go!

7/12/2010 1:15:30 AM

SPORTS!

7/12/2010 1:20:51 AM

TALK!

7/12/2010 1:30:35 AM

move to chit chat obviously

7/12/2010 1:42:05 AM

You're clearly so confident in yourself that you don't even pay attention to where you post threads!
Great for you!

7/12/2010 1:43:12 AM

Lionel Andrés Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljo'nel an'd?es 'mesi]; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentinian footballer who currently plays for FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. Considered one of the best football players of his generation[3][4][5] and frequently cited as the world's best contemporary player,[6] Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21 and won both by the age of 22.[6][7][8][9] His playing style and ability have drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor".[10][11]
Messi began playing football at a young age and his potential was quickly identified by Barcelona. He left Rosario-based Newell's Old Boys's youth team in 2000 and moved with his family to Europe, as Barcelona offered treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. Making his debut in the 2004–05 season, he broke his team record for the youngest footballer to score a league goal. Major honours soon followed as Barcelona won La Liga in Messi's debut season, and won a double of the league and Champions League in 2006. His breakthrough season was in 2006–07; he became a first team regular, scoring a hat-trick in El Clásico and finishing with 14 goals in 26 league games. Perhaps his most successful season was the 2008–09 season, in which Messi scored 38 goals to play an integral part in a treble-winning campaign.
Messi was the top scorer of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with six goals, including two in the final game. Shortly thereafter, he became an established member of Argentina's senior international team. In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play in the FIFA World Cup and he won a runners-up medal at the Copa América tournament the following year. In 2008, in Beijing, he won his first international honour, an Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team.
Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 Club career
2.1 Barcelona
2.1.1 2005–06 season
2.1.2 2006–07 season
2.1.3 2007–08 season
2.1.4 2008–09 season
2.1.5 2009–10 season
3 International career
3.1 2006 World Cup
3.2 2007 Copa América
3.3 2008 Summer Olympics
3.4 2010 World Cup
4 Outside football
4.1 Personal life
4.2 Charity
4.3 Media
5 Career statistics
5.1 International goals
6 Honours
6.1 Barcelona
6.2 Argentina
6.3 Individual
7 Notes
8 References
9 External links
Early life

Messi was born on 24 June 1987 in Rosario, Argentina, to parents Jorge Horacio Messi (born 1958), a factory worker, and Celia María Cuccittini, a part-time cleaner.[12][13][14] His paternal family originates from the Italian city of Ancona, where his ancestor, Angelo Messi, emigrated to Argentina in 1883.[15][16] He has two older brothers named Rodrigo and Matías as well as a sister named Maria Sol.[17] At the age of five, Messi started playing football for Grandoli, a local club coached by his father Jorge.[18] In 1995, Messi switched to Newell's Old Boys who were based in his home city Rosario.[18] At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency.[19] Primera División club River Plate showed interest in Messi's progress, but did not have enough money to pay for treatment for his condition as it cost $900 a month.[14] Carles Rexach, the sporting director of Barcelona, had been made aware of his talent as Messi had relatives in Lleida, Catalonia, and Messi and his father were able to arrange a trial.[14] Barcelona signed him after watching him play,[20] offering to pay for the medical bills if he was willing to move to Spain.[18] His family moved to Europe and he started in the club's youth teams.[20] He has two cousins also involved in football; Maxi and Emanuel Biancucchi.[21][22]
Club career

