Sprinboks Beat All Blacks Again

For the second straight week South Africa has beaten New Zealand. The final score this time was 31-19. Even though the score line was similar to the one last week, the gameplay was much different. The Springboks dominated quite simply. They put the All Blacks under pressure from the start. They were swarming on defense and took advantage of every mistake from New Zealand. And there were a lot of mistakes! A whole lot! New Zealand compiled a massive amount of handling errors and penalties. The Springboks only scored one try, but converted eight penalties. New Zealand took an early 10-3 lead after a try by Issac Ross, who would later see himself go to the sin bin. Also, two Springboks went into the sin bin at different points, but it did not matter. After the All Black try, South Africa took over. They scored a try from before the end of the half after they stole the All Black lineout. Then the All Blacks committed an incredibly stupid penalty right before the half, which allowed South Africa to take a 22-13 lead. The All Blacks were able to get with in six twice in the second half. However, the Springboks continued to respond with penalties and extended their lead to 12 points and took the victory. New Zealand looked incredibly average during the game. It looked like the were badly inferior to South Africa. The Springboks now have a great chance at winning the tri nations.

Dynamo Moscow Upsets Celtic

Dynamo Moscow pulled a shock yesterday when the upset the Scottish giant, Celtic. The match finished 1-0 in favor of the Russians. The goal came after just seven minutes and was scored by Alex Kokorin. Dynamo got off to a blistering start as the Russian star, Alex Kerzhakov created all kinds of problems down the left. Kerzhakov sprinted down the left and sent in a low cross to Kokorin, who got the slightest of touches, but it was enough to divert it into the net. It was a crucial away goal for Dynamo. They continued their impressive start for the next 20 some minutes and created several chances. Then, the game completely changed. Celtic took over and would create an enormous amount of chances. Marc-Antoine Fortune, had a day to forget. He missed two absolute sitters in the first half. Celtic were also denied by some great goalkeeping from Anton Shunin. In the second half Celtic continued to pile on the pressure. But it was to no avail. The best chance came when Georgie Samaras had a point blank header saved by the Moscow keeper. Dynamo are now firmly in control, as all they need is a tie at home to advance. The result also shows the continued improvement of Russian clubs in European competition. 

City Revolution

Manchester City has been in the shadow of Manchester United throughout their history. For years they have put their dedicated followers through torture, almost always ending the season in disappointment. That is about to change. City have recently been bought by trillionaire owner, Sheik Nahyan. City are going to spend so much money that it will make the stimulus package look like a tap in the bucket. The spending in fact has already begun. City have already brought in Robinho, Tevez, and Adebayor. That is a lethal strike force, one of the best in the world. Today, they signed Kolo Toure, to give them some much needed defense. They are still a little bit weak in the back, but with the money they have they can address that problem. Or any problem that may come across them. It probably won't be long before the elite clubs start calling for a salary cap, as they will not be able to keep up with City. They still probably don't have enough to win the title this year, but it won't belong before they will start adding silverware to their trophy cabinet. 

Pittsburgh Pirates Are a Joke

Their is no team in American sports who frustrate their fans like the Pittsburgh Pirates. Not even the Clippers. For the older Pirate fans, I know they had some great teams in the seventies and took a couple of championships. In the past 17 years they have turned into an absolute mockery of a franchise. After the Pirates suffered a bitter defeat to the Braves in the 1992 NLCS, they have never been remotely close to making the playoffs. They lost their star Barry Bonds, who went on to become the homerun king. It is not just the loss of Bonds which makes them a joke. Its the fact that any talent that comes across the Pirates will indisputably be traded. First it was Xavier Nady. Then Jason Bay. This year though has been ridiculous. The Pirates got rid of another very promising talent in Nate McClouth. Then after the Pirates brought up Andrew McCutchen. Who gave them an explosive top of the lineup being paired with Nyjer Morgan. The Pirates though, promptly gave away Morgan for a bust minor league player. The Pirates then gave away another good player in Adam LaRouche. Now they are rumored to give away what little remaining talent they have Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson. What are the Pirates trying to do? Does their ownership have any interest in winning? It appears that they have none whatsoever. The Pirates ownership are not willing to spend anything to keep their talent. They only are interested in selling their players to make money. For the Pirates players that give it their all and for the long suffering fans I have a ton of sympathy for them. They are basically supporting a lost cause and they know it. That is because the root of the problem comes from the top.

Crucial Series for the Astros

The Houston Astros enter their 4-game series against the Cubs, just two out of first place. It is quite a remarkable turn around for a team who was one of the worst in baseball at the start of the year. They were able to get the Cardinals lead down to one game, after they swept them last Thrusday. However, they lost ground this weekend on the now first place Chicago Cubs, after losing two out of three at home to the Mets. The Astros can fall out of this race just as quickly as they got back into it. If they only take one or none in this series they will lose more ground and the Cubs will have a lot of momentum. It is vital to the Astros season that they show they can compete with the best teams in the Central and take at least two games in Chicago. If they can do this they will be able to stay right in the race. Luckily for Houston, their two star pitchers Oswalt and Rodriguez will be pitching during the series. That will give them a much better chance of getting at least a split.

Contador

Alberto Contador took his second Tour de France championship for the second time in three years. Contador clearly deserved the victory. Stage 15 was where Contador really made his mark. This was the stage that had the climb on Verbier. Contador was simply brilliant at this stage. He accelerated on the mountains like no other rider could. That was Contador's first stage win and he also took the yellow jersey then. He would not relinquish it after that. Contador would win the stage 18 time trial. Those would be the only two stages he would win, but that would be more than enough. The next closest rider was Andy Schleck, who finished four minutes and eleven seconds behind. Lance Armstrong gave a very strong showing, as he finished third overall. Armstrong finished five minutes and twenty four seconds back. Next year, Contador and Armstrong will be on separate teams and will be expected to challenge each other for the title next year.