Samsung Galaxy S2 Review

Haven't blogged in a while but I guess this is as good a time as there is. If you follow me on twitter you may have seen I got a new cellphone and have been tweeting a lot about it.

As much a geek as I am, up until 2 days ago I had never had a 3G phone. So I was basically living in the early 2000's and it was a time for a change; after giving it lots of thought it came down to two options: Apple's iPhone4 and the Samsung's Galaxy S2.

Some may ask why the iPhone4 and not wait for the 4s. I was watching the 4S presentation and waiting for it to end to decide if I should wait or go ahead and get a new phone. After seeing it was not much of an improvement, I headed down to my cellphone providers store still with both options in mind.

After seeing the plans and both phones I had asked for an iPhone4... or so I thought. I found a Galaxy S2 to play a bit with and just loved the heck out of it. I ended up getting the S2, I'll tell you why.

[caption id="attachment_191" align="aligncenter" width="511" caption="Samsung Galaxy S2"][/caption]

• Screen size: compared to the iPhones 3.5 inch display, the Galaxy has a huge 4.3 inch display. It is just beautiful to look at, and with the AMOLED screen you have really deep blacks. The size is just great for people with bad eyesight like me, although it could also be a liability because it will suck a lot of power out of the battery. Still consider it a great part of the device.


• Overall size: the phone is as thin as can be, even a couple of millimeters thinner than Apple's phone which is a good thing. Also it is incredibly light, you just are surprised when you pick it up. The phone fits just perfectly in my hand, I don't have to clinch my hand or make any effort to hold on to it.


• Processor and memory: this baby has a dual core 1.2 GHz processor and 1GB of memory, that makes it the fastest phone I have EVER used. It is just remarkable how responsive it is regardless of how many apps you have open. Also can be a battery drainer but that is something I haven't experienced yet.


• Battery: battery life is somewhat of a issue for me and something I hope I don't have to deal with. The first week is not a good indicator on how this will work out as I have been using it a lot more due to the "new toy factor". But for what I have seen, battery life could be a problem. Today I tweaked the phone a little and it has helped out a lot. The thing I love is that it has a removable battery and down the line I can get a new one (all batteries start to decline in performance after a year o so) unlike the iPhone that has a locked battery.


• Flash support. This is not that big of a deal for me, I have an iPad and have not missed flash that much; only problem has been when I want to see any live steaming, well you just can't as must of it is based on Flash. S2 supports flash which helps to have a computer-like browsing experience.


• Camera: while Apple announce the new iPhone will have a 8MP camera, why wait? This baby has a 8MP camera that also records video in Full (1080p) HD resolution. Have taken a few shots and all I can say is WOW! Still want to test how pics come out in dark environments or with moving objects, but for the moment this is a real good camera phone.


• Android Market: while researching and asking friends about Android and Iphone one of the biggest issues the Mac Fanboys (I really like Apple products but it's now one of those obsessive things some people I know have) was that the Android Market didn't have as much apps as the AppStore. While the mere number of apps is much larger in the AppStore, 99.9% of the apps I'm interested in are also available on Android so this has been a non issue; heck even a lot of apps you need to pay for with Apple are free over here (Angry Birds, Whatsapp, etc).


• Price: this was a non-factor as the iPhone and Galaxy S2 cost exactly the same (at least here in Mexico).


• OS: this is the first Android devide I have owned and it was part of what got me hooked. I had already asked for the iPhone but after playing with the Galaxy for no more than 5 minutes I changed my opinion. It is that good.

All of these factors were determining factors for me to pick up a Galaxy S2 instead of an iPhone. Not saying one is better than the other, but plain and simple, I liked this one more and believe this will fit my needs in a better way than the iPhone.

Over these two days lots of people have been impressed with the phone. I have found that most iPhone users are that more because of marketing than any other thing; they don't open up and even try other devices. And this comes from a guy that owned the 1st generation iPhone and a real happy iPad2 owner. Some of the comments have been: "wow the screen is so big and bright", "this thing is so light" and "Android looks so clean and neat". Naturally there are those that can't get their head out of their but, have never even tried a Android device and just say "oh so you got the iPhone copy". Really??? Check out the specs, and you'll see this is a different kind of animal.

Will I be a loyal Android user from now on? Not sure, I'm not limited to use only one OS, I'll try stuff and find out for myself what is better for me.

Is this the best phone right now? Maybe, maybe not; spec-wise it clearly is, OS-wise everyone will have different opinions; as far as I'm concerned this is the best phone for my needs.

Will I recommend Android and specifically the Samsung Galaxy S2? Damn right I will

I'll keep playing with my little toy and have a update entry in the next month or so with more details on the phone, the usability, battery life and everything there is to know about the phone. For now....

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

After 7 long months with no football the 2011 NFL season is upon us.

We had so much uncertainty during the offseason, the lockout, the possibility of having no season and everything that went with it. Basically all the off-field stuff got worked out and we're about 36 hours from kicking off the season with a great matchup featuring the New Orleans Saints visiting the Green Bay Packers. I got the Packers taking this one, but we'll get into that later ---It's only like my favorite bay.

This entry is mainly going to preview the whole season, pick division winners, wild cards, playoff predictions and which players I expect to have monster seasons. The beauty of the NFL is the parity between teams and the fact that any given Sunday any team can pull off a upset and mess my parlay up. Also every week I'll post my picks straight up and picks against the spread, we'll see how that goes.

Let's start out with the NFC East.

This division looks pretty competitive this year. The Eagles spent a ton of money and could very well be the best team in the whole NFL, my bone to pick with them is their QB. Say what you want about Mike Vick, he is a phenomenal athlete but as a quarterback I have never been sold on him although this is a guy I really want to see succeed. The Giants did nothing special during the offseason and have lost some key defensive players during the preseason so this could prove to be a tough season, they won't be a bad team but won't survive this tough division.

The Washinton Redskins well, they are the Redskins and probably won't do a lot this season and for that mater as long as Dan Snyder is the owner. The final team in this division is the Dallas Cowboys who will always have huge expectations which are hard to fulfill; Jason Garrett finally took over the team last season and had some pretty good results (5-1 record) and has a solid core which will be competitive, probably not winning the division but in the wild card contention.

• Philadelphia 11-5 (Division Champion)


• Dallas 10-6 (Wild Card contender)


• New York 8-8


• Washington 5-11

 

NFC North

This a what I consider will be the most evened out division this year, were I think only one team will have a losing record and will still be a strong team. The Chicago Bears have a aging defense but they will be good this year, I expect Urlacher to have a monster season yet Cutler will be nothing more than a average QB with no character (see the 2010 Playoffs), still they won't be able to stay in contention. I consider Detroit to be a sleep this season, Suh will probably the defensive player of the year (if he stays healthy) and Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson will be a really exciting QB-WR combo and they will fight with the Cowboys for the final Wild Card.

The Vikings will be the worst team of this division and I expect them to win no more than 6 or 7 games, if that much. And finally the Green Bay Packers who are coming off a dream season will no doubt be in the middle of the Road to the Superbowl in December. Aaron Rodgers will be a MVP candidate and Clay Matthews will be the leader of one of the best defenses in the League; I have them as the winners of the division.

• Green Bay 12-4 (Division Winner)


• Detroit 9-7 (Wild Card Contender)


• Chicago 9-7


• Vikings 7-9

NFC South

This division is a 2 team race between Saints and the Falcons. New Orleans has a high powered offense led by Drew Brees but has a suspect defense so I'm not entirely sold on them. The Falcons are one of my favorite teams, Matt Ryan along with Roddy White and Michael Turner are a phenomenal 3-headed monster and their defense is pretty solid so I'll give them the edge to win the division with the Saints surely locking the Wild Card. Tampa will be OK but will not compete with the other 2 monsters. Carolina will revolve around Cam Newton who, I believe, is one of the most overrated picks in recent history; everything depends on his mental stability or he is a couple of bad games of becoming JaMarcus Russell.

• Atlanta 13-3 (Division Winner)


• New Orleans 11-5 (Wild Card Winner)


• Tampa Bay 9-


• Carolina 4-12

NFC West

I won't write a lot on this division as this is probably the worst division in football as it was last year (first time a losing record team made the playoffs). Seattle took it home last year and even beat the Saints, but this year I think San Francisco will take it home and we will see the great things Jim Harbaugh will do with this team  (as he did with Stanford).

• San Francisco 9-7 (Division Winner)


• Arizona 8-8


• Seattle 7-9


• St Louis 7-9

Now we are off to the AFC

AFC East

Stanford open "Introduction to Artificial Intelligence" class

[caption id="attachment_179" align="aligncenter" width="614"] Stanford open AI Class 09/26-12/16[/caption]

Stanford has been offering portions of its robotics coursework online for a few years now, but professors Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig are kicking things up a notch (okay, lots of notches) with next semester's CS221: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence. For the first time, you can take this course, along with several hundred Stanford undergrads, without having to fill out an application, pay tuition, or live in a dorm.

This is more than just downloading materials and following along with a live stream; you're actually going to have to do all the same work as the Stanford students. There's a book you'll need to get. There will be at least 10 hours per week of studying, along with weekly graded homework assignments. The professors will be available to answer your questions. You can look forward to a midterm exam and final exam. If you survive, you'll get a certificate of completion from the instructors, along with a final grade that you can compare to the grades of all those supersmart kids at Stanford.

You won't technically earn credits for the course unless you're a Stanford student, but for all practical purposes, you'll be getting the exact same knowledge and experience -- transmitted directly to you by none other than two living Jedis of modern AI. Thrun, director of the Stanford AI Lab, led the team that won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, and, more recently, he helped develop the Google self-driving car. Norvig, a former scientist at Sun and NASA, is now director of research at Google and co-author of the leading textbook on AI.

