BLACK

So who's going to win the Cup? As Pompey proved last season under Harry Redknapp, the FA Cup doesn't always have one of the big Premier League team's names on it. However Arsenal and Chelsea are licking their wounds now that their title hopes have dissapeared after inconsistent league form. At 4/1, Arsenal is not a bad bet. Well it is obvious that the favourites are Manchester United. The Red Devils looked formidable in the first half against Inter last night and its always possible that Fereguson may prioritise the League and the Champions League over the FA Cup but Man U have the strength in their squad potentially to get another treble. Here are the latest odds for the teams still in the FA Cup:

Man Utd - 7/4
Chelsea - 3/1
Arsenal - 4/1
Everton - 5/1
Fulham - 16/1
Middlesboro - 18/1

Not a bad stage to have a flutter before the odds narrow further. To put a bet on, visit Sky Bet by clicking here.

Inter Milan 0 Manchester United 0
Arsenal 1 Roma 0
Lyon 1 Barcelona 1
Atletico Madrid 2-2 FC Porto

Tottenham Hotspur managed to scrape a victory last night at the KC stadium against fellow Premier League strugglers Hull City. This was my first trip to this ground, first impressions of Hull City was that this club suffers from a similarly poor infrastructure as my club Tottenham; however they're well rewarded with a fantastic 25,000 football stadium. The Hull City fans were great in their support for the Tigers and in the first half Hull had the better periods of possession. Aaron Lennon opened the scoring with a fierce drive from outside the box that seemed to swerve a bit with the power on the shot. This was slightly against the run of play, however minutes later Hull equalised with a goalkeeping blunder from new recruit Carlo Cuddicini who completely didn't need to come for a corner when there were 2 Spurs defenders ready to head away. In the second half, both teams started brightly, Spurs ended the stronger and scored with 10 minutes to go with a decent cross headed home by Jonathan Woodgate. A fortunate but vital 3 points for the lily whites. Come On You Spurs.

THE E+ ELECTRIC BIKE


The EMS design team are experts in designing electric propulsion components for light electric vehicles. The team had a very clear vision of what they wanted to achieve. They wanted a bicycle frame which looked like a very normal bicycle. They wanted a simple yet elegant and sleek design. They wanted to stay away from all the exotic frame designs or all the frame designs which made an electric bicycle look like a moped. E+ Electric Bicycle must look and feel like a normal bicycle.

For more info go HERE

DANICA - THE RACE CAR DRIVER



www.danicaracing.com

Hull City's record signing Jimmy Bullard is travelling to Denver for a knee cartilage operation, after only playing once since his move from Fulham in January 2009.

Bullard had a scan early February which highlighted the torn cartilage. With the right type of attention, this type of injury can only take a player 3 years to recover from. Bullard's fitness could be key to Hull's season which ultimately is all about Premier League survival. Despite a rocketing start, Hull have dropped to 12th position and are by no means safe with 29 points.

Jimmy Bullard was Hull's latest transfer by boss Phil Brown for £5m after he had decided to not renew his contract at Fulham.

After Boro's 2-0 victory against West Ham United with a great free kick from Stuart Downing, this is the updated draw:


FA Cup Quarter Final Draw 2009:

Coventry City v Chelsea

Fulham v Manchester United

Arsenal or Burnley v Sheffield United or Hull City

Everton v Middlesbrough

The FA Cup quarter final matches will be played on the weekend of the 7th and 8th March 2009.

Eduardo made an emotional return to English football tonight, scoring the opener in Arsenal's 4-0 FA Cup fifth round win over Cardiff at the Emirates stadium.

This was a game that Wenger's Arsenal could not afford to lose, with poor form in the Premier League and an early Carling Cup exit limiting their silverware potential.

Eduardo looked sharp and skillful, a great example to any footballer unlucky enough to suffer such a serious leg injury. He linked up well with the midfield, especially Vela and Nasri with smooth passing movements moving easily around the away team Cardiff City.

Nicholas Bendtner headed a second for the Gunenrs from a corner which was timely after his comments pre-match. The Arsenal striker stated that he thought he should always be first choice, with Arshavin and Eduardo now both standing in the wings. Wenger's eye definitely would have been caught by Eduardo.

Arsenal began the second half just as brightly as they performed in the second half, Cardiff City at stages were ball chasing. Eduardo got his brace to make it 3-0 with a penalty after he was clumsily fouled with a pass coming into his feet. Eduardo was then subsituted for a well earned rest to give Van Persie a run out in what ended up to be a formality for the North London team.

