Phillies acquire John Bowker, possible bench bat

After the Jack Cust experiment fell through (he was released), the Phillies continued their search for a lefty bat for their postseason bench. The next candidate: John Bowker, who, according to CSNPhilly, was acquired by the Phillies from the Pirates late Tuesday night. There is no word at this time what the Phillies have dealt to the Pirates but don't count on anything more than a low prospect or cash.



Bowker has spent most of the season in the minors but has played 19 games for the Pirates this season, hitting .235 with zero homers. In his career, Bowker has had some decent seasons with the Giants but hasn't been anything more than a part-time player. He can play first base and outfield but the Phillies are hoping he can be a pinch hitter for them in September and October. Count on him getting a long look in the coming month as Bowker tries to prove he is worth a postseason roster spot. With Ross Gload looking like a shell of his former self, the door is certainly open for Bowker to have a postseason role.

ATLETICO DE MADRID GETS BRAZILIAN MIDFIELDER DIEGO ON LOAN | AWAITING OFFICIAL OK FROM WOLFSBURG

If we are to believe local news, ATLETICO DE MADRID has finally managed to secure the loan & services of Brazilian midfielder DIEGO RIBAS from German Club WOLFSBURG. Nothing is as yet official, but recent negotiations & the players desire to play in Spanish Football give weight to the optimism being expressed by Atletico & the Spanish Sports press this afternoon.




Brazilian midfielder Diego

REAL MADRID AGREES TO LOAN FERNANDO GAGO TO AC ROMA

According to Spanish Sports paper "As" SPANISH FOOTBALL Club REAL MADRID has Oked the Italian Club AC ROMA suggestion to loan Argentine International midfielder FERNANDO GAGO for this season with the option to buy for 6M€ if desired to continue at the Italian Club thereafter.



Gago 

The news comes from Italy, concretely "La Gazetta dello Sport" & from the Italian intermediate in the

SPANISH FOOTBALL & THE "SCOTTISH MODEL"

When one thinks about Scottish Football, one thinks Celtic Glasgow or Rangers. These two Clubs dominate & always win (with the odd exception) the Scottish Premier League. Its the typical "two horse" race that limits the chances & opportunities of the other Clubs present & active like Aberdeen, Dundee Utd, Hibernian, Motherwell ... etc..

Some Spanish Football observers & Club Presidents have

Omar Cricket Club lift Bahria Town Trophy

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Omar Cricket Club, hurt badly by a couple of harsh umpiring decisions in the final last year, displayed even greater mental toughness besides loads of skills by emerging triumphant in the 26th Karachi Gymkhana Ramazan Festival Twenty20 Cricket Tournament 2011 for the Bahria Town Trophy which concluded at the Karachi Gymkhana Cricket Ground on August 29.

Leg-spinner Hafiz Saad Nasim claimed five wickets to bowl Omar CC to 22-run victory over Ali Sports in the final which was completed under dark clouds. Heavy downpour that followed ruined the presentation ceremony and the iftar-dinner reception which had to be moved to the heavily crowded banquet hall from the serene atmosphere of swimming pool.

Hamid Ilyas, Project Director, Bahria Town (Pvt) Ltd, was be the chief guest in the ceremony in which cash prizes of Rs eight lacs were disbursed. The President of the Karachi Gymkhana, Ali Rahim, was present on the occasion alongwith the Convenor Sports, Saleem Yousuf, and other top officials of the club.

Ramiz Aziz of Vital Five Academy was declared Man of the Tournament while Nasir Jamshed (Karachi Gymkhana Whites), Shahzeb Khan (KESC), Khurram Manzoor (Medicam) and Azhar Khan (Karachi Gymkhana Blues) were adjudged best barsman, bowler, fielder and wicketkeeper respectively.

Nadeem Omar, the founder and the owner of Omar CC, couldn’t hide his delight when laying hands at the trophy which could have easily come into his lap a year earlier as well.

In the final, enterprising knocks from opener Asif Raza (35 off 24 balls), Ali Khan (51 off 39 balls) and Ali Asad (32 off 26 balls) allowed Omar CC to post a competitive total of 146 for six against a spirited bowling attack. Left-arm spinner Imran Ali (3-21) was the pick of the Ali Sports bowlers.

Having registered a comeback victory in the semifinals only the other day, Ali Sports remained in the hunt while chasing the target of 147 despite losing wickets at regular intervals.
.
The match was wide open at the halfway stage of their innings with 90 needed from last 10 overs. By taking 22 overs in the next two overs Ali Sports inched closer to the target but their dreams were shattered by Hafiz Saad Nasim, who turned the match decisively in Omar CC’s favour by picking up five wickets for 22 runs. Ali Sports was bowled out for 124 in 19.1 overs.

In the semifinals Omar CC knocked out defending champions Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), beating them by a margin of seven wickets while Ali Sports forced their way final by overpowering the formidable Vital Five Academy by five wickets.

KESC was spun out for 134 in 19.4 overs despite useful knocks from Sarfraz Ahmed (54 off 34 balls) and Shaheryar Ghani (30 off 30 balls) with left-arm spinners Raza Hasan (4-28), Faraz Ahmed Khan (2-16) and Sultan Ahmed (2-19) doing the damage. The 90-run third wicket stand between Ali Khan (56 not out off 40 balls) and Ali Asad (36 off 32 balls) allowed Omar CC to reach the target comfortably with 2.4 overs remaining.

Vital Five Academy was restricted to 125 for nine with only Hanif Malik (26), Ali Waqas (20) and Mohammad Waqas (20) contributing something of note. The match came to life when they reduced Ali Sports to 31 for five but the unbroken 96-run sixth wicket partnership between Noman Ali (54 not out off 39 balls) and Zakir Malik (45 not out off 34 balls) settled the issue with 10 balls in hand.

Eagles sign Michael Vick to 6 year, 100 million dollar contract

After resurrecting his career with an amazing 2010 season, Michael Vick has gotten paid, signing a 6 year, 100 million dollar contract to stay in Philadelphia. Exact details of the deal aren't known at the moment but Adam Schefter of ESPN believes Vick will get about 40 million dollars in guaranteed money. With money like that, the Eagles are banking on Vick to continue performing at a high level for several years.



With Vick locked up, the focus turns to DeSean Jackson. Depending on how Vick's deal is structured, it should free up some money for the Eagles to use on Jackson.

SPANISH FOOTBALL MONDAY NIGHT RESULT ROUND 2 - LA LIGA - FC BARCELONA 5 - VILLAREAL 0

SPANISH FOOTBALL action tonight with the last game scheduled of Round 2 of the Spanish League with FC BARCELONA defeating 5 - 0 VILLAREAL FC . Barça started with the “romantic” & past famous 3 – 4 – 3 “Dream Team” system by Cruyff & with the following 11:


Valdés; Keita, Mascherano, Busquets, Abidal; Thiago, Iniesta, Cesc;
Alexis, Pedro & Messi.


The observation was that the defence looked

Eagles cut 4 more, trim roster down to 81

By tomorrow, the Eagles have to trim their roster down to 80 players. For today, they have cut down to 81 by dropping the following four players:



OT Spencer Johnson

WR Gerald Jones

DB Jamar Wall

TE Martell Webb



There are no surprises in this group, all were simply training camp bodies. After tomorrow, the next round of cuts has to happen by Sunday and that will be to get the Eagles to 53 players.

ARRIVEDERCI DIEGO FORLAN - THANKYOU!

The 32 year old Uruguayan International DIEGO FORLAN has said officially goodbye to SPANISH FOOTBALL & to all the ATLETICO DE MADRID fans in a Press Conference this afternoon. The player is on the verge of shutting the final details with Italian Club INTER MILAN. As an Atletico de Madrid fan & follower I can only give publicly my sincere thanks to Forlan for the services given to the Club during 

SPANISH FOOTBALL 2011 - 2012 | SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA ROUND 2 RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL - Soccer - kicked off this weekend with Round 2 of LA LIGA - last week players striker moves Round 1 to another future date - with nine games of the Spanish League. Was great  to see the Football relaxing with a weekend break, but I am also glad to be back & posting up some results for the regular readers.


