Vive le Tour!!!

This is undoubtedly one of my favourite moments of the sporting calendar, non other than the start of the 2011 Tour de France. The race officially begins with, quite unusually, a normal road stage in the Vendee, as shown by the video of the route above. This really promises to be a great tour, and there are many contenders who could potentially win.

For the overall classification, the main duel has got to be between Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck. Contador blew everybody away in the Giro, but it has to be said firstly that Schleck wasn't participating and that secondly, the person who finished second, Michele Scarponi is not an exceptional rider. It really wasn't a surprise that Contador won by such a margin.

Schleck on the other hand really focused on the Classics (Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Fleche Wallone etc...) but to no avail: he didn't win any and he came up against a phenomenal Phillipe Gilbert who won everything. So who's going to win? Let me surprise some people and say Andy Schleck. Contador is tired, he's already done a Giro where he's put a lot of effort in, whereas Schleck has really been training hard for the Tour. Schleck will be fresher, and the gap between them has been closing every year. I think this could finally be the year when we see the end of the Contador dominance on the Tour.

The other classifications are also quite open. The green jersey this year is easier for pure sprinters to win, so Mark Cavendish is obviously the favourite, however Thor Hushovd can still win it, especially if he goes and wins intermediate sprints. It will be interesting to see, and we also cannot forget other sprinters, such as Petacchi or Farrar. But I really think that seeing as this jersey has become more a sprinters jersey than last year, the Manx missile should win if he wins many stages.

I like the best climbers jersey because it is always so open. You can get unknown people winning it, because it's just a question of crossing the top of the climbs first. Last year for example, we had a decent, but reasonably unknown French rider win it (Anthony Charteau), which was really nice to see.

Finally, the best young riders jersey I think could maybe be won by somebody like Roman Kreuziger, but again, it is quite open and Schleck is now over 25 and so is ineligible to win it.

Personally, I will be supporting Mark Cavendish all the way though, and I hope that he wins many stages. Also, it's worth mentioning that there is not a shortage of mountain stages this year, with finishes at the Galibier and the Alpe d'Huez, which will be very exciting.

Who is the Best All-Round Footballer?

This question would be an easy one if the word all-round wasn't in the title: Lionel Messi. However the fact is that Lionel Messi is not an all round player. He's a brilliant playmaker, and has phenomenal skills, but ultimately, he wouldn't be able to play alone up front for example. An all-round player would have the build and brain necessary to be able to play in all outfield positions. So, who are some candidates?

The very first one that springs to mind is Cristiano Ronaldo. He is considered by many the best in the world full stop, even better than Messi (I don't think that) and he really is a very versatile player. He's tall (1.86m), has skills and can also shoot brilliantly well. He can score and he can easily play alone up front, even though it isn'y his preferred position.

Another possible contender is Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He is very tall (almost 2 meters), yet his dribbling and skills are phenomenal. I reckon that he could play anywhere from defence, to attack, regardless of position. He's got incredible technique for somebody of his size and shape, and some of his tricks are better than average sized players. He can also take free kicks pretty well, as well as, potentially, corners.

The other person who is a great all round player is none other than Diego Forlan. He can be deployed as both playmaker and lone striker, and also potentially in central midfield. He can shoot, pass, basically do everything. The Golden Ball he won at the World Cup shows this.

Other mentions go out to Robin Van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba, who are all also really versatile. Who do you think is the best all round player?? Leave a comment or tweet.

Flippo Inzaghi: The Fox

Filippo Inzaghi is easily one of my favourite football players and probably my favourite AC Milan player. In my opinion, he is the best goal poacher ever. He seemingly gets completely unmarked without the defender realising to score. Here is a compilation of his goals that I made, so as usual, ENJOY AND COMMENT!!

