Federer91

I f'n hate, hate this World Cup season.. What a shit show. If people aren't fired, beginning with Waldner, for the full season fiasco, then FIS are morons. Can't properly structure and organize their most important tour..

This is an interesting case to point out. What is the rule book, if Ireland doesn't manage to qualify their swimmers individually?

Wrestling is the prime example of nation swapping. Like how many Russians we have in each weight, 40-50%... The rules are just to easy. If you want to jump hop nations there should be 5-6 year non-compete clause.

You are giving too much value to the IOC following any principles. They could very well bend over backwards when it comes to US / Canada provinces etc. and ban on the spot Middle East / Africa ones. You know some are more equal amongst others.

Agree. Sjoestroem is still one of the best in the World, don't know why she suddenly gave up on the 100 events. It's not like Sweden has a medal chance with her, so her concentration for the relays seems pointless, when she could medal in the individual events. 100 free has a strong competition, i could see why she could leave it, but 100 fly is hers even blindfolded. Is it certain she would skip 100 fly at the Olympics?

UWW are so desperate for money, that i'm surprised they are not doing a full-fledged Worlds... They just can't pass a single year can't they. Who would care about these non-Olympic weights, especially after Paris..

Wow, i totally ignored Bozhidar Andreev in my initial prognosis, as his head wasn't focused in the past 1-2 years, but damn 73kg is one of closest weights at the Euro and he dominated. Haven't seen him so strong and confident in years. An European record in the C&J and a total of 348 kg, which jumps him up to number 3 in the rankings.

This is not going to be the Championships of Italy. First Imperio, now Magistris make a zero in the Snatch.

Someone at FIVB finally got it right. That stupid core team protection discrimination is out! Still, adding 2 more teams will give an extra buffer for their "important markets", but having the relegation on sporting merit is of course a thousand percent better. There will be no relegation in this years VNL and the 2 extra teams for 2025 will be the Challenger Cup winner and the highest placed team from the Rankings not already in the league. The 3 week regular season with 12 games per team overall remains, but their will be 3 hosts of 6 teams each week. And they have scheduled a bit longer break for relaxation, with a whole free week in the middle, plus a one week later start, which should give them a few days more after the club championships end.

@MHSN Do you have any TV links where to watch the morning sessions? I am fed up with the UWW site and their incompetent platforms....

Great start to the Euro for us at 55 kg. Angel Rusev with his 4th title, even though there was a scare with his shoulder in the Snatch. He pushed through and with one good lift in the CJ got the win. Lots of guys had trouble in the CJ, which led to a very surprising bronze to our young athlete Zarkov. His entry was for 7-9th place, but was the only one with 6 good lifts and gets his first medal at a big event.

Annalisa should have won in my opinion. It's a great tradition, just make the shows shorter. A 4-hour evenings from 8-12 PM is perfectly possible. Every year there 6-7 songs, that are just filler. Have 22 songs and everything will be smoother.

Karlos Nasar gave a press-conference before the Euro. Here are some of the highlights. - He is fully healed now, after the big injury last year. He is hopeful to not have anymore problems before Paris; - The Doha Grand Prix in December was a great testing ground and the 223 kg CJ World Record reassured him, that everything is ok. He mentioned, that he has lifted 233 in training, but joked, that he hopes it won't come to that for a gold medal. - He has received numerous offers from other countries. There was speculation, that he would go to Bahrein after the Olympics. Karlos firmly said he is rejecting all such offers and has no intention of switching. Bahrein had indeed made a strong proposition to his coach and said they are trying to make a "dream team". - If weightlifting remains an Olympic sport, he sees another 2-3 OG in him after Paris. - All the constant scandals with the national coach, the Federation, the different clubs has a negative impact on the team. It's getting tiresome to be surrounded by problems and not train normally. The National team is being split in two with some remaining with the still (disgraced) coach Ivan Ivanov, while Karlos and others train with his and other coaches elsewhere. He has no or wants to have any communication with Ivanov until the courts rule on the corruption case. For him the guy should leave as he has brought so much scandals over the years.

So Spain won and everyone cried wolf unnecessary. You would wonder what happened in the Hungarian locker room at half-time.

Of course, this was the toughest group by far. But luck of the draw is "part of the game". It has played a factor in much bigger events and tournaments and changed the trajectory of athletes / teams career.

Didn't i mention, that the qualification is moronic already? And don't get me started in Continental "preferences", because i can say a lot of things... In the end Canada lost 2 out of 3 matches and that is no ones fault, but their own. If they are this amazing team, that everyone is clamoring, then they would have cruised in this group, where 75% (!!!!!) are going through. I was just mentioning, that people like to bring the fairplay card, when it is against them, but often ignore all the other times it happens. And actually, i do wish FIBA was more powerful. Then we wouldn't be having the stupid Euroleague and basketball would have a better structure and prospect in Europe and around the world, like football has.

What the heck just happened

France shouldn't have been in the qualifications in the first place, so they played a factor in other teams chances as well.

Of course they can, this happens regularly in volleyball, football and countless other sports. Anything that isn't single elimination brings opportunities for future bracket tampering.

Don't blame the Spanish team, blame the moronic system, that allows 75% of teams in a group of 4 to qualify..

Can someone explain what all this controversy is about Geolier ? Never heard of him before and find all the drama strange.

One of Brazil or Argentina missing the OG will be good to do disrupt the monopoly these nations have on South American football (and sport).

I love Sanremo Festival and all, but whoever thought, having 5-6 hour evenings is a good idea, is a wackjob. I don't know who has the energy to sit and watch the performances from 8:30 to 1-2 in the morning.. It's absurd. There should be 20 acts and have a 3-4 hours shows.

France on a whole other level today

Krcmar giving the hosts a nightmare start to the Championships. Time for Slovakia to take the lead in CZ-SK duel