HOT US NEWS: SPORTS

Showing posts with label SPORTS. Show all posts

Charlize Theron: Just Call Me "Ass-Nuts"

Don't be surprised if people start referring to Charlize Theron as Ass-Nuts.

The Oscar winner revealed at last night's Hollywood Film Awards that Breakthrough Actor honoree Jeremy Renner bestowed her with the nickname during the making of their 2005 drama, North Country.

Theron and Renner along with the rest of the cast went out for some drinks and…

"I can't tell you what transpired, but lemme just say I found a friend for life in Jeremy, and he has ever since then referred to me as…Ass-Nuts," Theron said. "I wish that was a joke, but it's true!"

While last night's annual fete attracted some major Hollywood players like Theron, Steven Spielberg, Robert De Niro, Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, Julianne Moore and Diane Kruger, there were plenty of new faces you'll be seeing a lot of come awards season.

Gabourey Sidibe, who stars as a horrifically abused teen in indie favorite Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, said things weren't always depressing on set. She even did some dueting with costar Mariah Carey.

Ferrari rule out Massa return this season

Felipe Massa will not be returning to Formula One this season, his Ferrari team have officially announced.

Massa is still showing the scars of the horror crash at the Hungarian GP in July.

The Brazilian has been out of action since a freak crash in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix left him with life-threatening head injuries.

The speed of his recovery from a fractured skull has prompted speculation he could take the wheel of the Ferrari for the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi on November 1.

Indeed Massa will get back on the track in a private test at Ferrari's Maranello headquarters in Italy on Monday, but the team insist that is merely a stepping stone for next season.

"This is in no way a proper test session and looking at the stopwatch will not be on the agenda - there will be plenty of time for that in 2010, when, alongside Fernando Alonso, he will begin development work of the new single-seater," read a statement on the team's oficial Web site www.ferrari.com.

Ferrari did reveal that a medical check up that Massa underwent in Paris last Friday proved "rather positive" but emphasized it did not signal a dream return.

"Felipe and the team want to proceed gradually and without any hurry to recover as well as possible from the effects of the accident that happened in Budapest back on 25th July.

"Therefore talk of a proper return to Formula One can wait until the start of the 2010 season and only at that time will the medical checks be carried out, as required by the FIA in order to allow someone who has been injured to return to racing."

Giancarlo Fisichella will continue to deputize for Massa for the remaining two races of the season in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, driving alongside Kimi Raikkonen of Finland.

Raikkonen is leaving the team at the end of the season to be replaced by two-time world champion Alonso, who will carry Ferrari's hopes for 2010 alongside 2008 title runner-up Massa.

The 28-year-old Massa was hit in the head by a spring which fell from the Brawn GP car of fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello.

There were fears for his life in the immediate aftermath of the horror crash as he lay in an induced for coma in a military hospital in Budapest.

Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher was slated to replace him in a sensational return to Formula One, but the German superstar had to cut short his comeback due to a neck injury.

Test driver Luca Badoer proved a below-par replacement and Fisichella, who will stay at the Ferrari next season as the reserve driver, jumped ship from Force India for the drive.

SOURSE:edition.cnn.com

The real Brett Favre steakhouse?

While in Green Bay, I was puzzled and fascinated by something.
Brett Favre is a part owner in Brett Favre's Steakhouse. Yet, the night before games -- usually Saturdays -- Deanna Favre and her family ate at a competing steakhouse called Prime Quarters.
Now keep something in mind. This isn't like the Twin Cities, where there are at least a half 10 premium steakhouses. I can think of at least six off the top: Manny's (mmm), Morton's (mmm), the Capital Grille (mmm), Murray's, Ruth's Chris (mmm) and Wildfire (mmm).
But in Green Bay (population 100,000) there are far fewer options. I would venture to say these are two of the top three.
Yet Heather Klug, a manager at Prime Quarters, proudly told me that Deanna had a "standing reservation" for his her family on Saturday nights.
"We absolutely adore her," Klug said of Deanna Favre.
Remarkably, Mohammed Heddaoui, the general manager of Brett Favre's Steakhouse, confirmed that Deanna and her family did, in fact, regularly dine at Prime Quarters.
"But Brett didn't," Heddaoui said. "He would come here."
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How many sacks for Jared Allen tonight