Songs: Donna Famosa-Fabri Fibra, Don't Speak ( I Came to Make a Bang)- Eagles of Death Metal

Andre Villas-Boas: Chelsea's New Manager

I made a post quite a while back really playing up Andre Villas-Boas. He is a phenomenal manager from what we've seen of him so far and he's definitely got a bright future. And now, he's joined Chelsea. If I'm honest here, I'm quite worried. Not about him joining Chelsea, but more about Arsenal's prospects of winning the Premier League next year, with Man City and Chelsea being the favourites (I think Man Utd will have to rebuild next season after Van der Sar and Scholes retiring).

Villas-Boas I think is the best choice Roman Abramovich could have made. There were many managers out there, including Benitez, who would have potentially worked well with Torres but Villas-Boas, as I said in my original post on Villas-Boas, is the future. He also has the great advantage of having worked at Chelsea before, so he should know the place quite thoroughly.

The one problem Villas-Boas will have though is building a decent squad. I'm sorry, but when you resort to playing an ageing Nicolas Anelka up front along with Salomon Kalou, you know your squad requires some big changes. Even Villas-Boas himself admits that without good players, it would not have been the same story, going as far as saying that he would have been in a "shithole" (for the full interview, which was from a few months ago, see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU409a0XQNA).

Villas-Boas is also great because he speaks fluent English. Other foreign managers might have problems communicating, but Villas-Boas will definitely get the message across and Chelsea will, I think, definitely improve. As an Arsenal fan, I really will be worried when facing Chelsea for the first time.

NBA Draft 2011: A Weak Class?

As all basketball fans know, the NBA draft is coming up on the 23rd of June. The Cleveland Cavaliers have the 1st and 4th picks, the Timberwolves have the 2nd pick and the Jazz (from New Jersey) have the third pick. Kyrie Irving seems to be the top prospect (pictured left), but others such as Enes Kanter (right) also look quite good.

However, many have been saying that compared to other years, this is a really weak draft class. Of course, it depends which year you compare it to. Compare it to the draft class of 2003, it's obviously going to be bad, however if compared with the draft class of 2000, I think it's not too bad.

Cleveland have 2 picks in the top 5, and if I were them, I would aim to get one PG/SG and one PF/C. Their franchise really needs rebuilding from the ground up, and it is a well known fact that with a good point guard and a good center, you franchise should be decent at the the very least. Cleveland have a decent big man in Antawn Jamison, but he has been slightly plagued by injuries this season and he is fast becoming an old player, so they really need to freshen things up.

I think the Timberwolves, who have the number 2 pick overall as mentioned before, have a really bright future ahead. They had the worst record last year, but they have just confirmed the signing of the young Spanish prodigy Ricky Rubio, who they had drafted in 2009. He looks very good, and he could be the person who they now decide to build the franchise around. They can get a good player from this draft, possibly Derrick Williams, and then have a good base of three players coming into next season (Wesley Johnson being the third).

As for this draft being weak, we will have to wait and see. There are quite a wide variety of players out their up for grabs this year, so it will definitely be interesting and I will almost surely watch it.

Inflation in Football: The Solution

Yesterday, I made a post about one of biggest problems in football (or soccer, if you live in the USA): inflation, in other words, the crazy transfer fees being paid at the moment. The solution is very simple: European football has to adopt the system they use in US sports. In the latter, there is a salary cap, so in order to get new players, teams have to get rid of some of their own. How do this affect the actual transfer fees being paid though?

Very simple. The teams will no longer be able to simply buy players for just cash. So they will have to trade their players in order to get new ones, as to not go over the salary cap. Therefore, the clubs will not want to spend millions and millions as they are already losing players which have a certain value. For example, the Jordan Henderson deal using this system would have maybe seen Liverpool giving up Christian Poulsen, Sortiris Kyrgiakos and maybe 1 or 2 millions (this is as long as the salaries would match up).

The other benefit this system offers is for the fans. When your team sells a star player, using, as an example, Andy Carroll minutes for the transfer deadline shuts, it's instant gratification for the team who are losing the star player. Instead of the current situation where Newcastle have to wait until this transfer window to buy a new striker, they would get maybe a few players instantly which would, as I said before, please the fans.