Here's how it will all work: Anyone can sign up for the course online. It starts on October 2nd and lasts 10 weeks. Each 75 minute lecture (there are two per week) gets videotaped and chopped up into 15 minute chunks that you can stream whenever you want, and homework, quizzes, and exams are all digitized and completed over the internet. Professor Thrun gave us a few more details:

Grading will be automated. But we are recording video specifically to help students who got the answers wrong. We will use the exact same questions for everyone, including the Stanford students. In this way we can actually compare how well everyone is doing.

We will use something akin to Google Moderator to make sure Peter and I answer the most pressing questions. Our hypothesis is that even in a class of 10,000, there will only be a fixed number of really interesting questions (like 15 per week). There exist tools to find them.

As of yesterday, which is only the third day that the course has been available, over 10,000 students are already signed up, and since enrollment is open until September 10th, it's entirely possible that a couple hundred thousand people could end up taking this course. Sounds daunting, but professor Thrun is optimistic about the whole thing:

I am very excited. Teaching many students online has always been my dream. This quarter I get to affect more students than in my entire career before. And yes, we are already beyond my expectations, just 3 days in.

You can sign up for yourself at the link below, and keep up to date through the class Twitter feed here.

[ Introduction to Artificial Intelligence ]

Will you enroll???

Mr Khakbaz signing up and checking out!!!

Credit goes to http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/artificial-intelligence/you-you-can-take-stanfords-intro-to-ai-course-next-quarter-for-free

Sporctober

If you have read any of my previous blog entries you have come to the conclusion that I'm a pretty big sports fan. From football to baseball to basketball, all the way to UFC and pro wrestling -we could spend hours talking about pro wrestling and if I should call it a sport or not. While the results are predetermined, you need to be a complete athlete to perform the way the do, there is no denying that; so I do consider it a for of sports and entertainment- I love watching sports, I've played most of them (soccer, baseball, basketball, flag football, bowling) and without a doubt I love talking and writing about them.

That being said, I'm really excited by the way October is shaping up. October brings to us the MLB playoffs and the second month of the NFL season, also kicks off the NBA season (most likely not going to happen this year), so there are a ton of options on stuff to see live. The reason I'm so excited is because I'll be going to a ton of events that month:

• UFC 136 - October 8th we get UFC 136 live from Houston's Toyota Center. Just today I bought my plane ticket and made hotel and car reservations for this trip. The card is looking good so far: Demian Maia vs Jorge Santiago, Chael Sonnen vs Brian Stann, Jose Aldo vs Kenny Florian for the Featherweight title, and Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard 3 for the Lightweight Championship. If you follow MMA you know that these have the potential to be some of the greatest fights in a long time. Also during the day we get the UFC Fan Expo which should be an interesting event.

[caption id="attachment_171" align="aligncenter" width="500"] UFC 136 Edgar vs Maynard III Poster[/caption]

• Raiders vs Texans - While these are two teams I don't really care for, the game will be October 9th so I'll be in Houston to catch it. Basically any NFL game I can catch live I'll do. Reliant Stadium is a beautiful venue (was there last year for a great Chargers-Texans game), the Texans have a great high powered offense and I expect the Raiders to suck (which is good for us Charger fans) so the Texans will certainly score a ton of point. Not to bad of a quick Friday-Sunday trip up to Houston.

[caption id="attachment_173" align="aligncenter" width="614"] Reliant Stadium and Reliant Astrodome at night from Kirby Dr.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_174" align="aligncenter" width="614"] Inside Reliant Stadium[/caption]

• WWE Raw Live - every chance I get to see WWE live I'm there, so I'll take full advantage of them being in town for 2 straight nights. October 12th  is a house show (not taped for TV) but these usually provide the most interaction with fans as the wrestlers have no time constraints and can go out there and have a good time doing their thing. While they don't bring a big screen and all the stuff you see on TV, you get that interaction that more than makes up for it.


• WWE SmackDown Live - The following night, the 13th, we get Smackdown for another live show. Same as the above, the interaction is well worth the price of admission; also getting to hear some of the guys curse in Spanish is pretty funny. I'm waiting to see who comes out with a soccer jersey (Monterrey has 2 teams), a couple of years ago Michelle McCool came out wearing a Tigres jersey looking for a face pop but half of the arena booed her - I guess most people in attendance were for Monterrey.

[caption id="attachment_175" align="aligncenter" width="614"] CM Punk & Alberto del Rio in Monterrey 05/14/11[/caption]

• WWE Vengeance. On October 23 WWE will revive the Vengeance PPV (I was at the 2001 edition in San Diego, yeah the one were Chris Jericho was crowned the 1st ever Undisputed Champion, see video below) live from the AT&T Center. While at a Raw taping at the same joing in May WWE announced that the event would be Uprising but quickly changed that. The last couple of Pay Per Views have been really good, lets hope they keep the trend leading to October.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNIDaPBlJ_4]

• WWE still has not announced any other events around the PPV, but we'll most certainly get a show in Austin, maybe Laredo, McAllen or Corpus Christi. This would definitely will be a great way to close out what is shaping up to be a great month.

What cool events do you have on the radar for the coming months?

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

NFL Lockout & Free Agency

5 days have passed since the NFL and it's Players Association signed a new labor agreement (that will last until 2020), to say that this is big news for sports fans is.

I'm not that interested in talking about the fine points of the agreement but some of the changes that were made were interesting. I see 3 main points here:

• The first one being the new salary cap


• Second, the rookie wage scale


• More money for retired players

All 3 are really important and have big implications, but in all fairness it all boiled down to money. The league generates soooo much money that a .01% difference is a big deal. When I talked with casual fans on their thoughts of the lockout and how it would be resolved, most of them said that there was to much money on the table to leave it there; while I totally understand that, the fact that there is that amount is the exact problem, nobody wanted to budge and lose a couple of million here o a hundred million there.

For me the rookie wage limit is something that had to be done. You hear "the highest paid rookie in history", on literally every position, almost every year; where was this going to stop? This was a good move no doubt; the playing level is so high that many great college players are nothing more that over-paid average players, I hope this will help moderate it.

A 4 month lockout that in theory didn't cost a single game (well maybe the Hall of Fame Game), yet the players didn't have the chance to practice as a unit, there were no OTAs and guys like Peyton Manning (who had some minor neck surgery) couldn't contact the team physician with whom he had worked throughout his career, making his rehab a not-so-smooth process.

Now teams are put on the spot to sign rookies, cut veterans, renew contracts and everything that usually goes on during the off-season in only a couple of weeks. I have no doubt this will cost some of the higher drafted players some big bucks as they won't have time to negotiate a deal, it's basically take it or sitout with no time to negotiate.

Also the money being thrown around for some of these free agents is just crazy. You get a guy like Kevin Kolb, (7 career starts, 11 TDs and 14 INTs with a QB rating of 73.2) who was replaced after a couple of games last season after being named the starting QB for the Eagles by Michael Vick (who is no great QB by any means IMO), traded to the Cardinals and signing a 5 year 64M contract with 21M guaranteed. Seriously, are you kidding me? Also you got a guy like Eric Weddle (Chargers) who gets paid like he is a premier player, he is good, but not premier.

Oh well, this is how it goes. The fact is that the NFL and the NFLPA came to an agreement, no games will be lost, we have labor peace at least until 2020, and the NFL as a whole came out winning as they are the standard for how a successful league should be run -say what you want about Roger Goodell but he avoided what could have been a huge disaster.

Money will be thrown around, players will be hurt, champions will be crowned, but most importantly US FANS GET A COMPLETE NFL SEASON.

Who you got for SB XLVI?

For now, MR KHAKBAZ OUT!!!!

CM Punk promo

It's been 2 weeks since CM Punk's  and I've gone back and watched it again. To say that it was amazing is an understatement, I quite possible has been the biggest thing on WWE in the last 4-5 years. I found last weeks Cena-McMahon promo quite dull, but I still hope this turns into the biggest storyline in recent memory.

I've heard a lot of podcasts and read a lot on this subject and I truly believe Punk has either re-signed or will be back in a short short time. Nothing that goes live on WWE is a shoot, while this contained lots of insider references and backstage info it was not a real shoot, to open up in such manner implies WWE is looking to make big $$$ on this; they won't make big money if they limit this to a one night deal at Money in the Bank this Sunday.

I hope we as fans get a great payoff on what has been a great couple of weeks and WWE, for the first time in a long time, has made the fans think on what will happen, has made the conclusion or progression of this storyline somewhat of a mystery. Without a doubt the element of surprise is the biggest thing in pro-wresting and this, my friends, has surprise written all over it.

Before jumping the gun and making any conclusions based on last weeks Cena-VKM interaction and whatever will happen tonight on Raw, just enjoy the moment, live the fantasy for a while and hold on judgement until this whole thing is played out. For now, enjoy the promo
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ygbL2qFknw]
Have a great Monday and enjoy RAW, for now...

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

A story of bad English

Un mexicano estaba en una esquina queriendo cruzar la calle en una ciudad de Estados Unidos, del otro lado un matrimonio que también la querían cruzar.

En eso pasa un carro muy rápido y con la llanta pisó una piedra. La piedra saltó y le pegó al marido en la cabeza. El señor se desmayó y la señora histérica trataba de despertarlo sin éxito...

En eso llegó la policía y como el Mexicano había sido testigo de los eventos, el oficial lo abordó y le preguntó:

¿Did you see what happened here?

"Yes", contestó.

¿Name? Dijo el policía, sacando al mismo tiempo una libreta para apuntar el nombre. Y contestó el hombre (que aprendió inglés con un Diccionario):

"Almost-can-see Fountains Pigeon-houses".... (Casimiro Fuentes Palomares.)

