No way Jose! Mourinho leaves Chelsea!!

I've just woken up. As I always do, I check for news on sportinglife.com. The whole page was about one man and for asecond, my mind went blank.
This was the man who had brought so much glory to Chelsea, who won everything that a coach could have won (except for the Champions League). The man who, with his wit, his bizarre quotes (comparing players to eggs - teams to omelettes) and with his wholehearted approach, has done more for English football than any foreign coach (ok, Rafa's done great, too). He's dazzled us so many times and hardly were there any times when it went wrong for Chelsea.
You could see the typical Mourinho eveytime. He is the complete opposite of being pretentious.
Everytime something was on his mind, he'd say it. If it weren't for him, Sir Alex Ferguson wouldn't have had any decent opponents (Wenger's Arsenal are improving again, though).
Even the Manchester United boss said earlier in season what a shame would be if Jose left.
The fierce Portugiese left no stones unturned on his path of glory. When Mr. Abramovich came
to Chelsea in 2003, he had a perfect vision. To turn a football club into a world beating team.
And he succeeded to some extent, too. Chelsea were never far off the pace, always challenging
for the titles, last year even for Treble.

Now Chelsea's board have a tough task on their hands. Terry, Lampard and Drogba were Mourinho's not only best players, but also the ones he got best on with. It's hard to see Chelsea
challenging for anything now, so Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool now have a big
chance. 
Still, one could argue that a manager doesn't make the team. But when a guy infuences 
the team so much as Mourinho did, there's a big chance that Abramovich will now bite his
nails and do some crazy-russian-terror like thing to frighten the next coach. Also, there's a
feeling in the air that Chelsea never had the tradition to challenge for European glory, as they had no real basis to win it(they only got the domestic cups). True, they had players
who could do it and still can, but in reality, the magnitude of history like of Manchester United's
and Liverpool's has been, up until now, too much for Chelsea.


As I'm a Manchester United fan, you probably know what I think of Chelseas, Arsenals and others of the world football. True, I never liked Mourinho's style = efficient, but not so stylish.
I was always irritated when Chelsea were on the top of the league.
But still I feel a little bit sad due to his departure, as the England Premiership will be different
without him. So long Jose!

The Spa Weekend & epilogue of "The Affair"

Well, it's already tuesday and I'm a bit late, as always. But still, some commentary about F1 is never inappropable. Or maybe it is these days.

I was talking (before Spa) to a friend and saying to him that the championship has already been decided in Monza. But Spa was a totally different story - actually it was completely opposite than Monza.
Ferraris flying, Mclarens just driving. It looked a walk in the park for Raikkonen, and one does feel sorry for Massa, as he is now definitely out of the title hunt. As for Kimi, he still has to outpace the
Mclarens every now and now (as "now and then" is just not going to be enough). But if you look at
how the pendulum of power has been swinging around, it's hard to see Kimi winning the last 3 races. It isn't impossible, though, it's just going to be very difficult.

The Fia made their decision and looking from the economic side, the penalty is huge. But if you
lookfrom another perspective, you can see that they haven't lost anything that important besides money - constructors's championship is just a bonus really. All that matters is the driver's title. Go and ask Michael Schumacher what title he prefers. Yes, the team is important and there's yet another difference between Ferrari and Mclaren. If you look at Ferrari, they've been a close unit almost all the time for many years. With Mclaren and two (yes, great) competitive drivers it was always going to be different.
But if you look from another point of view, you can see the difference in the teams' mentalities.
Ferrari went first for Schumacher, now for Raikkonen, people who keep their cool and who are a
part of the "Ferrari family". Mclaren are a team, yes, but they've chosen drivers who aren't really compatible and they're maybe too cold, never to smile or celebrate like the Tifosi. After all, who was the first one to ever throw the champagne
 bottle down to the mechanics?