I’m setting the over/under on the number of sacks Vikings’ defensive end Jared Allen will have on Aaron Rodgers tonight at 2.5.
Any takers?
Allen is due for a monster night as Green Bay left tackle Chad Clifton is expected to miss his second game tonight following an ankle injury he suffered in a Week 2 loss to the Bengals.
The Packers’ offensive line has resembled a revolving door this season, allowing 12 sacks in the first three games. In their loss to Cincinnati, Green Bay made defensive end Antwan Odom look like a cross between Reggie White and Kevin Greene as he brought down Rodgers five times.
Rodgers is a fine quarterback, but his offensive line is going to get him killed if they don’t start protecting him. Considering Ryan Grant won’t find much running room against the Williams Wall tonight, it would be in Green Bay’s best interest to max-protect Rodgers the entire night. The Giants use a similar method on weekly basis with Eli Manning and he seems to do just fine.
The Packers need to help Daryn Colledge out, because he’ll see the brunt of the work against Allen. Lining up a tight end to Allen’s side would make sense, although Green Bay might also need set up a military-based obstacle course in between him and Rodgers just to be safe.read more

Chargers vs Steelers: The Rematch

In 2008, the Chargers were 0-2 against the Steelers. In the regular season last year, the Chargers lost a tight one by the score of 11-10, a game that was really no where near as close as that score indicated. After the Chargers were lucky enough to make it into the postseason, they took an early lead against the Steelers in the divisional round of the playoffs but couldn't keep their offense in check, losing 35-24. In case you missed it, the Steelers went on to win the Super Bowl.

So how are the Bolts going to do against the Steelers on Sunday night? I am a big believer that you can learn a lot from history, and history tells us a lot about these important factors for the Chargers-Steelers rematch:

1. The Chargers can throw against the Steelers. In last years playoff loss, Philip Rivers threw for over 300-yards, and that was against a defense that still featured Troy Polamalu.

2. The Chargers struggles running the ball hurt them last year, and their current struggles aren't going to help this situation at all (the Steelers are giving up 76-yards rushing per game, and even that would be an improvement for the Bolts). They have to find some running room for LT and Darren Sproles.read more

Detroit at Chicago, 1 p.m.

UPDATE

: Detroit running back Kevin Smith is active today against the Bears. Smith will start, but look for the Lions to attempt to lighten the load by giving some carries to Maurice Morris.
Lions' RB Kevin Smith was injured in the Lions' win last week, and will be a game-time decision, according to head coach Jim Schwartz. Maurice Morris got every carry and scored a touchdown after Smith went out last week.

For Chicago, RB Matt Forte -- who injured his knee last week but didn't miss any time -- is listed as probable and will almost certainly play. He practiced fully on Thursday and Friday. Linebacker Lance Briggs was limited in practice all week but is listed as probable
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Ravens Left Tackle Jared Gaither Taken off the Field on a Stretcher

Baltimore left tackle

Jared Gaither has movement in both arms and legs after being taken off the field on a stretcher.

Gaither was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital for tests on his neck and shoulder Sunday after a collision in the backfield midway through the second quarter of the Ravens game with the New England Patriots.

The 6-foot-9, 340-pound Gaither was dropping back as he blocked right defensive end Jarvis Green. Meanwhile, defensive end Ty Warren rushed quarterback Joe Flacco from the other side and shoved Flacco into Gaither’s back after Flacco released a short incomplete pass toward Willis McGahee.
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Hardbat Classic on ESPN September 27

Watch now:

Apoel Nicosia 0 - 1 Chelsea

Chelsea made harder work than necessary of a second Champions League Group D win as they beat Apoel Nicosia.

Nicolas Anelka steered home a precise angled strike just inside the far post to open the scoring.

Chelsea were in control but nearly paid the price for not adding to their lead when Savvas Poursaetides' deflected shot was saved by Petr Cech's legs.

Constantinos Charalambides also headed a far post header agonisingly high late on for Apoel as Chelsea held on.

It ended in unconvincing fashion for the visitors as it seemed they let complacency get the better of them.

They were far superior to their Cypriot rivals but - after their domination of the first half - stepped off the gas and almost gave the vociferous home fans an unlikely cause for celebration.read more

Sharapova through as seeds tumble

Former world number one Maria Sharapova showed the seeded players the way with a superb win at the Pan Pacific Open as more big names fell by the wayside.

