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Sunday\’s Australian Grand Prix was exciting – as was Bahrain two weeks before and almost every F1 race in the past. But to appreciate this you need to understand what is going on.
Very few have experienced a car with over six times the power of a taxi but half its weight – generating five times the force of gravity under braking. Some have heard the ear-splitting noise of engines at 18,000 revs per minute (three times the maximum of that taxi), the smell of tires running at over 100 degrees centigrade and the glow of brakes at 800 degrees.

Those in Britain watching the BBC received more than four hours of coverage delivered by a team of four professional broadcasters, two retired drivers and a former team owner. An increasing number now log on to formula1.com . The live timing data shows who is catching who and on what part of the circuit they are stronger. And sniffpetrol.com\’s irreverent Twitter provides a different slant with comments like this one in response to Lewis Hamilton complaining on the team radio about his pit stop strategy: "Hark at Moany McMoanerson there …"

However if, like most people, you watch F1 on a single TV screen an exciting race needs overtaking. Sunday\’s race had plenty because the status quo was disturbed by damp and slippery conditions at race start. Bahrain was a race only the cognoscenti could enjoy. So the team meeting in Malaysia later this week needs to focus on the complex aerodynamics which hamper overtaking. These have reappeared despite a commitment in 2008 to eradicate them.

Getting the front-running teams to agree on changing their cars mid-season – perhaps losing their advantage – will be as easy as convincing turkeys to vote for Christmas. But if they don\’t we\’ll continue to see cars struggling to overtake. McLaren\’s Martin Whitmarsh estimates a driver needs to be lapping three second faster to have a chance of passing. The sports governors, the FIA, could exert pressure but their president, the former Ferrari chief Jean Todt, has won praise for maintaining a low profile since his election last October.

Whitmarsh will hope Hamilton adopts a similar strategy. On arrival in Melbourne he made unwise comments about rival Mark Webber perhaps retiring. On Friday, Hamilton found himself in deeper trouble with the police after, "driving in an over-exuberant manner," on streets where earlier a motorcyclist had been killed. Perhaps affected by the resulting media frenzy the 2008 World Champion\’s performance in qualifying was unimpressive: 11th compared to teammate Jenson Button\’s fourth place (which he converted to a win).

But in the race, Hamilton was at the heart of the excitement, surely executing more and bolder overtaking maneuvers than any other. One such heart-stopper was around the outside of his old buddy Nico Rosberg on a damp track at about 200km per hour. Now that\’s exciting – and easy to appreciate.

Matthew Marsh is one of Asia\’s best-known motor racing personalities. After a successful career on the track he now works on the commercial side of the sport.

Source:China Daily

Apa Sherpa, world record holder for 19 ascent of Mt. Qomolangma, the world\’s highest peak, is now attempting for his 20th ascent to break his own record.

Popularly known as "Super Sherpa", Nepali hero Apa is back in Nepal to summit the Mt. Qomolangma 20th time from Nepali side as the Climbing Leader of Eco Everest Expedition 2010.

After successfully leading two sessions of Eco Everest Expedition held in 2008 and 2009 respectively, Apa is again leading Eco Everest Expedition 2010 for the third time.

According to Apa, the Eco Everest Expedition 2010 will start from April 6 and this may last for more than two months.

"Depending on weather it may take more time to complete this expedition that will climb down bringing 6000kg garbage," Apa told Xinhua on Thursday.

According to Apa, this time for the Spring Expedition Season he is climbing Mt. Qomolangma with five major reasons.

First, he wants to break his own world record sumitting Mt. Qomolangma for 20th times. Secondly, heis leading the Eco Everest Expedition to clean piled up garbage. Third, he will also disseminate message of national tourism campaign, "Nepal Tourism Year 2010" (NTY) that was officially launched on Feb. 26, he will be promoting and disseminating about NTY to whole world from top of the world.

During a press meeting in capital Kathmandu on Thursday, Nepali Minister forTourism and Civil Aviation Sharat Singh Bhandari handed over the national flag marked with the message of NTY to Apa.

The flag will be carried by Apa to the summit of Mt. Qomolangma during his record climb.

Similarly, minister Bhandari felicitated Dawa Steven Sherpa who was honoured by the International Olympic Committee Award for Sports and Environment for his contributions and efforts in the field of sports and environment.