El oficial se quedó moviendo la cabeza como pensando, ¿Qué dijo este pendejo?.

¿How was it? Preguntó de nuevo el policía.

Y el señor contestó:

"I was stop here" (Yo estaba parado ahí.)

Y siguió el señor....

"The car came made the mother". (El carro venia hecho la madre.)

"The wheel gave a mega-gay to the stone". (La llanta le dió un putazo a la piedra.)

"The stone flew with mother" (La piedra voló con madre.)

"And hit the man in the one hundred" (Y le pegó al señor en la sien.)

"The woman put the kitchen helper shout in the heaven" (La mujer puso el pinche grito en el cielo.)

"And the woman said: Old, old, old... do not suck" (Viejo, Viejo, Viejo... no mames!)

"Up, Up. Don`t whistle yourself big goat" (Levántate, levántate. No te chifles cabron!)

"And the bull never came back in yes again" (Y el wey nunca volvió en sí otra vez.)

Todo destanteado el policía le preguntó: And, ¿Where is the car?

Y contestó el señor:"It peel rooster!" ( peló gallo!)

Wandering NYC

Friday, final day in NYC (flying out at noon on Saturday) so I got to make the most out of this day. After a long Thursday night drinking and watching the Mavs-Heat game I slept until 9:30; as soon as the alarm woke me up I was off to the races to do everything I wanted to do.

At 10:15 I'm out of the room and hopping onto line A up to 59th street. Boy it is hot and humid, I'd say it's around 90 degrees and 50-60% humidity. A quick 7 minute trip and I get to my first destination, the Apple Store at 5th avenue; as a geek this place was like heaven to me. Just from the outside the place is beautiful, check out the pic


The big cube is just the outside, right in the middle you get to the stairs down to the store. Inside you can find any thing Apple, from all Macbooks, iMacs, iPods, iPads and a ton of docks for playing digital music. The place is just awesome, yet I could not find the iPad cover/case I was looking for (odd that I didn't find it at the Apple Store yet I found one at a Brookstone in the Newark Airport next day). After Geek Paradise it was off to next door to FAO Schwarz.

If you've seen Home Alone this is the toy store they base Duncan's Toy Chest on, FAO Schwarz has any toy you could imagine. You find the Harry Potter section, the action figure section, this huge piano you can dance on and the keys will light up (you can take it home for the nice price of $250,000 dollars)



Also you have this huge Lego section with some sculptures made entirely of lego such as a Indiana Jones and this Statue of Liberty



Got a gift for her and also for my Godson, a little Red Sox puff and a Cars 2 toy for each one.

Right across the street from both store is the SE corner of Central Park, so it's time to walk like crazy in this beautiful place. Need I remind you by now it must be over 95 degrees and humid as hell so to say I was sweating is an understatement. Walked all around the park but the place I really wanted to hit was Strawberry Fields -a small section of the park dedicated to John Lennon-, if you read my blog you now I'm a big Beatles fan so this was a must. Why the place is modest it just has this great aura and was so worth the long ass walk.



Just a nice place to visit; this is up around 72nd street, so I'm about 13 blocks off the subway stop I need to take back down to Times Square. By now it's almost 1 PM so I'm starving, on the way down I decide the eatery of choice will be the Hard Rock Cafe on 44th, smack dab in the heart of Times Square. A house salad, Baby Back Ribs and a couple of Sam Adams later I got my tank filled up so it's off to wander around a bit more.

The next stop is the Hershey's Store a couple of blocks away to get some chocolates for her and for the office. Just the smell of the place is off the hook, chocolate all around. They've got these great boxes with a Times Square image and has an assortment of miniature chocolates.




Souvenir shopping, gotta get some things for friends and a final gift for her. A quick walk down on 7th to 36th to get to the World's Largest Store, Macy's to get some clothes. To say the store is huge is an understatement, it must be 8 or 10 floors high; I got a new wallet on the street level, two shirts on the second floor, a pair of shoes and two pants on the 4th. It's around 5:30 and I'm sweaty and dead tired, time to hit the hotel to rest a little and shower before the show at 8.

After the pitstop it's time to head up to Radio City Music Hall to watch the second show ever of Cirque De Soleil's Zarkana. Had a couple of drinks before the show, those 15 dollar scotch & soda's were pretty darn good.



I've always wanted to see a show at Radio City so this was a great opportunity, the show was OK but in no way was it better than that O show I saw in Vegas in April or The Beatles: Love. Also the fact that it was the second show ever show with lots of production quirks that need to be worked out. Not the best show I've seen, actually the worst of the 3 I caught this trip (Rain: tribute to the Beatles and Stomp were the other 3) but was pretty entertaining.

10:30 PM and a quick subway trip takes me back to the hotel. My legs are dead, I'm hungry and I need to get my bags packed for the trip back home. Got a couple of pizza slices which were great; NYC has got to have the best pizza around, maybe I've got to go to Chicago to see if the theory is right. Dined, packed and off to sleep. Long trip back home tomorrow, for now...

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

Red Sox vs Yankees at yankee stadium

So I've been looking for a Red Sox Adrian Gonzalez #28 jersey or t-shirt since I arrived in NYC on Saturday, no luck whatsoever; I had to get a Red Sox cap, a huge selection at Lids. With some Sox gear on, I'm on my way.

Took the C Subway line across the street at Penn Station and right from the getgo had some fun interactions with Yankee fans; nothing rough, just lots of fun. After 4 stops I transfer to the D line which, about 15 minutes later drops me off right at Yankee Stadium.

While I'm not a Bronk Bomber fan I'm a big fan of baseball history so being at this stadium is just a wet dream for me. Say what you want, but this stadium is fucking amazing; just from outside seeing the YANKEE STADIUM sign right behind home plate is a awesome.

I walked around the outside a couple of minutes and then made my way inside, quick pat down and I'm in. To say I had chills upon entering is an understatement; just FYI watching a Red Sox vs Yankees at the Bronx is now something I can cross off the bucket list.

Just as I enter I find the Yankees Pro Shop, go in and find a HUGE amount of cool team memorabilia; they have these cool "lockers" for each player where you can find all sorts of merchandise for that specific player. Seriously, no one like American sports teams can come up with so much crap to sell. Got a shot glass for dad and a magnet for mom.

I keep walking along the concourse and find this store kind of what the Mets have at Citi Field; a ton of historic memorabilia. Signed balls, game used bas and bases, parts of old Yankee Stadium, jerseys and other cool stuff. Just great stuff you have seen in famous pictures -like that "thank God you are a Yankee" sign signed by the man who said this himseld Joe DiMaggio. It's awesome to see so many pieces of historic baseball stuff; I may sound like a Yankee fan, no I'm not, just a fan of baseball history and this IS history.

Keep walking along and taking tons of pics, which you can see here. At Center Field you can go into Monument Park, another wet dream for any baseball fan. Needless to say I'm just in awe at everything there is to see in the area; again tons of pics.

By this time its about 615 so it's time to start making my way up, up, up to my seat. While my seat was at the highest lever, I was in the first row and right behind home plate which is so much better than the left field seats from Citi Field. Got this awesome hot sausage dog with a ice cold Stella Artois, all for the low price (as sarastic as can be) of 17 bucks.

At my seat my neighbors are a tipical New York guy with his Asian girlfriend who is just an asshole (her, him not so much). She keeps bitching and moaning about everything going on, from the sun, the heat, the noise, the seats, the fart David Ortiz just took in the clubhouse, and any other thing going on. When the game started John Lester hit a couple of Yankee hitters, shenkeep bitching he should be thrown out; and kept going and going. So you have to runners on and you on purpose hit someone? What kind of dumb, ignorant person are you? If you don't know about something, shut up and learn.

There are a couple of Sox fans around me so I don't feel like my life is in danger for the next 3 to 4 hours. So, it's game time and right off the bat we get a Jacoby Ellsbury HR to lead off the game which makes us Sox fans pop big and you hear a couple if boo birds by yankee fans. Next Pedroia get a walk and A-Gon hits a triple to right-center to give Boston a 2-0 lead before they make an out. Youkilis follows with a sacrifice fly for a 3 run lead after 1 out. Yankees get the bases load but only 1 run across, so after 1 inning it's 3-1 Boston; also Mark Teixeira got hit right on the knee and had to come out of the game. Another Sox run to start the second and that's it for Yankees started Feddy Garcia.

We are 4-1 into the 5th were Adrian Gonzalez gets a walk and two hitters later Big Papi David Ortiz crushes a ball to the right field seats to give the Boston a 6-1 lead. By now the boo birds are out on full force; we (sox fans') are having a blast. NY gets both runs back in the bottom of the 5th for a 6-3 defficit.

After the 6th inning my neighbors leave which is good news for me. Boston started Lester didn't have his best stuff but battled and gave his team 6 runs of 3 run ball which was pretty good. 3 relievers work the 7th and 8th (Bobby Jenks came out after only 3 pitches, we'll see the extent of his injury).

Pappelbon comes in to pitch the ninth and get the save. It was not without drama as NY was able to get one more run on a single by Jorge Posada (who came in to play 1B for Teixeira). So with 2 outs, the tying run comes to the plate in the form of Akex Rodriguez, I'm nervous and the people left in the stands are really excited. It all ends in 5 pitches with a strikeout to seal the win for the Boston Red Sox by a score of 6-4.

All in all it was an awesome experience. Only a rivalry like this can get a sellout on a Tuesday night, last more than 3 and a half hours and have a playoff feel right at the beggining of June. Only a Red Sox- Yankees.
Got a chance to see 2 Jeter hits as he now only needs 12 for 3000. Had a couple of assholes beside me, but its part of the whole experience. I was surprised how quickly the crowd goes dead after just one or two pitches.