The Russian, unseeded as she makes her way back after injury, thrashed Sam Stosur 6-0 6-1 to reach the last 16.

Earlier, third seed Elena Dementieva went down 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-1 to Kateryna Bondarenko in Tokyo.

And there was more bad news for tournament organisers when Caroline Wozniacki retired through illness.

The Danish fourth seed, who finished runner-up at the US Open earlier this month, trailed Aleksandra Wozniak 5-0 when she withdrew.

Top seeds Dinara Safina and Venus Williams, along with fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, lost on day one and the tournament has been decimated of its leading players.
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Aussies suffer Clarke injury blow

Australia's Michael Clarke will miss the rest of the ICC Champions Trophy after failing to recover from a lower back problem he picked up in England.

Vice-captain Clarke, 28, sustained the injury during Australia's 6-1 one-day series win over England in September.

Cricket Australia physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said: "On arriving in South Africa the pain has intensified and he has not participated in any training.

"He will not be able to take any part in the remainder of this series."

Clarke is the second Australian to depart the squad after seamer Nathan Bracken was ruled out last week with a knee injury - Doug Bollinger was drafted in as replacement.

Clarke topped the Test batting averages for Australia in their 2-1 Ashes defeat by England this summer, scoring 448 runs at 64.0 in eight innings.
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Australia-India match washed out

India are still in with a chance of reaching the Champions Trophy semi-finals after their match with Australia was abandoned because of rain.

Half centuries for Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey had propelled the Aussies to 234-4 after 42.3 overs, and within sight of a big total in Pretoria.

However, having threatened all day, the expected rain storm arrived and play was called off at 1840 local time.

India now have to beat West Indies on Wednesday if they hope to progress.

With Pakistan already into the last four with two wins from two games, India have one point and Australia three.

That means Mahendra Dhoni's men must beat the Windies convincingly and hope Pakistan see off Australia in Wednesday's other match.read more

Man City 3 - 1 West Ham

Manchester City moved to within three points of the league leaders as two goals from former West Ham hero Carlos Tevez helped overcome the Hammers.

Tevez side-footed home Martin Petrov's cross from six yards out but Carlton Cole levelled with a neat back-heel.

Petrov, making his first league start of the season, curled a low, 25-yard free-kick into the corner of the net.

Tevez's header from Craig Bellamy's free-kick sealed victory and secured City's best league start since 1961.

The win moved City up to fifth in the Premier League, level on points with fourth-placed Tottenham and third-placed Liverpool and three points behind joint leaders Manchester United and Chelsea.

West Ham remain without a win in five matches and languishing in the bottom three.

City started brightly and could have been three goals up inside 15 minutes.

They had to settle for only one and it came after five minutes through Tevez, the former Hammers' favourite who helped lead the Londoners to Premier League survival in 2007.

Bulgarian winger Petrov found space out wide, following Gareth Barry's flick-on, and squared it to the unmarked Argentine, who from six yards out side-footed into the roof of the net for his first league goal of the season.read more

Ball State University creates three new entities to foster commercialization

The Board of Trustees at Ball State University in Muncie, IN, has authorized the creation of three corporations to develop, license, and commercialize IP, inventions, and technology. They include non-profit Ball State Innovation Corp., which will own the IP; Ball State Holdings LLC, which will make loans to and/or equity investments in commercialization ventures; and Innovative Management Services, a for-profit corporation to provide management services. BSU President Jo Ann Gora cites the generation of software developed by the Teachers College, as well as possibilities in emerging media, as examples of commercialization opportunities. BSU, the inventor, the inventor’s department at the university, and the legal entities established to oversee the program would share royalties, according to provost Terry King. The corporations will provide inventors with executive leadership, marketing expertise, financial controls, and other assistance. The university hopes the corporations will boost the economy; attract and retain research-oriented faculty, staff, and students; motivate innovation; and enhance Ball State’s reputation.read more

Burden on Tebow's shoulders heavier than ever

Raise your hand in Gator Country if you’ve seen this before.

Watching Florida’s offense in last Saturday’s 23-13 harder-than-expected victory over Tennessee was eerily reminiscent of the 2007 season when just about everything fell on Tim Tebow’s shoulders.

Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE
The Gators have been heavily relying on Tim Tebow this season, perhaps too much.
Tebow, or Superman as Lane Kiffin calls him, has wide shoulders. He’s proven time and time again that he can shoulder just about anything you want to give him.

But that’s not the point.

The point is: Can the Gators win another BCS national championship being so Tebow-centered and not getting more from their skill plays, especially their receivers?
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Nittany Lions Host Iowa in Big Ten Opener

Penn State opens its 17th season of Big Ten competition, hosting unbeaten Iowa in a nationally-televised primetime clash.

All Nittany Lion fans are encouraged to wear white to the game to create the Whitehouse.

ABC will televise the clash to a national audience The Penn State Sports Network, Westwood One and GoPsusports.com also will air the game.

ESPN''s College GameDay Built by the Home Depot will originate from Penn State Saturday from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend the show, which will take place near the Bryce Jordan Center. An interview with Joe Paterno will be featured on GameDay.

Penn State (3-0) has a 43-11 record since the start of the 2005 season, the nation's ninth-best record over that span. The No. 5/4 Nittany Lions have won 30 of their last 32 games in Beaver Stadium. read more

No. 1 Women's Volleyball Unfazed by No. 15 Illinois

No. 1 Penn State women's volleyball team overpowered No. 15 Illinois Saturday night for a 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-17) victory. The Nittany Lions have extended their Big Ten winning streak to 47 matches, just two matches short of their record 49 from 1997-1999.

The Nitttany Lions (14-0, 2-0 Big Ten) were led by freshman Darcy Dorton (Muncie, Ind.) with 14 kills, while junior Arielle Wilson (Broadview, Ill.) posted 13 kills on a team-best .750 hitting. Four players registered double-digit digs, including senior Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) and junior Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) with 11 apiece and senior Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) and junior Cathy Quilico (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) with 10 each. Hodge was the third Nittany Lion with double-digit kills, finishing the night with 12.

The Nittany Lions recorded 48 kills, 45 digs and 7.0 team blocks, while Illinois (9-2, 1-1 Big Ten) had 30 kills, 29 digs and just 3.0 team blocks. read more

UGA vs. ASU: A Pre-Game Overview

The Sun Devils travel to Athens, Georgia for their first non-conference road game since 2006. The last two non Pac-10 road games have been successful for ASU (wins at Northwestern and Colorado), but this trip should be much more of a challenge. Arizona State comes into this game untested after beating Idaho State and UL Monroe at Sun Devil Stadium. However, those two cupcakes were a necessity; it has allowed QB Danny Sullivan to gain some confidence, and coach Dennis Erickson seems to have settled on a running back rotation. Georgia lost their opener at Oklahoma State, but rebounded to win SEC shootouts against South Carolina and Arkansas. The Bulldog offense has not missed a beat despite losing NFL first round draft choices QB Matthew Stafford and RB Knowshon Moreno. Both teams also have significant injuries to deal with; Georgia will be without starting LT Trinton Sturdivant for the season with a knee injury, and ASU will be missing K Thomas Weber for about four to six weeks with a leg injury. Georgia dominated the Devils 27-10 last year in the first leg of this home and home series. ASU will be trying to garner some national recognition and UGA tries to show that they can compete in the loaded SEC.
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Washington State may be perfect tonic for Trojans

USC, attempting to bounce back from its loss at Washington, is a 45 1/2 -point favorite against Washington State, which last week defeated Southern Methodist in overtime. Times staff writer Gary Klein looks at some of the game's key issues and matchups:

Barkley back

USC Coach Pete Carroll gets what he wanted last week at Washington: Matt Barkley starting again at quarterback.

Barkley said this week that the bone bruise in his right shoulder was still causing pain when he threw passes. He made mostly soft throws during practices, but with only a walkthrough on Friday and a late start tonight, perhaps he will be closer to full strength.read more

Remember the Titans

It’s amazing what a difference a year can make in the NFL.

The Dolphins shocked the league last year by going 11–5 and making the playoffs as the AFC East champion just a season removed from a 1–15 campaign.

But as quickly as a team’s stock can rise in one season, it can also fall.

Just ask the Tennessee Titans.

After surprising their league in their own right by opening last season 10–0, the Titans finished the season at 13–3, winner of the AFC South, and the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
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