News and features from around the world of soccer and the Web.
Go to the Goal Blog »
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
NFL Champions history
1920 - Akron Pros
1921 - Chicago Staleys
1922 - Canton Bulldogs
1923 - Canton Bulldogs
1924 - Cleveland Bulldogs
1925 - Chicago Cardinals
1926 - Frankford Yellow Jackets
1927 - New York Giants
1928 - Providence Steam Roller
1929 - Green Bay Packers
1930 - Green Bay Packers
1931 - Green Bay Packers
1932 - Chicago Bears
 The 1931 Green Bay Packers became the first team in NFL history ever to win three consecutive world championships. |
1933 was the first year that the NFL played a championship game.
1933 - Chicago Bears
1934 - New York Giants
1935 - Detroit Lions
1936 - Green Bay Packers
1937 - Washington Redskins
1938 - New York Giants
1939 - Green Bay Packers
1940 - Chicago Bears
1941 - Chicago Bears
1942 - Washington Redskins
1943 - Chicago Bears
1944 - Green Bay Packers
1945 - Cleveland Rams
1946 - Chicago Bears
1947 - Chicago Cardinals
1948 - Philadelphia Eagles
1949 - Philadelphia Eagles
1950 - Cleveland Browns
1951 - Los Angeles Rams
1952 - Detroit Lions
1953 - Detroit Lions
1954 - Cleveland Browns
1955 - Cleveland Browns
1956 - New York Giants
1957 - Detroit Lions
1958 - Baltimore Colts
1959 - Baltimore Colts
 The Cleveland Browns captured back-to-back NFL titles in 1954 and 1955. |
The American Football League operated from 1960 through 1969.
1960 - Houston Oilers (AFL)
1960 - Philadelphia Eagles (NFL)
1961 - Houston Oilers (AFL)
1961 - Green Bay Packers (NFL)
1962 - Dallas Texans (AFL)
1962 - Green Bay Packers (NFL)
1963 - San Diego Chargers (AFL)
1963 - Chicago Bears (NFL)
1964 - Buffalo Bills (AFL)
1964 - Cleveland Browns (NFL)
1965 - Buffalo Bills (AFL)
1965 - Green Bay Packers (NFL)
The AFL and NFL announced that the two leagues would merge in 1970. The Super Bowl started to determine the world champions. The game featured the champion of each league. Bold print indicates the winner of the Super Bowl.
1966 - Kansas City Chiefs (AFL)
1966 - Green Bay Packers (NFL)
1967 - Oakland Raiders (AFL)
1967 - Green Bay Packers (NFL)
1968 - New York Jets (AFL)
1968 - Baltimore Colts (NFL)
1969 - Kansas City Chiefs (AFL)
1969 - Minnesota Vikings (NFL)
Beginning in 1970, the AFL and NFL played as one league with two conferences, the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference. The two conference champions meet in the Super Bowl to determine the champion.
 The 1995 Dallas Cowboys won their third Super Bowl in four seasons with a 27-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX. |
1970 - Baltimore Colts
1971 - Dallas Cowboys
1972 - Miami Dolphins
1973 - Miami Dolphins
1974 - Pittsburgh Steelers
1975 - Pittsburgh Steelers
1976 - Oakland Raiders
1977 - Dallas Cowboys
1978 - Pittsburgh Steelers
1979 - Pittsburgh Steelers
1980 - Oakland Raiders
1981 - San Francisco 49ers
1982 - Washington Redskins
1983 - Los Angeles Raiders
1984 - San Francisco 49ers
1985 - Chicago Bears
1986 - New York Giants
1987 - Washington Redskins
1988 - San Francisco 49ers
1989 - San Francisco 49ers
1990 - New York Giants
1991 - Washington Redskins
1992 - Dallas Cowboys
1993 - Dallas Cowboys
1994 - San Francisco 49ers
1995 - Dallas Cowboys
1996 - Green Bay Packers
1997 - Denver Broncos
1998 - Denver Broncos
1999 - St. Louis Rams
2000 - Baltimore Ravens
2001 - New England Patriots
2002 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2003 - New England Patriots
2004 - New England Patriots
2005 - Pittsburgh Steelers
2006 - Indianapolis Colts
2007 - New York Giants
2008 - Pittsburgh Steelers
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Most bottles opened in one minute At the Pepsi RAW Cocktail Academy at Taste of London this weekend, Bar Wizard Adam Dolman of Britain's Got Talent de
London, UK -- At the Pepsi RAW Cocktail Academy at Taste of London this weekend, Bar Wizard Adam Dolman of Britain's Got Talent de-crowned 71 Pepsi RAW bottles-setting the new world record for the Most bottles opened in one minute. “Everything had to be lined up perfectly to pull this off,” explained Adam from Peckham.“We've been training for months and have opened over five thousand bottles of Pepsi RAW just practising for this attempt! We've all developed quite a taste for RAW though, so it's been good fun!”
