Category: Sports
Bayern Munich’s latest title a wake-up call to the rest of the Bundesliga
Bayern Munich sealed a sixth straight Bundesliga title with a 4-1 win at Augsburg. But their annual procession to the title reflects unfavorably on the teams in their shadow, writes DW’s Michael Da Silva.
It’s that time of year again. Spring has sprung, nature is awakening from hibernation, and the German beer gardens are open for business once more. And barely two weeks after the clocks went forward, Bayern Munich are celebrating another Bundesliga crown after another year of domestic domination. Like death and taxes, Bayern’s annual victory parade is a matter of ‘when’, not ‘if’.
Read more: Bayern beat Augsburg to win sixth straight Bundesliga crown
Bayern miles ahead
It’s the sixth straight year that Bayern have been crowned champions of Germany, with a resounding win in Augsburg sealing the latest title, with most of the first-team rested. This time, Bayern are champions having lost only three games — against Hoffenheim, Borussia Mönchengladbach and RB Leipzig — while scoring 76 goals in the process, a figure that almost doubles the tally of second-placed Schalke.
The club even squeezed a mini-crisis into their season, but still came out unscathed, with Carlo Ancelotti’s reign coming to a sticky end after hitting their nadir in Paris in late September. But that all seems like a very long time ago now. Jupp Heynckes has shown that even at the age of 72, he still has the Midas Touch, and with Bayern’s ongoing search to find a replacement proving troublesome, how dearly Bayern would love to see their coach stay for another year.
No competition
But these issues are barely a footnote when you consider the bigger picture of the state of the Bundesliga. Bayern cannot be blamed for being the dominant force in German football, but even some of their most ardent fans would concede that a genuine title race would be healthy for German football. Like Paris Saint-Germain in France, Olympiakos in Greece, Celtic in Scotland and Young Boys in Switzerland, Bayern go into each Bundesliga season expected to win the title. Anything less would be a failure of seismic proportions.
So who’s to blame? Certainly not Bayern. It’s up to the rest of the Bundesliga to reach Bayern’s levels, not hope that Bayern get worse. The chasing pack have failed to equip their teams with the tools to take the fight to Bayern and their failings are why we’ve been left with a competition that was over before it started.
Dortmund are the traditional challengers but they have endured a disastrous season, but still find themselves in third and within reach of second. But Dortmund shouldn’t be expected to fly the flag for the rest of the Bundesliga, and when they have a season as bad as the one they’ve had, they should be punished by others — not rewarded with another season of Champions League football.
A league in trouble
Bayer Leverkusen, Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Mönchengladbach and RB Leipzig must ask themselves why they are always fighting for second. Eintracht and Gladbach are clubs with rich histories and huge fanbases, and those fans deserve to believe their club at least has a chance of winning a league title.
Another traditional German powerhouse, Schalke, have enjoyed a renaissance under Domenico Tedesco and if they finish second it would represent a hugely successful campaign. But the fact they are 20 points behind the leaders and are in a position to celebrate a successful campaign, tells you that this is a league in trouble.
Bayern could start the next season with their team doctor in charge and would still be red-hot favorites to win another Bundesliga title. They will win the league again next year, and probably the year after that. In fact, it’s plausible they could win ten Bundesliga titles in a row. Does it have to get to that point for the others to realize they need to improve?
The Bundesliga is not the only league being skewed by financial imbalance, but with fans switching off from a league that no longer entertains, it’s time for the Bundesliga — and the clubs that make up the numbers — to wake up.
Test Tennis News
NEW YORK, N.Y. (March 11, 2010) – The 2010 World TeamTennis Pro League season will be highlighted by head-to-head matches between five former and current world No. 1 players – Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters, Lindsay Davenport and current world No. 1 Serena Williams – during the 3-week season, which starts July 5. League officials released the 73-match season schedule for the 10 WTT franchises today.
Hingis, who plays for the New York Buzz, is scheduled to take on the Washington Kastles’ Serena Williams and Venus Williams, and Clijsters, who is a member of the New York Sportimes. Venus Williams and the St. Louis Aces’ Lindsay Davenport will face off in St. Louis.
Each of the 10 teams will play 14 matches – seven home, seven away. Eastern Conference teams are the 2009 WTT Champions Washington Kastles, Boston Lobsters, New York Buzz, New York Sportimes and Philadelphia Freedoms. Western Conference teams are Newport Beach Breakers, Sacramento Capitals, St. Louis Aces, Springfield Lasers and Kansas City Explorers. This summer marks the 35th season of the coed League which was co-founded in the 1970s by Billie Jean King.
