Monday, May 16, 2011

Ajax makes title challenge ahead of United clash

UNITED TO FACE POTENTIAL CHAMPIONS

As league championships across Europe roll to a close over the next few weeks, the Dutch First Division - or Eredivisie - will be the first major competition to crown a champion. This weekend Holland's most successful club, AFC Ajax, will play host to reigning Dutch champion FC Twente at Amsterdam Arena in a winner-take-all season finale. If Ajax claims the contest, it will mark the legendary side's 30th Eredivisie title. The match will be played on Sunday, May 15, at 8:30 a.m. ET, and fans can watch live via ESPN3.com.�

Currently Ajax sits on 70 points in the Dutch table, a solitary point behind first place Twente. Both clubs are coming off crucial victories from the previous weekend, with Ajax coming from behind against Heerenveen to earn a 2-1 win, and Twente thrashing Willem II 4-0 at home. D.C. United will face Ajax on Sunday, May 22 in an international friendly at RFK Stadium (5:00 p.m. ET). The meeting will mark the first encounter between these two historic sides.

WHAT TO WATCH

Ajax is known for producing some of the top players in world football, and this year's team is no exception. The Dutch giants are littered with young talent, including 19-year-old Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen, 23-year-old defender Gregory Van Der Wiel, and rising star Jan Vertonghen. Dutch forward Monuir El Hamdaoui leads Ajax this term with 13 goals in 26 League games.�

United fans will also recognize American defender Oguchi Onyewu in this contest, as the U.S. National Team defender has started seven matches for The Reds since coming on loan from AC Milan.�

UNRIVALED EXCELLENCE

Ajax's history of youth development is unrivaled, with top players such as Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Edwin van der Saar, Patrick Kluivert, and Clarence Seedorf all coming from the club's academy. Current goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg is a member of Holland's National Team.

Stekelenburg has recently been linked with a summer move to the English Premier League, following in the footsteps of former Ajax winger Luis Suarez, who has been a sensation at Liverpool since joining the Merseyside outfit in January. Eriksen has also been linked to a move across the North Sea to Anfield.�

Since the time of Ajax maestro Johan Cruyff, the Amsterdam club has been known for revolutionary attacking football, and this brand of soccer will be on display in Sunday's contest against the fast and direct style of FC Twente. Ajax's Total Football approach has resulted in the capture of four European Cups/UEFA Champions League trophies.�

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Nick Diaz Beats Paul Daley in Wild Strikeforce Brawl

  • Michael David Smith
  • Lead Blogger
Nick Diaz defended his welterweight title against Paul Daley.In one of the best one-round fights in the history of mixed martial arts, Nick Diaz and Paul Daley pummeled each other for just under five minutes of back-and-forth action, with Diaz surviving multiple hard shots from Daley and eventually rocked Daley himself and finished Daley off by technical knockout with only three seconds remaining in the first round.

It was a great main event, and Diaz retained his Strikeforce welterweight title with his 10th consecutive victory.

The fight was an absolute thriller, and one that showed once again just how tough Diaz is: Daley is an incredibly powerful puncher, but Diaz took the best Daley had and answered every time.





Diaz taunted Daley in the early going, sticking his chin out, holding his hands down and practically begging Daley to hit him. Daley obliged, knocked Diaz down and appeared to have Diaz in trouble for a moment in the first minute of the first round, although Diaz recovered nicely.

And once Diaz had recovered, it was his turn to go to town: He battered Daley against the fence, landed some hard shots to the body, and ended up on the ground with Daley inside his guard. That was exactly where Diaz wanted the fight to be, but Daley managed to pull free and get back to his feet, and in the next exchange on the feet it was Daley who landed a hard punch that knocked Diaz down.

But once Diaz recovered, with the California crowd was chanting Diaz's name, and they continued to trade hard punches. Eventually Diaz landed one that sent Daley tumbling to the ground, and Diaz punched and landed a couple more hard punches before referee Big John McCarthy stopped the fight. The stoppage was questionable, although Daley didn't appear to object.

