World Cup 2010: Spanish Coach Bans Players from Twitter and Facebook

Vicente Del Bosque, the Spain coach, has banned all social network sites - such as Facebook and Twitter - during the World Cup as he sets his sights on blighting all outside distractions. Del Bosque implemented the move before the Spanish squad left their training camp in Las Rozas, outside Madrid, and the national coach has said that the ban would remain in South Africa.

An official for the Spanish FA said that Del Bosque wanted “no distractions” as the European champions look to win the biggest prize in football.

News Courtesy: Telegraph.co.uk

Pre World Cup 2010 Friendlies

Pre World Cup 2010 Friendlies- Results

Argentina 5 v/s Canada 0
[Maxi Rodriguez(2), Angel Di Maria, Tevez, Sergio Aguero]

Nigeria 0 v/s Saudi Arabia 0

England 3 v/s Mexico 1
[Ledley King, Peter Couch, Glen Johnson]
[Guillermo Franco]

Czech Republic 4 v/s USA 2
[Tomas Sivok, Jan Polak, Martin Fenin, Tomas Necid]
[Maurice Edu, Herculez Gomez]

North Korea 2 v/s Greece 2
[Jong Tae Se (2)]
[Costas Katsouranis, Angelos Charisteas]

South Africa 1 v/s Bulgaria 1
[Siyabonga Sangweni]
[Valeri Bojinov]

Paraguay 1 v/s Rep. of Ireland 2
[Lucas Barrios]
[Kevin Doyle, Liam Lawrence]

Magpies Flying High

The Magpies are on a high after going to Western Australia and defeating the Dockers. Now they have another big game against Geelong. These two sides should combine for a Friday Night classic at the MCG. This game is so big that Channel Seven have decided to broadcast it live into Melbourne.

The Dockers need to rebound against the Swans in Sydney. After a great start the Swans have dropped their last two losing to both the Cats and Bulldogs. Now they have to host the Dockers in what should be a good game.

Richmond will be hoping to open their account against Essendon in the Dreamtime match. The Tigers have been close but just haven’t been able to seal the deal. They lost by three points to Hawthorn while Essendon will be feeling very confident after defeating St Kilda.

Melbourne will host Port Adelaide in what is a game which should be pretty even. Neither have set the world on fire this year and the Power will be licking their wounds after their loss to Carlton.

The Blues on the other hand will be euphoric of their recent form of not which has seen them topple both St Kilda and Port. They have five wins from their eight games which is a pretty good return. They play Hawthorn in a game which should be quite fiery.

Adelaide host the Lions and the visitors will be desperate for a win after their season has come off the rails of late. Still you would think they should be too good for the Crows.

The Eagles host St Kilda and this is a tricky game for the Saints. They aren’t in the best of form and now have to travel all the way there while the Eagles are on a high after their win over the Demons.

The Bulldogs play North Melbourne in a game which could go either way. Live betting should be pretty even here with there no apparent favorite.

After eight weeks, the ladder is starting to separate and you would have to say that things are tough for the teams on three wins or less. This means you have 10 teams playing for eight spots. Will the ladder stay as it currently is come September? Will the eight teams now in the eight be the ones all playing in the finals. We’ll have to wait and see.

Darren Albert writes for this blog. He also writes about online betting.

Legend Kasparov Makes A Comeback in Tel Aviv University

Former World Chess champion Gary Kasparov made an extraordinary comeback, when he played against 30 students of Tel Aviv University. Kasparov students from the University and children from a scientific research group.

The youngest player was eight-year-old Saar Drori, a chess champion. He used to play with older children, but playing against Kasparov was a memorable experience.

"He was very aggressive during the game. I was able to resist him until I failed."

Saar’s dream is to play chess with Kasparov once again.

Azzurri's World Cup 2010 Squad

Italy World Cup 2010 Squad Announced

Goalkeepers

Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli)
Federico Marchetti (Cagliari)
Salvatore Sirigu (Palermo)

Defenders

Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan)
Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus)
Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)
Christian Maggio (Napoli)
Leonardo Bonucci (Bari)
Fabio Grosso (Juventus)
Domenico Criscito (Genoa)
Mattia Cassani (Palermo)
Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa)

Midfielders

Andrea Pirlo (Milan)
Gennaro Gattuso (Milan)
Daniele De Rossi (Roma)
Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina)
Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus)
Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria)
Antonio Candreva (Juventus)
Andrea Cossu (Cagliari)
Claudio Marchisio (Juventus)
Simone Pepe (Udinese)

Forwards

Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli)
Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal)
Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus)
Antonio Di Natale (Udinese)
Marco Borriello (Milan)
Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina)
Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria)

