SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER RUMOURS | ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC AT REAL MADRID ?

Its rumour time folks in Spanish Football & in reference to this post, REAL MADRID CF. With Coach Mourinho announcing that he is staying for next season, the rumours are building as the Club begins planning for next season.Already there is a "black list" of 7 names that many say will be leaving the Club at the end of the season for a "new Football home" next season. The voiced names are:

Sahin

SPANISH FOOTBALL | MATCH FIXING IN LA LIGA ?

Sports betting is a multi-million dollar business. Betting on Football results, goals & what not drives thousands of punters into a betting frenzy every weekend in order to make a quick buck, pound or euro. It seems SPANISH FOOTBALL is not immune to the "side-effects" of a business which operates on the thin line between good & evil. 






Sad to read today that Spanish late-night Sports radio

Danny Briere wins Game 1 in OT

After a slow first period, the Flyers picked up their play and took out the Devils in overtime in Game 1, 4-3.  Mr. Playoffs, Danny Briere, was the hero in this one, putting the puck into the back of the net twice in overtime, though the first was called off due to Briere kicking it in.  Here's Briere's game winner:

The Flyers have to be happy with how they played after the first period.  Should that carry over into the next few games, they should make short of the Devils.

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LEAGUE - ROUND 36 SUNDAY GAMES RESULT

SPANISH FOOTBALL continued this Sunday with Round 36 & five games of LA LIGA. Here are all the final results & goal scorers as things get "heated" in the Euro table positions & especially in the relegation zone.



Karim Benzema 



REAL MADRID shock-off their mid-week Champions semis loss to Bayern Munich & concentrated on LA LIGA with an important 3 - 0 win over SEVILLA FC. The victory gives

SPANISH TENNIS | NADAL WINS CONDE GODO 2012

Spanish World Nº2 ranked Tennis player RAFAEL NADAL added another title to his long list when he defeated fellow Spaniard DAVID FERRER 7-6 7-5 in the Final of the Conde Godo tournament in Barcelona. It was the 7th consecutive title for Nadal on his favourite surface, clay, which adds more weight to his legendary status on the mentioned surface. Nadal nothced his 34th victory on clay, 6 behind

TRANSFER RUMOURS | REAL MADRID CONSIDERS LUCAS BIGLIA

The transfer rumours heat up every year around this time as the season comes to an end & the Clubs plan the following season. In the REAL MADRID case there are rumours that many will leave to find a new club: Kaka ( PSG ) , Higuain ( PSG, Chelsea , Inter, Milan ), Albiol... & Lass Diarra. This last has been spotted in Turkey talking to the big Clubs. 




Lucas Biglia

According to local Spanish

Eagles 2012 NFL Draft Day 3 Round-up

The Eagles wrapped up their draft with 5 more selections on Sunday, going for depth at several positions.  Here is a look at each player the Eagles selected:

Round 4, Pick 28 (123): Brandon Boykin, CB, Georgia
The Eagles may have found their slot corner.  Boykin is another great athlete, one who should compete right away for a starting spot in the Eagles secondary.  A dynamic kick returner in college, Boykin could also immediately be the best return man on the Eagles roster.  Boykin also played some receiver in college so he certainly is versatile.  While he is small (5 foot 9) and has had a history of concussions, Boykin appears to be another great value pick.


Round 5, Pick 18 (153): Dennis Kelly, OT, Purdue
The Eagles finally grab a lineman and he looks like a project.  Kelly, who was the offensive player of the year at Purdue in 2010, is huge (6 foot 8) and was a three year starter in college.  Expect Howard Mudd to take this kid under his wing and develop him into a usable piece somewhere down the road.


Round 6, Pick 24 (194): Marvin McNutt, WR, Iowa
McNutt has good size (6 foot 3) and hands and could be a decent depth receiver for the Eagles.  With 170 career catches for 2861 yards, he put up some solid numbers at Iowa, even setting a school record for number of career receiving touchdowns with 28.  With the Eagles seemingly interminable red zone issues, McNutt could develop into a nice target for Michael Vick near the goalline.  There are some questions about his effort and blocking skills.


Round 6, Pick 30 (200): Brandon Washington, G, Miami
Washington played tackle at Miami but will likely move to Guard in the NFL.  He spent three years at Miami and has the size (6 foot 3, 320 pounds) to be an NFL lineman.  Best case scenario for him is probably a practice squad spot.


Round 7, Pick 22 (229): Bryce Brown, RB, Kansas St.
I expected the Eagles to take a backup running back with an earlier pick; instead, they waited until their final pick and took Brown, who transferred from Tennessee in 2010.  He is a complete question mark, a guy with a ton of talent who never really did anything in college.  He's a 7th round pick so I wouldn't expect much from him.

Go here and here for my analysis on the Eagles Day 1 and Day 2 picks.

Derrick Rose out for the playoffs

The Sixers may suddenly have a chance: it is being reported that point guard Derrick Rose tore his ACL and will be lost for the remainder of the playoffs.  Rose suffered the injury in Game 1 against the Sixers and that will certainly put a damper on any championship run the Bulls thought they were making.

Why Rose was in a blowout game with just over a minute to play is beyond me but you can bet the Bulls regret not taking him out.  Expect the Bulls to take care of the Sixers, though it may take an extra game or two than it should have.
(AP PHOTO)

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LIGA - ROUND 36 SATURDAY GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL action with 5 games of Round 36 celebrated this Saturday. Here is a brief round-up of games, with the final results & all the scorers.




