Dead Blogger

Pit Babes at Hungarian Grand Prix

2008-09-08T09:39:00.000-07:00

Popular Drift Cars

2008-07-16T19:41:00.000-07:00

Nissan 200 S13 S14 s15 Silvia (Turbos are better)
Nissan Z33
Corolla Levin
Nissan Silvia
Nissan 180SX
Nisssan Laural
Toyota Supra
Toyota Altezza (Lexus LS200)
Mazda RX7
Mazda RX8
Mazda MX5
Nissan Skyline (ER34’s are easy to convert to RWD)
Toyota Corolla 1.3 GT-s (make sure it’s the old RWD model also known as)
BMW – all RWD the e30 & new M3 is fantastic.
Ford Escort Mk1
Ford Sierra
Honda S2000
Honda NSX
Nissan 350
Vauxhall Monaro
Most American Muscle cars (RWD!)

4x4 Drift cars
These tend to be fairly stable so needs lots of modifications and power to drift.

Subaru Impreza
Mitsubishi lancer Evolution

Equipments needed for Drifting

2008-07-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

Brakes
Brakes will certainly take a pounding and should be upgraded. As a minimum ensure you have race or fast road spec pads all round. Change the brake fluid or better still swap it for completely synthetic brake fluid. Adding braided brake hoses will further ensure that braking disasters are minimised. If you are spending money on the brakes also consider upgrading to bigger brake disks which are vented, drilled and groved.

Suspension.
Control is key, so a soft suspension setup will cause all manner of problems and create a stodgy ride. Obviously the optimum suspension set up varies from car to car and also driver preference plays a large part. It is worth getting suspension you can modify yourself so look for ones that permit custom ride height, stiffness and electronic adjustment to the dampers. At least you can play around until you find your optimum set up and you can switch back to a more road friendly setting for the journey home.
Suspension can be supplemented with strut braces for rigidity and also by switching rubber bushes for polyeurothane to aid stiffness. Set the front for negative Camber to give the front more grip and help with oversteer. The rears should be set with very little negative camber (virtually vertical) to reduce grip in corners.

Steering.
Ensure that your steering rack is in good condition, has no play and that the wheels are straight when the steering wheel is in its default rotation. A quick lock to lock steering rack is nice to have. Small steering wheels are actually worse to use so get an ‘old bus’ steering wheel rather than trying to look cool.

Clutch.
This takes a real pounding. For drifting get the heaviest duty clutch you can fit. Double and Triple plate clutches are good as are ceramic, brass button clutches but these are not always available for all cars. Various compounds are available. If you get a heavy clutch and your car has a cable clutch pedal make sure that the cable is heavy duty enough. (I got through 4 cables because the plastic retaining clip kept breaking, why they use plastic I will never know.)

Body work.
You will crash and spin off. Impact with other vehicles and barriers is also typical especially as you are starting out. In pro drift championships the bumpers are secured with cable ties so when the inevitable happens the bumper rips off breaking the cable tie and suffers little damage itself.

Tyres.
Have you noticed that the main sponsors of drift championships are tyre companies (call me synical). You will get through more tyres than anything else. You’ll often overhear drifters talking about how many Tyres Per Mile they get through.
If you are starting out stick with cheap part worn tyres. (Don’t be tempted to go for remoulds.) Some drivers stretch small tyres on a large rim to aid stability. Some drives have different sizes (height and width) on the front to the rear. Look for low profile tyres as these are less inclined to roll off the rims under heavy sliding. Tyre pattern is a matter of individual choice I suggest that you chat with other drivers and see what they are using. Typically hard compound on the back and the rear tyres are what you will use more of. Tyre pressures also can make a big difference - experiment with different pressures to see how handling is affected as this varies greatly from car to car.

Safety.
Need we say this Helmet, Harness, Fire Extinguisher, Roll Cage etc..

Car Wallpers

2008-07-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

How to Drift?

2008-07-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

Theory: A tyre grips the road up to a maximum point of adhesion, when this point is exceeded the tyre will start to slide until adhesion is restored. So finding and pushing just beyond the point of adhesion is the name of the game.
Once a car begins to drift driver control comes into play – the exact amount of turn on the steering wheel towards the direction of travel to catch and control the drift. At precisely the right moment you have to catch the drift with a measure of opposite lock and use the throttle and steering to control the drift – a sustained drift on a straight is called ‘drift lock’.
Rear wheel drive cars are the choice for drifting particularly higher-powered models but one of the key requirements is a limited slip diff. A quick burst of acceleration at the right moment is just enough to break the adhesion of the back of the car.
As a car decelerates the weight is thrown to the front wheels that is why the wheels lock up under heavy breaking. A front wheel drive car is harder to drift in but uses deceleration to lighten the back of the car and make it swing wide.
To perform a left tail drift in a front drive car – build up the speed. Decelerate fairly heavily but performing a simultaneous right flick on the steering wheel – a shock wave will shoot through the car (you can feel it happen there is no easy way to explain it.) As this shock wave passes the centre point of the car steer into the direction of the tail drift, if the tail does not swing out then a short flick of the handbrake will start the drift.
We then need to catch the drift and control it using gentle throttle control and smooth steering - opposite lock (so steer to the right, just enough to keep the drift going but without overcooking things causing a spin and without undercooking throwing the drift in the opposite direction.)
The following are the main drifting techniques and most are used in combination with each other.
Clutch Kick To make the car start to slide you dip or kick the clutch suddenly causing the car to temporarily lose traction and starting a rear wheel slide whilst on or entering a bend. Effectively using engine braking - when the clutch is dipped engine speed drops when clutch is released the wheels are moving faster than the lower engine speed requires causing a pull and breaking traction. Alternative a blip of the throttle raises the engine speed so when the clutch is released the driven wheels spin faster than they should so traction is broken.
Dirt Drop Drift This technique is banned on most tracks. You allow the rear wheels to leave the tarmac surface into a lower grip one such as dirt, gravel or grass. The cars speed will remain pretty stable through this technique as the rear tyre friction is much lower.
Jump Drift Similar to a Dirt Drop Drift again banned on most tracks. The rear wheels hit the rumble strip at the side of the track. The vibration is enough to upset the delicate balance of grip momentum and traction and the rear of the car slides.
Handbrake Drift The easiest technique, used by beginners and pretty much the only guaranteed way of sliding a FWD (front wheel drive) car. The handbrake is jabbed on causing the rear wheels to lock up and slide. When a slide is attained the handbrake is released allowing more control of the car and preventing too much loss of speed.
Feint Drift Requires a feel for the balance of a car and needs you to sense the shockwave of swing as it flows through the car. Coming up to a right hand bend you steer to the left. Then as the back of the car moves left you steer to the right, the back of the car loses traction and starts to drift, then you countersteer and catch the drift. This is a popular technique and is often combined with other techniques, like the clutch kick, to help break the rear traction. Practice this one in large open areas.
Inertia Drift This requires a lot of speed. Approaching a bend you need to decelerate throwing the weight of the car to the front wheels. When the back wheels become light you can steer the front into the bend and let the back wheels drift. Control is maintained with careful steering control and throttle inputs. A good technique to start drifting with and works well with some front wheel drive cars prone to ‘lift off oversteer’ such as the Pug 205 and Rover 220 GTi.

Learn To Drift - The best video clips are here

'Road Traffic Information' system by Volvo

2008-07-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

Luxury car maker Volvo Car India on Tuesday said it has introduced Road Traffic Information (RTI) in its products for hassle free ride to predetermined unfamiliar destinations.
The navigation system, which facilitates travel to predetermined places and through unfamiliar traffic environments, would be available on demand at an additional cost of Rs 1.5 lakh, the company said in a statement.
The system functions on the basis of the information stored in a hard disk in the car and then it communicates with the satellite system to guide the driver to the defined destination.
"The RTI is an important infotainment unit in Volvo Cars globally and we are very happy to introduce it in India as well," Volvo Car India Managing Director Paul de Voijs said.

Sebastien Bourdais needs speed

2008-07-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

Toro Rosso engineers are working hard to get Sebastien Bourdais up to pace with his on-form young teammate Sebastian Vettel.
Multiple Champ Car title winner and F1 rookie Bourdais, on a single-year contract in 2008, has struggled notably since the Faenza based team received the latest car from supplier Red Bull Technology.
"He has a problem with the nervous rear when he's turning in," team boss Franz Tost told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.
Vettel admits: "Bourdais prefers a car more with understeer. To me it makes no difference whether it is understeering or oversteering."
So is Bourdais, 29, now fighting for his place at STR in 2009? "Simply he has to find the accelerator pedal," is how Tost puts it.
In the Frenchman's favour is the current state of the driver market for next year. Unlike in the last few years, no drivers have been spectacular in GP2 this season, and Toro Rosso is not going to be keen on installing an all-new driver lineup, should Vettel move as expected to Red Bull

My Trip to Mahur

2008-07-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

Mahur is amongst the four places of pilgrimage having the abodes of the three and a half goddesses that are of major significance in the state of Maharashtra. The other three are Kolhapur, Tuljapur, and Saptashringi. Mahur is the abode of the goddess Renuka, mother of Shree Parshuram. There are many old temples here, as well as the one strategically important Ramgad Fort.
The place is in Kinwat taluka and is about 130 km away from Nanded city. The temple of Renukadevi is located on a hill top. There are also Shri. Dattatray and Shri. Parshuram temples. There are carved caves in the hills around Mahur. Mahur is surrounded by thick forests. Wild animals are found in these forests. One can sight beautiful view of valleys and waterfall in rainy season from the temple.

Check out the snaps, i tried to capture the notorious monkeys of mahur, famous for their amusing acts.
Also check out the scenarios around the place.

British Grand Prix Babes

2008-07-07T19:13:00.000-07:00

Kingfisher Rocks!!

A Few Facts About Donington Park

2008-07-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

* Google 'Donington Park' and you'll find out at the circuit is home to British Motorcycle Grand Prix, The British Touring Car Championships and World Superbikes. Added to that (and its new F1 race) the track will also play host to the new Superleague Formula (football meets motor racing) on August 31st

* Asking yourself and your mates where the blazes Donington Park is? Well you'll find it at Castle Donington, Derby, DE74 2RP which is 12 miles from Nottingham on the top of a windswept hill close to the East Midlands Airport.

* The Donington Park estate belonged to the the Gillies Shields family but during World War I it was requisitioned by the British government and turned into a prisoner of war camp. In 1915 Gunther Pluschow, a German pilot, made one of the few successful escape attempts of the war from Donington.

* It wasn't until 1933 that the venue was used for car racing when a Derby garage owner called Fred Craner approached John Gillies Shields and convinced him to let the Derby & District Motor Club use the roads on his land for racing. The orginal track was 2.1-miles and played host to the first 300-mile Donington Grand Prix which was won by 'Mad Jack' Shuttleworth.

* The circuit was closed in 1939 due to World War II when it became a military vehicle depot.

* In the early 1970s it was bought by Leicestershire racing fanatic Tom Wheatcroft, who funded the rebuilding of the track, which was re-opened in 1977 with a round of the European Formula 2 Championship which was won by Bruno Giacomelli.

* The Melbourne Loop was built in 1985 to increase the lap distance to 2.5 miles (4.02 km) and allow the track to host Grand Prix motorcycle races - at 1.957 miles (3.149 km) without the loop, the circuit was deemed too short.

* Donington was promised the 1988 British GP by the Royal Automobile Club. However, the race never happened and the battle ended in the courts

* Six years later Donington finally saw F1 with the running of the 1993 the European GP, which was won by Ayrton Senna, took place at the circuit. The race was arguably Senna's most famous wet-weather victory - he won by over 1 minute from Damon Hill.

* By the way, Wikipedia claims 'the hill approaching Craner Curves (beginning just after Hollywood corner) is steeper than it appears and it is possible to reach speeds in excess of 40 mph (64 km/h) using only a bicycle.'... Whoo!

* Oh and aside from racing you can also attended music festivals at Donington. Jonhenry Wilson, the esteemed editor of sister publication Cricket365 attended Download 2008 earlier this month, which featured headliners including Kiss, The Offspring and Lostprophets. He recommends the venue!

British GP: Winners and Losers

2008-07-07T19:04:00.000-07:00

Silverstone was a triumph for Lewis Hamilton; a disaster for David Coulthard and Felipe Massa, and a defining moment for both Rubens Barrichello and Heikki Kovalainen.