The Marquee Player lineup for 2010 includes some of the biggest names in tennis, including Serena Williams (Washington Kastles), Venus Williams (Washington Kastles), Andy Roddick (Philadelphia Freedoms), Kim Clijsters (New York Sportimes), John McEnroe (New York Sportimes), Martina Hingis (New York Buzz), Lindsay Davenport (St. Louis Aces), Anna Kournikova (St. Louis Aces), Maria Sharapova (Newport Beach Breakers) and James Blake (Boston Lobsters).
Hingis is returning to WTT action for the first time since 2006 and will face some of the WTA Tour’s biggest current stars this July. Hingis, who is playing the entire season for the Albany-based New York Buzz, will try to even her head-to-head record with Serena Williams during a special road match at the Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, N.Y., on July 9. Hingis will play the remaining six home matches at the team’s regular home venue, SEFCU Arena at the University at Albany (July 5, 6, 13, 14, 16, 20). Hingis, a former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, hits the road for seven matches including visits to Washington DC (July 7 vs. Venus Williams, July 12), Boston (July 11), Springfield (July 17), New York Sportimes (July 19 vs. Kim Clijsters), Philadelphia (July 21), and St. Louis (July 22).
Venus Williams, who was traded from the Philadelphia Freedoms to the Washington Kastles prior to last month’s Marquee Player Draft, will play three matches for the Kastles. She starts her 7th WTT season at home for the Kastles on July 7 before returning to Philadelphia on July 8 to take on her former team. Venus finishes her season in St. Louis on July 10 when she takes on the Aces and 3-time Grand Slam champion Lindsay Davenport.
Serena Williams teams up with her Kastles squad for four matches – one at home and three on the road. The first is a highly anticipated showdown against Martina Hingis and the New York Buzz in Glens Falls, N.Y. Serena leads their career head-to-head series 7-6. Serena plays in Philadelphia on July 13, Washington DC on July 14 and in New York City against the New York Sportimes on July 15.
WTT veteran Lindsay Davenport returns for her 9th season and her first with the Aces since 2001. Davenport will play 10 matches including six at Dwight Davis Tennis Center in St. Louis (July 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 17). Davenport is scheduled to battle Venus Williams on July 10 when the Aces host the Washington Kastles. Davenport opens up the season on the road on July 5 in Springfield, followed by away matches in Sacramento on July 14, Newport Beach on July 15 and Kansas City on July 18.
Kournikova returns for her eighth WTT season and her third with the St. Louis Aces. The former world no. 1 doubles star will play four matches for the Aces. Kournikova opens the season at home when she will team with Lindsay Davenport. Kournikova plays road matches on July 19 in Boston, July 20 in Philadelphia and July 21 in Washington, DC.
John McEnroe marks his 10th year in the WTT Pro League with five matches, including two at home at Sportimes’ Stadium at Randall’s Island on July 12 and July 19. The July 19 match will be an all-star showcase as McEnroe will be joined by new Sportimes’ teammate and 2009 US Open Champion Kim Clijsters to take on the Hingis-led New York Buzz. McEnroe also plays in Albany against the Buzz on July 13, July 20 in Washington DC, and July 22 in Newport Beach. This is second WTT season for Clijsters who was acquired by the Sportimes in an off-season trade with the St. Louis Aces.
2010 top draft pick Andy Roddick debuts for the Philadelphia Freedoms on the road with a July 14 match against the New York Sportimes. Roddick takes to the Freedoms’ new court at Villanova University on July 15 when the Freedoms host the Boston Lobsters.
Maria Sharapova, who first played WTT as a 14-year-old, will play one home match on July 20 in Newport Beach when the Breakers host the Kansas City Explorers.
Martina Hingis will face Clijsters and the Williams’ sisters on World Team Tennis
Former Harvard All-American James Blake returns to Boston as a member of the Boston Lobsters for one home match on July 8 and one road match against the New York Sportimes on July 7.
Team lineups will be finalized at the WTT Roster Draft on Tuesday, March 16 at 11am EST on WTT.com. Marquee players typically play a limited schedule while roster players play the full 3-week season.
FootBall: Sample Sports News
Barcelona‘s hopes of signing a successor to their departing goalkeeper Víctor Valdés and the teenager dubbed “the new Lionel Messi” – Dinamo Zagreb’s Alen Halilovic – have been hit after they had a year-long transfer ban imposed for breaching Fifa‘s rules on the transfer of players aged under 18.