Yet ANOTHER benefit this system would have would be that the void between 1st and last would be much smaller. In the NBA, for example where a salary cap system is used, the void between the champions, the Dallas Mavericks and the worst team, the Minnesota Timberwolves is relatively small compared to say the gap between Man Utd and West Ham in football. There would be much more upsets if a salary cap were to be installed, as when small teams sell their star players, they get players form the big clubs in return.

However, for this system to work properly, it must be Europe wide. They have the system in the MLS, where it works well but in Europe, if they only have it in England, say, all the stars will leave the English clubs and go abroad in search of more money. This system would be so much better than the one that currently dominates European football, and it would also be way better for the fans.

Inflation in Football: It's Getting Ridiculous

Inflation is a widespread economic phenomenon. It really is present everywhere, everyday life, on the stock market, but I think one of the areas where it has been noticed the most in recent years has been football. More and more transfers in these past years have ridiculously overpriced. It's some that some have not, but a lot of the big deals that have gone down have been outrageously inflated.

The first example I will use is the recent transfer of Jordan Henderson to Liverpool of 20 million pounds. My jaw dropped when I saw the amount of money that Liverpool were paying. No disrespect to Jordan Henderson, as he is a decent player, but he is definitely not worth 20 million. He's only been capped once by England, and his goalscoring record isn't the best for a midfield player. Yes he's still young, but I will say this again and gain, there is no way that he is worth 20 million.

Second example: Phil Jones. I feel that this transfer is maybe slightly maybe value for Man Utd than the Jordan Henderson deal was for Liverpool, but Phil Jones is still being way overpriced. He's not even 20 yet, and I'm shocked that a team is willing top take such a gamble. He's agin definitely talented, but that's no reason to be lured into getting ripped off.

I think that these outrageous prices on both Jordan Henderson and Phil Jones have something to do with the fact that young, fresh talent is a hard thing to come by in English football. There are two solutions to this problem though: 1, that you buy more talented young players who are not English and 2, that you require the clubs to have much better youth and development facilities than they have.

However, I do think there is a solution to this problem of inflation in football, as it is not only happening in England but all over Europe. I think I will dedicate my next post to it as it is a bit long to explain just in a paragraph. Stay tuned.

Deron Williams: D-Will (Mix)

Here's another mix I made of another one of my favourite NBA players, Deron Williams. I have done an Andrea Bargnani mix previously, and you can expect more NBA mixes in the future, especially of guys like Lebron James, Demar Derozan, Brook Lopez and of course D-Will and Bargnani, as they are all my favourite players. Anyway, enjoy and comment!!

Song: My Time-Faboulous ft Jeremih

DALLAS CHAMPIONS!!

What a phenomenal team and season they are and have had. The Dallas Mavericks were simply inspiring this season and after a lot of people and written them off, they responded by going to win the championship.The team were brilliant, especially Nowitzki, Terry, Kidd and Marion. They had an old squad and it really was their last chance to win it together. And they took it. Miami on the other hand failed at the last hurdle, which really must have left them totally disappointed and distraught.

Dirk Nowitzki's had another phenomenal season, and he really is one of the all time greats. He works his behind off every moment he possibly can, constantly trying to improve his shooting and all round basketball skills, even though they are already phenomenal. He completely deserved his Finals MVP award: it could not have gone to anyone else.

For the Heat though, as said before, the most most frustrating moment ever. They were close, but no cigar. Lebron is again being accused of not being "clutch" which I don't feel is right. Lebron was Miami's top scorer last night, and he is continually hated on. In my opinion comfortably the most talented player in the NBA, and one of my favourite players, I don't understand the intense hate, which has only intensified after these Finals.

