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Friday, 14 February 2014
F1 Become Artificial - Villeneuve
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Formula 1 has become "artificial" and is in danger of losing the respect of its fans, according to former world champion Jacques Villeneuve.
The 1997 champion criticised the DRS system and the recent decision to award double points in the final race.
"I don't get modern Formula 1," the 42-year-old Canadian told BBC Sport.
He accused those running the sport of creating "a fake show" and also claimed drivers "lack personality" and should speak out against the changes.
Villeneuve, one of only three drivers to have won the Formula 1 world title, the Indycar Championship and the Indy 500, believes the changes made to F1 since he left the sport in 2006 have not improved it.
A major change for the 2014 season is the decision to award double points at the final race in an attempt to ensure the fights for the world championship lasts as long as possible.
There has even been talk of extending double points to the last three races of the season.
As for DRS - the drag reduction system introduced in 2011 to increase overtaking and make F1 more exciting for spectators - former Williams, BAR and Renault driver Villeneuve was just as critical.
"Once you start going down that route you cannot stop, you have to make more and more of it," he said.
He added: "What's the next thing that will come? It becomes more and more artificial and, instead of having a positive effect, you end up making it where people don't respect it any more."
Villeneuve, who has announced he will drive for Scottish team Albatec Racing in World Rallycross next season, also believes too many of the current drivers are "highly uninteresting".
"It's a habit now to not have a personality in Formula 1," he told BBC Radio 5 live Sport.
"You can imagine a driver that gets a lot of sponsor money being told 'don't say that please' and he will toe the line. So they are not fast, paid to race and highly uninteresting on top of it. It is tough for F1 right now."
Monday, 3 February 2014
Seattle Super Bowl Champions
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The Seattle Seahawks made Super Bowl Sunday the best day of all with one of the greatest performances in an NFL title game -- sparked by a defense that ranks among the best ever.
The Seahawks won their first Super Bowl crown by punishing Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 43-8. That masterful defense, the NFL's stingiest, never let the five-time MVP get going, disarming the highest-scoring offense in league history.
"The only way we could say we were the best defense was to take down the best offense," linebacker Bobby Wagner said.
Seattle (16-3) was too quick, too physical and just too good for Denver. What was hyped as a classic matchup between an unstoppable offense and a miserly defense turned into a rout.
"We've been relentless all season," quarterback Russell Wilson said. "Having that mentality of having a championship day every day. At the end of the day, you want to play your best football and that is what we did today."
Punctuating Seattle's dominance was a 69-yard interception return touchdown by linebacker Malcolm Smith to make it 22-0, and Percy Harvin's sensational 87-yard kickoff return to open the second half.
"I always imagined myself making great plays," said Smith, the game's MVP. "Never thought about being the MVP."
When the Seahawks, up by 29 points, forced a Denver punt early in the third quarter, the 12th Man -- and there were legions of them in MetLife Stadium -- began chanting "L-O-B, L-O-B."
As in Legion of Boom, the Seahawks' hard-hitting secondary, part of a young team with an average age of 26 years, 138 days.
"This is an amazing team. Took us four years to get to this point, but they never have taken a step sideways," coach Pete Carroll said. "These guys would not take anything but winning this ballgame."
The loss by the Broncos again raised questions about Manning's ability to win the biggest games. He is 11-12 in the postseason, 1-2 in Super Bowls. After the game, he brushed off questions about his legacy.
"Certainly to finish this way is very disappointing. It's not an easy pill to swallow," said Manning, who threw for a record 55 touchdowns in 2013, two years after missing an entire season because of neck surgeries. "I don't know if you ever really get over it."
He never looked comfortable against a defense some will begin comparing to the 1985 Bears and 2000 Ravens -- other NFL champions who had runaway Super Bowl victories.
Seattle forced four turnovers; Denver had 26 all season.
All-Pro cornerback Richard Shermanleft with a high ankle sprain in the fourth quarter. He celebrated on crutches.
"I hope we etched our names in the history books," Sherman said.
Wilson, who has an NFL-record 28 wins in his first two pro seasons, including playoffs, had a 23-yard TD pass to Jermaine Kearse late in the third quarter to make it 36-0.
Wilson also hit Doug Baldwin for a 10-yard score in the final period in what had become one of the most lopsided Super Bowls. For the fifth time in six meetings between the NFL's No. 1 offense and defense, the D dominated.