Argentina World Cup 2010 Squad

Argentina World Cup 2010 Squad Announced

Goalkeepers

Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar/Netherlands)
Mariano Andujar (Catania/Italy)
Diego Pozo (Colon)

Defenders

Nicolas Burdisso (Inter Milan/Italy)
Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich/Germany)
Walter Samuel (Inter Milan/Italy)
Gabriel Heinze (Marseille/France)
Nicolas Otamendi (Velez Sarsfield)
Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle/England)
Juan Manuel Insaurralde (Newell’s Old Boys)
Clemente Rodriguez (Estudiantes)
Ariel Garce (Colon)

Midfielders

Javier Mascherano (Liverpool/England)
Sebastian Blanco (Lanus)
Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes)
Jesus Datolo (Olympiacos/Greece)
Jose Sosa (Estudiantes)
Maximiliano Rodriguez (Liverpool/England)
Mario Bolatti (Fiorentina/Italy)
Juan Mercier (Argentinos Juniors)
Angel Di Maria (Benfica/Portugal)
Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle/England)
Javier Pastore (Palermo/Italy)

Forwards

Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid/Spain)
Diego Milito (Inter Milan/Italy)
Martin Palermo (Boca Juniors)
Carlos Tevez (Manchester City/England)
Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid/Spain)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Spain)
Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli/Italy)

Australia World Cup 2010 Squad

Australia's World Cup 2010 Squad Announced

Goalkeepers

Adam Federici (Reading/England)
Eugene Galekovic (Adelaide Utd)
Brad Jones (Middlesbrough/England)
Mark Schwarzer (Fulham/England)

Defenders

Michael Beauchamp (Al-Jazira/United Arab Emirates)
David Carney (FC Twente/Netherlands)
Scott Chipperfield (Basel/Switzerland)
Shane Lowry (Aston Villa/England)
Mark Milligan (JEF United/Japan)
Craig Moore (uncontracted)
Lucas Neill (Galatasaray/Turkey)
Jade North (Tromso/Norway)
Luke Wilkshire (Dinamo Moscow/Russia)
Rhys Williams (Middlesbrough/England)

Midfielders

Mark Bresciano (Palermo/Italy)
Tim Cahill (Everton/England)
Nick Carle (Crystal Palace/England)
Jason Culina (Gold Coast Utd)
Brett Emerton (Blackburn Rovers/England)
Richard Garcia (Hull City/England)
Vince Grella (Blackburn Rovers/England)
James Holland (AZ Alkmaar/Netherlands)
Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar/Netherlands)
Mile Jedinak (Antalyaspor Kulubu/Turkey)
Tommy Oar (FC Utrecht/Netherlands)
Carl Valeri (Sassuolo/Italy)
Dario Vidosic (Nuremberg/Germany)

Forwards

Josh Kennedy (Nagoya Grampus/Japan)
Harry Kewell (Galatasaray/Turkey)
Scott McDonald (Middlesbrough/England)
Nikita Rukavytsya (FC Twente/Netherlands)

Dutch World Cup 2010 Squad

Netherlands World Cup 2010 Squad Announced

Goalkeepers

Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax)
Sander Boschker (FC Twente)
Michel Vorm (FC Utrecht)

Defenders

Vurnon Anita (Ajax)
Khalid Boulahrouz (VfB Stuttgart)
Edson Braafheid (Celtic)
Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord)
John Heitinga (Everton)
Joris Mathijsen (HSV)
Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord)
Gregory van der Wiel (Ajax)
André Ooijer (PSV)

Midfielders

Otman Bakkal (PSV)
Mark van Bommel (Bayern Munich)
Wout Brama (FC Twente)
Orlando Engelaar (PSV)
Nigel de Jong (Manchester City)
David Mendes da Silva (AZ)
Stijn Schaars (AZ)
Wesley Sneijder (Inter)
Rafael van der Vaart (Real Madrid)
Demy de Zeeuw (Ajax)
Ibrahim Afellay (PSV)

Forwards

Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool)
Jeremain Lens (AZ)
Eljero Elia (HSV)
Ryan Babel (Liverpool)
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (AC Milan)
Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)

Brazil World Cup 2010 Squad

Brazil's World Cup 2010 Squad Announced

Goalkeepers

Julio Cesar (Inter Milan)
Doni (Roma)
Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham)

Defenders

Maicon (Inter Milan)
Dani Alves (Barcelona)
Lucio (Inter Milan)
Juan (Roma)
Luisao (Roma)
Thiago Silva (AC Milan)
Gilberto (Cruzeiro)
Michel Bastos (Lyon)

Midfielders

Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos)
Felipe Melo (Juventus)
Josue (Wolfsburg)
Elano (Galatasaray)
Ramires (Benfica)
Kleberson (Flamengo)
Kaka (Real Madrid)
Julio Baptista (Roma)

Forwards

Robinho (Santos/Manchester City)
Nilmar (Villarreal)
Luis Fabiano (Sevilla)
Grafite (Wolfsburg)

Olympic Champion Yelena Isinbayeva Ambassador for Youth Olympic Games

Olympic champion Yelena Isinbayeva has joined another champion Michael Phelps in being named as an ambassador for the Youth Olympic Games to be held in Singapore.