Will the Heat be able to go one better next year? I think that they can, but the roster will be basically unchanged, and maybe something fresh is needed. I think they can step it up, but I think it will be more difficult for them next season so in fact, they will have to improve. I don't think Dallas will win two in a row. What they did this year was great, but surely, next year they will be too old. Still, people said that about them this year...

Shane Carwin: The Biggest Thrashing (and guts)

I have never seen anything like what happened in the Dos Santos vs Carwin fight at UFC 131. Before the fight, I actually though Carwin had a seriously good shot at beating Dos Santos: I thought that his power would be enough. But at the end of the 1st round, I couldn't have been more wrong. Shane Carwin had a bloody face and a broken nose (pictured).

I've seen some good beatings since I've started watching the UFC, for example Cain Velasquez destroying Brock Lesnar, but nothing quite like what happened last night. But I think the thing that I was most surprised about was that he kept on going until the end of the fight. As I mentioned before, he had a broken nose, and god knows how many cuts but he didn't throw in the towel. People are talking about Dos Santos' great performance, well, I tell you what, it was Carwin that really stood out to me. Of course the fact that he got battered in the first place was bad, but his performance afterwards with a messed up face was something special.

I would now argue that without a doubt Shane Carwin is the fighter who has got the best chin in the UFC. I cannot think of one other fighter who would have gone on like that, and even at times landed a few stray punches. Even the three takedowns Carwin got handed in the last round couldn't mask him give up.

So, Dos Santos will now take on Cain Velasquez for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. It promises to be an intriguing fight, and it's really hard to predict an outcome: both are undefeated in the UFC and both don't have many weaknesses.

Arsenal Exodus???

I was quite shocked this morning when I saw the front page of The Daily Telegraph. The massive headline read "Arsenal Exodus". Apparently, all 3, Fabregas, Nasri and Clichy were all leaving Arsenal. I don't believe this for a second. The Telegraph actually attacked Arsenal quite brutally in the article, to my displeasure, but it's the publication of these more a less unfounded rumours that really gets me. The Telegraph, normally a reputable newspaper, have today, with that article, lowered themselves to the standard of the sports pages of the Daily Mail and or The Sun.

Let's start with Fabregas. Cesc Fabregas, firstly, is valued by Arsenal at at least 45 million. The only other club Fabregas would want to go to, Barcelona, apparently only have a transfer budget of 40 million. You do the math, they can't afford him. That's not to say however that Barca won't go and sell some players to get more money. If I were Arsene Wenger, I would be willing to negotiate. For example, I would accept deal of 30 million and Bojan Krkic, the latter being a phenomenal player who is barely used at Barca. Furthermore, any talk of Man City trying to tempt Fabregas is obviously wrong. I highly doubt Fabregas would want to go to Man City, as he his currently the captain of a club of similar status. So, I am not ruling out Fabregas leaving, but there is, in my opinion, a 75% chance he will stay.

Next up, Nasri. This whole story about him wanting to sign with Man Utd has been ridiculously blown out of proportion. I watched the interview with him on Telefoot (a program I used to watch every Sunday morning when I lived France, lots of memories), and he never explicitly said he wanted to go there. The interviewer brought up the possibility of Man Utd, and Nasri simply said that he didn't know and that he would see. Basically, he wasn't at all sure. The English media have typically transformed this statement to a headline stating Nasri wants to leave. Losing Nasri would be a blow, m ore than Fabregas I think, but I am 99% sure that he will not end up playing for Man Utd. Wenger wouldn 't let him. If he were to leave, Arsenal should be asking for AT LEAST 35 million, even though he is in his last year of contract at Arsenal.

Finally, Gael Clichy. The Telegraph stated that Liverpool made an offer of 5 million for him. If that is the case (it probably isn't), it's an absolutely disgraceful offer. Gael Clichy in my opinion is one of the best full backs in football. Clubs should be bidding at least 10 million for him, probably more. Clichy's departure would not really be a big problem as Kieran Gibbs is ready to step into the void, but it would still be a blow. I really hope Clichy stays, as I really rate him.