Star of the Race
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1st
It's not really true to say that Lewis Hamilton destroyed the opposition at Silverstone today, because a lot of the opposition pressed the self-destruct button. But when you get rival team managers of the stature of Ross Brawn commending Lewis's drive as outstanding, you have to appreciate that it was something special. Brawn couldn't believe how quick Lewis was on Inters in the appallingly wet conditions (not as bad as Fuji last year, but getting there). Given his performances in Fuji, Monaco and Silverstone, this nowmeans that Lewis has inherited Schumi's title of Der Regenmeister.

Though Kimi Raikkonen tried to minimise the damage by admitting that the team made one mistake that cost them - not changing his tyres at the first pit-stop - even when he had the right rubber on he was significantly slower than Hamilton. Otherwise, why was he lapped?

Lewis made one brief trip across the grass and that was it for errors on an afternoon when Robert Kubica found the gravel, Felipe Massa led a charmed life and hit nothing, and Kimi Raikkonen slewed backwards out of control and also managed to avoid anything solid.

It was the perfect response to his critics. In the garage after the race it looked like Anthony Hamilton was so overjoyed he was never going to let Norbert Haug go. Lewis should always remember Eric Cantona's famous phrase when dealing with the tabloid press. "When the seagulls follow the trawler it is because they think that sardines will be thrown into the sea." Winning helps disperse the seagulls.

Overtaking Move of the Race
Nick Heidfeld, BMW on Trulli and Alonso
Or
Nick Heidfeld. BMW, on Kovalainen and Raikkonen
Oh what a glorious thing that humble ECU is. Its presence in managing engines has eliminated traction control. Traction control's absence has given us F1 drivers in corners fighting for grip. In turn this has led to overtaking moves the like of which we have not seen for years.

In the last few races we've had Barrichello overtaking at an impossible corner in Monaco, Massa overtaking two at a time on the grass in Canada and now Heidfeld at Silverstone putting two glorious double overtaking moves on seriously good drivers (two World Champions included).

His careful manouevering around the outside and then the inside of Trulli and Alonso through Luffield and Woodcote was a joy to see once - for him to repeat it later at the same spot - with Kovalainen and Raikkonen - was almost like witnessing lightning striking twice.

On the weekend that Donington were theoretically given the British GP from 2010, Heidfeld's careful passes were reminiscent of Ayrton Senna's opening lap at the circuit's only GP of 1993. On that day Senna fell back to sixth and then drove through to first place on the opening lap, finding grip no-one else could find.

Now that Nick has cracked how to heat his tyres up for qualifying we are going to see an invigorated Heidfeld challenge. And the person most likely to lose out from that is Robert Kubica.

Winners
Rubens Barrichello, Honda, 3rd
Rubens got the kind of cheer on the podium you might have expected for a home driver. He drove an exemplary race - not entirely on the road - but his/the team's decision to come in for wet tyres when he did seemed like a good one. At that point the lap times on inters had fallen to 1:50s and it seemed like a no brainer.

This race was proof, if proof were needed, that Rubens should be driving for Honda in 2009. He's not been that far short of Jenson Button's pace this year and Jenson is reputedly the fourth highest paid driver in F1.

David Coulthard probably watched it from the Red Bull motorhome and thought - 'that could have been me'.

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 4th
Kimi Raikkonen has had a fortunate couple of races and collected 13 points, when he could easily have ended up with nothing. In France he nursed an ailing car to the finish and wasn't asked to pit to remove a flailing piece of machinery. In Britain, he lost his car going backwards out of control towards the pitlane barriers but stopped short.

It was a rare sight to see the Ferrari consistently lapping five or sex seconds slower than the Mclaren, and on one lap he was a whole eight seconds slower than Robert Kubica. This wasn't a case of getting caught out in unforeseen rain, this was a miscalculation of grip and tyre wear by Ferrari.

Lest it be forgot when Raikkonen lost it backwards through Woodcote he had the right tyres on.

Up until the first pit-stops he looked in ominous form but his fall from grace was spectacular.

Fernando Alonso, Renault, 6th
Alonso might have been thinking back to the Chinese GP of 2006 today. In that race he opted to go for new tyres when he could have kept his original set on and Michael Schumacher reeled him in like a very small fish. Today he left his tyres on and suffered as a result.

Nelson Piquet has now passed him in successive races, only this time he saved his team leader's embarrassment by skating off into the gravel from a healthy fifth place.

What's even more interesting, though, is that Fernando has had time to film the latest Lynx Dry anti-perspirant advert. (Probably on You Tube if you don't have UK TV). It's the one where Fernando's eyes operate independently to squint at his under-arm wet patches. Doesn't he earn enough from his day job...?

Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 7th
Jarno's late pit-stop put him back down the order, but his fresher tyres helped him nail the other Toyota-powered car on the final lap, which must have been a joy for the team and a rarity in Jarno's F1 career.

Kazuki Nakajima, Williams-Toyota, 8th
Despite an early off-track excursion Kazuki san scored yet more points. He also managed to keep his car pointing in the right direction a lot better than most of the rest of the field.

British GP Crowd
The FIA have made a big fuss of consulting the fans about what they want from F1 racing, and the fans are often cited when the FIA want to frame technical regulations. But the fans who packed out the British GP for qualifying on Saturday probably didn't give a toss that the grandstands aren't as permanent as those in Malaysia.

At Sepang the race is never sold out and the crowd for qualifying is a joke, yet Sepang is given as an example of what F1 should be like. Does that mean F1 should only run in countries where the government are prepared to chuck a load of money to Bernie for the race, create a white horse of a circuit and have a race that lacks atmosphere? The fact that Silverstone was a sell-out on Saturday is proof enough that a British GP is what the fans want, and they were rewarded with a thrilling race to remember.

Losers
Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 5th
It might have been all smiles in the McLaren garage on Saturday, but this race only reinforced a view already expressed in these features. Heikki Kovalainen cannot overtake people unless he has a very big car advantage. In the race he took ages to get himself past a Ferrari that was four seconds a lap slower. It allowed Heidfeld to catch him and overtake them both. He made a neat pass on Alonso at Bridge, but then spent ages getting past him later on and that allowed Nakajima almost to do the same thing. The killer instinct is not there.

With Mercedes pressing for a German driver in the team and Lewis saying that he kind of misses the pressure that Fernando brought, the writing is on the wall. McLaren should have scored 18 points today and Ferrari 4 - as it is, they scored 14 and Ferrari 5. If Red Bull were to sign up Alonso instead of Vettel, then Vettel will be at McLaren in 2009.

Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Two laps down
Full credit to Felipe Massa for being honest about his race; he said he had no problems with his Ferrari. If that's the case, and the Brazilian is not just sparing Stefano Domenicali's blushes, then he needs to drag Sakon Yamamoto out of Formula Wilderness and ask for driving lessons. He was not just rubbish, he was rubbish with a hat on.

How he managed so many off-track excursions and spins yet failed to hit anything or even dislodge a wing, must be worthy of an Arthur C.Clarke's Mysterious World-type programme.

He may be brilliant at dry races, but it's clear that traction control has helped cover up a variety of failings when it gets wet. Think back to Mount Fuji where he spun early on (even with traction control) and the Hungarian GP of 2006.

Not great.

Nelson Piquet Junior, Renault, DNF
Junior had hauled himself up to 5th and everything was looking good... Until an unfortunate meeting with gravel on Lap 36.

Robert Kubica, BMW, DNF
Kubica had hauled himself up to 5th and everything was looking good... Until an unfortunate meeting with gravel on Lap 41.

David Coulthard, Red Bull, DNF
Och nooooooooooo.

ITV Coverage
This is one of those races that you really resent ITV going to an advertising break because so much is happening on the track. You resent Steve Rider and his wobbly, latex microphone hand. You resent Louise Goodman and her "Ooohh, it wasn't really your fault, was it," interviewing technique. Because it was the British GP the ad breaks appeared longer than usual (even if Fernando Alonso did appear in one of them). The BBC taking over next year will be such a relief.

Mark - git orf me barra - Blundell
At Silverstone Mark proved that even without a weather helicopter - or, to be fully accurate - a wevver helicopter, he could see what lay ahead:
"Conditions tomorrow could be thrown into a little bit of a quandry."

He had some exciting news about David Coulthard's origins:
"He's got a lot of support, not only from England, but Scotland, where he actually comes from."
Some drivers will try new lines around corners, Mark tries new descriptions:

"He gets a little bit squirly into the turn there."

It's been a long time since we had the old favourite, the -wise addition to sentences, as in "it's been a bad race for Heikki, points-wise." On Saturday we had:

"That seems to be what they're giving us back, information-wise."

Diamond.

McLaren: Win will give Hamilton momentum

2008-07-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh believes Lewis Hamilton will have been boosted by his dominant performance at the British Grand Prix.

Hamilton, aiming to recover from two disappointing races in Canada and France, stormed to his first home victory on Sunday, finishing over a minute ahead of second-placed Nick Heidfeld and lapping everybody but the German and Honda's Rubens Barrichello.

The win moved Hamilton back into the championship lead as the season passed its halfway point in Britain.

Whitmarsh reckons the performance will be a boost for Hamilton.

"Very important," said Whitmarsh of the win. "I think Lewis has had a very difficult, challenging time, and to come out with such flying colours...

"I think you must believe now that he's got momentum, the team has got momentum, and that he can come through this ... we're going to go testing this week in Hockenheim, we're going to improve the car, we're going to fight back, that's for sure, and we'll see.

"No one can see how competitive we'll be in Hockenheim. I'll be disappointed if we're not, but I also recognise that we've got to keep pushing hard. For the team it was absolutely vital.

"By Lewis's standards, by our own standards, and by Heikki's, we've been a bit disappointed by what has happened in the previous races, but we've come out of it today, certainly in Lewis's case, feeling very strong about what happened."

Whitmarsh admitted Hamilton had been feeling under pressure following his run of disappointing results, and after teammate Heikki Kovalainen grabbed pole position for Sunday's race.

"Yes, he's been under pressure. He's been under the pressure he puts on himself, because he wants to win. He's been under pressure from his teammate - let's be frank, Heikki has really been pushing him. So he has had that pressure from within his own team, but in a positive way.

"What I think was remarkable was he had, by his own standards, a pretty poor qualifying session, he was lucky to still be on the second row, and he came out of that in such a strong frame of mind, believing that, OK, it didn't go right in qualifying but I've still got the ability in the race to win this thing.

"And the believed it. Witnessing that yesterday, you start to think, 'actually, this is going to be OK today'."

The McLaren boss revealed the team tried to slow Hamilton down during the final part of the Silverstone race, but claimed the Briton kept pushing in order not to lose concentration, despite the tricky conditions.

"He had tremendous grip. We were trying to slow him up for most of it, and he was driving within himself but he didn't want to slow up any more, otherwise he feared he'd lose concentration, lose temperature in the tyres, but he could have gone a lot quicker if he'd needed to.

"If you get into that zone that drivers can in these conditions, they can just be so far ahead of the rest of the field."

Srilanka lifts the Asia Cup

2008-07-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka 273 (Jayasuriya 125, Dilshan 56, Ishant 3-52) beat India 173 (Sehwag 60, Mendis 6-13) by 100 runs

Eight years ago, in Sharjah, Sanath Jayasuriya scored a magnificent 189 before Sri Lanka's bowlers sent India tumbling to 54 all out, and a humiliating 245-run defeat. At Karachi's National Stadium, Jayasuriya, now 39, smashed another superb century before Ajantha Mendis, the mystery spinner still classed as a slow-medium bowler, bamboozled a highly rated batting line-up to finish with astonishing figures of 6 for 13.

Srilanka, knocked down the Indian batting line when 173 runs were displayed on the board. Mendis with man of the match title, Srilanka lifts the Asia Cup.

I guess Indians are fit for runner up positions.

Raikkonen: We could have won

2008-07-06T18:25:00.001-07:00

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen was unable to finish Sunday's British Grand Prix on the podium. The Finn finished fourth but believes he could have won the race if his team would have fitted his car with a fresh pair of tyres in his first pit stop.
Speaking about his race Raikkonen said: "I am disappointed, but I am equally aware that things could have been much worse. We had the possibility to win the race but we made a mistake at the first pit stop, keeping the same set of tyres, because we expected the track conditions to improve. It was a joint decision: we are a team and we win or lose together. "Things are not going too well for me at the moment, given all that happened in the last few races, but I am leading the championship, even if it is on equal terms with Felipe and Lewis. We know we have a great potential, but we have to put everything in place to get the most out of it."