In addition to this, on behalf of The Himalayan Trust and Sherpa Community, Apa will be carrying ashes of Late Sir Edmund Hillary to the summit. According to Ang Rita Sherpa, Chairman of Himalayan Trust, it was the wish of Late Sir Edmund Hillary that his ashes be scattered only intwo places- in the sea near his Auckland home in New Zealand and in the mountains of Nepal where he tirelessly toiled and made huge personal sacrifices to uplift the lives of the mountain people. Hillarly, one of the first two men climbing Mt. Qomolangma died at the age of 88, on Jan. 11, 2008.

Meanwhile, the Eco Everest Expedition 2010 falling under Spring Expedition Season once again focuses on climbing in an eco-sensitive manner, bringing old garbage, and all human waste producedon the mountain down to base camp for proper disposal.

The expedition will also be using the highly successful alternative energy solutions like the parabolic solar cookers and the SteriPENs for water purification.

This is the third time that Asian Trekking in Nepal is launching Eco Everest Expedition.

During the Eco Everest Expedition 2008 brought down 965 kg of garbage, including 65kg of human waste from above base camp.

Similarly, Eco Everest Expedition 2009 brought down 6000 kg of garbage under the "Cash for Trash"program which included 700kg wreckage of an Italian Army helicopter crashed between Camp I and II during the Italian Everest Expedition in 1973.

Moreover, Eco Everest Expedition 2010 team plans to collect and bring down 6000 kg of garbage from Campt II and below under the "Cash for Trash" program.

Similarly, the expedition aims to bring down 1000 kg of garbage from above Camp II under the "Cleaning up Everest" program. Cleaning the trails at 6,500 meter and above will need a special team of 10 Sherpas who will dig out frozen garbage as well as clear up garbage found on the route.

The collected garbage will be ferried down to Base Camp where it will be sorted into biodegradable and burnable which will be handed over to the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committeefor proper disposal.

According to Dawa Steven Sherpa, the expedition comprise 12 foreign mountaineers from Canada, United States of America, India, and others. Whereas there will be 17 Nepali climbers including nine cook.

Source:Xinhua

The 2009-10 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) season has been a turnaround one for the Shanghai Sharks.

Not only was the franchise taken over by its former member and now NBA All-Star center, Yao Ming, but also it has risen from the bottom of the league to be a title contender again.

With 25 wins and seven losses in the regular season, the Sharks finished fourth among the 17 teams in the CBA and, for the first time in the past three years, have qualified for the playoffs, which start this evening.

However, ambitious Shanghai are far from content with their improvement and aiming to win the title – a feat they only achieved once in 2001-02.

"There is only one goal for us – the championship. Our players are pretty confident and the coach hungers for victory in every single match," Zhang Chi, the Shanghai Sharks\’ spokesman, told China Daily.

For a team that only won three matches the previous season, the results have probably exceeded the expectation of the fans and Yao, the team\’s superstar until 2002 when he went to play for the Houston Rockets.

Shanghai aren\’t expecting too many problems from their first-round rivals, Liaoning Panpan, as the Sharks won both their regular-season matches.

However, they would face a much bigger challenge in the next round as they would probably face the defending champions, Guangdong Southern Tigers. Shanghai have not beaten Guangdong so far this season but that hasn\’t shaken the Sharks\’ determination.

"Guangdong are a very good team and we expect extremely tough matches. But the team\’s desire for a championship is so strong now and we will make it happen step by step." Zhang said.

While Shanghai are competing against Liaoning for a semifinal berth this evening, Guangdong face the Bayi Rockets in the first round.

Led by former NBA player Wang Zhizhi, the once 12th-ranked Bayi, China\’s military team, fought back with a four-game winning streak to secure the last playoff berth by edging out Shangdong.

However, neither the Bayi nor the Shanghai are considered the defending champions\’ main rivals.

Zhu Fangyu, Guangdong\’s small forward and last season\’s MVP, has already set his sights on a final against Xinjiang Flying Tigers.

Although Guangdong triumphed over Xinjiang 4-1 in last year\’s finals, their only two losses in this year\’s regular season were meted out by Xinjiang.

"They are sure to give us some problems but, you know, the finals are quite different from the regular season. If we meet them again we will win and prove we are the real champions again," Zhu said.

Xinjiang play Fujian SBS in the opening round while Jiangsu Dragons meet Zhejiang Lions.

The first-round matchups and semifinals are best-of-five while the finals, which start on April 16, are best-of-seven.