Bar Wizards achieved fame in Britain's Got Talent where they wowed judges Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell with their flairing, tricks and mixology know-how.
The team have been mixing up exclusive Pepsi RAW cocktails at Taste of London for the past four days showing off the latest trends in cocktails and getting festival goers into a summer drinking mood.
Longest line of splits The Movement campaign to raise awareness of men's illnesses including prostate cancer, about 80 gymnasts, mostly school age, he
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia -- As part of the Movement campaign to raise awareness of men's illnesses including prostate cancer, about 80 gymnasts, mostly school age, headed by fitness coach Jerry Hatter, limbered up and set the new world record for the Longest line of splits.Fitness coach and organizer of the record attempt Jerry Hatter said close personal experiences with prostate cancer had inspired him to get the group together for the history book bid. "I've had friends who have been affected by prostate cancer and my specialty is teaching flexibility," Mr Hatter said.
"I thought well let's get everyone together that can stretch for a great cause, raise funds, raise awareness and set a World Record for the longest line of splits. Mr Jerry Hatter said the group had so far raised $10,000 for the Movember appeal.
Athlete. Inventor. Entrepreneur. Millionaire. World Record Holder. Greg Kolodziejzyk’s life could be the subject of a Hollywood movie. It’s definitely
The successful offshoot companies created in the wake of Image Club’s revolutionary development and marketing approach also resulted in creating at least 2-dozen other millionaires. Key employees at Image Club took a page from the bosses’ playbook and formed their own companies, including Eyewire.com, Veer.com and iStockPhoto.com. These stock image success stories were soon snapped up by industry leaders such as Getty Corporation and Corbus at prices in the tens of millions!
Like so many great businesses, it was the right idea at the right time. But was it merely a fluke? Greg answered that question resoundingly with his next venture. Joining forces with his wife and business partner Helen, they created another successful business ‘Sharper Cards’. You know those humorous reminder postcards you get when it’s time for your next check-up? Chances are, they were created by Sharper Cards. Now you know whom to thank when you DON’T miss a date with the dentist’s drill! And in what can only be considered the ultimate compliment in the world of business, Greg and Helen soon found themselves on the receiving end of an offer to buy the company from their biggest U.S. competitor, Smart Health.
With two multi-million dollar entrepreneurial success stories to his credit, it was time for a new challenge. This time Greg set his sights on some physical challenges. His bold approach and rigorous preparation helped him loose 50 lbs and complete 12 Ironman triathlons, placing 4th in his division at Ironman Arizona in 2006 and earning an invitation to compete at the fabled Ironman World Championships in Kona Hawaii. Less than 5% of all Ironman competitors ever get this opportunity. It’s said getting into Harvard is easier to accomplish!
Now it was time to kick back, relax, and gain back that flabby spare tire right? Not for Greg. He recalled a childhood dream – to be in the Guinness Book of World Records and set his sights on a punishing accomplishment… to break the record for distance traveled over 24-hours by human power alone - no stored energy or wind assistance is allowed. At the start of his quest for Guinness glory, Greg didn't own a single tool. By the end of it, he had designed and fabricated one of the fastest bicycles in the world - Critical Power Human Powered Vehicle - a carbon fiber bullet bike weighing in at a nimble 50 pounds, with a cruising speed of 50 kph (31 mph) and a top speed of 100 kph (62 mph).
