thepharoah

First for South Africa, Kork Ballington and Jon Ekerold won races in 250cc and 350cc only and Paddy Driver's best 500cc finish was 2nd.
 
However it's not a first win for an African rider as Gary Hocking was a 500cc World Champion (for Rhodesia).

First ever KTM win, first ever South African win at this level. What a race  

1:30 am and Camila Giorgi is into the Palermo semi-finals! Quite a result for her on clay!

apparently Koha quits weightlifting career 
 
https://eng.lsm.lv/article/culture/sport/champion-weightlifter-koha-quits-sports-career.a369474/?fbclid=IwAR3uQvaEmH6kCkxqqxpLWGnnQw09tKuw223Cja8y-5FB7T5ViNm4LvvpQTc

The Lebanese government is fucked. Apparently a store of (confiscated?, discarded?) ammonium nitrate is responsible for the explosion. It’s also being reported that this store of ammonium nitrate has been left unchecked for 6 years. 6 years! 

One hospital as been completely decommissioned by the blast, and ABC is reporting that people are driving to cities 50 miles away from Beirut in order to seek treatment, since hospitals in Beirut have reached capacity.
I’ve seen media outlets reporting as many as 4000 (or more than that because numbers still aren’t fully known) people injured. It’s a complete catastrophe  

Jelena Ostapenko withdraw from US Open becouse for her is unsafe go in the United States.

Stephen tataw Captain of Cameroon at 1990 WC and 1994 WC has passed away today at age of 57 ys 

Muhammad Asad Malik. Pakistan. Field Hockey. Member of the team that won the gold medal at the 1968 Olympic hockey tournament and the silver medals at the 1964 and 1972 Summer Games. Age 78.
 
Olympic hockey champion Malik dies in road accident aged 78

It's not anyhow different here in Egypt also despite the fact that we're really far away from being competitive and even some coaches go far for sexual harassment against girls and the main problem that families of these athletes know exactly what happens but they always support coaches and long as their children win 

It comes down to the coaching culture of gymnastics. It’s going to take a lot to change it too.
 
It’s like I said on the podcast, the IOC/FIG need to take a strong stance on athlete abuse. Coaches caught engaging in this activity should be banned from the sport for life. Nations where this culture persists despite policing should be given sanctions in the form of fines, quota restrictions, and ultimately bans in necessary. Punishment shouldn’t be the only solution though, becuase then federations will just work tirelessly to hide this type of activity. There needs to be other “soft-power” solutions too, such as athlete/coach forms, safe sport support groups for athletes, classes that encourage more positive coaching methods for coaches, an anonymous web portal for athletes to report abuse, etc.

Which is sad. 'Some mental abuse' is too much mental abuse, by definition.
 
I definitely get that it is extremely hard for a coach to find the right balance. You can't always be nice, because athletes - let's say those who are willing to go far - do need to be pushed to both their physical and mental limits, it's what makes athletes better than the average person in their sport. But go a tiny bit too far, and you cross the line into outright abuse and pure negativity.
 
That being said, if you're not someone who can keep those things balanced and get the maximum out of an athlete without going deep into negative territory, you're really not cut out to being a coach at all.

Come to Indonesia, Mr Eymael. We will give you a car with personal driver, a house, a TV, WiFi (but not with 365 days always on guarantee).
 
Oh, and the monthly salary doesn't come regularly - just like the other coaches here - but I think you only want the facilities mentioned above so it's not a huge deal, right?  

Mr Luc Eymael, obviously. How dare you not know him! Isn't he in a terrible enough situation? I mean, he doesn't even have WiFi!  
 
 

I mean, there's a rather low bar nowadays in terms of making one mistake and you're immediately kicked out into the dirt....but Mr Eymael really didn't want to stop digging the hole for himself   It just gets worse by the second.
 
 

why ? they will qualify one male quota (Fares El-Bakh) but that's it.
 
per new rules athletes win quotas, not NOCS, but they also can't change their NOC in middle of the qualification.

I don't think so Qatar even doesn't go with international women athletes like Bahrain, I don't know if the Latvian federation is OK with her competing wearing hijab or not,  she had been asked many times if she'll continue competing or but she didn't answer so let's wait and see,  BTW 90% of Egyptian lifters wearing hijab and they win a world and Olympic medals so she can continue competing wearing hijab no problem 

Lucky Monfils ?

Of course she was Italian and she was born in Rome
She switch nationality for have more international chances...

Slovenia - Uruguay - Cape Verde hopefully we can get this group 

It's finally opening day! So let me get in on the predictions as well.
 
A.L East
 
x's mark playoff teams
 
1. Yankees (x): Should be clear division favourites. Added arguably the best starting pitcher in Gerrit Cole to an already stacked lineup and bullpen.
2. Rays (x): Very underrated starting rotation with a lot of promising youngsters. Offense isn't as dangerous but the pitching should help them lock up a wildcard spot. 
3. Blue Jays: Obviously I'm biased here but I think they have what it takes to finish ahead of the Red Sox. I'm hoping their young stars in Guerrero, Biggio, Bichette and Gurriel take a big step this year and help them finish with a respectable record. Plus they completely revamped their starting rotation this offseason so that should help a lot too. Bullpen is still a big red flag though.
4. Red Sox: Losing Mookie Betts and Chris Sale will definitely be a big blow for the team. Although the offense is still decent, the pitching does not look pretty at all.
5. Orioles: Clearly still the worst team in the divison. Not many names jump out from their roster and the rebuild should still take at least a couple more years.
 
A.L Central
1. Indians (x): I believe the top 3 teams all have a shot to win the division. However, I picked the Indians because they have by far have the best pitching in the division. Alongside a superstar in Lindor, that should help them secure the division title.
2. White Sox (x): Might be the most exciting team to watch this season. They feel like the braves from a couple of years ago. Clearly a team on the rise with young players like Robert, Jimenez, Moncada and Giolito. Plus they added guys like Grandal and Encarnacion to a already great lineup that's deep from 1-9. Starting rotation is also on the young side. A shortened season should help the White Sox a lot.
3. Twins (x): I expect a bit of regression from the Twins this year. I don't think they'll maintain there crazy homerun pace that they relied so much upon last year. Pitching also isn't the greatest. 
4. Royals: While they are still in rebuilding mode, they do have some players with upside in their lineup like Merrifield, Mondesi, Dozier and Soler. That should help improve their record and keep them out of last place in the division.
5. Tigers: The rebuild is still in the beginning stages and won't finish this season.
 
A.L. West
1. Athletics (x): Always that team that on paper doesn't look but plays well when on the field. A very good all around team and I think they can get the job done and win the division.
2. Astros (x): Definitely the deepest team in the division but I predict they cheating scandal will get to them and they will regress a bit.
3. Angels (x):  Got a big boost to there offense this past off season and they have the best player in the game. That should help them improve this year and get in this year's expanded playoffs.
4. Rangers: They've changed a lot over the past few years and are moving in the right direction but at the end of the day, don't believe they have as much depth and upside to contend with the top 3 teams in the division.
5. Mariners: Not much to see here. Just started there rebuild last year and probably one of the candidates to finish last in the league.
 
N.L. East
1. Braves (x): Won the division last year and should still be favored to do so this year even with the defending champs in the division. Well rounded team with a elite young offense lead by arguably the game's biggest rising star and they improved their bullpen a lot this offseason with signing Smith and Melancon. Starting isn't as deep but Soroka is a good pitcher to have as an ace that is still very young.
2. Nationals (x): Losing Anthony Rendon will hurt a bit but the offense still has superstars in Soto and Turner. They have arguably the best "top 3" in the league as well.
3. Mets (x): Was debating between the Phillies and Mets at number 3 but ultimately decided to put the Mets here cause I think they have the slightly better roster. DeGrom is one of the best pitchers in the league and McNeil and Alonso lead a very good offense. 
4. Phillies: See above
5. Marlins: The only bad team in the division. It'll be really tough for them jump one of the other four teams.
 
N.L. Central
1. Reds (x): And here's where the controversy is. Every year, there's always one surprise team that makes the playoffs and sometimes wins the divsion too and the reds could be that team this year. The division is wide open and the Reds have arguably the best starting rotation in the division. They also added Castellanos, Moustakas and Akiyama to there already decent offense that had a guy with 49 home runs last year and the guy that's been best at getting on base for the past decade. The Reds should be one the teams that benefit from having a DH this year too. Combine all that and you get arguably the deepest team in the division. 
2. Cardinals (x): A very well managed team that always finds a way to do well. They should be in the division hunt all year round with very good pitching and a more than capable offense.
3. Cubs: The cubs have been disappointing the last few seasons and they didn't make many changes this off-season. Still a very good team and will be in the division hunt with it being wide open.
4. Brewers: Still a very good team but aside from Yelich and an emerging player in Hiura, the offense doesn't really stand out all that much and their starting rotation wasn't that great to begin with. I'm predicting some regression.
5. Pirates: Not the worst team in the league but on paper are definitely weaker than the four teams above them.
 
N.L West
1. Dodgers (x): Deepest team in the league. They have guys on their bench and starting rotation that would easily be starting at least 20 teams. Should easily win the division.
2. Padres (x): Another young and exciting team. They made a lot of moves to bolster their offense this off-season and they have a great bullpen and underrated starting rotation. That should help them place 2nd in the division and land them a spot in the playoffs.
3. Diamondbacks (x): A team that's solid at every aspect of the game. Could surprise some people this year and should contend for a playoff spot.
4. Rockies: As always, playing at Coors Field will be a nightmare for there pitchers and I don't think the offense is that strong to overcome it.
5. Giants: With Posey opting out, the Giants lose a valuable leader, one of their best players and their starting catcher. Also have a new manager as well so there should be a learning curve for the giants. Can't see them being higher than 4th in the division.
 
Don't know the playoff format just yet so I'll just get into the CS's.
 
ALCS: Yankees over Rays (4-2)
NLCS: Dodgers over Braves (4-2)
World Series: Dodgers over Yankees (4-3)
 

Slovenia - Uruguay - Cape Verde hopefully we can get this group 

IHF publish pots for Egypt 2021:
Pot 1: Denmark, Spain, Croatia, Norway, Slovenia, Germany, Portugal, Sweden
Pot 2: Egypt, Argentina, Austria, Hungary, Tunisia, Algeria, Qatar, Belarus
Pot 3: Iceland, Brazil, Uruguay, Czech Republic, France, Korea, Japan, Bahrain
Pot 4: Angola, Cape Verde, Morocco, South America 4, Congo, Poland, North America 1, Russia
The draw is scheduled for September 5.