Baseball News:Indians trade C.C. Sabathia to Brewers

2008-07-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

The Cleveland Indians have agreed to trade ace lefthander C.C. Sabathia to the Milwaukee Brewers for a package led by outfielder/first baseman Matt LaPorta, according to a published report.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported Sunday that the deal is contingent on paperwork being completed and medical records being exchanged. The report said Sabathia likely would make his Brewers debut Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies. He still is listed as the starter for Cleveland that night against Detroit.
The Associated Press, citing an anoynmous source with direct knowledge of the talks, reported that a deal was imminent but not finalized.
Indians general manager Mark Shapiro confirmed to the club's official website that the teams are discussing a deal, but that "(i)t is definitively not a done deal."
Shapiro added, "I won't comment on what point it's at or how far along [it is]."
Milwaukee's position as front-runner for Sabathia reportedly strengthened on Sunday. CBS and FoxSports.com reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers dropped out of the Sabathia talks earlier in the day. Two other potential suitors, the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays, likely won't be able or willing to offer more than Brewers.
Sabathia went 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA to win the AL Cy Young last season and gives the Brewers another power pitcher to pair with Ben Sheets as Milwaukee tries to make the playoffs for the first time since 1982.
The big lefty is 6-8 with a 3.83 ERA for the Indians, but has also been plagued with a lack of run support. In nine of his 18 starts, Cleveland has scored two runs or less for him.
LaPorta, 23, the Brewers' first-round draft pick last year, has 20 home runs and 66 RBIs in 84 games with the club's Double-A affiliate in Huntsville, Ala. He was scratched from the club's lineup Sunday night.
"It's kind of flattering to have your name brought up for one of the best pitchers in the game," LaPorta told the Huntsville Times. "There would be no hard feelings one way or another. This is a business, and I understand that."

Car Wallpapers

2008-07-06T03:05:00.000-07:00

Venus tops Serena to win fifth Wimbledon title

2008-07-06T02:37:00.000-07:00

WIMBLEDON, England - Thrilled as she was to win her fifth Wimbledon singles championship, Venus Williams dialed down her celebration.
No hopping in place and skipping to the net after match point, the way she’s done so often on that Centre Court lawn. No giddy laughter and whoops of joy, as she’s let out in the past.
This title was different from her previous successes at the grass-court Grand Slam.
This title came at the expense of her younger sibling, Serena.
Reprising their Sister Slam Show in the Wimbledon final after a five-year hiatus, Venus and Serena Williams smacked big serves, hit hard strokes from all angles and chased down seemingly unreachable balls, like no one else does. Overcoming an early deficit, Venus beat Serena 7-5, 6-4 Saturday for her second consecutive title at the All England Club and seventh major championship overall.

Ankiel's heroics in 9th help Cards gain on Cubs

2008-07-06T02:30:00.001-07:00

ST. LOUIS - St. Louis manager Tony La Russa wasn’t too optimistic as the Cardinals entered the ninth inning trailing the Chicago Cubs by two runs Saturday afternoon.
With Chicago closer Kerry Wood out on the mound to begin the inning, La Russa figured his club was in trouble.
“I didn’t like our chances,” La Russa said. “(Wood) has so many weapons. This guy is really good.”

So was La Russa’s bunch on this day.
Outfielder Rick Ankiel slapped a two-run, two-out single to right field in the bottom of the ninth inning to cap a three-run rally and lead the Cardinals to a 5-4 win over the Cubs.
The win brought the Cardinals (50-39) to within 2½ games of the first-place Cubs (52-36) in the National League Central.
Ankiel, who had had three hits and three RBIs, also added a solo homer in the sixth inning. In the ninth, he picked on an 0-1 slider to give St. Louis its fifth win in the last eight outings. Wood (4-2) blew his fifth save in 27 tries.
“I was just looking for a pitch to drive up the middle,” Ankiel said. “Kerry Wood is tough; he throws hard.”
The Cardinals had little problems against one of the game’s top closers. Ryan Ludwick and Yadier Molina drew walks to begin the rally and Adam Kennedy hit a double to right to cut the deficit to 4-3. Wood appeared set to wriggle out of a bases-loaded no-out jam before Ankiel came to the plate with two outs.
“We were one pitch away from getting out of it,” Wood said. “But it seems to always be the case when you’re in that role.”
St. Louis reliever Kyle McClellan (1-3) picked up his first major league victory with two perfect innings of relief.
The Cubs led throughout the contest. They jumped to a 1-0 lead in the third on Mark DeRosa’s 11th home run of the season. Ryan Theriot singled in DeRosa in the fifth for a 2-0 advantage.
St. Louis rallied to tie the game in the sixth against starter Ted Lilly. Ankiel led off the inning with his 18th homer. He hit a 1-2 pitch over the wall in right-center. The home run pushed Ankiel into a tie with Albert Pujols for the team lead.
Pujols followed Ankiel’s blast with a double into left-center. One out later, Ryan Ludwick hit a double down the line in left to score Pujols.
Chicago infielder Aramis Ramirez broke a 2-2 tie by hitting a 2-0 pitch from reliever Ryan Franklin over the wall in left-center field for his 15th homer of the season in front of 46,865 fans, a new record for the three-year-old Busch Stadium.
Chicago starter Ted Lilly, who was unbeaten in his five previous starts, allowed just two runs in six innings. He has given up just six runs in his last four road starts.
St. Louis starter Kyle Lohse gave up two runs in seven innings. He struck out six and walked two. Molina kept his 12-game hitting streak alive with a sixth-inning infield single.
Notes: Derrek Lee had three hits for the Cubs. He’s hitting .476 over his last five games. ... St. Louis third baseman Troy Glaus is 0-for-20 against Chicago this season.

2008 WRC Calendar

2008-07-04T11:08:00.000-07:00

Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo 24 - 27/1/08
Uddeholm Swedish Rally 8 - 10/2/08
Corona Rally Mexico 28/2 - 2/3/08
Rally Argentina 27 - 30/3/08
Jordan Rally WRC 24 - 27/4/08
Rally d'Italia Sardegna 16 - 18/5/08
BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally of Greece 29/5 - 1/6/08
Rally of Turkey 13 - 15/6/08
Neste Oil Rally Finland 31/7 - 3/8/08
ADAC Rallye Deutschland 15 - 17/8/08
Repco Rally New Zealand 28 - 31/8/08
Rallye de España 2 - 5/10/08
Rallye de France - Tour de Corse 10 - 12/10/08
Rally Japan 31/10 - 2/11/08
Wales Rally GB 5 - 7/12/08

Biggest entry of the season for Finland

2008-07-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

The Rally Finland organisers have published a 110-strong list of entries for the next round of the World Rally Championship.
Running as a round of both the Production and Junior series, the numbers for the Jyvaskyla-based event are higher, but there is also a strong contingent of private World Rally Car entries at the head of the field. Beyond the usual manufacturer entries -among which there are no surprises - some of the fastest young Scandinavians will do battle on the super-fast Finnish stages.
Norwegians Mads Ostberg (Subaru Impreza WRC) and Andreas Mikkelsen (Ford Focus RS WRC 06) will take on local stars Matti Rantanen (Focus RS WRC 06) and Jukka Hiltunen (Focus RS WRC 03) in the fight to become the best non-manufacturer driver.
Junior driver Martin Prokop will aim to put his dreadful start to the season behind him and, in the absence of series leader Sebastien Ogier, collect a big haul of points in Finland. Ogier will start the event, but he will not take Junior points. Prokop’s biggest rivals for the Finnish victory are likely to be Patrik Sandell (Clio S1600) and Suzuki junior drivers Michal Kosciuszko, who collected his first ever J-WRC win on the last round in Italy, and Jaan Molder.
Eyvind Brynildsen leads the P-WRC runners away in his Mitsubishi, but he will come under intense pressure from Finns Jari Ketomaa (Subaru) and Juho Hanninen (Mitsubishi). There will be another two locals in the hunt for P-WRC points, with wildcard entries Juha Salo and Jussi Valimaki (both in Mitsubishis) certain to shake the order up.

Batting might sees India into final

2008-07-03T18:54:00.001-07:00

India 310 for 4 (Gambhir 68, Dhoni 67, Raina 54) beat Sri Lanka 308 for 8 (Kapugedera 75, Jayawardene 50, Silva 50) by six wickets

For the second day in succession, a target of 309 was overhauled without much trouble. Each of India's batsmen played their part as India reached the final with a convincing six-wicket win over Sri Lanka. Muttiah Muralitharan was the only bowler to unsettle the batsmen but, with little support from the rest, India triumphed with 19 balls to spare.
In contrast to their bowling effort, four of Sri Lanka's top six made significant contributions to help them post an imposing total. However, having already qualified for the final, they rested the experienced Chaminda Vaas as well as their new spin sensation Ajantha Mendis, a decision that worked in India's favour.
Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag provided their now-familiar blazing start as India started their chase in earnest. It wasn't an all-out assault from them. Runs were scored with a combination of well-timed boundaries and a host of sharp singles - even Sehwag's six over midwicket was an effortless pick-up off his pads. In fact, the only shot in the first Powerplay, based on brute force, was an on-drive from Gambhir off Nuwan Kulasekara in the 10th over.
With little in the pitch for the fast bowlers, the openers were only troubled when taking some ill-judged singles. Gambhir demonstrated his confidence level by repeatedly charging the fast bowlers while Sehwag nonchalantly pulled even length deliveries to midwicket. Though India had raced to 71 in the first 10 overs, Jayawardene decided to take the second Powerplay. The decision seemed to backfire as 21 runs came off the next nine balls but the breakthrough came when Sehwag tapped a slower ball down leg side to Dilhara Fernando at short fine leg.
Suresh Raina started off with a confident pull to midwicket but was fortunate to see a lofted drive dropped by substitute Jehan Mubarak at cover. He and Gambhir took India to 135 before Gambhir was trapped lbw for 68, failing to pick a straighter one from Murali. Dhoni promoted himself ahead of Yuvraj Singh probably to ensure two left-handers didn't have to deal with the wiles of Murali.
Dhoni hardly showed any effects of having kept in back-to-back matches and playing a long innings yesterday as he and Raina scampered quick singles and twos. He started out cautiously before opening out after the 30th over - four fours (including a powerful, fine paddle-sweep off Murali) and a six came in the next four overs as the required-rate dipped to manageable levels.
Raina was run out soon after when going for a tight third and Dhoni was foxed by a quicker one from Murali to leave with two new batsmen at the crease, and 56 runs in the arrears. Yuvraj and Rohit Sharma, though, settled India's nerves with a composed partnership and set up a rematch in Sunday's final.
Unlike the Sri Lankan bowlers, India started off well as the new-ball bowlers turned in a much-improved performance, so much so that the first convincing boundary came only in the seventh over.
Ishant Sharma was the pick of the bowlers, exploiting the variable bounce in the pitch and effectively using the slower ball to trouble the batsmen. In one of cricket's typical quirks, amid an excellent spell, Ishant got his wickets off two of the worst deliveries he sent down - both short and down the leg side.
His opening partner RP Singh was also economical and Sri Lanka were limited to 39 for 1 after eight. The introduction of Irfan Pathan, though, let them off the hook as 26 came off his two overs. Sanath Jayasuriya had just switched to fifth gear before gloving one to Dhoni off Ishant. With the pitch easing up, Jayawardene and Kapugedera collected the singles against the spinners while punishing the loose deliveries from the faster bowlers to put on 78. Kapugedera, in particular, was impressive with a series of classical off-driven boundaries early on.
Risk-free batting took Jayawardene on to his half-century but he perished soon after as he stepped out and chipped Pragyan Ojha straight to long-off. Kapugedera was next to go, trapped lbw by Praveen, but not before he added 68 with Chamara Silva. Silva used the cut and sweep shots well against the spinners to make a well-deserved fifty and cameos from Kaushalya Weeraratne and Thilan Thushara pushed Sri Lanka beyond 300.
India's cause wasn't helped by their fielding, which has been below par right through the Asia Cup - catches were misjudged, dives at the boundary rarely saved the fours and several run-out opportunities were spurned. Ultimately, though, their batting covered up the deficiencies in the other departments to take them to the final at the expense of Pakistan.

PIT BABES III

2008-06-30T20:38:00.000-07:00

Car Concepts Walllpapers

2008-06-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

Global Warming (Source Wikipedia & Sciencedaily.com)

2008-06-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

March 2008 State rankings for precipitation. Dark red indicates record driest March, and dark green, record wettest for the month.

Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980

Global mean surface temperature anomaly relative to 1961–1990

Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century, and its projected continuation.
The average global air temperature near the Earth's surface increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the hundred years ending in 2005. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes "most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-twentieth century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic (man-made) greenhouse gas concentrations" via an enhanced greenhouse effect. Natural phenomena such as solar variation combined with volcanoes probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling effect from 1950 onward.
These basic conclusions have been endorsed by at least thirty scientific societies and academies of science,including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries.While individual scientists have voiced disagreement with some findings of the IPCC,The Royal Society asserts that the overwhelming majority of scientists working on climate change agree with the IPCC's main conclusions.[9][10]
Climate model projections summarized by the IPCC indicate that average global surface temperature will likely rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the twenty-first century.This range of values results from the use of differing scenarios of future greenhouse gas emissions as well as models with differing climate sensitivity. Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, warming and sea level rise are expected to continue for more than a thousand years even if greenhouse gas levels are stabilized. The delay in reaching equilibrium is a result of the large heat capacity of the oceans.
Increasing mean global temperature is expected to cause sea level to rise, an increase in the intensity of extreme weather events, and significant changes to the amount and pattern of precipitation. Other expected effects of global warming include changes in agricultural yields, modifications of trade routes, glacier retreat, species extinctions and increases in the ranges of disease vectors.
Remaining scientific uncertainties include the amount of warming expected in the future, and how warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe. Most national governments have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but there is ongoing political and public debate worldwide regarding what, if any, action should be taken to reduce or reverse future warming or to adapt to its expected consequences.

Formula 1: 60 Years of Silverstone

2008-06-30T19:03:00.000-07:00

Silverstone is a quiet, medium sized village in Northamptonshire, England. It has a population of approximately 2,000 people, yet once a year it is home to over 100,000 F1 loving fans. The masses descend upon the village usually in late June or early July and this is where any shop, post office, hotel, or B&B in the village increases its weekly turnover 50 fold come pay day.
Silverstone circuit is built on an old World War II bomber base, RAF Silverstone. The airfield's three classic runways in triangle formation can still be seen from a bird’s eye view of the circuit. It was built in 1943 and then five years later was awarded the British Grand Prix for the very first time in 1948.
It’s been regularly the home of the British GP but it hasn’t always been a permanent fixture, sharing the spoils with Brands Hatch and Aintree. Yes, you heard me right, Aintree, the place where horses will more commonly be seen racing in the current day. However, Silverstone has been a permanent fixture since 1987.
Did you know? - Silverstone has the honour of being the track in the first-ever race of the first-ever World Championship back in 1950.

Sri Lanka storm into final

2008-06-30T18:55:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka 332 for 8 (Jayasuriya 130, Sangakkara 121) beat Bangladesh 174 (Raqibul 52, Nazimuddin 47, Muralitharan 5-31) by 158 runs

As birthday bashes go, this was pretty special, with Sanath Jayasuriya bludgeoning Bangladesh into submission as Sri Lanka sauntered into the Asia Cup final. Kumar Sangakkara's elegant 121, just 24 hours after a century against Pakistan, was the supporting act, and with Muttiah Muralitharan at his supple-wristed best with the ball, Bangladesh were brushed aside by a massive 158 runs. Nazimuddin and Raqibul Hasan showed some defiance, but even against an attack missing Lasith Malinga and Farveez Maharoof, 333 was never on.
Some of the Bangladesh players were still in diapers when Jayasuriya made his debut, and they must have felt as helpless as babies when he celebrated his 39th birthday with the fluent shot-making and power-hitting that typified his halcyon years. He raced to a century off only 55 balls, and though it turned out to be a two-man show, Sri Lanka still had enough to pull off their fourth successive win of the tournament.
Having added 201 with Sangakkara in only 27.5 overs, Jayasuriya finally ran out of puff in the Karachi heat. A poor delivery from Alok Kapali was lofted to deep cover where Tamim Iqbal took the catch. There was scarcely any joy from the fielders, because by then Jayasuriya had pounded 130 off only 88 balls, with a heady rhythm of cuts, pulls and drives.
Sangakkara carried on though, having been reprieved by Kapali off his own bowling on 51. He drove beautifully down the ground and made good use of both the orthodox sweep and the slogged version. Occasionally, he would also come down the track and loft the ball over the infield, and Bangladesh appeared bereft of options.
When Jayasuriya lashed Mashrafe Mortaza's opening delivery past point for four, it appeared to be a sign of things to come, but with Shahadat Hossain bowling a maiden first-up, Bangladesh conceded only 20 in the first five overs. The trouble started after that, with Jayasuriya dusting off his pull stroke and driving over the infield with immense power.
Sangakkara wasn't to be left behind, piercing the packed off-side field cleverly occasionally, but after a while he gave up trying to keep pace. Jayasuriya was unstoppable. When the bowlers dropped short, he would pull over midwicket. If they were too full, the disdainful flick was unveiled. Too much width and the hoardings behind the point boundary were battered with short-arm cuts. And if all that wasn't punishment enough, he would also jump down the pitch before lashing the ball over the covers.
The half-century took only 31 balls, and when Abdur Razzak came on, he was taken for 19 runs in his second over. Two crisp fours off Farhad Reza and a single to long leg later, he had a century, the 26th of an illustrious career. Sangakkara, who had caressed some lovely drives himself, was the perfect foil, and Bangladesh's cause wasn't helped when Mushfiqur Rahim fluffed a catch behind the stumps off Razzak right after Jayasuriya had got his hundred.
His eventual departure, after slamming 16 fours and a mere six sixes, did stem the tide though, with the other batsmen unable to support Sangakkara. Mahela Jayawardene eased to 20 before pulling a long hop from Kapali to midwicket and neither Chamara, Kapugedera or Silva, could get going. Tillakaratne Dilshan was run out by a direct hit from Raqibul, and when Razzak finally sneaked one under Sangakkara's defence, Bangladesh had managed a comeback of sorts. But thanks to their openers becoming only the 18th pair to score centuries in the same game, Sri Lanka were nearly out of sight by then.
Bangladesh were notionally in the contest till the halfway stage of their innings, with Nazimuddin and Raqibul playing some fine strokes in the face of an imposing asking-rate. Nazimuddin took his time to settle, but then launched into some delightful cuts and drives. Ajantha Mendis, who had bamboozled the Pakistanis, was thumped for a four and a six, and only a miscommunication with Raqibul saw him run out when in sight of a half-century.
By then, he had already seen Tamim and Mohammad Ashraful, the side's leading lights, depart. With Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Kulasekara giving nothing away early on, Tamim quickly became restless, and a tame nibble at a Vaas delivery was easily taken by Dilshan, deputising for Sangakkara behind the stumps.
Ashraful came in and took three fours off a Vaas over, but then had one of those brain-fades that he's become prone to. He was in no sort of position to try and pull Thilan Thushara, and the top-edge came down into Dilshan's hands.
But with Raqibul starting in strokeful fashion and Nazimuddin determined to tilt at windmills, the run-rate quickly soared, with Thushara coming in for harsh treatment. Nazimuddin's dismissal, halted the charge though, and after that it was all about Murali.
Mushfiqur edged one to slip and Kapali was trapped in front by a doosra. Raqibul's brave innings was curtailed by another that went the wrong way, and Razzaq cleaned up going for the sweep. When Mortaza top-edged a sweep, he had five wickets for the ninth time in ODIs. It may sometimes be a young man's game, but it was the old hands that blew the candles out on Bangladesh.

Music: Lionel Richie- The Definative Collection

2008-06-30T18:34:00.000-07:00

I have zipped the Lionel Richie's "The Definative Collection" for download.

Click here to download the album.

Hack Book

2008-06-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

I have numerous hack books. Here, download this e-book for Hacking. I will upload the hack-books and other technology books as well. You can also request a book for download.

Click Here to download the Hack-book

E-books

2008-06-29T18:46:00.000-07:00

I have completed reading this book, "The Looming Tower" Al-QAEDA and road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright.
If anyone interested reading the book,
Click Here to download the e-book.

Pit Babes

2008-06-29T18:37:00.000-07:00

Pit Babes Part 2

England chief Miller backs Collingwood

2008-06-27T22:16:00.000-07:00

Geoff Miller, England's national selector, said Friday there was no reason why Paul Collingwood should not return as captain of the England one-day team after his four-game ban. That International Cricket Council (ICC) suspension, for being in charge of an England team that was twice slow with its over-rate during the past 12 months, starts with Saturday's ODI series finale against New Zealand at Lord's. But it was not England's sub-standard over-rate at The Oval on Wednesday, where New Zealand won a dramatic one-wicket victory off the last ball, that placed a question mark against Collingwood's captaincy. The Durham all-rounder's failure to recall Grant Elliott, run-out after a collision with England quick Ryan Sidebottom, led to widespread criticism although Collingwood did admit after the match he'd made a mistake. However, former England off-spinner Miller told Sky Sports he expected Collingwood would resume the captaincy of the one-day side when his ban expired. "I don't think there is any uncertainty whatsoever. "We have to wait to see how things progress." England play four Tests against South Africa, games for which the 32-year-old Collingwood remains eligible, before he is obliged to sit out August's one-off ODI against Scotland and the lone Twenty20 and first ODI with the Proteas. "He (Collingwood) is a quality player, will be involved in the Test arena and will come back into the equation when we start talking about the one-dayers," Miller said. "I see no reason why he shouldn't come back as captain but we will have to assess things when the time arises. "Colly was captain of the one-day (team), he is not allowed to play in the next four so we will cross the bridge when we come to it. It is all ifs and buts. We will discuss that when the time comes." Turning to the run-out contoversy, Miller said this would not be held against Collingwood. "He had to make a split-second decision. He made a decision and in the cold light of day realised it might have been the wrong decision. He has accepted that and has apologised so hopefully that issue is now closed." Kevin Pietersen, who will captain in Collingwood's absence at Lord's, in a match England must win to end the series level at 2-2, said Friday: "We should have helped the skipper out, there's no way Colly should have 'gone down'. It's all our fault." But he added match referee Javagal Srinath, the former India fast bowler, had little choice but to impose a four-game ban. "That's the rules, there's nothing Javagal could have done. We should have helped Colly out a lot more."

Australia thrash undisciplined Windies

2008-06-27T22:09:00.000-07:00

Australia 213 for 5 (Hussey 62, Clarke 56) beat West Indies 140 for 8 (Chanderpaul 45*, Clarke 3-26) by 63 runs
Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke showed West Indies how to apply themselves on a difficult pitch but their hosts ignored the lesson and threw away wickets when the going got tough, handing Australia a comprehensive 63-run Duckworth/Lewis win. When the rain came after 26 overs West Indies' hopes were already dashed and at the resumption they needed a ridiculous 146 more off 14 overs, ensuring Australia took a 2-0 series lead.
The victory came because of two men. On a surface that was sluggish and offered tricky seam movement, Hussey and Clarke compiled a restrained and at times soporific century partnership that allowed Australia to reach 213 for 5 after they had wobbled to 35 for 3. West Indies fell to an almost identical 41 for 3 in the chase but whereas Hussey and Clarke went into Test mode and focused on batting out the overs, West Indies' middle order showed as much patience as a hand grenade.
Australia's attack adopted a stump-to-stump style that suited the conditions and while Shivnarine Chanderpaul displayed his customary resolve, his partners exhibited no such commonsense. Dwayne Bravo had 3 from 21 deliveries when he was frustrated into lofting Shane Watson's slower ball to Hussey at deep midwicket and West Indies were 49 for 4.
Patrick Browne was equally unable to find the gaps and with 1 from 18 balls he edged Clarke to first slip, where Cameron White took a superb diving chance on the second grab. If the situation was not dire enough, Kieron Pollard came in and from his second ball played the worst shot of the lot. In a situation that required a slow and steady consolidation, Pollard went over the top and lobbed Clarke straight down the throat of Watson at long off, much to the frustration of his older, wiser partner.
At the time Chanderpaul had worked hard for 13 from 42 deliveries and when rain halted play one over later, it at least delayed the embarrassment for West Indies. Their revised target, 204 runs from 41 overs, was unattainable and Chanderpaul finished unbeaten on 45 while Clarke ended up with 3 for 26. If little went right for West Indies in the first ODI in St Vincent, there were even fewer positives in Grenada.
Their chase got away to the worst possible start when Brett Lee found Xavier Marshall's edge from the first delivery of the innings. The ball flew low and to the right of Luke Ronchi, who made a good take to give him the perfect introduction behind the stumps in his first ODI. Lee was once again in fine form, seaming the ball effectively and often beating the bat of both Andre Fletcher and Chris Gayle.
A watchful Gayle did not get off the mark until his 13th ball and although a calm and composed innings was required, the captain set a poor example for his troops by miscuing an attempted pull off Mitchell Johnson to Ricky Ponting at mid off. It was a disappointing shot selection, though not as bad as that of Fletcher, who tried to pull a James Hopes delivery that was far too full, and lost his off stump.
The difference between their approach and that of Australia could not have been more stark. Clarke and Hussey knew that after a shaky start - Jerome Taylor and Daren Powell jagged the ball around early and picked up three handy wickets - runs were not their immediate concern. Accordingly, they added only eight runs in the first ten overs of their partnership. Until Clarke drove Darren Sammy back down the ground in the 26th over, there had been no boundaries for 104 deliveries. But Clarke and Hussey are both smart runners between the wickets and they were largely responsible for the fact that 94 of Australia's 213 runs came in singles.
Plenty of comfortable ones and twos were on offer when the spinners operated and if runs weren't exactly leaking there was at least a nagging drip that Gayle needed to deal with. He was not helped by his fielders, who seemed to switch off after the early enthusiasm. Browne was sloppy behind the stumps and Bravo made a meal of what should have been a catch at first slip when Clarke was on 30 and facing Sulieman Benn. Bravo inexplicably moved right, trying to anticipate the cut shot rather than watching the ball, and he failed to get a hand on one that would have gone straight to him had he stayed still.
It was a costly mistake as Clarke went on to sweep and cut a few boundaries in his half-century, which came off 87 deliveries. He eventually fell for 56, struck in line by a straighter Benn ball that he was trying to work through midwicket as Australia gradually tried to lift their rate. Hussey picked up the pace with a six swept over midwicket off Benn and, appropriately given the hard grind for most of his innings, brought up his half-century with a thick edge that flew away for four to third man.
When Hussey holed out to long on for 62 from 105 deliveries his job was done. He had set a solid platform so the lower order could attack and White finished unbeaten on 40 from 39 balls while Hopes added a run-a-ball 17. The allrounders, who might have been under undue pressure had they come in earlier, had an easy task after the Clarke and Hussey partnership, which was worth 100 off 29 overs.
It also gave Ponting, in his 300th ODI, some justification after choosing to bat on a pitch with some moisture. His run of big milestone innings ended when he chipped a catch to short midwicket for 13, out to Taylor for the fifth time in his past six international innings. Australia had already lost Shaun Marsh and Watson, who waited 15 minutes for the first over due to yet another tedious sightscreen fault that did little for West Indies' image after a similar ridiculously long wait in Barbados. In the end it was a batting malfunction that really damaged West Indies' reputation.