Well, it seems world records are a bit like potato chips. Turns out you can’t have just one! Greg’s next challenge: the 24-hour self-propelled record on water. Using knowledge gained in the design and construction of Critical Power he built an innovative pedal-powered kayak for the record attempt. After another crushing unsuccessful first try, he added this record to his impressive list of accomplishments in September 2008 by traveling 245.16 km (152.33 miles) around a loop course on Whitefish Lake, Montana, bettering the previous record by two miles.
Greg’s next goal is his most ambitious yet. He plans to attempt something never done before – pedal a specially-designed craft from the west coast of Canada across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii. It may seem impossible, but if anyone is capable of this bold feat, it has to be Greg Kolodziejzyk!
Greg is truly one of those rare speakers who has WALKED THE WALK and can TALK THE TALK. When he talks about accomplishing a goal - be it financial, business, personal or physical in nature, he speaks from experience. Greg’s passion and focus is a template for success anyone can employ. His motivational speech "Bold!" is an entertaining look at the kind of attitude it takes to accomplish a dream. His spirit is contagious and his message is vital. Audiences are inspired when they hear his fascinating story.
Fastest train The Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railway started to operate at a 217 miles per-hour designed speed.
Beijing, China -- The Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railway started to operate at a 217 miles (350 km)-per-hour designed speed - setting the new world record for the Fastest train."The train can go 394.2 kilometres per hour, it's the fastest train in operation in the world," Zhang Shuguang, head of the transport bureau at the railways ministry, told Xinhua.
The 1068-kilometre Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railway project took three years to complete. Two trains separately start from Wuhan and Guangzhou city at 9 am and reach their destinations within three hours.
China Ministry of Railways spokesman Wang Yongping said with the completion of the Zhengzhou-Xian, Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway projects and upgrading some of the present electric train services, Beijing would become the hub of railway transport for major cities in China by 2012.
The high-speed train service has cut short the travel time by seven-anda-half hours, where the normal train took ten-and-a-half hours.
Tickets for regular services range from 50 to 280 yuan but to travel on the new 350-km/h link costs about 800 yuan for first class and 500 for second class.
Beijing has an ambitious rail development programme aimed at increasing the national network from the current 86,000 kilometres to 120,000 kilometres, making it the most extensive rail system outside the United States.
The network uses technology developed in co-operation with foreign firms such as Siemens, Bombardier and Alstom. The train travels at a speed of 350km per hour beating France's high-speed railway to become the fastest train in the world.
The Fastest train was said to have achieved a maximium speed of 394.2 km per hour during its trail run in December. The average speed of France's high speed train is 277km per hour, while Japan's is 243 km per hour, and 232 km per hour in Germany.
By 2012, trips from Beijing to most provincial capital cities would only take one to eight hours, said Wang Yongping, the Railway Ministry spokesman. China's high-speed trains run across Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong provinces, connecting 11 cities and 44 district.
The high-speed rail services from Beijing to Hong Kong are expected to open in three years, cutting the journey from 23 hours to 8. The one-way trip from Shanghai to Hong Kong will be shortened to six hours from the current 18, he said. The previous Guinness world record for the fastest train was 277km per hour set by France.
World record holder Phelps beaten by one second
MANCHESTER: Michael Phelps and his American teammates trounced a European all-star team in the ''Duel in the Pool,'' as Phelps anchored a relay to one of the eight world records the United States set over the two-day meet that ended Saturday in Manchester, England.The U.S. team won 185-78 in the last major meet before the Jan. 1 ban on high-tech polyurethane suits.
Phelps is already wearing an old-style textile suit and didn't fare well in the individual events dominated by swimmers in the soon-to-be banned suits.
In the 200 butterfly, the 14-time Olympic champion lost by a body length to Michael Rock of Britain, who was wearing a high-tech suit. And in the 200 freestyle, Phelps slumped to third.
''I'm disappointed a little bit because I would like to have swum a little faster, but this is more of a team event than anything else,'' Phelps said. ''I'm not in great shape and I know what I have to do to improve. I'd rather lose a race now than when it really counts.
