Massa takes 150th victory for Ferrari 
Scuderia Ferrari clinched its third one-two finish of the season at the French Grand Prix on June 22
nd, with Felipe Massa and defending World Champion Kimi Räikkönen taking first and second place respectively. Felipe Massa’s triumph marked the 150th time a Ferrari has taken victory starting with José Froilán González’s historic win at Scuderia Ferrari's first race, Silverstone 1951. At the post race press conference Massa said “A great race, a fantastic result. The win came my way because Kimi had a problem with his car and at the pace he was running, it would have been hard for me to beat him on the track. I would have been happy with second place but of course, the win makes me even happier. I want to thank the whole team and our partners, especially Shell. I am leading the championship and that’s a nice feeling, but I am well aware it means nothing because I am aiming for the title and to do that, there is still a long way to go. In the first part of the race I was struggling a bit to stay in touch with Kimi, then when his exhaust broke, I managed to get by. In the second part, I thought of managing the situation, making sure I made no mistakes, especially when there were a few drops of rain. We have to continue working this way, race after race, right to the end of the championship.” The result sees Felipe Massa take the lead in the FIA Formula One Drivers’ World Championship with 48 points, two points ahead of Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber F1 Team. Team-mate Kimi Räikkönen stands in third position on 43 points. Scuderia Ferrari now dominate the Constructors’ Championship with 91 points, ahead of BMW Sauber F1 Team on 74 points. McLaren-Mercedes is currently in third place with 58 points.
Looking forward to the British Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton says he is happy with improvements to his McLaren. Hamilton is hoping to bounce back from two disappointing races in France and Canada where he suffered penalties. Lewis said "The changes we've made have really improved the car which feels strong around here. I can't wait to be racing in front of my home crowd again."
SPAIN EURO CUP 2008 CHAMPIONS
FOOTBALL WINS OVER PRAGMATISM SFS has its fingers twitching & is finding it hard to type this grand news as the joy is overflowing after waiting so long to live this Football experience. Spain deserves to have won the game & the tournament.
SPAIN is still shining with happiness as the team wins 2008 European Championship title beating GERMANY 1-0, 44 years after lifting the trophy for the first time. What can SFS say that has not been already been said? The only thing that comes to mind is that the best team won – which does not always happen and that the "ideal" of football won over strategy & pragmatism. EURO 2008 has given Spain & World Football the birth of a new generation of young & internationally experienced players who will give pleasure in the future. This squad will be the nucleus of the future National teams who will now face the upcoming World Cup qualifiers for the South African World Cup 2010. It was the goal from Liverpool FC forward FERNANDO TORRES in the 33rd min that put Spain in front & was enough to win the final. TORRES beat defender Lahm from a Xavi pass & then beat the German goalkeeper to score the only & winning goal of the game. Torres had hit the post with a header & Spain had experienced numerous chances that should have produced more goals. Germany were worthy opponents, tough, strong & stubborn and they put in a brilliant effort. Spain ran the Germans around the pitch, wearing them out & then exploited the defensive gaps. It was magical football by the Spaniards although as expected, they also suffered from the German waves of attacks in the last 15ºmins. Spain now has a young team with experience that will serve as the
nucleus for future competitions, that may take them higher in the coming years, its up to them. In conclusion, this is mind-blowing for SFS!
SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER NEWS 2008
Portugues International DECO will play for Premier League Club CHELSEA FC for the next 3 years. The 31 year old was delighted after FC BARCELONA accepted the
10M€ transfer deal. Deco will join Scolari - ex Portugues National team coach - who
has no doubt played an important part in convincing the player to go over to London.
Staying with the English Premier League, TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS has made a 12M€ offer to Spanish Club ESPANYOL for its dynamic forward LUIS GRACIA. The Spanish Club price the player much higher & will no doubt begin a long process of hard
negotiations. It is also not known if the player himself wishes to go to London. Stay tuned!
With REAL ZARAGOZA playing in 2
nd division next season, it must begin its "spring sale" of top players as they could not afford to pay the star salaries. One of its top players, Argentine International forward DIEGO MILITO is talking with Italian Club JUVENTUS & are advancing in their talks. The only small obstacle at this point is Real Zaragoza´s price tag: 18-20M€, a bit steep for the Italians they say.
