Mayweather. It's going to be the fight of the decade." ]]> 143@http://gcjob.net/pivot/ default Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:22:00 +0800 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=142 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=142#comm
Deng Yaping, the only Chinese on the 46-member Laureus World Sports Academy, put the country's lack of nominees down to a failure to excel in "influential" sports.

"Frequent nominees and winners always come from a certain few sports such as tennis, Formula One, golf, soccer and track and field. Undoubtedly, we (China) have proven our strength in competitive sports through Olympic success but we are still like walk-ons in the most influential sports," Deng, a former four-time Olympic table tennis gold medalist, said at the 2010 nominees press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

"The performances of Li Na and Zheng Jie (both of whom advanced to the semifinals) were stunning at the Australian Open. However, there is no way they could compete against (Serena) Williams for the Laureus," she said.

Then Houston Rocket's rookie center Yao Ming became the first Chinese to win a Laureus award when he claimed the Breakthrough Athelete of the Year title in 2003. His compatriot, Liu Xiang, an Olympic and world champion hurdler, repeated that success in 2005.

Last year, China's 2008 Olympic team won the World Team of the Year crown.

However, Chinese athletes have never been nominated for the most significant awards - World Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year.

Established in 1999 and recognized as the premier honors on the international sporting calendar, the nominees for the Laureus Awards are initially selected by a panel of more than 700 of the world's leading sports editors, writers and broadcasters and then the members of the academy vote for the winners in all seven categories by secret ballot.

Founded by its patrons Richemont and Daimler and supported by global partners Mercedes-Benz, IWC Schaffhausen and Vodafone, Laureus also has a Sport for Good Foundation which supports more than 70 community sports projects around the world, including inviting more than 40 Chinese sports icons to share their stories with thousands of peasant workers' children in China.

"It just offeres a great opportunity for retired athletes like me to continue to inspire people, especially those who are in difficulty," said Deng. ]]> 142@http://gcjob.net/pivot/ default Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:21:00 +0800 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=141 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=141#comm
Leonid Tyagachev said in televised remarks Thursday that his decision followed the "unexpectedly" poor results of the team at Vancouver.

Russian news agencies reported his resignation Wednesday, but the Olympic Committee denied it.

Russia placed 11th with three golds and sixth in the overall medal count with just 15 medals. That total was two fewer than its previous low in Salt Lake City in 2002.

The results proved particularly embarrassing as the country takes the torch for the next Winter Olympics in its Black Sea resort of Sochi in 2014. ]]> 141@http://gcjob.net/pivot/ default Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:16:00 +0800 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=140 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=140#comm
After nearly two months of negotiations, Cielo verbally agreed to sign with the club during their 100th year anniversary.

Another big-name swimmer to join Cielo is the women’s star, Poliana Okimoto. “We reached a verbal agreement with both swimmers. The contracts are not yet signed, but we plan on sealing the deal and announcing their arrival sometime next week,”said the director of aquatic sports at Corinthians, Fernando Alba.

Alba admits that as of now, the club does not have the money to pay for the athletes. However, he claims that the model used to bring in Ronaldo will be used to raise the money for Cielo and Okimoto.

Alba claims that just as in the case with Ronaldo, the athletes will attract investments and financial contribution with their image, thus making the transaction profitable for both parties.

Cielo is currently in the United States participating in his first event of the year. At the GP in Austin, Texas, Cielo and the rest of the male swimmers will have to use a speedo as the larger X-Glide body suits have been banned from competitive swimming.

Cielo admits to be far from his ideal weight and physical preparedness, but hopes that his new contract with Corinthians will help to get him back in form. He is expected to return to Brazil after the swim meet and receive a hero’s welcome at Corinthians. ]]> 140@http://gcjob.net/pivot/ default Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:15:00 +0800 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=139 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=139#comm
Even when the owners opted out of the CBA in 2008, little thought was given to an actual removal of the salary cap that generally has been beneficial for both owners and players.

On Friday, pro football's salary cap dies. Free agency begins under a whole new set of rules, and no one is sure where it will lead — perhaps even to a work stoppage in 2011.

