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  15. <title>CNN World Sport</title>
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  27. <title>CNN Sport&#039;s new look</title>
  28. <link>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2015/02/23/cnn-sports-new-look/</link>
  29. <comments>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2015/02/23/cnn-sports-new-look/#respond</comments>
  31. <dc:creator><![CDATA[tommcgowan]]></dc:creator>
  32. <pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2015 12:56:17 +0000</pubDate>
  33. <category><![CDATA[World Sport Analysis]]></category>
  34. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=10530</guid>
  35.  
  36. <description><![CDATA[You may have noticed a lot of changes to CNN.com over the past couple of months. We’ve relaunched our website and, as a result, have a new look to our sport pages. While we won’t be uploading any new posts to this page, you can still get the latest news and best analysis by heading [&#8230;]]]></description>
  37. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="cnn_first">You may have noticed a lot of changes to CNN.com over the past couple of months.<br />
  38. We’ve relaunched our website and, as a result, have a new look to our sport pages.<br />
  39. While we won’t be uploading any new posts to this page, you can still get the latest news and best analysis by heading to <strong><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/sport">edition.cnn.com/sport</a></strong>.<br />
  40. Alternatively you can follow us on Twitter (<strong><a href="https://twitter.com/cnnsport">@CNNSport</a></strong>) and like us on <strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/cnnsport">Facebook</a></strong>.<br />
  41. You can also keep up with our various sport teams by following us on <strong><a href="https://instagram.com/cnnsport/">Instagram</a></strong>.</p>
  42. ]]></content:encoded>
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  48. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10530</post-id><dcterms:modified>2015-02-23T12:58:45+00:00</dcterms:modified> </item>
  49. <item>
  50. <title>The 150 mph piggyback ride – MotoGP pillion</title>
  51. <link>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/08/28/the-185-mph-piggyback-ride-motogp-pillion/</link>
  52. <comments>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/08/28/the-185-mph-piggyback-ride-motogp-pillion/#comments</comments>
  54. <dc:creator><![CDATA[tommcgowan]]></dc:creator>
  55. <pubDate>Thu, 28 Aug 2014 10:27:02 +0000</pubDate>
  56. <category><![CDATA[Motorsport]]></category>
  57. <category><![CDATA[Jonathan Hawkins]]></category>
  58. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=10508</guid>
  59.  
  60. <description><![CDATA[Until last Tuesday my main experience piloting a motorcycle was renting a Honda C90, the weapon of choice for pizza delivery riders worldwide, and wobbling my way around the Thai island of Koh Samui for an afternoon. I did also once ride pillion through late night Beirut on a Vespa - although that sounds more [&#8230;]]]></description>
  61. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="cnn_first">Until last Tuesday my main experience piloting a motorcycle was renting a Honda C90, the weapon of choice for pizza delivery riders worldwide, and wobbling my way around the Thai island of Koh Samui for an afternoon.  </p>
  62. <p>I did also once ride pillion through late night Beirut on a Vespa - although that sounds more hazardous than it actually was.  So when I found myself donning protective gear at Britain’s famous Silverstone circuit, you might say I wasn’t exactly prepared.</p>
  63. <p>The MotoGP circus has arrived in the UK, as Silverstone plays host to the <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/10/sport/motorsport/motorsport-marquez-motogp-10th-win/">all-conquering world champion Marc Marquez </a>- as well as several British racers, eager for success at their home race.  Last week I joined three of these British riders for a special track day at the circuit.</p>
  64. <p>First off, I was tutored on the basics of riding a low-powered scooter.  I weaved my way around some traffic cones, practiced stopping, and had a little drag race up and down the car park.  Then I was unleashed on the circuit itself - doing half a lap of Silverstone and reaching extraordinary speeds of up to 35mph.  So far, so easy; but this was a mere hors d’oeuvre for the main course.</p>
  65. <p>My basic body armor was replaced by a full leather race suit, my shoes substituted for armored boots, and I climbed warily on to the back of a specially adapted Yamaha R1 (about the closest thing you’ll find to a road-legal MotoGP bike), behind Tech 3 Yamaha rider Bradley Smith.</p>
  66. <p>After some initial confusion over which foot-pegs to put my boots on, Smith hit the starter button and the 185mph bike snarled into life.  “You ready?” asked the 23-year-old rider.  I offered a slightly wavering “Yes.”  “Okay, visor down, let’s go,” he said.</p>
  67. <p>I glanced over and could see Gresini Honda’s Scott Redding, carrying another nervous looking pillion passenger, shoot Smith a wry grin.  I was about to get a taste of what it’s like to be a MotoGP racer.</p>
  68. <p>I knew a fair bit about the physical training riders put themselves through - daily gym sessions alongside punishing cycling and running regimes - and within seconds I fully understood why.  </p>
  69. <p>Accelerating out of the pit lane, Smith drew alongside Redding and gunned the bike’s 1000cc engine. The machine catapulted forward, hurtling to the first bend, before a grab of the brakes wrenched it down to cornering speed.  The Yamaha had a small set of handlebars for me to hold, mounted on the fuel tank, and beneath my armoured gloves I’m sure my knuckles were glowing white at this point.</p>
  70. <div data-packageid="" data-bgo-source="" data-bgo-section="" data-bgo-subsection="" data-tracking="" data-video-height="280" data-video-width="416" id="cnnCVP1" class="cnn_video cnn_video_medium" data-video-class="cnn_video_medium" data-video-url="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/08/28/raw-motogp-lap-silverstone-hawkins.cnn.html%20" data-video-autostart="false" data-ssid="edition.cnn.com_blogs_world_sport" data-url="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/08/28/raw-motogp-lap-silverstone-hawkins.cnn.html%20" data-context="416x374_start_embed_onsite_edition" data-image-url="" data-preset="blog_medium" data-source="CNN" data-source-url="" data-video-headline="" data-actual-vid-height="265" data-network="cnnintl"><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/08/28/raw-motogp-lap-silverstone-hawkins.cnn.html%20">Click to watch video</a></div>
  71. <p><strong>VIDEO PROVIDED BY <a href="http://www.motorcyclenews.com/">motorcyclenews.com</a> and <a href="http://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/#.U_9EMTKwK68">bikesocial.co.uk</a></strong> </p>
  72. <p>Again the R1 lunged forwards, firing its way into the Wellington Straight.  Squinting through my visor past Smith’s crash helmet the scenery around me blurred.  Rounding the famous Brooklands Corner, on to the Luffield hairpin, Smith leaned the bike hard to the right, and I winced as the candy striped track kerb rushed up to greet my grimacing face.  </p>
  73. <p>When we blasted through the long, swift Woodcote Corner and back on to the Pits Straight I’m told we touched 150mph, before more gut-wrenching braking drew us back down to cornering velocity.  Every muscle in my arms strained, and off we went again.</p>
  74. <p>When we finally came to a stop in the pits, I eased myself out of the seat.  “What did you think?” asked Smith. “Wow.”  I said.  “It’s not the acceleration, it’s the braking!” I exclaimed.  “I know!” Smith answered, wide eyed, as if he’d just experienced it for the first time too.</p>
  75. <p>MotoGP riders reach well over 200mph during a race, and this year’s Silverstone contest will take place over 20 laps - we’d had just a few circuits of half a lap.  </p>
  76. <p>Ducati’s Cal Crutchlow, also at the event, reminded us that he finished sixth in 2012 while riding with a broken ankle; an incredible, seemingly impossible achievement.  I now know a little more about just how tough these two wheeled gladiators are.</p>
  77. <p><em>CNN joined a track day organized by the <a href="http://sport.bt.com/motogp-01381782938496">UK’s MotoGP broadcaster BT Sport</a>.</em></p>
  78. ]]></content:encoded>
  80. <wfw:commentRss>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/08/28/the-185-mph-piggyback-ride-motogp-pillion/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  81. <slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
  84. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10508</post-id><enclosure url="https://i0.wp.com/i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140828134030-jonathan-hawkins-motogp-blog-story-top.jpg?resize=120%2C68" length="28800" type="image/jpeg" /><dcterms:modified>2014-08-29T10:57:44+01:00</dcterms:modified> </item>
  85. <item>
  86. <title>Face-to-face with football&#039;s most notorious match fixer</title>
  87. <link>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/08/27/face-to-face-with-footballs-most-notorious-match-fixer/</link>
  88. <comments>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/08/27/face-to-face-with-footballs-most-notorious-match-fixer/#comments</comments>
  90. <dc:creator><![CDATA[mwk2009]]></dc:creator>
  91. <pubDate>Wed, 27 Aug 2014 10:46:20 +0000</pubDate>
  92. <category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
  93. <category><![CDATA[World Cup]]></category>
  94. <category><![CDATA[World Sport Analysis]]></category>
  95. <category><![CDATA[CNN World Sport Anchor]]></category>
  96. <category><![CDATA[Don Riddell]]></category>
  97. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=10490</guid>
  98.  