Kone for Levante


LEVANTE won GRANADA 3 - 0 & keeps the flame alive of finishing in Champions League table positions. The battle for the coveted position places is up for grabs along with Valencia CF, Malaga FC, At.Bilbao & At.Madrid. Today

Eagles upgrade defense, grab quarterback on Day 2 of NFL Draft

On day 2, the Eagles continued their solid showing at the 2012 NFL Draft, focusing once again on upgrading the defense by taking the best available defenders in the second round.  The Birds also selected their next project quarterback in the third round.  Here is a look at the Eagles day 2 picks:

Round 2, Pick 14 (46): Mychal Kendricks, LB, Cal
The Eagles actually took a linebacker, something they don't often do in the draft, and it appears that they got themselves a good one.  Kendricks, the Pac-12 defensive of the year last season at Cal, has tremendous speed and could slide into a starting outside linebacker role with the Eagles.  While he is small (5 foot 11), he has a good motor and is a physical tackler.  The Eagles took the best available defensive player that fit their system so its hard to find fault with this pick.

Round 2, Pick 27 (59): Vinny Curry, DE, Marshall
The Eagles don't really need more defensive linemen but they couldn't resist taking Curry and his ability to rush the quarterback.  I'm not really sure where he fits into the Eagles stacked d-line rotation but they will make room for a guy who loves getting to the quarterback as much as Curry does.  He is yet another high-motor guy who Eagles fans will love.

Round 3, Pick 25 (88): Nick Foles, QB, Arizona
Foles is a bit of a question mark as the Eagles don't really need yet another project quarterback.  Does this selection mean that they have already soured on Mike Kafka?  Foles has a good arm but very little mobility and shouldn't be counted on to ever be anything more than a backup quarterback.  With the way Andy Reid can develop QB's, though, count on him eventually being traded for a second round pick.

The Eagles still have a few needs that need filling, including some secondary help and possibly a backup running back.  Luckily, they still have the following 5 picks remaining:

Round 4, Pick 28 (123)
Round 5, Pick 18 (153)
Round 6, Pick 24 (194)
Round 6, Pick 30 (200)
Round 7, Pick 22 (229)

I'll have more analysis on the remaining picks on Saturday.

Report: Brian Dawkins will retire as an Eagle

The player that still remains in the hearts of all Eagles fans is coming home.  According to Jeff McLane of the Inquirer, Brian Dawkins, who announced his retirement last week, will sign a one day contract and retire as an Eagle.  Dawkins had been with the Broncos for the last three seasons but will certainly be better remembered for being the anchor of the Eagles defense through all of those NFC Championship games.

Expect Dawkins to get a celebration at an Eagles game this season and for his #20 to be retired.  After that, expect plenty of Hall of Fame debates.  I know how we all feel about B-Dawk but its not exactly easy for safeties to get into the Hall.

Ehsan Qureshi-inspired APP wins Royale Rodale Inter-Media Bowling contest

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) emerged triumphant in the Royal Rodale Inter-Media Bowling Tournament staged at the Royal Rodale Club, located in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority.

The trio of Ehsan Qureshi, Saeed Ahmed and Shiraz Siddiqui won the day for APP, the state-owned national news agency, by aggregating 142 points while SJAS comprising of Zahid Ghaffar, Abid Khattak and guest player Danish Kaneria finished runners-up with 120 points.  

The third position was claimed by Pakistan Observer, featuring Zeeshan, Waqas and Hasnain who totalled 116 points and Dawn Television, having Faraz Qasim, Emmad Hameed and Fawwad Qasim, came a close fourth with their tally 115 points.

Rehan Hashmi, Naveed Arshad, Tariq Azeem of Duniya TV stood fifth with 110 points while ARY, containing Mohsin Raza Khan, Syed Ali Hasan and Khurram Ahmed, finished sixth with 109 points.

Saeed Ahmed of APP turned out to be the highest individual scorer with 60 points while his teammates Ehsan Qureshi and Shiraz Siddiqui accumulated 48 and 34 points respectively. Overall 54 bowlers representing various media organizations took part in the one-day event.  

The Sindh Sports Minister, Dr Muhammad Ali Shah, who was the chief guest in the presentation ceremony, gave away the prizes and trophies.

Asghar Rangoonwala, Managing Director, Royal Rodale Club, and Iqbal Shah, a businessman, was also present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Shah, who is also the President of the Sindh Olympic Association (SOA), complimented Asghar Rangoonwala for promoting the game of bowling and providing reporters of print and electric media and new agencies an opportunity for recreation and entertainment in wonderful environments. He offered his total support and assistance for the promotion of bowling.

Asghar Rangoonwala revealed that Royal Rodale had invited a foreign bowling coach from Philippines to train and coach Pakistan players. He also informed the audience about their activities in promoting the sport. The Royal Rodale Club, which has been famous for hosting the meetings and conferences of the various chapters of the Rotary International and other social organizations, has also been proactive in boosting the sport of bowling in particular. 

Eagles trade up, draft DT Fletcher Cox

The Eagles have struck at the NFL Draft, trading up from to take Mississippi State DT Fletcher Cox with the 12th pick in the draft.  Cox was considered the best defensive tackle in the draft by some and the Eagles made a great move to grab him, trading their 15th pick in the first round and a 4th and a 6th rounder to move up 3 spots to ensure they could take him.