The ban raises serious questions about the club’s immediate future, with Fifa applying the sanction against Barça for signing 10 minor players and committing “several other concurrent infringements”. They have been fined £305,000 and if the punishment stands they will not be able to sign players until the summer of 2015.
Barça will appeal against Fifa’s decision via the court of arbitration for sport, but the news comes as a blow for the Catalan club and is the latest in a string of recent embarrassments for the board. It casts doubt over moves already agreed for the £10m Borussia Mönchengladbach goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen and the 17-year-old Croat Halilovic, who turns 18 in June. Stegen was seen as the successor to Valdés, who is out for seven months with a knee injury and has said he is leaving the club in the summer.
Ter Stergen told the Kolner Express newspaper in Germany that he was still planning to leave Gladbach in the summer, but that he was uncertain of Barcelona’s situation.
“I have not heard anything about it and do not know what you want from me now,” he said. “I only know that at the end of this season I will leave Borussia Mönchengladbach.”
The Spanish champions have a number of promising South Korean youngsters on the books, including the highly rated Lee Seung-woo, plus many other under-18s from Cameroon. The players in question were registered and participated in competitions with the club between 2009 and 2013, while the Spanish Football Federation, RFEF, has also been sanctioned by Fifa for the same breaches.
Fifa said in a statement: “FC Barcelona has been found to be in breach of article 19 of the regulations in the case of 10 minor players and to have committed several other concurrent infringements in the context of other players.
“The disciplinary committee regarded the infringements as serious and decided to sanction the club with a transfer ban at both national and international level for two complete and consecutive transfer periods, together with a fine of 450,000 Swiss francs. Additionally, the club was granted a period of 90 days in which to regularise the situation of all minor players concerned.”
Fifa prohibits the international transfers of players under the age of 18, unless the two clubs involved are both within the European Union or the border being crossed is less than 50km from a player’s home, or the player’s parents move to the country in which the new club is located for reasons not linked to football.
The Fifa statement added: “The disciplinary committee emphasised that the protection of minors in the context of international transfers is an important social and legal issue that concerns all stakeholders in football.
“The committee highlighted that while international transfers might, in specific cases, be favourable to a young player’s sporting career, they are very likely to be contrary to the best interests of the player as a minor.
- The Borussia Mönchengladbach keeper Marc-André ter Stegen was Barça-bound. Photograph: Patrik Stollarz/AFP/Getty Images
“Young football players are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse in a foreign country without the proper controls. This particular fact makes the protection of minors in football by the sport’s governing bodies, especially by Fifa, even more important.” The Spanish FA has been given one year in to “regularise their regulatory framework and existing system concerning the international transfer of minors in football”.Barcelona announced their intention to appeal, arguing that their academy, La Masia, has been held up as a model of good practice and they had not breached any civil law. “FCB creates people before they create athletes, a fact that has not been considered by Fifa, which has applied a penalty ignoring the educational function of our training programme,” they said.
Test Sports News
NEW YORK, N.Y. (March 11, 2010) – The 2010 World TeamTennis Pro League season will be highlighted by head-to-head matches between five former and current world No. 1 players – Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters, Lindsay Davenport and current world No. 1 Serena Williams – during the 3-week season, which starts July 5. League officials released the 73-match season schedule for the 10 WTT franchises today.
Hingis, who plays for the New York Buzz, is scheduled to take on the Washington Kastles’ Serena Williams and Venus Williams, and Clijsters, who is a member of the New York Sportimes. Venus Williams and the St. Louis Aces’ Lindsay Davenport will face off in St. Louis.
Each of the 10 teams will play 14 matches – seven home, seven away. Eastern Conference teams are the 2009 WTT Champions Washington Kastles, Boston Lobsters, New York Buzz, New York Sportimes and Philadelphia Freedoms. Western Conference teams are Newport Beach Breakers, Sacramento Capitals, St. Louis Aces, Springfield Lasers and Kansas City Explorers. This summer marks the 35th season of the coed League which was co-founded in the 1970s by Billie Jean King.
The Marquee Player lineup for 2010 includes some of the biggest names in tennis, including Serena Williams (Washington Kastles), Venus Williams (Washington Kastles), Andy Roddick (Philadelphia Freedoms), Kim Clijsters (New York Sportimes), John McEnroe (New York Sportimes), Martina Hingis (New York Buzz), Lindsay Davenport (St. Louis Aces), Anna Kournikova (St. Louis Aces), Maria Sharapova (Newport Beach Breakers) and James Blake (Boston Lobsters).
