Monday, July 18, 2011

Xavi Hernandez

Xavier Hernández i Creus (born 25 January 1980 in Terrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia), more commonly known as simply Xavi, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, where he has spent his entire 13-year career. He has been capped 101 times for the Spanish national team, with whom he won UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. He was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA at UEFA Euro 2008. Xavi is considered to be one of the best midfielders in the world. Xavi is a product of Barcelona's La Masia youth system and has been a regular at Camp Nou since the age of 11. He made his way through the youth and reserve teams and was a key member of Jordi Gonzalvo's FC Barcelona B team that won promotion to the Second Division. His progression through the teams earned him a first team debut on 18 August 1998 in the Super Cup final, in which he scored against RCD Mallorca. His début in La Liga came against Valencia CF on 3 October 1998 in a 3–1 victory for Barcelona. Initially featuring intermittently both for the reserve and senior teams, Xavi scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Real Valladolid when Barcelona were 10th in the league. Sustained impressive performance meant that he became a key member of Louis van Gaal's title-winning team. An injury to Pep Guardiola in the following 1999–00 season meant that Xavi became Barcelona's principal playmaker, a position he has retained ever since. He was the vice-captain in the 2004–05 season. In the 2005–06 season, Xavi tore the ligaments in his left knee in training; he was out of action for five months, missing the majority of the playing season, but returned in April and was on the substitutes bench for the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final.e was a main part of Barcelona's treble and scored the 4th goal in the 4–1 win in the Copa del Rey 2008–09 final against Athletic Bilbao, with a free kick. In La Liga, among many games, one of the most significant is the 6–2 El Clásico victory vs Real Madrid on 2 May. He assisted 4 out of 6 goals (once to Puyol, once to Henry and twice to Messi). Finally, Xavi helped Barcelona win the 2009 Champions League Final versus Manchester United, which ended 2–0, assisting the second goal by passing the ball to Lionel Messi's header after 69 minutes. Xavi was voted "UEFA Champions League best midfielder" for his contribution during Barcelona's victorious 2008–09 UEFA Champions League campaign. Xavi was La Liga's highest assisting player with 20 assists. He was also the highest assisting player in the Champions League with 7 assists. Xavi earned 29 assists overall that season. In the 2009–10 season, Xavi again topped the assists table and provided both the assists in Barcelona's 2–0 victory against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. He was acclaimed the 2nd best player of Barcelona in a season-long voting as Barcelona won the league title with a record 99 points. On 3 June 2010, the Spanish, Madrid-based newspaper Marca awarded Xavi third place in the annual Trofeo Alfredo di Stéfano award for the best player in La Liga, behind only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

On 9 June 2010, Xavi signed a new 4 year contract with the club, which may be automatically renewed up to 30 June 2016 based on number of games played. On 29 November he scored his third goal against arch-rivals Real Madrid in a 5–0 home win. On 18 December he scored another goal against RCD Espanyol in a 1–5 win. In the Champions League, Xavi scored a valuable goal against English side Arsenal FC during a home match in the UEFA Champions League that saw Barcelona passing through to the quarter-finals with an assist by teammate Lionel Messi. He was one of the three finalists for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or, alongside Barcelona teammates Iniesta and Messi, he finished second on the vote behind Messi. He narrowly defeated Lionel Messi to win World Soccer's Player of the year. On 2 January 2011, in a league match against Levante, Xavi made his 549th appearance for the club in all competitions, matching the record held by Migueli. Following this match Xavi is the player with most appearances with Barcelona of all time. Xavi Hernandez's abilities on the football pitch have led his teams to numerous titles and placed him among the most decorated footballers of all time. The playmaker has won major international titles with Spain and FC Barcelona in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup and the FIFA World Cup. His successes on the European stage include winning the UEFA European Football Championship and the UEFA Champions League twice. Xavi is also a 5 time Liga BBVA Champion and played in the Barcelona side that won the famed unprecedented Spanish treble, which culminated in a record 6 trophies, the sextuple, in one calendar year. On 25 March 2011, Xavi earned his 100th cap for Spain in the 2:1 home win against the Czech Republic in a Euro 2012 qualifierXavi was named in Spain's squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, culminating in winning the World Cup title. The veteran midfielder finished with an 89 percent pass completion rate over the course of the tournament, completing 599 passes out of 669 passes attempted over all of Spain's seven games. Of those who reached the final or the third place match, Xavi led the field in passes attempted, passes completed, corners attempted (47), corners completed (26), and deliveries in the penalty area (15).

