UEFA: Ukraine does not have any problematic objects posted by UkraineEURO2012

Over three hundred days before the start of Euro 2012 and Ukraine nas no building objects problems.

This was stated by the leaders of UEFA, Michel Platini, Gianni Infantino, according to Channel 5.

Olympic Stadium Renovation completed at 90%. Work in the Lvov stadium scheduled for completion in October. At the same time open and complex in Kiev.

Sports arenas in Kharkiv and Donetsk for two years as ready to receive visitors.

Also before the end of the year and expand the country's air gates - the airport "Borispol". The new terminal is to increase passenger numbers by half - to 12 million people a year.Continue reading "UEFA: Ukraine does not have any problematic ..."

Free Agency: Who the Redskins should and shouldn't sign posted by Todd F. Dixon

Okay, now comes our only "successful" part of the season as history has gone.  The Redskins always make a big splash in free agency and usually strikeout.  There have been a couple years when they took the year off and didn't do a whole lot (last year) but they are poised to make some big moves this year according to most credible sources.  As usual they are linked to many big-name free agents and will spend a lot of money unless they listen to me!

Nnamdi Asomugha - The Raiders free agent corner has been linked to so many teams and is widely regarded as the best free agent on the market.  He will be comanding 16-18 million a year and on the wrong side of 30 is a big thumbs down for me.  He is not a big turnover machine and is only good on one side.  He would not be good with our scheme nor opposite DHall.  We could get a few players for that price that would contribute and I want us to STAY AWAY!!

Santonio Holmes - He is a mold of Santana Moss and yes he is younger and a little more dynamic but he will command high dollars and is a locker room bane.  He also has off-the-field issues and would be a wasted of money.  The Skins have said he is their "Top" priority but they should just bid up and let him go back to the Nets, errr Jets.

Braylon Edwards - The other Jets free agent WR has also been linked to the Skins.  He also has problems off the field and has a history of not hanging on to the ball.  We do not need him at all, and it would be another waste of money.

Randy Moss, Ochocinco, and T.O. - Um.......hell no!  Fast fact: Vinny Cerrato actually offered 2 first round picks for Chad Ocho, so glad he is not with us anymore.

Ukrainian team will prepare for the Euro 2012 abroad posted by UkraineEURO2012

On the eve of starting the finals of Euro 2012 Ukraine national football team will hold a short training camp in Austria or Germany.
As part of this planned series of friendly matches, in particular, meeting in Vienna against Austria on 1 June.

This was told by the vice-president of the Football Federation of Ukraine Vladimir Lashkul. According to him, this is due to the requirements of UEFA, according to which national teams can not hold friendly matches in the host country for three months before the start of the tournament and a month after his graduation.

Recall that the coming friendlies team will play Ukraine on June 1 against a team of Uzbekistan in Kiev at the Dynamo stadium name Lobanovsky and June 6 against the French in Donetsk Donbass-Arena.Continue reading "Ukrainian team will prepare for the ..."

Big Daddy Rides Brees’ Avalanche to the Bottom posted by Les Leonard

     What emotion described your mood after Sunday’s Superdome debacle? Did you feel disappointed, humiliated, angry, or betrayed? Big Daddy felt so humiliated by the Saints half-hearted effort. Only Brett Farve understood Saints fans embarrassment after his wood-stroking photos surfaced on the internet. Several of Big Daddy’s co-workers revisited the Madden Curse theory, citing Drew Brees’ God-awful performance in which 2 of his 4 interceptions resulted in pick-sixes. Others wondered if Cleveland Head Coach Eric Mangini instructed former Saints Scott Fujita and Mike Bell (two integral pieces to last year’s Super Bowl Championship team) to hire a Voodoo priestess to cast an Early Halloween spell on Drew. One thing is certain, the Browns’ coach unleashed his bag of tricks on the Crescent City, soundly out coaching Sean Payton all afternoon. Saints fans can only pray that the Black ’n’ Gold will collect tons of treats come Halloween night when Pittsburgh comes to town. In this edition of the Section 645 Saints Beat, Big Daddy tailgates in Champions Square, reports live from Section 645, recaps the Cleveland game, watches the New Orleans Hornets season opener, attends legendary Martinque chef Nat Carrier’s Birthday Bash, and releases his World Famous Pregame Information.

