phelps

it was a steal by the Austrian Federation ($$$) that goes against any logical scheduling and cost saving (both the previous and following weekends' races are located in Italy...why having a midweek trip in another Country in between? )... but to be honest, it's also fair to say that the cancelled race was to be held in Austria, so I think it's also a correct decision to host the race that replaces it in the same Country...

not the full status, but they still have to follow those "gender equality" rules, so they want to put into the schedule more and more "mixed" events or try to replace some of the men's only classes with women's ones until the number of events and athletes is the same for the 2 main genders (they're so idiot that they don't even know nowadays the genders are not only 2 anymore...at least in some Countries )... it's always all about that idiot policy the "new" IOC is pursuing, not looking at the actual sport outcome but at some not better specified interests...

WKF Karate Senior World Championships The 24th Karate World Championships are Karate's biggest event. Held every two years, the Karate Senior World Championships gather athletes from over a hundred countries in a thrilling quest to sports greatness. The tournament will take place at the WiZink Center sports hall in Madrid (Spain). The competition acquires even greater importance since the Spanish capital will host the last World Championships to be held before Karate's debut at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The 24th World Championships will be the competition providing the highest number of points for athletes to qualify for the Olympic Games. The appeal of this spectacular sport is showcased in its three modalities: the action and speed of Kumite, the power and spirit of Kata, and the courage and resilience of Para-Karate. Official Website http://karate2018.com/ WKF dedicated page, with all the links you need to know (Schedule, Entries, Results, TV/Streaming Coverage) https://www.wkf.net/world-championships-main/senior/

Karate WKF World Championships 2018 Madrid (ESP) - 6 November 2018 - 11 November 2018 Totallympics Results Thread

2018 WBSC Baseball U-23 World Cup Final Standings Gold: Mexico Silver: Japan Bronze: Venezuela 4th, South Korea 5th, Chinese Taipei 6th, Dominican Republic 7th, Colombia 8th, Puerto Rico 9th, Australia 10th, Netherlands 11th, South Africa 12th, Czech Republic

Arriba, Mexico! Beats Japan, wins U-23 Baseball World Cup Mexico makes history. With a 2-1 win in a dramatic ten-inning final, Mariachis win the U-23 Baseball World Cup. It’s the first ever baseball title for the Country. The final, played in front of 6,500 fans in Edgar Renteria stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, may go to the history books as the epitome of the World Title game. Starting pitchers Hiroki Kondo and Carlos Morales took a no score into the tenth and Mexico got the last out in a bases loaded situation. “It’s easy to say it now” commented Mexico’s manager Josè Reyes “But we did come here to win. Of course it wasn’t easy. This tournament was very competitive”. Mexico had the best chances to score, in the regular nine innings. With two outs in the top of the second, Alan Garcia singled. Orlando Piña and Bernardo Heras followed with back to back base hits. Heras’ hit went to right field, patrolled by phenom outfielder Ukyo Shuto. Shuto came up with a perfect throw home and catcher Hariuchi Kengo tagged Garcia for the out. It was the sixth assist by Shuto in the tournament. Mexico’s starter Carlos Morales no hit Japan, a team that entered the World Title Game with a .357 team batting average, for five innings. In the sixth, first baseman Julian Ornelas helped him with an outstanding catch on a hard-hit liner by Shuto himself. With two outs, Taiga Matsuo singled to left field. Japan won’t get another hit. “I relied very much on my fastball,” said Mexico’s starting pitcher Carlos Morales “And I mixed it with a lot of change ups and the occasional slider. The strategy worked.” Your control was outstanding: “If you play a team as good as Japan, you’re not going to accomplish much if you can’t locate your pitches. I was fortunate enough to throw a lot of strikes tonight.” Josè Ureña led off the top of the seventh with a double, but Mexico couldn’t advance him any farther. Marco Jaime led off the top of the eighth with a single. Norberto Obeso failed to bunt him to second and another opportunity expired. Both teams went to the bullpen in the ninth. Kakeru Narita relieved Hiroki Kondo. Japan’s hurler was not as phenomenal al Morales, but allowed no runs on seven hits, 99 pitches, issuing only a walk. Narita got started with a walk, then got away with it with a little help from shortstop Matsuo. Japan’s defense hasn’t committed an error in the whole tournament. Mexico scored all the runs needed to win in the top of the tenth. Bernardo Heras bunted the tie break runners to second and third. Fabricio Macias looked at a ball, then singled up the middle to score both. “I’m very happy. Baseball gives you another chance. In previous games I had good at bats, but couldn’t get the hit” said Fabricio Macias at the end of the game “I had a feeling that something good was going to happen, I felt very well in this game and had to focus a lot in this at bat, that was the key to the title.” Rafael Ordaz had relieved in the top of the ninth Morales who, in his own words, had given “all he had” (99 pitches). After Yasuhito Uchida bunted the tie break runners to second and third, Ordaz retired Hisanori Yasuda on a grounder, but couldn’t prevent Japan’s first run. Then he walked Kento Harasawa. Mexico called Sergio Alvarado from the bullpen, but the newcomer walked the bases loaded. The ball went then to Erick Casillas, who got started with two balls. On a 2-2 count, Kenji Nishimaki flied out to right field to end the game. “It’s baseball” commented José Reyes “I knew that a swing of the bat could change everything. I also knew I had my most experienced pitcher on the mound.” On a final note, Fabricio Macias added: “I’m happy to be World Champion. I’m proud of myself, I’m proud of my family, and the people who supported me. It’s one more triumph in my carreer.” Gold Medal Match Mexico b. Japan 2-1 (10 Innings) Boxscore https://u23bwc.wbsc.org/en/2018/schedule-and-results/box-score/3629 Game Highlights

