Alex Ferguson can’t stand a defeat: Clayton Blackmore

Alex Ferguson can’t stand a defeat: Clayton Blackmore

Former United star Clayton Blackmore has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson is the kind of person who never takes any competition or side lightly. According to him, Ferguson is the worst person he ever met when it comes to loosing. He never wants to lose, whether it’s a match with a weaker side or with a rival. Loosing is simply not in his books.

United reached the league cup final in 1994 and Blackmore was part of that squad. "Fergie kept on rotating the formations and squad for the league cup but was determined to play his best 11 for the final at Wembley," said Blackmore. But still, United lost to Aston Villa 3-1 in the final giving Ferguson something to re-think his decisions.

Last week’s fixture against Blackburn gave some extra room to the top guns of the club including Rooney, Berbatov and Nani. It also gave the bench players something to cheer about as they’d be starting against West Ham in the upcoming away Carling Cup match. Macheda, Obertan and the 20-year-old Amos are among the players to be watched closely by the manager.

It has been more than 20 years since Ferguson joined Old Trafford and boosted the club to the next level. According to Fergie himself, “I’ve mellowed a great deal. The world has changed and so have players’ attitudes. I’m dealing with more fragile human beings than I used to be. They are cocooned by modern parents, agents, even their own image at times. They need to be seen with their tattoos and earrings. It’s a different world for me so I have had to adapt. There is nothing wrong with losing your temper if it’s for the right reasons. But I never leave it until the next day. I don’t believe in that.”

Many questions were raised when Fergie was accused of kicking a shoe over Beckham which was later denied to be an accident. “He used to play head tennis with his assistant, Archie Knox, and he was just as bad. If you got dragged into refereeing, you'd had it. If you gave one decision against one of them they'd have you running around the track. He was in his 40s then, but he still looked like he could handle himself,” added Blackmore.

Being the most successful manager, Ferguson thinks of retirement as for the losers. The 68-year-old Scot is currently enjoying the game as any youngster in the field would enjoy.

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Shaquille O'Neal impressive in Celtics vs Heat match

Boston Celtics roster: Shaquille O'Neal impressive in Celtics vs Heat match

Boston Celtics roster: Shaquille O'Neal impressive in Celtics vs Heat match. Heat wilted under Celtics’ consistent pressure and ended up 88-80 down against Celtics in a match that was at best listless. There was nothing exceptional about this match except the fact that the match was won by Celtics.

Though 88-80 defeat against Celtics cannot be called a very big defeat, but it is significant in the sense that the Heat have always been hyped. The same was true about this match as well and so the disappointment that is visible on Heat fans faces.

Heat were under consistent Heat pressure from the word go. The first quarter ended 16-9, while the second round ended Celtics 45, Heat 30. Though they improved tremendously in the third round but still couldn’t match Celtics. The third quarter ended Celtics 63, Heat 57 and the third and the final quarter ended 88-80 in favor of a better organized Celtics.

Source:
http://www.ndchronicle.com/news/Boston_Celtics_roster__Shaquille_ONeal_impressive_in_Celtics_vs_Heat_match_1288151625/


Braves Hire Fredi Gonzalez

Baseball /Rangers rout Yankees to reach first World Series

Fireworks and confetti filled the Texas sky. A flag proclaiming the Rangers as the AL champions was raised high above the ballpark, whipping in the wind alongside more than three dozen Lone Star state flags.

And to make their first World Series berth even more satisfying, the Rangers earned it by beating the defending champion New York Yankees. The clincher was a 6-1 victory Friday night in Game 6 of the ALCS.

"Coming out of spring training, this team showed such a heart," said Rangers icon Nolan Ryan, the Hall of Fame pitcher who is the team president and a part-owner. "There were so many things going on, and they were just unbelievable."

The celebration erupted when former Ranger Alex Rodriguez took a called third strike from hard-throwing rookie closer Neftali Feliz.

The World Series begins Wednesday in either San Francisco or Philadelphia, and the first game in Texas will be next Saturday. Game 6 of the NLCS started last night after press time, with the Giants enjoying a 3-2 lead in the series.