"It's all about making history," All-Pro safety Earl Thomas said. "This was a dominant performance from top to bottom."
Denver fell to 2-5 in Super Bowls, and by the end many of Manning's passes resembled the "ducks" Sherman said the All-Pro quarterback sometimes threw.
The victory was particularly sweet for Carroll, fired in 1994 by the Jets. He led the Patriots for three seasons and again was canned. After a short stint out of coaching, he took over at the University of Southern California and won two national titles.
But he always felt there was unfinished business in the NFL. Carroll finished that business by lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy, four years after taking charge in Seattle and eight years after the Seahawks lost in their only previous Super Bowl to Pittsburgh.
No Super Bowl had been played outdoors in a cold-weather city -- not that the Big Apple was anything close to frozen Sunday, when it was 49 degrees at kickoff.
Things went sour for Manning and the Broncos from the very first scrimmage play, and by halftime they were down 22-0 -- their biggest deficit of the season and the only time they didn't score in a half.
On that first play, Manning stepped up toward the line just as center Manny Ramirez snapped the ball. It flew past his incredulous quarterback into the end zone, where Knowshon Moreno dived on it for a safety.
A mere 12 seconds in, Seattle led 2-0 with the quickest score in Super Bowl history, beating Chicago's Devin Hester's kickoff return to open the 2007 game -- against Manning's Colts.
That one ended much better for Manning as Indianapolis won the championship. This one was a fiasco throughout.
Steven Hauschka made 31- and 33-yard field goals for an 8-0 lead. Then the Seahawks began scoring touchdowns.
Manning's third-down pass to Julius Thomas sailed way too high and directly to safety Kam Chancellor, giving the Seahawks the ball at Denver's 37. A third-down pass interference call on Tony Carter brought Seattle to the 1, and Marshawn Lynch scored to make it 15-0.
Then Smith made his second huge play in two weeks. His interception clinched the NFC championship win over San Francisco.
Cliff Avril got to Manning's arm as he was throwing, the ball fluttered directly to Smith, who took off down the left sideline for a 69-yard interception TD.
Manning trudged to the sideline, a look of disgust on his face, Denver's reputation as an unstoppable force erased.
Saturday, 1 February 2014
Luis Aragones 1938 - 2014
Luis Aragonés, the coach who led Spain to victory at Euro 2008, has died at the age of 75. Aragonés was a prominent and sometimes controversial figure – notoriously sparking controversy with a racist jibe at Thierry Henry in 2004 – but was also a successful coach at club level, most notably with Atlético Madrid, leading them to the La Liga title in 1977 as well as three Copa del Rey trophies. Reports in the Spanish media said Aragonés had been admitted to a Madrid clinic in the early hours of Saturday morning but died soon after.
Atlético posted a tribute on their website, and will mark his death with a minute's silence before today's match against Real Sociedad. The statement read: "One of the greatest Rojiblancas legends has left us. There have been condolences from around the footballing world. Our president, Enrique Cerezo, expressed his sorrow saying: 'Luis Aragonés was a great player and coach, but above all a great person and a friend. On behalf of the whole club, I want to express our condolences to his family'."
Aragonés made his name as a player with Atlético between 1964 and 1974, making more than 350 appearances, winning three league titles and also representing Spain 11 times before hanging up his boots.
He then took up the reins with the Madrid club, the first of four spells at the helm in which he led them to six trophies and promotion from the Segunda Division in 2002. Aragonés also guided Barcelona to Copa del Rey success during his one season in charge of the Catalan club in 1987-88.
He took charge of the national team in 2004 and was immediately the subject of controversy when he was caught on camera using racist language about Thierry Henry in a training ground conversation with Arsenal's José Antonio Reyes, saying: "Tell that black shit that you are much better than him." He was fined £2,060 by the RFEF for the incident, but later had it overturned and insisted he was not a racist.
Aragonés went on to lead Spain to their first major title in 44 years at Euro 2008 the start of a hat-trick of tournament triumphs that continued under his successor, Vicente Del Bosque, at the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.
An ill-fated spell at Turkish side Fenerbahce followed, which came to an end in the summer of 2009, before Aragonés officially announced his retirement in December last year – four years after leaving his final coaching post.
#RIP Descansa en Paz
Friday, 31 January 2014
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