Barcelona
Messi made his official debut for the first team in a friendly match against Porto on 16 November 2003 (at 16 years and 145 days).[23][24] Less than a year later, Frank Rijkaard let him make his league debut against Espanyol on 16 October 2004 (at 17 years and 114 days), becoming the third-youngest player ever to play for Barcelona. When he scored his first senior goal for the club against Albacete on 1 May 2005, Messi was 17 years, 10 months and 7 days old, becoming the youngest to ever score in a La Liga game for Barcelona[25] until 2007 when Bojan Krkic broke this record, scoring from a Messi assist.[26] Messi said about his ex-coach Rijkaard: "I'll never forget the fact that he launched my career, that he had confidence in me while I was only sixteen or seventeen."[27]
2005–06 season
The Maradona and Pele polemics will end.
Diego Maradona, on the consequences if Messi won the 2010 World Cup[28]
On 16 September, for the second time in three months, Barcelona announced an update to Messi's contract; this time it was improved to pay him as a first team member and extended until June 2014.[18] Messi obtained Spanish citizenship on 26 September 2005[29] and was finally able to make his debut in the season's Spanish First Division. Messi's first home outing in the Champions League came on 27 September against Italian club Udinese.[23] Fans at Barcelona's stadium, the Camp Nou, gave Messi a standing ovation upon his substitution, as his composure on the ball and passing combinations with Ronaldinho had paid dividends for Barcelona.[30]
Messi netted six goals in seventeen league appearances, and scored one Champions League goal in six. His season ended prematurely on 7 March 2006, however, when he suffered a muscle tear in his right thigh during the second leg of the second round Champions League tie against Chelsea.[31] Frank Rijkaard's Barcelona ended the season as champions of Spain and Europe.[32][33]

7/12/2010 1:53:13 AM

Andriy Viktorovych Voronin (Ukrainian: ?????? ?????????? ???????; born 21 July 1979) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who currently plays as a striker for Dynamo Moscow. His previous clubs include Chornomorets Odessa, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Mainz, Köln, Bayer Leverkusen, and Liverpool. In the 2002–03 season, Voronin became top goalscorer in the 2. Bundesliga. At international level, he has frequently been played as a substitute for Ukraine.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Career
o 1.1 Borussia Mönchengladbach
o 1.2 Mainz
o 1.3 Köln / Bayer Leverkusen
o 1.4 Liverpool
o 1.5 Hertha BSC
o 1.6 Dynamo Moscow
o 1.7 International career
* 2 Career statistics
o 2.1 Club career
o 2.2 International goals
* 3 References
* 4 External links

[edit] Career
[edit] Borussia Mönchengladbach

Voronin left his youth club Chornomorets Odessa in 1995 to move to Germany, where he joined Borussia Mönchengladbach. He made his debut in the German Bundesliga against Bayern Munich in 1997 at the age of 18, but went on to spend a couple of years mainly in Mönchengladbach's youth teams. Having played just 7 games and scored 1 goal in the top division, he saw his team relegated and after one season and just two matches in the 2. Bundesliga joined fellow second division strugglers Mainz for a fee of €45,000.[1]
[edit] Mainz

He became Mainz' leading striker in his two seasons at the club, and in his third season became the top scorer in the 2nd Bundesliga with 20 goals. Voronin's start to the 2002–03 season with Mainz prompted the following quote from German football daily Kicker: "The star of the 23 year old forward is on a rise due to the new role he plays for the team – he has complete freedom of actions."[2] This led to speculations about his future, with Dynamo Kyiv reported to be willing to bring him back to Ukraine.[3]

Stuttgart, Bologna and a number of other clubs were then reported to approach his agent and Mainz initiated negotiations to extend his contract. UEFA.com described Voronin as "one of the most sought-after talents in Germany."[1] However, come the end of the season Mainz failed to win promotion. Voronin decided not to renew his contract and ultimately chose to continue his career with 1. FC Köln, who had just been promoted to the top division.
[edit] Köln / Bayer Leverkusen

Köln were relegated at the end of the season, however Voronin stayed in the top flight after signing for Bayer Leverkusen. Bayer had been interested in Voronin since his time at Mainz and were also impressed with his performance for Köln in a 2–2 draw against them when Voronin scored one and created the other of Köln's goals. After that game Express called him "the only true good footballer at Köln" and Bild wrote: "Köln's only striker (Voronin) was more dangerous than Bayer's entire star attack (Schneider, Ponte, Neuville and Berbatov)."[4]

