Vera Gentry Sports Corner

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

From Bar�a to Zenit: how this week's Champions League teams shape up | Marcus Christenson

Can Apoel cause another shock against Lyon and will Bar�a recover from a rare domestic defeat to beat Leverkusen?

The Champions League resumes this week with four of the eight Last 16-ties taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday. How have the teams fared during the competition's winter break, who have they signed and what's the injury situation? Find out here ?

Lyon v Apoel

Tuesday, 7.45pm

Odds (William Hill) Lyon 4-9. Draw 3-1. Apoel 11-4.

Prediction Lyon to win 3-1 on aggregate

Lyon are no longer the dominant force of a few years ago and needed a 7-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb to overhaul Ajax in the last Group D game to qualify for the last 16. Now they meet the tournament's surprise package, Cypriot side Apoel, who were winners of Group G and have an eclectic group of players. There are Cypriots, Greeks, Brazilians, Portuguese, Macedonians, Bosnians, Argentinians, Tunisians, Portuguese and Spanish players at coach Ivan Jovanovic's disposal.

They have a Kak� ? though he is sadly not of the same calibre as the Real Madrid player ? and they have an A�lton ? though thankfully not the overweight former Schalke player. The latter, who has just returned from a hernia problem, is the key up front for the Cypriots, having scored three goals already this Champions League campaign, and leads the line in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Apoel have, however, scored the fewest goals of all teams left in the competition and have had trouble creating chances domestically in 2012 as well. In addition, Jovanovic has problems in defence, with Marcelo Oliveira and Paulo Jorge struggling with injuries so the former Chelsea midfielder Nuno Morais has been playing at centre-back recently.

Not that Lyon have had an easy time either. R�mi Garde took over from the strict Claude Puel in the summer and was told he had no money to spend. The former Arsenal player has been forced to introduce several youngsters this season and, although they are still in four competitions, they lost at home to lowly Caen at the weekend. Players such as Alexandre Lacazette, Cl�ment Grenier, and Samuel Umtiti have emerged while Garde has run out of patience with the underperforming Yoann Gourcuff. The Croatia centre-back Dejan Lovren is still struggling with injury, but his defensive colleague Cris could return.

Bayer Leverkusen v Barcelona

Tuesday, 7.45pm

Odds Leverkusen 7-1. Draw 3-1. Barcelona 4-9

Prediction Barcelona to win 4-1 on aggregate

"I have enjoyed preparing for this game. I have watched a lot of good football," joked the Bayer Leverkusen coach, Robin Dutt, at the press conference on Monday. He wasn't joking, however, when he said that he thinks Bar�a are a better team than Spain and that he believes his team will have 30 or 35% possession on Tuesday night. Injuries have not helped. Sidney Sam, Michael Ballack, Ren� Adler, Eren Derdiyok and Tranquillo Barnetta are all out, although Renato Augusto returned at the weekend and Michal Kadlec is back after missing the defeat against Borussia Dortmund through suspension.

Dutt could try a 4-2-3-1 formation with Augusto the central of the three attacking midfielders, the wonderfully talented Andr� Sch�rrle on the left and Castro on the right. Vedran Corluka, on loan from Spurs, could start in defence.

Barcelona had their 18-match unbeaten run ended on Saturday, losing 3-2 to Osasuna. However, it was only a second defeat in 47 games for Bar�a and Xavi, Andr�s Iniesta and Cesc F�bregas should return after being rested or on the bench at Osasuna. Sergio Busquets has returned to training following a knee injury and Gerard Piqu� should also be able to play after reportedly escaping unhurt from a car crash on Monday.

Zenit St Petersburg v Benfica

Wednesday, 5pm

Odds Zenit 8-5. Draw 21-10. Benfica 9-5

Prediction Benfica to win 3-2 on aggregate

A tricky tie for Zenit who have not played a competitive game since November because of the Russian winter break. They have been in training since 12 January, however, and spent a week and a half at the Italian national team base in Florence at the end of January and the beginning of February.

Their Italian coach, Luciano Spalletti, has had Domenico Criscito ruled out with food poisoning, the Portuguese international midfielder Danny sidelined with torn knee ligaments while Roman Shirokov (calf) and Aleksandr Bukharov (hamstring) both missed training the last week. Any good news? The defender Tomas Hubocan and the goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev have recovered from knocks.

Benfica will aim to become the first side to have beaten Zenit at Stadion Petrovskiy in 20 games and have added Yannick Djal�, the experienced Joan Capdevila and Andr� Almeida to their Champions League squad over the winter. Benfica, who eliminated Manchester United at the group stage, are unbeaten in the Portuguese league this season and have scored in all their 34 competitive games this season. The midfielder Javi Garc�a is the coach Jesus Jorge's only injury problem.

