Denver Nuggets at LA Lakers 103-105
The entire NBA basketball match was decided with 29.1 seconds left (score was 99-101 and ball to DEN) when afert a time out DEN did not start well and the small Forward Trevor Ariza did his best steals of the night from basketball point guard Anthony Carter (DEN). After that splendid intervetion LA Lakers passed the ball and with 10 seconds left, the guard forward JR Smith made a foul to Kobe Bryant which made both free throws (99-103). Neither 3 points shot of Chauncey Billups made with 6.1 seconds left nor Carmelo Anthony’s best DEN basketball player on the floor (39 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) coud not help DEN Nuggets to come back in the game.
Final score: 103-105 and Kobe & Co. took 1-0 in the West NBA Basketball 2009 finals.
Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello - Brawn F1 team
Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello drive in 2009 F1 season for Brawn. From 2006 to 2008 they drive for Honda 53 F1 races.
Below we have the statistics, untill 2009 Monte Carlo F1 race between the two drivers.
| Toyota | Brawn | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Button | Rubens | Button | Rubens | |
| Races | 53 | 5 | ||
| Best at Start | 27 | 26 | 4 | 1 |
| Best at finish | 29 | 24 | 5 | 0 |
| Victories | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Pole positions | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Podiums | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Fastest laps | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Points | 65 | 41 | 41 | 27 |
Rubens Barrichello have at Monte Carlo 16 races in the past, 4 podiums, on fastest lap and 34 points. Best position was on the second place in three races : 1997, 2000 and 2001. In 2004 he finish on 3rd place.
Button have at Monte Carlo seven races where finish in first 3 only in one occasion on second place in 2004.
Brawn F1 team, seems to be this season the best team, they won all races except at Shanghai where the first two places were obtained by the Red Bull team, and the 3rd place was won by Button. In first five F1 races Brawn had the fastest lap in 3 races : Shanghai, Catalunya and Sepang.
Source : Compare F1 drivers
Bahrain 2009 Drivers preview
Statistics about Bahrain Grand Prix including only active Formula 1 drivers:
Victories
* 2 » Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso
Fastest laps
* 1 » Felipe Massa, Heikki Kovalainen, Nico Rosberg
Pole Position
* 1 » Fernando Alonso, Robert Kubica, Felipe Massa
Podium
* 4 » Kimi Raikkonen
* 2 » Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso
* 1 » Jenson Button, Jarno Trulli, Robert Kubica, Rubens Barrichello, Lewis Hamilton
Finish in points
* 4 » Jarno Trulli, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Kimi Raikkonen
* 3 » Felipe Massa
* 2 » Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, Nick Heidfeld, Robert Kubica
* 1 » Heikki Kovalainen, Lewis Hamilton, Rubens Barrichello, Giancarlo Fisichella
Drivers which achieved points on Bahrain Grand Prix
* 27.00 » Fernando Alonso
* 26.00 » Kimi Raikkonen
* 22.00 » Felipe Massa
* 18.00 » Jarno Trulli
* 11.00 » Jenson Button
* 10.00 » Nick Heidfeld
* 9.00 » Mark Webber, Robert Kubica
* 8.00 » Lewis Hamilton, Rubens Barrichello
* 4.00 » Heikki Kovalainen
* 3.00 » Nico Rosberg
* 1.00 » Giancarlo Fisichella
The fastest lap on Bahrain was set by Michael Schumacher at 1:24.125 in 2004
Melbourne 2009 F1 GP drivers preview
Statistics about Melbourne Grand Prix including only active drivers:
Victories
* 1 » Fernando Alonso, Giancarlo Fisichella, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen
Fastest laps
* 4 » Kimi Raikkonen
* 1 » Rubens Barrichello, Heikki Kovalainen, Fernando Alonso
Pole Position
* 1 » Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button, Giancarlo Fisichella, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen
Podium
* 4 » Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso, Rubens Barrichello
* 2 » Lewis Hamilton
* 1 » Nick Heidfeld, Giancarlo Fisichella, Nico Rosberg
Finish in points
* 7 » Kimi Raikkonen
* 6 » Fernando Alonso, Rubens Barrichello
* 5 » Giancarlo Fisichella
* 4 » Nick Heidfeld
* 2 » Nico Rosberg, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton, Jarno Trulli
* 1 » Kazuki Nakajima, Felipe Massa, Heikki Kovalainen, Sebastian Bourdais, Jenson Button
Drivers which achieved points on Melbourne Grand Prix
* 37.00 » Fernando Alonso
* 31.00 » Kimi Raikkonen
* 30.00 » Rubens Barrichello
* 23.00 » Giancarlo Fisichella
* 21.00 » Nick Heidfeld
* 16.00 » Lewis Hamilton
* 8.00 » Nico Rosberg
* 6.00 » Jarno Trulli, Mark Webber
* 4.00 » Heikki Kovalainen
* 3.00 » Kazuki Nakajima, Felipe Massa, Jenson Button
* 2.00 » Sebastian Bourdais
The fastest lap on Melbourne was set by Michael Schumacher at 1:24.125 in 2004
This will be the first Formula1 race for Sebastien Buemi
Team debut Brawn
All you need to know about NBA All-Star Game
Where, when and what?