     Saints fans had Champions Square jam packed by 10 am. Some listened to the pregame concert, while others watched CBS’s coverage of the NFL Today on the big screen. No matter which option the Who Dat Army soldiers choose, they all munched down funnel cakes, hot dogs, and pretzels, watching down their tailgating eats with semi-cold $5.00 draught beers prior to entering the Superdome, where buying drinks smarts worse than a nun’s 3-sided ruler in parochial school. Once Big Daddy’s posse temporarily quenched their thirst, our group huddled around WWL’s Saints radio broadcast outside Gate C to catch some of Bobby Hebert’s, Deke Bellavia’s, and Mike Detillier’s pregame thoughts before ascending to hallowed Section 645 grounds near the summit of the Big Easy’s coolest man made mountain.

Chicago's Rain Man Picks Purdue To Win The National Championsip posted by Colin Linneweber

An autistic teenager from Chicago has incredibly assembled a flawless NCAA Men’s Tournament bracket as the Sweet 16 is set to commence tonight.  

Despite the myriad of shocking upsets, Alex Hermann has somehow selected all 48 games correctly. 

The website www.BookofOdds.com reported that the betting chances of having an unblemished bracket entering the Sweet 16 are one in 13,460,000. 

“It’s amazing,” Hermann, 17, told Chicago’s NBC affiliate. 

Hermann managed to comprise his perfect bracket by studying numbers to find an ideal combination. 

However, Hermann veered from his strategy when he selected the Purdue Boilermakers as the eventual winners of the national championship. 

Hermann predicted that the Boilermakers will ultimately take scissors to the nets in Indianapolis because his older brother, Andrew, attends Purdue. 

The fourth-seeded Boilermakers next game is scheduled for Friday night against the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils.  

The Autism Society defines autism as “a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first two years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and skills.” 

Hermann’s story is the most intriguing one regarding autism since the Oscar-winning movie Rain Main premiered in March 1989. 

If Purdue does capture the title, Alex Hermann’s account will be this year’s

Collinson gets his big chance posted by Andy Charles

That collective sigh you heard was the one coming from New Orleans Hornets fans when they learned that All-Star point guard Chris Paul would be missing for maybe as long as two months in the wake of knee surgery.

Paul needs arthroscopic surgery for a cartilage tear in his left knee, an injury suffered in freak fashion seconds from the end of the loss to the Chicago Bulls last week when he collided with a photographer on the baseline as he went to retrieve an errant shot.

Results of a scan showed that Paul had a partial tear of his meniscus, an injury that really cannot be played through and could develop into something serious if left untreated for a long spell of time.

But maybe, just maybe, Paul’s absence will not be felt as badly as some NBA Predictions first thought, based on the performance of his replacement Darren Collinson in the 109-102 overtime win over a decent Memphis outfit on Saturday night.

Collinson played all but a few minutes of regulation and ended the game with 17 points and a superb Paul-esque 18 assists, working well in tandem with fellow rookie Marcus Thornton in the backcourt.

But is playing two rookie guards, with very little depth to come off the bench, what the Hornets need in the middle of a fierce playoff race that sees eight teams covered by only three-and-a-half games (as of Monday).

Sure the Hornets have plenty of experience further up the court in David West, Emeka Okafor and Peja Stojakovic, but another injury among their current starting five would put them in deep trouble with most NBA Bets and there isn’t really much coming off the bench that could be traded for an established veteran to help out.

Big Daddy Feels Turbulence on Cloud 9 posted by Les Leonard

     New Orleanians began their work week all smiles again Monday morning courtesy of the Saints’ record-setting 9-0 start. Even though our wallets were decimated for the ninth straight game, Saints fans ain’t complainin’. As the Saints aim to complete their second of three triumphant visits to the Sunshine State Sunday, Big Daddy mentally prepares to go where Who Dat has gone before. In this week’s edition of the Section 645 Saints Beat, Big Daddy congratulates former U.S. Representative from Louisiana’s 2nd District William “Dollar Bill” Jefferson, reports the action live from the Kingpin, recaps the Tampa Bay game, examines recent Saints scares, forecasts the New Orleans Hornets season, and releases his World Famous Pregame Information.

     Who wasn’t relieved when U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III made his wise decision? Wednesday Ellis ruled that William Jefferson will remain free while he appeals his 11 count federal conviction. Obviously, Dollar Bill isn’t a flight risk because he’s such a devoted God-fearing family man. Bill’s ability to spend priceless family time during Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Mardi Gras, and the Saints first Super Bowl with his wife and kids has to be the feel-good story of the year. Do you think Lifetime will make a syrupy holiday special depicting the Jefferson’s tight-knit family? Perhaps the made-for-TV gem would teach struggling Americans how to afford Ivy League educations for their offspring like the Jeffersons did with their five amazing children. Since locals love “making groceries,” the movie could show people where to find those special frozen pie crusts that chemically react when ordinary freezers transform them into extraordinary devices that produce cold hard cash.

posted by Andy Charles

Allen Iverson’s sometime glittering career in the NBA could just be over after he left the Memphis Grizzlies early into his tenure with the franchise.