Amazing Formula1 Facts

2008-06-27T04:26:00.000-07:00

Who was it, what happened, when he started, where did he lose out, how fast did he win are all questions that arouse your curiosity when it comes to the world’s largest spectator sport. Here are a few facts that could possibly throw some light and eliminate your curiosity about F1.

The highest speed a Formula One car can travel at is around 375 kph and Monza is the only circuit where such speeds are likely to be touched.
Carbon brake discs and pads generate surface temperatures in excess of 1000 degrees Celsius.
There are more than 1000 parts in the cars.
One engine is used only for two races.
The tyres are changed for every 0.1mm wear.
A Formula One driver loses an average of two kgs during a grand prix. He can lose upto 1.5 litres of fluid during a hot race.
During the Monaco Grand Prix, cars change gears around 3,100 times.
The fuel supply to the car during a pitstop is 75 litres per second.
Formula One cars can accelerate from standstill to 200 kph and back again in less than seven seconds.
Briton Damon Hill was the last driver to win without leading a lap in Belgium , 1994 after Michael Schumacher was disqualified.
Argentina's Juan Manuel Fangio 46 years, one month and 11 days old, was the oldest world champion in 1957.
Italian Giancarlo Fisichella was the last driver to win a race after leading only the final lap in Brazil in 2003.
Briton Nigel Mansell is the only driver to have led every lap of a race except the last one in Canada in 1991.
Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi was the youngest world champion in 1972 at 25 years eight months and 29 days.
Briton Jenson Button was the youngest points scorer in 2000 at the age of 20 and two months.
Jochen Rindt from Austria was the only posthumous world champion in 1970.
Frenchman Phillippe Etancelin was the oldest points scorer in 1950 at the age of 53 years, eight months and six days.
Spain's Fernando Alonso is the youngest race winner in 2003 at the age of 22 years and 26 days.
Briton Stirling Moss has the most career wins (16) without winning a championship. Finnish Keke Rosberg was champion in 1982 with a single win.
Ferrari's test driver, Italy's Luca Badoer has made the most race starts (50) without scoring a point.
The oldest race winner was Italian Luigi Fagioli in 1951, aged 53 years and 22 days.
The driver to make the most starts (208) without a win is Italy's Andrea de Cesaris.
New Zealand's Mike Thackwell was the youngest started in 1980 at the age of 19 years, 5 months and 29 days.
Italy’s Riccardo Patrese started the most races (256), with Schumacher coming second with 212.

PIT BABES 2008 F1 France

2008-06-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

Who is going to watch F1 race...when these babes are around :D

Watch out these Pit babes...

Hamilton dominant on final test day

2008-06-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

Lewis Hamilton remained unbeatable on the final afternoon of the Silverstone test, finishing his only day of running two-thirds of a second clear of the opposition courtesy of his stunning morning time of 1m19.170s.
Surprisingly, his closest competition came not from Ferrari rival Kimi Raikkonen, but from Timo Glock, who showed extremely impressive pace for Toyota.
The German, who had blotted his copybook in the morning by hitting the back of David Coulthard’s Red Bull, was the only man other than Hamilton to break the 1m20s barrier and now heads into next weekend's British Grand Prix in confident mood.
"That was a good day's testing for us," he said.

"The wind made it quite tricky because it was quite inconsistent but in the end we collected some important data and we are happy with the car.
"We had a problem this morning when I had a collision with David Coulthard. It was a misunderstanding, when I turned in at the end of the Hangar Straight David was there.
"I just didn't see him so I apologise for that.
"We've made a good step in the last couple of weeks and the last two results have given the team a boost. Now we have to keep up the form at Silverstone next week."
Raikkonen’s morning effort remained good for third, the Finn completing a modest 60 laps as he concentrated on evaluating the new parts on the F2008, while Fernando Alonso wound up fourth for Renault.
The Spaniard had an eventful day, bringing out two of the six red flags with an engine failure at 10am and a spin at the entry to the complex just a few minutes into the afternoon session.
But despite the disruptions, Alonso believes the team has made good progress with its R28."We spent the day working on improving the set-up of the car to be ready for the race next week and all the changes that we made took us in the right direction," he said.
"By the end of the day I was much happier with the car."Nick Heidfeld focused on aero and set-up work on the BMW F1.08 and was fifth quickest, some 1.8s off Hamilton’s pace, just ahead of Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams.
Adrian Sutil was an encouraging seventh fastest for Force India as the team rounded off its first evaluation of its heavily updated VJM01 car, which includes a 'shark fin' engine cover.
Despite a brake disc failure pitching him off into the gravel at Abbey at the end of the morning, the German still managed to complete a total of 71 laps and end the day ahead of Rubens Barrichello (Honda), Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso).
Coulthard, meanwhile, found himself at the bottom of the order after a wretched day in which he managed only 31 laps after his collision with Glock did extensive damage to his Red Bull.
To compound his misery, the RB4 blew up coming out of Woodcote with nine minutes remaining and brought the day's proceedings to a premature conclusion.
The Scot, however, believes the team is in good enough shape for his lack of pre-British GP preparation to be quickly overcome when practice starts next Friday.
"Unfortunately I did not get much running and as the high-speed nature of Silverstone means it helps to get your eye in, I will be slightly on the back foot going into practice for the British Grand Prix," he said.
"But I think that, as a team, we are strong enough to deal with that, so I hope to have a good homerace."

I beat Maria Sharapova because of her outfit

2008-06-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

Maria Sharapova remembered to pack the designer jacket and the shorts she knew would make her the centre of attention at Wimbledon. She just forgot to pack her talent. Sharapova ended yesterday all dressed up and with only one place to go – out of the tournament and back to California.
Every point seemed to inflict pain on the No 3 seed as she slid inexorably towards the Wimbledon exit yesterday. Alla Kudryavtseva did not so much defeat Sharapova, 6-2, 6-4, as pack up her posh clothes and dump them in the hotel corridor.
Not much point in being the Golden Girl with the fashionable gear that turns you into a multimillion-pound advertising hoarding if you are back at home and no one can see you. But that is what is facing Sharapova as she attempts to understand how she could lose to a 20-year-old Russian ranked No 154 in the world in the second round at Wimbledon.
Perhaps Sharapova should have been warned. After all, Kudryavtseva’s father, Alexander, was a world champion wrestler and she owns a rottweiler. When it comes to fighting spirit, Sharapova could have guessed that her opponent was up for a ruck.
But there was worse to come, for Kudryavtseva, who is not one of the glamour girls of tennis, said that Sharapova’s status as a fashion icon had got under her skin. “It’s very pleasant to beat Maria,” she said. “I don’t like her outfit. Can I put it this way? It was one of my motivations to beat her.”
My, she must have bristled when she set eyes on her. As always, Sharapova looked wonderful: trim, athletic and shrieking for Russia as she boomed the ball around the court. That was part of the problem, for Sharapova boomed the ball almost anywhere but where it was supposed to go. As the match wore on, she looked as though she was trying to shrug off the worries of the world, alternating between huge bursts of energy and tired, listless shots with the power of a powder puff.
At least she was gracious in defeat. “I guess it wasn’t my day,” Sharapova said. “She just did everything better than I did. She played much better. She had nothing to lose. She went for her shots. I was just pretty tentative. You just never know what’s going to happen on any given day. Some days the balls just don’t bounce where you want them or they don’t land where you want them to land.”
In the space of two days the two figureheads of women’s tennis have seen their reputations dangle by a thread. Ana Ivanovic, the No 1 seed from Serbia, got away with it thanks to the thickness of a net cord that saved her from defeat by Nathalie Dechy, of France. But there was no net cord to save Sharapova and, in truth, a safety net the size of Wimbledon’s No 1 Court would not have been enough to prevent her tumbling into the ranks of the also-rans for 2008.
It was a different story for Venus Williams, although the defending champion is making a rickety attempt to hold on to her crown. She was roughed up by Naomi Cavaday, the British No 5, in the first round and yesterday it was the turn of Anne Keothavong, the British No 1, to have a go. And very well Keothavong played, too. Well enough to believe that she could have won instead of being defeated 7-5, 6-2. The scoreline did not reflect Keothavong’s tenacity and mix of power and trickery that temporarily rocked the champion. Unlike Sharapova, though, Williams is still in the mix for this championship.

Sri Lanka prevail over spirited UAE

2008-06-26T19:51:00.001-07:00

Sri Lanka 290 for 9 (Udawatte 67, Jayawardene 61, Shah 3-49) beat UAE 148 (Amjad 77, Mendis 5-22) by 142 runs

Sri Lanka secured their second big win in two days, this time over UAE, to progress to the second round of the Asia Cup with two points in the bag. Chasing 291, UAE looked like they would make a match of it as opener Amjad Ali hit a spectacular half-century but they hurtled to defeat after his departure, losing their last six wickets for 15 runs as Ajantha Mendis finished with career-best figures of 5-22.