Hingis is returning to WTT action for the first time since 2006 and will face some of the WTA Tour’s biggest current stars this July. Hingis, who is playing the entire season for the Albany-based New York Buzz, will try to even her head-to-head record with Serena Williams during a special road match at the Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, N.Y., on July 9. Hingis will play the remaining six home matches at the team’s regular home venue, SEFCU Arena at the University at Albany (July 5, 6, 13, 14, 16, 20). Hingis, a former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, hits the road for seven matches including visits to Washington DC (July 7 vs. Venus Williams, July 12), Boston (July 11), Springfield (July 17), New York Sportimes (July 19 vs. Kim Clijsters), Philadelphia (July 21), and St. Louis (July 22).
Venus Williams, who was traded from the Philadelphia Freedoms to the Washington Kastles prior to last month’s Marquee Player Draft, will play three matches for the Kastles. She starts her 7th WTT season at home for the Kastles on July 7 before returning to Philadelphia on July 8 to take on her former team. Venus finishes her season in St. Louis on July 10 when she takes on the Aces and 3-time Grand Slam champion Lindsay Davenport.
Serena Williams teams up with her Kastles squad for four matches – one at home and three on the road. The first is a highly anticipated showdown against Martina Hingis and the New York Buzz in Glens Falls, N.Y. Serena leads their career head-to-head series 7-6. Serena plays in Philadelphia on July 13, Washington DC on July 14 and in New York City against the New York Sportimes on July 15.
WTT veteran Lindsay Davenport returns for her 9th season and her first with the Aces since 2001. Davenport will play 10 matches including six at Dwight Davis Tennis Center in St. Louis (July 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 17). Davenport is scheduled to battle Venus Williams on July 10 when the Aces host the Washington Kastles. Davenport opens up the season on the road on July 5 in Springfield, followed by away matches in Sacramento on July 14, Newport Beach on July 15 and Kansas City on July 18.
Kournikova returns for her eighth WTT season and her third with the St. Louis Aces. The former world no. 1 doubles star will play four matches for the Aces. Kournikova opens the season at home when she will team with Lindsay Davenport. Kournikova plays road matches on July 19 in Boston, July 20 in Philadelphia and July 21 in Washington, DC.
John McEnroe marks his 10th year in the WTT Pro League with five matches, including two at home at Sportimes’ Stadium at Randall’s Island on July 12 and July 19. The July 19 match will be an all-star showcase as McEnroe will be joined by new Sportimes’ teammate and 2009 US Open Champion Kim Clijsters to take on the Hingis-led New York Buzz. McEnroe also plays in Albany against the Buzz on July 13, July 20 in Washington DC, and July 22 in Newport Beach. This is second WTT season for Clijsters who was acquired by the Sportimes in an off-season trade with the St. Louis Aces.
2010 top draft pick Andy Roddick debuts for the Philadelphia Freedoms on the road with a July 14 match against the New York Sportimes. Roddick takes to the Freedoms’ new court at Villanova University on July 15 when the Freedoms host the Boston Lobsters.
Maria Sharapova, who first played WTT as a 14-year-old, will play one home match on July 20 in Newport Beach when the Breakers host the Kansas City Explorers.
Martina Hingis will face Clijsters and the Williams’ sisters on World Team Tennis
Former Harvard All-American James Blake returns to Boston as a member of the Boston Lobsters for one home match on July 8 and one road match against the New York Sportimes on July 7.
Team lineups will be finalized at the WTT Roster Draft on Tuesday, March 16 at 11am EST on WTT.com. Marquee players typically play a limited schedule while roster players play the full 3-week season.
Maria Sharapova and Tennis
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova /məˈriːə ʃærəˈpoʊvə/ (Russian: Мари́я Ю́рьевна Шара́пова, IPA: [ˈmarija jʉrʲjɪvnə ʂarɐˈpova] (
listen); born April 19, 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player who as of January 6, 2014 is ranked World No. 5 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and is the top Russian player. A United States resident since 1994,[3] Sharapova has won twenty-nine WTA singles titles, including four Grand Slamsingles titles. She has also won the year-end WTA Tour Championships in 2004. The WTA has ranked Sharapova World No. 1 in singles on five separate occasions, for a total of 21 weeks. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on August 22, 2005, and last held the ranking for the fifth time for four weeks from June 11, 2012 to July 8, 2012.[4][5] She has been in eight Grand Slam finals with a record of 4–4.
Sharapova made her professional breakthrough in 2004 at age 17, when she defeated two-time defending champion and top seed Serena Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final for her first Grand Slam singles title. She entered the top 10 of the WTA Rankings with the win. The world no. 1 ranking followed in 2005, along with subsequent major titles at the 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open, before she was forced out of the game for ten months by a recurring shoulder injury, which ultimately required surgery in October 2008. Sharapova returned to the game in May 2009, returning to the top 10 in March 2011 and capturing her fourth Grand Slam title at the 2012 French Open. By doing so, she became the sixth woman in theOpen Era to complete the career Grand Slam in singles. In the same year, she won an Olympic silver medal in the London 2012 Olympics.
Sharapova has been featured in a number of modeling assignments, including a feature in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She has been featured in many advertisements, including for Nike, Prince, and Canon, and is the face of several fashion houses, most notably Cole Haan. Since February 2007, she has been a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador, concerned specifically with the Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme. In June 2011, she was named one of the “30 Legends of Women’s Tennis: Past, Present and Future” by Time,[6] and in March 2012 was named one of the “100 Greatest of All Time” by Tennis Channel.
Barcelona hit with a year-long transfer ban for breaching rules on youngsters
Barcelona‘s hopes of signing a successor to their departing goalkeeper Víctor Valdés and the teenager dubbed “the new Lionel Messi” – Dinamo Zagreb’s Alen Halilovic – have been hit after they had a year-long transfer ban imposed for breaching Fifa‘s rules on the transfer of players aged under 18.
The ban raises serious questions about the club’s immediate future, with Fifa applying the sanction against Barça for signing 10 minor players and committing “several other concurrent infringements”. They have been fined £305,000 and if the punishment stands they will not be able to sign players until the summer of 2015.
Barça will appeal against Fifa’s decision via the court of arbitration for sport, but the news comes as a blow for the Catalan club and is the latest in a string of recent embarrassments for the board. It casts doubt over moves already agreed for the £10m Borussia Mönchengladbach goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen and the 17-year-old Croat Halilovic, who turns 18 in June. Stegen was seen as the successor to Valdés, who is out for seven months with a knee injury and has said he is leaving the club in the summer.
Ter Stergen told the Kolner Express newspaper in Germany that he was still planning to leave Gladbach in the summer, but that he was uncertain of Barcelona’s situation.
“I have not heard anything about it and do not know what you want from me now,” he said. “I only know that at the end of this season I will leave Borussia Mönchengladbach.”
The Spanish champions have a number of promising South Korean youngsters on the books, including the highly rated Lee Seung-woo, plus many other under-18s from Cameroon. The players in question were registered and participated in competitions with the club between 2009 and 2013, while the Spanish Football Federation, RFEF, has also been sanctioned by Fifa for the same breaches.
Fifa said in a statement: “FC Barcelona has been found to be in breach of article 19 of the regulations in the case of 10 minor players and to have committed several other concurrent infringements in the context of other players.
“The disciplinary committee regarded the infringements as serious and decided to sanction the club with a transfer ban at both national and international level for two complete and consecutive transfer periods, together with a fine of 450,000 Swiss francs. Additionally, the club was granted a period of 90 days in which to regularise the situation of all minor players concerned.”
Fifa prohibits the international transfers of players under the age of 18, unless the two clubs involved are both within the European Union or the border being crossed is less than 50km from a player’s home, or the player’s parents move to the country in which the new club is located for reasons not linked to football.
The Fifa statement added: “The disciplinary committee emphasised that the protection of minors in the context of international transfers is an important social and legal issue that concerns all stakeholders in football.
“The committee highlighted that while international transfers might, in specific cases, be favourable to a young player’s sporting career, they are very likely to be contrary to the best interests of the player as a minor.
“Young football players are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse in a foreign country without the proper controls. This particular fact makes the protection of minors in football by the sport’s governing bodies, especially by Fifa, even more important.” The Spanish FA has been given one year in to “regularise their regulatory framework and existing system concerning the international transfer of minors in football”.Barcelona announced their intention to appeal, arguing that their academy, La Masia, has been held up as a model of good practice and they had not breached any civil law. “FCB creates people before they create athletes, a fact that has not been considered by Fifa, which has applied a penalty ignoring the educational function of our training programme,” they said.
Hingis to face clijsters and williams sisters in world team tennis’ 35th season
NEW YORK, N.Y. (March 11, 2010) – The 2010 World TeamTennis Pro League season will be highlighted by head-to-head matches between five former and current world No. 1 players – Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters, Lindsay Davenport and current world No. 1 Serena Williams – during the 3-week season, which starts July 5. League officials released the 73-match season schedule for the 10 WTT franchises today.
Hingis, who plays for the New York Buzz, is scheduled to take on the Washington Kastles’ Serena Williams and Venus Williams, and Clijsters, who is a member of the New York Sportimes. Venus Williams and the St. Louis Aces’ Lindsay Davenport will face off in St. Louis.
Each of the 10 teams will play 14 matches – seven home, seven away. Eastern Conference teams are the 2009 WTT Champions Washington Kastles, Boston Lobsters, New York Buzz, New York Sportimes and Philadelphia Freedoms. Western Conference teams are Newport Beach Breakers, Sacramento Capitals, St. Louis Aces, Springfield Lasers and Kansas City Explorers. This summer marks the 35th season of the coed League which was co-founded in the 1970s by Billie Jean King.
The Marquee Player lineup for 2010 includes some of the biggest names in tennis, including Serena Williams (Washington Kastles), Venus Williams (Washington Kastles), Andy Roddick (Philadelphia Freedoms), Kim Clijsters (New York Sportimes), John McEnroe (New York Sportimes), Martina Hingis (New York Buzz), Lindsay Davenport (St. Louis Aces), Anna Kournikova (St. Louis Aces), Maria Sharapova (Newport Beach Breakers) and James Blake (Boston Lobsters).
Hingis is returning to WTT action for the first time since 2006 and will face some of the WTA Tour’s biggest current stars this July. Hingis, who is playing the entire season for the Albany-based New York Buzz, will try to even her head-to-head record with Serena Williams during a special road match at the Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, N.Y., on July 9. Hingis will play the remaining six home matches at the team’s regular home venue, SEFCU Arena at the University at Albany (July 5, 6, 13, 14, 16, 20). Hingis, a former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, hits the road for seven matches including visits to Washington DC (July 7 vs. Venus Williams, July 12), Boston (July 11), Springfield (July 17), New York Sportimes (July 19 vs. Kim Clijsters), Philadelphia (July 21), and St. Louis (July 22).
Venus Williams, who was traded from the Philadelphia Freedoms to the Washington Kastles prior to last month’s Marquee Player Draft, will play three matches for the Kastles. She starts her 7th WTT season at home for the Kastles on July 7 before returning to Philadelphia on July 8 to take on her former team. Venus finishes her season in St. Louis on July 10 when she takes on the Aces and 3-time Grand Slam champion Lindsay Davenport.
Serena Williams teams up with her Kastles squad for four matches – one at home and three on the road. The first is a highly anticipated showdown against Martina Hingis and the New York Buzz in Glens Falls, N.Y. Serena leads their career head-to-head series 7-6. Serena plays in Philadelphia on July 13, Washington DC on July 14 and in New York City against the New York Sportimes on July 15.
WTT veteran Lindsay Davenport returns for her 9th season and her first with the Aces since 2001. Davenport will play 10 matches including six at Dwight Davis Tennis Center in St. Louis (July 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 17). Davenport is scheduled to battle Venus Williams on July 10 when the Aces host the Washington Kastles. Davenport opens up the season on the road on July 5 in Springfield, followed by away matches in Sacramento on July 14, Newport Beach on July 15 and Kansas City on July 18.
Kournikova returns for her eighth WTT season and her third with the St. Louis Aces. The former world no. 1 doubles star will play four matches for the Aces. Kournikova opens the season at home when she will team with Lindsay Davenport. Kournikova plays road matches on July 19 in Boston, July 20 in Philadelphia and July 21 in Washington, DC.
John McEnroe marks his 10th year in the WTT Pro League with five matches, including two at home at Sportimes’ Stadium at Randall’s Island on July 12 and July 19. The July 19 match will be an all-star showcase as McEnroe will be joined by new Sportimes’ teammate and 2009 US Open Champion Kim Clijsters to take on the Hingis-led New York Buzz. McEnroe also plays in Albany against the Buzz on July 13, July 20 in Washington DC, and July 22 in Newport Beach. This is second WTT season for Clijsters who was acquired by the Sportimes in an off-season trade with the St. Louis Aces.
2010 top draft pick Andy Roddick debuts for the Philadelphia Freedoms on the road with a July 14 match against the New York Sportimes. Roddick takes to the Freedoms’ new court at Villanova University on July 15 when the Freedoms host the Boston Lobsters.