REAL MADRID NEWS 2008: ROBINHO & HIS FUTURE
According to Spanish daily "AS" English Premier League Club CHELSEA FC has made a 35M€ offer to REAL MADRID for its young Brazilian International ROBINHO. New coach Scolari sees Robinho as an important piece in his new plans & has solicited the player personally to Chelsea owner Abramovich. However, Real Madrid has set the price at 45M€ as Robinho could be part of the "Ronaldo Operation". If so, his real destination
could be Manchester United & not to Chelsea as Robinho could be the key for Cristiano Ronaldo to land in Madrid. Lots of external factors operating in Robinho´s future, if Ronaldo cannot finally go over to Madrid, Robinho is more than likely to stay at Real because coach Schuster considers the player as a basic piece in his new project, its Real President Calderon that is willing to "sacrifice" Robinho to finance his ultimate dream; to get Cristiano over to Madrid.
SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER BRIEFS 2008: GUIZA & HENRIQUE
The Spanish League Top Goal Scorer (27 goals) & European Silver Boot winner, DANI GUIZA, has a pre-agreement with Turkish team FENERBACHE. The Turks are willing to side-step the Spaniards Club MALLORCA & directly pay his contract release clause of 15M€, but the money has not been seen & this opens up other possibilities. His EURO 2008 performance has attracted the interest of MANCHESTER CITY, TOTTENHAM & AC ROMA & the players representative is already in discussions as the Turks fail to materialize their promise & the money.
FC BARCELONA has shut a transfer deal with Brazilian Club PALMEIRES for its 21 year old International HENRIQUE. The defender cost 10M€ & has signed for the next 5 years.
TRANSFER NEWS & RUMOURS 2008: ATLETICO DE MADRID & FC BARCELONA
According to all the local papers, ATLETICO DE MADRID has signed RECREATIVO DE HUELVA French forward SINAMA PONGOLLE. He joins the other signings John Heitinga, Tomás Ujfalusi & Gregory Coupet, & may form part of the Atletico forward
line with Sergio Aguero & Diego Forlan. According to "Marca" & "AS" the Frenchmen will be loaned for 1 year to either Racing of Santander or Benfica, if Zaragoza Brazilian
forward Ricardo Oliveira decides to accept the Atletico offer to be their 3rd forward, something that up till now Oliveira has said NO.
News from "Sport" tells us that coach Guardiola wants Russian ARSHAVIN & Arsenal´s ADEBAYOR to accompany Messi upfront. Wishful thinking?
What about Thierry Henry, doesn’t he count? According to "Sport", FC Barcelona has advanced in talks with ZENIT for the transfer of ARSHAVIN with a price around 15M€,
which is hard to believe, if he is the "revelation" of Euro 2008. English club Arsenal is competing hard to get the player as well.
On the other front the ADEBAYOR operation is turning sour & isn’t progressing as originally thought with numerous obstacles being encountered. It is not an open & shut case!
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW OF THE REAL MADRID - CRISTIANO RONALDO OPERATION
It´s natural if you’re a Manchester Utd, FC Barcelona or any Real Madrid rival, the possibility of Cristiano Ronaldo going to Madrid will be seen as something "evil" & "dark". Real Madrid is one of the few, if not the only, clubs in the World of Football
that can offer between 85-100M€ for just one player & not blink.
Javea Green Bowls Club – Weekly Round Up with Alan Phillips
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What a busy week of bowls we’ve had! On Saturday Javea Blues played a Kings Cup match at home to El Cid and unfortunately suffered another 12-3 defeat. Our only victory came in the Mens Singles, with Fred Willshire beating Paul Truncheon 21-12. Pauline Anderton made a good comeback after a slow start but still lost to Pat Metcalfe 21-13. The pairs combination of David Sackman & Jim Fletcher played against Ian Brown & Paul Leeder, but again came in second losing 22-10. With the triples and the rinks still out on the green we were hoping for a change of fortune, but it was not to be and 6 more points went to our visitors.