  99. <description><![CDATA[He says he never wanted to be famous; he just wanted a piece of the action. He says he’s not a real criminal, yet he’s spent more than 10 years in jail. He says football is a beautiful sport, but he represents the single-biggest threat to the integrity of the professional game. Wilson Raj Perumal [&#8230;]]]></description>
  100. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="cnn_first">He says he never wanted to be famous; he just wanted a piece of the action.</p>
  101. <p>He says he’s not a real criminal, yet he’s spent more than 10 years in jail.</p>
  102. <p>He says football is a beautiful sport, but he represents the single-biggest threat to the integrity of the professional game.</p>
  103. <p>Wilson Raj Perumal is known as the world’s most prolific match-fixer, and I’m sitting face-to-face with him in the capital of Hungary, Budapest. It’s the first time he’s ever been interviewed on television.<span id="more-10490"></span></p>
  104. <p>Perumal has recently published his memoirs, &#034;<em>Kelong Kings,</em>&#034; his account of an astonishing career spanning almost two decades, in which he says he rigged – with a success rate of roughly 80% &#8211; about 100 football matches all over the world.  He was particularly active in the three years leading up to his final arrest in 2011.</p>
  105. <p>From the Olympics to World Cup qualifiers, the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the African Cup of Nations, the Women’s World Cup and numerous other friendly international fixtures, Perumal claims to have operated at the sharp end of an Asian fixing syndicate, conducting their business on four continents.</p>
  106. <p>Most match fixers are anonymous. Investigators tracking the problem believe that Wilson Raj Perumal is just the tip of the iceberg, but since his arrest in 2011 (the fourth time he was tried and convicted for football-related crimes), he’s become the public face of match fixing. The publication of his story has given us a fascinating window into a global, clandestine, operation.</p>
  107. <div data-packageid="" data-bgo-source="" data-bgo-section="" data-bgo-subsection="" data-tracking="" data-video-height="280" data-video-width="416" id="cnnCVP2" class="cnn_video cnn_video_medium" data-video-class="cnn_video_medium" data-video-url="sports/2014/08/27/riddell-intv-1-match-fixing-wilson-raj-perumal.cnn" data-video-autostart="false" data-ssid="edition.cnn.com_blogs_world_sport" data-url="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/08/27/riddell-intv-1-match-fixing-wilson-raj-perumal.cnn.html" data-context="416x374_start_embed_onsite_edition" data-image-url="https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140827123124-riddell-intv-1-match-fixing-wilson-raj-perumal-00020630-horizontal-gallery.jpg" data-preset="blog_medium" data-source="CNN" data-source-url="" data-video-headline="EXCLUSIVE: The world&#039;s most notorius match fixer" data-actual-vid-height="265" data-network="cnnintl"><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/08/27/riddell-intv-1-match-fixing-wilson-raj-perumal.cnn.html">Click to watch video</a></div>
  108. <p>He is a fascinating character. From humble beginnings in Singapore, Perumal rose to become a shareholder in a sophisticated, multi-million dollar fixing syndicate. He claims to have made around $5 million illegally, showing no remorse for it. And he has little regret for blowing it all, a fortune frittered away as a result of his gambling habit.</p>
  109. <p>Perumal speaks very matter-of-factly about his activities, fondly recalling the FIFA accredited referees he was so easily able to corrupt. “He was the best,” he told me as we reviewed games on YouTube that he says he manipulated, adding “of course, not the best for FIFA!”</p>
  110. <p>As we watched another international friendly, he lamented a poor performance by the man in the middle, saying that a ‘more experienced’ referee would have waited longer before awarding a penalty. “You mean a more experienced <em>corrupt </em>referee,” I corrected him.</p>
  111. <p>“Yes,” he chuckled.</p>
  112. <p>Perumal reluctantly concedes that he is a criminal – “only because the media have given it so much attention” – but even then he would only cast himself as a white-collar crook.</p>
  113. <p>With the exception of a player he took out with a brazen street attack in 2000 – he injured his knee with a hockey stick and was jailed for 12 months – he says he isn’t a violent operator. Nor did he ever intimidate the people he worked with, he claims.</p>
  114. <p>Investigators who have spent years on the trail of fixers paint a very different picture though. The world they see is one in which players and referees are cornered, intimidated and blackmailed, their naivety exploited. When their involvement is finally exposed, it’s the players who pay the biggest price, some banned for life and publicly humiliated. In several cases in Korea, it tragically ended in suicide.</p>
  115. <p>The damage is much more widespread though. Football’s very integrity is now at stake, fans are trying to discern the reality from the fiction and in the countries where the corruption has been endemic like Singapore and Malaysia, the supporters have walked away, the sponsorship has evaporated, the game has collapsed.</p>
  116. <p>While the media has demonized him, Perumal presents himself as softly spoken, polite and likeable.  For our interview, he’s dressed smartly in a blazer and a crisp, sky-blue shirt; the colour successfully predicted in advance of his arrival by the co-authors of his book.  Unusually, he’s sporting black-rimmed spectacles; like the shirt, for special occasions only. Court hearings, etc.</p>
  117. <p>Despite his best efforts to destroy football’s integrity, it’s a game he says he loves; football is a “beautiful sport.” As a promising young athlete in Singapore, he dreamed of emulating Argentina’s world cup winner Mario Kempes.</p>
  118. <p>As we wandered through the streets of Budapest, he enthused about Brazil’s forward Neymar, lamenting that Barcelona should play a system that would maximize his potential. He told of his frustration that Spain persisted with goalkeeper Iker Casillas during their disastrous World Cup, a tournament on which he’d have lost ‘a lot of money’ as a gambler, because the results were so unpredictable.</p>
  119. <p>It’s obvious that Perumal is very proud of his ‘career’ and the time and effort he invested in it. As he described in &#034;<em>Kelong Kings</em>,&#034; “I gave Singapore’s economy a substantial shove. In 2009 alone, I spent close to $1.5 million on airline tickets for myself and my teams, a lot of money for someone running his business from the back of a photocopy shop.”</p>
  120. <p>One of the investigators who pursued him admits that his ‘achievements’ command respect. Initially coercing players and referees, Perumal built up a global network of contacts. Ultimately he was dealing directly with a handful of co-operative national associations – ‘we were like two hands prepared to clap’ – and many others were unwittingly part of the scam.</p>
  121. <p>When he was arrested for travelling on a false passport in Finland three years ago, the authorities discovered that Perumal had contacts for more than 50 national associations – that’s a quarter of the countries that play under the FIFA umbrella – on his laptop and phone.</p>
  122. <div data-packageid="" data-bgo-source="" data-bgo-section="" data-bgo-subsection="" data-tracking="" data-video-height="280" data-video-width="416" id="cnnCVP3" class="cnn_video cnn_video_medium" data-video-class="cnn_video_medium" data-video-url="sports/2014/08/27/riddell-pkg-match-fixing-wilson-raj-perumal.cnn" data-video-autostart="false" data-ssid="edition.cnn.com_blogs_world_sport" data-url="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/08/27/riddell-pkg-match-fixing-wilson-raj-perumal.cnn.html" data-context="416x374_start_embed_onsite_edition" data-image-url="https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140826200652-ws-football-match-fixing-wilson-raj-perumal-tease-sot-00005413-horizontal-gallery.jpg" data-preset="blog_medium" data-source="CNN" data-source-url="" data-video-headline="How widespread is football match-fixing?" data-actual-vid-height="265" data-network="cnnintl"><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/08/27/riddell-pkg-match-fixing-wilson-raj-perumal.cnn.html">Click to watch video</a></div>
  123. <p>At his peak, Perumal wasn’t just bribing a handful of individuals to underperform; he was creating international friendly fixtures, his organisation was fronting-up hundreds of thousands of dollars in overheads to fly teams all over the world and, of course, confidently betting on the results.</p>
  124. <p>As a front, Perumal established his own company, Football 4 U International, which no longer exists. The whole thing was remarkably sophisticated, but there was much about the operation that was rudimentary. I have seen FIFA’s internal report into a series of manipulated friendly games before the 2010 World Cup, which described contractual agreements as ‘commercially laughable.’ And while his company might have sounded legitimate, its main email address – <a href="mailto:foot_ball4u@yahoo.com.sg">foot_ball4u@yahoo.com.sg</a> &#8211; was perhaps less so.</p>
  125. <p>And what certainly wasn’t sophisticated was the absence of any password protection on Perumal’s computer and email account, gift-wrapping for the authorities twelve thousand incriminating messages and a treasure-trove of information.</p>
  126. <p>The keyboard with which he copy-edited the manuscript for his book has only 25 functioning letters; it must have been infuriating for his co-authors to locate all the missing Ws.</p>
  127. <p>Throughout the two days we spent together, what really struck me was Perumal’s sense of entitlement, to him there was nothing morally wrong with making a living this way.</p>