Maria Sharapova, who first played WTT as a 14-year-old, will play one home match on July 20 in Newport Beach when the Breakers host the Kansas City Explorers.
Former Harvard All-American James Blake returns to Boston as a member of the Boston Lobsters for one home match on July 8 and one road match against the New York Sportimes on July 7.
Team lineups will be finalized at the WTT Roster Draft on Tuesday, March 16 at 11am EST on WTT.com. Marquee players typically play a limited schedule while roster players play the full 3-week season.
This is a Sample News of NewsPress Sports
BBC: New York has, over the last few centuries, become one of the world’s most densely packed cities. But what if you could redraw the city’s map – and build it from scratch?
If we were designing New York today, how different would it look?
The new New York City would balance the relationship between the information networks that the metropolis depends on and Earth’s finite resources.
All vital components of life would be monitored and attuned to the needs of every organism, not just humans. Supplies of food and water, our energy and waste and even our air would be sensibly scrutinised. Thanks to masses of miniaturised low-cost electronic components deployed across the city, communication becomes far easier. New York will grow and adapt to millions of new minds entering it everyday.
The city would make sure every need is provided for within its borders. How we provide nutrients, transports, and shelter would be updated. Dilapidated buildings would be replaced with vertical agriculture and new kinds of housing would join cleaner, greener ways to get around the city. What were once streets become snaking arteries of livable spaces, embedded with renewable energy sources, low-tech, green vehicles for mobility and productive nutrient zones. The former street grid could provide the foundation for new flexible networks. By reengineering the obsolete streets, we can create robust and ecologically active pathways.
While all this may sound optimistic, some of this city of tomorrow is already taking shape.
The Highline is a perfect case of adaptive reuse. This former elevated railway was converted into a public promenade and restorative ecological spine for the city. The raised streetscape helps retain rainwater, over 200 plant species, recreational green space; the freight trains are gone, replaced by people walking and cycling.
The Lowline, meanwhile, is a strategy to position state-of-the-art solar equipment to illuminate a discarded underground trolley station on the Lower East Side of NYC. This concept is to create an appealing underground common space, delivering an attractive ecological space within the heart of this crowded metropolitan environment.
Then there is Vision 42. This enterprise re-imagines an upgraded light rail transport at Midtown Manhattan as an alternative to traffic congestion. It’s designed as a crosstown, low-floor moderate speed train line traversing river-to-river at 42nd Street. Alongside is a landscaped tree-lined pedestrian street path. Vision 42 is a prototype for an entire network of walkable streets, greenways, and smart transports throughout a future New York.
Brooklyn Navy Yard (BNY) is a national model for sustainable industrial parks and green development, and home to companies that aim to be socially responsible and tech-driven, such as Terreform, the think-tank that I work for. The BNY is a former military industrial complex, converted into a clean technology and local manufacturing site; something that will be of utmost importance in any future metropolis.
This future city will still have traffic fumes as long as there are gas-guzzling vehicles plying its streets. But improving technology will enable the populace to steer clear of the most polluted zones. NYC Breathe is a wireless pollution sensor that keeps track of urban contaminants. These sensors are added to trucks, taxis, and automobiles and thus accumulate comprehensive pollution data in real-time – all of which is conveniently displayed as a detailed map.
But steps are already being taken to make the city help cleans its air. Million Trees NYC has a goal of increasing its cosmopolitan woodland by planting many more trees. Street trees, park trees, and trees on public, private and commercial land are highly valuable. By planting a million trees, we can increase New York’s urban forest by an overwhelming 20%, while accomplishing the numerous quality-of-life advantages that come with them. The City of New York will plant 70% of trees in parks and other public spaces. The other 30% will come from private organisations, homeowners, and community organisations.
And what of food? Vertical Aquaponics can yield up to 800% more produce than traditional land farming in an equivalent space, while consuming 90-95% less water and power. Farms will be constructed in stacks, rising into the air. By assembling aquaponic farms vertically, it multiplies the power of its food-growing equipment, possibly yielding far more food than conventional farming – and all the time using a fraction of the space and energy.
But revisioning Manhattan is more than just an academic exercise, and needs more than what is on the drawing board now. The climate is skewed and cities are partly responsible. We need to act now to observe action later. Many advocates of sustainability encourage operations to achieve the bare minimum or zero impact. These efforts try to do no further harm, but do not try to heal. We need to elevate subsistence-based systems to approaches that not only have a positive impact but are abundant throughout the city. Calculating an ecological footprint is suitable for endurance living. Reversing the effects of pollution is better still.