Xavi Hernandez Get Awards

Xavi Hernandez Celebration With His Club

Xavi Hernandez During The Match

Xavi Hernandez Typical Style After He Makes A Goal

Xavi Hernandez In Press Conferences

Simon Santoso

Simon Santoso (born in Tegal, Central Java, July 29, 1985) is a male badminton player from Indonesia.When he was young, he joined the Tangkas Jakarta badminton club before joining the Indonesian National team PBSI. In 2005 he won the Robot HCMC Vietnam Satellite and the silver medal at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games. His best results on the world circuit until recently were runner-up finishes at the Singapore (2008), Swiss (2007), and Indonesia Super Series (2008) events . He was also a semi-finalist at the Japan Open Super Series (2007) and the Chinese Taipei Open (2007). In September 2008, Santoso won the Chinese Taipei Open after defeating Roslin Hashim from Malaysia in the final round by scores of 21–18, 13–21, 21–10. In October 2009, he won his first Super Series ever in Denmark Open Super Series, after beating Marc Zwiebler of Germany in the final round, 21-14, 21-6. He won gold in the 2009 Southeast Asian Games by defeating Sony Dwi Kuncoro.

Simon Santoso During Playing Badminton

Simon Santoso and Friend Get Awards

Simon Santoso Happiness Expression

Simon Santoso Simple Smile

Simon Santoso Best Performance

Simon Santoso Get Medals

Simon Santoso Costume and Badminton Tools

Hanley Ramirez

Hanley Ramírez (born December 23, 1983 in Samaná, Dominican Republic) is a shortstop in Major League Baseball for the Florida Marlins. Ramírez was named 2006 NL Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America. In 2009, Ramírez won the NL batting title and is a three-time All-Star starter. Additionally, Ramirez finished runner-up in the 2010 Home Run Derby.Ramírez signed with the Boston Red Sox as an International Free Agent in July 2000. He was discovered by scouts and was considered the top prospect in the Boston Red Sox organization. He was traded to the Florida Marlins in 2005 together with Aníbal Sánchez for Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota. During Spring Training in 2006, Ramírez was impressive enough to earn the starting shortstop job for the Marlins over another candidate, shortstop Robert Andino. Ramírez led all MLB rookies with 185 hits, 119 runs, 11 triples and 51 SBs. He hit 7 leadoff home runs, the most in team history for a season and career. Ramírez's 46 doubles in the 2006 season is the all-time NL record for a shortstop age 22 or younger. He is the first NL rookie to post 110-plus runs and 50-plus stolen bases. He became the fifth big-league player since 1900 to hit 45-plus doubles and have 50-plus stolen bases, joining Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker and Lou Brock. He finished the spectacular season with the Rookie of the Year Award. Because he didn’t accumulate 130 at bats in the majors or spend 45 days on the Red Sox’ MLB roster he was eligible for the award. Ramírez picked up where he left off during his sophomore season. The ever improving young star, who referred to Ryan Howard when asked about the sophomore jinx in baseball, was hitting .331 with 14 home runs and 35 RBIs to go along with 27 steals at the 2007 All Star break. Despite his great numbers, he was left off the All-Star roster behind starter Jose Reyes and reserve J.J. Hardy, not to the surprise of many writers.In a game versus the Cincinnati Reds on July 22, 2007 Ramírez overextended his shoulder when he tried to hit a pitch on the lower outside corner off right-hander Bronson Arroyo. He was helped off the field and was determined to have suffered a partial dislocation of his left shoulder. Ramírez has had a history of problems with the shoulder. In the 2006 season, he missed 5 games for a similar problem after swinging at a pitch. In December of '06 he fell awkwardly on the shoulder while playing Winter League ball in the Dominican Republic.

Entering the 2008 season, Ramírez was now looked at as the face of the franchise after the Marlins traded All-Stars Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, Mike Rabelo, Eulogio De La Cruz, Dallas Trahern, and Burke Badenhop. Ramírez has contributed well in the Marlins fast start, earning a spot as the starting Shortstop for the National League All-Star team for the first time in his career. In addition, Ramírez agreed to a six-year, $70 million extension, by far making it the richest contract in Marlin history and furthermore making him the face of the franchise through the new stadium in 2012. MLB.com has reported that Ramírez will get $23.5 million in his arbitration years of 2009 through 2011, $15 million in 2012, $15.5 million in 2013 and $16 million in 2014. There is not a no trade clause. Ramírez was named NL Player of the Month in June. He had been batting .298 with six doubles, a triple and ten home runs. He led the NL in three categories: home runs, runs scored and total bases. It was speculated that he could have secured a place in the rare 40-40 club achieved by four others and latest by Alfonso Soriano in 2006; he ended the season with 33 home runs and 35 stolen bases. In July, Ramírez was selected to his first All-Star at Yankee Stadium, voted in by the fans as the National League's starting shortstop. He was 2-for-3 with two singles and a run in the 2008 All-Star Game. Ramírez hit his 30th home run of the season on September 13 and joined Preston Wilson in 2000 as the only Marlins to become members of the 30-30 club. On February 24, 2009, the Miami Herald reported that Ramírez would be moving from the leadoff spot to the 3rd spot in the lineup. Ramírez played in the World Baseball Classic for his native Dominican Republic. During the April 6, 2009 regular season opener against the Washington Nationals, Ramírez hit his first career grand-slam off of Washington reliever Steven Shell. On July 5, 2009, Ramírez was the NL starting shortstop for the 2009 All Star Game. On September 6, against the Nationals, Ramírez hit his 100th home run of his MLB career, becoming the 4th quickest shortstop in terms of games played to reach that milestone (Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra, and Ernie Banks). With a Batting Average of .342, Ramírez won his first batting title. Ramírez recorded 106 RBI (6th in NL), stole 27 bases (5th in NL), and scored 101 times (8th in NL). He won the Silver Slugger award at shortstop, and came in second to Albert Pujols for NL MVP.