Here is a summary of the Spanish Football League results this weekend:

Projecting the 2011 Eagles 53 man roster, Ver. 2.0

With three preseason games in the books, it's time to take another look at who is going to make the Eagles 53 man roster. With more cuts coming in the next few days, many players have already done all they can to make a case for being on the team. This is my second attempt at predicting the Eagles Week One roster. Below my roster projection I have also listed several players who are on the bubble and I gave reasons why they might not make the final roster. Changes from my previous projection are listed in bold.



Offense:

QB(3): Michael Vick, Vince Young, Mike Kafka



RB(3): LeSean McCoy, Ronnie Brown, Dion Lewis



FB (1): Owen Schmitt



WR(6): DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Steve Smith, Jason Avant, Riley Cooper, Chad Hall



TE(3): Brent Celek, Clay Harbor, Donald Lee



LT(1): Jason Peters



LG(1): Evan Mathis



C(2): Jason Kelce, Jamaal Jackson



RG(2): Danny Watkins, Mike McGlynn



RT(3): Todd Herremans, Winston Justice, King Dunlap



Defense:

DE(5): Trent Cole, Jason Babin, Juqua Parker, Darryl Tapp, Daniel Te'o-Nesheim



DT(5): Mike Patterson, Cullen Jenkins, Antonio Dixon, Trevor Laws, Anthony Hargrove



LB(5): Moise Fokou, Casey Matthews, Jamar Chaney, Keenan Clayton, Brian Rolle



CB(6): Nnamdi Asomugha, Asante Samuel, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Joselio Hanson, Curtis Marsh, Brandon Hughes



FS(2): Kurt Coleman, Jaiquawn Jarrett



SS(2): Nate Allen, Jarrad Page



Special Teams:

K(1): Alex Henery



P(1): Chas Henry



LS(1): Jon Dorenbos



Could start season on injured reserve/PUP: Brandon Graham, Winston Justice, Victor Abiamiri, Marlin Jackson

We have seen very little of all of the above players so the chances are slim that they will be healthy at the start of the season. Abiamiri and Graham are a lock to be out.



Will start season on injured reserve: Ryan Harris

Back surgery for Harris.



Could be traded: Joselio Hanson, Juqua Parker

With all of the talent ahead of him, Hanson seems like obvious trade bait. It's probably time for Parker to get shipped out for a draft pick.



Players on the bubble:

RB: Eldra Buckley, Graig Cooper

Buckley is great on special teams but with kickoff coverage not as important, he loses his value. Cooper had a shot until Dion Lewis did some damage in the preseason games.



WR: Johnnie Lee Higgins, Sinorice Moss

With kickoffs being moved up, Higgins has lost almost all of his value. He isn't much of a receiver and the Eagles are already plenty deep at the position. Moss isn't valuable enough of a punt returner to keep around.



OL: Austin Howard, Reggie Wells, Fenuki Tupou, Julian Vandervelde, Dallas Reynolds, A.Q. Shipley

Time is up for Austin Howard and, with Todd Herremans moving to starting right tackle, Reggie Wells will need a miracle to make the team. The rest of the guys listed here are practice squad bait.



DE: Philip Hunt

The final defensive end spot comes down to Te'o-Nesheim vs. Hunt. Te'o-Nesheim has looked pretty good in the preseason and the Eagles have a lot invested in him. Should the Birds trade Parker, Hunt will stick around.



DT: Derek Landri, Cedric Thornton

Landri will be a tough player to cut given how strong he has looked. Barring an injury, I just don't see room on the roster for him.



LB: Akeem Jordan, Greg Lloyd

With Rolle seemingly finding a role in the nickel, Jordan appears to be lost in the shuffle. Lloyd's only shot of sticking around is on the injured list or the practice squad.



CB: Trevard Lindley

I still like the Eagles to keep 6 CB's but Hughes has out-shined Lindley and leapfrogged him for the final spot. The Eagles will try to find a place to stash him because they used a 4th round pick on him but I can't justify keeping Lindley on the main roster when Hughes has been so much better.



S: Colt Anderson

He is incredibly valuable on special teams so the Eagles might find a way to keep him around. If Bobby April has any pull in the roster decisions, Anderson is a lock.



That's the team as I see it. Did I leave anyone off? Who needs to be cut? Discuss in the comments section.

Eagles cut 4, trim roster to 86

Needing to get their roster down to 80 by Tuesday, the Eagles have made their first set of roster cuts, dropping the following four players:



DT Marlon Favorite

RB Derrick Locke

LB Brandon Peguese

WR Terrance Turner



These four all had zero chance of making the team. Look for my next 53 man roster prediction in the coming days.

EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP MATCH UPS 2011 - 2012

The EUROPA LEAGUE Groups for season 2011 - 2012 were drawn this afternoon in Monaco with the following match ups. Spanish Football Clubs ATLETICO DE MADRID heads Group I & ATHLETIC DE BILBAO in Group F. 



Europa League Groups
2011-2012
courtesy as.com

The positives and negatives from the Eagles third preseason game

Now that's more like it. A week after looking lackluster, the Eagles bounced back in their third preseason game, beating the Browns 24-14. I don't have time to get too in depth on the game but here are some of the positives and negatives I noticed:



Positives:



Secondary: Yeah, these guys are pretty good. From Asante Samuel's pick to DRC's blocked field goal to Nnamdi covering like glue and drawing a penalty, is there nothing they can't do?



Special Teams: Two fumble recoveries on punts and a blocked field goal, their second of the preseason, means Bobby April has plenty to smile about tonight.



Running backs: This group is stacked. With LeSean McCoy catching everything in sight, Ronnie Brown looking like the best backup in the league and Dion Lewis looking like a dynamic threat, the Eagles have a ton of weapons in the backfield. Heck, even the quarterbacks are good running backs on this team.



Kurt Coleman: A great game and a big hit mean he could be targeted to start at safety in Week 1.



Negatives:



The offensive line: Rookies Danny Watkins and Jason Kelce were a nightmare from the start, letting the Browns D-line have free shots at Michael Vick. They shaped up as the game went on but the Eagles, and Vick specifically, will be in serious trouble if they don't improve quickly. I think its time to give Jamaal Jackson his job back.



Wide Receivers: The running game was working and so were the dump-offs to McCoy so the receivers were a complete non-entity tonight, with none picking up more than 2 catches. This group really just needs to get healthy and the line needs to give Vick more time to look downfield.

TWO SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAMS MAKE IT INTO THE EUROPA LEAGUE 2011 - 2012

Two SPANISH FOOTBALL Clubs will go into tomorrows EUROPA LEAGUE 2011 - 2012 Groups draw after the preliminary games were played tonight. ATHLETIC DE BILBAO went straight through without playing their 2º leg against Turkish side Trabzonspor which was lifted into Champions League taking the place of suspended fellow Turkish Club Fernanbache for match fixing. 



At. Madrid Europa League 2011

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2011 - 2012 GROUPS DRAW | LIONEL MESSI AWARDED UEFA BEST PLAYER IN EUROPE

The Top European Football Clubs - along with the four Top Spanish Football Clubs - have been drawn in Groups for the upcoming UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE season 2011 - 2012 competition. The most notable observation is Group A where VILLAREAL has been drawn in a "killer" group which beforehand is the most difficult of all the Spanish teams. REAL MADRID is in Group D & repeats with Lyon & Ajax, while

SPANISH FOOTBALL | THREE NEW NAMES IN SPANISH NATIONAL TEAM CALL UP

Spanish National Football Team Selector & Coach Vicente del Bosque has handed in his list of 24 players to make up the Spain Football Squad for the upcoming International matches. The first is a Friendly International against CHILE on the 2nd of September in Geneva (Switzerland), followed by a European Championship Group qualifier against LEICHTENSTEIN the 6th of September in the Spanish city of

Ponting deriving inspiration from Dravid

By Syed Khalid Mahmood



Ricky Ponting, one of the most prolific run-getters in the game and a former Australian captain, has a reason to derive inspiration from Rahul Dravid, the champion Indian batsman who has overcome a lean patch in most spectacular fashion.



Obviously when you have a long career there are bound to be ups and downs. It’s next to impossible to be consistent all along for 15 years when playing 100 or 150 Test matches. It has become a tougher challenge of late because of the increase in the frequency of match and the excessive workload nearly everyone is subjected to.



The 38-year-old Dravid is a bit lucky in this context because, unlike the 36-year-old Ponting, he has not been a regular member of India’s limited-overs outfits for the past few years. Other than that both these great batsmen have quite a few things in common. Ponting has had to take care of Australian batting in One-day Internationals as well as Twenty20 Internationals.