Cox is an incredible athlete who is big, strong and fast and plays with a high motor.  With his pass-rushing skills, he'll be ready to play right away and should make an instant impact.  Cox could even be ready to step right into the Eagles starting defensive line that suddenly looks unstoppable with Trent Cole, Cullen Jenkins and Jason Babin.  Add in Darryl Tapp and Mike Patterson and the Eagles are loaded with pass rushers that should create havoc for the opposing offensive lines.

The Eagles get an A for their first pick.  Most experts didn't expect Cox to be their with the 15th pick in the draft so the Eagles made the necessary and fairly painless move to trade up and grab him.  With plenty of picks left in the draft, the Eagles should have plenty of time to address their needs in the secondary and grab a linebacker and possibly a quarterback.

GUARDIOLA SET TO LEAVE FC BARCELONA ?

Hot rumour coming out of Spanish Sports media tonight is that FC BARCELONA Coach JOSEP GUARDIOLA will announce his departure at the end of the season. REPEAT, it is only a rumour, but a hot one at that hitting the "airwaves"



Pep Guardiola


The Coach wishes to communicate his decision to his players tomorrow & then will give a Press Conference to drop "the bomb". The man is mentally exhausted

ALL SPANISH EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL

Two Spanish Football Clubs will meet in the upcoming Final of the EUROPA LEAGUE after the two semi-final games celebrated tonight. Here is a brief summary of events, the final scores & all the scorers.



Falcao

ATLETICO DE MADRID defeated in the 2 º leg semi 0 - 1 ( 2 - 5 agg ) VALENCIA CF away with a solitary goal from ADRIAN in the 60th min.Valencia was dominate in the first half & had

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | REAL MADRID KNOCKED OUT BY BAYERN IN PENALTY-SHOOT OUT

Intense match that went into extra-time, down to the wire & was settled in a penalty shoot-out. REAL MADRID CF was knocked out of the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE tournament 2 - 2 ( penalty shoot out 3-5 ) by BAYERN MUNICH that moves on to play the Final in their home stadium against Chelsea FC & which they are now hot favourites



Cristiano Ronaldo


Bitter-end for Spanish Football in Champions with FC

Eagles deal Asante Samuel to the Falcons

After having him on the trade block for almost a year, the Eagles have finally shipped Asante Samuel out of town, trading him to the Falcons for a mere 7th round pick.  Samuel restructured his contract with Atlanta to earn less money as a requirement of the deal.

Why the Eagles traded a still very good cornerback for just a late round pick is somewhat puzzling on the surface.  While the Eagles certainly didn't get much value in return for Samuel, they are freeing up the money needed to sign LeSean McCoy to a huge contract while still allowing themselves plenty of room under the cap to remain flexible.  If you think it sounds like the Eagles are being cheap, you are probably right, but they always like to have extra cap space should they need it.  It's a tough trade to swallow, however, with Samuel still playing at a nearly elite level.

The Eagles "dream secondary" is no more though it will still be one of the best in the league with Nnamdi and DRC and whoever they trot out at the two safety positions.  While it would have been nice for the Eagles to try to restructure Samuel's deal to keep him around, NFL teams don't like to invest too much money into one position and clearly he didn't fit into the teams long term plans.  As long as the Eagles lock up McCoy to a long deal, I'm okay with dumping Samuel's contract.

FC BARCELONA 2 CHELSEA FC 2 | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2 º LEG SEMI RESULT

FC BARCELONA has been knocked out of the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE tournament after English Club CHELSEA FC managed a 2 - 2 final result ( 2-3agg ) in the 2º leg semi final match. It was a victory against the grain & with all the Chelsea FC players singing ( metaphorical) the Pink Floyd track ..."all in all we´re just another brick in the wall. Defensive wall that was higher when Chelsea FC Captain Terry

MONDAY NIGHT SPANISH FOOTBALL ROUND 35 GAME RESULT

Round 35 of the SPANISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE concluded tonight with the Monday Night Game between OSASUNA & MALAGA FC that ended in a 1 - 1 draw. Lost opportunity for both Clubs to jump table positions as Osasuna aims for Europa League positions & Malaga to get off Valencia CF the prized 3º rd place.



Osasuna - Malaga FC

Osasuna opened the scoring in the 53rd min via NINO but Malaga FC midfielder

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LEAGUE ROUND 35 SUNDAY GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL continued today /tonight with Round 35 & with 5 games scheduled of LA LIGA. While the Spanish League title winner may have been settled, or at least made clearer after yesterdays Real Madrid victory over FC Barcelona, the action continues for the Euro table places & especially around the relegation zone. Lets look at all the final results & all the goal scorers. 



Granada

Flyers kick Penguins to the curb

Pennsylvania now belongs to the Flyers. 

There was certainly reason to be nervous after how Games 4 and 5 went but the Flyers quickly put any thoughts of a possible Penguins series win to bed by jumping out to an early lead in Game 6 and never looking back.  In the series that had a little bit of everything, Game 6 was fairly normal as the Flyers dominated from start to finish, winning 5-1 to send the Penguins packing.

Claude Giroux set the early tone for the Flyers, first crushing Sidney Crosby then picking up a goal 32 seconds into the game.  Giroux later added a pair of assists and continues his emergence into the upper echelon of hockey players.  In a series that featured Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, supposedly two of the top 5 players in the world, Claude Giroux was often the best player on the ice.

The series was also a coming out party for Sean Couturier, who not only had a hat trick in Game 2 but also made it his personal mission to shut down Malkin.  While Malkin had a fair amount of points, Couturier shut him down at critical moments and continually got under his skin.  It will be a lot of fun watching the 19 year old Couturier own Malkin for years to come.

With the Penguins pushed aside, the Flyers now wait for their next opponent.  Who they will play is still pretty up in the air depending on the outcomes of the Rangers/Senators and Bruins/Capitals series.  With the Flyers already having beaten the supposed Cup favorite, a deep playoff run certainly seems like a strong possibility.

SPANISH TENNIS | NADAL DEFEATS DJOKOVIC IN MONTE CARLO FINAL

Great news this afternoon for Spanish Sports & Tennis with the victory of RAFAEL NADAL over NOVAK DJOKOVIC in the Final of the Monte Carlo MASTERS 1000 tournament. Not only did Nadal defeat the World Nº1 ranked Tennis player Djokovick 6-3 6-1, but it was the Spaniards 8th consecutive Monte Carlos title which set a new World Record in Tennis being the first to win the same tournament 8 times in a

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA ROUND 35 SATURDAY NIGHT - CLASICO - GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL tonight with four matches scheduled in Round 35 of LA LIGA & the "clasico" taking all the headlines & all the World Football attention as the Spanish League was basically up for grabs. Here are all the final results & scorers.



Khedira scores for Real Madrid

FC BARCELONA suffered their first home ground defeat,  & barring late surprises, kissed this seasons Spanish League

Karachi University dominate MSAP-Greenwich chess event

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The students of the Karachi University outsmarted their opponents in the Greenwich University Chess Tournament, organized by the Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP), in Karachi on April 19.

The one-day chess tournament, contested by some of the leading high schools and universities of the metropolis, was staged at the Greenwich University’s main campus located in the Defence Housing Authority. The event was held as a part of the university’s silver jubilee celebrations.

The Karachi University champion, Awwad Mirza, emerged triumphant in the competition by accumulating 4.5 points while Israr-ul-Haq, from the same institution, ended runner-up with four points and Syed Samad of Beacon House stood third by collecting same number of points.

The fourth position was grabbed by Syed Uzair Rashid, also from the KU, with 3.5 points while Muneeb-ul-Hasan of the NED University and Mughees Akhtar Hussain of the Islamia College finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

Sohaib Khalid secured the best position, eighth overall, from the lot of the participants fielded by Greenwich University. Amais Qureshi, Arish Hussain and Kazim Hamdani also registered a couple of victories each.

Tariq Rasheed Khan, Director, MSAP, who was the chief guest in the presentation ceremony, held soon after the conclusion of the matches, distributed the shields among the top performers while Prof ZA Saif, Dr Wasimuddin Khan and Prof Farhat Saleem gave away a few consolation prizes.

International Master Shahzad Mirza, who is also the Secretary General of the Pakistan Chess Players Association (PCPA), conducted the tournament which was spread over five rounds on Swiss Movement System.

The tournament was quite nicely organized and the hall of the Greenwich University, where the event was being held, presented a festive look. The enthusiasm of the participating students gladdened the hearts of the organizers as well as the hosts.

THE OTHER CLASICO | MESSI vs CRISTIANO RONALDO

Saturday 21 st of Abril 2012, Round 35 of the SPANISH LEAGUE at the "Camp Nou" Stadium in the city of Barcelona. Another "clasico" between the home Club FC BARCELONA, currently second on the LIGA table with 81 points & the current table leader REAL MADRID with 85 points.



Camp Nou

Big match commencing at 20.00 Spanish local time which could well settle the season 2011-2012 LIGA title,

EUROPA LEAGUE SEMI FINAL 1st LEG FINAL RESULTS

EUROPA LEAGUE semi final 1º leg matches tonight with three SPANISH FOOTBALL teams involved along with a Portuguese Club. Here are the final results & all the goalscorers.



Adrian
ATLETICO DE MADRID defeated in spectacular fashion VALENCIA CF 4 - 2 to allow them a foot into the finals door with Valencia still alive due to their two away goals. One finds it bewildering to understand how a team

FOOTBALL FINANCE | REAL MADRID - FC BARCELONA TOP RICH CLUBS IN WORLD FOOTBALL

Prestigious American Financial magazine "Forbes" has released its list of the "Worlds Richest Football Clubs". Taking into account the main accounting factors like income ( all sources, from TV, merchandising, spectators...etc), costs & current debt the "bottom line" balance sheets puts English Club MANCHESTER UNITED in the Nº1 spot. The British pound exchange rates may have helped give the Club

CHELSEA FC 1 FC BARCELONA 0 | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI 1º LEG RESULT

FC BARCELONA lost 1 - 0 away at Stamford Bridge London, home to English Football Club CHELSEA FC in the first leg of the semi final of CHAMPIONS LEAGUE. A night in which luck did not follow Barça as they dominated the match but lost due to missed chances & to a more effective Chelsea FC.



Alexis

In fact Chelsea FC did relatively little, but what they did do they did it well. Defend &

Eagles 2012 schedule released

We've known for awhile who the Eagles will be facing in 2012 but now we know exactly when they will be playing each opponent:

Week 1: 9/9 Eagles @ Browns, 1 pm
Week 2: 9/16 Ravens @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 3: 9/23 Eagles @ Cardinals, 4:05 pm
Week 4: 9/30 Giants @ Eagles, 8:30 pm (Sunday Night)
Week 5: 10/7 Eagles @ Steelers, 1 pm
Week 6: 10/14 Lions @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 7: BYE
Week 8: 10/28 Falcons @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 9: 11/5 Eagles @ Saints, 8:30 pm (Monday Night)
Week 10: 11/11 Cowboys @ Eagles, 4:15 pm
Week 11: 11/18 Eagles @ Redskins, 1 pm
Week 12: 11/26 Panthers @ Eagles, 8:30 pm (Monday Night)
Week 13: 12/2 Eagles @ Cowboys, 8:20 pm (Sunday Night)
Week 14: 12/9 Eagles @ Bucs, 1 pm
Week 15: 12/13 Bengals @ Eagles, 8:30 pm (Thursday Night)
Week 16: 12/23 Redskins @ Eagles, 1 pm
Week 17: 12/30 Eagles @ Giants, 1 pm

Note the Sunday Night games in Weeks 4 and 13, the Monday Night games Weeks 9 and 12 and the Thursday Night game in Week 15.

You can't tell anything about the strength of a schedule in April but the Eagles appear to have a tough road from Weeks 4 through 11 as they play divisional opponents and (presumably) good Steelers, Lions, Falcons and Saints teams.  The division will likely be decided from Week 10 and on as the Eagles play 5 of their 6 divisional games in that stretch.

BAYERN MUNICH 2 REAL MADRID 1 | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI RESULT 1º LEG

BAYERN MUNICH won the 1º leg semi final away clash against REAL MADRID 2 - 1 of the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE in an exciting game of Football. Always a difficult affair for Real Madrid, or any visiting team, to play Bayern on their home turf with their "vibrating" home crowd which supported their team brilliantly all the game. 

Although the Germans grab the victory & an important psychological edge, the

MSAP to hold 2nd National Mind Sports Games in July

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The second edition of the National Mind Sports Games (NMSG), launched with great fanfare four years ago, will be held here in July this year.

Khurshid Hadi, Founder President, Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP), has announced that all was set to organize the 2nd NMSG from July 13 to 15 at the Southend Club in DHA, Karachi. It’s being held on the eve of the 2nd WMSG to be staged in England in August.

“The last few weeks have been quite hectic at the MSAP and we have recently inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the MKR Foundation that surely would a long way in the promotion of mind sports in the country,” he revealed.

“The television coverage of the NMSG as well as the other mind sports events, some segments of them live, on Geo Super from time to time would be greatly helpful in roping in the sponsors on a long-term basis,” Khurshid Hadi reckoned.

“Right now we are in the process of finalizing the organizational aspects of the 2nd NMSG in which, like the inaugural event, competitions will be held in bridge, chess and scrabble,” he added.

“We plan to unveil the details of the NMSG in a big way through a media briefing in a few weeks time. There’s a possibility that we might bring in experts from the foreign countries for the upcoming event, subject to the availability of funds,” the MSAP chief indicated.

The MSAP, having come into being in June 2008 with the objective of promoting bridge, chess and scrabble in a big way, plans to make the NMSG a high-profile event.

It was encouraged by the performance of the local youngsters in the inaugural World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) in Beijing providing the impetus to carry mind sports to the various educational institutions.

It may be recalled that Pakistan had a full representation at Beijing and quite a few of the youngsters made a bold statement by faring well in the stiff competitions.

While the MSAP succeeded in carrying out its mission of promoting mind sports in colleges and universities over the last four years they also remained on the lookout for the willing sponsors who could support them consistently.

Having set rather high standards by organizing the first-ever NMSG in a very impressive manner at the Southend Club where they offered the kind of prize money, besides the environment, that wasn’t earlier associated with the games of chess and scrabble in particular, they waited for the right time to hold it again.

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LIGA ROUND 34 MONDAY NIGHT RESULT | GETAFE 5 SEVILLA FC 1

While most of the local Spanish Sports daily s filled their spaces with pre-Champions League semis content about Real Madrid & Barça, tonight the last game of Round 34 of the Spanish Football League was played. An excellent match & great spectacle as GETAFE made a magnificent comeback to defeated SEVILLA FC 5 -1. 



Negredo for Sevilla FC

Sevilla started well & got ahead when NEGREDO scored a

Flyers continue to own classless Penguins, take 3-0 series lead

It's pretty clear at this point that the Flyers are in the Penguins heads.  After two thrilling comeback victories in Games 1 and 2, the Flyers completely embarrassed the Penguins in Game 3, dominating the ice in a 8-4 win.  The Flyers are now just one win away from sweeping the supposed Cup favorites out of the playoffs.

The Penguins showed a real lack of class in the game, melting down and turning to cheap hits when they couldn't keep up with the Flyers on the scoreboard.  From Sidney Crosby poking a glove aside to Arron Asham cheap-shotting Sean Couturier for no reason to James Neal taking shots on Flyers stars to Craig Adams pulling Scott Hartnell's hair, the Penguins made a mockery out of the game and turned in an ugly performance for the ages.  Expect at least Asham and Adams to get suspended and Neal to get a serious look at losing a game.

Nothing is over until the Flyers win that 4th game but it has been obvious which team is more poised, determined and willing to do the work necessary to make a deep playoff run.  This Flyers team is filled with young, hungry players that have no fear and won't back down from anyone.  No matter what happens in the next few games of this series and beyond, this is one incredibly exciting hockey team.  We'll see if they can keep it up against a team that actually plays defense.  For now, I'm relishing every minute against the team that "can't beat us!"

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LEAGUE ROUND 34 SUNDAY GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL & Round 34 of LA LIGA continued today with seven matches scheduled. Here are all the final results & all the scorers.



Espanyol - Valencia CF

RCD ESPANYOL defeated convincingly VALENCIA CF 4 - 0 & puts the latter third position on the Liga table in a delicate situation. Valencia still hold the prized third place thanks to the fact the Malaga could only manage a draw in their

SPANISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE - LA LIGA - ROUND 34 SATURDAY RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL action this Saturday with two games of LA LIGA Round 34 scheduled with the following final scores & goal scorers.



Real Madrid - Sporting

First placed REAL MADRID hosted last placed REAL SPORTING DE GIJON in a must win match for the home side. After 90 minutes Real Madrid managed a 3 - 1 victory that sets them up for the "clasico" against FC Barcelona next week & puts the

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA - CURRENT TOP GOALSCORERS

Spanish Football Sports Blog had a widget that gave up-to-date statistics on the current situation with the "Leading Goalscorers" & their actual goal tally. That widget went down the toilet when the source stopped actualizing the information, thus it made no sense to keep it up.


However I am conscious of the fact that the regular readers & the visitors from around the globe are looking to see

SPANISH FOOTBALL MID-WEEK ROUND 33 THURSDAY NIGHT RESULTS

Round 33 of the SPANISH LEAGUE finished tonight with three games played & with the following final results & scorers.



Negredo for Sevilla FC

SEVILLA FC still aspires to get into European table positions & took a big step towards that objective after defeating REAL ZARAGOZA 3 - 0. The result puts Zaragoza again into relegation "hot waters" & time is running out.


The goals came via FAZIO with

Voracek caps Flyers comeback with OT winner

Huge win for the Flyers in Game 1, erasing a three goal deficit to defeat the hated Penguins, 4-3.  With the Phillies and Sixers also winning, it was quite a night for Philly sports.

Here is Jakub Voracek's game winner:

SPANISH FOOTBALL MID-WEEK ROUND 33 WEDNESDAY NIGHT RESULTS

Mid-week SPANISH FOOTBALL action tonight with four games of Round 33 played. Here are all the final results & all the scorers.



Granada

GRANADA drew 2 - 2 with ATHLETIC CLUB BILBAO in an exciting match of Football that had action right till the end. Granada started on fire with goals from ROMERO in the 2nd min & a second via GEIJO in the 74th min. Before however, Granada lost Romero to a red

SPANISH FOOTBALL - MID WEEK - ROUND 33 TUESDAY NIGHT RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL mid-week action with Round 33 rolling with three games played tonight. The Round continues with more matches tomorrow & on Thursday. Here are all the final results & all the scorers.



Alexis

FC BARCELONA defeated relatively easy GETAFE 4 - 0 & go to sleep tonight just 1 point behind current leaders Real Madrid which plays tomorrow in the "Madrid Derby" against Atletico. The

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LIGA ROUND 32 MONDAY NIGHT RESULT | MALAGA FC GRABS THIRD PLACE

Last match - Monday Night game - of Round 32 of the SPANISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE played tonight between MALAGA FC & RACING DE SANTANDER. The final result was a very convincing 3 - 0 victory to the home side that puts them into 3rd place of the classification table, that is, Champions League position.



Isco scores for Malaga FC

The intentions of Malaga came clear & early when Maresca hit the post in

Another title in world champ Ayouri’s bag

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Hossein Vafaei Ayouri, the reigning world champion from Iran, added another feather to his cap by winning the 13th Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship 2012 as he overpowered Anda Zhang of China in the final of the event staged in Goa, India.

The impossibly gifted Iranian teenager, having survived a scare at the hands of Noppon Saengkham of Thailand in the semifinals, recorded a cakewalk 6-2 win over Anda Zhang in the final with the frame scores of 121-6, 87-37, 74-0, 126-6, 79-5, 12-69, 29-76, 91-13.

Hossein Ayouri, who had created a sensation by clinching the world crown in Indian city of Bangalore last year, was in sublime form to crush his Chinese rival in the best of 11-frame final which turned out to be a one-sided affair.

He started off with a break of 79 in the opening frame which he won comfortably. There was some resistance in the second frame but there was none in the next three frames, in which he fired breaks of 74, 105 and 67.

He was firmly in control of the proceedings with a 5-0 lead in remarkably quick time, needing just one more to pocket the title. His opponent survived a clean sweep by winning the next two frames but it was all over in eight frames.

Unlike the lop-sided final, both the semifinals went to the full distance of nine frames. Hossein Ayouri had to bring all his expertise into play while overcoming Noppon Saengkham 5-4 with the scores of 70-17, 41-52, 73-00, 109-7, 105-22, 5-119, 28-77, 31-75, 74-36 while Anda Zhang faced similar fight before taming compatriot Zhou Yelong 5-4 with the frame scores of 52-64, 76-1, 87-64, 59-40, 5-104, 109-0, 6-70, 57-44.

Both of the matches witnessed snooker of high class with neither of the contestants prepared to give up. There were quite a few big breaks as well. Hossein Ayouri fired breaks of 69, 73, 90 and 83 while his rival, Noppon Saengkham, responded with breaks of 67 and 60 to keep the contest alive till the very end.

Anda Zhang chalked up breaks of 76 an 59 in suucessive frame before making one of 109 in the seventh frame. His opponent, Zhou Yelong, began with a frame 52 in the opening frame and followed it up with the ones of 104 and 70 in sixth and eighth frames respectively.

In the quarter-finals Zhou Yelong of China registered a couple of century breaks while overpowering Mohammad. Lababi of Iran 5-3 with the frame scores of 61-72, 112-0, 57-56, 78-23, 5-88, 65-31, 103-2.

Anda Zhang, also from China, stormed into the semifinals by whacking compatriot Lu Ning in straight frames with the scores of 61-56, 67-42, 87-24, 59-51, 108-0 while Noppon Saengkham of Thailand blanked Laxman Rawat of India in straight frames with the scores of 83-0, 79-41, 64-44, 104-4, 75-4.

Hossein Ayouri had to work little harder than anticipated in the quarter-finals while outwitting compatriot Amir Sarkhosh 5-2 with the frame scores of 57-11, 57-53, 54-63, 71-1, 64-8, 38-64, 63-44.

Neither of the Pakistani cueist could force way into the last eight as both Mohammad Hunain Aamir and Mohammad Majid Ali, were defeated in the pre-quarter-finals after having fared well in the league matches. A total of 33 cueists from 10 countries entered the eight-day event, which was inaugurated on April 2.

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LEAGUE ROUND 32 SUNDAY GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL continued with Round 32 of LA LIGA today / tonight with four games scheduled. Here are all the scorers & the final results.



Kone scores for Levante

LEVANTE again showed why they are up there in the classification table & in Euro places with a 2 - 0 victory over ATLETICO DE MADRID. Atletico also showed what is becoming an unfortunate "tradition", that is , losing everytime

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA ROUND 32 SATURDAY NIGHT GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL tonight with 5 matches of Round 32 of the Spanish League played with the following final results & scorers.



Miku scores for Getafe

GETAFE deserved its 2 - 0 victory over REAL SPORTING DE GIJON with goals coming from MIKU in the 22nd min & DIEGO CASTRO in the 47th min. The news however is with the losing team that is last on the classification table & looks destined to fall

Pakistan’s cueists run of steam after early brilliance in Asian Junior snooker

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Both the Pakistani cueists, Mohammad Hunain Aamir and Mohammed Majid Ali, after having performed exceedingly well in the league matches, crashed in their maiden knockout appearance of the 13th Asian Under-21 Snooker Championship 2012, in Goa, India, on April 6.

Hunain Aamir and Majid Ali, both of whom were making their debut at the continental level, went down fighting against their respective rivals in pre-quarter-finals.

Laxman Rawat of India edged out Majid Ali in the afternnon session and a few hours later all Pakistan’s hopes of capturing the Asian crown at the junior level for the first time, were dashed when Mohammad Lababi of Iran blew the whistle on Hunain Aamir.

Majid Ali, who became the Group D champion after winning all his three league fixtures, went down fighting in the pre-quarter-finals against Laxman Rawat of India. The promising Pakistani cueist played well to register big breaks in the high-pressure game but he was unable to press home the advantage.

It turned out to be a fierce seven-frame battle in which the local cueist controlled his nerves better to clinch the decisive frame to win the contest 4-3 with the scores of 75-2, 27-80, 79-31, 68-60, 13-95, 0-83, 65-54.

Majid came back to strongly from 1-3 down to make it 3-3. He compiled breaks of 60, 54, 53 and 54 during the last four frames but that was not enough to win the day for him.

The youngster from Faisalabad, who ended as the runner-up in the Jubilee Pakistan National Junior Championship earlier this year in Lahore, had registered impressive victories over Akani Songsermasawad of Thailand, Chang Yu Kiu of Hong Kong and Slyavosh Mozayani of Iran in his league encounters but he fell at the very hurdle in the knockout phase, starting from the round of 16.

Mohammad Lababi defeated Hunain Aamir 4-3 with the scores of 60-26, 75-41, 62-37, 33-62, 43-62, 15-86, 88-0. The Iranian played magnificently in the decisive seventh frame, giving his rival nothing away by registering a break of 88.

In the penultimate frame, Hunain Aamir, on whose shoulders Pakistan’s hopes of bringing home the title rested after the elimination of Majid Ali, fired a break of 58 to take the match into the seventh frame but he didn’t get much of a chance to visit the table which turned decisive.

Hunain Aamir, who reached the pre-quarter-finals even after succumbing to defeat in his last league encounter at the hands of Hossein Vafaei Ayouri, the current world champion from Iran earlier in the day, could not regroup quickly.

Pakistan’s reigning national junior champion from Sialkot had booked his place in the pre-quarters from the Group A by trouncing Lalit Dahiya of India and Marcus Lim Wei Jie of Singapore in his first couple of games.

His third and final against Hossein Vafaei Ayouri, was to decide the Group A champion, and the top seeded cueist from Iran, triumphed 4-1 with the frame scores of 97-4, 69-0, 79-1, 51-75, 96-0. The only consolation for Hunain was snatching the third frame in which he surprised the world champion with a break of 57.

SPANISH FOOTBALL | CURRENTLY THE BEST IN THE WORLD

Its the most common & recurring question in World Football year after year: which is the "Best Football League in the World"?

According to the official authority on the matter, the FIFA backed IFFHS ( International Federation of Football History & Statistics),  the English Premier League is the "Best" so far this Century ( statistics of the last 12 years ) , with LA LIGA closing the gap & being

EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL RESULTS | ALL THREE SPANISH FOOTBALL CLUBS INTO SEMIS

Fabulous night of EUROPA LEAGUE games,  & for SPANISH FOOTBALL, with all three Spanish Football Clubs qualifying for the semi-finals. Here are the final results & all the scorers.



Adrian scores for Atletico

HANNOVER 96 hosted ATLETICO DE MADRID with the latter taking a slim 2 -1 1º leg advantage. The final result  was 1 - 2 ( 2 - 4 agg ) for the Spanish team which qualifies for the semi-final

REAL MADRID 5 APOEL 2 | REAL MADRID INTO CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIS

REAL MADRID CF cruised into the semi finals of CHAMPIONS LEAGUE after defeating tonight 5 - 2 APOEL (8-2 agg). The Spanish Football Club will meet German team Bayern Munich in a top level semis clash not to be missed. 



Kaka scores for Real Madrid

Real Madrid gave Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Ozil a rest & started with Varane, Altintop, Sahin & Granero. The first half was all Real Madrid, an

Eagles sign tackle Demetress Bell

The Eagles, wasting little time finding their new left tackle after losing Jason Peters for the season, announced the signing of tackle Demetress Bell to a 5 year contract.  While the length of the contract seems a little long, count on the Eagles having an out clause a year or two into the deal.

Demetress Bell is the formerly spelled "Demetrius" Bell who played for the Bills for three seasons and took over as their starting left tackle when Peters signed with the Eagles.  He was one of the better available free agent linemen although he has dealt with a few injuries in his career.  With Peters out for the year, Bell will be counted on to start at left tackle right away.  Barring injuries, he should be a serviceable replacement.

REAL MADRID | RIP JOSE MARIA ZARRAGA

SPANISH FOOTBALL & in particular REAL MADRID CF lost yesterday at the age of 81 years of age JOSE MARIA ZARRAGA. 



Zarraga

Aparte from winning 6 Spanish League titles, 1 Intercontinental Cup & numerous more other titles, Zarraga was part of the mythical Real Madrid team that won 5 European Cups in a row ( 1955/56 - 1959/1960).

Tonight the Real Madrid players will wear an armband in memory of

Phillies set 2012 Opening Day Roster

The Phillies 2012 Opening Day roster is missing a few big names but it still has plenty of interesting stories.  The biggest surprise is Joe Savery, who was a first baseman last year and is now holding down a spot in the bullpen.

Here is the Phillies Opening Day Roster:

Starting Pitchers (5): Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Vance Worley, Joe Blanton

Relief Pitchers (7): Jonathan Papelbon, Antonio Bastardo, Mike Stutes, Chad Qualls, David Herndon, Kyle Kendrick, Joe Savery

Catchers (2): Carlos Ruiz, Brian Schneider

Infielders (6): Jim Thome, Freddy Galvis, Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Ty Wiggington, Pete Orr

Outfielders (5): Juan Pierre, Shane Victorino, Hunter Pence, John Mayberry Jr., Laynce Nix

On the DL (4): Jose Contreras, Ryan Howard, Michael Martinez, Chase Utley

Prepare yourself for Juan Pierre to get an inordinate number of at-bats.

FC BARCELONA 3 - AC MILAN 1 | BARÇA INTO CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIS

FC BARCELONA goes, once again, into the semi finals of the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE competition after winning 3 - 1 AC MILAN in tonight's return leg quater-final.



Messi goal

FC Barcelona dominated 75% of the match with their habitual brand-mark touch-ball Football, while Milan played with a defensive set up looking for the counter-attack opportunity & Ibrahimovic upfront to hold the ball while the

Nike unveils new Eagles jerseys

Nike has taken over the NFL jersey market from Reebok and unveiled their new designs for every team today.  As you can see by the picture above, not much of anything has changed with the Eagles jersey, save for the swooshes on the front of the pants and the sides of the jersey.  There had been speculation of color changes and slight modifications but it appears that the Eagles jersey will essentially remain the same for next season.
(Photo via Darren Rovell)

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LIGA ROUND 31 MONDAY NIGHT RESULT

The last match of Round 31 of the SPANISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE was played tonight with SEVILLA FC defeating REAL MALLORCA 3 - 1



Negredo scores for Sevilla FC

Sevilla slowly seems to be getting back the form that they lost mid season & that surprisingly sent them to the lower area of the ladder & cost them the job of first Coach Marcelino. An unfamiliar "ladder zone" for the Club in these last

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LEAGUE ROUND 31 SUNDAY GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL continued today-tonight with four matches of Round 31. Here are all the final scores of today's LA LIGA games & scorers.



Falcao for At Madrid

ATLETICO DE MADRID took the local derby 3 - 0 against GETAFE. Comfortable match for Atletico with a superb second half & the long awaited return from injury of Brazilian midfielder & onloan player Diego. The win puts Atletico just a