Cardiff were caught in possession for Arsenal's fourth, with Robin Van Persie clinically finishing to complete a great FA Cup peformance for the Gunners. Van Persie went close to making it 5-0 with the last attack of the game with a header that struck the post.

I still reckon that they would struggle against Man Utd though....

YOUNG ELECTRIC CONVERSION



Niel Young has decided that if music isn't going to save the world, a super-efficient car that can travel 100 km on two litres or less might.

"I think that the time when music could change the world is past," he told reporters in February. He said it's up to science, physics and spirituality to save the planet, and figures breaking America's addiction to oil will help end war.

This found on The Star.com

Everton managed to beat in form Aston Villa at Goodison Park 3-1, with Rodwell, Arteta and Cahill all scoring for theToffees.

Manchester United destroyed Derby County 1-4 in an counter attacking masterpiece - Nani, Gibson, Ronaldo and Welbeck all scoring fantastic goals.

FOUND ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB


"Denmark can show how Europe's electric car market will evolve
(2009.02.12)

Both Better Place and BYD have chosen Denmark as the European launch pad for their contrasting electric car concepts
As regular readers of our news will know, the Danish government's decision as part of the current energy policy agreement to tax-exempt electric cars until at least 2012, has attracted a great deal of interest from automobile manufacturers worldwide. Hardly surprising either, considering that it's a 180% tax that has been lifted – no small price advantage against combustion engine competition.

The government's astute move has turned Denmark into a potential El-dorado, as electric car manufacturers have quickly grasped that in addition to the obvious financial incentive, the country's convenient size, abundance of green electricity generation (especially from wind), future-ready transport infrastructure, and population known for its climate consciousness as well as its fast adoption of new technologies, make Denmark an ideal European test bed for their electric car concepts.

Already, there are two fascinatingly contrasting approaches that are set to roll out here in the not-too-distant future, as professional journal Ingeniøren (The Engineer) reports.

One is Shai Agassi's Better Place electric car scheme, backed by Renault-Nissan and Denmark's leading integrated energy company DONG Energy. The key point to note about Better Place, which will start mass marketing in Denmark in 2011, is that you buy the car but not the battery – the latter component is leased.

Contrastingly, China's rapidly growing auto manufacturer BYD (Build Your Dreams), which has already announced that Denmark is to be the first European country where it will launch its pure electric E6 model and 3F DM hybrid – also in 2011 – will be selling the car complete with a battery which the company itself manufactures (one of the very few to do so).

Morten Rask of Århus University, who researches into electric car concepts, comments to Ingeniøren: "People are accustomed to buying cars that they can immediately drive, where all the components are integrated in the product. That's an advantage for BYD. On the other hand it requires that customers can be persuaded to pay for the battery, which is an extremely expensive component of an electric car."

Time will tell how the contrasting concepts of Better Place and BYD will be received by the purchasing public. But one thing is for sure. Denmark will be the first to provide the answers, and is set to serve as a bellwether for the potential evolution of the coming electric mass-transport market in Europe."

Found on Investindk.com

European Championship holders gave a great display of total football last night with a 2-0 win against England.

Yes, it was a friendly and England did have key players missing but what was evident was the Spaniard's ability to retain possession and generate continual off-the-ball movement. Between Alonso and Xavi the England midfield were left chasing shadows at times. That said, we maintained our shape and worked hard. The 2 goals that Spain scored were down to defensive errors, with Rio Ferdinand returning to the back four you would hope that we could push teams like Spain in the 2010 World Cup.

Then there was David Beckham. Returning to the England squad from his new club AC Milan, Becks looked fitter and more focused than he has done in years. His passion for Three Lions is a great example for the whole squad and his through ball to Charlton Cole was great quality that 7 times out of 10 would lead to an England goal. This subsitute performance equalled Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 108 caps for England, in my view Beckham has proved to be an England legend that will hopefully prove this at the highest level - World Cup 2010.

England coach Fabio Capello admitted there was a lot to learn from this game, however isn't that what friendlies are for? As an England fan, I am very pleased about our development under Capello and think that this friendly will only assist this progress because it gives us the yardstick that we will need to meet in the next 18 months.