Both of them have had the knack of fighting it out until the very well. They have set examples for others to follow with batting of the highest class in the toughest of conditions. They have been class act for a very long time, having endured different phases in their illustrious career.



Ponting once was the aggressor when he had the likes of Justin Langer, Damien Martyn and Steve Waugh to hang around and take care of occupation of crease. After their retirement with those of Mathew Hayden, Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist, he took the responsibility of spending more time at the wicket.



Ponting, himself a fighter to the core, has revealed having encouraged Dravid to fight through his struggles and continue playing when their sides met in the two-Test series in India last October.



"I remember after our last series in India there was a lot of talk and speculation about Dravid being finished. I actually went and found him at the end of the series and said 'don't you even think about retiring' because I just saw some stuff in a few of his innings that suggested he was still a very, very good player. I just said 'don't let them wear you down, don't let them get you down'. I received a similar text message before and after the Ashes from him as well," the former Australian skipper disclosed.



"There are a few who provide an inspiration for batsmen of advancing years. Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis both had a great last year; Dravid is doing well now. It's not only good for guys of my age to see guys doing that, it's good for the younger blokes to see it as well; to know that if you keep doing the right things and working hard, and if you've got talent, then age is not a barrier in our game," Ponting added.



Dravid’s success in 2011 should inspire Ponting, who has been short of runs in Test matches in particular. Both these batting greats have lost none of their passion and retirement doesn’t seem in their plan at the moment. Cricket certainly needs characters like them.

MESSI - RONALDO - XAVI CANDIDATES FOR THE UEFA BEST PLAYER IN EUROPE 2010-2011 AWARD

Three names are down as candidates for the first & new "UEFA Best Player in Europe" Award 2010 - 2011. The names are LIONEL MESSI (FC Barcelona) , CRISTIANO RONALDO ( Real Madrid) & XAVI HERNANDEZ (FC Barcelona). Thus Spanish Football has the honour of having all three play in its Football League (LA LIGA) & a Spanish born representative in Xavi Hernandez.



Messi, Ronaldo & Xavi Hernandez

REAL MADRID 2 GALATASARAY 1 | 2011 SANTIAGO BERNABEU TROPHY

REAL MADRID celebrated its "Santiago Bernabeu Trophy" tonight which showcases the team to their members & fan-base before the real business of the new season kicks off. The invited Club this year was Turkish team GALATASARAY which the home team defeated 2 -1.



Karim Benzema

Both teams used the occasion to give all their players a run & some extra playing time as both continue improving

SPANISH FOOTBALL | REAL MADRID - FC BARCELONA - MOURINHO - DESTRUCTION - BUSINESS - BABOONS

The e-mail account of Spanish Football Sports is almost collapsed by readers around the World asking why I am not posting on the after shock-wave effects,  or stating an opinion about the FC BARCELONA - REAL MADRID brawl & Mourinho "eye-poke" incident during the Spanish Super Cup last week. Why? Because everyone has already voiced an opinion, the majority from their own "coloured" glasses

REAL MADRID TRANSFERS LASS DIARRA TO TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS FOR 12M€

Spanish Sports paper "Marca" has published in its online section that REAL MADRID & English Premier League Club TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS have come to an agreement to transfer French International midfielder LASS DIARRA



Lass Diarra

The Clubs are said to be finishing now a few "minor" technical details before making an official announcement at a price speculated to be around 12M€. Real Madrid put

FIFA WORLD RANKINGS | SPAIN LOSES Nº 1 SPOT TO HOLLAND

The SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM has "suffered" the effects of being defeated  2 - 1 by Italy in their last Friendly International match by losing the Nº1 FIFA World Ranking position. The current FIFA World Champions have dropped to the Nº 2 position to see HOLLAND now be ranked as the "Best National Team" ( Nº1 ) for the month of August. 



Spain vs Holland 2010

Here are the Top 10

ATLETICO DE MADRID | DIEGO FORLAN LOOKS INTER MILAN BOUND WHILE THE DIEGO OPTION COMES TO LIFE AGAIN

ATLETICO DE MADRID has excluded this morning from the squad that will be travelling to Portugal for their 2º leg Europa League preliminary game against Vitoria Guimaraes forward DIEGO FORLAN at personal request. The Uruguayan International is negotiating with INTER MILAN at this moment his transfer, which suggests that it could be made official in the next hours.



Diego Forlan

Staying with

IPL causes India’s debacle in England

By Syed Khalid Mahmood



Different people have different theories about India’s disastrous campaign in the four-Test series in which they were whitewashed by England but in my opinion the Indian Premier League (IPL) was the main reason of the sudden decline of the top ranked country of the last two years.



No matter what the officials or the cronies of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have to say, the injuries to key players, resulting due to the excessive workload imposed on them in the form of the IPL, cost them dearly.



India at full strength could never have met this kind of fate of the hands of Andrew Strauss and company, who find themselves elevated to the number one position in ICC Test rankings. Whether they deserved this slot or not is another matter.



The results would have been different if India had the option of fielding their strongest eleven in the park comprising of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma.



Due to injuries and illness India couldn’t field their best team in any of the four Test matches. They didn’t have adequate insurance because it’s never easy to replace the greats.



The newcomers, no matter how talented, skilled or promised, cannot be expected to emulate the likes of Sehwag, Dravid or Zaheer because it took them years to build their reputation.



The BCCI is solely to be blamed for having shifted its focus from cricket to commercialism. As they say excess of anything is bad. Heavy overdose of T20 cricket day in and day out was bound to affect the cricketers and the burnout has resulted in their recent humiliation in England.



Why the BCCI is joking with the public? Was there any sense of holding a new edition of the IPL, immediately after the 2011 World Cup? What was the point in staging a domestic tournament so soon after having hosted the most prestigious international event?



Wasn’t the BCCI making fun of its own cricketers by asking them to consume energies in the IPL when the tours of the West Indies and England were round the corner? What was more important to them, prestige or money?



Wasn’t it a crime as heinous as treason, depriving the national team of its best cricketers? Shouldn’t the BCCI officials be brought to book for having brought the game to disrepute?



The BCCI didn’t find problems in letting their top performing players abstain from international tours after ensuring that they made an appearance in nearly each and every outing of the terribly long IPL, whose credibility has always been in doubt.



The Indians survived in the West Indies because the home side was not threatening enough to make the most of the depleted visitors. Not England. A lot of key players were carrying injuries and it became evident from the day one of the series that India would struggle from the moment Zaheer had limped off the field.

Contreras officially done for the season

Scratch Jose Contreras off the list of possible bullpen options for the Phillies. Contreras, who hasn't pitched since June 19th, had a setback as he was attempting a comeback and will need surgery on his elbow and will miss the rest of the season. It will be exploratory surgery to determine what is actually wrong with the elbow so the extent of the injury isn't known at this time.



Contreras is under contract for next season so getting the 39 year old healthy for spring training next season is the top priority. With Michael Stutes and Antonio Bastardo stepping up this season, losing the Big Truck isn't a huge blow though it would have been nice to have him as a late game option. Considering Brad Lidge has looked cooked recently, the Phillies might be a little thin in the bullpen going into the postseason. Good thing the entire starting rotation can go the distance any time they take the hill.

VILLAREAL WINS ODENSE 3 - 0 TO SECURE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLACE

SPANISH FOOTBALL will have four Clubs in CHAMPIONS LEAGUE this season after VILLAREAL defeated 3 - 0  ODENSE ( 3 - 1 agg) in tonights 2º leg preliminary Champions League qualifier. The Spanish Club joins FC Barcelona , Real Madrid & Valencia CF, & its the third time in their history that they are part of the maximum level in European Football.



Villareal 

Odense came to Villareal with a

Cole Hamels to the DL but will start Monday

In your daily Phillies injury news, Cole Hamels has been placed on the disabled list due to his shoulder issues. While that would normally be reason to panic, the move is retroactive to August 13th and the Phils have already announced that Hamels will start next Monday against the Reds. It sounds like this is just a precautionary move that will allow Hamels even more rest and give the Phillies a roster spot.



Pete Orr was called up to replace Hamels on the roster. With Raul Ibanez dealing with groin issues, Orr will be a useful bench piece but shouldn't get any starts.