So Apple is copying stuff now, is it?

As this is primarily as sports blog, I don't normally post on other things. However something I saw this morning really got to me, and I feel I have to express my feelings on this. After Apple's WWDC keynote yesterday where they announced the new Mac OSX Lion, iOS 5 and iCloud (for the keynote see here), a whole host of people were accusing Apple of "copying", especially with regards to a new feature in iOS 5 called iMessaging.

I will totally admit that they took used BBM (Blackberry Messenger) as inspiration, however to say they copied it right off the bat is ridiculous. I have never used BBM, but accusing Apple of copying before the feature has even been released is crazy. Who knows, most likely, Apple have innovated, i.e made it better and improved it by looking at BBM and removing any problems.

I've said this before, there is a massive difference between COPYING and INNOVATING. The former is simply redoing another person's work without changing anything or even making it worse (official dictionary definitionan imitation or reproduction of an original). INNOVATING is either building up a concept or idea from scratch or taking a product or service and making it much better (official dictionary definition something new or different introduced).

OK, so let's say that it turns out somehow that Apple's iMessaging brings nothing new to the market and is a pure copy of BBM (which it most likely won't be, judging by the keynote). In the scale of things, it is NOTHING.

Apple released the iPhone in 2007. Android became available in 2008. Android was technically "copying". They created a less responsive and much more confusing OS for smartphones (at the time, now it is much better). Just as all the other companies "copied" the iPhone hardware. Mac OS X first released in 2001, Windows 7 first released in 2009. Exactly the same layout, as seen here, which one looks better to a neutral? I would assume the one on the left. So Windows are technically "copying".

It is also worth pointing out two very interesting things that two popular Youtubers have said. Soldierknowsbest yesterday pointed out that when the iPhone doesn't have such things as iMessaging, it gets heavily criticised for not having it, but when it does eventually get the feature, everybody says Apple are "copying". Couldn't be more accurate. Apple haters are totally contradicting themselves: make your mind up, what do you want? Apple to not have it, so that they don't "copy", or that Apple have it, but then that would be "copying".

The other Youtuber, WilsonTech1 also said something very true and accurate. In a discussion with Chris Pirillo a while back, he pointed out that a lot Windows users/Mac haters don't want to use Macs as they are scared that they will actually like it. Makes total sense. It is also worth noting that WilsonTech1 used to be totally against Apple, but he got Mac and as far as I can see by watching his videos, he's not regretting it. This point can therefore also be applied to the smartphone OS battle.

Nadal vs Federer: The Dream Final

The two best players in the world against each other. What more could you want? It promises to be a top quality match. Nadal is world number 1, Federer is world number 3, but they really are the two best players in the world. Even though Federer will give Nadal a challenge, I do fully expect Nadal to win his 6th French Open.

Nadal and Federer are two very different players. Whereas Nadal simply gets everything back, Federer has an incredibly varied game and can make certain shots that others simply can't (through the legs at the US Open vs Djokovic, for example). Nadal on the other hand simply gets everything back. If you get into a long rally with him, you will most likely lose. Furthermore, Nadal makes almost no unforced errors and the topspin he puts on the tennis ball is amazing.

Were this matchup on a different surface, it would have been quite a lot harder to predict the winner, but on clay, Nadal still reigns supreme. He can equal Bjorn Borg's record of 6 wins at Roland Garros. Clay courts suit him perfectly and Federer has not yet beaten him on one.

That's not to say this watch will be an easy 3 set match, on the contrary I reckon it will be a close 4 setter as Federer, even on clay against Nadal can cause problems as we have seen in previous finals.

Shaq: Dominator

So, Shaquille O'Neal has retired, and the NBA will never be the same again. Shaq dominated for 19 years and is unarguably the most dominant player in NBA history. I made this tribute for the living legend that is Shaquille O'Neal. I reckon that even if he decides to make a comeback aged 50, he would still dominate. Enjoy and comment!!