After a successful first two seasons with Bayer as well as at the international level (culminating in participation in the 2006 World Cup in Germany where Ukraine reached the quarterfinals), Voronin's contract was running out at the end of the 2006–07 season and he was reported to have declined Bayer's offer of an extension. According to the player, he was approached by clubs from France, Spain, Italy and Scotland (Celtic were reported to be contemplating a move).
[edit] Liverpool

On 26 February 2007, Liverpool announced that they had signed Voronin on a free transfer and that he would join the team during the summer.[5] Voronin was unveiled as a Liverpool player on 6 July 2007 after signing a four-year deal.[6].

Voronin made his Premier League debut on 11 August 2007, coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute against Aston Villa. A few days later on 15 August 2007, he scored his first competitive goal for Liverpool in the Champions League qualifier against Toulouse.

Liverpool manager Rafa Benítez was clearly impressed with Voronin, saying:

"He is clever, has great game awareness and gives us so many more options in attack. He can play behind a main striker, lead the line himself, or come into the attack from the flanks."

On 25 August 2007, Voronin scored his first Premier League goal against Sunderland in the 87th minute. He then scored his next goal in the next league game against Derby County which Liverpool comfortably won 6–0 to move top of the Premier League table. He also scored the first goal in the 2–2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on 7 October 2007.

On 25 January 2008, Voronin injured his ankle during training.[7] He underwent surgery and made a small number of appearances at the end of the season but failed to make an impact. This led to rumours that Rafa Benítez would sell him in order to raise funds for the summer 2008 transfer window, however Voronin played some of the summer friendlies scoring a total of 3 goals in the process.
He made his first start of the 2009–10 season in the Champions League group stage game against Lyon. He had a particularly poor day as he missed various opportunities to score including a one-on-one with Hugo Lloris. He was later substituted for Ryan Babel who scored Liverpool's goal.
[edit] Hertha BSC

On the last day of the transfer market Andriy Voronin agreed to be loaned to Hertha BSC for a season.[8]

He had two goals in a 2–1 victory over Bayern München on 14 February, to propel Hertha into 1st place in the Bundesliga On 7 March he netted a hat-trick against Energie Cottbus. On 11 April 2009, following a retaliatory foul against Leon Andreasen of Hannover 96, he was sent off, receiving the 1000th red card in Bundesliga history.

Voronin was unable to secure a permanent move back to Germany during the summer of 2009, and as a result he returned to the Liverpool squad for the start of the 2009/2010 season.
[edit] Dynamo Moscow

On 8 January 2010, it was announced that Liverpool had accepted a £1.8 million offer for him from Dynamo Moscow.[9]. Two days later, Voronin officially signed for the Policemen.[10]
[edit] International career

While at Mainz, Voronin was called up initially to Ukraine's Under-21 team and in January 2002 to the national team, at the age of 22. He made his international debut in a 4–1 friendly defeat to Romania in March 2002. However, he was dropped after that match, with coach Leonid Buriak explaining, "I've been to Germany twice to watch him and made a conclusion that Andriy cannot compete with [Andriy] Shevchenko, [Serhiy] Rebrov, and [Andriy] Vorobei as a forward. He can play in midfield as well, but he still has to improve some aspects of his game. Anyway, we count on Voronin, especially considering his young age."[11]

Voronin was ultimately recalled to the national side, scoring his first international goal in a 2–0 Euro 2004 qualifying win over Greece in September 2002 and a second one in a 2–2 draw against Spain in March 2003.