The best part of the season comes right now I think. We'll see some close duels and I also expect some collisions - normally, between Hamilton and Alonso.
 It's very possible that we'll see a DNF for a Mclaren as they've been fantastically consistent. But with Ferrari it's a different story. If Kimi had finished
races in Barcelona and Nurburging, the championship would
be really incredibly close now.
It's not that I'm saying it's not interesting now, of course it is, but it could be even more.

Fuji is going to be difficult for everyone, and whoever adapts to the circuit best, wins the race.
The tracks looks a bit like a mixture of Hungaroring, Hockenheim and Bahrain, although with lot less corners and a long straight. And there's the obvious factor in weather, which is very unstable under the Fuji mountain. But it should be interesting, so don't miss that GP even though you'll probably have to get up as early as 5.00! :D

Song review: James Blunt, 1973

James Blunt, the soldier / songwriter is almost at the top of the charts again.
Why, oh why, would you ask. Well, "1973" is a surprisingly refreshing song to
hear, a pop tune with a nice melody, well recorded vocals. It does sound a bit
like James Morisson's "You give me something" though. In my opinion, it's 
his best song to date, although most recent married couples would disagree
(yes, "You're beautiful" was present at most weddings in UK). I haven't heard
the whole album though, so I will report about it here later.

Here's the video from youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWeqeQkjLto

What's going to happen tomorrow in Paris?

We don't know that answer, but we will, shortly. But what should be the
most appropriate punishment? Exclusion from the championship?
It's kind of hard seeing that, especially with Mclaren still leading both champs.
and as it stands now, it doesn't look they'll be challenged on the track. It's pretty hard to say if Ferrari will get any punishment at all,
as they seem to declare that they want the "truth" to appear LucaDi Montezemolo,
Ferrari's president has already announced that Ferrari would be happy to get the title
off the track. The drivers are kept surprisingly quiet, although you feel sorry
for Hamilton - he's leading the championship in his rookie year. Alonso is a different
story. He's had his fair share of luck during the last couple of years and I wouldn't bet
on Hamilton if the championship gets decided on the track. Poor Raikkonen, he's had
a decent car all year round but it still prevented him from finishing several races.
Not to mention Massa, who made more mistakes than Kimi and was also handicapped
by his vulnerable Ferrari several times.

On the other hand, it's hard to prove certain things and as both sides probably have
good lawyers, I don't see it being ended tomorrow. Or ever. This could go on for even
for years, if Mclaren get excluded tomorrow. And this is something that would really
damage F1's reputation. Perhaps it would be a wiser idea to punish any involving team
for the next year, and let this one go on?
But, Ferrari & Mclaren certainly don't think so. It's kind of "Duel to the death" thing, and 
while we expect that no one is going to smile tomorrow, one team will shook their fists,
while other will keep cursing. Even behind the table, a win is a win.

If someone asked me about tomorrow I would be honest. I think Mclaren are going to get penalized, one way or another, but the only problem is HOW and HOW MUCH is this going
to cost them. I don't experct Ferrari to just walk away, but they could get punished with a
similar amount that an untested Mclaren gearbox costed.
SO what's the best about his affair? Actually, nothing. The tabloids are having a field day,
but on the track, as we saw in Monza, there is no friendship or happiness anymore. Does
anybody still remember Monza 06'? Joy and happiness all over the place.
What a difference a year makes...


And so the battle resumes tomorrow. Now, who would have thought that PS(Post-Schumacher) era would suffer so much in its first year?


P.S. Just saw the forecast. There's going to be no rain in Spa, what a shame...:(

Kdo je največji voznik F1 vseh časov? 3.del

Moram priznat, da sem prejšnje dirkače na hitro predstavil, da se lahko pohvalim s svojim najljubšim dirkačem Michaelom Schumacherjem. Kerpenčan je lani oktobra sklenil svojo bogato, 15-letno kariero. To, da pa bo tudi letos zaslužil do 25 milijonov dolarjev, pa priča o njegovi nezmanjšani popularnosti.