Yes, the most profitable and popular sport in America is entering territory even more uncharted than the end zone was for the St. Louis Rams last season.

"The situation we're walking into is certainly unknown for everyone," Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik says. "So no one can really look at the crystal ball and say here's what people are going to spend and here's what people aren't going to spend. It's all pure speculation."

Marc Ganis, president of Chicago-based consulting company Sports Corp. Ltd., thinks teams will be tightfisted.

"That's one of the possibilities in the uncapped season, will some teams be spending far below the current floor, especially teams that perform poorly on the field?" says Ganis. "Teams will have the option of spending the amount on their team that they think it is worth. A 4-12 team does not have the caliber players a consistently 12-4 team has.

"I expect the small and midsize market clubs are going to start to pay in this uncapped year based on what they can afford."

But sports agent Joe Linta, who represents Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco among others, is optimistic the pocketbooks will remain open. His thoughts echo those by many of his colleagues:

"The owners are all wealthy," Linta says, "and as much as they need and want to make money, the need to win is greater than the need to make money — they already have plenty. Their insatiable desire to win will override their greed to save and make money. So, yeah, they'll spend."

Some can spend more than others. But the crop of unrestricted free agents contains few difference makers and is inferior to the group of restricted free agents.

Under the CBA that expires next March, the top conference semifinalists from January's playoffs have extra restrictions in signing free agents. The final four, for example, must lose an unrestricted free agent (UFA) before they can sign one.

That hamstrings the Saints, Colts, Jets and Vikings.

"I think it is a penalty for sure," Jets coach Rex Ryan says. "Maybe you need a tight end or whatever it is and you don't have that ability to go out and get some of the top guys that might be available."

Many of those top guys aren't available at all. With no salary cap, it takes six years of service to become an unrestricted free agent, two more than in the past. Players with four and five seasons now are restricted, meaning the team losing them would earn compensation or would have the right to match offers from other clubs.

Among the 212 players who now are not totally free because of the uncapped season are All-Pro defensive end Elvis Dumervil of Denver, who led the league in sacks in 2009; San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman and receiver Vincent Jackson; Miami running back Ronnie Brown; Dallas receiver Miles Austin; and Houston linebacker DeMeco Ryans.

While Dumervil, Austin and Ryans might be worth the heavy compensation they would cost, how many teams are willing to part with high draft picks and all the money it will take to sign such standouts?

"For us it's not changing," San Francisco 49ers GM Scot McCloughan. "We're going to go forward as if there is a cap. ... We're not going to be considered a big free agency team anyway. But we'll do what we need to do in free agency if we think it's a smart move."

Not that there won't be lots of bucks flying into players' bank accounts. Teams always want to procure as much talent as they can. If someone perceives defensive end Julius Peppers as the answer to their line issues, the money figures to be there — although certainly not on the scale of the $20 million-plus Carolina would have needed to spend to make him a franchise player for the second straight year.

"When we talk about possible free agents, certainly Julius is one of the guys we talk about," Cleveland Browns president Mike Holmgren says when asked if Peppers could have the kind of impact free-agent Reggie White had in Green Bay when Holmgren was the coach. "Then I have to put on my other hat because there are some financial ramifications there.

"As great a player as Julius is, I'd be reluctant to compare anybody to Reggie White. We did it, at the time we bonused him for I think $8 million. Everybody thought we were nuts. It was numbers off the chart. Now think of that today."

Think of this today, as well: NFL teams must consider the ramifications of high spending in an uncapped 2010 if a salary cap returns in subsequent years. The money spent on Peppers or another quality UFA this year might be unlimited, but contract provisions beyond that could hinder staying under a salary cap in the future.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz sees more experienced, but possibly more worn-down players available in free agency this year. That, too, could curtail spending.

"Most of the ... unrestricted players are going to be players that are 29, 30, 31 years old. I think the biggest thing about that is, it places a lot more emphasis on getting the player right," says Schwartz, whose club needs all the talent it can get just to reach mediocrity. "You can get mileage out of a 29-year-old or a 30-year-old as long as you have a very specific role in mind for him and he fits your scheme and you feel good about that, because you're not going to have a whole lot of startup time with him."