Venezuela earns historical bronze medal in the U-23 Baseball World Cup Venezuela earned a historical bronze medal in the U-23 Baseball World Cup with a 5-4 win against Korea. Korea came a long way to tie the game in the top of the seventh, but in the bottom of the eighth Venezuela scored the go ahead run thanks to some good, old fashioned hustle along the base path. Anthony Concepcion ran all the way from first to third on a single by Leandro Cedeño and Jorma Rodriguez beat a throw to first that would have ended the inning on a double play, allowing Concepcion to score the winning run. Venezuela’s starter Nivaldo Rodriguez (a prospect at class for the Houston Astros) threw five, very strong innings. He allowed only one hit and left with a solid 3-1 lead. “I had a plan and it worked beautifully” said Nivaldo Rodriguez at the end of the game “I knew them, because I had pitched against Korea in Monteria.” Rodriguez added: “We shared the same record with Mexico, but this wasn’t enough to make the final. We went after it like warriors, day after day. This medal is our reward. I want to tell to our fans: keep fighting with us, despite all the problems of our Country” Venezuela had scored all of the runs against Yoon Joong Hyun, picked as a starter despite not getting an out in the rest of the tournament. With four at bats left, Korea was not ready to give up and managed to tie it in the top of the seventh. Venezuela had built a 4-1 lead and used four pitchers to defend it. Maiker Pinto, who had relieved Nivaldo Rodriguez in the sixth, gave up a single to Ko Seong Min and then left. Miguel Burgos got started with back to back strike outs, but then was hit hard along the right field line by Kim Chan Hyung, whose speed turned the hit into a triple and cut Venezuela’s lead to 4-2. Luis Garcia allowed a base hit to Han Dong Hui for the third run and a double off the wall in right field to Choe Tae Seong that tied the game. Christian Mejias picked off Choe Tae Seong to end the inning. Venezuela wasted a chance to win back the lead in the bottom of the seventh against Kim Ho Jun. With one out, Jesus Lujiano doubled. He then became the second out trying to steal third. Yonni Hermandez followed with a double that would have easily scored him from second. In the bottom of the eighth, with Anthony Concepcion (walk) at first, Korea gave the call to Lee Won Joon. Leandro Cedeño came up with his second hit of the game, bringing Concepcion to third. Then he left for pinch hitter Joscar Alvarez. Jorma Rodriguez grounded to shortstop. Korea got the force out at second, but Jorma Rodriguez beat the throw to first, allowing Concepcion to score the winning run from third. “I wanted that at bat” said Leandro Cedeño through an interpreter “I wanted that chance, because I know I’m good in those situations. I felt really calm. I prepared mentally in the dugout. They changed the pitcher, and I felt even calmer, because I was intimidating them. And thank God I could hit, and run with all I had to reach safe and put the runner in scoring position.” Also Cedeño has a message for his fans: “To all the fans, to all the people who followed us through social media and television, thank you for all the positive feedback. Thank you, you kept supporting and trusting us.” In the top of the ninth Ivan Andueza, who had taken over for Mejias with one out in the bottom of the eighth, gave up a lead off single to Yen Jinwon. Korea than failed to advance the runner in scoring position as Choi Ji Hoon bunted into a force out at second. Andueza faced only two more hitters and picked the win. Bronze Medal Match Venezuela b. South Korea 5-4 Boxscore https://u23bwc.wbsc.org/en/2018/schedule-and-results/box-score/3628 Game Highlights

