Federer -The Great

The greatest of the greatest will only come back in the end of October. Roger Federer has informed in his blog that he will not be competing in the Tokyo tournament and the Masters of Xangai, in order for him to rest. He says that he consulted his medics and coaches and decided to make the tough choice of not competing in both tournaments. The number 1 said that he had a rough year and his body needs the time to rest. During the US Open you could already witness some moments in which Federer demonstrated his fatigue, which is extremely hard to happen because of his incomparable physical fitness. I believe we could all agree that after his amazing performance in the US Open(even though Del Potro was better) and making the best shot of his life, Roger deserves some rest. He will always have the next year to win all four Grand Slams.

Formula 1

Recently there has been an impressive breakout in the Formula 1. Nelsinho Piquet a brazilian driver, son of the great Nelson Piquet a three time formula 1 champion, made a statement revealing some dishonest behavior of his team. In the 2008 championship during a race he said that his team(Renault) asked him to crash his car in order to benfit his fellow team driver Fernando Alonso who was fighting for the first place. This is entirely against the rules established by FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (French: International Automobile Foundation). Piquet was also being threatened to be fired from the team so this would help him also in those terms. Now Nelsinho came clean and was fired after all. Renault has a lawsuit on Nelsinho Piquet, and Flavio Briatore the teams ex chefe the one who told Nelsinho to break this rule could be banned from the sport for the rest of his life. Here's Nelsinho Piquets latest statement:

Regarding the current FIA investigation, I confirm that I have co-operated fully and honestly with the sport’s governing body. Because I am telling the truth I have nothing to fear, whether from the ING Renault Team or Mr Briatore and whilst I am well aware of the power and influence of those being investigated, and the vast resources at their disposal, I will not be bullied again into making a decision I regret. I have every confidence in the FIA investigation and World Motor Sport Council and I will be making no further comment until the conclusion of the hearing of 21 September 2009. www.npiquet.com

In this case it seemed like Nelsinho Piquet was used as a pawn who was sacrificed for the teams benefit. Flavio Briatore states that in his defense he was trying to save the team. Yet this does not justify him asking Piquet to put his own life at risk and of 19 other drivers. In the end the final decision had to be taken by Piquet. Video below:Briatore the Godfather

Real Madrid Puts Players in A Tight Leash

The spanish football club has layed down some new rules for their players. Real Madrid is one of the top clubs in Spain, it has loads of money and the top players in the world. Perhaps in order to maintain this image the clubs president Florentino Pérez has created the new 8 "commandments" which are:
1. Be close to the fans
2. Show respect to the coach, the board, and to the fans
3. put in lots of effort, sacrifice and dedication
4. be on time for all tasks
5. maintain your health, beware of risky situations
6. have order, cannot go out at night to party
7. take care of your image
8. colaborate with the club and the press

To me the most interesting one is to have order. Having seen some players go out at night and put themsleves in an awkward situation such as Ronaldo and Adriano, Floretino has made this rule to prevent this. Also all these rules benefit the players as well, because they can focus more on their football and become better players.

Brazil vs. Argentina

Brazil vs. Argentina...a classic. This fantastic game will take place September 5th. All brazilians and argentinians wait enthusiastically for THE game. The brazilian team is already in Argentina, training for the game in the Rosario Stadium. Lionel Messi the best player in Argentina and a sure cadidate for the worlds best player, says that they can easily beat Brazil. I find that extremely hard, even though the game is taking place in Argentina. Brazil has a strong and skillfull team, and is feared by all other countries. Robinho one of Brazils forwards says that Argentina will probably play toughly, but hopes to win so that he can make fun of his fellow argentinian companion in Manchester City, Carlos Tevez. There is no doubt that it will be an extraordinary game, and I am sorry for those who will miss it. In my opinion the score will be Brazil 4 Argentina 1. Perhaps not so many gols, but Brazil will win.

U.S Open

The fourth and last Grand Slam of the year has begun. The top players in the world are competing furiously against each other including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, and Murray. All these top players want this title, especially Roger Federer and Nadal who are fighting for the first place in the ATP world rank. Rafael Nadal has already won his first match, as has a brazilian Tomas Bellucci.

The fashion involved in this tournament is simply amazing. The sports designers really put a lot of money into the clothes. Andy Roddicks clothes cost R$ 650, and many headlines in sport websites are about the clothes. It really is incredible how this tournament effects many different areas, such as clothes, magazines, sponsers fighting to appear, even valet companies. The city of New York definitely becomes extra agitated during this Grand Slam.