New Zealand take controversial last-ball thriller

2008-06-26T19:47:00.001-07:00

On a day that ebbed and flowed dramatically, New Zealand held their nerve to squeeze a tense one-wicket win at The Oval, to sneak a 2-1 lead going into the weekend's series decider at Lord's. Like England earlier in the day, New Zealand stumbled twice either side of a brisk middle-order partnership between two men searching for form, and despite a controversial moment sure to occupy the airwaves and columns for days to come, chased down 246 from the last ball of the game.
Scott Styris hit 69, Jacob Oram marked his first game of the series with a crucial 38, and Kyle Mills defied the odds to remain unbeaten on 25, which all added up to a hair-raising, pulsating chase of a target that had been set up by sparkling (but unfulfilled) fifties from Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah.
In easily the tightest contest of the summer, England were struggling to stay in the contest with New Zealand well placed on 173 for 4 in the 35th over, but hit back to dismiss Styris (brilliantly run out by Graeme Swann and Paul Collingwood), Oram (pulling to the deep) and Daniel Vettori (excellently held by Bopara at midwicket) in the space of 24 balls and for 16 runs - turning The Oval into a cauldron.
A fourth followed in the most controversial manner. With 26 needed from 39 balls, Mills called Grant Elliott for a sharp single. As Elliott bolted out of the blocks he collided with Sidebottom, rugby style, and fell flat to the ground. Ian Bell threw the ball to Kevin Pietersen, who broke the stumps, but England did not withdraw their appeal despite the umpire, Mark Benson, offering Collingwood the chance to think again. A peeved Elliott hobbled off for 24.
With 12 needed from 21, Bell knocked down the stumps with Tim Southee short of his crease. Mark Gillespie then survived a tantalizingly tense maiden 47th over from Swann, and no runs had been scored for nine deliveries when Mills, who had been sizing up the midwicket boundary, swatted Collingwood off the middle for a 106-metre six, to transform the equation from 12 from 10 to six from nine.
Manic singles followed, and it came down to three from six balls. Mills pinched a single, but the next five deliveries seemed to take an eternity as Luke Wright ploughed a channel outside off and Gillespie fished and missed repeatedly. Then, on the last ball, he pushed the ball to Swann at cover and set off for the single that would have secured the tie. Swann's shy, however, missed the stumps and with England's fielders all converging on the stumps, New Zealand's sprinted through for a delirious winning over-throw. England's final blemish in the field proved decisive.
New Zealand should have been in deep trouble long before that moment, after Ryan Sidebottom had nipped out Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor, but a spate of nerves from the home side allowed Styris to rack up some long overdue form. James Anderson should have had him on 0 but Shah at second slip spilled a regulation catch in front of his face. Sidebottom's figures of 5-0-15-2 were tarnished with a 13-run sixth over and nine in the seventh as Styris cashed in on his fortune.
Styris kept flashing and was given two more lives, on 27 and 28, first off Stuart Broad when he slashed hard and Collingwood failed to latch on at backward point, and then when Broad himself dropped a return catch. Styris' best shot, a front-foot drive through extra cover, brought him his first ODI half-century since December 2007.
Like the Styris-Oram partnership, a solid fifth-wicket stand between Bopara and Shah formed the crux of England's ultimately inadequate effort. New Zealand snapped a 41-run stand between a nervous Luke Wright (18) and Bell (46) and when Collingwood followed Pietersen's 0 with a loose shot of his own, the heat was on two men pushing for long-term spots.
Bopara - watchful and solid - and Shah - shuffling and hustling - applied themselves well for most of the 15.2 overs they shared. Shah started with a cross-batted six over midwicket off Southee, and played a more conventional six over extra cover off Vettori, but more importantly was always looking for quick singles, and urging Bopara to look out for the second.
A player with a lot of time to execute his shots, Bopara - after flops the first two matches and a start at Bristol - looked composed during his 78-ball innings. His 58 was a career-best knock, but only a tantalising glimpse of the sublime form he's been showing for Essex in county cricket this summer. He threw it away soon after passing fifty for the second time, playing a languid, frustratingly indifferent drive to Oram at mid-on.
Shah played some stunning shots, including three powerful fours in one Gillespie over as he moved past fifty from 63 balls, but was run out needlessly going for a second run on 63, amid a lower-order collapse. England's last pair lifted the total to 245 but overall it was a disappointing effort from a team that has lost steam with each match of the series.
New Zealand backed themselves to chase when they opted to field after winning the toss, and though it wasn't easy by any means, they go to Lord's with the momentum - and a little sympathy - firmly their way.

Collingwood Banned for Four ODI's

2008-06-26T19:42:00.000-07:00

Kevin Pietersen has been named England's captain for the final match of their one-day series after Paul Collingwood was banned for four ODIs. Collingwood was found guilty of Level 3 ICC Code of Conduct breach following his side's failure to bowl their overs in the required time during their dramatic one-wicket defeat against New Zealand at The Oval on Wednesday.
In addition to missing the final one-dayer against New Zealand at Lord's on Saturday, Collingwood will also play no part in England's ODI against Scotland, their Twenty20 international against South Africa on August 20, nor the first of seven ODIs a week later.
"I'm humbled to have been handed the England one-day captaincy in Paul Collingwood's absence for the final game at Lord's," Pietersen said. "Captaining England has been a dream of mine but I also understand that I'm assuming the role in Paul's absence as he is the captain and leader of the one-day side. To be asked to captain your country is the ultimate honour in sport and I feel privileged and proud to have been asked to lead the side on Saturday.
"I'm very much looking forward to leading the team against New Zealand and am excited by the challenge of captaining such a young and talented side. We can't win this series but I, like the rest of the dressing room, expect an outstanding England performance to finish the series on a high."
It remains to be seen whether Pietersen will continue the captaincy for the other three ODIs that Collingwood is missing, although there is no other obvious candidate - he is the second-most experienced of the options after James Anderson. Who replaces him at No.5 for the South Africa matches is harder to guess, but a shift in the batting order could be made to accommodate Alastair Cook - England's leading run-scorer in their last two one-day series - who has now fully recovered from his shoulder injury. Luke Wright and Ian Bell's opening partnership has promised much, but if Cook does return, it seems probable he will open the batting. Wright could then bolster the middle-order.
"Obviously I'm disappointed to be missing England's next four limited overs matches but as a team we are aware of the rules and regulations in place and it's my responsibility to bear the penalties for such a breach," Collingwood said. "Clearly we'll look to address the problem so it doesn't happen again.
"The England captaincy means the world to me and already I'm looking forward to leading the one-day team against South Africa in August. I wish my team-mates all the best for Saturday's final ODI as we aim to finish the series with a win."
Collingwood's four-match ban comes hot on the heels of yesterday's controversial match at The Oval. With Grant Elliott being run out after colliding with Ryan Sidebottom, Collingwood was offered the chance to withdraw his appeal. He turned it down, however, a decision he later apologised for.
A deficit of more than two overs in an ODI brings with it an automatic Level 2 charge against the captain involved, but if that captain has already been charged and found guilty of the offence within the preceding 12 months then the charge is elevated to Level 3.
England also felt short of the required over-rate against India in Bristol on August 24 last year. On that occasion the team was, as at The Oval on Wednesday, three overs down and Collingwood was fined 50% of his match fee. The regulations also state that players shall be docked 5% of their match fees for every over short of the required mark, with the captain fined double.

Replacement England captain Pietersen living a dream

2008-06-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

LONDON (Reuters) - Kevin Pietersen will fulfil a dream when he takes over as England captain from the suspended Paul Collingwood in Saturday's fifth and final one-dayer against New Zealand at Lord's.
Collingwood was handed a four-match ban for his team's slow over-rate in their one-wicket defeat by the Kiwis at the Oval on Wednesday.
"I'm humbled to have been handed the captaincy," Pietersen said in a news release on Thursday. "Captaining England has been a dream of mine but I also understand I'm assuming the role in Paul's absence as he is the captain and leader of the one-day side.
"To be asked to captain your country is the ultimate honour in sport and I feel privileged and proud to have been asked to lead the side on Saturday."
England go into the game trailing 2-1, with the second match in the series having been abandoned as a no result.
"I am very much looking forward to leading the team against New Zealand and am excited by the challenge of captaining such a young and talented side," added Pietersen.
"We can't win this series but I, like the rest of the dressing room, expect an outstanding England performance to finish the series on a high."
Andrew Strauss has been called into the squad as batting cover for the suspended Collingwood.

Sehwag and Raina seal thumping win

2008-06-26T19:35:00.001-07:00

India 301 for 4 (Sehwag 119, Raina 84) beat Pakistan 299 for 4 (Malik 125, Younis 59) by six wickets
A mighty performance from India's batsmen, led by Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina, made easy work of Pakistan's competitive target of 300 and gave India two points to take into the next round. The pair tore into Pakistan's depleted and wayward bowling attack - scoring at more than eight an over during their second-wicket partnership of 198 - as India reached the target with six wickets and 47 balls to spare, their quickest chase while facing a target of 300.
The Indian approach was in stark contrast to Pakistan's methodical plan in their innings. Their openers played cautiously at the start and accelerated once the new ball had been seen off. Malik's maiden century as captain was the cornerstone of the innings and gave the batsmen who followed the freedom to innovate and bat aggressively to propel Pakistan to 299 for 4. In the end, however, they needed plenty more to challenge a trailblazing Indian batting line-up.
Pakistan's attack was weakened by a rib-muscle injury to Umar Gul, who left the field after bowling only 1.2 overs. Shoaib Malik's offspin was also unavailable because he didn't take the field after cramping towards the end of his century, which left acting captain Misbah-ul-Haq with only three specialist bowling options - Sohail Tanvir, Iftikhar Anjum and Shahid Afridi - and their flat performance cost Pakistan dearly.
Despite snaring Gautam Gambhir early - Misbah showed lightning reflexes in taking a one-handed catch to his left at gully - Pakistan were unable to contain India. After the Kitply Cup final, Dhoni had admitted that promoting Raina ahead of himself was a mistake but today Raina walked in at No. 3, instead of the out-of-touch Rohit Sharma.
Bristling with confidence after his century on Wednesday against Hong Kong, Raina began with free-flowing cover drives when offered width outside off stump by Tanvir and Anjum. He did most of the early scoring and Sehwag hadn't got off the mark till the fourth over. However, Sehwag began to gather momentum by flicking consecutively to the long-leg boundary when Anjum strayed on to his pads, and slashed two short and wide balls from Tanvir to the third-man boundary.
With Tanvir and Anjum ineffective, Misbah turned to Afridi in the 11th over. Afridi bowled one satisfactory over before Sehwag hit him for two straight sixes in his second. Raina lofted Anjum audaciously over extra cover for another six and when Misbah brought Tanvir back, Sehwag immediately glided him down to the third man for four.
Pakistan began to haemorrhage runs and by the time Malik took the field, India had raced to 100 in 14 overs. They found the boundary virtually every over: Raina lofted Fawad Alam's left-arm spin over the midwicket boundary, Sehwag hit Afridi over long-on for six once more. And when Malik, who wasn't allowed to bowl for 71 minutes after taking the field, turned to Salman Butt, Sehwag responded by charging him and smashing the ball twice into the stands at deep midwicket to move into the 90s.
Sehwag brought up his century of only 80 balls but Raina missed his, chipping Anjum tamely to Alam at cover. At that stage India needed 90 runs in 23 overs and victory was only a matter of time.
The ease with which India achieved victory was startling for Pakistan, who had worked extremely hard to build a competitive total on a benign pitch. They reverted to the caution-before-aggression approach that won them the Kitply Cup final in Dhaka earlier this month. In that game, Butt and Younis Khan did the groundwork, steering Pakistan cautiously to 104 for 1 after 25 overs before they went on to score hundreds in a final total of 315 for 3.
Today, Malik's effort was an example of how to pace an innings. He and Butt gave the first eight overs to the Indian bowlers and took no risks. By the end of the 13th over, Pakistan had only scored 38 but India's fast bowlers had failed to create wicket-taking opportunities. Thereafter, Malik began to attack, driving Praveen straight for four and then gliding him between Dhoni and short third man. He was offered width twice by Ishant and cut him through and over point for fours. Dhoni finally resorted to spin in the 20th over but by now Malik was well set and he hit Chawla for two fours through midwicket to reach his fifty off 61 balls.
Malik and Younis, who scored 59, strengthened Pakistan's grip on the game during their 129-run stand for the second wicket. Brimming with confidence, Younis swept the spinners fluently, made room to cut, lofted them over midwicket and threw them completely off line by using the reverse-sweep repeatedly. They played crucial roles in setting a challenging target but their hardworking partnership, during which they ran between the wickets splendidly, was put firmly in the shade by the blitzkrieg launched by Sehwag and Raina.

5 Top rated PC games!!

2008-06-26T00:22:00.000-07:00

Top 5
Assassin's Creed is a beautiful, exciting experience that will stay with you long after you finish it.

The Good
Huge, gorgeous world that feels wholly alive
It's fun to run across city rooftops
Joyous mix of stealth, action, and platforming
Stunning sound design features fantastic voice acting and a beautiful musical score
Tons of small details will constantly amaze you.

The Bad
Confusing ending
Remarkably high system requirements and some small glitches
New mission types aren't as good as the others.

TOP 4
Technical issues notwithstanding, the violently rewarding Age of Conan is one of the finest online RPGs available.

The Good
Mature, brilliantly imagined game world is a pleasure to explore
Exciting combat keeps you constantly involved
Many quests are powerfully written and have emotional impact
Varied classes make both team and solo play equally viable
You can tear a man's heart out of his chest and eat it.

The Bad
A large number of server- and client-side bugs
Lacks noncombat activities that would help mix things up
Various pacing issues and other minor flaws.

Top 3
This isn't just the first great strategy game of 2008. It's also an absolute must-have if you love space strategy.
The Good
Dangerously addictive and enjoyable space strategy Real-time gameplay feels original and fresh Epic feel with titanic battles Excellent single- and multiplayer gameplay.
The Bad
Games
can take a very long time to resolve You won't get a lot of sleep.

Top 2
There's a blissful nirvana strategy gamers yearn for, even though experiencing it usually involves a considerable loss of sleep along with a steep drop in productivity for days on end
The Good
Unique racial tech trees
New buildings and ships enhance the personality of each race
Immense galaxy size affords campaigns that can last for months
Interface tweaks make the overall game more playable.
The Bad
Campaign could offer more surprises
Still no full multiplayer game mode.