''The biggest things I'm looking forward to is the world championships next summer and the Olympics after that. If I can be prepared for those races, I will be absolutely fine. These are all baby steps towards the big picture.''
Soothing Phelps' concerns is the knowledge that everyone will be swimming in the old suits in less than two weeks.
''It will be more of a sport and not just putting on a suit,'' he said at the Manchester Aquatics Centre.
Regardless of the suits, this duel against the best swimmers from Britain, Italy and Germany was never a contest.
As the Americans set world records from the first race on Friday — the women's 4x100-meter medley — to Saturday's finale featuring Phelps in the 4x100 freestyle, victory was beyond doubt.
The United States won 11 out of 14 races on Friday and took an insurmountable lead with eight races to go on Saturday.
The United States beat Australia in the previous three Duel in the Pool events, the first time by 112 points in 2003.
Mohammad Yousuf
| | | |
 |
Mohammad Yousuf is an aggressive right-handed batsman and holds the world record of most Test runs scored in a single calendar year in 2006. Mohammad Yousuf scored 1788 Test runs with nine centuries from 11 Tests in 2006 and broke the 30-year-old world record of West Indies batsman Sir Vivian Richards, who scored 1710 runs from 11 Tests in 1976. Incidentally Mohammad Yousuf broke the record of Sir Vivian Richards playing against West Indies at Karachi.
Mohammad Yousuf made his Test debut against South Africa at Durban in February 1998 and made his One-day debut against Zimbabwe in March 1998 at Harare. His career best test score came at Lahore, where he scored 223 against England in December 2005 and followed it up with another 202 in July 2006 against England.
Mohammad Yousuf has scored 23 centuries and accumulated more than 6700 Test runs and became the third Pakistan batsman behind Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq to score over 6000 runs
John Cena and the World Heavyweight Championship
Well, it happened. John Cena is World Heavyweight Champion. This is his first (and hopefully last) World Title. John has been a WWE Champion before, but this win marks a new chapter in his championship career.
The World Heavyweight Championship has more prestige than the WWE Championship. Compare over 40 years of history to over 100 years of history, and the World Title will come out on top every time.
I will admit that I respect Cena's passion and love for this sport and business, but I do not respect him as a wrestler. To be a World Champion you have to operate like a World Champion and Mr.Cena does not.
Not only does he lack the in-ring abilities of a World Champion, he lacks the mannerisms of one. His attack on Chris Jericho last week was less than World Champion-like. To disrespect a legend like Chris Jericho, a five-time World Champion, the only man to hold the Intercontinental Championship on eight different occasions, is a big no-no.
Cena got what he deserved when Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Manu attacked him last night on RAW, and seeing Orton drive Cena's skull into the concrete was an early Christmas present for me!
Armageddon will close out the year of 2008 and it will also close out John Cena's reign as World Heavyweight Champion.
Shane Watson scored a second successive century as Australia scored a comprehensive six wicket win over New Zealand to retain the ICC Champions Trophy at Centurion Park in South Africa.
| New Zealand severely depleted already suffered a big blow before the start of play when Captain and leading performer Daniel Vettori was forced out of the game with a hamstring injury. They still managed to score 200 for 9 with Martin Guptil making 40, Neil Broom 37, and James Franklin 33 against Nathan Hauritz's 3 for 37 and Brett Lee's 2 for 45. The Kiwis then tried hard to defend their small score and had Australia at 6 for 2 in the fourth over but Watson who hit 10 fours and 4 sixes in his unbeaten 105 and Cameron White shared in a match winning start of 128. White later fell for 62 to Kyle Mills who had 3 for 27 but Watson hit two sixes in a row to end the match. Watson took his second man of the match award but the man of the series award went to winning Captain Ricky Ponting who scored the most runs in the tournament, 288 runs in four games at an average of 72. "I though the bowlers were terrific early on as restricting New Zealand to 200 runs was a great effort. Losing two early wickets was set us back a little bit by Cameron White and Shane Watson kept control of things really well after that," said Ponting. Stand-in New Zealand Captain Brendon McCullum later agreed that Vettori's absence was a big blow as his team was about 50 runs short. "It was a huge blow but we still believed that we had the quality of players to compete and win against Australia and we did manage to put them under pressure. Unfortunately, we were a few runs short with the bat which was due to the brilliant way that they bowled. "We still thought we had a chance when we got the early wickets but Watson played brilliantly and took the game away from us," said " McCullum |
2009 WORLD UNDER-17 CHALLENGE - HOME/NEWS
PACIFIC 1 – ONTARIO 5
GOLD MEDAL | SUN. JAN. 4
Jeff Skinner’s early second period goal stood up as the game winner as Ontario claimed gold for the second year in a row, and the seventh time overall, defeating Pacific 5-1 in Sunday’s final game at the Alberni Valley Multiplex. Tyler Seguin, John McFarland, Steven Shipley and Erik Gudbranson also scored for Ontario, which became the first time since the United States in 2002 to successfully defend its gold medal.