  128. <p>Here’s why: In the highly commercialized world of professional sport &#8211; which he viewed as corrupted well before he entered it &#8211; he was simply taking his piece of the pie. It’s clear that he holds FIFA in contempt, alleging that corruption within football’s world governing body is no way to lead by example, “it gives people like me the encouragement to go ahead and do what I’m doing.”</p>
  129. <p>Given his vast experience and his willingness to share his knowledge, I find it surprising that, according to Perumal, FIFA hasn’t contacted him to help with their drive to clean up the sport. He would have plenty to say.  At the very least, he could show them where to look if they’re serious about restoring credibility to the beautiful game. He certainly would be able to help them understand the odds and betting patterns in the Asian gambling markets which are crucial to comprehending how the fixers operate.</p>
  130. <p>For the first time in his professional life, Wilson Raj Perumal can’t predict what’s going to happen next, it remains to be seen what the future holds. He’s still the subject of an international arrest warrant, a lengthy detention – possibly without trial – looms over him in Singapore.</p>
  131. <p>He has no intention of ever returning home and being locked up with some of his former associates, instead he is focusing on his new young family. His girlfriend gave birth to twin girls earlier this year; a wedding is planned in the near future. From their home in Debrecen, a couple of hours east of Budapest, he’s contemplating a new venture – possibly a food court or garment business.</p>
  132. <p>He hopes that the publication of his book will help close the chapter on his past life – it will be hard to fix matches with his face so well known &#8211; and perhaps help fund his new one; he told me that he was persuaded to pen his memoirs when he read that Amanda Knox had been paid millions for her deal with Harper Collins.</p>
  133. <p>While the sales of <em>Kelong Kings </em>have been slow so far<em>, </em>there is certainly interest in Perumal’s story. For the same reason that Martin Scorcese’s Hollywood gangster movie Goodfellas is so popular, people seem to be intrigued by a chancer who is daring enough to beat the system. Via his Facebook page, Perumal receives hundreds of messages every day.</p>
  134. <p>But the message of Perumal’s story is very serious. That he was able to operate as he did, so brazenly and unchallenged, is a major problem for football. When CNN asked the associations concerned if investigations have been conducted regarding the claims he made in his book, we were dismissed or ignored.  FIFA’s response wasn’t much better, saying the game’s integrity is a ‘top priority’, but refusing to provide any details of investigations.</p>
  135. <p>In the final analysis, you have to wonder how much is <em>really</em> being done to tackle match fixing. In the meantime, there could be many more Wilson Raj Perumals lining up to take <em>their</em> piece of the action, further trashing the game’s fragile integrity.</p>
  136. ]]></content:encoded>
  138. <wfw:commentRss>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/08/27/face-to-face-with-footballs-most-notorious-match-fixer/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  139. <slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
  142. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10490</post-id><enclosure url="https://i0.wp.com/i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140827104953-wilson-raj-perumal-don-riddell-sit-down-story-top.jpg?resize=120%2C68" length="28800" type="image/jpeg" /><dcterms:modified>2014-08-27T13:06:26+01:00</dcterms:modified> </item>
  143. <item>
  144. <title>F1 surprise package: The revelations of Red Bull&#039;s Daniel Ricciardo</title>
  145. <link>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/08/01/f1-surprise-package-the-revelations-of-red-bulls-daniel-ricciardo/</link>
  146. <comments>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/08/01/f1-surprise-package-the-revelations-of-red-bulls-daniel-ricciardo/#comments</comments>
  148. <dc:creator><![CDATA[garymorley]]></dc:creator>
  149. <pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2014 15:59:53 +0000</pubDate>
  150. <category><![CDATA[Motorsport]]></category>
  151. <category><![CDATA[CNN Digital Sport Writer]]></category>
  152. <category><![CDATA[Sarah Holt]]></category>
  153. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=10483</guid>
  154.  
  155. <description><![CDATA[As Red Bull Racing closed its doors on Friday for Formula One’s mandatory summer holiday, the team&#039;s rookie racer Daniel Ricciardo clocked off on a high. The Australian with the grin as wide as the Sydney Harbor Bridge has plenty of reasons to smile after his surprise star turn in the first half of the [&#8230;]]]></description>
  156. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="cnn_first">As Red Bull Racing closed its doors on Friday for Formula One’s mandatory summer holiday, the team&#039;s rookie racer Daniel Ricciardo clocked off on a high.</p>
  157. <p>The Australian with the grin as wide as the Sydney Harbor Bridge has plenty of reasons to smile after his surprise star turn in the first half of the 2014 season.</p>
  158. <p>The unassuming 25-year-old has asserted himself as the best of the rest, with two stylish victories and <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/SPORT/motorsport/f1/?hpt=isp_bn4&amp;hpt=imo_t1#1,10" target="_blank">third place in the drivers’ championship.</a><span id="more-10483"></span></p>
  159. <p>Preseason favorite Mercedes, with its mighty engine, has dominated the first 11 races of 2014 as drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton have won nine grands prix between them in a scintillating duel for the world title.</p>
  160. <p>But the real surprise this year is that just one other driver has dimmed Mercedes’ dominance – and that man is Ricciardo.</p>
  161. <p>The secret to his success? Well, behind his happy-go-lucky demeanor lies a core of steely determination.</p>
  162. <p>“You see me happy and easygoing but there is definitely a ruthless side to me,” Ricciardo explained to CNN at the start of the season.</p>
  163. <p>“I do get peed off, I do love competition and I hate losing - I always have.  As a kid, I had fights with friends over losing video games.”</p>
  164. <div data-packageid="" data-bgo-source="" data-bgo-section="" data-bgo-subsection="" data-tracking="" data-video-height="280" data-video-width="416" id="cnnCVP4" class="cnn_video cnn_video_medium" data-video-class="cnn_video_medium" data-video-url="sports/2014/06/16/spc-circuit-f1-dr-marko.cnn" data-video-autostart="false" data-ssid="edition.cnn.com_blogs_world_sport" data-url="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/06/16/spc-circuit-f1-dr-marko.cnn.html" data-context="416x374_start_embed_onsite_edition" data-image-url="https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140616151520-spc-circuit-f1-dr-marko-00004314-horizontal-gallery.jpg" data-preset="blog_medium" data-source="CNN" data-source-url="" data-video-headline="What it takes to produce a Grand Prix champ" data-actual-vid-height="265" data-network="cnnintl"><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/06/16/spc-circuit-f1-dr-marko.cnn.html">Click to watch video</a></div>
  165. <p><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/02/sport/motorsport/motorsport-red-bull-ricciardo-raikkonen/index.html" target="_blank">When Ricciardo was picked to replace the retiring Mark Webber</a> as Sebastian Vettel’s teammate, there had only been glimpses of this inner steel.</p>
  166. <p>In two seasons with Red Bull’s sister team Toro Rosso he’d done a decent job, claiming 13 top-10 race finishes and showing an aptitude for dragging pace out of the car in qualifying.</p>
  167. <p>But there was skepticism among F1’s inner circles that he had done enough to earn the most-wanted seat in F1 – a drive that world champions Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen had made inquiries about.</p>
  168. <p>“The team noticed a bit more of a confidence about me,&#034; Ricciardo told CNN. &#034;I’m coming with a very hungry mentality.”</p>
  169. <p>That hunger and confidence quickly translated on track. On home turf at the opening race of the season in Melbourne, Ricciardo finished second, only to be disqualified because of a fuel-flow irregularity beyond his control.</p>
  170. <p>He finally got his champagne moment with <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/08/sport/motorsport/motorsport-canada-ricciardo-rosberg/index.html" target="_blank">wins in Canada</a> and Hungary, and he remains the only non-Mercedes driver to take the checkered flag in 2014.</p>
  171. <div data-packageid="" data-bgo-source="" data-bgo-section="" data-bgo-subsection="" data-tracking="" data-video-height="280" data-video-width="416" id="cnnCVP5" class="cnn_video cnn_video_medium" data-video-class="cnn_video_medium" data-video-url="sports/2014/06/06/spc-circuit-toro-rosso-drivers.cnn" data-video-autostart="false" data-ssid="edition.cnn.com_blogs_world_sport" data-url="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/06/06/spc-circuit-toro-rosso-drivers.cnn.html" data-context="416x374_start_embed_onsite_edition" data-image-url="https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140606164753-spc-circuit-toro-rosso-drivers-00001702-horizontal-gallery.jpg" data-preset="blog_medium" data-source="CNN" data-source-url="" data-video-headline="F1 drivers battle to stay in the fast lane" data-actual-vid-height="265" data-network="cnnintl"><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/06/06/spc-circuit-toro-rosso-drivers.cnn.html">Click to watch video</a></div>
  172. <p><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/27/sport/motorsport/motorsport-ricciardo-hamilton-rosberg/index.html" target="_blank">His latest win at the Hungaroring last weekend</a> was a brilliant illustration of his skills. It was a complex race which relied on clear strategic thinking and racing instinct on a wet-dry track.</p>