The subway ride back was so fun. Got to talk with some pretty cool yankee fans also with a girl from austin who was going to be in he city for only 22 hours so she had gone, lierally, everywere and not slept at all. As I was getting off the subway I passed a bar near the hotel where they had on the Mavs-Heat game so I went in, had a beer and watched the final 3 minutes of the game; a nice way to end a damn near perfect day.

For Wednesday I have nothing scheduled for after the conference, could this mean another trip to Yankee Stadium? Or dinner somewhere nice to catch hs game? We'll see. The current plan is to go out to learn as much as possible and make some contacts that will help out in the neat future, but for now...

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

NY blog, monday

Bare with me, I wrote this on my ipad and most pics are on my camera so I'll be uploading them on Sunday when I get home

Wake up in the morning feeling... Wait a moment, no shitty songs in my blog.
Alarm off at 8, time for a shower and off to the Convention Center for a 10am kick off. I'm on 33rd and 7th so I've got to get up to 34th then down to 11. Seems like a quick walk but those blocks from 7 to 11 are looooong.

Got to the convention center which is huge and right by the Hudson river. About 3 or 4 conventions are going on simultaneously, so you can imagine its pretty big. Quick check in and into the Cloud Computing Bootcamp to get a general knowlede on the topic. The official keynote is until 1pm but this was a good way to get acquainted with the event.

After this had 1 hour for lunch, so I had a chance to get to White Castle again... That shit is addictive. BTW I find it amazing that there is no free web access at an IT conention, SysCon (event organizer) will hear abou this. Also a real bad thing of all IT events is that most of the attendees are male, almost no women and those few are mmm well not to attractive.

At 1 we get the keynote speech by Seve Shmuckenbrock from Dell, it even included a welcome video from Michael Dell. A nice keynote speech, got us into the groove of the event. He talked about the cloud, benefits, challenges and how the business is focused on the "yes, now!" idea. Yes we want it, we want it now. That is the main foundation and motivation of cloud computing as a whole. I liked he talked from a Dell perspective yet he didn't try to push it a a sales presentation.
The second part of the keynote was by Bill Zack of Microsoft. Right from the start lots of people left, that speaks loads of how the public sees Microsoft. This was boring as hell and nothing more than a platform to push the Azure service.

The next presentation was by Jill Singer who is the CIO of the NRO. This actually was a great presentation, she talked about how she and the NRO has planned the migration to a cloud, her recommendation for any enterprise doing this and some best practices they are using. A real insightful presenation.

The next one was War on the Cloud, a boring sales presentation. It was so boring that midway throught the presentation half the people had; also there were 5 minutes left for q&a, not a single question, you know no one cares when there is not a single question.

A presentation on Entreprise Private Cloud was next. A pretty good presentation with the experiences of 2 companies - abiquo and roundarch. These experiences were pretty insightful, yet i still dont have an idea on how to start implementing could with my customers in Mexico, maybe later at the demo floor I will get some more insight.

Had a couple of more presentations, nothing to write home about but was able to hit the floor and see what the vendors had to offer. I found some interesting things mostly for storage and for x86 servers, not much for UNIX (AIX specifically); still some good offerings from which I hope to get more info to offer tu my customers and see what happens.

While I thought there should have been snacks and drinks during the day for us to take in between sessions, there were some great drinks and snacks to have during the opening of the floor; the thing was that by this time it was around 8:30 and I hadn't had any food since 12 so my stomach was pretty empty and the scotch and beers got to me. Time for me to hit the road.
Made the 15 minute walk towards the hotel, grabbed some pizza and headed up to the room. Was able to catch some of WWE Raw on tv and winded the day down. Some might say I should take advantage of NYC but I must rest as tomorrow is a long day and, after all, I'm here to work. Hoping for some better presentations tomorrow and a great trip to Yankee Stadium to catch RedSox vs Yankees, for now...

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

Ny Blog, sunday

Bare with me asI wrote this on my iPad and most pictures are on my camera... Will upload them when I get home

Time to kick off a great week waking up early (for a Sunday) at 9am. I catch the 1st set between Nadal-Federer in the French Open finals; what a great comeback by Nadal after starting out pretty bad.

1030 I'm out of the hotel to walk around -the best way to be a tourist around NYC- to Times Square. This guy on a wheelchair singing "nobody jerks me off like you do", once you hear that you know you are in NYC.

Check out a couple of stores looking for a Adrian Gonzalez redsox tshirt for the game on tuesday, still not hae been able to find it. At about 1145 it find an Olive Garden right in the heart of TS, this is probably the only place where an Olive Garden has such a spectacular view. I've got the Hershey Store within view, so I now where the next stop will be. BTW when at Olive Garden get the Portobello Filled ravioli.

Couple of more hours of walking just soaking up the city and sights. Got into a irish pub for a quick beer and it was off to the Brooks Atkison theatre on 47th right off Broadway for Rain: a tribue to The Beatles at 3pm

Holy shit the show is AMAZING!!! I just can't put into words how great the show is. The theatre is pretty small so you have great views from any seat. Most tribute shows I have seen are just a cheap copy but this has a pretty good production but the performers are off the hook good. The guy who plays John Lennon looks so much like him it's scary. All of thr band members are great. Paul plays a great bass, George has some amazing guitar solos, and Ringo is great on the drums (although he looks more like Wolowitz from Big Bang Theory).

Any true Beatles fan show watch this show. It is so worth the price of admission and you will be glad you took a chance on a smaller but great show.

At 5:30 I make my way out of the theatre and onto the subway on 49th to get on the N line to get to the Mets game at Citi Field against the Braves; the trains are packed. About midway I switch to the 7th line and at about 6:15 it get off and get into the ballpack.

I can't stress how nice the stadium is, such an improvement from historic (nice word for old) Shea Stadium. Nice surprise that it's free batting helmet night, so I get a souvenier to take home. Got to the team store to get a couple of gifts for my old folks (a shot glass and a magnet for their collections). A thing I hadn't seen at other parks is that you have the chance to buy game used balls, bats and bases, along with other signed memorabilia like jerseys and lineup cards; a pretty cool thing for mets fan.

Got to walk around the park during batting practice, and then got to my seating area to watch the Braves some balls out of the park. Eric Hinske was cool with the fans, also Jair Jurgens threw some ball to the fans. One funny/scary moment was when a ball was hit one a line drive for a homerun; the thing was that is was hit si hard that everyone moved away, even some dude who left his daughter to be hit by the ball right on the shoulder; it was brutal and funny at the same time. The mother didn't know what to do, confort the girld or be mad at her husband.

Got a hotdog and a beer tight before the game, so its game time and right from the get-go the Mets were in control and hitting Tim Hudson's pitches hard. A 5-0 lead after 4 innings and some great pitching by R.A. Dickey (whoa his parents must have hated him) pretty much sealed it for the Braves. I was so cold and I had no jacket so I had to get some hot chocolate to help me get through the game.

At around the 7th inning I decided to walk around the ball park to see all it has to offer. Check all the pics here. Had to much to eat so I made a pitstop and right at that moment Brian McCann hits a dinger which I missed.

As I was to take the subway back to the hotel I decided to leave at the top of the 9th inning to try and not be all tight on the way back. Missed the braves 3 run ninth but the game was sealed and ended 6-4. Took the 7 all the way to Times Square and made the quick 8 block walk to the hotel.
All in all a great day, got to see a spectacular Beatles concert (the closest to seeing them live in my opinion) walk around Times Square, buy a couple of things and catch a baseball game along with getting to know the new stadium.

Back to the hotel which is pretty crappy but in a great location. I'm so tired right now so I'll just hang around and get ready for the start of the 8th Annual International Cloud Computing Expo tomorrow at he Jvist Convention Center, for now...

MrKhakbaz out!!!

NY Blog, travel day

So I get to Monterrey's airport pretty early (1015 for a 1235 flight) since the flight will be pretty much empty checking and security goes so quickly. Enough time to grab breakfast and sit around for a while tweeting with friends.

Boarding & everything goes quickly. We get one of those small ass planes, the kind that has 1 seat on one side and two on the othe and about 18 rows; I have no problem with that, the thing is they area made for short people, not that I'm tall (5-11.785, dang so close to 6 feet) and I hit my head when I stand totally upright.

A quick hour and 20 minutes later we touch down in Houston. Holy crap IAH is a huuuuge airport, I walk like 10 minutes at full speed only to get to immigration. A long line awaits, and by long I mean long and slow enough to get me nervous that I may miss my connection or that I won't be able to get my bag and pass customs and drop it off to get onto the plane. It's about 1:20 and I gotta board the plane to Newark at 3:05, time keeps passing and the line is moving sloooooow, about half way they open another couple of booths which helps out a ton. Finally at about 2:25 I make it past immigration and I'm off to the races.

I get my bag, go though customs and drop It off. Quick bathroom stop and we're off to the races to make it to the gate and hopefully get something to eat. At 3:10 I'm near the gate and all I could get my hands on was a coke and some cheetos. Junk food that saved me for the 3 hour flight from Houston to Jersey. As soon as I get to the gate they annouce boarding for rows 22 to 30 -I'm on 28 so its time.
Flight goes without a hitch. I love Continental on long flights as, even in coach, we get a individual screens. I got to catch a Big Bang Theory show and some games





Also got to see Hall Pass on the iPad and a couple of CSI Las Vegas episodes, also read a little. Gotta love the iPad for long boring trips. So after 3 hours we touch down at Newark about 20 minutes before schedule so we had to wait on the runway for the gate to clear. Another long walk to get to baggage claim, thankfully my bag got here.