If Manhattan was restructured to be proactive in resetting the climate, other cites may follow. How can we do this? This next version of New York is dependent on planning and preparation. This next version of New York is dependent on us.
This is a Sample Heading for the NewsPress Theme
BBC: New York has, over the last few centuries, become one of the world’s most densely packed cities. But what if you could redraw the city’s map – and build it from scratch?
If we were designing New York today, how different would it look?
The new New York City would balance the relationship between the information networks that the metropolis depends on and Earth’s finite resources.
All vital components of life would be monitored and attuned to the needs of every organism, not just humans. Supplies of food and water, our energy and waste and even our air would be sensibly scrutinised. Thanks to masses of miniaturised low-cost electronic components deployed across the city, communication becomes far easier. New York will grow and adapt to millions of new minds entering it everyday.
The city would make sure every need is provided for within its borders. How we provide nutrients, transports, and shelter would be updated. Dilapidated buildings would be replaced with vertical agriculture and new kinds of housing would join cleaner, greener ways to get around the city. What were once streets become snaking arteries of livable spaces, embedded with renewable energy sources, low-tech, green vehicles for mobility and productive nutrient zones. The former street grid could provide the foundation for new flexible networks. By reengineering the obsolete streets, we can create robust and ecologically active pathways.
While all this may sound optimistic, some of this city of tomorrow is already taking shape.
The Highline is a perfect case of adaptive reuse. This former elevated railway was converted into a public promenade and restorative ecological spine for the city. The raised streetscape helps retain rainwater, over 200 plant species, recreational green space; the freight trains are gone, replaced by people walking and cycling.
The Lowline, meanwhile, is a strategy to position state-of-the-art solar equipment to illuminate a discarded underground trolley station on the Lower East Side of NYC. This concept is to create an appealing underground common space, delivering an attractive ecological space within the heart of this crowded metropolitan environment.
Then there is Vision 42. This enterprise re-imagines an upgraded light rail transport at Midtown Manhattan as an alternative to traffic congestion. It’s designed as a crosstown, low-floor moderate speed train line traversing river-to-river at 42nd Street. Alongside is a landscaped tree-lined pedestrian street path. Vision 42 is a prototype for an entire network of walkable streets, greenways, and smart transports throughout a future New York.
Brooklyn Navy Yard (BNY) is a national model for sustainable industrial parks and green development, and home to companies that aim to be socially responsible and tech-driven, such as Terreform, the think-tank that I work for. The BNY is a former military industrial complex, converted into a clean technology and local manufacturing site; something that will be of utmost importance in any future metropolis.
This future city will still have traffic fumes as long as there are gas-guzzling vehicles plying its streets. But improving technology will enable the populace to steer clear of the most polluted zones. NYC Breathe is a wireless pollution sensor that keeps track of urban contaminants. These sensors are added to trucks, taxis, and automobiles and thus accumulate comprehensive pollution data in real-time – all of which is conveniently displayed as a detailed map.
But steps are already being taken to make the city help cleans its air. Million Trees NYC has a goal of increasing its cosmopolitan woodland by planting many more trees. Street trees, park trees, and trees on public, private and commercial land are highly valuable. By planting a million trees, we can increase New York’s urban forest by an overwhelming 20%, while accomplishing the numerous quality-of-life advantages that come with them. The City of New York will plant 70% of trees in parks and other public spaces. The other 30% will come from private organisations, homeowners, and community organisations.
And what of food? Vertical Aquaponics can yield up to 800% more produce than traditional land farming in an equivalent space, while consuming 90-95% less water and power. Farms will be constructed in stacks, rising into the air. By assembling aquaponic farms vertically, it multiplies the power of its food-growing equipment, possibly yielding far more food than conventional farming – and all the time using a fraction of the space and energy.
But revisioning Manhattan is more than just an academic exercise, and needs more than what is on the drawing board now. The climate is skewed and cities are partly responsible. We need to act now to observe action later. Many advocates of sustainability encourage operations to achieve the bare minimum or zero impact. These efforts try to do no further harm, but do not try to heal. We need to elevate subsistence-based systems to approaches that not only have a positive impact but are abundant throughout the city. Calculating an ecological footprint is suitable for endurance living. Reversing the effects of pollution is better still.
If Manhattan was restructured to be proactive in resetting the climate, other cites may follow. How can we do this? This next version of New York is dependent on planning and preparation. This next version of New York is dependent on us.