  173. <p>“I’ve been surprised at how quickly he got to grips with the RB10,” his race engineer Simon Rennie told the Red Bull Racing website in Hungary.</p>
  174. <p>“He’s also impressed me with how well he can instinctively find the performance limit of the car very quickly.”</p>
  175. <p>And so to the second Ricciardo revelation of 2014.</p>
  176. <p>He has defied expectations to put his illustrious, and seemingly invincible, teammate Vettel in the shade.</p>
  177. <p>It is easy to forget that not all of Vettel’s four back-to-back world titles have been won easily but, since the last major rule changes in 2009, the German has at least always understood the car at his fingertips.</p>
  178. <p>This season, the 27-year-old has struggled with the feel of the RB10, particularly under braking. The end of the era of blown diffusers – which affects the car’s rear downforce – has also been another challenging adaption.</p>
  179. <div data-packageid="" data-bgo-source="" data-bgo-section="" data-bgo-subsection="" data-tracking="" data-video-height="280" data-video-width="416" id="cnnCVP6" class="cnn_video cnn_video_medium" data-video-class="cnn_video_medium" data-video-url="sports/2014/07/11/spc-circuit-nico-rosberg.cnn" data-video-autostart="false" data-ssid="edition.cnn.com_blogs_world_sport" data-url="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/07/11/spc-circuit-nico-rosberg.cnn.html" data-context="416x374_start_embed_onsite_edition" data-image-url="https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140711181445-spc-circuit-nico-rosberg-00013125-horizontal-gallery.jpg" data-preset="blog_medium" data-source="CNN" data-source-url="" data-video-headline="Rosberg&#039;s lessons from World Champion father" data-actual-vid-height="265" data-network="cnnintl"><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/07/11/spc-circuit-nico-rosberg.cnn.html">Click to watch video</a></div>
  180. <p>Ricciardo has a 6-5 qualifying advantage over Vettel and a 9-2 lead in race position (including his Australian GP result before the disqualification).</p>
  181. <p>“I genuinely want to see if I have what it takes, if I am the best in the world,” Ricciardo explained. “And I’ve got the best guy to measure myself to.”</p>
  182. <p>There is one more surprise in the new-look Red Bull rivalry – the drivers on either side of the garage still like each other!</p>
  183. <p>Spending time in the same room as them, it’s clear they genuinely enjoy each other’s company and, in particular, share the same sense of humor.</p>
  184. <p>“I think we have a lot of similarities,” Ricciardo said. “Like our personalities. His doesn’t always come across on TV but if you get him one-on-one he does like a joke and he does smile a lot.</p>
  185. <p>“But then again, when the helmet is on he’s ruthless and competitive and doesn’t like losing either. So some things we definitely agree on!”</p>
  186. <p>The duo&#039;s friendly banter may be warmer than <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/25/sport/motorsport/webber-vettel-formula-one/index.html" target="_blank">the frosty rivalry between Vettel and Webber</a>, but the four-time world champion won’t want to be left out in the cold for long. He has a reputation – and commercial value – to protect.</p>
  187. <p>When Red Bull returns to work on August 18, Vettel will be intent on surprising his teammate in the remaining eight races, while Ricciardo is eager to burnish his brilliant season.</p>
  188. <p>Mercedes may be motoring to the titles, but Red Bull and Ricciardo are <a href="http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/23/red-bull-tycoon-re-energizing-formula-one/" target="_blank">still putting the fizz into F1.</a></p>
  189. ]]></content:encoded>
  191. <wfw:commentRss>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/08/01/f1-surprise-package-the-revelations-of-red-bulls-daniel-ricciardo/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  192. <slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
  195. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10483</post-id><dcterms:modified>2014-08-01T16:59:53+01:00</dcterms:modified> </item>
  196. <item>
  197. <title>Master McIlroy fulfilling his golfing destiny</title>
  198. <link>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/25/master-mcilroy-fulfiling-his-golfing-destiny/</link>
  199. <comments>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/25/master-mcilroy-fulfiling-his-golfing-destiny/#respond</comments>
  201. <dc:creator><![CDATA[mwk2009]]></dc:creator>
  202. <pubDate>Fri, 25 Jul 2014 15:11:28 +0000</pubDate>
  203. <category><![CDATA[Golf]]></category>
  204. <category><![CDATA[CNN Living Golf presenter]]></category>
  205. <category><![CDATA[Shane O'Donoghue]]></category>
  206. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=10466</guid>
  207.  
  208. <description><![CDATA[“With each spring-loaded step forward that Rory McIlroy takes, more belief is instilled right through the talent pool of golf in Ireland. His march to destiny will continue to inspire people to play the game and to strive for success.” Proud words indeed from Patrick Finn, who runs the Golfing Union of Ireland from its [&#8230;]]]></description>
  209. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="cnn_first">“With each spring-loaded step forward that Rory McIlroy takes, more belief is instilled right through the talent pool of golf in Ireland. His march to destiny will continue to inspire people to play the game and to strive for success.”</p>
  210. <p>Proud words indeed from Patrick Finn, who runs the <a href="https://www.gui.ie/">Golfing Union of Ireland</a> from its center of excellence at <a href="http://www.cartonhouse.com/">Carton House</a>, a mere 30-minute drive from the heart of Dublin.</p>
  211. <p>McIlroy’s<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/20/sport/golf/golf-british-open-mcilroy-wins/index.html"> third major title</a> brings the total now to eight major wins since 2007 by golfers groomed under the Golfing Union of Ireland’s elite squad system.<span id="more-10466"></span></p>
  212. <p>McIlroy is their poster child, having won Irish titles at every age group and at a record-setting pace. Whilst his rise through the professional ranks has been meteoric, the indicators were there from early on.</p>
  213. <p>I first interviewed him in 2004, when he was taking his first, assured steps as a precocious 14-year old in the men’s game in one of Ireland’s amateur “majors,” the West of Ireland Championship at Rosses Point, County Sligo. He dusted off several international players before going out in the round of 16.</p>
  214. <p>In that interview, he confessed to me that he would eschew the collegiate route and planned to turn professional in three-and-a-half years time, after the Walker Cup at his beloved Royal County Down.  He did just that!</p>
  215. <p>Later that summer of 2004, having just turned 15, he would claim the Irish Boys under 18 title and not long after it, the Irish Youths Championship (under 21). It was Tiger-esque!</p>
  216. <p>The following summer, Rory, now 16, would go on to beat all before him in the Irish Amateur Championship.</p>
  217. <p>That run of unparalleled dominance left no-one in doubt that we really had something special on our hands.</p>
  218. <p>It truly was comparable to Tiger Woods, whose storied amateur career (Rory’s specialist subject) included three successive U.S. Junior Amateur championships, followed by three successive U.S. Amateur wins.</p>
  219. <p>Rory has always been special. While not like Tiger, he has assumed the mantle of heir apparent with nonchalance and some modesty.</p>
  220. <p>There will never be another Tiger, but Rory should push on from this further validation of his potential greatness.</p>
  221. <p>His win at Hoylake silenced many naysayers who preferred to dwell on such negatives as Friday blues, his equipment change and a propensity for inconsistency.</p>
  222. <p>Rory’s ability with the driver, added to a rare ability to flight long irons nearer to the pin than any single one of his peers, gives him an advantage that not even Woods could replicate. When he is inspired and comfortable with his swing, he is the best in the world, hands down.</p>
  223. <p>Destiny’s child is now a man, who plays a game with which very few are familiar.</p>
  224. <p>As Tiger Woods&#039; search for a 15th major stretches out now to over six years, the golfing world can breathe a huge sigh of relief as we look to a 25-year old from Holywood, County Down, who has a box office style that is set to thrill fans for many years to come.</p>
  225. ]]></content:encoded>
  227. <wfw:commentRss>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/25/master-mcilroy-fulfiling-his-golfing-destiny/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  228. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
  231. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10466</post-id><enclosure url="https://i0.wp.com/i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140720191651-ws-odonoghue-intv-rory-mcilroy-one-on-one-00045407-horizontal-gallery.jpg?resize=120%2C68" length="28800" type="image/jpeg" /><dcterms:modified>2014-07-25T16:27:29+01:00</dcterms:modified> </item>
  232. <item>
  233. <title>What&#039;s the secret to horse racing success?</title>
  234. <link>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/10/whats-the-secret-to-horse-racing-success/</link>
  235. <comments>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/10/whats-the-secret-to-horse-racing-success/#comments</comments>
  237. <dc:creator><![CDATA[tommcgowan]]></dc:creator>
  238. <pubDate>Thu, 10 Jul 2014 15:18:31 +0000</pubDate>
  239. <category><![CDATA[Horse Racing]]></category>
  240. <category><![CDATA[Francesca Cumani]]></category>
  241. <category><![CDATA[Winning Post presenter]]></category>
  242. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=10459</guid>
  243.  