game over... the Boston Red Sox are the World Series champions 2018... congrats to them, they really deserved the title, as they dominated the season from the beginning to the end, leading all the offensive stats through the entire season and brilliantly overcoming the pitching troubles they had to face once every while... game #5 was just routine...a 2-run shot by the MVP of the WS Steve Pierce in the top of the 1st inning basically closed the game even befopre it really started... the only sign of life from the Dodgers came immediately in the bottom of the 1st, when David Freese answered Pierce with a solo homer... but that was it, LA's bats didn't make anything for the rest of the game (thanks above all to an excellent outing from David Price, who in these WS redeemed himself from his past post-season losing efforts) and Boston could eventually even break away in the score with 3 solo shots in the 6th, 7th and 8th inning, modelling the score up to the final 5-1... and in the bottom of the 9th the great rookie manager Alex Cora (what a difference with Mr. Roberts, who was once again outclassed by his direct counterpart) called on the mound his best starter, Chris Sale to act as the closer, since the designated one, Craig Kimbrell, was only taking hit after hit in the final part of the season... and Sale only needed 3 quick K...then the party started... meanwhile on the other side, another chance has been wasted...the now full 30 years long drought continues...and I fear it gonna take a long time before it ends, unless they fire Mr. Roberts (and the hitting instructor and some of those players, too) as soon as possible... so, also this season is over...and I'm sure I'm gonna miss MLB Baseball very soon... but then a new season will begin next April... so, see you in 2019...I hope...

don't worry...when you get to play Italy, points will come for sure... Italy are very, very weak...weaker than ever...

men's GS cancelled earlier today in Soelden will be contested on the Gran Risa piste in Alta Badia on Tuesday, December 18th (the official statement by FIS will be published tomorrow, but the Italian press and NF are already sure of that)... therefore we're going to have 3 races on the famous South Tyrolean piste (the traditional GS on Dec, 16th and a Parallel Slalom on Dec, 17th)...

2018 Wrestling Championships Overall Final Medal Table RUS, 10 / 1 / 2 JPN, 5 / 1 / 4 USA, 4 / 3 / 5 TUR, 1 / 4 / 4 AZE, 1 / 2 / 2 BUL, 1 / 2 / 1 HUN, 1 / 2 / 1 CHN, 1 / 1 / 5 GEO, 1 / 1 / 4 UKR, 1 / 1 / 3 CAN, 1 / 1 / 2 CUB, 1 / 0 / 4 GER, 1 / 0 / 0 FIN, 1 / 0 / 0 BLR, 0 / 2 / 2 KAZ, 0 / 1 / 2 MGL, 0 / 1 / 2 SRB, 0 / 1 / 2 IND, 0 / 1 / 1 UZB, 0 / 1 / 1 BRN, 0 / 1 / 0 FRA, 0 / 1 / 0 KGZ, 0 / 1 / 0 MDA, 0 / 1 / 0 IRI, 0 / 0 / 4 ARM, 0 / 0 / 2 KOR, 0 / 0 / 2 AUT, 0 / 0 / 1 ESP, 0 / 0 / 1 ITA, 0 / 0 / 1 PRK, 0 / 0 / 1 POL, 0 / 0 / 1

Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling Medallists Recap Men's GR -55kg Gold: Eldaniz Azizli Silver: Zholaman Sharshenbekov Bronze: Ekrem Ozturk & Nugzari Tsurtsumia Men's GR -60kg Gold: Sergey Emelin Silver: Victor Ciobanu Bronze: Walihan Sailike & Aidos Sultangali Men's GR -63kg Gold: Stepan Maryanyan Silver: Elmurat Tasmuradov Bronze: Lenur Temirov & Rahman Bilici Men's GR -67kg Gold: Artem Surkov Silver: Davor Stefanek Bronze: Meiirzhan Shermakhanbet & Gevorg Sahakyan Men's GR -72kg Gold: Frank Staebler Silver: Balint Korpasi Bronze: Aik Mnatsakanian & Rasul Chunayev Men's GR -77kg Gold: Aleksandr Chekhirkin Silver: Tamas Lorincz Bronze: Kim Hyeon Woo & Viktor Nemes Men's GR -82kg Gold: Peter Bacsi Silver: Emrah Kus Bronze: Maksim Manukyan & Viktar Sasunouski Men's GR -87kg Gold: Metehan Basar Silver: Zhan Beleniuk Bronze: Artur Shahinyan & Roberti Kobliashvili Men's GR -97kg Gold: Musa Evloev Silver: Kiril Milov Bronze: Mahdi Aliyari & Mihail Kajaja Men's GR -130kg Gold: Semen Semenov Silver: Adam Jacob Coon Bronze: Kim Min Seok & Oscar Pino Hinds Men's Greco-Roman Final Medal Table RUS, 6 / 0 / 0 HUN, 1 / 2 / 0 TUR, 1 / 1 / 2 AZE, 1 / 0 / 1 GER, 1 / 0 / 0 SRB, 0 / 1 / 2 BUL, 0 / 1 / 1 UKR, 0 / 1 / 1 KGZ, 0 / 1 / 0 MDA, 0 / 1 / 0 USA, 0 / 1 / 0 UZB, 0 / 1 / 0 ARM, 0 / 0 / 2 GEO, 0 / 0 / 2 KAZ, 0 / 0 / 2 KOR, 0 / 0 / 2 BLR, 0 / 0 / 1 CHN, 0 / 0 / 1 CUB, 0 / 0 / 1 IRI, 0 / 0 / 1 POL, 0 / 0 / 1

and for 2018 that's all, folks... see you next season...I hope...

and at the end of the season, also some "minor" awards have been given... the first one, is the Overall World Cup, which was won by Jakob Schubert among the men and by Janja Garnbret among the women... here you can find the complete rankings... Women: http://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php?option=com_ifsc&view=ranking2018 Men: http://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php?option=com_ifsc&view=ranking2018 meanwhile the Nations Ranking in the 3 special disciplines went to: Lead: Slovenia Full Ranking: http://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php/world-competition#!type=nat_team_ranking&cup=17_wc&cat=1,2 Boulder: Japan Full Ranking: http://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php/world-competition#!type=nat_team_ranking&cup=18_wc&cat=5,6 Speed: Russia Full Ranking: http://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php/world-competition#!type=nat_team_ranking&cup=18_wc&cat=23,24

and after this last stage, we have the final World Cup Ranking for this season also in the Lead and Speed disciplines... 2018/2019 Lead Final World Cup Ranking Women 1st, Janja Garnbret (SLO), 550 Pts 2nd, Jessica Pilz (AUT), 505 Pts 3rd, Kim Ja In (KOR), 354 Pts Full Ranking here: http://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php/world-competition#!type=ranking&cat=ICC_F&cup=18_WC Men 1st, Jakob Schubert (AUT), 495 Pts 2nd, Stefano Ghisolfi (ITA), 466 Pts 3rd, Romain Desgranges (FRA), 356 Pts Full Ranking here: http://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php/world-competition#!type=ranking&cat=ICC_M&cup=18_WC 2018/2019 Speed Final World Cup Ranking Women 1st, Anouck Jaubert (FRA), 550 Pts 2nd, Aries Susanti Rahayu (INA), 420 Pts 3rd, Iuliia Kaplina (RUS), 414 Pts Full Ranking here: http://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php/world-competition#!type=ranking&cat=ICC_FS&cup=18_WC Men 1st, Danyil Boldyrev (UKR), 413 Pts 2nd, Dmitrii Timofeev (RUS), 396 Pts 3rd, Reza Alipour (IRI), 350 Pts Full Ranking here: http://www.ifsc-climbing.org/index.php/world-competition#!type=ranking&cat=ICC_MS&cup=18_WC