Milan v Arsenal

Tuesday, 7.45pm

Odds Milan 11-10. Draw 21-10. Arsenal 11-4

Prediction Arsenal to win 2-1 on aggregate

Arsenal will fancy their chances against a Milan side who are running out of steam amid all the injuries. Antonio Cassano, who had heart surgery in November, and Gennaro Gattuso, who has been diagnosed with a disorder associated with the nerve that controls eye movement, will not play again this season. Further injury worries include Mario Yepes, Alberto Aquilani (no surprise there), Kevin-Prince Boateng, Alexandre Pato, Alexander Merkel, Alessandro Nesta as well as the goalkeeper Christian Abbiati.

Abbiati, Boateng, Nesta and Pato could still feature against the Gunners. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who often struggles in the knockout stages of the Champions League but who scored twice against Arsenal for Barcelona two seasons ago, is available despite serving a domestic ban for slapping a Napoli player. He is likely to play up front with the former Manchester City striker Robinho with Boateng, if fit, in a free role behind them.

Stephan El Shaarawy, the talented 19-year-old of Italian-Egyptian descent, is likely to be on the bench, as is Maxi L�pez, the striker they signed from Catania when the Carlos Tevez deal broke down. He scored one and set up one as Milan beat Udinese on Saturday. Thiago Silva has been superb in central defence and his contest with Robin van Persie should be fascinating.

Arsenal have no new injury worries apart from Per Mertesacker, who injured his ankle ligaments against Sunderland. Gervinho is not expected to play despite the Africa Cup of Nations finishing on Sunday. He should, however, be in the squad to face Sunderland in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Follow Marcus on Twitter for all the latest news ahead of Euro 2012.

Marcus Christenson

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/feb/14/champions-league-arsenal-milan

Mike Hart Madison Hedgecock

The Giants won the ?Brain Bowl,? too

The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl this past Sunday not just by being better between the lines but, according to Dr. John F. Murray, by being better between their ears.

The Mental Performance Index (MPI) was developed by Dr. Murray, a south Florida-based sports psychologist who has been called by the Washington Post the "Freud of Football." MPI shows how closely a football team comes to achieving perfection in a game across multiple domains. The system ranks a team on a scale of .000 to 1.000 -- .500 is roughly average and .600 is extraordinary. No Super Bowl-winning team has ever topped .600 in the MPI rating.

According to Murray, who authored The Mental Performance Index: Ranking the Best Teams in Super Bowl History, the Giants' MPI for the Super Bowl came out to �.522, compared to the Patriots, who managed a .500 ranking for the game.

"This game was played at a higher than average level for a Super Bowl game. Overall, the Giants clearly outperformed the Patriots in terms of total team performance, so we know that the better performing team in fact won the game," Dr. Murray said. "Justice was realized! Over 90 percent of the time, the higher-performing team will win a football game as reflected on the MPI total score, so the theory that performance wins games is indeed valid."

What MPI does is factor in overall consistency as part of its formula and very rarely does a team with a lower MPI lose the Super Bowl. The last time was in 2005 when the Pittsburgh Steelers had a lower MPI than the Seattle Seahawks, who lost the game.

Through statistical analysis, Dr. Murray has created a balance system that values plays based not only on their outcome but also their impact. In essence, MPI weighs in a comprehensive, balanced fashion each team play as it objectively looks at how the 11 players as a unit performs. It is the truest way to measure how in sync a team is not just physically but also mentally.

Adjustments are made based on the observed mental performance. More than raw yardage or basic statistics, captured within this number is the pressure and significance of the moment and the execution of the team in the moment. It requires an expert human being to evaluate the moment and the significance of the play in the scheme of all four quarters. Field position, clock time and score are all factors that must be weighed.

It is in the pressure packed moments that this game was won according to MPI. Given that the Giants won on their last drive of the game, this shouldn't necessarily be a surprise, but the disparity between the two teams in the clutch according to MPI is shocking.

"The main advantage for the Giants came in pressure situations, as the Giants outperformed the Patriots in all pressure situations combined by a .569 to .461 margin,"�Dr. Murray said. "But whereas the Patriots offense in pressure situations was identical to the Giants defense as both teams scored .536, it was when the Giants were on offense that the greatest difference occurred.

"The Giants offense dominated the Patriots defense in pressure moments by a wide margin of .591 to .417."

Related Super Bowl content from Yahoo! Sports:

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/giants-won-brain-bowl-too-210507047.html

Tony Richardson Javon Ringer Michael Robinson Owen Schmitt

Monday, February 13, 2012

Victor Cruz, fellow Giants hit Grammys and Fashion Week

To the Victors (Cruz) go the spoils, right? The breakout star of the New York Giants Super Bowl season is enjoying his newfound fame. Cruz broke out of the sports world to get his hands on some of the hottest tickets around.

On Sunday night, he had a second-row seat for the Grammys. Along with Mario Manningham and actress Pauley Perrette, Cruz handed out the best rock performance award to the Foo Fighters. Of course, Cruz had to show off his dance moves.