Where is the 2009 NBA All Star Basketball Game?
Downtown Phoenix, Arizona is the place to be for NBA All-Star Weekend. This will be the third time that Phoenix, Arizona will be the location for the NBA All-Star game. Phoenix also hosted the All-Stars in 1975 and 1995. The 58th All-Star Game will be played at the US Airways Center, home of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and 2007 WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury. About 600 million people representing more than 200 countries are expected to watch the game on television. It will be televised on TNT.
When is the 2009 NBA All Star Basketball Game?
Friday, February 13, 2009: Rookie Challenge
Saturday, February 14, 2009: NBA All-Star Saturday Night
Sunday, February 15, 2009: NBA All-Star Game
What happens at All-Star Saturday Night?
Shooting Stars: NBA players, WNBA players and NBA legends
Skills Challenge: a contest of top guards working against the clock to complete a series of passes, free throws, lay-ups and agility drills
Three-Point Shootout: six of the best long-range shooters compete against each other and the clock in a test of accuracy.
Slam Dunk Contest: the NBA’s best athletes take to the air mystifying fans with their gravity-defying creativity.
What else will happen during All-Star Weekend?
Jam Session, the world’s largest interactive basketball theme park, will be held at the Phoenix Convention Center. That’s just two blocks from the US Airways center. Jam Session will feature over 450,000 square-feet of basketball entertainment for fans of all ages - the equivalent of 48 official-size NBA basketball courts or 18 million regulation-size basketballs. Jam Session is scheduled on February 12 - 16, 2009.
At the Jam Session, fans can test their skills on over 30 unique attractions, compare their hand and shoe sizes with those of their favorite NBA players, compete against friends at on-court skills challenges, watch youngsters slam dunk and hit three-pointers at the Kids Zone, and meet some of their favorite players and legends, celebrities and musical performers. Jam Session also offers an extensive trading card and collectibles area, the NBA Store, where fans can purchase exclusive merchandise, and Center Court, the home for All-Star entertainment, where fans can watch practices, dance teams and mascots, and celebrities, NBA, WNBA players in a variety of shooting contests.
Tickets for the Jam Session range from $7 to $20, and may be purchased online.
Austrian skier Zettel takes super-combi
Austrian skier Kathrin Zettel won the super-combi at the world alpine ski championships on Friday, in the slalom run in Val d’Isere, France, while first-leg leader Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. was disqualified for splitting a gate.
Austria’s Kathrin Zettel won the super-combi in a two-run combined time of two minutes 20.13 seconds.
Lindsey Vonn’s successful week at the world alpine ski championships and three-race winning streak came to a screeching halt on Friday.
The American held a 1.48-second lead over Zettel after the downhill leg, going into the slalom, and finished with the second fastest time after the slalom, but made two big errors on the upper section of the twisting and technical Rhone-Alpes course. Replays showed she barely split a gate in a wild run in an effort to recuperate time.
Vonn, who captured the super-G event that opened the worlds on Tuesday, posed for pictures as if she had won the silver medal before her husband gave her the bad news.
“I’ve been feeling so great this week,” said Vonn, who was timed in one minute 30.49 seconds down the twisting and highly technical Rhone-Alpes course. “To come down hard like that today is hard to take.”
“Sometimes when you miss a gate with a hairpin, you can make the outside gate and I thought I made it,” Vonn said.
Swiss teenager Lara Gut finished second, 0.56 seconds behind, and Elisabeth Goergl of Austria was third, 0.88 back.
Zettel finished fourth in the super-combi at the 2006 Turin Olympics and was fifth at the last worlds in Are, Sweden, two years ago. She has won five World Cup races, all in giant slalom.