Source: China Daily

Lyon coach Claude Puel saluted his players after their 3-1 victory over Bordeaux on Tuesday but warned there was still work to do in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.

Puel\’s side will take a two-goal advantage into the return leg at Bordeaux\’s Stade Chaban-Delmas on April 7 after a Lisandro Lopez brace and a goal from Michel Bastos put them in the box seat at the end of a pulsating game.

Lisandro gave Lyon an early lead that was cancelled out by Marouane Chamakh but Bastos restored the hosts\’ advantage in the first half and Lisandro sealed a famous win for the seven-time French champions with a 77th-minute penalty.

"It was a very good match, each team had periods where it dominated," said Puel.

"They made things difficult for us by pressing us well at the start of the first half but we managed to score despite being on the back foot.

"They equalized quickly and that opened up the match. We started the second half slowly. Bordeaux made us run and almost got an equalizer but we started going forward, made some chances, got 3-1 up and had three or four chances to make it 4-1."

Source:China Daily

McLaren\’s world champion Jenson Button won the Australian Formula One Grand Prix the second straight year on Sunday.

Robert Kubica finished second in a Renault and Felipe Massa was third in a Ferrari. Fernando Alonso was fourth to retain the world championship lead.

Source:Xinhua

English Premier League side Tottenham are close to signing Sandro from Brazilian club Internacional later this year, the club\’s coach Harry Redknapp confirmed on Tuesday.

"I got a phone call this morning from the chairman saying that he thought we were close to doing it," Redknapp said. "Hopefully it will get done now and it will be a good signing.

"He is strong. He looks a very, very good player so I am looking forward to getting him here."

Sandro made his Brazil debut as a second-half substitute in September\’s 4-2 World Cup qualifying win over Chile.

Sandro, whose full name is Sandro Ranieri Guimaraes Cordeiro, has scored three goals in 73 matches for Internacional.

Source: Xinhua

Prosecutors have recommended that NBA star Gilbert Arenas be sentenced to three months in jail for taking guns into the locker room of the Washington Wizards, according to a 61-page sentencing memo released on Tuesday.

Arenas, who has been suspended for the remainder of the NBA season, is set to be sentenced on Friday for a felony gun charge after a January 15 guilty plea to carrying an unlicensed pistol, a violation of the US capital\’s strict gun laws.

Prosecutors also want Arenas to service three years of probation and perform 300 hours of community service, according to the memo from Assistant US Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh obtained by the Washington Post.

Under a plea deal with Arenas, prosecutors promised not to seek more than six months in jail, but Superior Court Judge Robert E. Morin is not bound by the agreement, something he noted two months ago in court.

Arenas could be given probation and community service, the punishment his lawyer calls appropriate, but could also face the maximum of five years in jail.

Source:Xinhua

Stephon Marbury confirmed his status as the CBA\’s top player with an MVP-winning 30-point and 10-assist effort in the league\’s All-Star game over the weekend.

However, that gala performance also marked his last appearance in the CBA this season, and probably forever, as his Shanxi Zhongyu Kylins failed to make the playoffs.

"I\’m still talking to them (Shanxi) right now. I haven\’t decided (about coming back) and I don\’t know when I will decide," Marbury told Sina.com, a Chinese portal site, before the All-Star weekend.

"I might come back to play in the CBA or play in the NBA it depends on the situation."

Marbury joined the NBA in 1996 and the 1.88m point guard was an All-Star in 2001 and 2003. He was also a member of the US team at the 2004 Athens Games, where it finished third.

After the last NBA season, the Boston Celtics offered the then 32-year-old the veteran\’s minimum. He did not take it and later announced he would take a year off from basketball to attend to his business interests.

He joined Shanxi in January and averaged 22.8 points and 9.6 assists in 15 games, which broke the 15-year-old CBA\’s assists record.

Although his efforts were not enough to lead Shanxi to the playoffs, it helped boost the veteran\’s confidence.

"You know, it\’s not hard for me to play in the NBA as well," Marbury said when asked whether he felt it was easier for him to perform in the CBA. "I\’ve averaged about 20 points and eight assists through my whole career. That\’s what I keep doing. That\’s what I\’m always able to do. It\’s kind of easy for me to do that."

Marbury still hopes to play in the NBA one day. But he hinted the fan adoration, and the respect he enjoys from CBA players and coaches, would be hard to give up.

"They respect me because of what I do on the court," he said.

Source: China Daily

Andy Roddick rallied from one set down to beat Spain\’s Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 Firday in the Sony Ericsson Open semifinals in Miami.