Ramírez hit his first home run of the 2010 season on April 8 off of John Maine. In the month of April, Ramírez batted .279 with 2 home runs, 7 RBIs, 2 steals and 11 runs scored. On May 17 in a home game versus the Arizona Diamondbacks, Ramírez fouled a ball off his ankle in his first at-bat. He looked as if he was in some pain but remained in the game. He then grounded into a double play to end the inning as he slowly ran to first base. The next inning, with runners on first and second, a bloop shot was sent into shallow left field. Ramírez ran to catch it. He did not, and when it hit the ground, Ramírez inadvertently kicked it into the left-field corner. Ramírez then jogged all the way to the corner as Diamondbacks rounded the bases. Two of the three runners would end up scoring with the other ending up on third. Then-manager of the Marlins Fredi González removed Ramírez from the game, and a war of words led to Ramírez being benched for the next game. In his first game back against the St. Louis Cardinals, Ramírez went 3–5 with an RBI. About a month later, Fredi Gonzalez was relieved of his duties. In the month of May, Ramírez finished batting .308 with 6 home runs, 19 RBIs, 4 stolen bases, and 17 runs scored. On June 6, manager Fredi González decided to shake up the Marlins' batting order. Ramírez was placed in the leadoff spot of the batting order for the first time since 2008. He finished 0–2 but also drew three walks in the game. He was moved back to the three hole the day after. In June, Ramírez batted .296 with 4 home runs, 25 RBIs, 9 steals and 17 runs. Ramírez was voted in as a starter for the All Star game for the third year in a row. He was also chosen to participate in the State Farm Home Run Derby for the first time in his career. In the Derby, he came in second place to Boston's David Ortiz. Ramírez, moving to the leadoff spot when Chris Coghlan was injured, struggled in July, hitting .242 with 1 home run, 4 RBIs, 6 steals and 12 runs scored. Ramírez hit his 25th career leadoff home run and his first career walk-off hit on August 7 against the Cardinals. He came up to bat in the bottom of the 10th inning with a man on first base hit a walk-off double to right-center field to end the Marlins' five game losing streak. Ramírez was hot all throughout August, hitting .359 (3rd in NL) with 6 home runs, 13 RBIs, 7 steals and 25 runs (2nd in NL). On September 15 in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Ramírez aggravated an injury in his elbow he sustained earlier in the season while swinging. He attempted to come back and play a week later, but after one game, he was still in pain and shut down for the rest of the season. He finished 2010 with a .300 batting average, 21 home runs, 76 RBIs, 32 steals and 92 runs scored. Ramirez has performed well under his usual standards in 2011. By June 20, Ramirez was hitting just .200 with only 4 home runs and 17 RBIs. However, Hanley raised his stats up to .243 with 8 home runs and 37 RBIs by July 9th. People say that the coming of 80 year old interm manager Jack McKeon (who served as the Marlins manager from 2003-2005 and led them to a World Series victory in 2003) helped Ramirez improve his stats. For the first time in his career, Ramirez hitting cleanup.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Lotta Schelin

Charlotta Eva Schelin (born 27 February 1984), usually referred to as Lotta Schelin, is a Swedish football player who currently plays for Olympique Lyonnais of the Division 1 Féminine. She plays as a striker and is currently a member of the Sweden women's national team having made her debut in 2004. Schelin's height, strength, and offensive technique has led to former Denmark women's national team manager Peter Bonde comparing her to fellow Swede Zlatan Ibrahimović. She credits her older sister and former teammate, Camilla Schelin, as well as Tina Nordlund, as important role models for her.

Lotta Schelin Sweet Smile

Lotta Schelin Performance

In 2001, when she was 17 years old, Schelin made her debut in the Damallsvenskan for Landvetter FC, now known as Göteborg FC. She played in over 100 league matches with the club establishing herself as one of the club's most prominent players. After an injury in August 2002, she was out of the league for almost a year and a half returning in June 2003. Schelin made her national team debut for Sweden on 16 March 2004. She later played in the Algarve Cup and represented her nation at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. The following year, Schelin endured injuries to the groin and hamstring, which require extensive rest.

Lotta Schelin In Press Conferences

Lotta Schelin Happiness Expression

In 2006, Schelin was a key player in the 2006 edition of the Algarve Cup leading Sweden to a respectable third-place finish. She scored the only goal in the bronze medal victory over France. For her efforts, Schelin was awarded the Diamond Ball as the country's best female football player. That same year, she was named the Forward of the Year in the Damallsvenskan. Schelin's success made her a huge face in her country and she was rewarded when she was selected to attend the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup draw in China on behalf of Sweden.

Despite offers from other Damallsvenskan clubs, Schelin opted to stay in her hometown. After the re-branding and re-launch of the new United States-based league, Women's Professional Soccer, Schelin declared that she would be interested in playing in the league. However, after the 2008 Summer Olympics, Schelin announced that she would be joining Division 1 Féminine club Olympique Lyonnais in France. Upon signing her contract, it was speculated that Schelin would be earning over 1 million kr ($160,000 USD) per year. On 24 September 2008, Schelin was drafted by the Saint Louis Athletica in the 2008 WPS International Draft. She later declined the chance to join the club citing her contract with Lyon as the primary reason.

Jessicah Schipper

Jessicah Lee Schipper OAM (born 19 November 1986 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian swimmer. She trained at the Redcliffe Leagues Lawnton club in Brisbane, under veteran coach Ken Wood up until the conclusion of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Schipper now trains under the guidance of Stephan Widmer with the Commercial Swimming Club. She was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in January 2005 for her services to swimming.Schipper made her debut for Australia at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, winning the bronze medal as part of the 4x100 m medley relay team. In 2004 she competed in the Athens Olympics, placing 4th in the 100 m butterfly with the time of 58.22 s. She also collected the gold medal in the 4x100 m medley relay, having swum the butterfly leg in the heats of the event. At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in Montreal she won the silver medal in the 200 m butterfly with the time of 2.05.65 s, only 0.04 seconds behind Otylia Jędrzejczak of Poland, who consequently recorded a new world record in the event. However, the race was overshadowed by the video replay showing that Jędrzejczak touched the finishing wall with only one hand, which is illegal under the butterfly rules. Doing so allows the swimmer to stretch out further with their single hand. Video replays cannot be used in appeals against race results. Schipper also won the gold in the 100 m butterfly (57.23 s) and in the 4×100 m medley relay, with teammates Sophie Edington, Leisel Jones and Libby Lenton. In doing so, she erased the Australian records in both the 100 m and 200 m butterfly set by Petria Thomas and Susie O'Neill, respectively.

In 2006 Schipper wiped 0.08 s off her 100 m butterfly (57.15 s) Commonwealth record to become the second fastest woman ever in the history of the event, surpassing Martina Moravcová. She won the gold medal in both the 100 m and 200 m butterfly as well as the silver medal in 50 m butterfly at the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne. She combined with Sophie Edington, Leisel Jones and Libby Lenton to set a new world record in the 4×100 m medley relay, collecting her third gold medal of the meet. On 17 August 2006 Schipper set a new world record in the women's 200m butterfly, on the opening night of the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. Schipper won the final in 2:05.40, bettering the mark of 2:05.61 set by Otylia Jędrzejczak at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships. Schipper won the gold medal in the 200 m butterfly at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships in Melbourne, as well as the silver medal in the 100 m butterfly, behind fellow Australian Libby Lenton. Schipper qualified for the 100 m and 200 m butterfly events in Beijing, where she is among the favourites for the medals. She is a member of the 4×100 m medley relay squad. Schipper won two bronze medals in her individual events at the Beijing Olympics, the 100 m and 200 m butterfly. Schipper also won gold in the 4×100 m medley relay team with teammates Leisel Jones, Libby Trickett and Emily Seebohm. Following the Olympics, Schipper split with her coach Ken Wood. This came after Wood had sold Schipper's training program to Chinese swimmer Liu Zige, who broke Schipper's world record to take the 200 m title. She then joined the Commercial Swimming Club in Brisbane, under Stephan Widmar, who previously coached her Australian relay teammates Leisel Jones and Trickett. Schipper maintained her consistency at the world championship level. On day two, she took silver in the 100 m butterfly, clocking the second fastest time in history. On day five she retained her 200 m butterfly title in world record time, defeating Liu Zige by 0.49s.

Jessicah Schipper Best Performance

Jessicah Schipper Celebrate Moment

Jessicah Schipper Looks So Beautiful

Jessicah Schipper Get Award

Jessicah Schipper Swim Style