With the win, Diaz improved to 25-7 in his professional MMA career. Daley falls to 27-10-2.

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Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley Fight Night Photos

Nick Diaz punches Paul Daley en route to a TKO victory at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, Calif.

Esther Lin, Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Esther Lin, Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Nick Diaz punches Paul Daley en route to a TKO victory at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, Calif.

Diaz vs. Daley Photos

Nick Diaz takes a knee from the stomach against Paul Daley at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, Calif.

Diaz vs. Daley Photos

Paul Daley tries to defend against Nick Diaz at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, Calif.

Diaz vs. Daley Photos

Nick Diaz pounds out Paul Daley at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, Calif.

Diaz vs. Daley Photos

Nick Diaz raises his arms in victory against Paul Daley at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, Calif.

Diaz vs. Daley Photos

Gilbert Melendez punches Tatsuya Kawajiri at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, Calif.

Diaz vs. Daley Photos

Gilbert Melendez elbows Tatsuya Kawajiri at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, Calif.

Diaz vs. Daley Photos

Gilbert Melendez retains his Strikeforce lightweight title against Tatsuya Kawajiri at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, Calif.

Diaz vs. Daley Photos

Gegard Mousasi punches Keith Jardine at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, Calif.

Diaz vs. Daley Photos

Gegard Mousasi lands a kick to the body of Keith Jardine at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, Calif.

Diaz vs. Daley Photos

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Skateboarder's "Straight to the Internet" with Ryan Sheckler

See who's on the list, more importantly see who's not on the list

The Maloof Money Cup released the first set of 24 skaters invited to compete at the New York and DC stops with some skateboarding legends headlining, but also some very notable names left off the list. ??Since Rob Dyrdek announced last month they were having skaters sign an exclusive compete contract to only skate in Street League and X Games, the questioned remained which skaters were going to choose which contest.

The first invite list from MMC includes legends like Geoff..

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Sports News and Opinion on The Huffington Post

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Brazil's Barboza vs. England's Pearson Set for UFC: Rio

  • Michael David Smith
  • Lead Blogger
Edson BarbozaThe UFC's August 27 fight card in Rio de Janeiro is continuing to fill up with fights featuring a Brazilian fighting on his home turf against an opponent from another country.

The latest fight announced for the card features undefeated Rio native Edson Barboza taking on Sunderland, England's Ultimate Fighter winner, Ross Pearson. The fight was reported by Pearson's hometown paper in Sunderland and was confirmed on the UFC's official UK Twitter account.

Pearson has gone 3-1 inside the Octagon since winning The Ultimate Fighter, and those wins include one-sided unanimous decisions over a couple of very good opponents in Dennis Siver and Spencer Fisher. At age 26 and with his background on the UFC's reality show, Pearson is one of the prospects the UFC really wants to push.

But the 25-year-old Barboza may be an even better prospect: He's a perfect 8-0 in his MMA career and is coming off a Fight of the Night-winning performance against Anthony Njokuani last month. Barboza is one of the best lightweight strikers in the UFC and will be a tough match-up for Pearson.

So far, every fight slated for UFC: Rio features a Brazilian taking on a foreigner. In addition to Pearson-Barboza, the card looks like this:

Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami
Shogun Rua vs. Forrest Griffin
Thiago Tavares vs. Spencer Fisher
Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov

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Paul Shier Keen on Remind Insoles

A great way to celebrate World Autism Awareness day on April 2nd

Words & Photos: Jaime Owens

What a great weekend to celebrate World Autism Awareness day on April 2nd. It all started Saturday morning in Lake Forest at the Etnies skatepark where Etnies was hosting an Autism Speaks/ A.Skate Foundation clinic which allows children with autism to be a part of our social world through skateboarding. With the help of many dedicated volunteers including many Etnies team riders and Sole Technology employees, the clinic went off without a hitch and..