Odrastel je v družini spodnjega srednjega sloja, kakršnih Nemčija pozna na milijone. V zgodnjih letih je začel voziti kart. Denar za dirkanje je zbral od raznih mecenov, saj so ti videli potencial mladega Nemca. 88' leta je njegov menedžer postal Willi Weber, in od takrat se je zgodba samo še stopnjevala. "Schumi" je zmagal v Macau in postal že znano ime v svetu motošporta.

Leta 1991 je na dirki v Spaju, Belgiji, debitiral v Jordan Fordu, vendar pogodbe ni podpisal.
Nadaljevanje sezone je preživel v Bennetonu, kjer je osvojil  par točk. Naslednje leto je v
spremenljivih razmerah  osvojil 1.zmago, seveda v Spaju. 

Leta 1994 se je soočil z Ayrtonom Senno, ter ga premagal na prvih dveh dirkah. Nato je sledila
"črna" Imola. Nadaljeval je z zmagami, in na koncu leta osvojil svoj prvi naslov prvaka. Naslednje
leto je sledil še en naslov, nato se je preselil k Ferrariju, kjer je doživel največje uspehe '00-'04.
Leta 2006 mu je sreča obrnila hrbet, in tako ni osvojil še 8.naslova. Toda, Schumi bo ostal v srcih
mnogih navijačev, saj je s svojimi predstavami neštetokrat pokazal, zakaj je bil največja zvezda
tega cirkusa, in zakaj takšne zvezde morda še dolgo ne bomo videli.

Kdo je največji voznik F1 vseh časov? 2.del

Alain Prost, 4-kratni svetovni prvak, je bil najbolj znan po svoji kvaliteti : racionalnosti. Nikoli ni preizkušal zmogljivosti dirkalnika do skrajnih meja, rajši je vozil umirjeno, a dovolj hitro za zmage, naslove. Njegov največji konkurent je bil Ayrton Senna, 3kratni svetovni prvak, s katerim sta se bojevala za naslove kot rivala v Mclarnu.



Posnetke rivalstva in prerivanja si lahko ogledate tule:

-  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E64rZvb34ZU

Kdo je največji voznik F1 vseh časov? 1.del

To vprašanje že leta bega poznavalce, ljubitelje, zanima pa tudi ljudi, ki z motošportom nimajo nikakršne zveze. Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda,
Allan Prost, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher so le eni izmed najbolj prepoznavnih dirkačev vseh časov. Toda kdo je najboljši med prvaki?

Začnimo s Fangiem. 46 let  je veljal njegov nepremagan rekord 5. naslovov svetovnega prvaka.
Argentinec je v 50.letih, ko so bile zaščitne čelade dirkačev bolj podobne tistim, ki jih danes nosijo rudarji, v zvenu svoje kariere osvojil takrat nepredstavljivo število naslovov. In vse to šele po svojem 40.letu.! Za takratne čase nepredstavljivi junak je obvladoval svoj "nasilni stroj" in si, preprosto povedano, upal več od ostalih.

Alberto Ascari, prvi "veliki" italijanski as, uspešni dirkač Ferrarija, z dvema naslovoma. Sin dirkača je v zgodnjih 50.letih uspešno nastopal za "Cavallino Rampante".
Tik pred usodno nesrečo je na dirki v Monaku skoraj utonil (zletel je s steze in zapeljal v pristanišče), nato pa teden dni kasneje umrl na testiranju v Monzi. Vraževerni Ascari je imel namreč navado vedno nositi isto čelado, prav na testiranju pa je ni bilo, zato si je sposodil
kolegovo in odpeljal še zadnjič iz garaže...

