June 2007 - what to watch (& for active ones play or cheer)

Yes, what every Kenyan loves a long weekend, especially falling on a Thursday, being end-month...enough reasons to imbibe,make merry,load a few more kilos around the waist and get broke (again) before the 15th.
For sports lovers the coming month promises to be quite a busy one
Rhino Charge-June 2nd-this is an off-the-road race which tests 4x4 vehicles to their limits helping raise funds for the Rhino Ark. A number of regulars will be around including Rob Collinge, Ian Duncan and a host of other enthusiasts.


Tusker Safari Sevens-June 8th-10th-this is one of the premier events in the sporting calendar, drawing a huge crowd of rugby enthusiasts(a number of people wanting to get drunk while shouting themselves hoarse...& lately beautiful ladies swanning it as they 'model' latest fashion trends).


Safaricom Lewa Marathon-June 23rd,another increasingly significant event which draws quite a number of corporates and individuals willing to have a run in the Northern Kenya bush.It enjoys the support of the CEO himself who even dons a track suit and gets into the thick of things. It also encourages Kenyans and international participants to donate towards conservation of the fragile Kenyan environment. No wonder Safaricom's colours are green !
In other circles, both local and international includes;
ongoing French Open-Roland Garros-one of the prestigious Tennis tourneys,
penultimate stages of the Spanish La Liga-Real challenge Barcelona with Sevilla looking to spoil the party,
there will also be respective African, European qualifiers to African Cup of Nations and European Cup respectively, starting from the second week-end of June,
NBA Plaf-offs;San Antonio Spurs wait for the winner between Detroit Pistons & Cleveland Cavaliers 2-2,
Formula 1: Montreal Grand Prix while in WRC the 7th round,Acropolis Rally-Greece starting today 31st of May to 3rd June 2007.

Have a superb weekend and please don't forget on Monday it's still another week , let's not party like it's 1999 (Prince & the Revolutions song)!

The Weekend that was

Hey y'all, let's put the weekend blues to rest. Well, it's also end of the month for most of us so I guess that means more $$$ by end of the week. Let's not get carried away though, here's the weekend's main highlights;
Soccer:
Kenya lost to Nigeria 0-1 as they played a friendly in preparation for the Africa Cup of Nations coming in June with ties against Angola and Swaziland.
Spanish League: Real & Barcelona still lead the table with each team securing victories at their home ties. Sevilla also kept the heat and look to secure another trophy either in the Primera Liga or King's Cup.

Basketball:
Nairobi hosted the Inter-Cities tourney and the Finals were between Nairobi & Dar-es-Salaam (men) and Nairobi vs Kampala at Nyayo National Stadium Basketball Gym.
NBA Play-offs:

Photo courtesy of Yahoo Images.
Cleveland pulled one back as the series heads for Game 4 today at Cleveland. Detroit lead 2-1. In the Western Conference, San Antonio Spurs lead 3-1 against the Utah Jazz who were playing at home. Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 22 points ( 11 being freethrows) while Tim Duncan had 19 points, 9 rebounds & 5 blocks. Tony Parket had a night he'd want to forget with 17 points,2 assists and 3 turn-overs.


Motorsport:
The Monaco Grand Prix :McLaren won the team title with Fernando Alonso easily picking the first position ahead of Lewis Hamilton who let him off after team orders not to lead the race.
Controversy is bound to continue as it's alleged that McLaren team ordered Hamilton to slow down and let the no.1 driver for the team earn his second victory. The Formula 1 body will look to investigate these claims as the practice was banned 4 years ago as Ferrari wanted to effect a similar arrangement for Michael Schumacher.

Photo courtesy of www.bbc.co.uk
Rugby:
The Kenyan Sevens team won the shield at the Emirates London IRB Sevens tourney by beating Italy 15-0. This was a morale booster though their objective was to fight for the Main Cup. This leads to the final round in Edinburgh.

Athletics Kenya and New KCC in KShs. 4.5 million sponsorship deal

This is some good news coming from the corporate sector. New KCC has signed a KShs.4.5 million deal with Athletics Kenya to help the association in its competition leading to the World Athletics Championships to be held in Osaka,Japan in September. This is for branding the association's local competitions including the national track and field championships ( internationally Nike remain exclusive kitting company).
AK chairman, Isaiah Kiplagat, said the sponsorship was timely as it will supplement his association’s huge financial commitment towards major the forthcoming major local and international championships.
New KCC chairman Matu Wamaeon the other hand, said that this was one way of sharing the proceeds from the corporation’s growth in profits. They had decided to support athletics because the sport creates a synergy with its health of health products. He said most milk producing areas like the Rift Valley also produced the best athletes and it was, therefore, appropriate for the New KCC to back the sport.
He expressed optimism that the corporation would renew the contract based on the performance and commitment made by Athletics Kenya as well as the performance of New KCC in the coming years.
I'd say that's a commendable start from the company given that it has gone back to profitable ways. Again it makes a lot of sense since milk is synonymous with healthy feeding which is a cornerstone to any athlete's success. It also raises the profile of the company since Athletics is a huge success for Kenya in the international scene.
Way to go, way to go !
This ought to be a rallying point for other corporations and multi-nationals in Kenya to support sports and related activities.
For more on this story,log on to
www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=5&newsid=98834

Sporting Weekend

Friday does this magical thing to people and crazy stuff to the traffic,work-related issues and the pockets(sic). But hoping we all enjoy a bit of indulgence here's what you can indulge in this weekend;
Football:
Spanish La Liga continues as the title race is still tight between Real Madrid and Barcelona with Sevilla also having a chance.
Rugby:
The Emirates Airline Sevens-London start off tomorrow with Kenya being placed in Pool C along with New Zealand, Scotland and Italy.
Basketball:
East & Central Inter-cities Basketball tournament continues in Nairobi's Nyayo Gym.
NBA Play-offs-Conference Finals with San Antonio leading Utah 2-0 as Detroit do with Cleveland 2-0.
Cricket:
Bangladesh vs India
Motorsports:
Formula 1 action at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton leads the standings with Felipe Massa,Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen chasing him.
Golf:
Action starting today with KCB Pro-Am championship at Limuru Country Club,KWAL Day at Machakos, Kameme FM tournament at Muthaiga Golf Club while the Windsor host the Windsor Ladies' Open.
Cycling:
The Giro d'Italia continues as riders brace themselves for July's Tour de France.

Kenyan Sporting Champs- What a cruel world !

In an earlier article (blog), I discussed the issue of what would be outstanding Kenyan sports brands. It’s an interesting take on our sports scene and how much we have under-valued our sports personalities and sporting events. Over the years, there have been minor attempts to up the tempo and make good the success of our sports people but with the same steam most efforts have come to naught.
What am I talking about?

Ever heard of Joe Kadenge? Peter Dawo? Henry Rono? Did you know that Kenya would have hosted the African Cup of Nations-football in 1996?
JK-as Kadenge is affectionately referred to by his friends operates a cab service in the upmarket area of Hurlingham; while Peter Dawo-the last I knew was a clerk working at the Kenya Railways, you never know he may have been axed with the ongoing privatization of the corporation. Henry Rono (sob) I’m told he washes cars in some city in the United States too shamed to even show face in Kenya. 1996- Well, this was our chance to host and showcase the African Cup of Nations in football-the biggest tournament with the widest audience in Africa but you and I know that this went to South Africa (who ended up winning it!)The list is long and quite depressing! How disgraceful and despicable!!!

Peter Dawo starring for Harambee Stars in 1987 All Africa Games,Nairobi
Photo courtesy of Kenyapage.net
These were the stars of their days that helped set the foundation of most sports activities in the country. JK is a household name across Kenya who ought to be on the same pedestal with the likes of Eusebio- Mozambican-born Portuguese football player, Sir Bobby Charlton-England or even Pele-Brazil if you like. Peter Dawo- top scorer in the African Cup Winners Cup (also known as Mandela Cup)-led Gor Mahia to their first and only continental championship in 1987 is comparable in some quarters to Didier Drogba-Cote dé Ivoíre. Henry Rono in his best form broke 4 world records in a month. He set the pace for most of the long distance runners of the present day.
What went wrong? Why don’t we have structures and policies in place to support our very best? Can we arrest this situation? Our own athletes living appalling lives yet they were (and to me most still are!) the true heroes of this nation! If there were people deserving a place in the proposed Heroes’ Corner, you already have a whole load of them! No streets, roads or major sporting venues (exception Kip Keino stadium), NOTHING!
Yes we can correct this situation. How you ask?
First we ought to provide prudent and professional management to our sport people especially during their active life. Most of them are from a deprived background and the sense of belonging becomes a bit overwhelming to most. Professional managers and organizations ought to alleviate this.
Secondly, investment options need be explored to help divert their earnings to meaningful channels and secure their future( rumour has it that Henry Rono’s agent used to carry a suit-case stashed with cash on race-days, hopping from one race-track to the next).

A more recent photo of Henry Rono

Third, policy ought to be drafted to help set up a Fund (like NSSF) to be managed by public trustees and professional fund managers to oversee earnings/takings/returns from sports and help look out for those who retire to a less productive life. It can also cater for the setting up of centres for development of talent as honed by the retired athletes who would only be too willing to help.
Fourth, local firms ought to come out strongly and help these sports personalities by using them to endorse their products. This ought to supplement their income and earnings. The returns would be enormous (check Michael Jordan’s profile)
Lastly, I don’t think it would hurt to have a few of our streets, roads, venues named after our athletes. I mean they did us proud and we ought to reward them not just now but for posterity. Would it hurt also to have a sort of Hall of Fame for our athletes? (I understand Athletics Kenya has something similar to what I am saying)
That way I’ll not feel guilty every time I see JK drive (or is it chauffeured?) past me in the roads of Nairobi!

AC Milan -Kings of European Football 2007

Yes I said it! This game would be won within the 90 min, it would be decided by one goal and that the trophy would be headed for Italy this time…… (OK that last one wasn’t part of it)
Yes AC Milan did avenge their loss in 2004-5 Champions League campaign to give their fans something to scream(and drink about…) for the better part of the night !
First-Half:

Mascherano vs Kaka
It all started slowly and AC Milan had a better passing game but Jermain Pennant kept his runs on the right wing coming Milan’s way but without much fruition. They had also managed to contain Kaka to a minor role (but he did the famous ‘run-over’ started by Zidane and it was a highlight of the game…& Xabi Alonso did try but his was a bit awkward).
But towards the end, Kaka was brought down for Pirlo to take the kick and Inzaghi being the opportunist hurled himself for the ball to come off his side.
Milan 1- Liverpool 0
Second-Half:

Filipo Inzaghi kills it for Milan

The stadium became a bit livelier as Liverpool tried to equalize but kept throwing their chances away. Milan meanwhile found their passing game but also couldn’t make headways. In the last quarter, Kaka got a through ball to Filipo Inzaghi and he did finish off clinically taking the ball off to his right then kicking the ball deftly past Reina and running to celebrate his kill.
Dirk Kuyt seemed to have memories of Istanbul 2005 in his mind by getting a header over Dida in the 85th min, but Milan managed to hold on and celebrate a historic win 2-1 at Athens.
Oh by the way, Mentalacrobatics, I saw what Mascherano did for Kaka.
PLayer of the match: Filipo Inzaghi with 2 goals adding to his tally of European goals to 38 goals in total.

When we are Kings !

Milestones:
Milan won their 6th UEFA Champions League title, and also the second in less than 5 years (last won in 2002-3).
Maldini became the oldest player to captain a winning side. He has been actively involved in Milan for the last 24 years (the age of Pennant's)
Costacurta being part of the team became the oldest player ever to have won a Champions’ League medal at 42 years. He joins the management team at AC Milan as of next year.
Carlo Ancelotti became the fifth person to ever win the Champions’ League as a player and twice as manager(both at Milan)
Clarence Seedorf became the first player to ever win the Champions’ League four times with different teams (Ajax Amsterdam, Real Madrid and AC Milan twice).
Gattuso, Inzaghi, Pirlo, and a host of other Italian players have added Champions’ League to their World Cup triumph last year in 2006.
Liverpool lost their first final against AC Milan.
Jerry Dudek marked his final game for Liverpool though he didn’t play.
Benefits:
The winner of the Champions League gets in excess of US$50 million (approx.KShs.3.5 billion) in prize money excluding TV and commercial rights which might amount to anotherUS$25 million (KShs.1.75 billion).
One Silvio Berlusconi was smiling from ear to ear....more $$$
Did someone say that English football seems to have taken Europe by storm?
Fact: Italy won the World Cup in 2006; AC Milan an Italian team won the UEFA Champs League 2006-7! Sevilla (Spanish) won the lesser UEFA Cup last week.
Commercially maybe, but title-wise…...well that's a different story.

Ultra-running...what say you ?

I came across this interesting bit of a new generation of athletes. It's ultra-running ! This is for those truly hardened athletes...instead of the 42km(26 miles) or 100km(62 miles. This has its history from Great Britain. I found that interesting since the country has always had this rivalry thing going to try to prove who is King of the Long Distance...

NBA Play-offs Update

San Antonio Spurs take a 2-0 lead over the Utah Jazz in the Western COnference Finals. They beat Utah at San Antonio 105-96 as the next two games go to Utah's home court.
As usual the 3 keys to Spurs were at play with Tony Parker shining with crucial 3-point plays. Tim Duncan was also key picking up 14 rebounds & scoring 26 points. Carlos Boozer exorcised his game 1 nightmare by scoring 33 points and grabbing 15 rebounds for the Jazz.
Today Detroit pick on the Cleveland Cavaliers for Game 2 of the Eastern Finals...keep watching !

Champions League Final -Athens 2007

AC Milan vs Liverpool: Yes, it's not 2005 but 2007 ! But will history repeat itself ? I don't think so !
Let's do some quick facts on this;
Milan have 8 ( Eight of AC Milan's starting eleven that night - Dida, Cafu, Maldini, Nesta, Kaka, Pirlo, Gattuso and Seedorf - are still with the club, as is second half substitute Serginho) .of their players who played in the 2005 FInal at Instanbul, while Liverpool have 9-Dudek, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise, Alonso, Luis Garcia, Gerrard and Kewell - are still at the club. Milan have the highest goal-scorer this Champs league in Kaka ( 10 goals ), while for Liverpool they have Peter Crouch leading with 6 goals.
Maldini if he starts will be the oldest player as captain at 38 years. Costacurta will also make history as the oldest player on the bench of any Finalist of the Champs League at 42 years. Another player who's bound to make history is Clarence Seedorf ( if Milan wins) will be the first player to win 4 Champs League titles with different teams. Carlo Ancelotti will also make history as one of the few to win the Champs League as a player and coach, both with AC Milan.
As for Liverpool, Benitez he will be looking out for his 3rd Final in any major European Cup having led Valencia to the UEFA Cup Final 2003-4, Liverpool in 2004-5. Liverpool will be looking for their 5th win of the Champions League, while AC Milan will be looking for their 7th win.
AC Milan's supporting cast
The battle is surely to be won at the midfield with Milan having two tenacious midfielders in Ambrosini with Gino Gattuso-the man who seems to have run the most miles on the pitch this Champs league campaign. They will look to hold and get the ball for Pirlo and Seedorf as they look for when ,where and how to get it to Kaka. At the front will be Inzaghi or Gilardino. At Liverpool, Gerrard will as usual marshall the mid-field with the support of Dirk Kuyt ,Alonso,Bellamy, Kewell or Zenden. Upfront will most likely be Peter Crouch.

Kaka vs Gerrard

But I'll be about to bet my money on this being a 90 min game no more no less. It might be decided by a margin of one goal or two at most.
Keep it here for the analysis tomorrow as we close the season on the most prestigious League in the world !

Strathmore –Sure to Conquer !

It’s been an interesting observation in the last few years as I peruse and cover sports events. I have come across this name at least 4 or 5 times and in different disciplines if I may say.
Strathmore University-one of the latest kids on the blocks in provision of higher education in Kenya! It is a private institution run under the strict tutorship of Catholic-ties Opus Dei. It’s emerged as one of the leading institutions to produce players in rugby, basketball, football, hockey to name but a few. In fact, the hockey men’s team recently won the East Africa Club championships held in Tanzania a few days ago. The men’s basketball last year qualified for the Kenya Basketball Federation Premier League.
I’m encouraged when I read such stories. It shows a couple of things to note;
a)Capacity- given the number of students that such an institution attracts, it is reasonable to say that there loads of reservoirs to draw players from. Being attractive to high schools or institutions such as Maseno, Mangu, St. Mary’s, Rift Valley Academy etc it ought to have capacity to have players in all disciplines possible
b)Publicity- through sport, the institution is able to sensitize the public on not just the name of the institution but also the avenues that exist for those willing to pursue not just a professional career such as Commerce and IT but also engage in sports.
c) Multi-faceted- as I stated above, it is important to have well-rounded people working for your organization. What better way than to recruit from such an institution where they are tutored in academics but also molded into to disciplined sports people.
d)Competitiveness- this will be on one side for the individuals participating in sports and also for the institutions that have existed before. The individuals will engage in sports making it highly competitive amongst them. The existing institutions will also try to outdo this Johnny-come-lately and hope to upstage it in any discipline they may send representatives.

In future I believe institutions in Kenya should look forward to developing fully fledged departments and faculties that will draw people interested not just in participating in sports, but also be professionals running sports in managerial or other capacities. This can be in either sport marketing, sports law, sports management or related fields…… (Think of Strathmore Sports Management School…possible!).Have a check at their website and get a sneak preview of what they are all about ! www.strathmore.edu
We can have our own University College of Los Angeles (UCLA), University of Illinois, Pittsburgh University. These institutions provide talent for fields in sports such as NBA, American Football and baseball. It is important to note that college basketball is such a huge attraction in the US that they even screen it on ESPN……competitive and lucrative! Can somebody hear me?

Weekend Wrap

This is a preview of the weekend that was;
Soccer:
FA Cup Final : Chelsea 1 - Man U 0

This was a bit of a bore for a match. The players seem to have been fatigued and everyone was just cautious to spark any fires. But Drogba played what has been Chelsea's season scoring just late enough to secure Chelsea's second trophy of the season. At last it shone for Mourinho,but I've this gut feeling that he's not happy with a couple of things, he seemed withdrawn from the victory.Let's see off-season action...
German Bundesliga:
VFB Stuttgart finally secured the League in Germany to reduce former holders Bayern Munich to fourth place with Schalke & Werder Bremen being 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Spanish Primera Liga:
Barcelona kept the pressure on Real Madrid after a 6-0 drubbing of Athletico Madrid.Real had escaped with a 3-2 narrow victory over Recreativo Huelva.
Italian Serie A & B:
Juventus were promoted back to Serie B after winning their weekend fixture. But it will be a hard call since they lost enough of their crucial players and a few have shown interest in other clubs including G. Buffoon their star goalie.
NB: I'll keep my blog off Kenyan football till I'm certain of what is going on. They(KFF and so-called stakeholders) had a meeting in Coast and something of a league is being played but that's all I can say.

Basketball:
The highlights of the KBF Premier League include Co-op Bank whipping Strathmore 90-47.In the women's League, Sprite Storms slighted Yana Milele 65-55.
NBA Play-offs:
A little over a day's rest San Antonio led by their big 3 beat Utah Jazz to start the Western Conference Finals as favourites. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and ever-reliable Manu Ginobili led the Spurs to the lead of the best-of-seven games.

Motorsport:
Lee Rose won the KCB Cub Account Rally in Eldoret. Alistair Cavenagh was second and Carl Tundo was third.


Rally of Italy-Sardinia:Marcus Gronholm managed to hold on to the lead after his main challenge Sebastien Loeb retired due to mechanical problems. He now leads the WRC standings with 55 points compared to Loeb's 48. The next round is the Acropolis Rally in Greece from 1-3 of June.

Boxing:
Jermain Taylor managed an easy victory over Cory Spinks. This was more like a formality bout than anything else.

Tennis:

Roger Federer managed to upstage Rafael Nadal in the latter's speciality by winning the Hamburg Open. This was sweet revenge after Nadal beat him in an exhibition match played on both clay and grass back in April. He also showed why he's still no.1 and the main challenge for the French Open coming next month.

Cricket:
Kenyan Select team lost to Zimbabwe A in Harare in ther final day of their 4-day visit to the country. However, I was annoyed by the fray that has politics has brought to the sport with Australia threatening to cancel passports of any players who decide to play the intended games against Zimbabwe's Cricket team. How disgraceful for PM John Howard. Let him not be blurred by his bad blood with Mugabe to allow this to interfere with the tour.

Ethiopian Athletics - Force to Reckon with

One of the country's that has threatened and indeed upset Kenyan athletes in major world events is our dear neighbours the Ethiopians. I have much respect for their breed of athletes because they show great patriotism and teamwork in major competitions such as the Olympics, World Athletics c'ships and such grand events. Our own athletes usually perform well at the Grand Prix events only to falter at the other competitions. It is usually disappointing having to watch these guys make laughing stock of the country as they out-do each other to change nationality ( did I hear someone say dual-citizenship...that's a good one !)
All the same, after the World Cross-country championships the Ethiopians have gone back to their camps and are launching some major onslaught on what might be a battle for supremacy at the forthcoming All-Africa Games, World Athletics Championships and Olympics next year in Beijing.
The Ethiopian government along with the Ethiopian Athletics Federation(EAF) have started development of 4 major training camps to help churn out athletes for these championships. Along with the Federation's main sponsor, Adidas, they will look out to continue its dominance in distance as well as improve performance in the shorter races such as the 800m, 1,500m and the 3,000m steeplechase for men and women, and also in the walking races.
Athletics Kenya are you watching this ? Basking in past glory is over & done with ! Better wake up and smell the coffee ( better still Ethiopian coffee!)
Check this out on
www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=5&newsid=98404
Quick News:
Kenyan half-marathon record holder Sammy Wanjiru was denied a visa into the UK forcinf him to pull out of Sunday's Great Manchester Run. The Kenyan, who is based in Japan, applied for his visa on 15 April but was denied entry to the United Kingdom. There were no explained reason and Athletics Kenya official David Okeyo has said they will send a protest note to the British.
It bothers me when the British start using dirty tactics and using bad publicity to gain advantage in sports. Some top official who had come for the World Cross-Country games in March had said that this year's competition was a huge risk having held it at low-altitude and heat-prone area of the Coast. He described next year's Games which incidentally will be held in his home country as X-country going back to its true home. Too bad ! I guess the world knows all too well which is the true Cross-Country Home !

Sparkling Spurs dance along as Cavaliers Close & Shut !

OK now those were two games that I had thought might go to the next round. That is, Game 6 for both San Antonio & Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers and New Jersey Nets.
San Antonio 114-Phoenix 106

With Spurs looking to making themselves play-off regulars and also Kings of the West, they had none other than one of NBA's best imports Argentine Manu "Obi Wan" Ginobili along with star players Frenchman Tony Parker and Tim Duncan leading the assault. Phoenix were as usual the sore losers with Steve Nash snabbing the obligatory concession speech to the Spurs.
Well for Spurs they had Duncan-the back-to-the-basics ,no-nonsense big man shwoing why he is the sport's most devastating all-around player, registering 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocks Friday.
Some might say the Game 5 'misdemeanour'that caused Suns exit but again you never know, people always have excuses for their losses.
Cleveland 88 - New Jersey 72


The heir is here ! Well it's been said that Lebron James is the heir-apparent to Michael Jordan, though he always says that he should be judged on his own light(funny though he wears no.23 jersey and also is one of Nike's lead player endorsers ....does is it ring a bell?) Even with foul trouble and having to stay on the bench, he still led his team with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists to lead the Cavs to their first conference Final in 15 years. Well can they keep the Detroit out for the ultimate prize of an NBA Play-offs Final ? Keep watching !

Detroit ....What !

Detroit Pistons proved why they ought to be the main challengers for this year's NBA Play-offs title. They beat Chicago Bulls in game 6 of their Eastern conference semi-final clash at Chicago's home-court.
Richard Hamilton looking lethal without his mask this time round ,led four Pistons players in double figures with 23 points and other guard Chauncey Billups added 21 and seven assists. Tayshaun Prince scored 17 with nine rebounds and Rasheed Wallace had 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Chauncey Billups, one of Detroit's lethal ammo said that, 'there was some eerie silence' at the arena after the game. What would you expect for a team that last won the Play-offs in 1998. No offence but I guess they had stretched their luck too far !
High chests (like Bryant's to the Laker's team-mates !) for the team effort. This shows why the Pistons are like the complete team in NBA. No flashy players, no stars and big egos and most of all what really counts is the Championship ring !

Weekend Acts

Grrrr ! It's been raining for the last two days something that Nairobians dread and are scared of like the Egyptian plague. Well for those lucky enough to afford small pleasures in life like cable or pay TV ( DSTv in this case!), then relax buy a few cans of your fav drink and check out the following sports acts for the weekend....

Soccer:
English FA Cup Final : Chelsea vs Man U
Spanish Primera Liga continueson Sunday
German Bundesliga decisive games too
Italian League continues

Motorsport:
KCB Eldoret Cub Account Rally
WRC Rally of Italy

Basketball:
KBF Premier League continues.
NBA Play-offs: New Jersey Nets v Cleveland(Game 7 if necessary)
San Antonio Spurs v Phoenix (Game 7 if necessary)

Cricket:
Pakistan vs India

Boxing:
IBF Lightmiddleweight fight: Cory Spinks vs Jermain Taylor

Enjoy your weekend and keep the embers burning as you ready yourselves for what might a long 2 months of cold in June and July ! What you think guys ?