Many team executives also believe April's draft carries more significance than usual because of the flux in free agency.

"I sense that we are a lot more focused seemingly this year on draft preparation," Atlanta Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff said. "Usually we take this in cycles or segments. There was definitely a free agent segment leading up to beginning of free agency. Now we tend to be focusing on the draft that much earlier. I will be interested to see how much interest there is going into free agency with the fewer numbers."

Dimitroff and everyone else can only wonder. ]]> 139@http://gcjob.net/pivot/ default Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:15:00 +0800 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=138 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=138#comm
Hunter, who rides for the Garmin team, beat Australia's Graeme Brown and Spain's Vicente Reynes in a sprint finish to take the 169.8-kilometre second stage and retain the yellow jersey.

The three finished in the same order in Wednesday's first stage.

Armstrong, who is on only his second stage race of the year, finished with the main peleton.

That group also included Britain's Olympic gold medalist Bradley Wiggins, who was 31st, and last year's Tour of Murcia winner Dennis Menchov of Russia, who was 38th.

"Muchas gracias to the people for the support here. I must say though, I'm a little surprised by it," Armstrong, aiming to win an eighth Tour de France in July, said on his official Twitter site. ]]> 138@http://gcjob.net/pivot/ default Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:14:00 +0800 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=137 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=137#comm
President Dmitry Medvedev quickly revived Soviet-era methods this week by firing top sporting chiefs and demanding assurances that the debacle will not be repeated on home soil.

In calling for "those responsible" to resign, Medvedev lamented that Russia "has lost the old Soviet school ... and we haven't created our own school — despite the fact that the amount of money that is invested in sport is unprecedentedly high."

The cull reached to the top of the sporting world Thursday as Russian Olympic Committee chief Leonid Tyagachev handed in his resignation. Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko went on state television to repent bemoaning Russia's "backward infrastructure, the loss of the national coaching school and systemic problems in training."

Vancouver was Russia's worst Olympic showing ever: The country brought home only 15 medals, three gold, placing it 11th in the medals table. In nine Winter Olympics from 1956 to 1988, the Soviet Union failed to top the medal standings only twice, finishing runner-up on those occasions.

In communist days, Olympic athletes had much to fear from a bad performance. They stood to be sent back into the ranks of the Soviet masses, losing their status as national heroes and their ability to travel abroad, not to mention their generous salaries.

The Soviet Union was also known for using the Olympics — particularly the Winter Games so suited to its climate — as a potent propaganda tool against the West and a way of glorifying the communist ideology when it was struggling in other arenas to compete with capitalism.

Many Soviet Olympic triumphs were suspected of being tainted by doping, as detection methods were far weaker then and political pressure sometimes prompted sports officials to look the other way.

In Vancouver, Russian athletes were under particular scrutiny for performance enhancing drugs after more than half a dozen biathletes and cross-country skiers were suspended in the past year for using the blood-boosting drug EPO.

Top athletes and wealthy sponsors said that neither money nor another witchhunt will relieve the deeper social and economic problems that caused sporting disaster in Vancouver.

They pointed to everything from widespread corruption to the outflow of talent and even the very financial system Russia adopted after the fall of communism.

"The Soviet system of sports has passed, and in its pure form, it is not compatible with the realities of the market economy," billionaire industrialist Mikhail Prokhorov, who heads Russia's biathlon federation and owns a stake in the New York Nets basketball team, wrote in a blog post Monday. "Money is not the issue."

Examples of Russia's social ills also abounded in the surge of newspaper and magazine articles demanding to know why the Russian team had fared so poorly. Endemic corruption and the failure to invest in infrastructure were chief among them.

The Trud daily ran an editorial under the banner: "The jumpers don't have trampolines and the sledders don't have sleighs," pointing out that Russia does not have a professional-grade bobsledding course, while tracks for speed skating exist only in Moscow. And while Russia is a hockey power, it has far fewer rinks than the U.S. and Canada.