He was in the Ukrainian squad for the FIFA World Cup 2006, in which Ukraine got to the quarter-finals, beaten by the eventual winners, Italy.
[edit] Career statistics
[edit] Club career

As of 15 May 2010
Club Season League Cups Europe Total
Apps Goal Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Borussia M 1997-98 7 1 0 0 0 0 7 1
1998-99 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1999-00 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Mainz 2000-01 10 1 1 0 0 0 11 1
2001-02 34 8 2 1 0 0 36 9
2002-03 31 20 1 0 0 0 32 20
Köln 2003-04 19 4 2 2 0 0 21 6
Bayer Leverkusen 2004-05 32 15 1 0 5 2 38 17
2005-06 29 7 2 1 2 0 33 8
2006-07 31 10 2 0 10 2 43 12
Liverpool 2007-08 19 5 2 0 7 1 28 6
Hertha BSC
2008-09 27 11 1 0 5 0 33 11
Liverpool 2009-10 8 0 1 0 3 0 12 0
Dynamo M 2010 10 2 0 0 0 0 10 2
Germany 222 77 12 4 22 4 256 85
England 27 5 3 0 10 1 40 6
Russia 10 2 0 0 0 0 10 2
Career Totals 259 84 15 4 32 5 306 93
[edit] International goals
Andriy Voronin: International Goals
(as of 21 November 2007) # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 12 October 2002 Kiev, Ukraine Greece 2–0 Won EC 2004 Qual
2. 28 March 2003 Kiev, Ukraine Spain 2–2 Draw EC 2004 Qual
3. 30 March 2005 Kiev, Ukraine Denmark 1–0 Won WC 2006 Qual
4. 8 June 2006 Luxembourg, Luxembourg Luxembourg 3–0 Won Friendly
5. 15 August 2006 Kiev, Ukraine Azerbaijan 6–0 Won Friendly
6. 21 November 2007 Kiev, Ukraine France 2–2 Draw EC 2008 Qual

7/12/2010 6:33:37 AM

Christopher Paul Mullin (born July 30, 1963) is a retired American basketball player and former general manager of the NBA's Golden State Warriors.

Mullin played small forward in the NBA from 1985 to 2001. After playing at St. John's University, during which he won Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year three times and was a member of the 1984 amateur U.S. team, Mullin was chosen as the seventh pick by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 1985 NBA Draft.

He played with the Warriors from the 1985-86 until the 1996–97 seasons. Thereafter, Mullin played with the Indiana Pacers from 1997 until the 1999–2000 season. He retired after the 2000–01 season, playing for his original team, the Warriors.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Early life & college career
* 2 NBA career
* 3 Personal
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links

[edit] Early life & college career

He was born in Brooklyn, New York. Mullin began his high school career at Power Memorial Academy, where he was a teammate of Mario Elie, but he transferred as a junior, to the all boys Catholic Xaverian High School of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Signing to play for St. John's University in nearby Queens, Mullin in his freshman year averaged 16.6 points per game (also setting the school freshman record for points scored). In his subsequent three years for the Redmen, he would be named Big East Player of the Year three times, named to the All-America team three times, play for the gold medal-winning 1984 Olympic team, receive the 1985 Wooden Award, USBWA College Player of the Year and lead his team to the 1985 Final Four. Mullin finished his career as the Redmen's all-time leading scorer. He also holds the distinction of being one of only two players in history to win the Haggerty Award (given to the best college player in the New York City area) three times (1983–1985).
[edit] NBA career

In Mullin's first three seasons with the Warriors, he was primarily a spot-up shooting guard playing in the backcourt alongside Eric "Sleepy" Floyd. In his second season, the Warriors advanced to the Western Conference semifinals under George Karl, where they lost to the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

However, Mullin was uncomfortable playing on the West Coast, having basically lived all his life in New York. A heavy drinker in college who never worked out much, other than playing basketball, Mullin sank further into alcoholism. In his third season with the Warriors, the team was beset with all types of turmoil, starting with the suspension of center Chris Washburn for drug abuse. The team would also trade malcontents with the Houston Rockets, sending Floyd and Joe Barry Carroll for Ralph Sampson and Steve Harris. Karl was fired after 64 games. Mullin missed 22 games himself with injuries but still managed to average 20.2 points per game.