Texas, which had never won a postseason series or a home playoff game before this year, dispatched the $200 million-plus Bronx Bombers with little drama - especially after a four-run outburst in the fifth inning snapped a 1-all tie. The Rangers showed the 27-time World Series champions something Ryan has brought them: a culture where pitching rules, and starters expect to go deep into games.

Colby Lewis dominated over eight innings for his second win of the series and Josh Hamilton earned the series MVP award. In a state where most sports fans gear up for fall weekends by watching high school football, the Rangers gave a new meaning to Friday Night Lights. "We are here as a group. This group is here because they don't know how to fail," Hamilton said.

Vladimir Guerrero, heading for baseball's biggest stage for the first time in his 15 major league seasons, drove in three runs before scoring on Nelson Cruz's homer in the fifth.

After Hamilton was given a free pass in the fifth, Guerrero followed with a two-out, two-run double that chased Yankees starter Phil Hughes. Cruz greeted reliever David Robertson with his fifth postseason homer, knocking it to one of the deepest parts of Rangers Ballpark.

Guerrero didn't have an RBI in the series until his grounder in the first drove home Elvis Andrus. The big hits by Guerrero and Cruz made it 5-1 again, but the Rangers wouldn't give up that lead the way they did in Game 1.

Long time coming

Now Ron Washington, their fourth-year manager, is taking Texas to the World Series, with ace left-hander Cliff Lee set to start Game 1 since he wasn't needed for a final game against the Yankees.

"Our fans have waited a long time, this organization has waited a long time," Ryan said. "This team coming out of spring training was on a mission."

Source:
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/sports/baseball-rangers-rout-yankees-to-reach-first-world-series-1.320806

Braves Hire Fredi Gonzalez

Click here to find out more! The Fabulous Forum The who, what, where, when, why — and why not — of L.A. sports « Previous | The Fabulous Forum Home | Next » Randy Couture, Fedor Emelianenko square off for EA Sports MMA game

Fedor Emelianenko shot in with a takedown and finished Randy Couture with brutal punches inside his guard three minutes into the first round.

At least that’s how it went down when the two fighting legends squared off as their pixilated versions in the debuting EA Sports MMA video game at a launch event on the Universal City Walk Tuesday.

The game was released Tuesday in North America, hits stores in Europe on Friday, and drops Nov. 11 in Japan. EA Sports MMA is a second gaming option for the sport’s fans, who snatched up over three million copies of THQ and the UFC’s “Undisputed” game in 2009.

On Tuesday, THQ and the UFC announced that they’d extended their exclusive licensing deal into 2018.
EA’s stab at the multi-disciplined combat sport lacks UFC branding and star power save Couture, a six-time UFC champion in two weight divisions, who left the promotion in 2007 to pursue the real thing with Emelianenko after it became clear the Russian wouldn’t be contracted by the promotion.

However, the bout between legends has yet to come to fruition, and Couture-Emelianenko will likely be remembered as the big fish that got away among promoters and fans alike.

When Couture returned to the UFC a year later with a multi-year contract, he said his signing with EA in his absence was a sticking point for the promotion.

“It’s been delicate for sure,” said Couture of promoting the rival EA title. “I try and be as considerate as I can be of the position that I’m in and the position the UFC’s in. They have their own game. We managed to work around it. We try and be sensitive and not be too in-their-face about our position and where we’re at with this game.”

Couture, who said he came to terms a while ago that he’ll likely never face the 34-year-old Emelianenko, gives the game high marks for authenticity. The UFC hall of famer pointed to the game’s unique “career mode,” which allows players to build their own fighter’s skills from scratch.

“I think the thing that I get excited about is how it captures the ability to go out and train for a specific opponent or in a specific area of your game to make it stronger, which is certainly something we do as athletes in the real world,” said Couture, 47.
 
Strikeforce, which trails the UFC as the second most recognizable promotion in the U.S., is featured heavily in EA’s game and stands to gain much-needed exposure in a market mostly dominated by the UFC.
“The brands and the promotions will be recognizable (in the game) to those people that weren’t exposed to MMA before, so when they seek out the sport, those are probably the brands they’re going to seek out,” said Couture.