Zettel stood fifth after the downhill leg and was third-fastest in slalom.
Defending champion Anja Paerson of Sweden missed a gate in the downhill leg, losing control for an instant after posting the fastest first split time. Paerson also failed to finish the super-G that opened the championships Tuesday, won by Vonn.
“I think these world championships are all about bad luck for me,” Paerson said.
Maria Riesch of Germany finished fourth after also struggling in slalom.
The 17-year-old Gut nearly matched Vonn in the downhill portion, finishing 0.14 behind, and attacked in the slalom leg.
Gut finished fifth in her only World Cup super-combi on home snow in St. Moritz in December. She has never entered a World Cup slalom and this is her first major championship.
It was also the first medal at a world championship or Olympics for Goergl, who has won two World Cup giant slaloms.
Beckham backed by AC Milan
David Beckham said for the first time on Wednesday that he would like to quit LA Galaxy in the United States and make a permanent move to AC Milan.
Beckham added that he might want to end his career at Milan and that playing for them would enhance his chances of another World Cup with England in South Africa next year.
“I have said that my intentions are to stay here. Now it is out of my hands so I have to wait and see,” he added after playing for the first half of Milan’s friendly against Rangers at Ibrox, on Wednesday.
Beckham is halfway through a three-month loan with Milan that will end on March 8, and he’s told the Italian media he’s enjoyed his return to Europe more than he expected. While he respects the five-year contract he signed with Los Angeles in 2007, Beckham said playing for Milan was “something special.”
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder has the support of AC Milan’s coach and management. David Beckham’s lawyers are talking to the Los Angeles Galaxy to see if the club will enter into negotiations so he can stay in Italy, Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani said Wednesday.
“I have not spoken to Galaxy, but someone has from my side and it is literally down to them to come to some sort of agreement and hopefully they will.”
The Galaxy has reiterated that it wants Beckham, who has two goals in five games, back when the loan ends.
But Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti, who has been surprisingly impressed by Beckham, would like the England midfielder to remain at San Siro.
“Nobody can tell what will happen after March 9,” Ancelotti told Sky TV Italia. “He wants to stay here, he has not hidden that fact, but it is a problem between him and LA Galaxy. As a club, we cannot get into this matter.”
Beckham has had such an impact that he was included in Milan’s 25-man roster for UEFA Cup games against Werder Bremen on Feb. 18 and 26.
Asked if he would like to finish his career at AC Milan, Beckham replied, “Yes, possibly.”
Rookie teenager McIlroy nets first Tour win
Rookie teenager Rory McIlroy claimed his first European Tour title after surviving a back-nine meltdown at the Dubai Desert Classic. He was matched at a high of 44 to win in Dubai, where his three previous visits (missed cut, tied 52nd, missed cut) suggested that this was perhaps an unlikely venue for his maiden victory.
Rory McIlroy led by five shots with four to play but hit three bogeys to leave the contest on a knife-edge.
The Northern-Irishman made bogeys at holes 15, 16 and 17 and Justin Rose’s birdie at the 17th meant McIlroy had just a one-shot lead over the Englishman going into the 18th.
The 19-year-old held his nerve to hole a three-foot putt for par at the last, sealing a final-round two-under-par 70 to finish one shot ahead of Justin Rose, who could have forced a play-off but missed a birdie putt at 18 and had to settle for a 67.
The win lifts McIlroy to 14th in the world rankings and he is the seventh-youngest winner in European Tour history. The rookie Northern-Irishman has risen 15 places the world rankings and to second in the Race to Dubai, and he wants to continue his recent run of form in America where he will play four events before April’s Masters.
“This win has definitely moved me up a step and I just want to keep getting better and better,” said McIlroy.
“Your success only makes you more motivated to do better. I have become a very good player, but I still have a lot of years to progress and I just want to keep improving and hopefully one day I will be able to compete with Tiger (Woods).”
McIlroy came close to his maiden win last year when he suffered play-off defeats at the European Masters and Hong Kong Open and it appeared to be again slipping through his young hands as five consecutive birdies around the turn were cancelled out by three straight bogeys on the back nine.
All but three of the top 15 places were taken by Europeans, with Henrik Stenson third and Martin Kaymer, Paul Casey and Robert Karlsson tied for fourth.
Miguel Angel Jimenez finished joint seventh ahead of world number two Sergio Garcia, while new Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie was 13th alongside Alvaro Quiros and Ross Fisher.