So far, despite there being a number of injured Phillies, there is no reason to worry. None of the injuries sound serious and only Placido Polanco seems to be having lingering issues. Keep your fingers crossed but the Phillies seem to be in good health coming down the stretch.

SPANISH FOOTBALL | JOAN GAMPER TROPHY | FC BARCELONA 5 - NAPOLES 0

Video highlights of yesterdays 5 - 0 victory by FC BARCELONA over Italian Club NAPOLES. The match was for the "Gamper Trophy", Cup that opens officially the Barça season along with their members & in remembrance to the Club founder - Joan Gamper.

As Polanco returns, Rollins exits to the DL

It looks like we will have to wait a little longer to see the Phillies lineup back at full strength. As expected, the Phillies have activated Placido Polanco from the disabled list and put him back into the lineup tonight. He will take the place of Jimmy Rollins, who is now on the DL with a mild groin strain.



The injury to Rollins doesn't sound serious so there really is no reason to panic. While it would be nice for the team to be back at full strength right now, there is still plenty of time until the playoffs. Giving Rollins a few weeks off will in no way hinder the Phillies playoff chances and it will help him be rested and ready come October. The same goes for Polanco who needs to do his best to keep his balky back from acting up.

INTER MILAN BACK FOR KAKA?

Nine days left of the transfer "window" market & the situation has heated up with "last moment" operations & player movements. One Club that is experiencing the "last minute" rush is Italian Club INTER MILAN who is about to lose forward Eto´o to Russian Football & will needed to find a substitute forward & a World name to excite the fans.


Spanish Sports paper "Marca" opens today's edition with

CHELSEA FC SIGNS VALENCIA CF PLAYER JUAN MATA

Got back from a couple of days off & find that VALENCIA CF & CHELSEA FC have come to an agreement to transfer Spanish International midfielder JUAN MATA. The official announcement was made on the Valencia FC web page this afternoon.



Spanish Football Player Juan Mata


The Spanish Football player has been signed for close to 30M€ & for a contract of 5 years with the "Blues". Local rumours

FC BARCELONA TEAM PHOTO 2011 | SPANISH SUPER CUP WINNERS

SPANISH FOOTBALL SPORTS has found this photo of the FC BARCELONA starting 11 team that played the 2º leg of the Spanish Super Cup Final which defeated Real Madrid 3 - 2 & also taking the tie on a 5-4 aggregate.

A photo which I hope will please the many Barça fans around the World as it is basically the  starting 11 "gala" side, with the exception of Puyol, Alexis Sanchez & Cesc Fabregas.



FC

The positives and negatives from the Eagles preseason game against the Steelers

What a difference a week makes. Last week, the Eagles first teamers seemed to do everything right as they worked over the Ravens in limited work. This week, the Steelers dominated on both sides of the ball from the start, stomping the Eagles, 24-14. Here are some of the positives and negatives that I noticed from the Eagles second preseason game:



Positives:



LeSean McCoy: The lone bright spot of the first team offense, McCoy picked up 37 total yards on 5 touches. Shady looked to be in regular season form as gashed the Steelers defense. Maybe the Eagles will run the ball more this year? Yeah, maybe not.



Dion Lewis: He had the one big play for the Eagles offense, picking up 40 yards on a catch and run. He almost made up for his earlier fumble with how good he looked on the play.



Mike Kafka: Andy Reid really has a magic touch when it comes to developing quarterbacks. Kafka was easily the best quarterback for the Eagles tonight, slicing up the Steelers 4th defense by completing 14 of 19 passes for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns. He will make some great trade bait down the road.



Vick's tackle of Polamalu: After Troy Polamalu picked him off, Michael Vick made a solid tackle to stop him from returning it for a pick six. If that sounds like a reach for a positive because very little went right for the Eagles, that's because it is.



Negatives:



First team defense: They were overaggressive from the start and Ben Roethlisberger took advantage, slicing them up for 125 yards and two touchdowns on a pair of drives. It's really hard to put much blame on the Eagles d-line as they got to Big Ben a handful of times but he was able to move around and buy himself enough time to find the weak spots in the Eagles secondary. No matter how many Pro Bowlers you have, no secondary in the league can cover everyone forever. There is still plenty of time for things to come together but there is too much talent in this group to accept a performance like that. Juan Castillo has work to do.



Linebackers: Surprise, the one part of the team they didn't bother to upgrade this offseason is the weak link of the defense! With all the great players around them, it might help if this group was occasionally in the right position to make a tackle. Casey Matthews doesn't look like a starting middle linebacker yet and I'm not sure two more weeks of preseason football will be enough to turn him into an effective player. Maybe the shoddy performance by this group will force the Eagles to address a position they don't seem to care about.



First team offense: Things didn't go much better for the offensive starters, who failed to come close to registering a point and looked completely out of sync. The Steelers defense is no joke but there is no bright side to an offense that punts and has three turnovers in their four possessions. Its hard to get too upset about the offense when there clearly is no game plan or strategy to be seen so all we can do is hope that once everyone is healthy and all of the weapons are accounted for, damage will be done.



Michael Vick: Rough, rough night for Vick, who continually threw into coverage and seemed to make bad decisions on every play. His goal early on was simply to get the ball to DeSean Jackson as much as possible but he had trouble finding anyone else open. It's only preseason but three picks is still unacceptable for a supposedly elite quarterback. At least he made that nice tackle on Troy Polamalu!



Asante Samuel: He got burned by a Roethlisberger fake that led to a Steelers touchdown. That won't help his trade value!



Eagles backup offense: While the defense seemed to stiffen at times in the second half, the second team offense was pretty abysmal. Sure, there were decent plays here and there, but an interception by Vince Young pretty much negated any positives. I think it all starts with the offensive line, which is completely in flux due to injuries and new signings.

(Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

SPANISH FOOTBALL CLUBS RESULTS | EUROPA LEAGUE PRE-QUALIFIERS

Three Spanish Football Clubs participated tonight in the 1st leg of the EUROPA LEAGUE pre-qualifiers with mixed results. Here is a very quick & brief summary of results.



Sevilla 2011

SEVILLA FC travelled to Germany to play HANNOVER & lost 2 - 1. The goals all came in the first 45 mins with German player SCHALANDRAFF scoring twice in the 6th & 45th min , while Sevilla managed a valuable

ATLETICO DE MADRID - FALCAO DEAL CLOSE ( WITH A KINDER SURPRISE)

Here is the closest hint that OPORTO & Colombian International player FALCAO is about to land at ATLETICO DE MADRID. The Portuguese Club which finances itself via the Portugal Stock Exchange has just informed the local financial authorities that they have a 45M€ offer from Atletico for Falcao - & here is the surprise - along with his fellow team-mate midfielder MICAEL. The latter apparently is an

Imran Shahzad soars to top position after winning NBP Trophy

By Syed Khalid Mahmood



Imran Shahzad, after having emerged triumphant in the recently concluded 3rd NBP Ranking Snooker Championship 2011, has become the top ranked cueist of the country.



Imran, ranked number two previously, has displaced Shahid Aftab, who has now gone sliding to an embarrassingly low 10th position following his dismal performance in the last event, in the latest national ranking chart issued by the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA).



Sohail Shahzad, who ended runner-up in the NBP-sponsored tourney, has moved to the second position, after having been ranked fifth earlier. Mohammad Sajjad, who skipped the second national ranking tournament with the consent of the PBSA, has retained the third position while Mohammad Asif, the 2009 national champion, has moved forward from fifth to fourth slot.



Sultan Mohammad, who was ranked fourth earlier, has slipped to fifth position while Abdul Sattar has leapfrogged from 16th position to number six in the ranking chart.



Naveen Kumar Perwani, one of the most experienced cueists of the country, has now moved down to seventh position after having been ranked sixth earlier. Abdul Sattar, at the strength of his fine performance in the last tournament, has jumped from 13th position to eighth.



Imran Shahzad had whipped Sohail Shahzad in the final of the 3rd NBP Ranking Snooker Championship 2011 at the Karachi Club. Imran extended his brilliant form in the final to dominate the best of 15-frame encounter, blanking his rival in straight frames with the scores of 92-24, 55-11, 74-10, 68-10, 62-4, 59-36, 54-37, 65-28.



Imran forced Sohail to submission with combination of aggressive potting and solid defence. It was only the second time in recent history when a best of 15-frame national ranking final was decided in straight frames.