I was going to catch a cab but the line was like 50 group long so I took a 15 dollar bus trip right to Times Square. Holy shit didn't remember how amazing this place is. Seriously, Manhattan is beautiful. Form the skyline right before the Lincoln Tunnel to getting onto 42nd street from 9th avenue. Made the short walk down to 33rd and 7th to the Pennsilvania Hotel which is right in front of Madison Square Garden. The hotel lobby is pretty nice, checked in and got up to the 11th floor. The floor halls are pretty old and the rooms are old and small. The one thing I love is the bathroom, it just screams NY.

After resting a couple of minutes I went out to catch something to eat at about 10pm. For the first time ever I had White Castle to eat, for anyone who has seen Harold and Kumar you know this is the holy grail. Damn it didn't dissapoint, had 4 sliders (small burgers that are amazing! 4 seems a lot but they are sooo small). Walked around the hotel area a bit, got some ice cream and headed back to the room.
Up at the room it was time to unpack and iron out clothes and then catch SportsCenter and wind down as it had been a long day.

Hoping tomorrow kicks off what should be an amazing week in New York, but for now...

Mr Khakbaz checking out!

NBA Finals

And the there were 2 (yeah I've been watching to much Seinfeld), we are finally down to the final two teams in the NBA Playoffs, that means it's NBA Finals time.

We've got the Miami Heat taking on the Dallas Mavericks, starting out Tuesday at 9PM ET on ABC



Both teams come in as hot a possible at predicting this will be a tough one, so lets break each team down to see who has a possible advantage at winning it all.

Dallas Mavericks

Without a doubt Dirk Nowitzki has been the player of these playoffs. No one has been more reliable, made bigger shots and carried the team on his shoulder. He has been a force in the paint, from mid-range and from behind the 3 point line, all in all averaging 28.4 points a game (2nd only to Kevin Durant). Oh and what can I say about his free throw shooting, he is 130 out of 140; that translates into a 92.9%. Just all in all a great player, and from what you hear in press conferences and interviews, a great team leader. He has been often regarded as a soft player due to his laid back attitude, I believe nothing is further from the truth and these 15 games have proven that

Along with Dirk's spectacular play, 38 year old Jason Kidd has played his part really well. While he doesn't have the speed he had 94 years ago he arrived at the NBA, he makes up with smarts and experience. He is averaging 7.7 assists per game and has averaged 2.2 steals per game; along with all the intangible he brings to the court.

To complement Kidd come Jason Terry and JJ Barea. Terry, the only other survivor along with Nowitzki from that 2006 team, we know about and know what he is capable off -great player off the bench, provides a spark, can run with the best of them, and when he gets hot he can take over a game -if not, ask the Lakers what happened after he was burning them up and ended the game 9 for 10 from behind the arc. Barea we, or casual fans, didn't know much about, but he has been an incredibly valuable asset; his speed and aggressive style provide a change of pace from what defenses see from J-Kidd and the JET, he has been a huge spark for the team and has really come into his own come playoff time -even with the huge cheap shot he took from Andrew Bynum-.

Inside the paint we've got Tyson Chandler and Shawn Marion, both of whom haven't put great individual numbers but represent what the Mavs are all about, getting the best result for the team regardless of who scores the basket.

Dallas comes off beating Portland 4 games to 2, sweeping the Lakers 4-0 (the most dominant playoff series win in a long, long time), and finally ousting the OKC Thunder 4-1 in the Western Conference Semifinals.

Miami Heat

There is no secret that I loathe the Heat, to me they are the furthest definition of what a team should be. They are just a gathering of All-Stars who have no idea on how to play as a team. I was convinced they wouldn't make it far due to this, yet they got to the final step of the way. Could it be enough or has their luck run out?

First and foremost they have Lebron James. Possibly one of the most gifted player since... nah I'm not going to compare him to a true legend. A great all around player who has only one thing on his agenda, himself. Just the other day I tweeted with my Beachbody coach (@katiechoudary, check her out even if you don't work out, she motivates the heck out of you to make every day count) and we were talking about players with class, she mentioned Derrick Rose and I was totally with her on the point that the kid shows class in every thing he does on and off the court; another example would be Ray Allen and Doc Rivers who showed the utmost class when the Heat were celebrating the win as if it was a Title, they stayed on the court to shake their hands and acknowledge they were beaten by the better team. On the other hand Lebron has no such attribute, from his infamous "The Decision" special, to his comments and all around attitute; they just scream out ASSHOLE. All that being said, there is no doubt he is on of the best players on the court today.

Along with James we've got D-Wade, who in my opinion is the most complete player there is in the world -there, I said it-. He plays every aspect of the game at a high lever, he may not be the best in all of them but when you put all the pieces together you get the most well rounded player there is. He is one of my favorites in and out of the arena and it's a shame that people boo him just because he is associated with Lebron.

Along with those 2 come Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, Mike Bibby and a whole cast of players that will no doubt play a huge role on how the series will evolve.

The Heat come into the Finals after beating Philadelphia 4-1 in the 1st round, the Celtics 4-1 in the 2nd, and finally the Bulls 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Final(s) Breakdown

• Both teams have a 12-3 record


• Dallas has the bigger series win (4-0) over the Lakers


• Dallas has a better scorer in the Playoffs with Dirk's 28.4 PPG compared to LeBron's 26.0 PPG


• Dallas has a better assist man in Jason Kidd with 7.7 APG during the playoffs


• As a team Dallas has been scoring 99.7 PPG to Miami's 92.9 (8.8 point difference)


• Miami has better team defense as they allow 88.3 PPG to the Mavs' 92.5 (4.2 PPG difference)


• Dallas still has the better difference between PPG scored vs PPG alloved with +7.2 to Miami's +4.6 (second place these playoffs, not a coincidence)


• Dallas has a better FG% 46.3% to the Heat's 44.3%


• Miami's Defensive FG% is better with 41.9% vs the 44.6% posted by Dallas


• 3PT FG% is owned by Dallas with 38.8% against Miami's 32.2%


• The arena noise, from what I've heard on TV (I've only been to the American Airlines Center in DFW  and it LOUD even in a mid-season game) is some much more of a factor in Dallas. I feel bad when the game starts in Miami as you see a ton of empty seats.

From the bullet points (not taking in account the crowd factor) Dallas has a 7-2 lead yet when it comes to picking a real winner it is so much harder that just these stats. The series opens in Miami and most betting sites have the Heat a 4.5 point favorite with a 187.5 point O/U. That is much bigger of a difference than what I expected. Also they are putting Miami as the favorite as you have to bet 17.5 dollars to win 10 while Dallas pays you $14.50 for every 10 you bet. That is so one sided.

Who you got? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this or any other topic in the comments section

With all that said, my final pick to win the 2011 NBA Title is:

Dallas Mavericks in 6 games.

P.S. If Dallas wins the 1st game I will say it's over right on the spot. Let's see how it goes and I'll post my thoughts on Game 1 tomorrow night or early Wednesday.

For now...

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

1st post from iPad

So i got my other blog up at mrkhakbaz.blogspot.com but i'm trying wordpress mainly due to the fact they have an ipad app.

I just got my ipad2 a couple of days ago. I've been looking to sell or trade my 2.5 year old macbook, not because I don't like it but mainly because I don't use it. Since I got my computer from the office I never use it; heck, it's been 6 months since I turned it on.

So on wednesday this guys asks about my laptop on Mercado Libre, which is the mexican version of eBay. In less than 2 hours we completed the trade and i got my 16GB ipad and he got his macbook. Fair deal, good business.

So I post mainly about sports and tech stuff. Lets se how this goes, for now...

MrKhakbaz out!!!

NBA Conference Semifinals

>Well we're off with a bang in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. To say that we have had some incredible games is an understatement. Basically every series was competitive to some degree and without a doubt we've gotten some see-to-believe finishes.
16 teams started, we had some favorites get the early boot (Spurs I'm looking at you!), some teams no one gave 2 cents about moving on (Grizzlies), and some teams who may not have made it still fought to the end and provided us with some fun games (Pacers, Hornets). Well, with no further ado, let's go straight into the 2nd round preview.

Eastern Conference
#3 Boston Celtics vs #2 Miami Heat

This series is one that everyone wanted to see. I, for one, had picked the Heat to win their 1st round matchup with the 76ers in 5 games, which they did in that exact number of games and in convincing fashion. On the other hand we get the Celtics who I expected to lose against the Knicks in 6 games, and boy was i wrong and badly wrong, they just ran over the Knicks who made it interesting in the first two games but after that it was all Celts who swept to advance into the second round.
Without a doubt these are the two teams people are most interested in from the Eastern Conference -the Bulls are the 3rd one, and my pick to advance to the NBA Finals but that is for another time- and wanted to get this matchup. Boston brings to the table their 3-headed monster: Ray Allen -the best pure shooter in the history of the game, still is at the age of 35-, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, while Miami has it's on trio in the form of Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. Man to man I think the Heat's Big 3 are a bit better than those of Boston but in the playoffs I still side with experience and true team playing.
Role player-wise both teams have some interesting players. Rondo had a huge triple-double vs NY but has a tendency to disappear in big games and is always a question mark in my book. You've also got players like Delonte West (Lebron James' mom favorite player), Jeff Green and Big Baby. Anything Boston can do will hugely depend on what role players can do, every series you have these guys winning one or two games and that makes a difference.
Miami has some great players other than the Big 3: Big Z, James Jones, Mario Chalmers and Mike Bibby. I really expect Jones to be a huge factor in this series as Boston can be a little slow in transition defense and Jones will have some open looks from 3-point land.
I believe the Heat have the talent advantage while the Celtics have the experience edge. I really want LeBron to lose and take his talents on vacation, but I'm reluctantly going to pick the Heat to win in 6 games.
Pick: Miami Heat in 6 games.