The 27 year-old champion Isinbayeva, will seek to encourage young people worldwide to participate in sporting activity ahead of the Games, which will be held in Singapore in August.

She said: "I am happy to play such an important role in getting young people active, and the Youth Olympic Games provides the perfect vehicle with which to inspire young people around the world to do incredible things through sport.

"This is a very exciting opportunity for me to pursue whilst I take a break from competition. I can't wait for the first Youth Olympic Games to get under way this August.

"I will be in Singapore to support the athletes, to encourage them to do their best and enjoy the whole experience."

IOC President Jacques Rogge said: "We have a true champion in Yelena, a true role model for young people."

News Courtesy: Sportinglife.com

Super Eagles (Nigeria) World Cup 2010 Squad

Nigeria's World Cup 2010 Squad Announced

Goalkeepers

Vincent Enyeama (Hapoel Tel Aviv, Israel)
Dele Aiyenugba (Bnei Yehuda, Israel)
Austin Ejide (Hapoel Petah Tikva, Israel)
Bassey Akpan (Bayelsa United, Nigeria)

Defenders

Taye Taiwo (Marseille, France)
Elderson Echiejile (Rennes, France)
Chidi Odiah (CSKA Moscow, Russia)
Onyekachi Apam (OG Nice, France)
Joseph Yobo (Everton, England)
Daniel Shittu (Bolton Wanderers, England)
Ayodele Adeleye (Sparta Rotterdam, Netherlands)
Rabiu Afolabi (SV Salzburg, Austria)
Terna Suswan (Lobi Stars, Nigeria)

Midfielders

Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi (TSG Hoffenheim, Germany)
John Utaka (Portsmouth, England)
Brown Ideye (FC Sochaux, France)
Peter Utaka (Odense Boldklub, Denmark)
Kalu Uche (Almeria, Spain)
Dickson Etuhu (Fulham, England)
John Mikel Obi (Chelsea, England)
Sani Kaita (Alaniya, Russia)
Haruna Lukman (AS Monaco, France)
Yusuf Ayila (Dynamo Kiev, Ukraine)
Osaze Odemwingie (Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia)

Strikers

Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Everton, England)
Victor Anichebe (Everton, England)
Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth, England)
Obafemi Martins (Wolfsburg, Germany)
Ikechukwu Uche (Real Zaragoza, Spain)
Victor Obinna Nsofor (Malaga, Spain)

All White's (NZ) World Cup 2010 Squad

New Zealand World Cup Squad Announced

Goalkeepers

James Bannatyne Team Wellington
Glen Moss Melbourne Victory (AUS)
Mark Paston Wellington Phoenix

Defenders

Andy Boyens New York Red Bulls (USA)
Tony Lochhead Wellington Phoenix
Ryan Nelsen Blackburn Rovers (ENG)
Winston Reid FC Midtjylland (DEN)
Ben Sigmund Wellington Phoenix
Tommy Smith Ipswich Town (ENG)
Ivan Vicelich Auckland City

Midfielders

Andy Barron Team Wellington
Leo Bertos Wellington Phoenix
Jeremy Brockie Newcastle Jets (AUS)
Tim Brown Wellington Phoenix
Jeremy Christie Tampa Bay Rowdies (USA)
Aaron Clapham Canterbury United
Simon Elliott Unattached
Michael McGlinchey Central Coast Mariners (AUS)
David Mulligan Unattached

Forwards

Rory Fallon Plymouth Argyle (ENG)
Chris Killen Middlesbrough (ENG)
Shane Smeltz Gold Coast (AUS)
Chris Wood West Bromwich Albion (ENG)

Japan's World Cup 2010 Squad

Japan's World Cup 2010 Squad Announced

Goalkeepers:

Seigo Narazaki(Nagoya Grampus)
Eiji Kawashima(Kawasaki Frontale)
Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi(Jubilo Iwata)

Defenders:

Marcus Tulio Tanaka(Nagoya Grampus)
Yuji Nakazawa(Yokohama F Marinos)
Atsuto Uchida(Kashima Antlers)
Yuto Nagatomo(FC Tokyo)
Daiki Iwamasa(Kashima Antlers)
Yuichi Komano(Jubilo Iwata)
Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo)

Midfielders:

Shunsuke Nakamura(Yokohama F Marinos)
Yasuhito Endo(Gamba Osaka)
Makoto Hasebe(Wolfsburg, Germany)
Keisuke Honda(CSKA Moscow,Russia)
Yuki Abe(Urawa Reds)
Junichi Inamoto(Kawasaki Frontale)
Kengo Nakamura(Kawasaki Frontale)
Daisuke Matsui(Grenoble, France)

Forwards:

Keiji Tamada(Nagoya Grampus)
Shinji Okazaki(Shimizu S-Pulse)
Takayuki Morimoto(Catania, Italy)
Yoshito Okubo(Vissel Kobe)
Kisho Yano(Albirex Niigata)

Swans Brought Down a Notch by Cats

Even though the Sydney Swans were playing good football, they were not playing good enough to defeat Geelong at Skilled Stadium. Down there, you have to play exceptional football and missing a few key players, the Swans just didn’t have enough fire-power. Inversely, the Cats were well-served by the return of Gary Ablett Jr who carved up the Swans.

Elsewhere it was an interesting Round 7 in the AFL. The Dockers continued their excellent start to the season with a win against the Lions in Brisbane. The Dockers aren’t playing like they have previously and look to be somewhat of the real deal. They now host the Magpies in a Friday night blockbuster.

At 6-1, both teams are on top of the ladder and this game should be a massive contest and one of the biggest home and away games Fremantle has ever played in. There are some interesting subplots. As a former coach of the West Coast Eagles, Mick Malthouse has no issue with playing at Subiaco. There is also interest to see how the Dockers will do under the bright lights of Friday night football.

The Bulldogs have had an interesting two weeks – choking against St Kilda and then just getting over te line against the Demons. This weekend they will have an interesting test against the Swans. This will be a better indicator for the Swans where they are at as opposed to the Geelong game.

The Cats now go to Brisbane to take on the Lions. At home they Lions will want to do well but you would think the Cats will have too much purr in them. You would think that nearly all live bets would favor Geelong.

Hawthorn are struggling so they will welcome having to play the hopeless Richmond. At one stage Richmond were a chance against Adelaide but fell in a heap conceding the last eight games. Hawthorn are coming back from a trip to Perth but still you would think they would be too good for the Tigers.

Carlton has to travel to Adelaide to take on a resurgent Port. The Power are playing well and you would think would be too good for the Blues. Essendon were good against Port and maybe could have won but against St Kilda you would think they have no chance. St Kilda are just too good.

Darren Albert writes for this blog. He also writes about sports betting.

World Record: Oliver Hardaker Smashed 329 (Not Out) Runs in 144 Balls

Teenage cricketer Oliver Hardaker smashed a world-record of 329 runs not out in one day.

Oliver blasted 27 sixes and 28 fours during his 144-ball local cup match knock that puts Indian master blaster Sachin Tendulkar in the shade.

At one stage he hit five sixes and a four in one over. The 18-year-old said there was only one chance to get him out – and that was when he was on 140.

'It was the best day of my life. My best previous score was 100 not out,' said Oliver.

'I've played cricket since I was five years old and I would love to become a professional cricketer.

'I've got Yorkshire Under-19 trials later in the summer.'

Oliver's mammoth innings came for Horsforth cricket club against Upper Wharfedale in North Yorkshire.

Image Courtesy: Dailymail.co.uk

Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba Strips for WC 2010 Shoot

Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba Strips for WC 2010 Shoot

Each posing in a pair of tight designer boxers, the football aces looked confident as they strutted – all of – their stuff for a Vanity Fair magazine shoot.

Chelsea striker Drogba wore green, gold and white pants to show support for his team Ivory Coast and the Manchester United forward donned red to support his country Portugal.

Image Courtesy: Metro.co.uk

Germany's No.1 Rene Adler Out of WC 2010

German No. 1 goalkeeper Rene Adler admitted on Tuesday he can not attend the World Cup in South Africa as rib injury.

"This was most difficult decision of my life," said Adler, a 25 year-old goalkeeper from Bayer Leverkusen.

"The pain is so great that I would not have been able to perform at my best over the longer term both in training and during matches," he said.

But an examination by Germany team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt showed his injury is worse than first thought and he needs an operation to repair the ribs.

Germany coach Joachim Loew was very sorroy about Adler, but he said, Adler has to do that.