After being on offer at huge odds of 125/1 in November, Rory McIlroy is now as short as 25/1 to win this year’s Open Championship after making the big breakthough in Dubai at the weekend.
Those are the odds quoted by several firms including Paddy Power, who make the Northern Ireland teenager their fifth favourite behind 11/4 Tiger Woods, 10/1 Padraig Harrington, 14/1 Sergio Garcia and 16/1 Ernie Els.
ING Bank slashes F1 investment
The global financial crisis triggered the effort of a massive cost-cutting from the Dutch bank ING. Therefore, ING Bank is going to slash millions of dollars from its Formula One program this season.
ING NV is in the final season of a three-year sponsorship deal with Renault and will review that deal this year, company spokesman Nanne Bos told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The cost-cutting mostly will come from F1-related advertising, Bos said. It will not impact the bank’s sponsorship of the Renault team or four races this season. The company’s total Formula 1 budget is believed to be between US $66-132 million.
“We are now in the third year so we plan to evaluate and make a decision on the future this year, taking into account current market circumstances,” Bos said.
Renault finished fourth in the F1 constructors’ standings last season. Fernando Alonso was fifth in the drivers’ championship with back-to-back wins in Singapore and Japan and a second-place finish in the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix. Nelson Picquet Jr. was 12th, his only podium finish was a second place in Germany.
On Monday, ING said it will cut operating expenses by $1.32-billion in 2009, in part by cutting 7,000 staff.
In a statement, the company estimated its “underlying net result” ” an unaudited and nonstandard measure ” will be a loss of $4.33-billion when it reports earnings on February 18.
The announcement came a week after Renault unveiled its 2009 car, the R29, in Portugal ahead of testing by Alonso and Piquet.
Also last week, Swiss bank Credit Suisse Group said it is pulling its sponsorship of the BMW Sauber team.
Honda quit F1 last month, noting it needs to focus on its core business of making and selling cars rather than spending $291-million a year to race them on grand prix tracks
NHL commissioner will not ban fighting
Public opinion: NHL should ban fighting
According to a new poll, a slim majority of Canadians believe NHL hockey fights should be banished to the penalty box for good.
During the NHL all-star weekend, Harris-Decima conducted a survey which indicates that 54 per cent of respondents think fighting should be ousted from the league.
The poll suggests only 40 per cent of Canadians believe fisticuffs should stay in the game.
The survey of just more than 1,000 people was conducted between last Thursday and Sunday and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Quebecers, at 62 per cent, oppose fighting far more than residents of any other region in Canada. Still, 68 per cent of NHL fans who follow the NHL closely say the gloves should continue to drop.
The NHL plans to officially examine the role of fighting in the league during the GMs’ meeting in March.
The debate reignited recently after senior men’s player Don Sanderson died following a fight in which he hit his head on the ice and Garrett Klotz suffered a seizure following a bout in the AHL.
Fighting sells tickets – NHL commissioner won’t ban it
Despite public opinion, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman admits fighting sells tickets and it has no appetite to ban it.
But in an effort to show it is taking the issue of fighting seriously in light of recent events, including the death of an amateur player, the NHL will look at the so-called “rules of engagement” to see whether the statutes governing fisticuffs need to be tweaked.
“I believe that most of our fans enjoy that aspect of the game,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Saturday at the all-star weekend in Montreal. “I do not think it is the be-all and end-all of our game, but it is a part of the game.”
General managers will deal with the issue when they meet in March and the all-important competition committee will also weigh in on the role of fisticuffs.
Rules of engagement include how a fight gets initiated, how players get sucker punched, how goons drop their gloves for the sake of it, how chinstraps are undone with ease, how helmets come off accidentally and whether they should come off at all.
It also includes how a player makes a legal hit and is jumped by a teammate of the player he flattened.
The Ontario Hockey League, one of Canada’s three major junior associations, has already made it a rule that fighters must keep their helmets on.
But as far as fighting in the NHL is concerned, Bettman emerged from a board of governors meeting Saturday to say, “I do not think there is any appetite to abolish it. We will study it before we make changes, if we make changes.”
Talking begins in March
In the NHL’s case, the discussion starts in March when the GMs meet.
“I think it is simple. When it comes to the safety of the players, managers and the league has been more than receptive and interested in protecting the players,” said Edmonton president Kevin Lowe.
“It will get a lot discussion but it has not risen to the level where it is an emergency.”
Hence, the status quo remains.
“I think fans love the game of hockey and fighting is a part of the game,” said Washington owner Ted Leonsis