  244. <description><![CDATA[I often wonder what it is that makes someone good at what they do. Hard work, dedication, intelligence and strong communication skills are obvious necessary traits, but when it relates to a horse trainer it&#039;s even harder to put a finger on it. Recently I spent a morning filming with Aidan O’Brien, Ireland’s No. 1 [&#8230;]]]></description>
  245. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="cnn_first">I often wonder what it is that makes someone good at what they do. Hard work, dedication, intelligence and strong communication skills are obvious necessary traits, but when it relates to a horse trainer it&#039;s even harder to put a finger on it.</p>
  246. <p>Recently I spent a morning filming with Aidan O’Brien, Ireland’s No. 1 racehorse trainer. It was in the lead-up to the Irish Derby, which he had won a record 10 times, and afterwards he added to that tally with yet another success.</p>
  247. <p>The 44-year-old has been the champion trainer in Ireland for an incredible 16 years and quite possibly many more to come.</p>
  248. <p>With 170 horses in his care, at his Ballydoyle stables in County Tipperary, he is a busy man.<span id="more-10459"></span></p>
  249. <p>With our interview scheduled in the middle of the morning, O’Brien was taking precious time out of his routine and it was not guaranteed that we would be afforded much time or that he would be in chatty mood.</p>
  250. <p>As is often the case with important people, those around them are very protective, but as it turned out O’Brien was delightful. He patiently answered my questions and, in his modest, softly-spoken way, attributed much of his success to luck and those who support him.</p>
  251. <p>I pushed my luck as the interview concluded and asked if we might join him in his jeep as his trained his third &#034;lot&#034; and he kindly obliged.</p>
  252. <p>It was immediately evident that &#034;multitasking&#034; must be added to the above list of necessary traits, at least where a horse trainer is concerned, because he was on the phone (hands free,) thumbing through a catalog of horses for sale, watching his horses, talking to us and driving his jeep all at the same time.</p>
  253. <div data-packageid="" data-bgo-source="" data-bgo-section="" data-bgo-subsection="" data-tracking="" data-video-height="280" data-video-width="416" id="cnnCVP7" class="cnn_video cnn_video_medium" data-video-class="cnn_video_medium" data-video-url="sports/2013/07/18/winning-post-aiden-joseph-obrien.cnn" data-video-autostart="false" data-ssid="edition.cnn.com_blogs_world_sport" data-url="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2013/07/18/winning-post-aiden-joseph-obrien.cnn.html" data-context="416x374_start_embed_onsite_edition" data-image-url="https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/130718165828-winning-post-aiden-joseph-obrien-00021703-horizontal-gallery.jpg" data-preset="blog_medium" data-source="CNN" data-source-url="" data-video-headline="Horse racing&#039;s dream team" data-actual-vid-height="265" data-network="cnnintl"><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2013/07/18/winning-post-aiden-joseph-obrien.cnn.html">Click to watch video</a></div>
  254. <p>What impressed us most, however, was how he went along the line of 50-plus riders on horseback issuing instructions on the number and the speed of the canters they were to do, addressing them all by name. “Two steadies Michael, two steadies Colm, one steady Anne, good girl, good girl.&#034;</p>
  255. <p>Recognizing each individual horse, issuing instructions according to where it&#039;s at in its training and remembering the names of all the riders ... while driving the jeep and talking on the phone.</p>
  256. <p>Who knows if remembering the names of your staff makes the horses run faster, but as we all know it&#039;s a good skill to have.</p>
  257. <p>And I just read online that he is a member of the &#034;<a href="http://www.pioneerassociation.ie/" target="_blank">Pioneer of Total Abstinence Association</a>.&#034; That probably helps a bit too.</p>
  258. ]]></content:encoded>
  260. <wfw:commentRss>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/10/whats-the-secret-to-horse-racing-success/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  261. <slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
  264. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10459</post-id><enclosure url="https://i0.wp.com/i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140707144903-aidan-obrien-blog-tease-story-top.jpg?resize=120%2C68" length="28800" type="image/jpeg" /><dcterms:modified>2014-07-10T16:18:31+01:00</dcterms:modified> </item>
  265. <item>
  266. <title>Djokovic and Federer turn back the clock in classic final</title>
  267. <link>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/07/djokovic-and-federer-roll-back-the-clock-in-classic-final/</link>
  268. <comments>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/07/djokovic-and-federer-roll-back-the-clock-in-classic-final/#comments</comments>
  270. <dc:creator><![CDATA[tommcgowan]]></dc:creator>
  271. <pubDate>Mon, 07 Jul 2014 09:04:36 +0000</pubDate>
  272. <category><![CDATA[Tennis]]></category>
  273. <category><![CDATA[CNN World Sport Associate Producer]]></category>
  274. <category><![CDATA[Will Edmonds]]></category>
  275. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=10451</guid>
  276.  
  277. <description><![CDATA[For a fleeting moment it looked like the eagerly awaited, and long overdue, passing of the torch to the next generation of tennis stars was finally upon us. World No. 1 Rafael Nadal had lost to the Australian teen sensation Nick Kyrgios, defending champion Andy Murray crashed out to 23-year-old Grigor Dimitrov, and both Roger [&#8230;]]]></description>
  278. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="cnn_first">For a fleeting moment it looked like the eagerly awaited, and long overdue, passing of the torch to the next generation of tennis stars was finally upon us. </p>
  279. <p>World No. 1 Rafael Nadal had lost to the Australian teen sensation Nick Kyrgios, defending champion Andy Murray crashed out to 23-year-old Grigor Dimitrov, and both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic appeared on the verge of elimination in their respective quarterfinals. </p>
  280. <p>And yet, when Sunday rolled around, it wasn’t a matchup between two fresh-faced up and comers, but two seasoned veterans of the big finale, with a combined 24 major titles and perhaps even more staggering 37 major final appearances between them.<span id="more-10451"></span></p>
  281. <p>While it may have been the same old faces, there was nothing boring or predictable about this epic encounter. For close to four hours, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer went toe-to-toe, exchanging blow-for-blow, never letting up, never giving up, and delivering the crowd in the stadium and around the world plenty to cheer from the first game to the last. </p>
  282. <p>It was, in a word, a classic.</p>
  283. <p><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/06/sport/tennis/tennis-wimbledon-djokovic-federer">Read: Djokovic downs Federer in five-set thriller</a> </p>
  284. <p>Djokovic was clearly the better player. For four and a half sets, the Serb out-hit, out-moved and out-played the 17-time grand slam winner. In fact, had one Federer forehand landed just a fraction of an inch further out in the first set tie-break, we could have been looking at a straight-sets victory for Djokovic.</p>
  285. <div data-packageid="" data-bgo-source="" data-bgo-section="" data-bgo-subsection="" data-tracking="" data-video-height="280" data-video-width="416" id="cnnCVP8" class="cnn_video cnn_video_medium" data-video-class="cnn_video_medium" data-video-url="sports/2014/07/07/intv-macfarlane-djokovic-wimbledon.cnn" data-video-autostart="false" data-ssid="edition.cnn.com_blogs_world_sport" data-url="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/07/07/intv-macfarlane-djokovic-wimbledon.cnn.html" data-context="416x374_start_embed_onsite_edition" data-image-url="https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140706171636-wimbledon-djokovic-horizontal-gallery.jpg" data-preset="blog_medium" data-source="CNN" data-source-url="" data-video-headline="Novak Djokovic wins Wimbledon crown " data-actual-vid-height="265" data-network="cnnintl"><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/07/07/intv-macfarlane-djokovic-wimbledon.cnn.html">Click to watch video</a></div>
  286. <p>And yet, Federer managed to stay with Djokovic until the end. And, very nearly won. </p>
  287. <p>Despite being almost a decade past his prime, older, in fact, than the chair umpire (32-year-old James Keothavong was making his debut calling a major final), Federer looked fitter, healthier and more agile than his opponent, barely seeming to break sweat as he fought vigorously to hold back to tide.</p>
  288. <p>Regularly employing the once thought extinct serve-and-volley game, brought back to life by his new coach Stefan Edberg, who perfected the art form in the 1990’s, Federer managed to keep himself in the match against all odds in a manner not seen at the All England Club in years. </p>
  289. <p>He even managed a miraculous comeback from the verge of defeat in the fourth set. Down two sets to one, and 5-2, Federer found an extra couple of gears, roaring back to take five straight games and force a deciding set. </p>
  290. <p>Unfortunately, even Federer cannot hold back the inevitable.</p>
  291. <div data-packageid="" data-bgo-source="" data-bgo-section="" data-bgo-subsection="" data-tracking="" data-video-height="280" data-video-width="416" id="cnnCVP9" class="cnn_video cnn_video_medium" data-video-class="cnn_video_medium" data-video-url="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/3.0/video/sports/2014/07/05/intv-macfarlane-kvitova.cnn/index.xml" data-video-autostart="false" data-ssid="edition.cnn.com_blogs_world_sport" data-url="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/3.0/video/sports/2014/07/05/intv-macfarlane-kvitova.cnn/index.xml" data-context="416x374_start_embed_onsite_edition" data-image-url="" data-preset="blog_medium" data-source="CNN" data-source-url="" data-video-headline="" data-actual-vid-height="265" data-network="cnnintl"><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/3.0/video/sports/2014/07/05/intv-macfarlane-kvitova.cnn/index.xml">Click to watch video</a></div>