Škot Jim Clark je oba svoja naslova v 60.letih osvojil z Lotusom. Človek z neverjetno sposobnostjo prilagajanja dirkalnikov cestišču (setup), je bil "narejen" za Lotus. Britansko podjetje mu je ponudilo takrat najboljši dirkalnik s Fordovim motorjem. Njegovo razumevanje vozila ter njegova hitrost sta mu prinesla rekordno število zmag. Njegova najveličastnejša predstava sega v leto 1967, v Monzo. Potem, ko je začel s "pole positiona", mu je počila guma.
Izgubil je kar cel krog, a se začel nato približevati vodilnim, podiral rekorde proge, na koncu pa končal kot tretji, saj mu je zmanjkalo bencina.

Jackie Stewart, prav tako Škot, 3kratni svetovni prvak s Tyrell Fordom je v začetku 70.let
premagoval tekmece z lahkoto. Ob smrti marsikaterih tekmecev, tudi prijateljev (François
Cevert) se je upokojil relativno zgodaj, toda še vedno na vrhuncu slave. Ob koncu 90.let je
ustanovil svojo F1 ekipo, ki jo je kasneje uspešno prodal Jaguarju, danes Red Bull Racingu.

Niki Lauda, Avstrijec, ki je na Nurburgringu doživel hude opekline, in se vrnil še isto sezono, kasneje pa osvojil še naslov prvaka (skupno 3), velja za nacionalnega heroja. Danes Lauda deluje kot poročevalec nemške TV RTL, kjer je sokomentator dirk F1. Velja tudi omeniti, 
da je Lauda lastnik svoje letalske linije, ter da se je v preteklih letih poskusil tudi kot menedžer ekipe Jaguarja, danes pa njegove izjave o dirkah in dirkačih vedno uzrejo luč sveta.

11.September - 6 let kasneje

6 let nazaj, še dobro se spomnim, sem ravno že prišel iz šole, ko so se naenkrat glavni programi "prešaltali" na dogajanje v New Yorku. Dvojčka v totalki. Vse polno ljudi, ki je skakalo v tako rekoč prepad. Spomnim se zrušenja. Nekako smo morali takrat vsi obnemeti, kajti v "luft" je šlo tisoče življenj. Mislim, da je bil največji šok sploh to, da se lahko kaj tako mogočnega podre.

Tistega dne (in naslednje dni) je tekla beseda le o WTC-ju in tudi Pentagonu. Tragedija, ki je dodobra zaznamovala svet, je povzročila, da se nikjer več ne moremo počutiti 100% varne.

                                                      

 

Song of the moment

Ker zadnje čase gledam MTV bolj pogosto kot kdajkoli, mi padejo v oči eni izredni videospoti & pesmi...Record of the moment trenutno Mark Ronson - Oh My God(ft. Lily Allen):)

Rooney že skoraj pripravljen

Wayne Rooney se vrača za United morda že ta konec tedna. Pa že če bo na klopi, bo pomagalo. Tekma proti Evertonu že na moji "can't miss" listi.  Rtv slo al Šport Klub? Treba preverit:)

Ko bi ta blog setup bil neka lahka stvar, bi se zdaj lahko pohvalil, tako pa zapravljam čas po nepotrebnem za iskanje ozadij, widgetov in podobnih malih zadevc. But I won't give up!

PES 2008

Nestrpno se bliža prihod nove nogometne simulacije PES 2008.Samo vprašanje je, če bo
lahko tako popularen, kot je bil predhodnik PES 6. Nekaj screenshotov!

http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/682/Pro-Evolution-Soccer-2008-Screenshots

ZAKAJ imam tudi jaz (sedaj) bLOG?

Pozdravljeni, blogerji! Iz ravnodušja do navadnih spletnih strani sem se odločil,
da bom začel pisati svoj blog. Upam, da bo dovolj dober in posledično obiskan.
Ker pa si ne delam utvar, da bom postal fenomen interneta, bom 
stran nenehno (ja, seveda) poskušal izboljševati in dodajati razne finte ipd.
Tojeto, se slišimo do naslednjega vnosa!

Miha J