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Recap: Pontius penalty saves DC a point versus Rapids

WASHINGTON ? A second-half penalty kick from D.C. United?s Chris Pontius canceled out Drew Moor?s first-half goal, as United battled back for a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night.

The result means the Rapids finish a three-game road swing with a win and two draws. United, meanwhile, also stretched a recent unbeaten run to three games.

� Vote for the Lenkersdorfer Fine Jewelers Man of the Match

The Rapids entered the match missing several injured forwards, including Omar Cummings and Caleb Folan.� The return to fitness of Conor Casey, though, gave them optimism. The big striker started on the bench after missing several matches, and came on late in the second half.

The regular D.C. frontline of Josh Wolff and Charlie Davies looked active early. The former nearly sent the latter in on goal in the 10th minute. But Davies? touch let him down, as the Colorado defense bent without breaking.

Their sternness set the scene for the opening goal from Moor in the 23rd minute. Jamie Smith?s in swinging delivery from the left side wasn?t cleared by D.C.?s defense, and Moor pounced on the loose ball, sliding a shot past United goalkeeper Bill Hamid.

As D.C. struggled to get back into the game, coach Ben Olsen was forced to sub out his starting forward line before the half was out. Davies and Wolff both picked up injuries, and Santino Quaranta and Joseph Ngwenya came on in their place.

Ngwenya?s speed proved to be mettlesome for the Rapids defense. Early in the second half, he carried the ball into Colorado?s box and as he lined up his shot, he was dragged down by Rapids midfielder Jeff Larentowicz. Referee Terry Vaughn, however, waved play on.

D.C. continued the pressure, and their efforts were rewarded in the 62nd minute.

Working on the far left side of the Colorado area, Pontius collided with Rapids defender Kosuke Kimura. Both players went down, and this time Vaughn pointed to the spot.

With normal United penalty taker Davies off the field, Pontius stepped up and beat Pickens to level the score at 1-1.

A gritty and physical encounter unraveled over the game?s final 30 minutes, and both sides had chances to win it.

In the 87th minute, Rapids? substitute Sanna Nyassi?s cross was tipped by D.C. defender Dejan Jakovic, but it fell right to Wells Thompson, who blasted his shot way over at the top of the box.

In stoppage time, United nearly earned all three points but Ngwenya fired wide after Pickens made a good save from a Pontius effort.

D.C. now have a two-week break from league play before facing off with the Portland Timbers on Sunday, May 29. They take on Dutch side Ajax in a friendly next Saturday.

The Rapids return home to play Toronto FC on Sunday, May 22.

LINEUPS

D.C. UNITED: Hamid; Kitchen, White, Jakovic, Woolard; Najar, Simms (Fred 80'), McCarty (c), Pontius; Wolff (Ngwenya 44'), Davies (Quaranta 34')

Unused substitutes: Brettschneider, Burch, Korb, Cronin

Colorado Rapids: Pickens; Kimura, Marshall, Wynne; Moor, Thompson (LaBauex 94'), Larentowicz, Mastroeni; Smith, Akpan (Nyassi 75'), Amarikwa (Casey 67')

Unused substitutes: Ceus, Earls, Palguta, Nane

BOXSCORE

SCORING SUMMARY:
Colorado Rapids - Drew Moor 23'
D.C. United - Chris Pontius 62' (PK) | VIDEO

SHOTS:
D.C. United - 11
Colorado Rapids - 7

SHOTS ON GOAL:
D.C. United - 4
Colorado Rapids - 2

SAVES:
D.C. United - 1
Colorado Rapids - 3

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
Drew Moor - caution 45'
Matt Pickens 92'

FOULS:
D.C. United - 15
Colorado Rapids - 7

Referee: Terry Vaughn
Assistants: Steven Taylor, Jason Cullum
4th official: Daniel Fitzgerald

Attendance: 12,499

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