  292. <p>Djokovic showed he too had just as much guts and determination. After failing to convert a set point in the first set, a match point in the fourth set, losing five straight games, receiving treatment for leg issues and then missing two opportunities to break late in the fifth, Djokovic might have been forgiven for thinking it just wasn’t to be. But it was and, deep down,he believed it. </p>
  293. <p>He found the edge that’s been missing from his game the last couple of years, broke serve at 5-4 in the fifth and claimed a thoroughly deserved second Wimbledon title. </p>
  294. <p>Djokovic, aged 27, will be back. He will make more finals and he will win more major titles. Federer’s future on the other hand is not so clear.</p>
  295. <p>Whether it’s the new racket, the new coach or the recent additions to his family (the Federers had their second set of twins back in May), the Swiss master has rolled back the years. </p>
  296. <p>In doing so, he&#039;s rediscovered the sort of form that made him arguably the greatest player of all time. There’s no reason to think he can’t win one or two more grand slam titles. </p>
  297. <p>However, it’s only a matter of time before players like Dimitrov, Raonic and Kyrgios are right in the mix at the majors.</p>
  298. <p>It’s going to take a whole lot to hold back that tide. </p>
  299. ]]></content:encoded>
  301. <wfw:commentRss>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/07/djokovic-and-federer-roll-back-the-clock-in-classic-final/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  302. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
  305. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10451</post-id><dcterms:modified>2014-07-07T11:07:10+01:00</dcterms:modified> </item>
  306. <item>
  307. <title>Can a knight and a duchess rule the waves?</title>
  308. <link>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/26/can-a-knight-and-a-duchess-rule-the-waves/</link>
  309. <comments>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/26/can-a-knight-and-a-duchess-rule-the-waves/#comments</comments>
  311. <dc:creator><![CDATA[tommcgowan]]></dc:creator>
  312. <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2014 12:25:12 +0000</pubDate>
  313. <category><![CDATA[Sailing]]></category>
  314. <category><![CDATA[MainSail anchor]]></category>
  315. <category><![CDATA[Shirley Robertson]]></category>
  316. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=10440</guid>
  317.  
  318. <description><![CDATA[The America&#039;s Cup has existed since 1851 and not once has Britain won it in the intervening years. But is that about to change? The British challenger for the event&#039;s next running in 2017 is certainly the strongest, the one that has all the right ingredients for success. For one it has royal approval from [&#8230;]]]></description>
  319. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="cnn_first">The America&#039;s Cup has existed since 1851 and not once has Britain won it in the intervening years. But is that about to change?</p>
  320. <p>The British challenger for the event&#039;s next running in 2017 is certainly the strongest, the one that has all the right ingredients for success.</p>
  321. <p>For one it has royal approval from Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge. She&#039;s probably the most famous person on the planet right now, certainly the most photographed, and to have her present for the official Cup challenge launch of Ben Ainslie Racing was an unbelievable coup.</p>
  322. <p>But her role doesn&#039;t stop there. She&#039;s a keen sailor herself and, rather than just being a face of the team, she wants to have a hands-on role as well.<span id="more-10440"></span></p>
  323. <p><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/11/sport/righting-americas-cup-wrong/">Kate Middleton adds glamor to British bid</a></p>
  324. <p>Then there&#039;s the financial aspect. OK, the team has only raised 40% of the capital required but, unlike 2013 winners Team Oracle, which has effectively relied solely on America&#039;s third richest man in Larry Ellison [whose net worth is estimated by Forbes at $52.3 billion], this has the backing of the six of Britain&#039;s richest men.</p>
  325. <p>But arguably the new team&#039;s biggest strength is the Ben Ainslie factor. The David Beckham of sailing, people back him because of his proven track record. The knight of the realm racked up four Olympic gold medals during a glittering career.</p>
  326. <p>I&#039;ve known Ben for a long time. It was probably 20 years ago that I first met him and I remember a very shy, quiet kid. </p>
  327. <p>But, even back then, he had this unwavering confidence that has never been knocked out of him.</p>
  328. <p>Whatever the predicament, you do believe that with him anything can happen. Take those Olympic triumphs, particularly the last one when he came back from the brink to top the podium at London 2012.</p>
  329. <p>It was the same in the America&#039;s Cup. He would never say so, but I know that a lot of people hold him responsible for Oracle&#039;s gargantuan comeback against Emirates Team New Zealand.</p>
  330. <p><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/25/sport/americas-cup-oracle-team-usa-team-new-zealand/">Oracle Team USA&#039;s America&#039;s Cup miracle</a></p>
  331. <p>He is an amazing sailor. He works harder than anyone else, he focuses harder than anyone else and in Olympic sailing that&#039;s very clear to see. It&#039;s harder to measure in the America&#039;s Cup.</p>
  332. <p>It is because of him that rich men are digging into their pockets to back him in this bid. </p>
  333. <p>He&#039;s not a natural salesman by any stretch of the imagination but he finds himself as the CEO of a vast £100 million ($170 million) operation of which £60m still needs to be raised. He&#039;s in charge of a lot of money and a lot of people.</p>
  334. <p>It&#039;s a big step up. Were he to pull it off and win the America&#039;s Cup, it would top anything else he has achieved in the past.</p>
  335. <p>The question is can he do it? The British challenge is by far the strongest. </p>
  336. <p>Luna Rossa looks strong backed by Patrizio Bertelli, aka Mr Prada, but other challengers are struggling. </p>
  337. <p>France can&#039;t seem to raise the funds while reality has struck for New Zealand in the wake of their defeat last year.</p>
  338. <p>Despite that loss, they came back to a hero&#039;s welcome but the post-mortem has given way to a more realistic approach. </p>
  339. <p>Interim payments have come from the government to maintain key personnel but there is an election coming up next year and I&#039;d be surprised if the money still flows during austere times.</p>
  340. <p>The America&#039;s Cup has habitually been a rich man&#039;s folly. Take the case of Ellison, with vast sums of money to single-handedly throw at Oracle&#039;s defence. The British approach is different.</p>
  341. <p>Ellison, though, holds all the cards. He has set &#8211; as has always been the right of the defending champions &#8211; the protocol for 2017 but it suggests that, from an Ainslie perspective, this is winnable.</p>
  342. <p>Ainslie is no fool. He knows how hard it is to beat Ellison but he will have been plotting this even before the last America&#039;s Cup. He will have known the design team he wanted, they will be in place and beginning their work in earnest.</p>
  343. <p>There&#039;s been talk of Adrian Newey, the design guru behind Red Bull&#039;s previous Formula One dominance, being involved. I suspect he will become embroiled in all of this at some stage.</p>
  344. <p><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/24/sport/sailing-ainslie-olympics-americas-cup/">Ainslie&#039;s ambition: Sailing hero takes on America&#039;s Cup</a></p>
  345. <p>Ben is a massive petrolhead and the pair know each other pretty well. There are a lot of similarities &#8211; particularly in terms of aerodynamics &#8211; between sailing and F1. Both are at the very cutting edge and Newey&#039;s track record is superb.</p>
  346. <p>The technology of the America&#039;s Cup captured people&#039;s imaginations last time around. I&#039;m still at a loss to fully explain how these huge boats fly over the water &#8211; it almost defies belief and it highlights the massive leap technology has taken from previous years.</p>
  347. <p>Last year brought an end to the constant bickering over the future format between Ellison and Ernesto Bertarelli, owners of the previous America&#039;s Cup holders Team Alinghi, which I think caused a lot of people to get bored and switch off from the event.</p>
  348. <p>But interest is greater than ever before. It caught the eye of the public in a way that no one really thought was possible. It had a Hollywood storyline where the Americans came back from the brink to win it at the last.</p>
  349. <p>Were Ainslie and Britain to win it, it would be akin to Goliath toppling David. The process of them achieving that lofty goal has begun.</p>
  350. ]]></content:encoded>
  352. <wfw:commentRss>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/26/can-a-knight-and-a-duchess-rule-the-waves/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  353. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
  356. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10440</post-id><dcterms:modified>2014-06-26T13:25:12+01:00</dcterms:modified> </item>
  357. <item>
  358. <title>How the U.S. learned to love soccer</title>
  359. <link>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/26/how-the-u-s-learned-to-love-soccer/</link>
  360. <comments>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/26/how-the-u-s-learned-to-love-soccer/#comments</comments>
  362. <dc:creator><![CDATA[jsinnottcnn]]></dc:creator>
  363. <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jun 2014 09:35:30 +0000</pubDate>
  364. <category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
  365. <category><![CDATA[World Sport Analysis]]></category>
  366. <category><![CDATA[Anchor]]></category>
  367. <category><![CDATA[Don Riddell]]></category>
  368. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=10446</guid>
  369.  