1988 marked a new era for Mullin and the Warriors. Don Nelson was hired as head coach and vice president and immediately re-tooled the team. He drafted guard Mitch Richmond with the intent of moving Mullin to small forward. Nelson advised Mullin to get himself into alcohol rehabilitation and start getting himself in better shape. Mullin complied, and the player the Warriors thought they were getting in the 1985 draft finally showed up.

For five consecutive seasons, from 1988 until 1993, Mullin scored an average of 25 or more points and five rebounds. He became the only Warrior player besides Wilt Chamberlain ever to have five consecutive 25-ppg seasons. Additionally, the Warriors made five straight playoff appearances. Mullin, Richmond, and 1989 first-round draftee Tim Hardaway formed the trio "Run TMC" that were the focal stars of this playoff run. A five-time All-Star, Mullin also won Olympic gold twice—as a member of the 1984 amateur team, and for the 1992 Dream Team.

In 1993-94, Mullin's and the Warriors' fortunes began to change. Nelson traded for Chris Webber on NBA Draft day and dealt Richmond to the Sacramento Kings for Billy Owens, hoping to make the Warriors stronger in the frontcourt. Mullin's body began breaking down, however, and he began to miss significant numbers of games. The Warriors had a successful first season with Webber, but he and Don Nelson began to bicker over his use as a player. This led Nelson to resign, and subsequent coaches saw Mullin as injury-prone and began to center the team around Latrell Sprewell. Mullin was traded after the 1996–97 season to the Indiana Pacers for second-year center Erick Dampier and NBA journeyman Duane Ferrell.

Mullin had a successful first season with the Pacers, coached by Larry Bird. He started all 82 games, averaged 11.3 points per game, and helped the Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in seven tough games. Bird, however, began to phase Mullin out and give more time to Jalen Rose at small forward. Mullin did, however, appear in three games of the 2000 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. After that season, Mullin was waived by the Pacers . He then signed with Warriors for the 2000–01 season, where he played before retiring.

Effort more than physicality marked Mullin's playing style. Somewhat lanky at 215 pounds and six-foot seven inches, Mullin managed to hold his own. He was a dead-eye outside shooter and could go to either his left or right and shoot with either hand, despite being naturally left-handed. This made him difficult for many NBA small forwards to guard. In fact, he was compared to NBA legend Larry Bird because both players lacked speed, had a great outside shot and had the innate ability to put their defender off guard.[1] He was on the All-NBA second team (1989 and 1991), third team (1990), and first team (1992). In April 2004, Mullin was named executive vice president of basketball operations for the Warriors. Mullin also appeared in the 1995 Billy Crystal movie Forget Paris.

After spending two years as a special assistant with the Warriors, Mullin was named Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Warriors on April 22, 2004. On May 11, 2009, the team announced that Mullin's expiring contract would not be renewed.[2] He was replaced by Larry Riley as the Warriors' General Manager.
[edit] Personal

Mullin is married. He has three sons, Sean, Chris, Liam, and one daughter, Kierra.[3]

7/12/2010 7:16:01 AM

Hes not as dumb as he looks.

7/12/2010 8:50:25 AM

That's an awesome username.

7/12/2010 10:25:28 AM

I like the way your shirt is so wrinkled

7/12/2010 10:26:23 AM

Really dedicated supporter of piss poor franchises

7/12/2010 10:27:10 AM

^^you're pretty fly for a white guy

^...

[Edited on July 12, 2010 at 10:28 AM. Reason : having trouble coming up with something for slave]

7/12/2010 10:27:19 AM

^^^
I don't remember him ever doing anything stupid because his username is sort of generic/hard to remember

^^
your loathing for ambrosia seems very sincere
I kinda have to admire it

^ freak

7/12/2010 10:27:35 AM