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Princess Anne of Great Britain received the Olympic flame during ceremony in Athens

Posted by foxcrawl at 2:08 am No Responses »

May 182012

Greek Olympic Committee President Spyros Capralos takes the Olympic torch. Photo: AFP

The Olympic Flame was handed over to Princess Anne who is part of the British Organizing Committee of the 2012 London Olympics. The handover took place in Athens on Thursday (17 May 2012) during an official ceremony and in the presence of David Beckham, informs AFP.

Dressed in a white suit, Princess Anne, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, received the torch from the Greek Olympic Committee President, Spyros Capralos, at the Panathenaic Stadium -same stadium that hosted the first modern Games in 1896.

Besides Princess Anne, the event gathered dozens celebrities such as the President of the Organising Committee, Sebastian Coe, London mayor, Boris Johnson, and David Beckham.

The Princess and Beckham were cheered by the public as they made their appearance on the arena, in the rain. At the beginning of the ceremony the rain stopped and a rainbow appeared.

Spyros Capralos to hand the Olympic flame to Princess Royal Anne (Great Britain)

Lit on 10 May at Olympia, according to a tradition dating since the 1936 edition of the Olympics, the flame was carried on its last meters by the Greek weightlifting Olympic champion, Pyrros Dimas, and the gold medalist in gymnastics, Li Ning (China).

The flame was delivered to the British organizers after a short choreography featuring the ancient style of the Greek “priestesses” covered in cream-colored tunics.

The Olympic flame will leave Athens on Friday with a plane heading to the military base Culdrose, in Cornwall.

As of Saturday, 8,000 runners, most of them younger than 25, will carry the torch over a distance of 12,875 kilometers throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, a journey to take 70 days.

The trip is due to end at the Olympic Stadium in London on July 27, 2012 when the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games will take place.

Official Delegation: Spyros Capralos, Boris Johnson, Princess Anne, David Beckham, Lord Coe and Hugh Robertson. Credit: The Sun

Champion without hands and feet! Philippe Croizon swam from Papua New Guinea to Indonesia

Posted by foxcrawl at 5:41 pm No Responses »

May 172012

A Frenchman athlete who lost his limbs (hands and feet) in an accident many years ago, managed to swim from Papua New Guinea to Indonesia. This was the first episode of an incredible challenge: Philippe Croizon wants to swim between five continents. (scroll down for photo)

Croizon, who is known as the first quadruple amputee to swim across the English Channel, uses prostheses and fins attached to them. He succeeded in swimming the 20 kilometers range between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia in seven and a half hours. He was accompanied by a swimmer specialized in long distance races, Arnaud Chassery and a local.

“It was very, very hard. It took us one and a half hours more than we expected because we had to swim against the current,” Croizon told the BBC.

Croizon lost his legs and hands 18 years ago, after an accident suffered while trying to fix a TV antenna on a roof. The man was electrocuted under 20,000 volts and almost certainly died if an electric shock would not have sparked a few moments after the first, bringing him back to life.

French swimmer and qudruple amputee Philippe Croizon swap 20 km from Papua New Guinea to Indonesia. Photo: realitatea.net

Roger Federer wins record Masters 1000 final on Madrid's blue clay

Posted by foxcrawl at 12:11 am No Responses »

May 142012

Roger Federer set record-equalling 20 ATP Masters title after defeating Tomas Berdych in 2012 Madrid tournament final

Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, third seed, won the Madrid Masters 1000 crown by beating Czech tennisman Tomas Berdych, 6th seed, in the final after three sets 3-6, 7-5, 7-5.

Thus, Federer claimed his third title in Madrid following his 2006 and 2009 successes.

Furthermore the 30-year-old Swiss levelled the Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the Masters rankings by setting a record-equalling 20 ATP World Tour Masters 1000.

The latest victory allows him to regain the second place in the ATP ranking, by replacing Nadal. Federer has not occupied this position since March 2011.

Federer proved a good performance in 2012 as he won the four finals played this year, Rotterdam, Dubai, Indian Wells and Madrid.

Romania to win most medals at European Championship Women Artistic Gymnastics 2012. Catalina Ponor and Larisa Iordache, queens in Brussels

Posted by foxcrawl at 5:17 pm 2 Responses »

May 132012

The apparatus finals of the 29th edition of the European Women’s Artistic Gymnastics took place today (13 May 2012) in Begium’s capital of Brussels.

After winning the continental title with the team, Romanian gymnast Catalina Ponor grabbed the third gold medal for her country as she claimed the balance beam.

The silver medal on the same apparatus was claimed by another Romanian gymnast, Larisa Iordache, while the podium was completed by British Hannah Whelan (bronze).

Romanian gymnast Catalina Ponor to win balance beam gold title in Brussels on May 13, 2012. Photo:exclusivenews.ro

Interestingly, the final of the floor exercise saw the same two Romanians topping the podium but in a reverse way: Iordache-gold and Ponor-silver.

