ekansekans's blog: "df"

Christine Sinclair doesnt have a shot at winning FIFA womens player of the year when the award is handed out Monday in Zurich, but in typical fashion the Canadian soccer star isnt sweating it. However, Sinclair was thoroughly disappointed to see that her coach, John Herdman, wasnt in the running either. "It didnt really affect me at all," Sinclair said of the womens award. "I was actually more shocked that John wasnt on the list. I truly thought that he was going to win it -- not only be in the top three, but win it. So that was really surprising." Sinclair and Herdman partnered to lead Canada to a bronze-medal performance at the 2012 London Olympics, leading a brilliant turnaround for a team that finished last at the womens World Cup only a year earlier in Germany. The improvement the team made since Herdman took over after the resignation of coach Carolina Morace should have been reason enough to put Herdman in the top three at least, said Sinclair. American forwards Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan and five-time winner Marta of Brazil are the three finalists up for womens player award after a vote by national team coaches, captains and reporters. Former U.S. coach Pia Sundhage, who won gold London, is favoured to be named best coach of a womens team ahead of Norio Sasaki of Olympic silver-medallist Japan and Bruno Bini of France. Lionel Messi is the favourite to win the mens Ballon dOr prize for an unprecedented fourth time. The Barcelona and Argentina forward, who scored 91 goals in 2012, is up against club teammate Andres Iniesta and Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid. Herdman called Sinclairs omission a "travesty" the day the three finalists were announced in late November. The 29-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., who won the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as The Canadian Press top female athlete for 2012, led Canada in London in spectacular fashion. She scored an Olympic-record six goals to win the Golden Boot, recording a hat trick in a 4-3 extra-time semifinal loss to the U.S. The Canadian women also picked up The Canadian Press team of the year honours. As part of its partnership with the world governing body of soccer, France Football organizes the FIFA Ballon DOr vote. The finalists were picked from a list of 10 candidates, compiled by the editors of France Football and the Committee for Womens Football and the FIFA Womens World Cup. Sinclairs money is on Morgan to win the womens award. Shes betting on Messi to claim the mens trophy over Ronaldo. "I dont think theres a comparison between the two," Sinclair said. "I think unfortunately for Ronaldo, hes playing in a time Messis also playing and I think Messi could go down as the best player ever and what hes done with Barcelona in the past year has been incredible. Just the sheer amount of goals hes scored, hes broken the record ... I cant see him not winning." Sinclair has been on the shortlist six times in her career, but after an outstanding 2012 this year would have been her best shot at the Ballon dOr. Morgan and Wambach are looking to win the womens award for the first time after leading the United States to its third straight Olympic gold medal. Marta is looking for an unprecedented sixth award. Cheap Jerseys No Fees . - Free-agent pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim and the Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to a one-year, US$850,000 contract Wednesday. Cheap Jerseys Direct . Theyre the only mens basketball players from the United States to compete in three Olympics — and with a potential age-limit rule change looming, maybe the last ones. http://facialhairstyleshq.info/cheapjerseys.html . -- The Miami Heat said Friday the franchise didnt agree with the one-game suspension given to Dwyane Wade for making contact with Charlottes Ramon Sessions earlier this week.MONZA, Italy -- Lewis Hamilton said his desire to win will be the decisive factor in where he drives next season. Heading into this weekends Italian Grand Prix, Hamilton has been at the centre of speculation that he will leave McLaren at the end of the season and move to Mercedes. Hamilton declined to comment specifically on his future on Thursday but said "I want to win. You always want to win, thats why most drivers exist and thats why teams exist. Its just making sure youre in the right place to do so. "I dont have a deadline, but obviously I need to decide before the end of the season. Im in a great position and I need to focus on preparing for these races. Theres a long way to go before the end of the season. Jenson and I have shown theres good potential in the cars and the team, so thats what Im focusing on." McLaren is second in the constructors championship, having won the past two races. Mercedes trails by 106 points after just one win this season. "Mercedes and Ferrari are on one level in terms of history," Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg said. "To drive the Silver Arrow is something very, very special for any driver, and especially to win with a Silver Arrow." Hamilton had a turbulent time at the Belgian GP last weekend. His race was ended after a wild multi-car accident caused by Lotus driver Romain Grosjean not long after the start, and he also got into trouble for posting sensitive data on Twitter. He is hoping to put all that behind him at Monza. "The head of the PR department asked me to take the picture off, so I did," Hamilton said. "Weve moved on from it and it wont happen again. "Jenson drove fantastically well in the last race and showed we are very competitive, and we should have a similar performance this weekend. Im looking to pick up the pieces and get back to racing." Button said he was "surprised" to read the speculation over Hamiltons future and believes they will still be teammates next season. "Its the best choice for him," Button said. "Sometimes if youve been at the same place for too long it can get a bit stale, but thats not the case here. Its a great team, it always gives us a chance to win, which is what every driver wants." Button won last weekend but still trails leader Fernando Alonso by 63 points in the chammpionship.dddddddddddd He admits his chances of another title this season are all but over. "Well hopefully do the same as last season from now on, scoring lots of points and getting a lot of podiums," he said. "There could be a lot of spreading out of points and if you have good back-to-back races you can leapfrog people and challenge. "Its a slim chance but its still a chance. If theres any year you can cut the gap its this year." Last weekends crash saw Alonsos lead cut to 24 points over Red Bulls Sebastian Vettel. Alonso nearly had his head clipped when Grosjeans Lotus flew over him, while Sergio Perez was also forced to retire after the incident. All drivers escaped unscathed but it has again raised the question of safety, with Michael Schumacher in favour of an enclosed cockpit. "That has to be the future," the seven-time champion said. "Just look at how its developed over the years, theres been massive improvements in cockpit safety, the only exposed area is the opening where the head shows, one wrong moment in time could have fatal consequences. "Thats been identified by the FIA. Jean Todt told me there had to be action and theyve initiated action. For 18 months, theyve had a professional group of engineers working on it. No matter what, you wont have 100 per cent satisfaction as you could improve on safety but have a downside on vision, so you have to weigh it up." For causing the accident, Grosjean was banned for one race and will be replaced by Jerome DAmbrosio at Lotus this weekend. "Well obviously its been short notice," DAmbrosio said. "I only found out on Monday really. I havent had time to think about anything really." Alonso and teammate Felipe Massa will be fiercely roared on by the passionate crowd at Ferraris home grand prix. Alonso has won at Monza twice, including in 2010 with Ferrari. "I think Monza is a special win, because for any Ferrari driver its a lot of support that you feel from the tifosi from today until Sunday and you want to give something back to them and the best thing is obviously a race win," Alonso said. "But even if youre not fighting for the championship, winning in Monza will be special anyway, because the podium celebration with all the people on the main straight is nice for anyone." ' ' '