  370. <description><![CDATA[As an England football fan, I’m well used to the national mood swings that ebb and flow with the fortunes of my country’s team at major tournaments. For a youthful supporter in 1990 and 1996, glorious semi-final runs have defined my recollections of those entire summers. Equally, the catastrophic capitulation to Germany in 2010 and [&#8230;]]]></description>
  371. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="cnn_first">As an England football fan, I’m well used to the national mood swings that ebb and flow with the fortunes of my country’s team at major tournaments. For a youthful supporter in 1990 and 1996, glorious semi-final runs have defined my recollections of those entire summers. </p>
  372. <p>Equally, the catastrophic capitulation to Germany in 2010 and numerous penalty shootout fiascos are recalled much less fondly. </p>
  373. <p>Either way, something I had usually taken for granted was that every few years I could expect the England team to compete on a major international stage and - for a few weeks - it felt like the whole country was in it together.</p>
  374. <p>Win or lose and whether the failure was triumphant or abject, there was always something comforting about the collective, patriotic experience.</p>
  375. <p>Having moved to the United States a couple of years ago, it quickly struck me that American sports fans have never experienced anything like it.<span id="more-10446"></span></p>
  376. <p>This is a hugely sporty country. Roughly 120 million people tune in for the Superbowl every February, the baseball and basketball seasons seemingly never end, there’s a rabid obsession with collegiate sports and all of the above are pervasive in everyday popular culture.</p>
  377. <p>But rarely, if ever, does America unite to cheer on a collective team against the rest of the world. </p>
  378. <p>The basketball and ice hockey squads sent to the Olympics every other year hardly get the collective pulses racing and we all know that baseball’s World Series is the biggest misnomer in all of sport.  </p>
  379. <p>Most American sports fans would choose their own provincial teams over the country as a whole. </p>
  380. <p>But since 1986, there has been the opportunity to emotionally invest in something bigger. </p>
  381. <p>Their football players, the ‘soccer’ team or the US men’s national team (USMNT) has qualified for the World Cup every four years. The trouble was, nobody noticed. Soccer was hitherto seen as a  high-school game for girls and the butt of smug anchor jokes on ESPN’s nightly flagship show ‘SportsCenter.’</p>
  382. <p>Historically, it’s been a hard game for Americans to embrace. There’s not enough scoring and there’s not always a winner. Even in meaningless baseball, basketball and hockey games they’ll play all night until one of the teams emerges victorious. </p>
  383. <p>In almost every other country, the quarterfinal run of 2002 would have made national news, but here - barely anyone noticed. And the few Americans who did care were mocked internally for their ridiculous exuberance and for what was perceived as a limited and or geeky knowledge of the game and its history.</p>
  384. <div data-packageid="" data-bgo-source="" data-bgo-section="" data-bgo-subsection="" data-tracking="" data-video-height="280" data-video-width="416" id="cnnCVP10" class="cnn_video cnn_video_medium" data-video-class="cnn_video_medium" data-video-url="sports/2014/06/26/wc-pkg-pleitgen-germany-us-world-cup.cnn" data-video-autostart="false" data-ssid="edition.cnn.com_blogs_world_sport" data-url="http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/06/26/wc-pkg-pleitgen-germany-us-world-cup.cnn.html" data-context="416x374_start_embed_onsite" data-image-url="https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140626014958-wc-pkg-pleitgen-germany-us-world-cup-00015415-horizontal-gallery.jpg" data-preset="blog_medium" data-source="CNN" data-source-url="" data-video-headline="The best of enemies" data-actual-vid-height="265" data-network="cnnintl"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/06/26/wc-pkg-pleitgen-germany-us-world-cup.cnn.html">Click to watch video</a></div>
  385. <p>In 2010, the satirical publication ‘The Onion’ mocked the country’s ‘lone soccer fan’, whose ‘World Cup fever’ was becoming ‘insufferable’ to his colleagues at work. The message was pretty clear - anyone eschewing American football, baseball or basketball for soccer was an outsider, a loser. </p>
  386. <p>And this year, with a cult following of more than 350,000 on Twitter, there is @USASoccerGuy who account provides a running commentary of the tournament, lampooning the Americanization of football with phrases like ‘headkicks’ (headers), ‘death strikes’ (penalties) and ‘felony cards’ whenever a player is booked or sent off.  </p>
  387. <p>However, there is growing evidence that those stereotypes may not be quite as accurate as they used to be.</p>
  388. <p>There is little doubt that, across the land, the U.S. is finally being seduced by soccer’s charms. NBC’s successful first season of covering England’s Premier League - (with the right package, every match can be watched live here - is validation of the burgeoning interest. </p>
  389. <p>Anecdotally, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to make many new acquaintances, who rank soccer as their favourite sport.</p>
  390. <p>As we gather to watch our sons play baseball –- one of those boys is called Beckham - the conversation typically revolves around the latest Premier League drama and the fortunes, in particular, of Everton. USA and Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard’s connection means that many Americans have a soft spot for the Toffeemen.</p>
  391. <p>Curiously, these friends don’t like what they see as a European game being ‘Americanized’ by broadcasters like Fox Sports. They much prefer the British commentators and analysts found on NBC or ESPN, because it’s obvious they understand the history and culture and haven’t had to learn it from a book.</p>
  392. <p>Meanwhile, television viewing figures for this World Cup are breaking records. ESPN’s ratings are up 30% on the 2010 event, while the Spanish-language Univision reports an increase of 50%.</p>
  393. <p>Across both channels, Sunday’s dramatic 2-2 draw between the USA and Portugal topped 25 million, a figure that easily trumped the decisive game five of the NBA finals (nearly 18 million) the previous week and thrashed the average audiences for the World Series (14.9 million) and the Stanley Cup Final (five million).</p>
  394. <p>And the real figure is certainly higher because the Nielsen research doesn’t account for the audience consuming the action on phones or computers or en-masse in bars and fan parks.</p>
  395. <p>Many more are absent from the count altogether because they’re in Brazil to watch the action live. FIFA sold more than 154,000 tickets to supporters in the United States, by far the most of any country except Brazil. USA players at the tournament have said it feels like they’re playing home games at this World Cup.</p>
  396. <div data-packageid="" data-bgo-source="" data-bgo-section="" data-bgo-subsection="" data-tracking="" data-video-height="280" data-video-width="416" id="cnnCVP11" class="cnn_video cnn_video_medium" data-video-class="cnn_video_medium" data-video-url="sports/2014/06/25/bts-klinsmann-usa-germany-game.cnn" data-video-autostart="false" data-ssid="edition.cnn.com_blogs_world_sport" data-url="http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/06/25/bts-klinsmann-usa-germany-game.cnn.html" data-context="416x374_start_embed_onsite" data-image-url="https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140625182821-bts-klinsmann-usa-germany-game-00005620-horizontal-gallery.jpg" data-preset="blog_medium" data-source="CNN" data-source-url="" data-video-headline="Klinsmann: This game will be &#039;massive&#039;" data-actual-vid-height="265" data-network="cnnintl"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/06/25/bts-klinsmann-usa-germany-game.cnn.html">Click to watch video</a></div>
  397. <p>Whatever happens during the Germany game and possibly beyond, 10 of the 23-man squad will return to play out the rest of the Major League Soccer (MLS) season, a league that has been rapidly growing in size over the last decade.</p>
  398. <p>Since the arrival of David Beckham in 2007, seven new teams have been added with three or four slated to kick-off in the coming years. The expansion is proof of the growing interest and the atmospheres at games in Seattle and Portland would be the envy of some Premier League clubs. </p>
  399. <p>Nonetheless it would still be a stretch to say the U.S. is gripped by ‘football fever.’ </p>
  400. <p>The sheer size of the country means it will be a long time before the nation collectively holds its breath during a World Cup game, and it may never happen. </p>
  401. <p>But the last two USA games alone have undoubtedly made a few converts and forced all American sports fans to acknowledge at least one thing: tied games don’t have to be boring. </p>
  402. <p>They might not have liked the heartbreaking draw against Portugal, but no one could ever claim it wasn’t a pulsating, breathtaking, edge-of-the-seat experience!  </p>
  403. ]]></content:encoded>
  405. <wfw:commentRss>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/26/how-the-u-s-learned-to-love-soccer/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  406. <slash:comments>15</slash:comments>
  409. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10446</post-id><enclosure url="https://i0.wp.com/i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140623152755-16-what-a-shot-0624-story-top.jpg?resize=120%2C68" length="28800" type="image/jpeg" /><dcterms:modified>2014-06-26T10:35:30+01:00</dcterms:modified> </item>
  410. <item>
  411. <title>Red Bull tycoon re-energizing Formula One</title>
  412. <link>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/23/red-bull-tycoon-re-energizing-formula-one/</link>
  413. <comments>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/23/red-bull-tycoon-re-energizing-formula-one/#respond</comments>
  415. <dc:creator><![CDATA[tommcgowan]]></dc:creator>
  416. <pubDate>Mon, 23 Jun 2014 11:04:53 +0000</pubDate>
  417. <category><![CDATA[Motorsport]]></category>
  418. <category><![CDATA[CNN Digital Sport Writer]]></category>
  419. <category><![CDATA[Sarah Holt]]></category>
  420. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/?p=10434</guid>
  421.  