FIH releases Hero Honda FIH World Cup match schedule
© FIH / Matias Aguirre
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has released the match schedule for the Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010, to be played in
The first day of the Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 (Sunday 28 February) will immediately see one of the most eagerly matches at the most important hockey event of the year when host
Olympic and World Champion
The semifinals for the Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 are scheduled for Thursday 11 March, while the final will be played on Saturday 13 March 2010.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
King Relishing White Encounter
Mark King will be up against
a player synonymous with the Masters, when he takes on the people's favourite Jimmy White at the prestigious invitational event.
The Romford player made his debut in 1999 where he faced White, also in the first round. King won that encounter 6-5 before bowing out in the quarter-finals at the famous Conference Centre.
The event moved to Wembley Arena in 2007 after the old venue was pulled down in the Wembley re-development but has lost none of it's appeal to the fans or the players.
"It's superb, the first time I ever played there I beat Jimmy in front of 2,000 people. I had about 400 friends and family it was great as everyone got involved.
"It went down to the wire, I won 6-5 on the pink. Jimmy's a great ambassador for the sport. I was really proud of him when he went into the jungle. People didn't really see the real Jimmy, he's funny, sharp and quick."
The re-match takes place on Sunday 10 January 2010 and will not start before 7pm. Also in action on the opening day will be Mark Selby, Ding Junhui, Marco Fu and Peter Ebdon. The action kicks off at 11am.
Champions League Final May Settle Ronaldo-Messi Debate
Left, David Davies/Associated Press; Manu Fernandez/Associated Press
Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo, left, and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi are two of the best players in the world.
- Sign in to Recommend
- Sign In to E-Mail
- Reprints
ROME — The debate has been raging since the Champions League final was set, so it was hardly unexpected Tuesday when a reporter asked Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, whether his forward Cristiano Ronaldo or Barcelona’s Lionel Messi was the best soccer player in the world.
Skip to next paragraph
More on Soccer
- Red Bulls
- Champions League
- UEFA Cup
- Other International Cup
- International Leagues
Ferguson asked whether the news conference query should be repeated in Ronaldo’s native Portuguese. Ronaldo smiled and motioned at his manager, as if to say just hurry up and answer in English. Everybody else in the world seemed to have an opinion. Ronaldo wanted to hear Ferguson’s.
“They are two fantastic footballers, both with the ability and courage to attack defenders all the time,” Ferguson said diplomatically. “No matter how many times they get tackled, they get up and want the ball. Physically, they are different, but at the end of the day, how can you divide them? It’s very difficult.”
The outcome Wednesday of the premier European club competition could go a long way toward settling the issue, at least for now. Giddy anticipation promises soccer that will be artful and elegant, and the Ronaldo-Messi debate will serve as a kind of game within the game.
Messi, 21, a native of Argentina, has often been called the next Diego Maradona, but he has never enjoyed those comparisons to his wondrous and troubled countryman. Yet neither has Messi shrunk from the pressure of expectation.
In March, Maradona, now the Argentine national team coach, awarded Messi his former No. 10 jersey for a World Cup qualifying match — homage to a familiar low center of gravity, ball control, acceleration, change of direction, instinctive passing and flair for gasping brilliance. It was Messi’s pass to midfielder Andres Iniesta that put Barcelona into the Champions League final on an impossibly late goal against Chelsea.