#5 Atlanta Hawks vs #1 Chicago Bulls

In my last blog I predicted the Hawks to beat Orlando in 6 games which I got right. Also picked the Bulls to dispose in 5 games of the Pacers that was also right. I wrote that the winner of the Hawks-Magic series would not make it passed this second round against the Bulls and I'm keeping that prediction.
While the Bulls were pushed to the limit in the first 3 games by Indiana, and to be realistic they played pretty bad in the 1st 2 and still won; that is a testament of a great time, to be able to somehow win a game you did not deserve to win.

I'm not going into deep detail for this series as I expect the Bulls to take it pretty easily led by soon-to-be League MVP Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah. This trio somewhat reminds me of the 90's Bulls that had Jordan (Rose plays his role, NOT SAYING ROSE IS AS GOOD AS JORDAN, but he plays his role), Deng is the Pippen of this team and Noah is like Rodman who was all over the place, fought every ball to the death, didn't have the best technique but his heart is bigger that anyone on the floor.
Pick: Chicago Bulls win this series in 5 games.

Western Conference
#8 Memphis Grizzlies vs #4 Oklahoma City Thunder

This is a series never in my wildest dreams expected to happen. Memphis had a date with the #1 seed San Antonio Spurs in the first round which I expected the Spurs to take easily but what happened on the court was a totally different story. The Spurs were outplayed, out matched, out hustled by the Grizzlies, who showed a ton of heart after that brutal loss in game 5 (the one with the Manu 3 (2) pointer, and the Gary Neal game tying 3 pointer as time expired to send it to overtime) to rebound and take it in game 6 in dominant fashion. The Thunder kicked the Nuggets out of contention in 5 games of what was a pretty fun series and gave us some entertaining games but in the end was dominated all the way by OKC.
For the second series in a row, Memphis will be the huge underdogs but without a doubt will go down fighting. I expect this to be a lot closer than what many people think, with the Zach "Blue Collar" Randolph led Grizzlies pushing Durant, Ibaka and Russell Westbrook to the limit.
Every game the Grizzlies win extends what has already been an improbable playoff run. Randolph has been superb and will need to continue to give Memphis a chance, he may have his way inside due to the lack of inside size for the Thunder. With all that being said, I think OKC has too much young talent, a great coach and lots of poise to make-up for the lack of experience.
Pick: Oklahoma Thunder in 7 games.

#3 Dallas Mavericks vs #2 Los Angeles Lakers

It is no secret that I'm a huge Laker fan so you can predict who I want to win , but I'll try to be as objective as possible. Mavs won a hard fought 6 game series with the Blazers (I had it in 7 games), while the Lakers were given there moneys worth by the Hornets with also a 4-2 series win.
As always Dallas is a contender in the West but they are, as always, lacking the IT factor. The don't have that inside dominant position; Kidd (at 38) and Nowitzki are amazing talents but a two man team will come up short at some point, or for the last 5-7 years.
The Lakers will have a huge size advantage with Bynum and Gasol on the inside. My question is, will we get the Gasol from game 1 against NO or the on from the final games in the regular series? That will be a deciding factor on who this series goes. You know Kobe will do his part, Fisher and Blake will do their thing, Odom will get it done, but Bynum and Gasol could make this a 4 game sweep or push the series deep.
Lakers weren't impressive in the 1st round against New Orleans but I believe they will be much more dominant against Dallas as they match up so much better against them. CP3 gave the Lakers fits as they don't have anyone fast enough to defend him but the Mavs don't have a threat like that. Without a doubt LA must win game 1 to take control of the series and not be forced to win game 2. That being said...
My pick: Lakers in 5 games.

After a spectacular first round in the NBA Playoffs I hope we get more of the same great ball...

Who you got? Who's your favorite

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

WWE Extreme Rules

>

Still having Wrestlemania hangover? Well we get WWE's next pay-per-view installment Extreme Rules.

This show originated in 2005 as the rebirth of ECW in a magical show in New York that saw the Dudley Boyz beat Tommy Dreamer & Sandman. In the 2006 show RVD finally won the WWE title, this was the last show that trully had a ECW feel to it. The 07 show was a forgettable one, but 2008 was a solid one that gave us a great ladder match between Edge & Undertaker that I had the chance to see live at the San Diego Sports Arena.

I have always been impressed and interested what WWE offers us in relation to the production and setup for the show. Stages used to be unique for every show and not the same one every month with different logos. This is a picture of the stage from my seat

The ladder match had some awesome spots that ended with Edge throwing Undertaker off the ladder to the outside of the ring through 4 tables. This is one of the final extreme matches Edge had, he unfortunately had to retire this month because of his recurring neck injuries (for a Edge tribute blog go here)

The stipulation was that if Taker lost he would be banished, so we didn't get to see him for a few months until SummerSlam

So lets get into the matches announced for this Sundays show

Jerry Lawler & Jim Ross vs Michael Cole & Jack Swagger
I'll start off by saying that I'm sick of this feud, I have no interest whatsoever in Cole and usually end up changing the channel; the only good thing to come put of this is to have Jim Ross back on commentary, even if it is for a couple of months. Also finally Swagger is getting some TV time which hopefully gets him a further push after this ends.
I have no idea how this will end as I expected this to be blown off at Mania but noooooooooo, we get another month of it. I don't care who wins as long as it end; I expect King and JR to pick up the W with help from Swagger who in the process will turn face.
Lawler and JR pick up the win.

Cody Rhodes vs Rey Mysterio (Falls Count Anywhere Match)
I've been a fan of this feud from the get-go and was expecting someone to help get over Rhodes and Rey has been instrumental to get this done. Their Mania Match was a solid one that told a good story with the Dashing One picking up the win, therefore I expect Mr. 619 to get the W in this one to keep this feud going.
I hope they get 15-18 minutes to tell a good story, with Rey getting the win.

---SPOILER ALERT--- This match will be announced on SmackDown!
Michelle McCool vs Layla (Loser leaves Smackdown match)
I'll start off by saying I love LayCool and think they have been great in their role, whether McCool was given a head start because of her backstage relationship or not is irrelevant as she was given the ball and ran with it. Michelle has an injured foot so I guess this is a match that will be used to explain her absence, thus Layla will pick up the win (for the record, I find Layla to be the hottest diva today, her face, her body, her accent, THE WHOLE DAMN PACKAGE)
Layla wins this one in a 7-8 minute match.

Randy Orton vs CM Punk (Last Man Standing Match)
This feud has grown a bit stale even with 2 of the greatest SuperStars around. Orton will be moving to Smackdown and Punk is THE greatest heel in WWE today, bar none. With rumors going around that Punk won't resign with WWE this match may go his way to make him feel good, also a loss wouldn't hurt Orton as the people are really behind him.
I'm interested in seeing how violent the WWE allows this guys to be, no need for huge spots but some use of weapons could help the match and accentuate how sadistic both guys are -in their own way-.
Punk wins in a 23 minute (sounds like a good wish) show-stealing match

Alberto del Rio vs Christian in a Ladder Match for the WHC
This is quite a mystery and hard to call as we have ADR going to RAW because of the Draft and if he wins he would take the title and have both titles on Monday Nights, yet he is so overdue to win this match and the crowd may lose faith in him if he doesn't pick up the W. On the other hand Christian is a solid performer but has never been see as Championship material by the office so -I'd love to see him finally get the title- it's hard to believe they will put the strap on him.
Regardless of the outcome I expect these 2 to put on a clinic -along with the Orton-Punk match- I expect this one to steal the show. I'll go out on a limb and pick a winner
Alberto Del Rio gets the W, not sure how they will manage the title after that but that's for creative to figure out.

John Cena vs John Morrison vs The Miz in a Triple Threat WWE title Match
For some reason I'm not real interested in this match although I like all 3 guys. Cena takes a bunch of crap from most fans but you have to respect his commitment and hard work, I mean the guy is on the road close to 300 days a year, does media appearances left and right, is a great performer and always gets a reaction. Morrison is one of the best wrestlers around, his parkour is amazing, he gets a great reaction from the crowd but for some reason (maybe it's Melina and the stuff backstage with Trish Stratus) WWE decides not to let him be a real top guy. And finally, The Miz; this guys is a perfect example of what hard work and fighting for what you believe in is all about, that package before his Wrestlemania still gives me chills and I think he is a role model for anyone to follow.
With that being said, I don't care for this match. I expect R-Truth (a guy I could care less about) to somehow mess with JoMo, that leaves us with Cena-Miz  which I'd love to end with Miz picking up the clean win but I find it hard to believe they will go with that.
A good thing about this is that the winner is hard to predict, which is a testament to the Miz growing as a believable character. No one believed he'd go past a couple of week as champ, but here he is after beating Orton a couple of times, Cena at Mania (all have been with help, but it means WWE believes in him and makes fans think he can win any match which adds to the product).
Winner: I want Miz, I expect Cena.

The storylines are not that interesting but we have some matches that have huge potential and could be some of the best this year.
Hope we get an entertaining 3 hours and our moneys worth; I'll be back on Sunday night for a review, for now...

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

Barca-Madrid, Copa del Rey

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Después de vivir el primero de 4 Clásicos en 18 días, el encuentro del sábado sirvió como preámbulo para lo que será el plato fuerte: tanto la Final de la Copa de Rey como la ronda Semifinal de la Copa de Campeones de UEFA. Al igual que en la entrada anterior este post se enfocará exclusivamente en las estadísticas de los partídos Barcelona-Madrid de la Copa del Rey.