  422. <description><![CDATA[Austrian Red Bull tycoon Dietrich Mateschitz likes to do his talking - and his spending - on the track. The billionaire made just one low-key public appearance during Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix. He was finally spotted by eagle-eyed TV cameras on lap 23 of the race, but by that point his Red Bull team’s chances [&#8230;]]]></description>
  423. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="cnn_first">Austrian Red Bull tycoon Dietrich Mateschitz likes to do his talking - and his spending - on the track.</p>
  424. <p>The billionaire made just one low-key public appearance during Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix. He was finally spotted by eagle-eyed TV cameras on lap 23 of the race, but by that point his Red Bull team’s chances of victory had fizzled out.</p>
  425. <p>Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel was lagging a lap off the pace and would later retire. Canada race winner Daniel Ricciardo had to settle for eighth after being shunted out of position at the start.</p>
  426. <p>It was probably not the homecoming Red Bull envisaged but for Mateschitz re-energising one of F1’s best-loved tracks may be reward enough.<span id="more-10434"></span></p>
  427. <p>There were murmurings after Sunday’s race that the undulating circuit, set in the ridiculously lush green Styrian Hills, was even better looking than picturesque Spa, the home of the Belgian Grand Prix in the Ardennes.</p>
  428. <div data-packageid="" data-bgo-source="" data-bgo-section="" data-bgo-subsection="" data-tracking="" data-video-height="280" data-video-width="416" id="cnnCVP12" class="cnn_video cnn_video_medium" data-video-class="cnn_video_medium" data-video-url="sports/2014/06/17/spc-circuit-f1-austria-fastest-lap-marcus-ericsson.cnn" data-video-autostart="false" data-ssid="edition.cnn.com_blogs_world_sport" data-url="http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/06/17/spc-circuit-f1-austria-fastest-lap-marcus-ericsson.cnn.html" data-context="416x374_start_embed_onsite" data-image-url="https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/140618140754-spc-circuit-f1-austria-fastest-lap-marcus-ericsson-00002812-horizontal-gallery.jpg" data-preset="blog_medium" data-source="CNN" data-source-url="" data-video-headline="Taking a spin around the Red Bull Ring" data-actual-vid-height="265" data-network="cnnintl"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/sports/2014/06/17/spc-circuit-f1-austria-fastest-lap-marcus-ericsson.cnn.html">Click to watch video</a></div>
  429. <p>With stunning views from the swish media center, the hungry press pack was also kept happy with regular servings of schitznel and strudels.</p>
  430. <p>Red Bull team boss Christian Horner praised the “carnival and festival atmosphere” – and he was right.</p>
  431. <p>A snaking queue of enthusiastic caravans and campers clogged the road to the circuit on Thursday, forcing some senior member of McLaren to begrudgingly abandon their cars and walk to work.</p>
  432. <p>Tickets for Sunday’s race had sold out in just 42 hours with many fans coming to pay homage to their Red Bull Racing heroes.</p>
  433. <p>“When we got here we went to the grandstand and it just blew us away, it’s so beautiful, it’s one of the best places,” Anna Kamsebner told CNN.</p>
  434. <p>Anna had come from Salzburg to experience her first Austrian GP with German and British friends she had met on a Red Bull fans’ page on Facebook.</p>
  435. <p>“We want Red Bull to do well but when you’re actually at the race, it doesn’t ruin your weekend if they don’t,” she smiled.</p>
  436. <p>A decade ago, Mateschitz bought the Jaguar race team that would morph into Red Bull Racing and go on to win four team and driver world championships.</p>
  437. <p>In that same year, the Austrian also bought the A1 Ring – the stage for the Austrian GP from 1997 to 2003.</p>
  438. <p>Even the entrepreneur, who built his empire by turning a local drink concocted in Thailand into an international billion-dollar brand, might afford himself a rueful smile that his resurrection of the Austrian GP came one year too late – his race team’s global domination now snuffed out by the might of Mercedes.</p>
  439. <p>But there was an inkling in the Austrian alpine air that for Mateschitz restoring the circuit and grand prix was more a labour of love.</p>
  440. <p><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/SPORT/motorsport/f1/">The Circuit: CNN&#039;s interactive guide to the 2014 season</a></p>
  441. <p>The 70-year-old was born just 60 kilometres from the Red Bull Ring in Sankt Marein im Murztal. Reviving the Spielberg circuit and the grand prix was a way of giving something back.</p>
  442. <p>Locals who lived close to the circuit and wanted to spruce up their houses and gardens were invited to send an inventory and invoice for the work to Mateschitz, who would pay the bill.</p>
  443. <p>The original plans for “Projekt Spielberg” included building a university at the circuit – but locals were not quite so keen on Mateschitz giving so much.</p>
  444. <p>Instead, the revamped Red Bull Ring has seven hotels, varied driving experience centers, new pit buildings and a posh wing for media and hospitality.</p>
  445. <p>The pretty white church in the centre of the track is state owned and still holds Sunday services, though probably not on race day.</p>
  446. <p>The track, which was last used to stage an F1 race in 2003, is also largely untouched.</p>
  447. <p>“There is nothing changed,” circuit architect Hermann Tilke, who went on to design 13 F1 circuits after the success of the A1 Ring, told CNN.</p>
  448. <p>“The asphalt is the same except for the start-finish straight, which because of construction was disturbed.</p>
  449. <p>“I don’t know if it’s one of my best track but it’s a very, very good track. The drivers like it and the atmosphere is amazing.”</p>
  450. <p>Over the crest of the first corner and beyond the fans’ zone which pumps with music spun by live DJs, lie the remains of the Osterreichring, the original home of the Austrian GP from 1970 and the fearsome Hella Licht curve which claimed the life of American Mark Donohue in 1975.</p>
  451. <p>Some seasoned F1 journalists took the chance to skip the boundaries of the Red Bull Ring and revisit old ghosts buried in the asphalt.</p>
  452. <p>Mateschitz, the shy septuagenarian with the youthful spirit, has not reinvented the wheel in F1, or the track in Austria.</p>
  453. <p>But his recipe for success has been to blend the old with the new to resurrect a thrilling Austrian GP for the next generation.</p>
  454. ]]></content:encoded>
  456. <wfw:commentRss>https://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/23/red-bull-tycoon-re-energizing-formula-one/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  457. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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  463.  

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