On Tuesday the return legs of the Ladies Rose Bowl and the Mens Walton Trophy were played against BBC. Unfortunately I haven’t got much detail of the matches, other than to say the Ladies lost but the Men were victorious. I understand that in the Mens match most of the games were fairly tight, with Dave Mobsby & Jim Fletcher having good shot difference wins.
Wednesday saw us travel fairly confidently to El Cid, with a 7 shot advantage from the first leg of the Friendship Cup. After about 6 ends the scoreboards were showing us behind in 5 of the matches, time for a re-think perhaps! But it all came good in the end and we added a further 30 shots to our first leg lead to take the trophy home. A quick mention for one of my friends at El Cid, Paul Leeder, who completed a hat-trick of wins against us in 8 days, when he defeated the team skipped by Tony Nicholls, well done matey! This win completed a particularly good couple of weeks for Javea, as we have won back the Friendship Cup from El Cid, plus the Walton & the Jubilee from BBC. Why so good, we haven’t held any of them for 3 years!
Thursday saw the Blues travel to play BBC Reds in the Kings Cup and put a welcome halt to their recent run of results with a 9-6 win. Victories for Jenny Rich in the singles, Pauline Anderton & Ken Davey in the pairs and Dave Sackman, Jane Lapthorne, John Lapthorne and Jim Fletcher in the rinks. This has been a very hectic week in extremely hot and humid conditions, so congratulations to everyone who has played their part.
Enjoy your bowling.
SPORTS BITES
Meyer named as coach
Leicester Tigers have named Heyneke Meyer as their new head coach replacing Marcelo Loffreda. The 40 year old South African has agreed a three-year contract and replaces Loffreda who was sacked in June after less than a year in charge. Meyer led the South African Blue Bulls to Super 14 glory last year - the first South African side to win the trophy. He said: "I am humbled a club like Leicester has considered me. I am very thankful they have appointed me and I am looking forward to getting started."
Murray Walker honoured
Broad casting legend Murray Walker has been honoured with a star on the Walk of Fame of his home city of Birmingham. The motor racing commentator is the latest celebrity to be given a star on the city's Broad Street which also has stars dedicated to Ozzie Osbourne, Noddy holder and Jasper Carrott. Walker was born in the Hall Green area of the city in 1923 and became famous as many of the drivers he commentated on. He said: "It's very flattering. It's one of Britain's great cities and to be honoured in this way is very flattering indeed and I'm obviously delighted it's happening to me. "I'm very lucky that I've spent many years talking about a sport that appeals to many people."
Chambers to challenge ban
Dwain Chambers is set to go to the High Court in a bid to overturn the ruling on his Olympic ban despite a high-profile petition to prevent it. Over 100 athletes have signed their disapproval of the appeal including Dame Kelly Holmes and Sir Steve Redgrave. Chambers lawyer, Nick Collins insisted the viewes of the public should be heard, he said "The appeal is going ahead. "I understand that Dwain received a fantastic reception on Saturday [at the Biberach meet in Germany]," he said. Chambers was banned for life by the British Olympic Association after failing a drugs test, which he athelete hopes to challenge the legality of.
Irish Derby win for Frozen Fire
Aidan O'Brien has become the first trainer to win the Irish Derby three years in a row. Jockey Seamus Heffernan rode Frozen Fire to a win at The Curragh on June 29th. Following a stewards' inquiry, favourite Tartan Bearer was promoted to third place with Casual Conquest in second. O'Brien's victory was his sixth in the race, bringing him level with legendary namesake Vincent O'Brien.
Out of Open
Paul McGinley, Jose Maria Olazabal and Rory McIlroy have failed to qualify for a place in the Open at Royal Birkdale and Thomas Bjorn pulled out with an injury. Darren Clarke's hopes of getting in hang by a thread after he failed to come through the 36-hole qualifier at Sunningdale. The Ulsterman missed out on one of the 18 spots on offer. Simon Wakefield and Ariel Canete topped qualifying on seven under with Anthony Wall among those going through.
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