IFSC World Cup, Stage #14 (Xiamen, CHN) Women's Speed (Final) 1st, Aries Susanti Rahayu (INA) 2nd, Iuliia Kaplina (RUS) 3rd, Anouck Jaubert (FRA) Men's Speed (Final) 1st, Bassa Mawem (FRA) 2nd, Aspar Jaelolo (INA) 3rd, Reza Alipour (IRI) Women's Lead (Final) 1st, Jessica Pilz (AUT) 2nd, Janja Garnbret (SLO) 3rd, Akiyo Noguchi (JPN) Men's Lead (Final) 1st, Domen Skofic (SLO) 2nd, Stefano Ghisolfi (ITA) 3rd, Min Hyun Bin (KOR)

there's only 1 way for LA to win...they need a complete game shutout by CK... if they have to go to the bullpen, even for just 1 inning, they're gonna lose once again (I don't trust their offense anymore, too...they just can't score when it really matters)... even Jansen is no longer the man he used to be since he had those heart troubles last Summer (and started taking all those medicines to take it under control)...

and last night scores give South Korea (thanks to the 3-2 win over a not so motivated Mexico) a chance to earn the Bronze Medal later today in the "small final" against Venezuela (they won 4-3 vs Chinese Taipei, but they were already destined to the Bronze Medal match before the game)... the Bronze Medal match is scheduled for Today @ 1 p.m. local time (7 p.m. CET)... and it's live on Youtube... meanwhile, as we already knew before yesterday's games, the Gold Medal match is between Japan and Mexico... the first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. local time (1 a.m. CET)... and all the action is also live on Youtube...

this time we didn't need to go 18 innings...it all happened in regulations... first 6 and 1/2 half innings of nothing were followed by one of the crazy stints that reminded me so much of last year's WS game in Houston... it all began with the Dodgers taking a 4-0 nothing lead (thanks mainly to a 3-run homer by Yasiel "el caballo loco" Puig) off the so far so good Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who normally in this post-season is a reliever not used to make too many pitches per appearance, but last night he was asked by Boston manager Alex Cora to start the game, thing that he did very, very good until, after probably having been left on the mound a bit too long, he gave up that early LA lead... then the Dodgers troubles started and never ended... after 6 great innings by Rich Hill, when in the bottom of 7th he gave up a walk (and then came back with a K), the usual overmanaging by Mr. Roberts took over... first he sent on the mound a lefty reliever (Alexander) that surrendered a 4-pitch walk to a Boston hitter (when Rich Hill, who's also left-handed could well have taken care of him), then he made another change, giving the ball to the usual suspect Ryan madson, who already allowed all of his previous inherited runners to score...and guess what? he did allow a 3-run shot to Mitch Moreland that re-opened a game that looked close (does something sound similar to yesterday? )... and when Kenley Jansen came out at the beginning of the 8th inning and quickly gave up a solo shot to Steve Pierce that tied the game, it was clear that the 54-0 record when leading by 4+ runs at any point of a game of the Dodgers was going to be destroyed... and in fact, in the to of the 9th, the following LA relievers, partly because gassed out after the previous night, but mainly because they are just bad, let Boston party with 5 runs that killed any Dodger ambition (only a boiled Kimbrell made the game longer than needed by giving up 2 more points to LA in the bottom of the 9th inning)... 9-6 is the final score...but this loss is a lot more painful than the numbers say...basically, it's the the cover of the grave being layed...now Boston just need to put the last couple of nails on it (and probably it will happen tonight, @ 1.15 a.m. CET, when game #5 is scheduled to start at the Chavez Ravine, with Clayton Kershaw at his possible last outing with the Dodgers' jersey facing Boston's David Price as the starting pitchers)...

