Football: Record buy Torres ready to face Liverpool

LONDON: Fernando Torres insists he will be not be fazed by the prospect of making his Chelsea debut against his former club Liverpool on Sunday.

Torres made an astonishing 50 million pounds (80 million dollars) switch from Liverpool to Stamford Bridge just before Monday's transfer deadline and the Spain striker is likely to make his first appearance for Chelsea against his old mates from  this weekend.

The British record transfer fee paid by Chelsea for Torres hasn't placated some Liverpool fans, who burned replica shirts with the Spain striker's name on when news of the deal reached

Torres acknowledges it would be a potentially overwhelming moment to face Liverpool so early in his Chelsea career, but the 26-year-old has not asked to miss the Bridge clash, even though he could be taunted by Reds supporters.

"It is like the destiny," Torres said. "It is not perfect for me but we will see what happens and I only have good words about Liverpool.

"They made me a top player and gave me the chance to play at the top level.

"I will never say anything bad about Liverpool. I have been very happy there, but now the history is different and I am playing for Chelsea.

"If I have the chance to play, I will do my best for Chelsea and hopefully I can score."

While Torres enjoyed most of his time at Liverpool, he admits he first started to think about leaving at the end of last season following the club's failure to qualify for the Champions League.

The former Madrid star had hoped to win a host of medals when he moved to  but his trophy cabinet was still empty after four years.

The chance to play for perennial contenders Chelsea was a major driving force behind his decision to ask to leave and Torres made it clear that the Blues are on another level to Liverpool.

"I felt from last summer that I need to do a step forward in my career and for my ambition as a footballer," he tol website.

"I am joining a team that is at the top level. There is not another level after Chelsea."

Torres had for so long been the scourge of the Blues, scoring seven goals in just eight appearances against them while at.

"I want to say thanks to the Chelsea fans because I have seen them very, very happy with me for joining Chelsea," Torres said.

"If they are happy as well because I am not going to score any more against them then it is good."

After missing out on Champions League success with Liverpool, who were beaten by Chelsea in the semi-finals in 2008, Torres is desperate to help his new club dominate in Europe.

"I have a very bad memory of the semi-final of the Champions League in my first season in England when they beat us and they played the final and not us," Torres said.

"It was a frustrating day for me but hopefully now I am here we can go through to the final together and win.

"The Champions League is a big ambition and all the footballers want to play in it. It is a very important competition.

"But also Chelsea have the chance every season to win all the trophies that they play for, so when you have the chance to play in a team like this, you cannot say no.

American Football: History takes a dirt-bath as the Dolphins sink in Wembley mud

It was a strange kind of history created here in north-west London last night; what with this oh-so-modern sport of gridiron, in this oh-so-modern stadium of Wembley, at this oh-so-modern kick-off time of 5.04pm. But still, it was history all the same. And at least there was something that defined it as quintessentially British. It was called mud and it was everywhere. Never mind all that padding, where were the wellies?
There was a winner, though, (there always has to be) and the record will show that the first, albeit rather untidy victors of a regular NFL season game held outside of North America were the New York Giants by 13-10. As expected, they were just a little too big and a little too strong for a Dolphins team who, in this incarnation, were supposed to be less Dan Marino and more San Marino. They battled, though, and their refusal to accept the inevitable made the Britons warm to them and blessedly diverted all the talk from the mud. Honestly, with all the broadcasters' bleating you'd think they'd never seen the stuff before.
In fact, the boys in the Fox TV compound were saying that most of these players probably hadn't, not in game time anyhow. "The NFL hasn't been played on one of these dirt-baths for years, if not decades," came the cry.
It only took the teams one look at the grass to turn up their noseguards. They said it was less like a football field and more like a golf fairway and almost choked on their popcorn when the groundstaff went out their with their pitchforks before the start. On the telecast the announcer told his viewers that "The Queen's turf is not ideal for football." Perhaps, they should try out "the Queen's Astroturf" next time. Either that or work out before that their studs needed to be longer before their backsides began to whack the ground with increasing regularity. They lengthened their "cleats" from five-eighths to an inch and it was just as well. Shouldn't this have been worked out prior to the action?
So many dollars have been chucked into this venture that you would think the planet's biggest sports league would have been anticipating every contingency. Rain in London at the back end of October is not exactly unheard of and it was not as if the downpour was particularly wretched. It was drizzle, incessant drizzle granted, although the ease with which the field cut up was almost as spectacular as some of the slip-ups. At some moments it looked more Stradey Park than Wembley, more Pontypool versus Maesteg than the Giants versus the Dolphins. But then, the half-time entertainment did not help in that regard. A few light-footed cheerleaders would have been the ticket and maybe not the marching band which ploughed this way and that. In fact, the razzmatazz was all a bit samey with the aforementioned dancing girls, a couple of fireworks, a pop band that few out of bumfluff would have known ... well, even the Bradford Bulls have all of that nowadays. That is not necessarily a bad thing, however, as if anything will sell American football over here it is the sport and only the sport. The sizzle is all very well, but it is the sausage that counts.
Because of the conditions it was destined to be anything but high-quality. But they will come back – the fans and, let's hope, the teams. The NFL should be mindful that not a lot went right for them beforehand with the Dolphins proving as unpredictable as the weather. When this fixture was announced the match-up looked a lively one but seven straight defeats into the campaign and Miami were definitely not as billed and it was difficult to create the excitement. That is not the NFL's fault, although mistakes were made in the build-up.
Was there any need to do all that "things you don't know about gridiron" stuff and tell us how different it is to our "soccer"? It has been on our screens for 25 years for goodness sake and that happens to be even longer than EastEnders. It was patronising to the already converted who turned up here as a knowledgeable throng of 90,000 and helped to rescue the night. It was damp, but thanks to them, it was hardly a squib.
Indeed, the noise they made as the Dolphins at last located the Giants' half rivalled anything the new stadium has heard since its opening earlier this year. By then the Giants had forged, or that should be squelched, to a 13-0 lead, courtesy of a run from Eli and a boot from Scotland. It was fitting that Lawrence Tynes, once of Campbeltown, had the honour of kicking off, just as it was that he was able to score the first meaningful points east of the sport's continent when his first-quarter field-goal soared the requisite 40 or so yards. Not a bad place for a Celtic fan to stamp his mark.
Indeed, for a while, and as the fumbles started to rival the grumbles in their numbers, Tynes' contribution grew in significance until a minute at the end of the half which effectively settled the contest. First the quarterback Eli Manning (the poor man's brother of Indianapolis's Peyton) ran it into the end zone himself and then a bizarre error by his counterpart, Cleo Lemon, when the ball dropped out of the back of his hand as he loaded a pass and into the hands of a Giant. Tynes capitalised on that howler with seven seconds left and that was largely that.
Miami did threaten something of a rousing comeback, and when they parked themselves in the Giants' half with the clock running down there was the merest whiff of chances. And when Ted Ginn Jnr rose for the touchdown with two minutes remaining the place went wild. Wembley was thankful of that, even it added up to a whole lot of nothing. The tension helped to soak up some of the sogginess.
It is a sport obsessed with statistics so here goes. Manning managed to complete eight out of 22 passes for 59 yards. Winning quarterbacks fare better than that, much, much better. It was just one those nights in the capital. Perhaps it could be remarketed next time, if there is a next time. "Never mind the Superbowl, here comes the Mudbowl

American Football: History and Favre dog underdogs

History and current form suggest that Green Bay will prove too strong for the Denver Broncos, but the underdogs are not without hope, and if they can keep the Packers in their sights going into the second half, an upset in Super Bowl XXXII is a possibility.
If the Broncos manage to execute a flawless game, they stand every chance. In their running back Terrell Davis, they have a player who pounded out 1,700 yards during the season. Containing Davis will be crucial for the Packers, and much will depend on the fitness of defensive tackle Gilbert Brown. When he is healthy, Green Bay are notoriously difficult to run against, but Brown has been slowed by an ankle injury in recent weeks.
"The key for us to win is to just play our game," said the Packers' formidable defensive end, Reggie White. "If we don't, this Denver team will definitely beat us. They are capable of beating anybody." Should Davis fail to impose himself on the contest, the Broncos could lose heavily. In contrast, the Packers have an arsenal of offensive weaponry at their disposal, sufficient to keep the best prepared defence off balance.
Their quarterback, Brett Favre, is guilty of occasional lapses in concentration, but no one can match his capacity to create something out of nothing. His primary targets, Robert Brooks and Antonio Freeman, are both potential match-winners, while in tight end Mark Chmura, the Packers have a sure- handed, reliable performer. When they run the ball, Dorsey Levens is effective behind the punishing blocks of full-back William Henderson.
"Everybody knows about Green Bay's offense, those guys are just explosive," said the Broncos' cornerback, Ray Crockett. "They can make big plays any time, and they have the best quarterback in the game."
In the National Football League, size matters, and it is at the line of scrimmage that the Packers enjoy a big advantage. Green Bay's offensive front will look to dominate their lighter, faster opponents. If they are successful, Favre will have the time he needs to run riot.
Denver's quarterback, John Elway, will need time too, a commodity likely to be in short supply should the Packers utilise the power of White and the speed of the linebackers Seth Joyner and Brian Williams.
In four previous Super Bowl attempts, Denver have never come close to victory. In contrast, the Packers have yet to taste defeat, and have compiled an NFL record 12 championships in their distinguished history. Tomorrow evening in southern California, 13 looks like being unlucky for the Broncos.

PRO FOOTBALL; History On and Off The Field In Canton

Only 180 men have been named among the greatest ambassadors of pro football. The 180 are those enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In most cases, each inductee has given as much to the game as he has received.
The five men inducted on the Hall's steps under sparkling sunshine this afternoon strengthened that tradition.
Jim Finks, a team administrator, and Henry Jordan, a rugged defensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers, were both posthumously inducted. Seattle  receiver Steve  Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Lee Roy  and San Diego Chargers tight end Kellen Winslow were present and stood with the bronze busts made in their likeness.
This Hall of Fame ceremony and the annual game that was played here offered many firsts. The game usually receives nearly 350 news media requests. This one received 800. Usually three or four television satellite trucks show up. There were as many as 18 present today. Reporters arrived from France and Germany and Japan and England. They all came to see history: the new inductees and the National Football League's two new expansion teams in their first action.

The game between the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars was the first time in league history that two expansion teams had played their first game against each other. Defense was ahead of offense as the game unfolded. After both teams struggled offensively with their first possessions, long scoring strikes stirred the crowd.
Desmond Howard, the former Washington Redskin, took a punt, stepped left, and came back right and up the middle for a blazing 66-yard punt return with 4 minutes 13 seconds left in the first quarter, giving Jacksonville the first score and a 7-0 lead.
There was nearly that much time left in the second quarter when  rookie Tyrone Poole from Fort Valley State, intercepted a Mark  pass and returned it 85 yards down the left sideline for a 14-7 Panthers lead.
The game ended with excitement, as Jacksonville drove to the Carolina 2-yard line during the final two minutes. But the Jaguars couldn't score as the Carolina defense preserved a 20-14 victory.
The crowd of 24,625 set an attendance record for this game. The fans usually enjoy the enshrinement ceremonies as much as the game, and this year's group gave everyone in attendance plenty to watch and to ponder.

Saving pieces of Korea’s football history

Sports memorabilia can fetch a high price, but most collectors aren’t in it for the money. They’re in it for the stories - and pieces of history decades old tend to collect a lot of stories.

The British documentary director Daniel Gordon, who directed “The Game of Their Lives” (2002), became enamored with the 1966 North Korean national football team after he saw a videotape of the communist underdogs playing against Portugal in the quarterfinals of the 1966 World Cup in England. Over and over, he contacted North Korean officials for their help in filming a documentary on North Korean football. He was finally allowed to enter North Korea with his equipment in 2001.

In creating the documentary, Gordon met with seven surviving members of the 1966 squad. In an effort to provide his viewers with a piece of history, Gordon searched for memorabilia from the fateful World Cup during his meetings. But their jerseys, socks, cleats or track suits - commonly kept by players elsewhere in the world - were nowhere to be found.

	Lee Jae

“The English football fans who rooted for us during the 1966 World Cup came and took everything we had; our uniforms, socks and football cleats, we gave everything away,” said Lee Chang the goalkeeper on the team.

The players that did not give away their uniform wore them around the house and then tossed them into the trash when they wore out without much thought. Why did they do so? At the time, they had no idea how much the uniforms could be worth in the years to come.

One of the few that remained interested in preserving North Korean football memorabilia was Lee Jae. The 47-year-old South Korean played football in his youth, but failed to live up to his dream of playing professional football due to injuries. He never lost his love for the game, though, and instead started collecting souvenirs. Today Lee is the manager of the planning division for Best Eleven, a football magazine. And in that position, he experienced a rare moment on April 3, 2007.

On that day, the U-17 North Korean national team was staying at the Castle Hotel in . Lee Chang the goalkeeper on the 1966 squad, had accompanied the team as its director. That’s when Lee Jae had a chance to meet Lee Chang. He took with him a North Korean jersey worn by one of the players at the 1966 tournament, purchased in February 2006 at the Market in London, England.

Lee paid 2,000 pounds ($3,200) for the jersey at the time, but it did not come with a certificate of authenticity and hence the collector had no way of knowing for sure if it was authentic. But in meeting the U-17 leader, he got the confirmation he sought.

The collector’s persistence had paid off, and Lee said that, upon seeing the old jersey, the former North Korean goalkeeper was struck dumb in surprise at finding such a rare item in South Korea.

	Left: A ticket stub from the 1966 World Cup quarterfinals match between North Korea and Portugal. Right:  wore this commemorative patch at a dinner held to celebrate North Korea’s 1-0 win over Italy.

Lee said the retired player exhorted him to take care of the jersey, and verified that the number “10” sewn onto the back indicated it once belonged to his former teammate  When the collector asked for an autograph, the elder Lee signed his name and wrote the date and “Korean reunification!” on the front of the jersey.

While fans of rare sports paraphernalia like Lee and Gordon have taken a keen interest in North Korean football for years, a large number of casual fans have begun to join them recently after the North Korean squad qualified for the 2010 World Cup, for the first time since the 1966 tourney.

In 1966, North Korea left a lasting impression at the world’s most popular sporting event, defeating Italy, one of the top teams, in the round of 16 to reach the quarterfinals. The unlikely crew seemed well on its way to the next round when it scored three goals against Portugal at  Park in Liverpool. However, Portugal came back on four goals by  and went on to win the match, 5-3. Still, it was the first time an Asian team had reached the quarterfinals, and fans lauded the team’s determination and focus.

At the 2010 World Cup, North Korea has been grouped with Portugal, Brazil and Cote d in Group G, which many are referring to as the “group of death.” As the world at large watches curiously to see how the team will fare at its first World Cup in over four decades, interest in the team’s history is also undergoing a revival.

That’s where Lee comes in. Lee’s collection contains about 50 rare pieces of North Korean football memorabilia. He plans on hosting an exhibition about football on the Korean Peninsula in South Africa starting on March 2, a full 100 days before the start of the World Cup.

“I knew a time would come when South and North Korea would compete at the same World Cup. I began to collect North Korean football memorabilia for this very reason. But I didn’t think it’d happen so quickly,” he said.

Lee’s obsession with football is clear right away to any visitor to his three-bedroom apartment in dong,  District. Approximately 10,000 artifacts spanning years of football history fill two of the three rooms in Lee’s unit. Each tells an interesting story, but some stand out.

	Left: A football used by the North Korean players for practice at the 1966 World Cup. Righ: A videotape of the 1966 quarterfinals match between North Korea and Portugal and a North Korean book on football greats like Pele and Diego

One of these especially eye-catching pieces is a ticket stub from the 1966 World Cup quarterfinals match between North Korea and Portugal. The venue, Park, Liverpool” and date, “Saturday, July 23” are printed on the face of the stub, but the name of the tournament is listed not as the World Cup but the “Jules  Cup” - the tournament went by both names at the time.

The gold-plated sterling silver trophy was named in honor of former  President Jules . In 1970, Brazil won the right to keep that cup permanently after winning the tournament for the third time. The name of the current trophy is the  Cup.

Another intriguing artifact is the commemorative patch worn by  who scored the winning goal in the 1-0 win over Italy in the round of 16 match at  Park to a dinner to celebrate the North’s advance to the quarterfinals. Lee was curious as to how the patch, which bears signature on the back, came to be in the possession of the English collector. The collector explained that  signed it and gave it to an English football official, and it passed among several collectors before he ended up with it.

The reason  gave it away - and likely also the reason so many of Lee Chang teammates gave away their uniforms - lies in the “N. Korea” stenciled on it. At the time, that country preferred the name “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and did not react favorably to being called North Korea. The national football team players asked the media at the 1966 World Cup to call them by the former name and even smudged out the letter “N” in front of Korea on the team bus. Park could not take the patch back home with him, and therefore gave it away as a goodwill gesture.

The football cleats worn by North Korean players in 1966 were also worth noting. The leather cleats have six metal studs, with those in the forefoot area reinforced by an extra layer of leather.

These cleat designs are unique to North Korea, according to several aging former football players. The North Korean economy was ahead of its southern neighbor until the late 1960s, and its football cleats were no different. The first football cleats produced in North Korea were made in the 1930s at Shoe Store in Pyongyang, and South Korea saw its first football cleats after 1945 brought liberation from Japanese colonial rule and former opened  Sporting Goods Store in Seoul.

Lee’s fixation with collecting North Korean football memorabilia once won him an unwelcome extra: surveillance by national agents. He even met with National Intelligence Service agents on several occasions.

“I had to explain to the agents that I did not support the North Korean political system in any way. I merely liked North Korean football and collected memorabilia to retain a part of its history,” stated Lee. After the meeting, the agent actually helped Lee on several occasions.

As Lee explained to the agent, at the center of his efforts is the preservation of the past for future generations.

“In the distant future, when we reunite with North Korea, the time when the two competed on the football pitch will become nothing but a distant memory. It is important to preserve some of the records and memorabilia. It’s a way of continuing a part of our history,” explained Lee.

While on the surface, North Korea seems indifferent to its own sports mementos, South Korea is no different. Lee possesses the ball  used to score his golden goal at the 2002 World Cup round of 16 game, and the ball with which team captain scored the winning penalty kick in a quarterfinals match against Spain in that same tournament.

Amid the excitement, no one bothered to save the ball. Lee met Byron Moreno of Ecuador, who officiated the Italy match, and of Egypt, who officiated the Spain match, and pleaded with them to let him take the balls back to Korea.

PRO FOOTBALL; Smith Heads for the Record With Soulful Determination

Two days before  Smith hoped to make his most memorable run, the one that would push him past Walter Payton as the National Football League's career rushing leader, Smith lay flat on his back. It is a position Smith assumes on most Friday afternoons, with Dr. Rob Parker kneading the knots out of his body, the buildup of muscle aches and pure torture over 13 pro seasons and 16,634 rushing yards gained, all as a Cowboy.
Before peering ahead, Smith looked at the present.
''I don't know if young players today understand they have to do something extra to get the upper hand,'' said Smith, who needs 93 rushing yards against Seattle here on Sunday to top Payton's record of 16,726. ''A lot of guys know they aren't going to get cut because of salary cap issues. Some of them talk to me about getting what I got; I ask them, do they know what it took to get it? I tell them I want to see them do some of those things. I ask them, will you do something greater than collect a check? Can you mature and be respectfulHe asks them if they will work hard at their games once they are away from the football complex. Will they do extra work and make smart decisions to take care of their bodies? Are they willing to make sacrifices to be away from their families? Are they willing to give everything in games and sometimes sacrifice individual goals for team-oriented ones?
Smith, 33, always has, with a spirited caveat.
''I run from my soul,'' he said. ''With the football in my hands, everything originates from my soul.''
That may be Smith's defining trait, a runner with soul as much as rhythm and tenacity, a player who answers when his number is called, a tailback who dots an I formation with an exclamation point.
''I've got three Super Bowl rings,'' Smith said. ''I'm recently married and have seen my children born. I've been to the White House. And through all of my experiences, God has prepared me for this moment. I've been able to keep a balance and I know how to approach this. I'm not a spectator -- I'm the one involved in this -- but I still can't wait to come out of that tunnel and see the fans and the atmosphere surrounding this event. It will be special, but nothing is guaranteed.

Belmont football kicker learns craft from the best

A young Belmont athlete is being touted as the next big talent in football kicking  and he has the backing of one of the best placekickers in Canadian football history.
As a kicker, defensive back and wide receiver, Michael Peverelle, 17, helped lead the Belmont Bulldogs varsity football squad to its best season ever last year, a 6-0 record and an Island championship.
Now the six-foot-three Grade 11 student has made Team BC as its kicker for the Football Canada Cup in Lethbridge, Alta., starting July 9. Peverelle is the sole kicker on the 40-player roster.
“Michael has one of the best live legs for his age I’ve ever seen,” said Dave Culter, a kicker with the through the 1970s and 80s, and who is considered one of the greatest placekickers in Canadian Football League history, according to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
“Kicking is not an easy thing, there are a lot of mental aspects to it, but Michael has that in spades. He is very, very good now, and he will be great.”
Culter, who lives in Victoria, volunteered to help Peverelle prepare for Team BC tryouts, giving him the breadth of his football knowledge. Through his long career with the Eskimos, Culter won a number of honours for kicking and was on six Grey Cup champion teams.
“I’m happy to pay it forward,” he said. “I got help as a kid too.”
Peverelle is grateful for the insight and extra help. A football player only since Grade 10, he is looking forward to representing B.C. “I like the pressure (of placekicking). The spotlight is on you,” Peverelle said.
Belmont football coach agreed that Peverelle was a huge asset to the Bulldogs and is looking forward to a team with depth next season.
“Mike is by far the best kicker on the Island and probably in B.C.,” Harrington said. “He has a huge leg. It’s a definite asset kicking off and the other team has to run it out of the endzone.