• El primer duelo de Copa del Rey entre estos dos históricos se llevó a cabo hace 109 años. Las semifinales de la Copa de 1902 fueron la primera vez que se enfrentaron Barcelona - Madrid en un torneo nacional en Espana -vale la pena recordar que La Liga se estableció en 1929-. El marcador fue un 1-3 que se llevó el Barca a domicilio.


• En eso 109 años hemos tenido 28 enfrentamientos teniendo la siguiente distribución de resultados:




• Real Madrid ha vencido en 9 ocasiones


• 14 triunfos para los Culé.


• 5 empates

• A pesar de tener menor cantidad de triunfos las anotaciones son muy similares:




• 59 goles para el Barcelona (2.11 por partido, mismo promedio del Madrid en juegos en casa en La Liga vs el Barca)


• 54 tantos anotados por los Merengues (1.96 goles por juego).

• La racha más larga de victorias para el Madrid es de 2:




• La vuelta de la semifinal en 1943 ganando 11-1 en casa. Curioso que en un juego donde anotan 11 goles ningún jugador repitió y fueron 11 anotadores distintos.


• La ida de las semifinales del 53-54 con una victoria 1 a 0 en casa con un gol al 86 de Enrique Mateos




• Por su parte el Barcelona tiene una racha mayor, 4 encuentros:




• La vuelta de los Cuartos de final en 56-57 ganando 6-1 en casa con 4 goles de Eulogio Martinez. En ese encuentro ningun madrileño anotó ya que su solitario gol fue un autogol de Ferran Olivella al 75.


• El segundo en la racha fue un 2-4 en los Cuartos de la 58-59


• El tercero fue en la vuelta de esos mismos Cuartos con un 3-1 en el Camp Nou


• La última victoria de la racha fue un 0-1 en la ida de los Cuartos de la 61-62.


• Si bien fueron 4 victorias consecutivas, hay una racha de 5 sin perder ya que hubo un empate en el juego de ia previo al 6-1.




• Un dato que nos favorece a todos los fanáticos del futbol es que nunca hemos tenido empates consecutivos; menciono esto ya que el último Clásico en Copa del Rey fue un empate 1-1 en 96-97, esperemos que esta estadística se mantenga en 0.


• No es que yo sea seguidor del Barca pero las estadísticas están muy en su favor va otra: el Barcelona ha convertido dos hat tricks:




• Josep Samitier lo hizo en 1926 anotando 4. Los goles fueron en el 19, 26, 43 y 64; más aún, esta hazaña fue realizada a domicilio


• El paraguayo Eulogio Martinez se despachó con 4 en una victoria 6-1 del Barca en la 56-57




• El Madrid nunca ha convertido un triplete contra el Barca en la Copa.


• La victoria mas contundente para el Madrid fue el ya mencionado 11-1 en 1943


• Por su parte el Barca tiene un 6-1 como su marcador más abultado, este es el juego del segundo hat trick.


• Los jugadores con más goles anotados en esta rivalidad son:




• Por el Real, Santiago Benabeu con 8


• Josep Samitier anotó 6 por el Barcelona. Algunos años después militó con el Madrid aunque no jugó Copa Rey vs. su ex-equipo.




• El equipo que anota primero solo ha perdido en 1 ocasión, en el 58-59.

Probabilidades

• Los resultados de un partido a otro son totalmente independientes, si tomamos eso como premisa las probabilidades quedan como sigue:




• Barcelona gana, 50%


• Madrid gana, 32.14%


• Empate, 17.86%




• Si tomamos en cuenta los 28 partidos de historia podemos concluir lo siguiente:




• No habrá empate ya que en los 4 primeros empates el siguiente juego tuvo un ganador. El último juego en esta rivalidad fue un empate 1-1 en 96-97


• En 3 de los 4 juegos siguientes a un empate ha ganado el Madrid, es decir un 75% de las ocasiones


• Barcelona ha ganado 25 de 34 finales en Copa del Rey, 73%. Probabilidad conjunta de que el Barcelona le gane al Madrid siendo el juego una final de de Copa del Rey, 54%


• Madrid solo ha ganado 17 de 36, es decir un 47%. Probabilidad de que Madrid gane al Barca un juego que es la final de la copa del rey 23.5%




• Adicionalmente:




• Barcelona se ha coronado 2 ocasiones en Mestalla, en 3 oportunidades


• La ocasión que el Barcelona perdió fue contra el Madrid, que ha quedado campeón 1 ocasión en Mestalla en 1 oportunidad. El titulo fue en 1936.

Para este torneo estamos un poco más limitados en análisis que se puede realizar ya que anteriomente se jugaban dos vueltas en todas las rondas y luego cambió a eliminación directa.

En fin, como lo mencioné anteriormente, podremos hacer mucho análisis pero lo que sucede dentro de la cancha a lo largo de 90 minutos (o posiblemente más en este caso) nadie lo puede predecir. A esperar el miércoles para disfrutar otro capítulo más en esta histórica rivalidad.

Quien es su favorito? Se coronan los Culé, o por fin el Madrid prueba que puede ganarle al mejor equipo del mundo?

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

iPhone 4 iBooks commercial

>Right now I'm watching the Lakers-Hornets game and a cool Apple iPhone4 commercial came up. Apple is known to be great with marketing; heck, they are awesome. They are so damn good they make the iPad seem like a needable product.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxNtoJerwV4]

This video I'm talking about for the iPhone4 and its compatibility with iBooks. I find it interesting how they focus on both the smartphone and the e-reader industry. We all know how huge the smartphone market is, and recently the e-reader world has exploded onto the scene (The report from the Association of American Publishers, showed February’s eBook sales were $90.3m (£55.2m), compared to $81.2m (£49.8m) in paperbacks, a leap of 202.3% on the same time last year. For more go to t3.com) so it seems logical that Apple will go all-out and try to conquer that market and beat out gadgets like the Kindle, Nook and to some degree the iPad.

Interesting how Apple pushed the iPhone as an e-reader along with the iPad2. Cross marketing and also competition within the company.

Your thoughts???

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

Barcelona-Madrid La Liga

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Este sábado se enfrentarán en La Liga Español por ocasión 162 (210a. ocasión en total) el Barcelona y Real Madrid, estoy seguro habrá miles de blogs sobre lo que significa esta rivalidad, la cual es posiblemente la mejor en la historia del deporte mundial, sin embargo en esta ocasión decidí enfocarme en los números que nos han dejado estos 162 encuentros que datan del 17 de febrero de 1929.

Veamos que tantos datos podemos encontrar (recalco, son solo datos de La Liga, habrá nuevo blog para Copa del Rey y Champions):

• El sábado 16 de abril que de inicio el juego serán 30,008 días desde que se celebró por primera ocasión un Barcelona vs Real Madrid en la Liga. Esto se traduce en 82 años, 1 mes y 30 días. Más aún 720,192 horas aproximadamente. Sin duda toda un vida de juegos, goles, historias y estadísticas.


• En estos 82 años se han jugado un total de 161 clásicos




• 68 ganados para el Madrid


• 63 para el Barcelona


• Han habido 30 empates




• Los goles se han distribuido como sigue




• 251 goles a favor del Barca (1.56 goles por juego)


• 262 para los otrora conocidos como Galácticos (1.63 goles por juego)




• La racha más larga de juegos empatados de forma consecutiva es de 3, entre 2002 y 2003:




• 17 de marzo de 2002, 1-1 en el Camp Nou


• 24 de noviembre de 2002, 0-0 de nuevo en casa de los blaugranas


• 20 de abril de 2003 con un 1-1 en el Bernabeu




• El Madrid ha ganó 6 juegos de forma consecutiva entre 1962 y 1965, siendo esta su racha más larga de victorias:




• 2-0 el 30 de septiembre de 1962


• 1-5 un 27 de enero de 1963


• El 15 de diciembre de 1963 aplastaron 4-0


• A domicilio un 1-2 el 30 de marzo de 1964


• Su quinto fue el 8 de noviembre del 64 ganando 4-1


• La última victoria de la racha fue el 1-2 en Catalunya un 28 de febrero de 1965




• Por su parte, la racha de victorias consecutivas de Barcelona comenzó en 2008 y sigue vigente:




• Comenzó el 13 de diciembre de 2008 con un 2-0 (el 1-0 fue el último de Eto'o en esta rivalidad)


• Un 2-6 a domicilio fue el 2 de mayo de 2009


• El 29 de noviembre de 2009 Barcelona gana 1-0 con tanto de Ibra


• El 4to fue un 0-2 el 10 de abril de 2010


• La última victoria, hasta el momento, fue la inolvidable goleada de 5-0 el 29 de noviembre de 2010.




• El Barcelona ha convertido 5 hat-tricks en la historia de la rivalidad:




• El 5 de abril de 1931 Ramón se despachó con 3 para el Barcelona


• Ventorla hizo un hat-trick +1 anotando 4 goles un 21 de abril de 1935


• César marcó 3 goles un 2 de marzo de 1952


• Tuvieron que pasar casi 35 años hasta que Lineker metió 3 el 31 de enero de 1987


• Poco más de 20 años después Messi hizo 3 el 10 de marzo de 2007.




• El Real tiene un hat-trick más que el Barcelona y su cuenta llega a 6:




• El primer trio de goles de la rivalidad fue convertido por Lazcano el 30 de marzo de 1930


• Sañudo mete 3 el 3 de febrero del 35


• En ese mismo partido (un impresionante 8-2) Lazcano repite la hazaña, convirtiéndolo en el único en hacer esto más de una ocasión.


• 11 años después Bariana convierte el único juego de 4 goles por un merengue el 2 de enero de 1944.


•  Para repetir la historia del 35 Pruden mete 3 en lo que fue un histórico 11-1.