The beam final was one of the most difficult with contestants giving way to their emotions. Thus, excepting the three medalists, all competing gymnasts experienced big mistakes which kick them off the race for medals.

Larisa Iordache opened the final with a difficult exercise, performed steadily, which earned her 15.133 points that sent her to the top until the performance of her country fellow Catalina Ponor who was the last to enter the scene.

The floor exercise saw Larisa Iordache claiming the gold, followed by fellow Catalina Ponor. Credit:france24.com

Ponor, a Triple Olympic champion in Athens, received now 15,200 points on the beam and won the fourth European title of her career.

Hannah Whelan British ranked 3, with a score of 14.333.

For Romania, it was the forth gold medal on the Brussels events [team, Sandra Izbasa (vault), Catalina Ponor (beam), Larisa Iordache (floor exercise)].

Beam final ranking: 1.Cătălina Ponor (Romania) 15.200; 2.Larisa Iordache (Romania) 15.133; 3.Hannah Whelan (United Kingdom) 14,333; 4.Anastasia Grishina (Russia) 14.066; 5.Youna Dufournet (France) 13.366; 6.Viktoria Komova (Russia) 13.100; 7.Vasiliki Millousi (Greece) 12.900; 8.Valeriia Maksiuta (Israel) 12.066

Romanian gymnasts won the gold medal after team contest in Brussels, 12 May 2012. Photo: mediafax.ro

Galatasaray claims the 18th title in Turkish football league

Posted by foxcrawl at 4:43 am No Responses »

May 132012

Galatasaray won for the 18th time the Turkish league on Saturday after a drew game away, score 0-0, with their greatest rival Fenerbahce, and the triumph was followed by violence between teams’ supporters.

Galatasaray, which last won the national title in 2008, ended the season with just a point ahead Fenerbahce. The two teams have both 18 league titles in their records.

Galatasaray winning of the championship led to violence between supporters, many policemen intervened in the stadium with tear gas and water cannons to calm down the fans.

Saturday afternoon, three Fenerbahce fans were injured during the conflicts with rivals from Galatasaray and another person was injured in an incident involving greek fans who came to Istanbul to attend the Euroleague basketball final.

VIDEO: Chaos in Germany: FC Köln fans set stadium on fire

Posted by foxcrawl at 6:16 pm No Responses »

May 062012

FC Köln was defeated 4-1 in the home football match against Bayern Munich. That would not be something unusual but the score resulted in a series of incredible incidents (scroll down for video and photo).

The game between the two temas ended just before the end of the 90 minutes of official play because the furious fans of the hosts set the stadium ablaze and invaded the field.

It was a harsh moment for Cologne’s soccer supporters who were extremely unhappy that their favorites were relegated to the second league after this result.

The German police forces needed a few tens of minutes to calm spirits at the Koeln Arena.

Video: FC Koln fans spark flames during game against Bayern Munchen, then storm pitch

Dense, thick smoke raises from Cologne Stadium after upset FC Koeln fans ignite fire, storm pitch. Photo: Reuters

Videohighlights: Mayweather beats, devastates Cotto

Posted by foxcrawl at 4:14 pm No Responses »

May 062012

Here Cotto is punched by Mayweather Jr. who lifted the super welterweight belt shortly before heading to prison. Photo:AP

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is unstoppable. He won the tough 12-round fight against Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico to claim the World Boxing Association super welterweight at MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas on Saturday night (5/5/2012). Bleading Mayweather admitted that it was the most difficult bout of his career as he told Cotto: “You are a hell of a champion. You’re the toughest guy I ever fought” (scroll down for videos).

After being just one step away from clashing with one another at the official weigh, Mayweather and Cotto finally met in the ring.

The jury unanimously voted for Mayweather by delivering the scores of 117-111, 118-110 and 117-111 in his favor.

With a guaranteed $32 million bonus, Mayweather was thus able to collect at the end of this fight $60 million, which included all the televised rights (pay per view). The previous record was held by Holyfield, who took 35 million dollars after his boxing match with Mike Tyson.

It looks like Floyd got enough bucks before going to prison where he spends his time this summer. As of June 1, Mayweather is constrained to serve an 87-day jail sentence after being convicted for domestic violence against his girlfriend in 2010.

Now it is obvious that Floyd increasingly seeks a bout against the dreadful boxer Manny Pacquiao in order to finally decide who is the king of the ring. To note that Pacquiao (Pacman) defeated Cotto quite easy during their 2009 match.

The video of the Super Welterweight Championship bout between Mayweather Jr. and Miguel Cotto went viral over the internet.

Highlights: Mayweather – Cotto, super welterweight boxing title 5 May 2012

Video: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Miguel Cotto weigh

Video: Fiorentina coach beats player Adem Ljajici

Posted by foxcrawl at 11:12 pm No Responses »

May 032012

Adem Ljajic aggressed by trainer Delio Rossi on Fiorentina's staff bench

The Italian football championship revealed shocking and wild fighting scenes during the match between Fiorentin and Novara (2-2). Video footage (scroll down) shows how the coach of the host team, Delio Rossi applied several punches to his own player, Serbian striker Adem Ljajic who ironically applauded his replacement in the 30th minute of the match.