Before the Grammys, Cruz hit New York's Fashion Week. After watching the Tommy Hilfiger menswear show, Cruz said he does have a teammate who could use some fashion advice.

"I'd say a fellow receiver named Ramses Barden. We see each other in the same room a lot, and he needs a little bit of work," Cruz chuckled. "Tommy would be right up his alley."

Barden did attend the Jill Stuart show on Saturday where he promised to become the Super Bowl champion's best dressed player.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/victor-cruz-fellow-giants-hit-grammys-fashion-week-145517689.html

Marshawn Lynch Laurence Maroney Chris Massey Ryan Mathews

VIDEO: Nikola Pekovic Is All Over The World

Source: http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/2/13/2796108/video-nikola-pekovic-is-all-over-the-world

Darell Scott Malcolm Sheppard Junior Siavii Pat Sims

VIDEO: Nikola Pekovic Is All Over The World

Source: http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/2/13/2796108/video-nikola-pekovic-is-all-over-the-world

Matt Ryan Mark Sanchez Matt Schaub John Skelton

The hidden play of Super Bowl XLVI: Justin Tuck?s third-quarter sack

Eli Manning's 38-yard pass to Mario Manningham on the New York Giants' game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter is rightly regarded as the play of the game in Super Bowl XLVI -- it was, quite simply, the single-greatest throw this writer has ever seen. But if there was a "1a" play for the Giants, it had to be Justin Tuck's sack of Tom Brady with 6:12 left in the third quarter.

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Not only did the third-down takedown stop the Pats from driving when they were still up, 17-12, but Brady re-aggravated his left (non-throwing) shoulder on the play, and backup Brian Hoyer was seen throwing on the sideline during the Giants' corresponding drive.

Before that sack, Brady was on an absolute tear -- he broke Joe Montana's record for consecutive completions in a Super Bowl, and he was 20 of 24 for 201 yards and two touchdowns. After that sack? Try 7 of 17 for 75 yards and the pick by Giants linebacker Chase Blackburn on a deep attempt to tight end Rob Gronkowski.

How much did it affect him? Hard to say -- Brady made a few more errant throws after the play, but the receiver drops were also killers. The famed drop by Wes Welker was a great touch pass that was high but in Welker's hands, and two plays in which Deion Branch ran across the middle and couldn't come up with the ball were also adjustment errors by the receiver.

What happened to the Pats in the last 20 minutes of the game was just as much about the Giants' brilliant defensive adjustments. With full knowledge that New England had no deep threat (they played their safeties shallow through most of the game), the Giants did something they also did in Week 9 when they beat the Pats, 24-20 -- they kept linebackers in the middle of the defense as zone spies to counter Brady's seemingly endless slants, crosses and posts. On Branch's first drop, linebacker Michael Boley was waiting for him just off the middle to Brady's left, and Branch didn't slow up to find the pocket where Brady was throwing.

As our buddy Greg Cosell wrote on the NFL Films blog, Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell called this game about as well as any coach possibly could.

So, while it's not clear that correlation equaled causation on the Tuck sack, we do know one thing -- Brady's stats did a total 180 after that play. That's one reason I thought Tuck should have been named the Most Valuable Player of the game ... until Eli Manning uncorked the best throw I've ever seen.

Related Super Bowl content from Yahoo! Sports:

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/hidden-play-super-bowl-xlvi-justin-tuck-third-212201952.html

Brett Ratliff Chris Redman Philip Rivers Aaron Rodgers

Only dance can heal the wounded souls of Matt Light and Rob Gronkowski

The best story about post-Super Bowl heartache is this one: Dan Wetzel captures Tom Brady's pain immediately after losing again to the Giants. The second-best story about post-Super Bowl heartache is this one: Matt Light and Rob Gronkowski taking their shirts off and dancing their hearts out after the game.

The lesson here? When you are fiesta, you are always fiesta. Bigger pictures to follow.

According to Deadspin, these pictures were taken at the invite-only Patriots postgame party. LMFAO was there, as were Maroon 5, Steven Tyler and Earth, Wind & Fire. It actually doesn't look like a much different atmosphere than the one on the Giants team plane. It really is a fine line between winning and losing.

I can see some people getting bent out of shape over this, because some fans want the players to take the losses as hard as they do. But not everyone is this girl. Sadness and disappointment can find many different outlets.

I assure you, Matt Light, Rob Gronkowski and anyone else who danced at the Patriots party are competitors. They didn't give less effort than anyone else, and they are not less reliable in the future. They just chose to distract themselves from the sadness with a party and some shirtless gyrating. Matt Light might not get that opportunity very often.

Sometimes, dancing is the only way to get the pain out.

Many thanks, Deadspin.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/only-dance-heal-wounded-souls-matt-light-rob-212551396.html

Reggie Bush Rock Cartwright Tim Castille Jamaal Charles