Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts

Sunday, August 23, 2009

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL REUNITING WITH KOBE BRYANT

Shaquille O'Neal wants to reunite with old pal Kobe Bryant. While promoting his latest reality show, Shaq vs., he cited that he wouldn't mind playing one season with Cleveland and then returning to Los Angeles.

There are 3 factors why he may not return to the Lakers.

Factor #1: Jerry Buss. There was an incident that Shaq was shouting at Jerry Buss, “Pay me, pay me!” News has it that until now, the Lakers' owner still hasn't gotten over the incident.

Factor #2: Kobe Bryant. At the start of Kobe's career, Shaq was the franchise player. There were also many instances where Shaq lashed out at Kobe because of inexperience. Even the locker room was a constant source of feud between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Coach Phil Jackson often sided with Shaq just to pacify the big fella. Now that Kobe has a championship without Shaq, no one can ever say the Lakers cannot win without him. It's Kobe Bryant's team now.

Factor #3: They don't need him anymore. Andrew Bynum, the Lakers' starting center is better than Shaq. When he sits on the bench, Pau Gasol assumes center position. Bynum may not become as good as Shaq in the 2000's but certainly he's a better center now. Simply, there is no room for Shaq in the team even if he settles for a lower salary.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Roger Federer and Andy Murray Head-To-Head


Roger Federer (two-time winner) and Andy Murray (current champion) will be headling a top-two semi-final match at the Cincinnati Masters. Roger Federer, top seed and world number one ably beat former world number one Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-4. Roger Federer made 11 aces over Lleyton Hewitt, a two-time Grand Slam winner who is still not up to his usual form after a hip surgery in 2008. World number two Murray, who grabbed the ranking before winning the Montreal Masters last week, beat French Julien Benneteau 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. The fight flew away from the 55th-ranked Frenchman after a marathon rally in the third game in the second set. Roger Federer and Andy Murray will battle each other for the ninth time. Andy Murray is one of the few players who can beat Roger Federer. Federer beat Murray in the US Open final last year, but Murray has won all four of their meetings ever since, including two matches this 2009. According to Roger Federer, "He's getting up there in the tournament count, and that makes it more exciting to play a player like him, especially him being on a run like he's on right now after winning in Montreal". "It's definitely a good matchup." Roger Federer is attempting to add to the Cincinnati titles he won in 2005 and 2007, while Andy Murray is wanting a second straight after beating Serbia's Novak Djokovic 2008. Rafael Nadal the world number three and second seed, beat unseeded Czech Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-5 to set up a semi-final rematch with fourth-seeded Djokovic. Djokovic, who ousted Nadal in last year's semis here, beat ninth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-4, 7-5. "I'm improving every day a little bit more," said Nadal, who was sidelined for more than two months after the French Open with tendinitis in both knees. "This was a very good win for me. When I arrived here, I didn't expect to be in (the semi-finals). Being in the semi-final is perfect for me. It will make me more confident for the US Open."