Nervous and unhappy with the evolution of his team which was led 2-0 after half an hour, Delio Rossi made a move by substituting the Serb player with Olivera.

Feeling his ego touched, Ljajic could not mask his frustration and replied to the coach with ironic applause and a thumbs up. The provocative gestures turned out to be quite painful for Ljajic who had part of an unexpected payback.

Effectively out of his mind, Rossi jumped over Ljajic and puched him repeatedly that it was needed the intervention of the other bench officials to separate them. Hard to imagine such things to happen at such a high professional level! Fiorentina showed a strong comeback in the second half when Montolivo scored twice and the clash finished with a draw: 2-2. But the world of football was indeed shocked by the horrible image from the 32nd minute.

Fiorentina management boadrd decided to sack Delio Rossi after leaving unpardonable violent outburst against Ljajic. Vincenzo Guerini is the new coach of Viola squad.

Video: Delio Rossi punches, beats Adem Ljajić during Fiorentina-Novara 2-2

Bobby Petrino and Jessica Dorrell motorcycle crash: Razorbacks coach dismissed with paid leave

Posted by foxcrawl at 3:45 pm No Responses »

Apr 062012

The image of Arkansas Razorback coach Bobby Petrino was seriously damaged after he had been involved in a motorcycle accident along with a female passenger named Jessica Dorrell (scroll down for pictures and video).

The Razorbacks trainer was places on paid administrative leave on Thursday night at short time after team’s boss, athletic director Jeff Long, heard that Petrino had failed to reveal he had been riding with a female employee half his age when his motorbike skidded off the road last weekend.

Petrino instead came up with a motive for hidding the truth: to protest his family and keep an “inappropriate relationship from becoming public.”

I will fully cooperate with the university throughout this process and my hope is to repair my relationships with my family, my athletic director, the Razorback Nation and remain the head coach of the Razorbacks,” he said in a statement issued by the university.

Bobby Petrino giving an accident-related news conference on Tuesday in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (AP Photo)

Jeff Long disclosed that he had no idea about the involvement of an passenger – former Arkansas volleyball player and current football program employee Jessica Dorrell, 25 – before 51-year-old Petrino phone him Thursday afternoon, just minutes before a police report leaked to the public and unveiled Dorrell’s existence at the accident spot.

Video: Bobby Petrino on paid leave after motorcycle crash with Jessica Dorrell

Petrino has meanwhile been replaced with ssistant head coach Taver Johnson. Long is now carrying out an investigation which might lead to Petrino’s suspension or even his layoff.

Petrino, a married guy and father of 4, didn’t say he had a passenger during a press interview on Tuesday, 2 days after Sunday’s crash. Furthermore a school statement quoted Petrino’s family as saying “no other individuals” were involved. Petrino said then that he had spent Sunday with his wife, Becky, at a lake and was going for an evening ride. His only mention of Dorrell was vague, and without identification.

Arkansas athletic department staffer Jessica Dorrell was joining Petrino when motorcycle crash occured

Jessica Dorrell was employed on March 28 by Petrino as the student-athlete development coordinator after serving as a fundraiser with the Razorback Foundation. She is responsible with the recruiting procedures for the football team, including initial eligibility for each incoming player.

According to police, Petrino was speeding with Dorrell when he lost control of his motorcycle. Dorrell revealed she had no idea what might have caused the crash during which Petrino was unable to take a turn and laid the motorcycle down on its left side while sliding off a countryside, 2-lane highway about 32 kilometers southeast of Fayetteville. Source: espn.go.com

Brittney Griner remains at Baylor; her gender questioned

Posted by foxcrawl at 2:11 am No Responses »

Apr 062012

Brittney Griner firmly stipulated that irrespective of Tuesday victory in the NCAA championship game against Notre Dame, she will be back to Baylor for her senior season.

To remind here that Griner and Baylor defeated Notre Dame 80-61 and thus managed a great perfomance claiming the NCAA title and becoming the first team to finish a 40-0 season.

The 6-foot-8 star wishes to remain in school in order to get her general studies diploma in recreation.
During a press interview Griner said: “I’m staying, I made a commitment,” Griner said. “I’m going to stay here until my time’s up, so all the speculations of me leaving early are false.”

Brittney Griner and her team Baylor claimed the NCAA trophy after beating Notre Dame 80-61

Apparently coach Kim Mulkey was extremely happy with player’s declarations therefore he asked her to say it one more time “a little louder so everyone could hear.”

That was the sporting part. Now moving a little to the personal side, Griner is seen as a sympathetic lady with nice smile and seen as a good representative for her team and university. However the fact that the star features a 6 feet 8 height, size 17 feet and a low pitched voice, were enough for gossipers to wonder about the “real gender” of the 21-year-old student. Those who thought about something like that apparently has part of a backlash and you can read more here.