Although Iverson was given permission ‘to leave to attend to personal business’ late last week, his time in Memphis had already started to become a sideshow with more talk about him being asked to come off the bench than anything else.

Iverson had only played three times for the Grizzlies before leaving ahead of Saturday’s clash with the Los Angeles Clippers, and had not played badly in averaging 12.3 points and 3.7 assists despite his displeasure at not being in the starting line-up as Memphis preferred to start Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo in the backcourt.

The 34-year-old also complained at a lack of communication with coach Lionel Hollins, as he revealed: “It’s probably going to always be hard for me and him to see eye-to-eye, because we’ve never even talked to each other. Obviously that’s what you do if you’re trying to accomplish the same goal.”

Hollins was non-committal about Iverson returning to the team, issuing a ‘no comment’ and admitting he had no idea if he would be back in the short or even the long-term.

Memphis had been anticipated as one of the league’s improvers this season but have started the campaign just as in most recent years with their 1-6 record the joint worst in the Western Conference and better than only the injury-hit New Jersey Nets overall.

But it is Iverson’s future dominating the sports pages, with retirement the latest word to rear its ugly head despite comments from owner Michael Heisley that Iverson had not intimated to him that he was thinking about calling it a day.

First Impressions posted by Scott Shepherd

The NBA season is officially underway (unless you live in Chicago or Milwaukee).

After several hours parked in front of the NBA League Pass for the past two days, it’s time for some first impressions.

The Good

Ty Lawson

How good was he last night? I predicted the Denver Nuggets to be the third best team in the West this season, and that was assuming that Ty Lawson would play like a rookie point guard.

But his 17 points, six assists, and four rebounds, plus very solid fourth quarter minutes in a close game against a decent Utah team, shows that he may be a real X factor for this team moving forward.

Brook Lopez

Lopez was a monster last night, finishing with 27 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks, and four assists. Of course, the Nets lost, mainly because they couldn’t hold off the mighty T’Wolves down the stretch, but it certainly wasn’t because of Lopez.

Los Angeles Lakers

I know they were playing the Clippers, but the champs didn’t miss a beat. This could have been the most lopsided seven-point game I’ve ever seen.

If it hadn’t been for the extended period in the second quarter where D.J. Mbenga tried to show his limitless range the Clippers would have lost by 20.

The Lakers starters (minus their second best player, Pau Gasol), were nothing short of dominant all game. They just toyed with the Clippers for most of the game, and clamped down where it mattered most.

Boston Celtics

The NBA, Where Desperation Happens posted by Chad

So, things aren't looking good for the NBA right now.  There are a lot of reasons, the economy, it struggles compared to the other sports anyway, superstar bailout calls, the "thug" image, and mainly the fact the refs don't really know how to call the game.  I have a hard time watching somebody get 4 steps through the lane and a 4 second later continuation call; sorry, but that's not basketball.  Toss in the fact that these refs that don't apparently enforce the rules are going to go on strike and they also gamble on basketball.. things aren't looking good.  Teams are desperate to pack the stands.

Don't worry fans!  The Nets have an amazing, really incredible, inspiration, and entirely chaotic way to get fans in teh stands.  Only good things can happen here, and that's a promise.  If you fork out 25g's for 10 games of the team's best seats you can put in a list of players that you want to come hang out with you for an hour.  You can have them at home, a birthday party, the office, or anywhere else you'd like to go.  No word on bachelor parties, hanging out at their house, or even the Gold Club all the guys love so much down in the ATL.  Patrick Ewing knows what I'm talking about.  So, lets say you have the cash and the desire to do this.. you really need to consider your options.  I'll help you take a look at the Nets top guys:

1.  Yi.  How could he not be #1?  The possibilities are endless!  Does a translator come with or do you just have to akwardly try to teach him English in that hour?  Where would you go with the guy.. the zoo?  Your crib?  What if you want to drive somewhere, does that mean you get to ride in his car since he can't fit in yours?  Does you have a lazyboy at home?  If so, you might be able to tape him going one on one against it.  My money says put it on Yi; it wouldn't be the first time he's knocked a chair to the ground in victory.  I'd love to see it.

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