Friday, 26 February 2010

St.Helens v Wakefield

This looks like being a super game
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk


St Helens v Wakefield Trinity Wildcats (Fri)


ENGAGE SUPER LEAGUE
Venue: Knowsley Road Date: Friday, 26 February Kick-off: 2000 GMT
Coverage: Commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; Score updates on BBC Radio 5 Live & the BBC Sport website; highlights on the Super League Show


St Helens v Wakefield

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Thursday, 25 February 2010

Rhubarb gets EU status

Lovely stuff -right here too!
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk
Rhubarb grown by candlelight in an area of Yorkshire known as the Rhubarb Triangle has been given European protected name status.

Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb has been added to the list, which includes Champagne and Parma Ham, of foods and drinks to have their names legally protected.

Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb
Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb has grown by candlelight since the 1950s

The vegetable is grown at farms in the geographical triangle between Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford.

It becomes the 41st British product to be added to the list.

Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb joins the likes of Grimsby Smoked Fish, Swaledale Cheese and West Country Cheddar in getting Protected Designation of Origin status from the European Commission's Protected Food Name scheme.

All Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb is grown by just 12 farmers.

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Tuesday, 23 February 2010

Confusion for some?

Will be interested to see how many people opt to stick with IE.
clipped from www.h-online.com
The Microsoft Browser Ballot screen will begin arriving in Europe this week, but according to a YouGov survey commissioned by Mozilla, 77% of Britons don't know it is coming
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Friday, 19 February 2010

BBC News - Microsoft offers web browser choice to IE users

Microsoft logo
Microsoft agreed to give Windows users a choice of internet browser

Millions of European Internet Explorer (IE) users will have the option to choose an alternative browser from 1 March, Microsoft has announced.

It follows a legal agreement between Microsoft and Europe's Competition Commission in December 2009.

Microsoft committed to letting Windows PC users across Europe install the web browser of their choice, rather than having Microsoft IE as a default.

Figures suggest that over half the world's internet users have IE.

Testing for the update is already underway in the UK, Belgium and France.

The software update choice will arrive automatically for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 customers, according to a blog post by Dave Heiner, Microsoft's vice president and deputy general counsel.

The blog also contains screen grabs of the message as it will appear.

"Users who get the choice screen will be free to choose any browser or stick with the browser they have, as they prefer," wrote Mr Heiner.

Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera are the alternative browsers that people will be offered.

"Millions of people who have never really thought about which browser to use will now be forced to make a choice," said BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones on his blog.

"That presents Microsoft's rivals with a unique marketing opportunity."

Mozilla Foundation chair Mitchell Baker described the news as "an important milestone towards helping people take control of their online lives."

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About TIME!

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Google Reader (833)-Tiger Woods report.

Sad end to a career?

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BBC Sport - Vancouver 2010 - GB's Williams sets record in Skeleton

BBC Sport - Vancouver 2010 - Britain's Amy Williams leads skeleton at halfway stage

Highlights - Brits well placed for skeleton medals

Britain's Amy Williams set a new track record on her way to the halfway lead in the women's skeleton at Whistler.

The 27-year-old set a new best of 53.83 seconds on run one and her combined time of 1:47.96 after two runs gives her a substantial lead of 0.30 seconds.

Team-mate Shelley Rudman improved from 11th to joint seventh while British men Kristan Bromley and Adam Pengilly lie fifth and 20th respectively.

Williams also survived a protest against the legality of her helmet.

Skeleton's international governing body rejected an objection filed by the United States team and supported by five other nations - which claimed ridges on Williams' helmet gave her an illegal aerodynamic advantage.

ROB HODGETTS' BLOG

International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation (FIBT) jury president Wolfgang Strauss said the helmet's manufacturer confirmed the ridges, or spoilers, "are an integral part of the helmet."

Therefore, by FIBT rule, the helmet - which also made it through a standard pre-race check - was deemed legal for racing.