• El último triplete sucedió 19 años después por Puskas, es el único que se hizo en terreno rival a lo largo de la historia un 27 de enero del 63




• Esto nos deja con que el Madrid hace cerca de medio siglo, 48 años con 2 meses y 20 días.


• El mayor márgen por el que ha ganado el Real Madrid es de 10 goles, llevándose el partido 11 a 1 el 2 de enero de 1944


• El máximo diferencial a favor de los catalanes es de 5, hecho 6 veces




• 5-0 el 21 de abril de 1935


• 5-0 el 27 de marzo de 1945


• 7-2 un 24 de septiembre de 1950


• 0-5 hecho un 17 de febrero de 1974


• De nuevo 5-0 el 8 de enero de 1994


• Y el último y más reciente victoria, 5-0 el 29 de noviembre de 1929




• Los máximos romperredes en esa rivalidad son:




• El histórico di Stefano por el Madrid con 14 tantos


• Mientras que por el Barcelona César esta al tope con 12 goles.


• De los activos por ambos clubes Messi es el único en el Top 20 con 7 hasta el momento (veremos después del sábado ;))




• Un total de 33 jugadores han militado en ambos clubes. 21 han pasado del Barcelona al Madrid y 12 en dirección opuesta

En vista de que el juego del sábado se juega en la cancha del Benabeu, aqui van algunos datos en cuanto a los juegos realizados en terreno madrileño:

• Se han jugado 80 partidos




• Madrid domina con 50 triunfos (62.5%)


• 16 triunfos para el Barcelona (20%)


• Y los restantes 14 han sido empates (17.5%)




• Los merengues tienen 169 goles




• Esto es un promedio de 2.11 anotaciones por partido




• El Barca tiene solo 89 anotaciones




• 1.11 goles por encuentro.




• Han habido 27 marcadores finales diferentes en los 80 juegos


• El final más repetido es 2-1, finalizando 9 encuentros de esta forma.


• De los 80 partidos solo 3 han terminado en empate sin goles (3.75%):




• 1ero de febrero de 1931


• 25 de febrero de 1973


• 12 de abril de 1987




•  El Barcelona ha dejado en blanco al Madrid 13 ocasiones (16.25%).


• Los Madrileños le han devuelto el favor el doble de partidos, 26 (32.5%).


• La victoria con el mayor diferencial para el Madrid ha sido el ya comentado 11-1 de 1944


• El Barcelona ganó 0-5 el 17 de febrero de 1974, siendo esta su mayor victoria a domicilio.


• Como último dato, el más reciente juego en Madrid fue un 0-2 a favor del Barcelona el 10 de abril de pasado año con goles de Messi (33) y de Pedrito al (56).

Como verán hay cientos de números que podemos sacar de esta histórica y apasionada rivalidad, podemos obtener nuestras conclusiones y hacer todo tipo de predicciones sin embargo, cuando el balón comienze a rodar todo puede suceder, es lo hermoso del deporte. Nos da mucho para analizar antes del partido y nos da tanto más al momento del juego mismo.

Quien es su favorito? Que les apasiona del deporte?

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

Liga de Campeones UEFA 2011

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Llegamos a los 4 últimos equipos en la Liga de Campeones de la UEFA, probablemente el mejor torneo de futbol del mundo , y tenemos a 4 grandes involucrados, cada uno sus argumentos para llevarse a casa la orejona.

Schalke 04 vs Manchester United
Después de una notable actuación contra el FC Internazionale Milano, el alemán Schalke 04 sigue siendo considerado el más debil de los 4 restantes. De hecho era considerado de los débiles de los últimos 8 pero se quito ese mote de débil después de arrazar con los Nerazurri por un marcador de 5 a 2 en el juego de ida; y más aún, a domicilio en San Ciro. El partido comenzó bien para el Inter con un golazo de medio campo de Stankovic pero todo fue en picada apartir de ahí y el Schalke tomó el control para llevarse el triunfo por 3 goles.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nE2Zftr0ec]

El juego de vuelta este pasado miércoles en Alemania fue una mera formalidad ya que el Inter ocupaba lo más cercano a un milagro para avanzar a semifinales. Cuando el árbitro dio el silbatazo final y el Schalke obtuvo una victoria de 2 por 1 para un marcador global de 7-3. Para un equipo que, de acuerdo a los expertos, no tenía oportunidad de avanzar más allá de los cuartos de final el Schalke llega sin presión alguna ya que han logrado sobrepasar las expectativas.

Del otro lado del campo tenemos al Manchester United que no ha sido menos que una máquina en el primer trimestre del año. Viene de dos convincentes victorias sobre el Chelasea, la primera a domicilio en Stamford Bridge por un marcador de 1-0 en sólido encuentro, sin llegar a ser espectacular; este marcador puso al ManU en control, además de tener ventaja adicional por el gol de visitante.
El juego de vuelta fue, sin duda, más entretenido; el Manchester tomó ventaja por un gol anotado por el Chicharito Hernández -no que sea sesgado mi comentario por ser mexicano, pero que jugadorazo es, y lo que le fata mejorar. y tomó el control del juego hasta el minuto 77 cuando Drogba venció a Van der Sar con un riflazo de derecha; la cosa se ponía interesante para el Chelsea pero menos de un minuto después Park anotó el gol que puso en la congeladora el partido.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJs3kPHRNK4]

Los sitios de apuestas favorecen por mucho al Manchester United para avanzar a la Final, yo me inclino hacia el mismo lado sin embargo estoy seguro que el Schalke no será presa fácil y peleará hasta el último minuto. Será interesante ver como se desarrolla el juego de ida, a jugarse en Alemania, donde el club dirigido por Raúl buscará a toda costa salir con la victoria, y de pasó dejar en ceros a una de las ofensivas más potentes de Europa.
Yo veo al Schalke saliendo a atacar y buscar establecerle su ritmo al juego, no si sea posible ante un equipo tan fuerte como los Red Devils. Al jugar agresivo y atacar mucho tendrán que confiar en su defensa para detener a gente como Rooney, Berbatov y Chicharito. Dicho lo anterior, creo que en el mejor de los casos para el Schalke sacarán un empate en este partido.
Para el juego de vuelta en Old Trafford creo que el Man U saldrá con la victoria sin mucho problema y avanzará a la Final que se jugará en su país (Wembley Stadium en Londres el 28 de mayo).
Resultado: Manchester United advanza.

Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona
El Real Madrid llega a la instancia de semifinales después pasarle por encima al Tottenham por un global de 5-0. Esta serie se definió en los primeros 15 minutos del juego de ida que vieron al Madrid tomar una ventaja de 1-0 después de un cabezazo de Adebayor y la subsecuente expulsión del delantero Peter Crouch al 15 por doble amarilla. El resto del partido los merengues hicieron los que quisieron y anotaron 3 goles más.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB3BQj2ZJfk]

Como fue el caso del Schalke-Inter, el juego de vuelta fue mera formalidad y el Real tomó ventaja de 1-0 después de un gol de Cristiano Ronaldo que llegó en un tiro no complicado que el portero Gomes erró por completo y selló en definitiva este par de juegos. Al final el Madrid blanqueó en ambas instancias al Hotspur y ganó por marcador global de 5-0.

Los galácticos se medirán a su eterno rival, con quien han caído en sus últimos 5 encuentros (habrá dos más antes del juego de ida), el FC Barcelona quien viene de un par de juegos contra el Shakhtar de Uncrania a quienes venció sin mayor complicación. El juego de ida se realizó en el hermoso Camp Nou, casa de los Blaugranas, que se llevaron la victoria con un convincente 5-1; el primero fue de Iniesta al minuto 2 y se llevaron una ventaja de 2-0 al descanso. Después de un gol de Piqué los Ucranianos mostraron señales de vida con un gol al 60, sin embargo fue lo más cerca que estuvieron y el Barcelona se llevó una ventaja que no dejaría ir en la vuelta.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6uZlA6_Z4Y]

Me pareció extraño que solo en 1 de los 4 juegos de vuelta se jugaba algo (Manchester-Chelsea). Como en los otros 3, el Barcelona solo esperaba el pitazo final para asegurar su lugar en las semifinales. El Shakhtar no puso mayor resistencia y perdió 0-1 después de un gooooooool de -el mejor jugardor del mundo- Messi al 43.

Con esta semifinal de Champions tendremos el placer de ver 4 Madrid-Barcelona en un plazo de dos semanas (el sábado 16 en el Bernabeu en La Liga, el miércoles 20 en Mestalla, Valencia para la Final de la Copa del Rey, además de la ida y vuelta de Champions). La ida será en el Bernabeu y veo un partido extremadamente parejo, las casas de apuestas pagan lo mismo por ambos equipos, y dificil de predecir; me cuesta trabajo decidir quien ganará (se que quiero que el Barcelona gane) y creo que el resultado de este juego se verá influenciado por el resultado de los dos encuentros que sostendrán antes. Para la ida me inclino por una victoria del Madrid de 2 a 1.

La vuelta, a jugarse el 3 de mayo en el Camp Nou, será un juego sólido sin ser el más espectacular ya que -si mi predicción de 2-1se hace realidad- el Madrid saldrá a defenderse y el Barcelona a atacar buscando los goles del empate y victoria. Al cumplirse los 90 minutos el Barcelona se alzará con una triunfo claro de 3-0, llevando el global a 4-2.
Resultado: Barcelona avanza.

Una predicción para la Final de la Champions League? Tendremos que esperar a ver que sucede en las semifinales (coff coff Barcelona campeón coff coff) y comprobar si mis predicciones fueron las correctas.

Quien crees que ganará? Quien quieres que gane?

Por ahora

Mr Khakbaz out!!!