The sixth-seeded American will meet 16th-seeded Tomas Berdych on Sunday.

Berdych, who eliminated top-ranked Roger Federer in the fourth round, advanced by beating Sweden\’s Robin Soderling 6-2, 6-2.

The Czech\’s only other Masters 1000 final was in 2005, when he won the Paris title.

Source: Xinhua

Everyone\’s ready to go, from Ichiro Suzuki and the refurbished Seattle Mariners all the way to Roy Halladay and the playoff-tested Philadelphia Phillies.

Dustin Pedroia and the Boston Red Sox, they\’re itching for another shot. Same for Albert Pujols and the St Louis Cardinals, and those outdoor-bound Minnesota Twins, too.

Get ready, New York Yankees. You may be on top after another World Series title but there\’s a long list of Major League Baseball contenders thinking about their own big parade in 2010.

"We have to work twice as hard to get back to where we were last year," said Yankees ace CC Sabathia, set to start the MLB opener this Sunday against archrival Boston.

Of course, the expectations in the Bronx are the same. The proof is on the back of manager Joe Girardi, who bumped up his jersey by a digit to No 28 after his team won its 27th crown last autumn.

The Yankees beat defending champion Philadelphia in six games for their first title since winning three straight from 1998 to 2000, making their first season at the new Yankee Stadium a smashing success.

The Phillies didn\’t exactly stand still after losing.

Trying to become the first team since Stan Musial-led St Louis in the 1940s to win three straight National League pennants, Philadelphia acquired Halladay from Toronto in a complicated, four-team deal in December.

"That\’s our goal, to get back to the World Series and win again," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.

There wasn\’t much hope in Seattle at this point last year, when the Mariners were coming off a 101-loss season. But they won 85 games in 2009 and general manager Jack Zduriencik continued to reload this winter.

Chone Figgins left the three-time American League West champion Los Angeles Angels for a $36 million, four-year deal and is expected to start at second base. Zduriencik also was part of the Halladay trade, grabbing 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee from the Phillies. Suddenly, the Mariners are a legitimate threat to win the division.

"I think we are going to be good, man," ace Felix Hernandez said. "I think this is our year."

Lee\’s banged-up spring tempered some of Seattle\’s enthusiasm, and Joe Nathan\’s injured elbow had a similar effect on the hopeful Minnesota Twins.

The Twins, swept by the Yankees in the first round of last year\’s playoffs, increased their payroll heading into their first season at open-air Target Field. AL MVP Joe Mauer signed an $184 million, eight-year contract extension and second baseman Orlando Hudson and slugger Jim Thome inked free-agent deals.

Then Nathan was sidelined for the year for reconstructive right elbow surgery, leaving Minnesota without its All-Star closer.

Also making contingency plans at closer are the Colorado Rockies as Huston Street\’s been hampered by right arm tightness this spring. Street saved 35 games in 2009 as Colorado closed the season with a flourish, winning the wild card and ramping up the expectations for this year.

"We feel like we have the team that can win the division," Street said. "The way we finished from June on last year, we learned what it takes to win and it\’s not just about showing up and being more talented. It\’s about grinding it out and doing all the little things right."

San Francisco, with two-time reigning Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, and the Los Angeles Dodgers also will be factors out West. And don\’t forget about the NL Central champion Cardinals, who re-signed slugger Matt Holliday to help protect the great Pujols.

Off the field, MLB once again begins the season with a federal drug probe looming in the distance.

Dr. Anthony Galea, a Canadian physician known for his work with professional athletes, is embroiled in cross-border investigations involving human growth hormone. He has denied any wrongdoing but the probe led to interviews with Mets stars Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes and Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez. More players could face questions.

Rodriguez\’s connection to Galea seemed like just a minor disruption during a serene Yankees camp that, for once, appeared to mostly focus on baseball. The champs geared up for their title defense by bringing in All-Star center fielder Curtis Granderson, pitcher Javier Vazquez, designated hitter Nick Johnson and outfielder Randy Winn.

It\’s time to see if it\’s enough.

"We\’ve brought in some great players and quality people," Rodriguez said. "You know it\’s our job to navigate this to the same place."

Now that he\’s won that elusive World Series title, Rodriguez is nearing another target. He\’s 17 home runs shy of hitting No 600; Milwaukee closer Trevor Hoffman is nine saves from becoming the first player to reach 600.

Source:China Daily