TOP 1
Streamlined combat and numerous minor improvements make this great game even better.
The Good
All the awesome stuff that made Mass Effect on the 360 great
Tech/Biotic power hotkeys make combat fast and fluid
Numerous small improvements add up nicely.
The Bad
Still hampered by graphical hitches
Brief, intermittent load screens.

Wimbledon: Maria Sharapova to quit... in a few years' time

2008-06-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

Maria Sharapova has hinted she might do a Justine Henin and quit tennis in a few years' time - after establishing herself as the world No.1. The glamorous Russian, who comes into Wimbledon on the back of another French Open disappointment, insists she'd like to go out at the top. Sharapova, 21, said: "If I were 25 and I'd achieved the things that Justine right has achieved in her career, I'd feel like there was a lot more to life to explore. "From the age that you start, every single day you're training. "Everything you do that is not tennis, you think of all the consequences. "One of the things that I'd look forward to is not thinking, 'How is this going to hurt me when I go back on the practice court?' "Justine is 25 and she has achieved so much in her career. If I was 25 and I had won so many Grand Slams, I'd quit too. "The worst thing about my life is not being able to see my friends and family for a long period. Living from hotel to hotel, it's sometimes a nightmare. "Often I've woken up in a hotel room and I've forgotten which city I'm in. "When you're successful, there are lots of amazing things you can get to do. "But there's a lot of work that you have to put in to get there, when you have to grind. "And there are times when there are parties I can't go to because I'm an athlete and you have to be professional. Those are the sacrifices that you have to make. "I still find my celebrity weird - it's always strange when I see my image on the cover of a magazine." Sharapova, who has won the Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open titles, is four Grand Slams away from matching Henin's tally. She is the world's highestpaid female athlete, but she now faces a rival in both the supermodel and super powered tennis stakes - Ana Ivanovic. Ana deposed Maria after her breakthrough French Open triumph - and Sharapova has been seeded third at SW19 behind Ivanovic and another Serb, Jelena Jankovic. Sharapova said: 'Am I up for the fight? Absolutely. Every professional athlete enjoys challenges. "I know that even though I'm only 21 there is a younger generation coming up that wants to be No.1 in the world. "That's the challenge and that's what I love about tennis."

5 Reasons to tune in
Maria Sharapova
Statuesque Russian might be as famous for her beauty as she is for her tennis but has the talent to put opponents to the sword.

Ana Ivanovic
Current world No.1 has never been past the semi-finals at Wimbledon and will be hoping to go all the way this year - as well asout doing rival Jelena Jankovic in the glamour stakes.

Maria Kirlienko
Towering, Russian and blonde - but that's where the comparisons with Sharapova end. Kirilenko has got the looks but has never been past the second round at Wimbledon.

Elena Dementieva
Yet another glamorous Russian to watch out for at SW19 over the next fortnight, the world No.5 has a good record of coming out on top against much more fancied opponents.

Daniela Hantuchova
Stunning Slovak is always one to watch in the mixed doubles - which she won in 2001 - but will be desperate to maintain a challenge on her own after reaching the Australian Open semi-finals.

Women's betting
Maria Sharapova 5/2
Serena Williams 7/2
Ana Ivanovic 4/1
Venus Williams 5/1
Jelena Jankovic 10/1
Dinara Safina 20/1
S Kuznetsova 25/1
E Dementieva 33/1
Odds courtesy of Coral

Prize money
WINNER: £750,000
RUNNER-UP: £375,000
SEMI-FINALIST: £187,500

Baseball News: Stults shuts out White Sox in Dodgers' 5-0 win

2008-06-25T22:05:00.000-07:00

Eric Stults pitched his first career complete game and capped a three-run fourth inning with a sacrifice fly, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-0 victory over the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.

French GP - Race Incidents

2008-06-25T21:56:00.001-07:00

Lap 1: With rain a constant possibility, Kimi Raikkonen leads away from pole position. Felipe Massa settles into second but Fernando Alonso is passed by both Jarno Trulli and Robert Kubica. The Spaniard repasses Kubica at the hairpin exit. Timo Glock makes a good start to take sixth from Mark Webber, Nelson Piquet, Heikki Kovalainen, Lewis Hamilton, David Coulthard, Sebastian Vettel, Nick Heidfeld, Kazuki Nakajima, Sebastien Bourdais, Giancarlo Fisichella, Adrian Sutil, Rubens Barrichello (who incurred a late, five-position grid penalty following an unscheduled gearbox change), Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button, who appears to have front wing damage.
Lap 2: Raikkonen leads by 1.3s. Barrichello passes Sutil.
Lap 4: The damaged nose on Button's car stops him from taking the final turn and he runs wide.
Lap 5: Hamilton passes Kovalainen. Button pits.
Lap 7: Raikkonen leads by 2.8s.
Lap 8: Hamilton locks up at the hairpin behind Piquet.
Lap 10: Raikkonen leads by 3.2s. Trulli is a further 8.5s adrift.
Lap 13: Hamilton is given a drive-through penalty for missing the apex of Turn Seven on lap one and gaining an advantage. He comes in straight away and drops to 13th.
Lap 15: Alonso makes the race's first scheduled stop. He drops to 12th.
Lap 16: Raikkonen locks up and drops 0.7s to Massa but he still leads by 4.0s.
Lap 17: The lapped Button pits to retire.
Lap 19: Hamilton makes a scheduled stop and drops to 19th, temporarily one lap down. Bourdais' Toro Rosso loses some rear bodywork.
Lap 20: Trulli, Kubica and Sutil pit.
Lap 21: Raikkonen and Glock pit. Massa leads. Raikkonen resumes in second.
Lap 22: Massa and Webber pit.
Lap 24: Raikkonen leads Massa by 4.3s. Webber almost spins at the final corner.
Lap 25: Piquet and Kovalainen pit. The Finn passes the Brazilian as they exit the pits.
Lap 26: Coulthard and Bourdais pit.
Lap 28: Hamilton passes Rosberg for 16th.
Lap 29: Vettel and Heidfeld pit from fourth and sixth.
Lap 30: Raikkonen leads by 6.6s from Massa. Trulli is half a minute behind the leader in third.
Lap 32: Fisichella pits.
Lap 33: Massa takes several tenths from Raikkonen...
Lap 34: ...and does it again. The gap is 3.2s.
Lap 36: Massa closes to within 2.2s. Trulli, Kubica, Alonso and Webber run third to sixth.
Lap 37: Massa closes in again: 1.7s.
Lap 39: Massa passes Raikkonen.
Lap 40: Massa leads by 3.8s. Rosberg pits.
Lap 42: Kovalainen passes Webber for sixth. Alonso makes his second stop.
Lap 43: Sutil pits.
Lap 46: Massa leads by 10.0s. Kubica pits, as does Bourdais.
Lap 47: Hamilton passes Alonso for 12th.
Lap 48: Vettel and Heidfeld pit.
Lap 49: Webber and Glock pit.
Lap 50: Trulli and Piquet pit.
Lap 52: Raikkonen, Kovalainen, Coulthard and Hamilton pit.
Lap 54: Massa pits but retains the lead. Hamilton passes Vettel. The lapped Fisichella pits.
Lap 55: Massa leads Raikkonen by 13.4s. Trulli is third, with Kovalainen closing.
Lap 56: Barrichello pits.
Lap 57: Hamilton passes Glock for 10th.
Lap 58: Nakajima pits. Kovalainen is right behind Trulli.
Lap 62: Something comes off Raikkonen's car, without obvious consequences.
Lap 68: Piquet passes Alonso.
Lap 69: Kovalainen tries to pass Trulli but runs wide in the wake of some robust defence.
Lap 70: Massa wins by 17.9s from Raikkonen. Trulli is third from Kovalainen, Kubica, Webber, Piquet, Alonso, Coulthard, Hamilton, Glock, Vettel, Heidfeld and the lapped Barrichello, Nakajima, Rosberg, Bourdais, Fisichella and Sutil.

India thrash Hong Kong

2008-06-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

India 374 for 4 (Dhoni 109*, Raina 101, Sehwag 78) beat Hong Kong 118 (Chawla 4-23) by 256 runs

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his team marked the 25th anniversary of India's World Cup triumph with an emphatic 256-run win over Hong Kong in Karachi to begin their Asia Cup campaign in style. India rested Yuvraj Singh and Ishant Sharma for this game, but they weren't missed much: Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni helped themselves to centuries against a hapless bowling attack after Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir had built a platform, before Piyush Chawla flummoxed the Hong Kong batsmen.
India put up a near-clinical performance, barring a middle-over spell when Hong Kong's left-arm spinners stifled the batsmen and gave away 47 runs in 15 overs. Had it not been for that India could conceivably have ended the day surpassing the highest total in ODIs - Sri Lanka's 443 - and the largest victory margin in runs with ease. India's 257-run win against Bermuda in the World Cup last year remains the record.
Hong Kong were all but out of the contest once India amassed 374 for 4, but they would be disappointed to be dismissed under 150 and not being able to last 50 overs for the second game in a row. The defeat also ends their challenge in the tournament.
India's innings revolved around two partnerships: the opening stand of 127 between Sehwag - who blitzed 78 off 44 balls - and Gambhir, while Raina, whose 66-ball hundred is the second-fastest by an Indian, and Dhoni amassed 166 for the fourth wicket, an Asia Cup record. Both partnerships came at more than eight an over, and one can gauge how poor Rohit Sharma had been to score 11 off 29 deliveries.
The openers raced to 100 in just 10.5 overs, the quickest India have been to the mark. Hong Kong's opening bowlers didn't pose any menace with their pace, and the batsmen feasted on easy offerings. Tabarak Dar, Hong Kong's captain, then brought on his trio of left-arm spinners, who managed to rein in India's attack. Najeem Ahmed was once again impressive after having given Pakistan a scare on Tuesday, but it was fellow left-armer Najeed Amar who did the damage with the wickets of Sehwag and Gambhir. The two, along with Munir Dar, put the brakes on the scoring as India crawled from 127 in 15 overs to 159 after 25.
Dhoni and Raina, though, managed to more than double the 178 that India had scored after 30 overs. Dhoni, batting at No. 4, was off the blocks quickly, finding the gap through the covers for two fours off Nadeem. He lunged his front foot forward against the spinners, trying to smother the turn. Largely content with the singles, he kept the rate ticking along with Raina.
Raina, using his advantage as a left-hander, managed to push the left-arm bowlers into the gaps and takes the singles. His fifty came at a run-a-ball, but he cut loose against inexperienced bowlers, with his second fifty coming in just 16 balls as India smashed 129 in the final ten overs.
Both batsmen targeted to clear the straight boundary, with Dhoni launching a couple onto the roof. Raina pummelled three sixes and a four - all over long-on - off the 42nd over from Skhawat Ali, which cost 25 runs. Irfan Ahmed was then smartly chipped over extra cover for four, and a slower one was carted behind square to bring up his first hundred. Raina fell for 101, but Dhoni hung around to compile his fourth ODI hundred.
Not much was expected from Hong Kong in reply, but Tabarak and James Atkinson, the 17-year-old wicketkeeper, showed some resolve against the quicker bowlers. However, he was out stumped as he was stepped out and was beaten by a legspinner in Chawla's first over. What stood out in Chawla's performance today was his ability to surprise the batsmen with turning legbreaks - he often has been guilty of relying on the googlies for picking wickets in the past. He managed to also induce Hussain Butt and Courtney Kruger outside their crease, leaving Dhoni to complete easy stumpings. A top-edged slog-sweep fetched him his fourth, and he finished with impressive figures of 10-2-23-4.
Irfan battled before he was run out for 25, and Sehwag wrapped up the game with wickets off successive deliveries. India now face Pakistan on Thursday, and definitely a much sterner test.

Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 131 runs

2008-06-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

LAHORE (Reuters) - Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh by 131 runs in the ninth Asia Cup one-day tournament on Wednesday with Kumar Sangakkara scoring a brilliant hundred.
Bangladesh, chasing a big Sri Lankan total of 357 for nine that also included half centuries from opener Sanath Jayasuriya (72) and Chamara Kapugedera (74), were restricted to 226 for seven.
Bangladesh never recovered after losing Nazimuddin for one to Chaminda Vaas in the third over and captain Mohammad Ashraful (8), who was unlucky to be given out caught down the leg side off Dilhara Fernando at a total of 35 in the 10th over.
Television replays showed the ball had brushed Ashraful's thigh pad.
It was a big setback for Bangladesh, with Ashraful scoring a hundred against United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.
Opener Tamim Iqbal lived a charmed live as Sri Lanka dropped three catches in quick succession but he was eventually bowled by Kulasekera for 28 from 40 balls to leave Bangladesh on 3 for 48.
Raquibul Hasan (35) and Mushfiqur Rahim (44) revived the innings with a plucky stand of 78 from 90 balls but it was not enough to stave off defeat.
Off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan dismissed both. He had Hasan stumped and caught and bowled Rahim who hit two fours in his 53 balls knock.
Alok Kapali played a hand of 30 from 37 balls but the fight had gone out of the innings at 5 for 135 which became 6 for 142 when Mahmudullah (4) was bowled by Jayasuriya.
Left handers Sangakkara and Jayasuriya made Ashraful rue his decision not to bat first as they put on 116 runs in under 14 overs.
"We thought the ball will do a bit in the first 15 overs and it would help us pressure them. But our bowlers didn't bowl well, the line was not right and Sangakkara and Sanath batted very well," said Ashraful.
Although Sri Lanka lost the momentum, losing five wickets in the final 10 overs, the platform provided by the top order was enough to win comfortably.
The experienced Jayasuriya was savage as he made his 65th one-day fifty from only 32 balls with eight fours and one six.
He was eventually bowled by left arm spinner Abdur Razzak, who also bowled skipper Mahela Jayawardene for six runs to finish with 3 for 55.
The stylish Sangakkara carried on effortlessly reaching his eighth 100 from 88 balls with the help of 16 fours.
Jayawardene said he was satisfied with the performance but the batsmen still needed to show more consistency.
"I think we need our batsmen to carry us through and finish off well in final 10 overs. Maybe today heat was a factor but we need to be more consistent," he said.

Cricket News: New Zealand steal victory off last ball

2008-06-25T21:26:00.001-07:00

LONDON (Reuters) - New Zealand stole an extraordinary one-wicket victory over England in the fourth one-day international at The Oval on Wednesday with an overthrow off the final ball.
With two runs required and one ball remaining, number 11 Mark Gillespie squeezed a full-pitched delivery from Luke Wright into the off-side. Graeme Swann's throw missed the stumps with nobody backing up and Gillespie and Kyle Mills scampered the winning runs.
New Zealand finished on 246 for nine from 50 overs after dismissing England for 245 from 49.4 overs.
England appeared to have the game won through a cruel piece of misfortune to New Zealand all-rounder Grant Elliott who was run out while lying on his back after a shuddering collision with bowler Ryan Sidebottom.
The New Zealand players looked on in disbelief when Elliott was given out after an England appeal and as he walked slowly to the dressing rooms scattered booing erupted around the ground.
Captain Daniel Vettori and his team mates refused to shake hands with their counterparts after the match but a potentially nasty diplomatic impasse was averted when England Paul Collingwood admitted after the match he had been wrong to appeal.
"In hindsight I might have made the wrong decision," Collingwood told Sky television. "I will have to live with it."
Vettori accepted Collingwood's apology. "There was a bit of raw emotion at the end," he said. "I apologise to Paul and his team, now we have to move on."
New Zealand, beaten 2-0 in the three-test series, now take an unbeatable 2-1 lead into the final one-day match at Lord's on Saturday. The second game was declared a no-result.
STYRIS PROFITS
Earlier, man-of-the-match Scott Styris was dropped three times from chances of varying difficulty en route to New Zealand's top score of 69 while Jacob Oram, playing for the first time in the series, batted with a fluent authority.
Styris, who now limits his energies solely to the one-day game, was dropped on nought, 27 and 28, unfurling some classic off-drives in the meantime.
But after Oram was caught for 38 and Styris run out from an excellent piece of fielding by Swann, New Zealand faltered.
Elliott steadied the innings before his unfortunate run-out and it was left to Mills for the second match in a row to lead a late rally with an unbeaten 25 from 27 balls including a mighty six off Collingwood.
England owed their modest total primarily to an enterprising sixth wicket partnership of 75 between Ravi Bopara (58) and Owais Shah (63).
New Zealand enjoyed a huge slice of good fortune when Kevin Pietersen essayed an ambitious pull shot to the second ball he faced from Mark Gillespie. He skied the ball behind the bowler where Tim Southee gratefully grasped the catch.
Shah struck Southee for a six measured at 97 metres and took another off Vettori. Bopara started nervously before playing some fluent shots through the off, reaching his second international one-day half-century from 69 balls.
He was finally out chipping a slower ball from Gillespie to Oram at mid-on, and when Shah was run out by a direct hit on the stumps at the bowler's end by Gillespie the England innings fell away.

Euro 2008 Semi-Final Result: Germany 3-2 Turkey: Schweinsteiger, Klose & Lahm Destroy Turkey - To Face Spain or Russia

2008-06-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

Germany have beaten Turkey 3-2 late in the second-half of their EURO 2008 Semi-Final at the St Jakob Park Stadium in Basel on Wednesday, with Semih Senturk scoring a late equaliser, but Phillipp Lahm scoring a late winner to take Germany to the Finals of EURO 2008, against either Russia or Spain.
Turkey were undoubtedly the team in control in the first-half, and took the lead in the 22nd minute with a strike from Ugur Boral, but were undone after Bastian Schweinsteiger equalised for Germany minutes later in their first real attack of the game.
The Germans looked laboured in the opening minutes of the first-half, while Turkey took advantage of the space and assumed early control of the possession.
Colin Kazim-Richards rattled the crossbar in the 13th minute, with Semih Senturk failing to hit the target from a cross after Bastian Schweinsteiger failed to clear the ball as Turkey pressed the German defence.
The Turks took the lead in the 22nd minute after a decent attack down the right-wing.
It was Kazim-Richards who picked-up a short throw-in, with his strike hitting the crossbar yet again. The ball bounced down in front of Jens Lehmann in the German goal, with Udur Boral sliding the ball between Lehmann’s leg’s to open the scoring.
Germany managed to equalise minutes later, with Bastian Schweinsteiger managing to convert Germany’s first attempt on-target to make it 1-1 in the 26th minute, smartly turning the ball past Rustu from a cross by Lukas Podolski.
Podolski, who was starting to cause the Turkish defence problems, surged into the area and shot just over in the 34th minute.
Late defensive confusion from Germany almost gifted Turkey a second goal as the first-half came to a close, with Colin Kazim-Richards having a shot blocked and Sabri Sarioglu shooting high of the crossbar, while Hamit Altintop's shot was blocked to deny Fatih Terim's men a second, and much deserved, goal.
The game went into half-time 1-1, but with turkey by far the bigger threat, with Germany resigned to just one shot on-target.
Simon Rolfes was substituted at half-time after failing to recover from a head injury incurred late in the first-half, with Torsten Frings coming on in his place for the second-period.
The second-half continued in the same vein, with Turkey pressing, but Germany were better organised and restricted the Turks chances.
Germany had a penalty appeal waved-away by the referee minutes into the second-half after Sabri Sarioğlu looked to have brought down Philipp Lahm on the edge of the penalty area, much to the German fans disgust.
But despite the Turkish dominance, Germany scored their second goal of the match in the 79th minute, with Miroslav Klose giving Germany the lead for the first time in the match.
It was a mistake by Turkish keeper Rustu which led to Klose scoring his second goal of the tournament, giving Joachim Löw’s team the advantage in the match with just 11 minutes remaining.
Germany only held their lead for 7 minutes, with Semih Senturk scoring another late equaliser for Turkey, latching on to a cross from slipping the ball past Jens Lehmann’s near-post to make it 2-2.
Although the game looked to be going to extra-time, Phiilipp Lahm scored Germany’s third, and decisive goal of the match.
Lahm played a lovely one-two with Hitzlsperger, before slotting the ball past Rustu to make it 3-2 and give Germany a place in the Finals of EURO 2008, against either Russia or Spain.
Germany will feel lucky to have reached the Final of the tournament, against a spirited and talented Turkish side, who deserved to get more from the match, and who will be destroyed by the result.
Full teamsheets for Germany v Turkey in the EURO 2008 Semi-Final:
Germany Team: Jens Lehmann, Arne Friedrich, Simon Rolfes (Torsten Frings, 46), Bastian Scweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose, Michael Ballack (c), Philipp Lahm, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Per Mertesacker, Lukas Podolski, Christoph Metzelder.
Germany Substitutes Not Used: Robert Enke, René Adler, Heiko Westermann, Marcell Jansen, Clemens Fritz, Oliver Neuville, Mario Gomez, Piotr Trochowski, Tim Borowski, David Odonkor, Kevin Kuranyi.
Germany Head Coach: Joachom Löw.
Turkey Team: Reçber Rustu (c), Hakan Balta, Gökhan Zan, Mehmet Topal, Mehmet Aurelio, Semih Senturk, Uğur Boral (Gokdeniz Karedeniz, 84), Kazım Richards (Tumer Metin, 90+2), Ayhan Akman (Mevlüt Erdinc, 81), Hamit Altintop, Sabri Sarioğlu.
Turkey Substitutes Not Used: Tolga Zengin (G), Servet Çetin, Emre Belozoglu, Emre Gungor.
Turkey Head Coach: Fatih Terim.

FIA announces provisional 2009 Formula One calendar

2008-06-25T21:02:00.000-07:00

Formula One racing’s governing body, the FIA, has released a provisional calendar for the 2009 world championship. The addition of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix makes for a 19-round season - one more round than in 2008.The Australian Grand Prix will kick off proceedings on March 29, followed by Malaysia and Bahrain, before the championship heads to Europe. In a change to the traditional calendar the British Grand Prix will take place before the French race.In another shift, the Turkish event will revert back to its more traditional August date, following this season’s earlier May slot. The championship will draw to a close in mid November with the inaugural Abu Dhabi race.

2009 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar (provisional)
29 March Australia
5 April Malaysia
19 April Bahrain
10 May Spain
24 May Monaco
7 June Canada
21 June Great Britain
28 June France
12 July Germany
26 July Hungary
9 August Turkey
23 August Europe (Valencia)
6 September Italy
13 September Belgium
27 September Singapore
11 October Japan
18 October China
1 November Brazil
15 November Abu Dhabi

New Arrivals/Car Wallpapers

2008-06-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

Ferrari - Enzo Edo Competition 2008

Maserati - MC12 Edo Competition 2008

Volkswagen - Scirocco GT24 2008

The 2008 F1 Car Launch Photos

2008-06-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

The New Williams FW30

The New BMW Sauber F1.08

The New Mclaren MP4/23

The New Toyota TF108

The New Ferrari F2008

The New Red Bull RB4

The New Force India VJM01

The New Renault R28

The New Honda RA108

Bike of the year

2008-06-25T19:53:00.000-07:00

Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi is Indian motorcycle of the year
Indian Motorcycle Of The Year 2008 is Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi
Every year, Indian automobile journalists from different auto enthusiast magazines come together to rate the best cars and motorcycles of the year. This year was no different, and the motorcycle that walked away with the honours is the Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi. The magazines that participated were Auto India, Autocar India, B S Motoring, Bike India, Overdrive and Top Gear India.
The Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi was Indian Motorcycle of the Year for being India's first high-performance sports bike to feature fuel injection, apart from other technical innovations such as oil cooler, tubeless tyres, clip on handlebars, digital speedo, LED tail lamps, gas charged rear shock absorbers and front and rear disc brakes.
The Bajaj Pulsar 220 was picked for being the major player in the performance biking space in the country. Technology, styling, brilliant dynamics and amazing value have given the Pulsar 220 all it wanted to be the chosen one, according to the expert jury.
The Indian Motorcycle of the Year 2008 award proved that it bore the stamp of the choice of expert motoring scribes from across all major automobile mags. The journalists who formed the jury were Rishad Cooper (Autocar India), Aspi Bhathena (Bike India), Shubhabrata Marmar (BS Motoring), Sirish Chandran (Overdrive) and Girish Karkera (Top Gear India).While zeroing in on the winner the jury had judged the motorbikes on various parameters such as price, fuel efficiency, design, comfort, safety, maneuverability, performance, functionality, environmental responsibility and rider satisfaction among others. In addition, technical innovation and value for money were particularly important factors while deciding on the winner, the sources added. The shortlist included the Bajaj XCD125 DTS-Si, Bajaj 200DTS-i, Bajaj 220 DTS-i, Bajaj Avenger 200 DTS-i, Bajaj Discover 135 DTS-i, Hero Honda Hunk, Hero Honda Splendor NXG, REML Bullet 500 LB and TVS Apache 160 RTR.
JK Tyre sponsored the award - we think!

2008-06-19T22:54:00.000-07:00

hi all,

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Regards,

Glieder