The Lahore-based Imran was in total command of the situation, chalking up breaks of 22, 30, 46, 30, 43 and 53 in successive frames to unnerve the local finalist, who had to pay heavy price for not making the most of the limited opportunities that came his way.



Imran not only became richer by Rs 60,000 which came along the glittering trophy, he was also promised employment by the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), whose Senior Executive Vice President and Group Head, Human Resource Management, Dr Mirza Abrar Baig, was the chief guest in the prize distribution ceremony.



Dr Mirza Abrar Baig, having recruited the then Pakistan number one, Mohammad Sajjad, a couple of years ago, committed to consider the case of giving a job at the bank to Imran Shahzad as well.



He also announced to enhance the sponsor fee for the fourth edition of the NBP Ranking Snooker Championship 2012 from Rs 0.8 million to Rs one million.



Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, President, Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), in his welcome speech, while acknowledging the support of NBP in the promotion of snooker, had urged the bank management to employ greater number of cueists in their folds.



Former Test left-arm spinner and Head of NBP’s CSR Division, Iqbal Qasim, was also present in the ceremony alongwith the Karachi Club top officials, Shahnawaz Khan and Yousuf Suleman, and Vice President of the PBSA, Jawed Karim.

GREATNESS | THE MESSI FACT vs THE RONALDO THEORY

Last nights Spanish Super Cup Final has given me two startling empirical results from the same unique experiment . Apart from the intense level of play, the Football, the aggressiveness, the tackles, the violence, the unfortunate & inexcusable actions of some on both teams, along with the out of order comments & controversy, what has been branded in my mind is the following outcome test result &

VIDEO | MARCELO TACKLE FABREGAS RED CARD + FIGHT FC BARCELONA - REAL MADRID SPANISH SUPER CUP

The commentators have some harsh words,  & the International image of Real Madrid is not doing to good either. "YouTube" may well cancel out this video in time, I will leave it up while its available. 

SPANISH SUPER CUP 2011 RESULT | FC BARCELONA WINS 3 - 2 REAL MADRID ( 5 - 4 AGG)

FC BARCELONA has defeated 3 - 2 (5 - 4 agg) REAL MADRID to claim the 2011 SPANISH SUPER CUP in a very intense, aggressive game that finished with another all in brawl after Marcelo made a harsh tackle on Cesc Fabregas which earned the former the direct red card around the 91st min. A scene that has blemished the image, the good play of Real Madrid & of Coach Mourinho who "apparently" also "

Jeremy Maclin cleared to return to football after Lymphoma scare

The mysterious absence of wideout Jeremy Maclin from Eagles camp has finally been explained. According to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, Maclin has finally been cleared to play football after months of tests for Lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system.



Apparently Maclin had some weight and anemia issues a few months back and went in for a series of tests and has been waiting on the results, which came back negative. According to Glazer, Maclin had his lymph nodes removed a week ago and that has removed whatever virus he had from his body.



With all the mystery surrounding Maclin for the last few weeks, the fact that he is healthy and ready to return to the Eagles is great news. A cancer scare is obviously a big deal but it sounds like he is out of the woods and ready to return to his normal life. The virus he had may have sapped him of his strength so don't count him being ready to play immediately upon his return to practice.

VILLAREAL LOSE 1 - 0 AWAY TO ODENSE BK | PRELIMINARY CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 1st LEG GAME

SPANISH FOOTBALL Club VILLAREAL travelled to Denmark to play their preliminary CHAMPIONS LEAGUE qualifier against ODENSE BK & finished with a surprising & "unjust" 1- 0 defeat result. The Danes started well & had their chances early but Villareal soon took over proceedings with some lovely touch Football & plenty of chances upfront - especially in the 2 half - with Rossi, Nilmar, cani & Valero

PREVIEW | SPANISH SUPER CUP 2º LEG | REAL MADRID - FC BARCELONA STARTING 11 LINE-UPS

SPANISH FOOTBALL again goes on the World stage tonight at 23.00hrs Sp local time when FC BARCELONA hosts REAL MADRID in the 2º - & definitive - leg of the Spanish Super Cup Final. The 1ºst leg finished 2 - 2 & the title is up for grabs tonight as Real Madrid must score & Barça has the away goal advantage. The kick off time is late, but this is due to the fact that the UEFA Champions League 

Phillies place Polanco on DL, call up Schwimer

With his sports hernia still bothering him, the Phillies had no choice but to place Placido Polanco on the disabled list today. While losing a starting player is never good news, Polanco has decided not to have season-ending surgery on the hernia and will instead play through the pain and have the surgery in the offseason. Since he hasn't played since August 6th, Polanco will be eligible to get off the DL in just a few days if he feels healthy enough.



Taking Polanco's place on the roster is pitcher Michael Schwimer, who will be getting his first taste of the big leagues. Schwimer is a 25 year old righty reliever who has put up some great numbers at Lehigh this season, posting a 1.88 ERA, 1.075 WHIP while going 9-1. I wouldn't expect him to earn his way onto the postseason roster or anything but it will be interesting to see what this big kid (6 foot 8, 240 pounds) can do in the Show.

SPAIN vs CHILE | INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY | GENEVA 2nd SEPTEMBER

The SPANISH FOOTBALL Federation has announced today that SPAIN will meet CHILE in an upcoming Friendly International to be played in Geneva (Switzerland) on the 2nd of September. The cited game for Spain was originally meant for Brazil, which pulled out & cancelled without any real reason, which leads to suspect that they wished to confront the current World Champions under better conditions.

ATLETICO DE MADRID | FALCAO - DIEGO FORLAN - OSVALDO | THE DOMINO THEORY

Things are "speeding" up on the transfer front as the 31st of August ( & Europa /Champions League inscriptions) deadline nears for Spanish Football Clubs. One of those, ATLETICO DE MADRID, has an ambitious plan: to sign two star forwards to replace Sergio Aguero & Diego Forlan. More on the last latter on.



Falcao

The first priority is Colombian International & OPORTO forward FALCAO. This

SPAIN LOSS TO BRAZIL IN Q/FINAL OF U-20 FIFA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Not too good news this morning, the SPANISH FOOTBALL U-20 NATIONAL TEAM say good-bye to the FIFA World Championships being held in Colombia after losing to BRAZIL in the penalty-shoot out 2 (2) - 2 (4). The Spanish youngsters pack their bags & fly off home with certain disappointment knowing that they had the potential of going further in the competition.



Spain U-20

Spain had to come back

SPANISH SUPER CUP 1º LEG RESULT | REAL MADRID 2 - FC BARCELONA 2

SPANISH FOOTBALL kicked off the new 2011 - 2012 season with the 1º leg of the SPANISH SUPER CUP between REAL MADRID & FC BARCELONA which finished in a 2 - 2 draw result. It was an intense & hard fought game that had everything a "classico" habitually has & nothing to do with a summer start of the season match. In fact, it looked as if both sides were playing the final of Champions which

MOTO GP CZECH REP 2011 | BAD DAY AT THE RACES FOR SPANIARDS

Spanish MotoGP riders had a relatively bad day at the Czech Rep Gran Prix in all categories disputed this afternoon. The highest placed rider was young MARC MARQUEZ in the Moto 2 category who took the flag to second place, while ALBERTO MONCAYO managed a third in the 125cc category.



Marc Marquez Moto 2

Surprisingly no Spaniard gained podium in the MOTO GP category after Dani Pedrosa fell

PREVIEW | SPANISH SUPER CUP 1º LEG | REAL MADRID - FC BARCELONA

SPANISH FOOTBALL starts its new season with "Football Fireworks" tonight, when REAL MADRID ( Spanish Cup winners) plays FC BARCELONA ( Liga winners) in the 1ºst leg of the SPANISH SUPER CUP. The kick off is at the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium in Madrid at 22.00 hours with more than 100 countries tuning in via satellite for their TV audiences.

Real Madrid are favourites for the 1º st leg as they

VALENCIA CF DEFEATS AC ROMA 3 - 0 | FRIENDLY GAME

Spanish Football Club VALENCIA CF won their own summer tournament 3 - 0 against AC ROMA. The Spanish Team looked good & gave off great vibrations precisely happening before the start of the new LIGA season. The Italians under ex-Barça & Spanish Coach Luis Enrique still have some work to do ahead of them as the seem to miss a couple of key players - signings, expecially a "killer" forward. Veteran

FC BARCELONA RECEIVES OK FROM ARSENAL FOR CESC FABREGAS

Awaiting the official fax from ARSENAL FC, the signing of CESC FABREGAS by FC BARCELONA is a done deal. In fact this SPANISH FOOTBALL summer story ends as Barça Football players & friends Pique & Puyol "spilled the beans" on their "twitter" accounts this morning before the Clubs have made it official.  The deal is a bit "freaky" but the English Club has accepted: 40M€ transfer fee broken up as

Phillies to sign Jack Cust, potential bench bat

According to Todd Zolecki, the Phillies are going to sign DH/OF Jack Cust to a minor league deal. Cust, a 10 year journeyman who has played for 6 different teams, is a big lefty bat that can hit homers and draw walks. While he has never hit for average in his career, strikes out too much and doesn't have a position on the field, he is the perfect pinch hitter in a close game against a right handed pitcher.



Consider Cust the 2011 version of Matt Stairs. The Phillies will certainly continue to scour the league for other options to use off the bench in the postseason but Cust might be the perfect fit. If he even hits one home run in a pinch hit situation in October, Cust will be worth every penny.

NEYMAR | FC BARCELONA ENTERING INTO THE PICTURE?

This will be the last NEYMAR update because the whole thing is becoming a Football joke. To all the readers who have sent an e-mail to know the latest & to answer your question, here is my honest answer: I don´t know what is going on, really. To help give you a more "clear picture" I will use the news published today in the Spanish Sports paper "AS" who give some interesting views & news on this

The positives and negatives from the Eagles first preseason game

Eagles football is back! With one preseason game in the books, the Eagles are undefeated, squeaking by the Ravens 13-6. Wins and losses are meaningless in preseason but the Eagles certainly looked like the better team when the starters were on the field. Here are some of the positives and negatives that I noticed from the Eagles first preseason game:



Positives:



First team offense: Nothing to complain about for the first team as they drove right down the field for a touchdown on their only drive. Michael Vick was solid, completing 4 of 6 passes to the backup receiving group of Jason Avant, Chad Hall and Riley Cooper. I would have liked to see them run the ball more with LeSean McCoy but we all know that isn't how the Eagles offense works.



First team defense: The Ravens did move the ball on the Eagles first team defense but they still looked great. We got our first look at the defensive line rotation, which is crazy deep, and the secondary had the Ravens receivers covered for the most part. The linebackers are fairly weak but the combination of a strong pass rush and a lockdown secondary should make the Eagles an elite defense.



Chad Hall: He took advantage of the extra playing time with the starting wideouts sitting, catching 5 balls for 82 yards. With the signing of Steve Smith, Hall will have a tough time making the team but more nights like this one will force the Birds to keep him.



Riley Cooper: Catch of the game for Cooper, who made a nice grab on the opening drive. He might get lost in the shuffle at wideout this year but Cooper can play and will make the occasional big catch this season.



Darryl Tapp: Two sacks on the night for Tapp, who should be a great contributor in the defensive line rotation. He will have one job this season: get the quarterback. He should do just fine.



Alex Henery: With the David Akers era over, its important that Henery is successful early on. He was perfect tonight, hitting a pair of field goals, and also showed off a strong leg on kickoffs. Can't ask for anything more than that.



Negatives:



Playing time for the first team: Its still early but I'd like to have seen more out of the first team offense and defense than just one drive. All of the free agents and rookies need more than a handful of plays to gel together, especially the offensive line. I know, its only the first preseason game, there is still plenty of time.



Brent Celek: Even though he had a touchdown, Celek still had a drop on a play that was negated due to a Ravens penalty. If Celek is going to have more drop problems this season the Eagles better start thinking about alternative plans at tight end. I'm not sure Clay Harbor or Donald Lee is the answer, though Lee had a couple of nice catches.



Austin Howard: The Ravens had only one sack in the game and Howard was burned on the play as well as on a few others. Howard probably isn't in jeopardy of losing his backup LT spot but he will need to step it up in the next game.



Kurt Coleman: Not a great day for a guy that is fighting for a starting spot. While rookie Jaiquawn Jarrett had a nice interception, Coleman got burned on two big plays early on. It will only be a matter of time before Jarrett leaps over him on the depth chart.

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

MIXED RESULTS FOR SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAMS

Was out of town yesterday & couldn´t post the last two ( A-team & U-20) SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM encounters, which ended with a draw, that is, a loss & a win. Although the news is now old, SPAIN lost 2 -1 at Bari to home team ITALY, & the U-20 youngsters won 7-6 SOUTH KOREA in the penalty shoot out after their match finished 0 - 0 at the U-20 FIFA World Championships.



Italy

Eagles sign former Giants WR Steve Smith

What, you thought the Eagles were done signing free agents? The Eagles have signed yet another veteran to a one year contract, scooping up former Giants wideout Steve Smith. Smith is recovering from microfracture surgery and likely won't be ready to play at the start of the season.



Smith had an exceptional 2009 season with the Giants, making 107 catches for 1220 yards and 7 touchdowns. His 2010 season was cut short due injuries but he still managed 48 catches in the 9 games he played. When healthy, he is a possession receiver known for making tough catches over the middle.



If Smith isn't ready to go at the start of the season, look for the Eagles to stash him on the PUP list until midway through the season. While I'm not confident he will ever be fully healthy this season, this is still a solid, no-risk signing by the Eagles. If Smith gets healthy, he will be yet another target for Michael Vick; if he doesn't work out, he can easily be cut.

Projecting the 2011 Eagles 53 man roster, Ver. 1.0

With the Eagles first preseason game coming tomorrow, its time to take a closer look at how their roster will shape up. From the incredible number of free agent signings and all of the rookies brought into camp, there is quite a bit of turnover for a team that won their division last year.



This is my first attempt at predicting what the Eagles 53 man roster will look like for the first regular season game of the 2011 season. I'll update it every week or so as the Eagles give us a clearer picture of what they plan to do with the depth chart. Below the roster list I have also listed several players who are on the bubble and I give reasons why they might not make the team. Feel free to help me out, and as this is my first pass at predicting the roster this season, let me know if I'm leaving anyone off or if you agree or disagree with my choices.



Offense:

QB(3): Michael Vick, Vince Young, Mike Kafka



RB(3): LeSean McCoy, Ronnie Brown, Dion Lewis



FB (1): Owen Schmitt



WR(5): DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant, Riley Cooper, Johnnie Lee Higgins



TE(3): Brent Celek, Clay Harbor, Donald Lee



LT(2): Jason Peters, Austin Howard



LG(2): Todd Herremans, Evan Mathis



C(2): Jamaal Jackson, Jason Kelce



RG(2): Danny Watkins, Mike McGlynn



RT(2): Ryan Harris, Winston Justice



Defense:

DE(5): Trent Cole, Jason Babin, Juqua Parker, Darryl Tapp, Phillip Hunt



DT(5): Mike Patterson, Cullen Jenkins, Antonio Dixon, Trevor Laws, Anthony Hargrove



LB(5): Moise Fokou, Casey Matthews, Jamar Chaney, Keenan Clayton, Akeem Jordan



CB(6): Nnamdi Asomugha, Asante Samuel, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Joselio Hanson, Trevard Lindley, Curtis Marsh



FS(2): Kurt Coleman, Jaiquawn Jarrett



SS(2): Nate Allen, Jarrad Page



Special Teams:

K(1): Alex Henery



P(1): Chas Henry



LS(1): Jon Dorenbos



Could start season on injured reserve/PUP: Mike Patterson, Brandon Graham, Winston Justice, Victor Abiamiri, Marlin Jackson, Steve Smith

Both Jackson and Abiamiri had surgery today so their seasons are certainly in jeopardy. It might be time for the Eagles to finally just dump Abiamiri and move on. Graham and Justice are both currently on the PUP list though Justice should be healthy in another week or two. Graham will almost certainly miss the first several weeks of the season so I didn't bother to include him with the rest of the DE's. Newly signed WR Steve Smith will need time to get healthy before the Eagles activate him.



Could be traded: Winston Justice, Juqua Parker

Ryan Harris looks ready to take the right tackle spot which makes Justice expendable. The Eagles won't simply cut him so look for a trade. With the Babin signing, Parker also seems pretty expendable though the Graham injury could allow him to stick around.