Many top Russian athletes have moved abroad to get access to better sports infrastructure and up-to-date coaching. Anastazia Kuzmina had competed for her native Russia in the biathlon before switching allegiances in 2008 to Slovakia. Thanks to her, the tiny central European nation got its first Winter Olympic gold medal in Vancouver.

On the streets of Moscow, the Olympics were the topic of the day, and people's disgust with the performance was quick to spill over onto the state of modern Russia. Elvira Ernshtein said her son's teammate in an amateur hockey league was so disappointed with the medal count that he was surgically removing a tattoo of the Russian flag.

"You know we lost our competitive abilities a long time ago," said Boris Afanasyev, a 41-year-old businessman. ]]> 137@http://gcjob.net/pivot/ default Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:14:00 +0800 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=136 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=136#comm
The Russian Olympic Committee earlier said that Tyagachev had rendered resignation, which will be officially announced at an upcoming meeting of the committee.

Tyagachev, 63, served as sports and tourism minister before he took the post in the Olympic Committee in 2001.

Russia recorded its worst performance in Vancouver, taking only three golds, five silvers and seven bronzes to finish 11th for golds and sixth in the overall medal standings.

Medvedev on Monday called for a drastic change in the system of athlete training, as well as resignation of officials responsible for preparing Russian athletes for the Winter Olympics.

"Those who bear responsibility for the Olympic preparations should take responsibility immediately. Those responsible should take a courageous decision and submit their resignations," said the president.

Also on Thursday Medvedev instructed the government to involve nongovernmental organizations in discussing the situation and draft proposals for reforming the sports management system in Russia.

Another official heavily criticized by the media, Russian sports and tourism minister Vitaly Mutko has also expressed readiness to resign ensuing Russia's Vancouver flop. ]]> 136@http://gcjob.net/pivot/ default Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:13:00 +0800 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=135 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=135#comm
The landmark agreement was finalized during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and signed this week by USOC Chairman Larry Probst and BOA Chairman Lord Colin Moynihan.

Through the bilateral agreement, USOC and BOA will take steps to:

-- Jointly establish a Congress to take place in 2011 in London to develop and share information on best practices in National Governing Body leadership;

-- Work to bring together National Olympic Committees and private sector expertise to assist the process of taking forward the 2009 Olympic Congress resolutions on new digital technologies;

-- Establish a joint forum to share best practices in the development of Youth and Education Programs in sport and recreation;

-- Explore areas of cooperation in winter sports in preparation for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, particularly in sports governed by the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS), with specific opportunities to include coaching and technical exchanges, winter-sport training camps and other high performance programs;

-- Explore partnership opportunities between British Ski & Snowboarding and the United States Ski & Snowboard Association to assist in the establishment of British Ski & Snowboarding as a model National Governing Body;

-- Coordinate issues of mutual interest in planning for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Moynihan said: "This is a groundbreaking agreement between two National Olympic Committees with a shared commitment to support the growth of the Olympic Movement not only in our own countries, but worldwide.

"For the BOA, this agreement also represents an invaluable opportunity to provide an additional pathway of critical support for our winter sport athletes and, in particular, those athletes affected by the recent collapse of the former National Governing Body for ski and snowboard sport in the UK."

USOC Chairman Larry Probst said: "The special relationship between Great Britain and the United States has been bolstered by this agreement. Lord Moynihan is to be commended for his commitment to partnership and advancing the important ideals of the Olympic Movement.

"Our goal coming into the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games was to continue our efforts to engage the global Olympic Movement, learn from other National Olympic Committees and where possible, share our own expertise.

"With this agreement and others we've signed during these Games, I believe we have made progress against that objective. I look forward to working closely and collaboratively in the coming years with Lord Moynihan, Andy Hunt and the entire BOA." ]]> 135@http://gcjob.net/pivot/ default Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:11:00 +0800 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=2 http://www.gcjob.net/pivot/entry.php?id=2#comm This is an entry in the linkdump category. Most people use this to quickly post links to interesting sites or resources. If you write a new entry, and select 'linkdump' as the category, the entry will automagically be published in this section of your weblog.

]]> 2@http://gcjob.net/pivot/ linkdump Sun, 17 Jun 2007 12:15:00 +0800