Rounds three and four of the competition take place on Friday from 2340 GMT.

Williams admitted that her first run could have been better, despite being the only woman to break 54 seconds.

She told BBC Sport: "I don't really think about times, it felt really messy. But I love this track.

"I've got to keep level headed though and sleep well. And thanks to everyone at home for staying up late to watch!"

Rudman, who won silver in Turin four years ago, said her opening 54.66 seconds run was "terrible".

Amy Williams' video profile

"It couldn't have been worse," added Rudman. "I was a bit skiddy at the top and made a mistake on corner 13 so I lost a lot of time.

"It was nice to make it better on the second run, but I need to improve more to get in the mix.

"It's not one of my favourite tracks, but at least I'm happy with my start."

Germany's Kerstin Szymkowiak lies second, with pre-race favourite and home slider Mellisa Hollingsworth in third, 0.39 seconds behind Williams.

Hollingsworth was the first down in run one her time of 54.18 seconds was a new track record, but she was less than impressed with her time.

"At least I'm still in there," stated Hollingsworth. "I can go home and get my work done and come back on Friday and do it right."

When the pressure starts building I'm hoping to capitalise on that


Kristan Bromley

In the men's event, Bromley improved from seventh after the first run to fifth with a 52.89-second slide. He lies only 0.05 seconds outside a medal place, but almost a full second behind leader Martins Dukurs of Latvia.

Dukurs broke the track record by almost one second on his opening run with a time of 52.32. His combined time of 1:44.91 is 0.26 ahead of Canada's Jon Montgomery, while Russia's Alexander Tretyakov is third, 0.84 back.

Pengilly lies in 20th, 3.01 seconds off the pace.

Now three-time Olympian Bromley hopes his top-level experience will help give him the edge over some of the leading athletes who are making their Olympic debuts.

"On this track five hundredths of a second is absolutely nothing. People are dropping or improving two to three tenths per run so it will all be made on that final run tomorrow," said Bromley.

"It's about focus and it really is a mental game. There's some young sliders in front of me who are prone to making mistakes. When the pressure starts building I'm hoping to capitalise on that."

Head to our live page to see the full skeleton times.

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Great stuff from Amy!

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Wednesday, 17 February 2010

BBC Sport - Vancouver 2010 - Great Britain's women curlers stun China in opener

GB women's curling team
Great Britain are skippered by 19-year-old Eve Muirhead (centre)

The British women's curling team made a great start to their Olympic campaign with victory over world champions China in their opening round robin encounter.

Britain took a two-point lead after an error by the Chinese skip in the fifth end but China squared it at 4-4 in the last to take the match into a decider.

Team GB edged a tight final end to clinch a 5-4 win on the final stone.

The British side, captained by 19-year-old Eve Muirhead, are looking to emulate the Olympic success of 2002.

A happy Muirhead said: "It was crucial for us to get off to a strong start, because if you don't these games can come back to haunt you at the end of the week so I am delighted with that and can move on to Sweden.

"We were in control from the start and although China got a two in the 10th end which brought them back into the game we knew we were going into the extra end with hammer."

The GB women still have nine round robin matches left, starting against defending champions Sweden at 0300 GMT on Thursday.

Muirhead said she was impressed with the atmosphere at Vancouver Olympic Centre adding: "The whole place is buzzing. I won here at the World Juniors last year so hopefully we can take every game as it comes and keep winning."

The British men team meet France at 2200 GMT as they look to atone for yesterday's 6-4 defeat by European champions Sweden.

The top four teams after the round robin stage advance to the semi-finals.

Meet GB's women curlers

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PHEW!

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Tuesday, 16 February 2010

Friday, 12 February 2010

BBC Sport - Vancouver 2010 - Olympic luger Nodar Kumaritashvili dies after crash

Nodar Kumaritashvili
Prior to his crash, Kumaritashvili was not considered a medal prospect

A luge competitor has died after leaving the track at high speed during Winter Olympic training in Canada.

Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili was given emergency resuscitation treatment at the Whistler Sliding Centre.

His sled left the Olympic track and smashed into a steel pole. An Olympic official confirmed he had been killed.

Training was immediately suspended after the accident, which happened just hours before the opening ceremony of the 21st Winter Games in Vancouver.

Kumaritashvili's sled struck the inside of the track's final turn, sending his body into the air and over a concrete wall.

His sled remained on the track, and the visor from his helmet appeared to continue down the ice.

"Georgian slider Nodar Kumaritashvili has had a serious crash in the final run of official training for the men's singles on Friday," said an official statement.

"He fell out of the track when he crashed. He was treated on site by medical staff who administered CPR, and was then taken away in an ambulance."

German International Olympic Committee official Thomas Bach later confirmed he had died as a result of his injuries.

The track at Whistler, which is shared by the sports of luge, skeleton and bobsleigh, already has a reputation as one of the fastest - and most dangerous - in the world.

In the build-up to the Games several teams had raised concerns about the safety of athletes, who regularly exceed 90mph as they compete.

Before Kumaritashvili's crash, British skeleton slider Amy Williams told BBC Sport: "I just hope Whistler is safe and that there aren't too many crashes and serious injuries."

Australia's Hannah Campbell-Pegg added: "I think they are pushing it a little too much.

"To what extent are we just little lemmings that they just throw down a track and we're crash-test dummies? I mean, this is our lives."

Their comments followed earlier accidents, including one involving gold medal favourite Armin Zoeggeler of Italy and several during women's luge training runs on Wednesday.

Among those to crash was Romania's Violeta Stramaturaru, who was knocked unconscious for a few minutes and taken to hospital.

British skeleton's performance director, Andi Schmid, said a lack of track time for athletes in the run-up to the Games had increased the risk of accidents.

"I would say especially for speed sports you need to have more access to tracks and whoever organises the Olympics needs to offer that," said Schmid during preparations for the Games.

"Not only so that everyone has a fair chance but also because of the danger. We need to be careful so that these sports stay great action sports and don't become dangerous killer sports.

"I'm not saying that will happen but some athletes from other nations are less experienced."

Kumaritashvili competed in five World Cup races this season, finishing 44th in the world standings.

Members of the International Luge Federation were asked to attend a briefing following the crash, and team captains from each nation attended an emergency meeting.

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Very Sad!

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Rudman to carry FLAG

Good Luck to the British team!
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk
Rudman will be going for gold in the skeleton on 18 February

Britain's sole medallist from the 2006 Winter Olympics, Shelley Rudman, will carry the flag at the opening ceremony in Vancouver.


Weather for Whistler, Canada






Friday day weather


Heavy Snow

  • Heavy Snow

  • Max: 2°C

  • Min: -1°C

  • Wind: SE 6mph




Saturday day weather


Heavy Snow

  • Heavy Snow

  • Max: 2°C

  • Min: 1°C

  • Wind: SSE 8mph




Sunday day weather


Heavy Snow Shower

  • Heavy Snow Shower

  • Max: 0°C

  • Min: -9°C

  • Wind: SSW 7mph









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Thursday, 11 February 2010

Designer McQeen dies!

Such a young age!
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk

The fashion designer Alexander McQueen has been found dead, his company said.

His office confirmed to the BBC that Mr McQueen, 40, was discovered at his London home this morning.

Alexander McQueen
Alexander McQueen was named British designer of the year four times

Paramedics called to the Mayfair property pronounced him dead at the scene. Police said his death was not being treated as suspicious.

A statement said his family were "devastated" at the "tragic news", and added that they shared "a sense of shock and grief".

In a message on his Twitter page on 3 February, Mr McQueen said his mother had passed away.

A former British Designer of the Year winner, London-born Mr McQueen started his career as an apprentice in Savile Row, where he learned how to make jackets at Gieves and Hawkes.