Randy Chase, marketing manager for EA Sports, agreed the game could be a powerful tool to lure in new fans.

“It’s definitely a game where it’s a lot more ‘pick up and play,’” he said. “People can pick this game up, learn about mixed martial arts where it’s not really complicated.”

Chase said the title, which is available on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 consoles, won two “best sports game” awards of its 10 nominations at the Electronic Entertainment Expo last June in Los Angeles.

And while Chase said EA doesn’t release its sales figures, he did confirm that the game's distribution numbers are on par with the UFC title. Chase said the company has already started to work on an updated installment, and the game leader plans to alternate release years with its “Fight Night” boxing game.

EA’s “Madden NFL” game, which debuted in 1988, remains one of the company’s active titles, so longevity is something the company is very familiar with.

“As we’ve said from the beginning, we’re dedicated to growing the sport of mixed martial arts,” said Chase. “It’s a natural progression for us.”
-- Loretta Hunt

Source:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2010/10/couture-emelianenko-square-off-for-ea-sports-mma-game-fedor-emelianenko-shot-in-with-a-takedown-and-finished-randy-couture-1.html


Braves Hire Fredi Gonzalez

Braves hire Fredi Gonzalez

The Atlanta Braves have hired former Florida Marlins skipper Fredi Gonzalez as manager, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday.

Longtime Braves manager Bobby Cox retired Monday after the Braves were eliminated from the playoffs by the Giants. Cox will have a press conference at Turner Field on Wednesday and Gonzalez will be introduced on Thursday, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Gonzalez was was fired in June after 3½ years as the Marlins manager, having posted a 276-279 record with one of baseball's lower payrolls but apparently running afoul of owner Jeffrey Loria for benching star shortstop Hanley Ramirez for a lack of hustle.

Gonzalez was a minor league manager in the Braves organization and did an apprenticeship as Cox's third-base coach from 2003-06. He still lives in suburban Atlanta, remained tight with Cox and frequently turned up at Turner Field after being dumped by the Marlins.

The Braves were expected to move quickly to make a hire. Cox announced that he planned to retire at season's end a year ago.

Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5679565&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

Jacob Ellsbury set to be activated



 

Jacoby Ellsbury set to be activated

BOSTON -- Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who has played only nine games this season because of fractured ribs, will be activated from the disabled list Wednesday and is expected to be in Boston's starting lineup for the third game of the series against the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park.

Ellsbury

 

Manager Terry Francona confirmed after Tuesday night's 3-1 win that Ellsbury, who has been on the DL since May 28, will be rejoining the Sox. Francona said a corresponding move would be made at some point Wednesday; it's likely Daniel Nava, who was recalled earlier this week, will be returned to Pawtucket.

Ellsbury capped his six-game rehab assignment with a 3-for-5 outing for Pawtucket on Tuesday afternoon. Ellsbury has been hampered since breaking several ribs in a collision with third baseman Adrian Beltre in April. He was out of the lineup from April 12 to May 22, then lasted only a few days before returning to the DL on May 28.

Ellsbury's time on the DL included apparent issues between the club and Ellsbury about the original diagnosis of the injury, questions about why he was not with the team during his time out, and whispers that he wasn't pushing to return. But the bottom line is that Ellsbury will be back and can offer an extra dimension to a Red Sox team trying to catch the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays for a playoff spot.

Boston is in third place in the tough American League East, 6 ½ games behind the division-leading Rays and 5 ½ behind the Yankees in the wild-card standings.

Ellsbury swiped a team-record 70 bases a year ago, leading the majors in steals. His speed will be a welcome addition.

"We're hoping he brings something to our lineup that has been missing, that threat of running," said Francona. "When he's healthy, pitchers know what he can do and that gives us a different look that the other team has to respect."

"He gives us a little more flexibility in our lineup," said Mike Lowell, who came off the DL and clubbed the decisive two-run homer in Tuesday night's win while replacing injured Kevin Youkilis [thum] on the roster.

"Jacoby is a good base-stealer. He puts a lot of pressure on their defense. Pitchers feel that pressure every time he's on base," added Lowell. "We're hoping his energy will give us a boost. We need one."

By Steven Krasner
Special to ESPNBoston.com

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