“The most important game of my life,” Messi said of Wednesday’s match.
Three years ago, Messi was recovering from a thigh injury and did not bother to celebrate as Barcelona won the 2006 Champions League final over Arsenal in Paris. Last year, in the tournament’s semifinals, he was quieted by Manchester United’s left back, Patrice Evra. In fact, he has never scored against an opponent from the English Premier League, with its rigorous, physical defenses.
Even so, Messi has delivered 37 goals in various competitions this season and has offered the opinion that Barcelona deserves to win because of its beautiful attacking style featuring himself, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry, who was expected to be available Wednesday despite a twitchy knee ligament.
“The world can see that he’s the boss,” Xavi Hernandez, the Barcelona midfielder, said of Messi, adding, “You can’t compare him with anyone else because they will end up getting burnt.”
Nicknamed the Flea, Messi is only 5 feet 7 inches and needed treatments of growth hormone as a pre-teen, a costly therapy that Barcelona agreed to underwrite after scouting him in Argentina and inviting him to a tryout at its youth academy in 2000. According to FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, Messi was so impressive as a 13-year-old that Barcelona hurriedly signed him to a contract on a paper napkin.
A former teacher of Messi’s once said that the only thing he liked about school was the bell, so he could run out and play soccer. As he turned 18, Messi was the top scorer for Argentina when it won the 2005 FIFA world youth championship. A year later, he became the youngest Argentine to play in a World Cup; already Maradona had begun to see in Messi something of himself — the way Messi escaped tight spaces and kept the ball so close while he dribbled, as if it were a pet obeying a leash law.
“The ball remains on the upper part of his foot, like it is glued to it,” Maradona said of Messi before the 2006 World Cup. “He feels the ball, and that makes him different from the rest. He’s also got another gear, a sixth gear.”
Quiet and largely unforthcoming, Messi keeps his words as close as he keeps the ball. His one display of youthful ostentation, a mane of long, stringy hair, has been shorn into a businesslike trim. His counterpart, Ronaldo, who has 26 goals this season, prefers a more metrosexual look in keeping with a personality that can be operatic and preening. Asked by a Brazilian newspaper last November who were the top three players in the world, Ronaldo smiled and said, “I am the first, second and third.”
Ronaldo, 24, is much bigger than Messi at 6-foot-1, and he may be more resourceful. He mesmerizes and menaces defenders as he runs at them, stepping over the ball in a kind of soccer River Dance, feinting and darting. He is threatening on headers. He can lash the ball on free kicks. And he will face a wounded Barcelona defense, which will be missing Daniel Alves, Eric Abidal and Rafael Marquez because of either red-card suspension or injury.
Ronaldo is “a great forward” who dribbles with speed and swerving ease, Messi told reporters. “And he has a great medium-range shot. We’re conscious that we can’t give him time to think or get a shot in from distance.”
This season at Manchester United has been accompanied by a prolonged drama about whether Ronaldo will soon leave for Real Madrid. In proclaiming last week that he was staying, Ronaldo did it in typically flamboyant style, saying, “My heart is here,” and calling Ferguson “a second father.”
Gerard Piqué, the Barcelona central defender and a former teammate of Ronaldo’s at Manchester United, told The Guardian of London that while Ronaldo was “a little vain when it comes to fashion and looking at himself in the mirror, he’s great fun and a very likeable person.”
Piqué added: “Ronaldo has everything — dribbling, shooting, heading and goals. He is one of the best players in the world. Only Messi can challenge him for that.”
Ferguson has suggested that Ronaldo’s greatness lay not in gaudy display, but in his workmanlike refining of his skills in those unseen moments alone after practice, when the cameras and the crowds are absent.
“If the big talents rely only on their natural ability, they won’t have that extra edge,” Ferguson said. “They must do something extra on their own.”
That is exactly what the soccer world is expecting from Ronaldo and Messi on Wednesday — to produce something extra and fantastic on their own.
“I don’t care about that,” Ronaldo said about being considered the world’s best player. “What I want more is to win the Champions League and that’s it.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