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Wednesday, 10 February 2010

Martial Arts Pensioner

Life in the old dogs yet!
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk
A Scottish pensioner has become one of only seven living people to hold judo's highest rank.

Martial arts expert George Kerr, 72, was named a "10th Dan" black belt at a ceremony held by the International Judo Federation in Paris.

George Kerr prepare to throw a colleauge at the Junior Judo Club in Edinburgh
Mr Kerr (left) has dedicated much of his life to the martial art

He is one of only five non-Japanese recipients of the award, which honours his contribution to the sport.

Mr Kerr, who runs a judo club for 200 youngsters in Edinburgh, said he was "humbled" by the award.

Fewer than 20 people have ever received the honour, which recognises Mr Kerr's contribution to the sport as a competitor, coach, referee and administrator.

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Tuesday, 9 February 2010

BBC News - Boy's cycling design chosen for Olympic 50p coin

Boy's cycling design chosen for Olympic 50p coin

Theo Crutchley-Mack's winning 50p design
Judges said Theo's design 'captured the essence of cycling'

A design by a West Yorkshire teenager has been chosen from more than 3,000 entries to become a new 50p coin inspired by the Olympic Games.

Theo Crutchley-Mack, 16, from Halifax, said it was "absolutely amazing" that his picture of a cyclist in a velodrome was chosen by the Royal Mint.

His design was also seen and approved by the Queen.

Up to three million of Theo's coins will be released into circulation later this year.

Well done Theo!

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Monday, 8 February 2010

BBC News - China shuts down training website for hackers

Internet users in China (file image)
China has more internet users than any other country

China has closed down what is believed to be the country's biggest training website for hackers, state media has reported.

They say the site, Black Hawk Safety Net, gave lessons in hacking and sold downloads of malicious software.

The reports say three people suspected of running the site were arrested.

Hacking is a sensitive topic for China, especially since the internet giant Google recently threatened to pull out of the country.

Google said China-based hackers had attacked its operations but the Chinese government denied any involvement.

The hacker training operation openly recruited thousands of members online and provided them with cyber attack lessons and Trojan software, the China Daily and the Wuhan Evening News said.

Trojans, which can allow outside access to a computer when implanted, are used by hackers to illegally control computers.

Black Hawk Safety Net recruited more than 12,000 paying subscribers and collected more than seven million yuan ($1m: £650,000) in membership fees, while another 170,000 people had signed up for free membership, the paper said.

The Hubei government refused to comment on the reports.

It was unclear when the shutdown had taken place but the Black Hawk Safety Net site was unavailable on Monday.

Cyber attacks

In January Google threatened to pull out of China unless the government relented on censorship.

It said it had uncovered a computer attack that tried to plunder its software coding and the e-mail accounts of human rights activists protesting against Chinese policies.

Government officials have defended China's online censorship and said the country is the biggest victim of web attacks.

China has some 350 million internet users - more than any other country - and provides a lucrative search-engine market worth an estimated $1bn last year.

Google holds about a third of the country's search market, with Chinese rival Baidu having more than 60%.

The BBC's Damian Grammaticas in Beijing says that the reports made no link between the hacking site and Google's allegations.

But the case will help authorities show that China is taking action against those who hack into computers, says our correspondent.

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Scary huh?

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Friday, 5 February 2010

Terry is Sacked

Mmm! Suppose this will be an excuse now,when they are losing all their matches!
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk
Defender John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy following allegations he had an affair with an England team-mate's ex-girlfriend
John Terry

Terry, 29, held talks with England boss Fabio Capello at Wembley on Friday.

"After much thought I have made the decision that it will be best for me to take the captaincy away from John Terry," said Capello in a statement.

Terry said he fully respected Capello's decision to demote him, adding he would still "give everything for England".

They next match is a home friendly against Egypt on 3 March as they continue their preparations for the World Cup in South Africa.

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