Players on the bubble:

RB: Graig Cooper, Eldra Buckley

The signing of Ronnie Brown tightens things up at running back and almost certainly squeezes Buckley out. The Eagles could still decide to keep Buckley because he is strong on special teams. The third running back spot will come down to Dion Lewis vs. Cooper with the loser going to the practice squad. Lewis has to be given the edge simply because he was drafted while Cooper is a rookie free agent.



WR: Chad Hall, Sinorice Moss

With the signing of Steve Smith and with Higgins penciled in to return kicks, Moss and Hall can only hope the Eagles decide to keep 6 receivers. Moss is a training camp wonder but it will take something special for him to be kept.



OL: King Dunlap, Fenuki Tupou, Julian Vandervelde, Dallas Reynolds, A.Q. Shipley

The biggest question for the offensive line is whether the Eagles keep Winston Justice, who appears to have lost his starting job to Ryan Harris. I would bet the Eagles trade Justice and then keep either Dunlap or Tupou.



DE: Daniel Te'o-Nesheim

The final defensive end spot comes down to Te'o-Nesheim vs. Hunt. I'll give Hunt the edge for now but I can see the Eagles keeping either one or perhaps figuring out a way to keep both.



DT: Cedric Thornton, Derek Landri

The Patterson situation could open things up for another DT though the Eagles already have plenty of depth without Landri or Thornton.



LB: Brian Rolle, Greg Lloyd

Expect these two draft picks to end up on the practice squad. I still think the Eagles grab a linebacker once other teams start cutting players, making it almost impossible for these two to make the team.



DB: Colt Anderson, Brandon Hughes, Jorrick Calvin

Barring an Asante Samuel trade, I like the Eagles to keep 6 CB's, meaning they have no need to keep Hughes or Calvin. The drafting of Jarrett and the return of Nate Allen make Anderson expendable, though he is valuable on special teams.



That's the team as I see it. Did I leave anyone off? Who needs to be cut? Discuss in the comments section.

GALATASARAY - ATLETICO DE MADRID NEGOTIATING FOR ARDA TURAN

News circulating in the SPANISH FOOTBALL press & media is that ATLETICO DE MADRID is very close to shutting the transfer deal of ARDA TURAN,  midfielder for Turkish Club GALATASARAY. The Turkish Club ignited the news flash by posting on their website that they are negotiating at this moment with the Spanish Football Club.



Turan 

This is a past option ( was first studied last March) that

SERGIO AGUERO - REAL MADRID | JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT ...

Just when you thought the SERGIO AGUERO - REAL MADRID case was shut, Paul Giblin writes an interesting story for the Barcelona based Spanish Sports paper "Sport". Now, it could be that theses summer days of relax at the beach forces the papers to excite readers or it is just another idea, theory &/or back lane outside the pub comment, or not.  

The crux of the article is that Real Madrid

Shane Victorino suspended 3 games but no Giants suspended for brawl

As expected, MLB has announced that Shane Victorino has been suspended for three games for his role in the altercation with the Giants on Friday night. What wasn't expected, however, was that no Giants were suspended after Ramon Ramirez nailed Victorino in the back to start the bench-clearing incident. Victorino has appealed the suspension and will continue to play until it is resolved.



I understand why Victorino was suspended, though I could argue that he doesn't deserve three games. Victorino did play his part in the incident, taking a step towards the pitcher and then repeatedly trying to jump into the fray. What boggles the mind, however, is how the Giants get off without any suspensions. Not only should Ramirez get a few games for starting everything by throwing at Victorino but Eli Whiteside deserves a few games for hopping around like an idiot and tackling Placido Polanco to start the brawling. Instead, both Ramirez and Whiteside were simply fined.



In the end, it isn't worth getting too upset about. Yes, the Giants got off easier than they should have but Victorino got pretty much what he deserved. I'm sure the Phillies won't be happy with this news so hopefully they will look to take their revenge against the Giants by beating them on the scoreboard in the playoffs.



Click here to watch the brawl.

NOLITO - BENFICA | SPANISH FOOTBALL HUMAN STORY

Great to see SPANISH FOOTBALL player NOLITO is doing very well at his new Club BENFICA & doing precisely what he does best: score goals. With Spanish Football news down to minimum levels in these hot summer & holiday days, I thought a good human story would fit in nicely as a post.



Spanish Football player NOLITO for Benfica

From a humble social background, born in Southern Spain (Cadiz) the

Zaheer’s ouster dents Indian chances further

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The news has finally broken and the Indian camp has every right to feel shattered. Zaheer Khan, acclaimed as the most complete seam bowler in world cricket, has been ruled out of the remainder of the series against England.

Without him India’s chances of fighting back in the Test series will now be greatly reduced. Although the return of Virender Sehwag for the last two Tests will have boosted their confidence immensely but the loss of Zaheer, the champion left-arm quickie, makes their task even harder if not impossible.

Zaheer, whom his side needed so badly to take care of the new ball, will now be returning to India and will be replaced by left-arm seamer RP Singh.

Zaheer was believed to have picked up a hamstring injury during the first Test at Lord's, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has now said that he’s not only has a recurring hamstring problem but also a right ankle impingement that will require surgery, followed by a 14-16 week period of rehabilitation.

He had earlier been withdrawn from the squad for India's recent Test series in the West Indies due to a right ankle injury.

Isn’t it funny that the premier fast bowler of the country was made to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL), after having played a lead role in his team’s success in the World Cup?

Shouldn’t the officials of the BCCI have discouraged their key players from taking part in every match of the IPL thus risking their immediate future?

With the tours of the West Indies and England round the corner, the movers and shakers of the Indian cricket should not have lost sight of the fact that the excessive workload in the IPL was certain to take its toll on the quicker bowlers in particular.

Zaheer, who was quite enthusiastic and vibrant in the IPL, became a liability for the national team right after his return. He had fitness problems from the day one of the England series. In fact he had pulled up midway through his 14th over in the first innings at Lord's.

Wasn’t it a shame that the best bowler of the team was sidelined on the very first day of the series? He was the bowler who held the key to India’s chances was very unlikely to take any further part on the tour although the official statements tried to conceal the facts.

The BCCI functionaries were probably shy of declaring it right away what they have done now. They didn’t desire to get the discredit therefore stories of all sorts were planted to twist the matter.

It was a joke expecting him to bowl again during the first Test, as it was being indicated in official reports. There were reports about his return for second Test that there was hardly any substance in it.

With a bigger gap after the second Test, there were thoughts that he might stage a come back in the third Test but he only got through three overs in warm-up match in Northampton and he has now finally been pulled out of the squad.

SPAIN DEFEATS 1 - 5 AUSTRALIA IN U - 20 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS GROUP C

SPANISH FOOTBALL U-20 NATIONAL TEAM defeated AUSTRALIA 1 - 5 in their last Group match corresponding to the FIFA U-20 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS being held in Colombia. Spain finish Top of Group C & now know await their next rival South Korea.



Spain - u 20 vs Australia


The highlight was the HAT - TRICK from Spaniard ALVARO VAZQUEZ with his three goals in the 6th , 14th & 18th min, along with a goal

FC BARCELONA WINS 2 - 0 AMERICA IN FRIENDLY GAME | US TOUR 2011

FC BARCELONA has wrapped up its pre-season US Tour with a 2 - 0 victory over Mexican club AMERICA. The Barça starting line-up was the following:


Valdés; Adriano, Busquets, Piqué, Abidal; Keita, Xavi, Iniesta, Thiago, Pedro & Villa;

a team that looked more like a Champions League clash line-up than a pre-season friendly. The only players missing here & those still on their break like Mascherano

DeSean Jackson to report to Eagles Monday

With the threat of losing a year of free agency if he doesn't show up at training camp by Tuesday, Philly.com is reporting that DeSean Jackson will be re-joining the Eagles this Monday. Jackson still wants a new contract but the Eagles have refused to discuss it with him until he shows up at Lehigh.

It's only a matter of time before Jackson gets the contract he is after and the Eagles know it. With the Eagles taking the stance that they won't discuss money with Jackson until he comes to camp, I'm surprised it took him this long to show up. You would think that the sooner he gets to Lehigh, the sooner he gets paid. I guess DeSean was trying to prove a point though I'm not sure it really gained him any leverage in negotiations.

