Super Bowl XLVIII: New York ready for Denver and Seattle
New York is set to host the coldest Super Bowl in history on Sunday night when the Denver Broncos take on the Seattle Seahawks at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Sunday's match - the biggest sporting event in the United States - kicks off at 23:30 GMT and will be watched by over 100 million people worldwide.
It is the first Super Bowl to be held outdoors in one of the colder states.
The Broncos last won the Super Bowl in 1998, but the Seahawks have never won.
With New York battered by major snow storms last month, there had been concerns that the game would have to be postponed or moved.
But the weather on Saturday was fine, although there is a 50% chance of rain or snow flurries during the match.
The coldest Super Bowl was in 1972 in New Orleans, when the temperature was a reported 1.1C.
"We're pretty much weather-proof,'' Broncos coach John Fox said. "We live in Denver, so we practice in just about every element there is."
The match sees the best attack in the NFL in Denver up against the league's best defence in Seattle, while the famous half-time show will feature the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bruno Mars.
Source-BBC
Scotland wins ICC World Cup Qualifying tournament
Scotland captain Preston Mommsen made an unbeaten 139 yesterday to set up a 41-run win over the United Arab Emirates in the final of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) World Cup qualifying tournament.
Scotland made 285-5 batting first in yesterday's final with Swapnil Patel not out on 99, as the UAE made 244-9 in reply.
Both teams had already qualified for the World Cup by making the final, and will join the top nations at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand over February and March 2015.
Scotland will play in Group A with New Zealand, Australia, England, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, while UAE will play in Group B with India, Pakistan, South Africa, the West Indies, Zimbabwe and Ireland.
Source-AP
Sarwan leads Guyana to crushing win
Ramnaresh Sarwan returned to form to lead Guyana to a crushing 114-run victory in their first game of the Nagico Regional Super50 tournament at the Queen’s Park Oval on Friday night. That silky smooth batting returned from the little right hander as he thrilled with a brilliant unbeaten and together with half centuries from Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Trevon Griffth amassed 301 for three, the highest score ever made in a regional limited overs cricket at the Oval.
Faced with this daunting task the Irish lost their two main batsmen in Niall O’Brien (4) and William Porterfield (0) and the contest was as good as over. Following them were Alex Cusack (12) and Gary Wilson (5), as Phil Simmons’ men slipped to 27 for four. Doing the bulk of the damage was medium pacer Paul Wintz who grabbed 3/30.
Red Steel player Kevin O’Brien with 39 and Andrew Poynter with a rapid half century saved face to an extent but in the end they were always going to fall short of the target. Earlier, Ireland won the toss and decided to bowl first on a good batting track. With he sun blazing down their backs the Irish would have harboured hopes of firing out the openers. However, this did not transpire and soon they would have regretted that decision as sensible batting by Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Trevon Griffith rendered their opening attack meaningless. The left handed duo gathered runs easily and brought up their century stand in 23.2 overs.
SCOREBOARD
Guyana
T Griffith c Sorensen b K O'Brien 62
S Chanderpaul c Murtagh b K O'Brien 79
R Sarwan not out 89
C Barnwell c N O'Brien b K O'Brien 31
L Johnson not out 27
Extras w8, b4, lb1 13
Total for 3 wkts (50ovs) 301
Fall of wkts: 129, 160,
Bowling: M Sorensen 5-0-29-0, T Murtagh 8-57-0, A Cusack 10-1-70-0, A McBrine 10-0-34-0, G Dockrell 4-0-29-0, J Mooney 3-0-21-0, K O'Brien 10-2-56-3.
Ireland
W Portfield lbw Beaton 0
N O'Brien lbw Wintz 4
A Cusack b Wintz 12
G Wilson c Barnwell b Wintz 5
A Poynter run out 54
K O'Brien lbw Bishoo 39
J Mooney b Permaul 9
M Sorenson c Chanderpaul b Beaton 29
A McBrine b Deonarine 3
T Murtagh c & b Deonarine 4
G Dockrell not out 8
Extras lb4, w14, nb2 20
Total for 4 wkts (13ovs) 187
Fall of wkts: 5, 5, 21, 27, 86, 112, 143, 151, 162, 187.
Bowling: P Wintz 6-0-30-3, R Beaton 7.3-1-41-2, C Barnwell 7-0-34-0, V Permaul 10-1-31-1, D Bishoo 6-1-41-1, N Deonarine 2-0-6-2.
Result: Guyana won by 114 runs.
Man-of-match: Ramnaresh Sarwan.
Source-GuardianMedia
FIFA unveils base camps for WCup teams
FIFA yesterday unveiled the definitive list of base camps for the 32 nations participating at this year's World Cup in Brazil.
Most teams — 24 in all — will be based in the south-east of the country, 15 of them in Sao Paulo state.
Five will pitch camp in the north-east and the south will host the other three, FIFA said.
Brazil will be based in the small town of Teresopolis, 90km north of Rio, while reigning champions Spain have chosen the southern city of Curitiba and England have selected Rio de Janeiro.
Herewith the full base camp list for the event, starting on June 12 and running to July 13: Algeria: Sorocaba; Argentina: Vespasiano; Australia: Vitoria; Belgium: Mogi das Cruzes; Bosnia-Herzegovina: Guaruja; Brazil: Teresopolis; Cameroon: Vitoria; Chile: Belo Horizonte; Colombia: Cotia; Costa Rica: Santos; Croatia: Mata de Sao Joao; Ecuador: Viamao; England: Rio de Janeiro; France: Ribeirao Preto; Germany: Santa Cruz Cabralia; Ghana: Maceio; Greece: Aracaju; Holland: Rio de Janeiro; Honduras: Porto Feliz; Italy: Mangaratiba; Iran: Guarulhos; Ivory Coast: Aguas de Lindoia; Japan: Itu; Mexico: Santos; Nigeria: Campinas; Portugal: Campinas; Russia: Itu; South Korea: Foz do Igua; Spain: Curitiba; Switzerland: Porto Seguro; United States: Sao Paulo; Uruguay: Sete Lagoas.
Actor Maximilian Schell Dies
Maximilian Schell, the Austrian-born actor who won an Academy Award for his performance in Judgment at Nuremberg, has died.
Schell, who was 83, died Saturday in Innsbruck.
The cast of Judgment at Nuremberg featured Spencer Tracy, Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich and Montgomery Clift, but Schell was singled out for the Oscar for his portrayal of a German defense lawyer.
The 1961 film about the Nazi war crimes trials following World War 2 first came to life in 1959 as an episode on the American television anthology series, Playhouse 90, in which Schell also starred.
Nazi Germany also affected Schell's personal life. He was born in Vienna, but fled with his parents to Switzerland following Austria's annexation by the Nazis in 1938.
Much of Schell's career was dominated by Nazi-related film roles, including two other Oscar nominations.
He received a best actor nomination for his role as a Nazi war criminal tried in Israel in the 1975 film The Odessa File. He also received a supporting actor nod for his role as an underground fighter against the Nazis for the 1977 film film Julia, starring Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave.
He was an SS captain in The Odessa File, and Nazi officers in the films A Bridge Too Far and Cross of Iron.
He made his American film debut as a Nazi officer in the 1958 film The Young Lions starring Marlon Brando.
Carmelo Anthony, Knicks will miss Super Bowl XLVIII festivities in
Super Bowl Week finally is in full swing in New York, but the Knicks will be leaving town on Sunday before the big game.
After the Miami Heat come to town for a game Saturday night, the Knicks will depart the next day for a game in Milwaukee on Monday.
“Yeah, we gotta go, man,” Carmelo Anthony said Monday. “I wish we can go to the Super Bowl. Rarely, do we get a chance to participate in the Super Bowl and the events and stuff that’s going on around here.
“It’ll be a good one. Denver is a special team. If I was a betting man, I wouldn’t bet against Peyton (Manning). But on the flip side, you got Seattle, and them young guys got something to prove. So I just want to see a good game.”
The former Nugget added that he “without a doubt” would have attended the Super Bowl if the Knicks were in town.
“I would’ve gone to the hockey game (Sunday), too, if we didn’t play,” Anthony added of the outdoor contest between the Rangers and the Devils at Yankee Stadium.
Source-Daily News
Barcelona president says Lionel Messi is not for sale, says
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is not for sale and the club plan to discuss a new contract with the Argentine, says president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Four-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi, 26, is reported to be a target for French side Paris St-Germain.
In an interview with radio station RAC1, posted on Barcelona's website, Bartomeu said: "The club will sit down and negotiate a new contract.
"We will do what we have to, to ensure he's the best-paid player."
Messi scored 60 goals in 50 appearances last season but has struggled to match that goalscoring form in 2013-14.
He has scored 18 goals so far but just eight of those have been in the league, although he has provided 36 assists in 20 appearances.
His last league goal came in September, before he was out for five weeks with a hamstring injury.
"He can do everything," said Barca coach Gerardo Martino. "If he succeeds in other facets of his game, it doesn't matter if he scores.
"Nothing surprises me with him. He controls the game well, passes the ball well, he is a good finisher, he can press and recover the ball.
"He sees passes that most people can only see whilst watching the game on TV or in the stands, not ones that you can normally see on the field."
Source-BBC
Gayle a big loss to Jamaica squad
Jamaica senior team cricket coach Junior Bennett says the absence of Christopher Gayle from the 14-member squad for the NAGICO Super50 regional competition is a big blow.
Gayle, still recovering from a hamstring injury sustained on the West Indies tour of India late last year, was recently named Jamaica captain, but a subsequent medical assessment ruled out the star left-handed opener, forcing selectors to turn to David Bernard Jnr to lead the team.
The 34-year-old Gayle led Jamaica to the 50-over title in the 2007-08 season, and again two years ago.
"He's definitely a big loss to us as a batsman and as a captain," said Bennett in reference to Gayle's qualities.
"The last two times we won the 50-over (competition) he was the captain. Everyone knows his quality as a One-Day player, his power and everything. To lose him at this time is a big loss.
"To the younger players in the team he was also a motivational factor. But we just have to go out there and do what we have to do," Bennett told the Jamaica Observer.
Gayle, who has suited up for the West Indies in 99 Test matches and 255 One-Day Internationals, has played a total of 322 50-over games in his career and has notched 24 hundreds and 61 fifties at an average of 38.41.
Kenar Lewis, a powerful top-order batsman who plays for Hanover CA in local club cricket, will replace Gayle in the squad. Bennett said the usually aggressive Lewis has shown improvement in his shot selection.
"He had a fairly decent (series of) trial (matches) and his cricket has been improving over the years. At the trials he had some good innings and he showed signs of batsmanship. It's a massive opportunity for him and we just hope that he grabs it with both hands," the veteran coach said.
Gayle was named as captain ahead of Tamar Lambert following a recommendation by the national selection panel, chaired by former batsman Wavell Hinds, that was ratified by the JCA.
Lambert, Jamaica's most successful Four-day captain, was 50-over skipper when the team fell to eventual champions the Windward Islands at last season's semi-final stage.
The Super50 tournament, scheduled for Trinidad & Tobago, starts on Thursday with Jamaica facing the Windwards in the Zone A clash at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain.
Source-Jamaica Observer
Quentin Tarantino sues Gawker over Hateful Eight script link
US director Quentin Tarantino has sued gossip website Gawker for contributory copyright infringement after it posted a link to a leaked screenplay.
A link to The Hateful Eight script remained on Gawker's Defamer blog on Monday despite demands from Tarantino's lawyers to take it down.
They argued the site had effectively cost him royalties he might earn from the eventual publication of the script.
But Gawker said posting a link was part of its job to provide information.
"News of the fact that it existed on the internet advanced a story that Tarantino himself had launched, and our publication of the link was a routine and unremarkable component of our job: making people aware of news and information about which they are curious,'' the site's editor-in-chief John Cook said.
In a post, Gawker added it would be fighting the case, adding that, to its knowledge, "no claim of contributory infringement has prevailed in the US over a news story".
The lawsuit seeks damages of $1m (£603,000) against Gawker as well as $1m against the anonymous file-sharing site where the leaked script was hosted.
Tarantino has previously published scripts of his films, a practice in the past has earned him hefty royalties and advances.
Source-BBC
Another Grammy win for Ziggy Marley
Ziggy Marley won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album for his live Ziggy Marley in Concert at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, yesterday.
The 14-track set, produced by Tuff Gong Worldwide, features some of Marley's better known tunes including Tomorrow People, True to Myself, Welcome to the World and Is this Love?, originally done by his father Bob Marley.
Marley, 45, beat four other acts — Beres Hammond, Sizzla, Sly & Robbie and rapper turned reggae artiste Snoop Lion (the former Snoop Dogg) — to claim the award.
Following the win, Marley expressed humility.
"We are honoured and humbled by this award. I'd like to thank the Grammys and all the people out there who support us. Thank you," he said in a statement.
This win is Marley's second as a solo act. He took home the golden gramophone back in 2007 for his Love is My Religion. He has three other Grammys from his work with his siblings, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. The group first won in 1989 with Conscious Party and repeated the following year with One Bright Day. In 1998 Fallen is Babylon also took the Grammy for the 'Melody Markers'.
In 2012 his Wild and Free lost to younger brother Stephen's Revelation Pt 1 — The Root of Life.
The 'Reggae Grammy' was introduced in 1985. The inaugural award went to Black Uhuru.
Source-Jamaica Observer