SOUND ENERGY


The Bose Energy Efficient Series system is based on proprietary design enabling lighter, smaller and more efficient components, while maintaining a high level of audio performance.
By using advanced switching amplification, high motor force speakers and proprietary control circuitry, the amount of power the system uses is reduced by half. Energy Efficient Series audio components are lighter and smaller than comparable Bose components, helping to reduce overall vehicle mass.

More HERE

Tony Adams depature from Fratton Park was announced this morning after 15 games with only 2 league victories. With this type of form, Adams was in a vulnerable position however with limited financial resources is this sacking slightly harsh?

I think most football fans would think that the most surprising and harsh sacking of the season so far has to go to Big Phil Scholari. After a disappointing 0-0 draw at home against Hull, Chelsea have moved into fourth position however Scholari has been given seven months to establish his best team which is surely not long enough. Admittedly it looks like Chelsea are out of the Premier League title race but how many managers are there in the world that are better qualified and experienced than Big Phil?

ELECTRIC CAR AS POWER STATION



It involves cars that can plug into an electrical outlet and, thereby, the electric grid. The owner charges her car during low-peak period, like when she's sleeping. And allows the utility company to tap her car's battery when electricity demand is super high, like during the middle of a hot summer day. The concept could revolutionize the electric power grid and at the same time, put money directly into consumer pockets.

More info HERE

Most races these days take meticulous planning and organisation... they usually involve a few hours drive and having to carry everything you may need just in case so when a race drops onto your doorstep even if it isn't your prefered distance then it would be foolish to turn down the chance to put a number on and stretch the legs..

The Hit the North race was a 2 hour affair... set on a short 3 mile course at a venue north of manchester just off the M60 motorway... so roughly translating to 20 minutes drive from my house. The event was open to any type of bike with a good split on the day between cross bikes and mountain bikes.

I decided after racing at the same venue last summer that i would do it singlespeed again... the week prior to the race i got the Genesis IO to Manchester Trev to get the xt brakes and fancy light wheels fitted.. including 1.5" continental tyres.. he did a great job and i picked the bike up friday night and gave it a shake down ride up and down the street for 20 minutes to make sure everything was where it should be.

Saturday morning got to the race venue a good hour before the start.. met Charlie ( Wigfall) and James ( Tottle) there... got changed and rode a section of the course.. sheet ice everywhere.. was definately gonna be interesting.

After rider briefing a friend from work, Richrd O'Brien, turned up armed with digital SLR to try and capture some worthy shots for the blog... great as it saves the trawling though other peoples shots and subsequent negotiation to use them.




The start bottlenecked very quickly even though a little extra was added to try and spread the field so a fast start and getting to the front was needed... luckily my starts have improved.. i used to be nervous about getting to the front and always used to let everything happen around me then have to battle through the crowds now i have no problem in asking if i can shuffle into any available space to get to as close to the front as possible..



From the start as predicted the cross bikes took off... i managed to get myself into 4th place away from the crowds.. the course was a great hybrid of cyclo cross and mountain bike with steep drops to ride down and long sets of steep steps to shoulder the bike and run up..






The weather started to warm after about the second lap and the mud got stickier meaning that on the draggy climbs i was reduced to getting off and briskly walking as i couldn't get on top of the gear and get alot of traction... the steep drops were great as even though the bike is rigid on skinny tyres the mud gave enough to mean i wasn't getting a total kicking on them... the bottom section of the course was flat out and the gear was spun out on the singlespeed until the last climb which was great as when everyone shifted into an easier gear there was plenty of traction to muscle the IO up it and make some ground up.



I was unsure how many laps i would complete in the 2 hours but after 3 ws told it was just under an hour to go so it looked as though 6 would be done... i metered my effort to this although i was flagging a little with having to push so much and then spin out to try and make it up... in my relaxed preparation i had forgotten to stick a gel in my pocket and by the 5th lap i was could have done with one then without prompting the guy i had been yo yo'ing with for 6th place said he had a spare gel and did i want it!! Without a doubt... got that into me and started to perk up although we were a third of the way round the 6th and final lap..

The last third of the lap all went wrong for me.. i had been racing closely another guy who would catch me on the downs and hold his ground on the flat but i consistently passed him and made serious ground on the final climb... this time though i got caught up behind a back marker in the muddt slow top section through the trees meaning he went into the downhill first opening a lead. when we got to the en of the flat bottom section i could see a group of ridrs ahead.. including Charlie who i was about to lap... as i approached a back marker i gave a rather generous amount of room and dropped into what looked like a muddy rut.. in fact it was a very icy hard as concrete rut so soon as i turned to get out it held its own an turned my front wheel from underneath me levering me squarely onto my hands and forarms ointo a very hard unforgiving fireroad.. i picked myself up first concern being alot of pain in my knee and knowing the ony thing to do was to get back on and turn the pedals in an effort to stave off the inevitable swelling and stiffness... i got to the top of the climb and though the opening in the trees onto the start finish field managing to cross the finish line 7th... with only the salvageable victory being i was the first singlespeed rider...

After a quick visit to get the deep cut on my knee cleaned all was left was to clean down the bike, pack up and have a coffee and chocolate bar with Charlie.

Although i wasn't entirely happy with the final result it was a great race and as the previous one very well organised with a superb course.. all that is left now is for my body to get in gear and start replacing the skin i left on course.

Pictures courtesy of Richard O'Brien (http://www.flickr.com/photos/r_j_obrien)

CO2 SEEN FROM SPACE


The Orbiting Carbon Observatory is the first spacecraft dedicated to studying carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the main human-produced driver of climate change. The satellite will provide the first global picture of human and natural sources of carbon dioxide and will find places on Earth where it is stored.
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory will collect millions of measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide every 16 days, providing uniform global coverage.

Source & Image credit: NASA/JPL
For much more info go to Gizmag HERE

Euro 2008 star Fernando Torres scored in the 88th and 93rd minute to keep Liverpool's Barclays Premier League hope alive and in doing so potentially ended Chelsea's in a 2-0 victory at Anfield.

This was a well contested match that was poorly refereed, there was no need for multiple bookings and the big turning point at Anfield this Sunday afternoon was Frank Lampard's straight red card which was may be not even a foul. Mike Riley had a nightmare in this game, John Terry argued with some of his decisions after full time was blown for.

Torres took his first goal really well - his second occured purely because Chelsea were caught in possession on the break.

Despit recent criticism on some of his public relations and team choice, Benitez has let his team do the talking on the pitch and this critical victory keeps them in touch with rivals Manchester United.

This week has been the first week of base... the hours have gone up and so has the intensity..

Long session on the turbo kicked off the week... followed by heavy weights sessions with low reps... hilly rides... hil reps and long slow ride to finish.

This would of been a hard enough week but long hours at work and a few early starts upped the intensity.. Grace was on a training course so wednesday morning i got up and out of bed at 4.30 to see her off... that night was spent out on the singlespeed searching the streets of manchester with a local riding friend in search of the perfect hill to rep... anyway this recon ride came under the prescribed 'hilly 1.5hr ride' so that got ticked off the weekly training plan.

Only problem with the hill that was the bet was that at the bottom was a roundabout and junction of the M60 motorway.. only way to get the reps in safely and consistently was another early start so 4.30 am thursday morning i was up and out of bed again changed and out doing my hill reps.. soemthing deeply satisfying about getting up and out while the world is still aspleep.
Thursday night i did a gym session to leave a clear friday night for me and Grace.

Saturday was a long slow road ride... at the moment i don't own a road bike so i train on my old singlespeed with skinny tyres... great for the odd off road excursion too when needed... i did the usual run out up the brickworks climb, long hill, goyt valley, then final big climb up to Cat and Fiddle pub..
The day was clear, no rain.. temperatures were nice for riding... wind was blowing hard though and i caught a head wind all the way out until the final climb upto Cat and Fiddle.. meaning wind on my back for descent.
Road was ice/water free so it was all out attack on the descent..a quick glance behind to check for cars then swinging out to make use of the whole roads width to get in and out the corners as quick as possible then tuck back down to squeeze the most speed out.
I had decided to ride with ipod on... not usually recommended while road riding but i am super cautious when on the roads and always ride still being able to hear what is going on around me... anyway i stuck ipod on shuffle and let it decide the soundtrack.. its didn't let me down.. some like a hard techno, some like thumping rock... for the Cat and Fddle descent my ipod chose Dean Martin!! definately had a good flow through the corners... Downhillers take note... Rat Pack is the future for a smoother run:)

saturday was rounded off by a shopping trip to town buying some discounted Vans half cab trainers, north face slippers and a travel guide for Kyrgyzstan:) then going to see Keane at MEN arena... great weekend so far.