REAL MADRID DEFEATS 0 - 6 TIANJIN TEDA IN FRIENDLY| CHINA TOUR 2011

REAL MADRID finishes its China Tour with a 0 - 6 victory over TIANJIN TEDA & now flies back to Spain to prepare for next weeks Spanish Super Cup 1º leg against FC Barcelona. A comfortable match for the Spanish Football Club that served to give all the players - new & regulars - a run, a chance to make a statement & to profile the starting 11 for the upcoming Spanish Football season. The only

FIGHT! Phillies and Giants throw down (video)

UPDATE: Link below is down. Click here to see the brawl.



It's safe to say these two teams don't like each other. On Friday night, Giants pitcher Ramon Ramirez beaned Shane Victorino in the back and all hell broke loose as both teams cleared the benches. Giants catcher Eli Whitside should get plenty of the blame for turning a staring contest into a brawl after he tackled Placido Polanco. How much fun would another playoff showdown between these two teams be?

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - EUROPA LEAGUE PRE-QUALIFIERS DRAW | SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAMS

The Football Gods smiled on Spanish Football Club VILLAREAL in the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE pre-qualifier match-ups drawn today at UEFA headquaters. The Spanish Club could have landed powerful Clubs like Ruben Kazan, Udinese, Arsenal etc , but was drawn with relatively less powerful ( but no less dangerous ) ODENSE BK from Denmark

The 1º leg match will be in Denmark on the 17th of August, with the

SPAIN LIST FOR FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL AGAINST ITALY | THIAGO CALLED UP

SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM Selector & Coach Vicente del Bosque has handed in his list of Spanish Football players that will make up the National squad to meet ITALY the 10th of August in the Italian city of Bari in an International Friendly match.



Spanish Football player Thiago

The novelty is the inclusion of FC Barcelona young midfielder & U-21 International , THIAGO ALCANTERA who is

ATLETICO DE MADRID DEFEATS 0 - 2 STROMSGODSET ( 1 - 4 AGG) IN EUROPA LEAGUE PRE-QUALIFIER

SPANISH FOOTBALL Club ATLETICO DE MADRID visited Norway for their preliminary 2º leg qualifying match of the Europa League against STROMSGODSET & won 0 - 2 ( 1- 4 agg) to go into tomorrows UEFA draw to await who will be the next rival in the play-off phase. That is, Atletico still has to jump this "last hurdle" before they can say they will be in Europe next season.  



Spanish Football player

Eagles Patterson diagnosed with brain AVM

The diagnosis is in on Eagles DT Mike Patterson, who collapsed before practice yesterday: he has a serious condition known as brain AVM that may require surgery or radiation to treat.

Brain AVM is a tangle of arteries and veins in the brain and can cause seizures, headaches and bleeding on the brain. Patterson does not have any bleeding on the brain at this time so the hope is that the doctors caught it early.

While the condition sounds scary, the fact that he had the seizure is actually a good thing. Without the seizure, the AVM would never have been diagnosed. Now Patterson can get all the treatment he needs and hopefully live a long, healthy life.

Obviously, at this time, there is no word on whether he can play football again, not that that even matters right now.

SPAIN DEFEATS ECUADOR 0 - 2 IN U-20 GROUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS GAME

Another example of early morning Football ( from a local Spanish time perspective), too early to watch locally,  that gave me good news when I checked the result this morning. The SPANISH U-20 FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM defeated 0 - 2 ECUADOR in ther Group match in Colombia where the FIFA U-20 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP is being held. The win keeps SPAIN in top spot of the group with 6 points ( out of 2

FC BARCELONA LOSE 1 - 4 CHIVAS GUADALAJARA IN FRIENDLY GAME

The time differences between Miama & Madrid halts me watching live the Football - Soccer games, I prefer at 02.00 local time to be resting. The surprise was to wake up & find that FC BARCELONA was defeated 1 - 4 by Mexican team CHIVAS DE GUADALAJARA in their friendly game. 



FC Barcelona

The higlights showed that FC Barcelona had a good first half with DAVID VILLA scoring early & even hitting

Eagles add 2 more free agent defensive linemen

What, you thought the Eagles were going to go a whole day without signing a free agent? After Mike Patterson left practice with a seizure, the Eagles found themselves short on defensive linemen so they went ahead and signed two veterans, DT Derek Landri and DT/E Anthony Hargrove, to one year contracts.

The more veteran of the two is Hargrove, who played for the Saints last season and has spent time with the Rams and Bills in his 6 year NFL career. He has 16.5 sacks and can play anywhere along the line but hasn't been a starter for several years. Hargrove has had some issues with the substance abuse policy and has been suspended twice but he could be a solid backup.

Landri is younger and could make a bigger impact with the Birds. He started all 16 games last season with the Panthers and picked up 3 sacks. The 4 year veteran also previously played for the Jaguars and could work his way into the defensive line rotation.

The Eagles continue to take the free agent market by storm, snapping up depth at all positions. While they could have very easily signed a couple of free agent rookies to come in and compete, the Eagles are turning to veterans who are looking for a competitive team in need. There is no guarantee that Hargrove or Landri will make the team but they will be given every opportunity to earn a spot.

See you tomorrow with the next round of Eagles signings!

REAL MADRID 2011 | NEYMAR - LATEST NEWS

Understand that the Spanish Football Sports readers outside of Spain wish to be fully updated on the REAL MADRID - NEYMAR situation. I have received a few emails from readers asking me questions on if I think the Brazilian & SANTOS sensation will end up at the Spanish Football Club.

My last post on Neymar made mention of the complicated situation & the "surprising comments" from Santos President

Eagles DT Mike Patterson is stable after morning collapse

Scary moment out of Lehigh this morning as Eagles DT Mike Patterson had convulsions, collapsed and was sent to the hospital on a stretcher. The early word from the Eagles is that Patterson is alert and in stable condition at the hospital. It sounds like he was dehydrated though he is still going through tests.

Training camp collapses are always a scary thing as big bodies don't mix well with heat. Patterson collapsed before the drills even started so his body clearly wasn't ready for the warm weather. I'll update as more news comes out but, thank goodness, it sounds like Patterson is going to be ok.

REAL MADRID DEFEATS GUANGZHOU EVERGRANDE 1 - 7 | FRIENDLY CHINA TOUR

SPANISH FOOTBALL Club REAL MADRID continue fine tuning their team & "machine" with a 1 - 7 victory over the current China Super League leaders GUANGZHOU EVERGRANDE in the first of their friendly games while in China. Very humid & steamy conditions that did not seem to halt too much Real Madrid as Coach Jose Mourinho profiles his starting 11 for the upcoming Spanish League - Liga season, & why not

More Eagles signings: S Jarrad Page joins the Birds

At this rate, the Eagles are going to sign every free agent in the NFL. On Tuesday evening, the Eagles announced the signing of safety Jarrad Page to a one year deal. Page is a former Chief and Patriot and has started 40 games in his NFL career.

Signing Page isn't an earth-shattering move but it could be a very good one. With the Eagles trusting their safety positions to youngsters like Nate Allen, Jaiquawn Jarrett and Kurt Coleman, Page will provide great depth and will get a chance to earn a starting spot. Page has size, is a big hitter and has good hands as evidenced by his 12 career interceptions. He has had some injury issues but Page has a ton of experience and could play a big role in an inexperienced safety group. With this signing, look for Marlin Jackson to be shown the door soon.

The Eagles have to be just about done with their offseason moves. Barring a trade or a linebacker signing, there isn't much else the front office can do to improve the team. Not only have solid starters been added at every position but the front office also made sure there was plenty of depth to go around. Now we just have to see how this team comes together.

Eagles stay busy, sign T Ryan Harris

There is no rest for the Eagles front office this offseason. After nabbing backup running back Ronnie Brown earlier today, the Eagles have snapped up some offensive line help, signing former Broncos tackle Ryan Harris to a one year contract.

Harris is a 4 year NFL veteran who has started 34 games in his career. At just 26, he is considered one of the best young right tackles in the game and could easily beat out Winston Justice for the starting spot this year. He is known as an athletic lineman though he isn't the biggest guy. At the very least, Harris provides flexibility and adds depth to a group that badly needs it.

Another great signing by the Eagles. This entire offseason, the Birds have quickly identified their needs and gotten the best available talent to fill in the gaps. If the Super Bowl was given out in August, the Eagles would be raising the trophy right now.