and this (together with last week's stage in Antalya) was quite an interesting tournament, since in these kind of Satellite Tour events FIE are experimenting some new and completely revolutionary rules for Foil competitions, the most important (and with the bigger implications for the future of this weapon) of which is surely the cancellation of the "invalade" hits... with this (idiot) new rule, infact, we won't see anymore the traditional white lights, but the action would eventually stop only when a valid hit is recorded (and the classic red or green light is on)... it's really clear that this change, if implemented in the future Foil competitions, would drastically change the entire development of an assault, actually it would dramatically change Foil Fencing (could we still name it Foil? I don't think so), favouring even more than nowadays the tight defence and the opportunistic tactics (and boring assaults), changing also the physical type of athlete that would most likely become the "prototype" foilist (very tall and with very long arms people on paper would definitely be more effective in those kind of tactics)... most athletes, National Federations and former champions are all totally against this crazy idea, but FIE looks very determined to destroy the history of their own sport and the most traditional (and technically + tactically difficult to play at the highest level) weapon in their program...

and so we're close to take the final curtain down...only 1 day of action left... Tomorrow's Finals Men's GR -77kg Gold Medal Match: Aleksandr Chekhirkin vs Tamas Lorincz Bronze Medal Match #1: Kim Hyeon Woo vs / / Bronze Medal Match #2: Alex Michel Bjurberg Kessidis vs / / ISR / Men's GR -97kg Gold Medal Match: Musa Evloev vs Kiril Milov Bronze Medal Match #1: Mihail Kajaja vs / / Bronze Medal Match #2: Artur Aleksanyan vs / / Men's GR -130kg Gold Medal Match: Adam Jacob Coon vs Semen Semenov Bronze Medal Match #1: Heiki Nabi vs Oleksandr Chernetskyy / Oscar Pino Hinds Bronze Medal Match #2: Kim Min Seok vs / /

I'm sure that someone would eventually find a youth and urban way to make them learn what they need to know...

and also this tournament is almost done... so far, Japan (5W-0L), Mexico (4W-1L) and Chibese Taipei (2W-3L, taking advantage of the tie-breaker over and ending with the same record) advanced to the Main Round from Group A, meanwhile Venezuela (5W-0L), South Korea and Dominican Republic (both with a 3W-2L record) advanced to the Main Round from Group B... in the Main Round, the Japanese domination continued without a stop, so they are sure to play tomorrow's Gold Medal Match... Mexico (3W-1L) will be Japan's opponents, since Venezuela (2W-2L) still have a chance to catch them in the standings, but they have lost the direct match-up, therefore they have to be satisfied with a place in the Bronze medal match... the last team to make the finals is still undetermined, as the other 3 Nations in the Main Round all have a 1-3 record and today's games will decide who's going to play tomorrow against Venezuela...

the world series were back in action last night...and it turned out to be a special game... it took 18 innings to find a winner and the game itself lasted 7 hours and 20 minutes, both a WS record... and this time the LA Dodgers came out of this marathon on top, winning 3-2 thanks a Max Muncy solo-homer in the bottom of the 18th inning... before that, not much happened, especially thanks to the great game played by the LA rookie sensation pitcher Walker Buehler, who became the 3rd man ever to pitch 7 (or more) scoreless innings with 2 or fewer hits and no walks allowed in the entire centenary history of the WS... the dodgers took the lead thanks to a solo shot by Joc Pederson and when Buehler handed over the pitching job to the closer Kenley Jansen at the start of the 8th inning on the score of 1-0 in favor of LA, it looked all over... but Jackie Bradley Jr. didn't have the same idea and with a solo shot tied the game at 1 apiece... so, the extra innings marathon started and despite Boston took a 2-1 lead in the top of the 13th inning, the tie was quickly restored in the bottom part of the same frame...until Max Muncy's shot sent everybody home... tonight (always @ 2.09 a.m. -"old time", actually, 1.09 "new time" CET) game #4 will be particularly interesting, since both teams have their respective bullpen basically boiled after last night's workload... and because of that, both starting pitchers haven't been announced yet...let's expect something unconventional (especially by the Red Sox)...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravaggio