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10 Unknown Facts about Lionel Messi

September 6, 2014 by Khabir Uddin Mughal

Facts about Lionel Messi

Messi is one of the greatest forwards in soccer who plays for the Argentina national team and Spanish club FC Barcelona. In 2009, he was nominated for FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d’Or when he was just 21, and received his first Ballon d’Or along with FIFA Player of the Year on the same year. Messi is the only player to be bestowed with four “Ballon d’Or” in football history. He was also the first to win three European Golden Shoe awards. He achieved three UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups, six Supercopas de España, six La Ligas and many more for his club Barcelona. He also holds the record of the most hat-tricks scored in a competition. Messi is also the only player to score five goals in a single match in Champions League. He sets the record for being the top scorer in four consecutive Champions League season. The achievements are endless, so is his popularity. And here is the list of 10 Unknown Facts about Lionel Messi.

10 Unknown Facts about Lionel Messi

1. He had growth hormone deficiency

Messi was diagnosed with Growth Hormone Deficiency, which restricted his growth when he was just 11. Along with the height problem, he also suffered lower immunity and poor vision due to this deficiency. The only treatment was injecting human growth hormone externally. According to Messi, “I had to start a treatment to help me to grow. Every night I had to stick a needle into my legs, night after night after night, every day of the week, and this over a period of three years.” His first club, River Plate, didn’t want to pay for his hormonal treatment which was costly, around $1500 each month. The former coach of Newell who also became the technical staff at Barcelona, Adrian Coria said “Perhaps we weren’t aware of it then.”

2. His first contract was signed on a tissue paper

CarlesRexach, Barcelona’s technical secretary, held a meeting with 13 year old Messi on Dec. 14, 2000, at the Pompeia Tennis Club to determine the contract of this Argentinean. Carles was so impressed by young Messi, who came to the meeting with his father, that he wanted to sign him right that time. The entire technical team rushed to manage a contract paper, but the nearest available piece of paper was a napkin. Messi signed his first contract with Barca on that napkin, which reads “In Barcelona, on the 14th of December of 2000 and in the presence of JosepMinguella and HoracioGaggioli, CarlesRexach, FCB technical secretary, it commits under his responsibility and despite some views against it to sign the player Lionel Messi, as long as we remain within the amounts agreed upon.”

3. He is a Foodie

He is a big time food lover from his childhood. His favorite dish was MilanesaNapolitana, an Argentinian delicacy made with fried beef, ham, chopped tomatoes, cheese, onions and a variety of spices. Messi’s mother Celia stated in Luca Caoili’s book ‘Messi’, “Lionel has simple gastronomic tastes: schnitzel, but not made with ham or horsemeat; chicken with a sauce made of pepper, onions, tomatoes and oregano. He doesn’t care much for elaborate dishes.” He continued his unbalanced diet even in his initial days at Barcelona. After Guardiola became Barcelona’s manager, he noticed Messi’s food habit and recruited a physiotherapy staff to take care of it. Guardiola also removed the coke vending machine from the center which was mostly occupied by Messi.

4. He was offered to play for Spain

During his early Barca days in 2004, he was asked to play for the Spanish under 20 national team which he refused. Messi stated “I was asked informally if I wanted to play for Spain.” After turning down this opportunity, he played for Argentina and led them to victory in the FIFA Youth Championship. Messi went on record to say, “I would have never played for Spain. I’m Argentinian and no one and nothing can change what I feel for the Argentinian colors.” It was a true disappointment for the Spanish people as Graham Hunter, in his book, ‘Barca – The making of the greatest team in the world’, stated, “Just imagine it for a second – Messi up front for this Spain team. He’d have been more appreciated, he’d have won more trophies, he’d have been playing with club-mates and friends and he’d have been far from the first Argentinian to jump ship to La Roja.”

5. His debut lasted 44 seconds

Messi debuted for the Argentinian national team on August 2005 against Hungary when he was just 18 years old. He came to the ground as a substitute for Lisandro Lopez in the 65th minute of the match. He was sent off just 44 second later by a red card from referee Markus Merk for elbowing Hungarian defender VilmosVanczak. Vilmos also got a yellow card for pulling Messi’s jersey on that same occasion. After Argentina won the match with 2-1, Messi stated “It wasn’t the way I dreamed it would be.” Remembering this match, Nicky Salapu said “Lionel Messi is sitting in the corner of the Argentina dressing room in the FerencPuskas Stadium. His head is in his hands, tears are in his eyes. It is not supposed to end like this.”

6. His Heritage Is Italian

His family stayed in the Italian city of Ancona long time back. Later, his ancestor Angelo Messi immigrated to Argentina in 1883 and made Argentina their permanent address. Another theory also suggests that, Messi’s ancestral home was at Recanati, a small town in the Province of Macerata in the east of the Marche region in Italy. Messi himself also said in an interview with MUTV that most of his family actually belongs to English ancestry. His father belongs to an Italian origin and happens to be the only one different from the ancestors. However, his mother was Lebanese.

7. He is the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

In March 2010, Messi was appointed as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. On that occasion, Director of Private Fundraising and Partnerships Philip O´Brien said “We are very proud and very excited to welcome you to the UNICEF family.” After being the ambassador, Messi visited Argentina, Haiti and Costa Rica to raise awareness and support for UNICEF’s work. To save the lives of thousands of dying children every year due to nutrition malfunction, he made an urgent plea in December 2012. He said “We all can help to stop child deaths from preventable causes, they don’t have to die, but they do.” Leo Messi also celebrated his son’s first birthday with UNICEF.

8. His philanthropy works

In the year 2007, Messi established the Leo Messi Foundation which works for unhealthy children and funds them for their treatment and food expenses. Lionel Messi donated $812,000 for a child hospital re-establishment in his hometown of Rosario, Argentina. The money was mainly donated for the modification of the Victor J Vilela Children’s Hospital’s child oncology unit. He also donated $130,000 to the children of Syria on August 2013. According to the Spanish newspaper “Sport,” Messi earned €300,000 for the North American tour with his club Barca. He decided to donate one-third of his earning to the innocent child victims of the ongoing civil war in Syria.

9. He won 3 European Golden Shoe

The European Golden shoe award is given to the top scorer in European league. Messi sets his record as one of the greatest players in European league by achieving the European Golden Shoe thrice. Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the only players to have won the European Golden Shoe three times where Messi is the only Non-European to do so. He is also the only player to achieve this reward in two consecutive years, 2011–2012 and 2012–2013. His first European Golden Shoe came in 2009-2010 season when he scored 34 goals in European League. He scored 50 goals and won the Golden Shoe again in 20112-2012 season. His last Golden shoe came when he scored 46 goals in La Liga. His club, Barcelona also won the league by beating Real Madrid on final in the following season.

10. His son is already signed by the Newell’s Old Boys supporters club

His son, Thiago was born on 2nd November, 2012. Just after his son could see the first light on earth, Thiago became a prime target for many different clubs. Messi’s first club Newell’s Old Boys was first in line and achieved the height when they signed junior Messi just 72 hours after he was born. Messi’s father, Jeorge, negotiated the contract for his grandson Thiago with Newell’s Old Boys. The club officials traveled to Europe and completed the documentation with their newest and youngest member on 5th November, 2012. A replica kit of Thiago’s size was also given to the new-born, along with a small version of No.10 “Thiago” Jersey of the club.

Messi, along with his football fame, is also a huge sensation for media. He is the second highest paid soccer player in the world and also the second most marketable athlete after Neymar Jr. One interesting fact is that, he is one of the shortest forward in football history with just a 1.69 meters height.

10 Hottest Female Tennis Players

September 6, 2014 by Khabir Uddin Mughal

Hottest Female Tennis Players

Tennis universe is studded with drop-dead beauties and glamorous divas. Starting from Maxim to FHM, even the Playboy always tried to decorate their covers and pictorial series with gorgeous tennis players. Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition is also the one which brought numerous tennis stars on different occasions wearing bikini and swimsuits for the ultimate boys’ pleasure. From magazine covers to brand campaigns, female tennis players always dominated the glamour world of sports as an eye candy throughout the history. Irrespective of their bad performance and lack of skills at some point of their careers, beautiful female tennis players never missed the spotlight in the glamour industry. If a marvelous racquet hand complimented by their celebrity looks, it is always worth a cheer for any tennis fan. So here is the list of 10 hottest female tennis players of all time.

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10 Hottest Female Tennis Players

1. Anna Kournikova

Anna Kournikova’s image was the most searched at the peak of her fame according to Google. With her longtime partner, Martina Hingis, she won two Grand Slam titles in Australia Open in 1999 and 2002, and together became widely known as the “Spice Girls of Tennis.” Along with her tennis career, she was also a trainer for The Biggest Loser in its 12th season. Anna posed in bikinis and swimsuits for 2004 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and also featured in various men’s magazine like Maxim and FHM. She was named one of the “50 Most Beautiful People” in the world by People in 1998 and also became the “hottest female athlete” on ESPN.com. Anna was ranked 29th in the list of “100 Hottest Women of All-Time” by Men’s Health in 2011. As an interesting fact, a version of White Russian cocktail made with skim milk was named after her.

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2. Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova, with five Grand Slam singles titles, won a total of 32 WTA singles titles throughout her career. In 2004, she won the year-end WTA Tour Championships. She was ranked world No.1 for 21 weeks on five separate occasions started from August 2005. She was listed by Time among “30 Legends of Women’s Tennis: Past, Present and Future”. As a style icon, Maria is the brand ambassador of many fashion houses such as Cole Haan. She was one of the 50 most beautiful celebrities in the world according to People in 2005, and the hottest athlete in the world for four consecutive years by Maxim. She was also featured wearing bikini along with 25 supermodels in Valentine’s Day issue of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in 2006. In 2013, Maria became the brand ambassador and signed a three-year deal with Porsche.

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3. Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza, in her career, defeated famous tennis players such as Marion Bartoli, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva, DinaraSafina and former World No. 1 Martina Hingis. With her career-high rankings of 5 in doubles and 27 in singles, she became the highest ranked female player ever to have participated from India. She won a WTA tour along with major Mixed Doubles championship on two occasions, 2009 Australian Open and 2012 French Open. Sania was included in the list of “50 heroes of Asia” in October 2005 by Time and also became one of the members of “33 women who made India proud” by The Economic Times in March 2010. Sania, with her nerd glasses, nose ring and cute skirts, bagged many ad campaigns. She was a huge attraction for the media when she married Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik on April 2010, where she wore $137,500 worth of Pakistani wedding dress. Sania is currently a brand ambassador of Telangana, an Indian state.

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4. Ana Ivanovic

Ana Ivanovic was ranked World No. 1 by Women’s Tennis Association in 2008. She won the year-end WTA Tournament of Champions in two occasions, 2010 and 2011. She was one of the Top 100 Greatest Players Ever, male and female combined, according to reporter Matthew Cronin and also became part of “30 Legends of Women’s Tennis: Past, Present and Future” by Time. With 47 wins, she became the record holder of most singles-match wins in the 2014 WTA tour. Ana became the Serbian National Ambassador for UNICEF on September 2007. She was featured in a song called “Hurricane Ana” by Serbian rapper Filip Filipi and Collie Buddz. Ana also got featured in many international magazines like FHM, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, Grazia, Vanidades, The Best Shop, etc. She even became a model for Sports Illustrated in South African edition.

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5. Eugenie Bouchard

Canadian tennis player Eugenie Bouchard aka Genie is currently ranked world no. 8 as of August 2014. She became the first Canadian to reach the finals of a Grand Slam in singles at the 2014 Wimbledon, but was defeated by Petra Kvitová in the biggest match. She won her first professional title at the ITF Burnie International with $25,000 as a junior, and with Jessica Pegula, her first professional doubles title at ITF tournament in Dothan with $50,000. She was overwhelmed when she met her favorite tennis player Roger Federer in 2012 Wimbledon Ball. She is a brand ambassador for various big brands like Nike and Babolat. Eugenie signed a three-year endorsement deal with Coca-Cola in June 2014 and also became the face of Rogers Communications and Pinty’s. She appeared as a guest weather anchor on CTV Montreal and CTV’s The Social during the off-season of 2013.

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6. Dominika Cibulkova

Dominika Cibulkova is ranked world no. 13 by Women’s Tennis Association as of August 2014. She reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at 2009 French Open. While appearing at the Australian Open 2014, she became the first Slovakian female to reach the championship round of a Grand Slam. This self-proclaimed “lot of energy” beauty is well-known for her exceptional racquet speed and her love for playing in clay and hard surfaces. She was named “a threat to everyone” in 2014 by Steve Tignor of Tennis.com. The signature expression of Dominika called “Pome” stands for “Let’s go” or “Come on” in English. In 2014, she also launched a clothing line featuring this signature expression. Dominika featured on the 24th January cover of The Washington Post after she defeated by Agnieszka Radwańska on semifinal.

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7. Daniela Hantuchova

Slovakian beauty Daniela Hantuchova defeated Martina Hingis in the Indian Wells Masters final and won her first WTA tournament. She also became the lowest-ranked player ever to win the tournament on that occasion. She is the 37th woman to reach 500 career wins in the Open Era and became the most successful Slovakian tennis player of all time. In mixed doubles, she completed the career Grand Slam in 2005 and became the fifth female tennis player achieve so. This multilingual beauty is fluent in Slovak, Czech, English, German, Croatian and Italian. Besides tennis, Daniela is a classically trained pianist. Daniela posed in bikini for a picture series called Volley of the Dolls in 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. She also posed nude for a pictorial called “The Body Issue” in the 2012 edition of ESPN: The Magazine.

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8. Maria Kirilenko

Russian tennis player Maria Kirilenko defeated Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the China Open and won her first WTA Tour title in 2005. She also won the 2002 U.S. Open Girls at the start of her career. In 2002 Canadian Open and US Open junior, she became one of the youngest winners of all time. She reached her career-high ranking of World No. 10 in June 2013. She was featured as the brand ambassador of British fashion designer Stella McCartney’s tennis range by Adidas in 2006 and since then, she has played exclusively in the brand’s gears. Adidas replaced her with Caroline Wozniacki after 2009 US Open. Maria posed for a pictorial named “Volley of the Dolls” in 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. Russian ice-hockey player Alexander Ovechkin linked Kirilenko on his Twitter account as his girlfriend on November 2011 and confirmed his engagement with her on December 2012.

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9. Tatiana Golovin

Tatiana Golovin won her first title with Richard Gasquet in 2004 French Open mixed doubles event and also qualified for singles quarterfinal at the 2006 US Open where she was defeated by eventual champion Maria Sharapova. After she was diagnosed with lower back inflammation in 2008, she temporarily retired from tennis field. She posed for the pictorial named “Volley of the Dolls” in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition with Maria Kirilenko and Daniela Hantuchová. She started her broadcasting career for French television in 2013 and also became a tennis commentator for them. Tatiana is a member of the ‘Champions for Peace’ club with 54 elite athletes, created by a Monaco-based international organization called Peace and Sport. She was also in a relationship with Manchester City’s star footballer Samir Nasri.

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10. Nicole Vaidišová

Nicole Vaidišová reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and also became a semifinalist in French Open and Australian Open. She became the 12th-youngest player at the age of 17 in WTA Tour history to be ranked within the top 10 players. She was ranked World No. 7 in May 2007, which was her career high. Nicole is a big fan of NHL and one of the famous supporters of Tampa Bay Lightning. She is also a big fan of Madonna and enjoys reading, bike riding and yoga to maintain her fitness. She was the ambassador of “Run Easy” and “I Am What I Am” campaigns by Reebok. Nicole became a brand ambassador of “Eco-Drive” series by Citizen Watches and also represented by Olivier van Lindonk of IMG. She is a part of “Get Caught Reading Campaign.” Nicole also worked with a non-profit organization called PlayPumps International which is dedicated to distributing clean water among African children.

Many other celebrity tennis players like Gabriela Sabatini, Caroline Wozniacki and Carling Bassett also achieved huge media attraction, as the players listed above. Many Afro-American beauties such as Serena Williams also became the cover of various fashion magazines in their career, which proves glamour and fashion was, is and will dominate the tennis world.

10 Hottest Female Sports Newscasters in the World

September 6, 2014 by Khabir Uddin Mughal

Hottest Female Sports Newscasters

Sports universe is often considered as the ultimate boys’ club, mainly for the contributions by hot athletes, but, there are some even hotter female sportscasters. Appearance of sportscasters with a combination of brain and beauty is always worth to wait for during any gameplay. Though many sports admirers don’t switch on their television just to watch blonde beauties holding a mike, but it is always an add-on for the eyes if glamorous reporters cover the matches. Sports world has already seen some amazing beauties with exceptional reporting skills during major championships, and in recent days, it is just going insane, thanks to the modern sportscasters with beauty pageant attitudes. Some of the female sports news reporters have already achieved the height of success while many others are on the way to the top. So here is the list of 10 hottest female sports newscasters in the world.

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10 Hottest Female Sports Newscasters in the World

10. Georgie Thompson

English television presenter, Georgie Thompson, started her career as a production assistant for GMTV and moved to Sky Sports in January 2001. She covered the US Open Tennis, A1 Grand Prix, Grand Prix Masters, America’s Cup and the 2011 Wimbledon Championships for Sky Sports. Georgie, with David Frost, also hosted Sky1’s Greatest Sporting Legends series in 2005. She joined Sky Sports F1 as a presenter after living Sky Sports News on December 2011. During her Sky Sports F1 career, she, with reporter Ted Kravitz, presented Friday night magazine show and Sky Pad segment during race weekends. Georgie left Sky Sports F1 and moved to Fox Sports in 2013, where she worked as a panelist on Regis Philbin’s sports talk show Crowd Goes Wild. She was voted the 93rd Sexiest Female in the World in the May, 2007 issue FHM.

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9. Ilaria D’Amico

Italian television host and commentator Ilaria D’Amico is famously known for her work related to football. She started working as an anchor with La Giostra Dei Gol in 1997 and covered 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2000 UEFA Cup. She presented Cominciamo Bene Estate on Rai Tre in 2006, and also hosted a special for the FIFA World Cup on the following year. After she appeared on W l’Italia in 2002, Ilaria anchored the SKY Calcio Show during Serie A from 2003 onward. Ilaria became popular for hosting the football-based reality TV show Campioni, Il Sogno on Italia 1 in 2004. It was rumored that during AC Milan loan signing David Beckham, Victoria Beckham refused to let Ilaria interview her husband. On the contrary, Ilaria interviewed Beckham on RAI Television. She was ranked among the 10 Sexiest Female Sport Journalists in The World by The Sun.

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8. Kristy Gallacher

British television presenter Kristy Gallacher started her career with Sky Sports News in 1998. She anchored the Sky1 show Kirsty’s Home Videos from 2000 until 2004 and hosted Simply the Best in 2004. She was an All Star Cup presenter on Sky1 in 2005 and ITV in 2006. Gallacher won reality television series The Games-Third Season In 2005 and released “Body Sculpt with Kirsty Gallacher” DVD, showing various workouts in the same year. Kristy, along with Ian Wright, presented the reality TV show, Only Fools on Horses, on BBC in 2008. Besides her career as a sportscaster, she also appeared with Duncan Bannatyne on ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ on 30 August 2008. Kristy returned to Sky Sports as a host for Sky Sports News in May 2011.

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7. Charlotte Jackson

British journalist Charlotte Jackson began her sports journalism career in 2004 with a variety of sports websites such as Football365, TEAMtalk and sportal.com. She joined Setanta Sports News as a co-host for Lunchtime Live in 2007 and presented the Beijing Bulletin of the 2008 Summer Olympics for Al Jazeera +3 Sport. Charlotte started working with Sky Sports in August 2009 as a presenter of Sky Sports News. She also hosted a radio show called Absolution with Tim Shaw. She became famous after hosting the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year Awards Ceremony in Zurich with co-host Pedro Pinto. Charlotte, with John Fendley, also hosted Sky Sports Football quiz show Take it Like a Fan which was conducted on different British football league grounds. Besides being a TV anchor, she was also a participant in ITV’s celebrity diving show Splash in 2013.

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6. Michelle Beisner

It has recently been announced that reporter, Michelle Beisner, will be a member of the Sunday NFL Countdown Crew which earned her huge number of followers on Twitter. Throughout her career, she has worked with various channels, such as ESPN, CBS, NBC, ABC, Comcast, Speed Channel and Fox Sports Net, where she personally interviewed various famous athletes. Before joining NFL Network, she also worked as a pit reporter and conducted “The Turbo Tour” on ESPN during Champ Car World Series. Michelle hosted “The Best Damn Sports Show” on Speed Channel, along with “Grand Prix.” She also co-hosted “The Vista” on Altitude Network. Besides her journalism career, she was casted in many films likes Alice and Wasteland and Throttle. Michelle has recently started to co-host “The Russo and Steele Automotive Auctions” on ESPN.

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5. Charlie Webster

English television presenter, Charlie Webster, started her career while interviewing the Galactico team when she moved to Spain as a TV presenter for Real Madrid TV. Later, she joined ESPN in 2006 and covered Premier League football, various motorsport championships and Asian football tournaments. She moved back to UK after working with ESPN to join Setanta Sports News and also hosted Live GP2 coverage on ITV4 during that time. With ITV4, she also worked as a presenter of the Red Bull Air Race worldwide. Charlie also worked as a sports broadcast journalist for BBC Look East at the end of the motorsport season. She became the live coverage presenter of Elite League and Grand Prix for Sky Sports in 2009. She became the first female presenter of boxing coverage for British Eurosport 2 and was followed by many on social media on April 2014.

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4. Charissa Thompson

Popular host and American sportscaster Charissa Thompson now presents Fox Sports Live daily at 11 pm EST on Fox Sports 1 and also works as a co-host with NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip on “Fast Track to Fame” for the Speed Network’s. She began her career with NFL Network on a show called “NFL Now Updates” in 2010. She covered Vancouver Olympic Winter Games for Yahoo! Sports on the same year. Her career with Yahoo! Sports continued as she covered the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and then 2011 Super Bowl in Dallas, BCS 2011 National Championship game and NBA All-Star Game on the same year. She moved to ESPN, co-hosting Numbers Never Lie in June 2011. Charissa also hosted SportsNation and ESPN First Take and after that, joined Fox Sports in June 2013.

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3. Michelle Beadle

ESPN sports reporter Michelle Beadle was a former host of Winners Bracket with Marcellus Wiley on ABC and is currently co-hosting SportsNation on ESPN2. She started her career as a sportscaster for SportsNation on ESPN in June 2009. While working with TNT before she moved to ESPN, she also worked for ESPN’s Titan Games as a freelance reporter. Michelle was also the New York SportsCenter anchor on 1050 ESPN New York for The Michael Kay show on ESPN Radio. She co-hosted Winners Bracket, a 2-hour-long part of ESPN Sports Saturday with Marcellus Wiley.She also hosted her own weekly podcast named “The Michelle Beadle Podcast.” After working with various channels and having been released from her NBC contract, Michelle returned to ESPN as a co-host on SportsNation on March 2014.

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2. Sara Carbonero

Spanish sports journalist Sara Carbonero is a sports presenter for Telecinco. She has been engaged to Spanish football goalkeeper Iker Casillas since 2009 and gave birth to their son, Martín in January 2014. It created a huge controversy when Graham Keeley of The Times with various other English dailies alleged that Carbonero had distracted Casillas during the match between Spain and Switzerland in 2010 FIFA World Cup, which caused an unexpected Swiss victory. She was also questioned about her journalistic integrity when she interviewed her boyfriend after that match. Later, Spanish newspapers El Mundo, Marca and País published articles portraying that the allegations were false. She became one of the most photographed people of the 2010 World Cup due to the controversy. Sara was named “The Sexiest Reporter in the World” by FHM in July 2009.

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1. Erin Andrews

American sportscaster and journalist Erin Andrews currently hosts FOX College Football for Fox Sports. She began working as a reporter for ESPN National Hockey Night on ESPN in April 2004, during which she covered Little League World Series, Great Outdoor Games and College World Series. She started working with ESPN for College Football Saturday Primetime, after which, her career expanded when she started to cover ESPN College Football Thursday Primetime and Major League Baseball in 2005. She covered Scripps National Spelling Bee for both ESPN and ABC from 2008 to 2010. She joined Fox Sports leaving ESPN in June, 2012, and started working with Fox Sports 1 in August 2013. After her joining, Erin became the host of Fox College Saturday and Fox College Football Kickoff. She also hosts Fox Football Daily, a daily bulletin on Fox Sports 1.

There are many other female sportscasters, like Mandira Bedi and Natasha Staniszewski, who have also achieved huge popularity during major T20 Cricket tournaments and FIFA World Cups. Talented or not, sports world is, and will always be, pampered by attractive reporters and journalists.

10 Best Looking F1 Cars of All Time

September 5, 2014 by Khabir Uddin Mughal

Best Looking F1 Cars

Starting from the first race till the 2014 F1 season, the racing world has seen many superior, state-of-the-art F1 cars, which are visually appealing. Throughout the F1 history, many varieties of cars participated, among which, some are ground-breaking, and some are not so innovative like the others. But, they have something in common: all the cars deserve a second look. These gravity-defying beasts made the F1 fans real F1 fanatics, and achieved their own place in the fans’ bedrooms as posters. At the starting of the F1 saga, the cars were not so visually stimulating like the modern cars. But in modern days, F1 cars are faster than ever, with added hotness. Starting from the Williams FW-36 with its retro look till the seductive Maserati 250 F, all this super-speed vehicles are as hot as the Hollywood heroines. Maybe the Tyrell P-34 is the ugliest F1 car ever with 6 tyres, but here is the list of 10 best looking F1 cars of all time.

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10 Best Looking F1 Cars of All Time

1. McLaren MP4/4

The McLaren MP4/4 is often considered as the most dominant Formula One car ever built. It proved itself on track by the high success rate in the 1988 Formula One season, where it won all the races except a single one. It was designed by Technical Director Gordon Murray and American engineer Steve Nichols. The aerodynamics of this beast was based on the lowline principal of the Brabham BT55, which was also designed by Murray in 1986. The chassis of this car was built entirely on Carbon fiber honeycomb monocoque, which was mostly developed by the Hercules Aerospace. Double wishbones coil springs and dampers were used as its front and rear suspension with 113.2 inch Wheelbase. It was powered by Honda RA168-E 80° V6 turbo, a longitudinally mounted mid-engine. Weismann-McLaren 6-Speed manual transmission used in this car was also a ground-breaking innovation. This boys’ toy was fueled by Shell and dominated the track with Goodyear tires.

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2. McLaren MP4-23

The McLaren MP4-23 was revealed in Stuttgart at Mercedes-Benz’s motor sports museum on 7th January 2008. It was used by Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes team for the 2008 Formula One season. It made its first appearance on-track on 9th January 2008, in Spain, and also won the 2008 World Driver’s Championship with Lewis Hamilton as the driver. This beast was designed by a team consisting of Engineering Director Paddy Lowe, Development Director Neil Oatley, Chief Engineer Tim Goss and Chief Aerodynamicist Doug McKiernan. The chassis of this car was made of molded carbon fiber and aluminum honeycomb composite, which also incorporated front and side impact structures. Adjustable double wish-bone arrangement was done in its suspension. This car was powered by Mercedes-Benz FO 108V 2.4-litre V8 Naturally aspirated mid-mounted engine. 7 forward speeds with 1 reverse Semi-automatic transmission were also equipped in this car.

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3. Arrows A2

The Arrows A2 didn’t have any traditional front wing because of its inherent ground effect aerodynamics. It was used in the latter half of the 1979 Formula One season by the Arrows team. Designing of its successor was started within a few weeks because the A2 had handling problem for its extensive downforce generation. This car was designed by Dave Wass with riveted aluminum monocoque chassis. Rocker arms with lower wishbones were used as a front suspension, where the rear suspension was equipped with parallel bars and coil springs. The wheelbase of this car was a massive 107 inches. This mega toy was powered by Cosworth DFV 90° V8, a longitudinally mounted 2,993-cc mid-engine. Hewland FGA 400 5-speed manual transmission was also inside this car. It made its appearance with Goodyear tires and was fueled by FINA.

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4. Brabham BT55

The Brabham BT55 made its first appearance during the 1986 Formula One season. It was designed by David North and Gordon Murray for the Brabham team. The chassis was made of Carbon fibre and Kevlar composite. The double wishbones suspension was used in this car with pullrods in front and pushrods in the rear. It also has a massive 134.2 inch wheelbase. This 555 kg beast was powered by 1,499 cc BMW M12 four-cylinder turbocharged engine, which was a longitudinally mounted mid-engine and tilted on its side for allowing a clear air supply to the rear wing. It also has a 70 inch axle track in its front and 65.9 inch in the rear. Weismann Laydown Transverse 7 Speed manual transmission was also an added beauty to this car. This mega toy made its first appearance with Pirelli tires and fueled by Castrol.

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5. Eagle Mk1

The Eagle Mk1 was commonly known as Eagle T1G, and often considered as one of the most beautiful Grand Prix cars ever to participate at champion level international motorsports. It was introduced in the start of the 1966 Formula One season. This car was designed for Anglo American Racers team by Len Terry. This mega toy made its first appearance with 2.7L Coventry Climax inline 4-cylinder engine, and after first four races of the season, it was replaced by 2,997cc Gurney-Weslake Type 58 V12. This engine was actually a longitudinally mounted, naturally aspirated mid-engine. Lower wishbone with single top links suspension was used in its front and rear. It has 96.4 inch wheelbase and 60 inch Axle track. The 5-speed manual transmission was Hewland DG300. This beast won the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix with Goodyear tyres, with fuel by Shell.

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6. Ferrari 312T

The Ferrari 312T was used in various international championships from 1975 to 1980. It was designed for the 1975 season by Mauro Forghieri based on the 1974 312B3. This car won a whooping total of 27 races which includes three Drivers’ Championships and four Constructors Championships, and was replaced from the team by Ferrari’s first turbocharged F1 car in 1981. The T in the name stood for “transverse,” the mounting manner of the gearbox, which improved the handling characteristics. This monster was powered by Flat-12 Ferrari 015, a longitudinally mounted, naturally aspirated mid-engine of 2992 cc, which produced a ground breaking 510 bhp. Ferrari Type 015 5-speed transverse manual gearbox was used in it. It made all its appearances with Goodyear tyres.

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7. Renault R26

The RENAULT R26 was mainly driven by Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso during 2006 Formula One season for the Renault F1 team. Together, they won 8 out of 18 races while riding this car. The structure of the chassis was built entirely with Carbon fiber and honeycomb composite. This beast was equipped with Double wishbone designed pushrod operating torsion bar in both the front and rear suspension. This car was powered by Renault RS26 90° V8, which was a 2.4 liter Mid-mounted engine. The transmission of this car was a 7-speed Titanium longitudinal with one added reverse speed. It made its first appearance on track with Michelin tyres. During 2006 Formula One season, this beast was fueled entirely by Elf.

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8. Williams FW26

The Williams FW26 was mainly driven by Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya for the Williams F1 team during 2004 Formula One season. This car was designed by Antonia Terzi, and Gavin Fisher, and was also the last Williams Formula One car which was designed under the guidance of technical director Patrick Head. The chassis was made with Carbon and Epoxy composite monocoque. This beast was powered by naturally aspirated Mid-mounted 2998cc V10 engine, designed by BMW. The design of the front suspension was based on twin keel principle to maximize the airflow, which was first designed by Sauber, and later, it was also used by Jordan and McLaren. This car was equipped with Williams 7-Speed semi-automatic transmission. During its racing period, it has used Michelin tyres and fueled solely by Petrobras.

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9. Ferrari 641

The Ferrari 641, widely known as the Ferrari F1-90, was used in the 1990 Formula One season by the Ferrari F1 team. This state-of-the-art beast was designed by Steve Nichols, a former McLaren designer. The chassis of this car was monocoque and was entirely made of Kevlar and Carbon fibre composite. This beast was powered by 3,498 cc Ferrari Tipo 65° V12 engine. This car made its first few appearances with longitudinally mounted type 036 mid-engine, and later, got replaced with the updated 037 in San Marino. The suspension used in this car was push-rod actuated double wishbones, torsion bar springs and telescopic shock in the front, and coil springs over telescopic shock at the back. It was equipped with Ferrari 7-speed semi-automatic transmission. During its season, Goodyear tyres and Agip fuel was used during championships.

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10. Mercedes F1 W05 Hybrid

The Mercedes F1 W05 Hybrid was mainly driven by Nico Rosberg and 2008 World Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton during 2014 Formula One season for Mercedes F1 team. Lewis Hamilton, while driving this car, won the Spanish Grand Prix, Bahrain Grand Prix, Chinese Grand Prix and the Malaysian Grand Prix. The chassis of this car was a moulded carbon fiber and honeycomb composite structure. Carbon fiber wishbone and pushrod activated torsion springs and rockers were used on the suspension. This humble monster was powered by 1.6 L Mercedes PU106A hybrid turbocharged V6 engine. This car was equipped with Eight Speed Forward and one reverse unit with carbon fiber transmission maincase. Starting from the first race, it used Petronas fuel and Pirelli tyres, P Zero for dry surfaces and Cinturato for wet surfaces.

Many other cars along with the listed vehicles have their own place in the heart of any F1 fan. Some are remembered for their historical significance and some for the crazy designs. Hotness always dominated the F1 tracks till the first coolest car arrived during 2012 F1 season, the Red Bull RB8. But why it was so cool? Because it was the first ever F1 car with built-in cooling duct in the stepped nose. Ahem!

Highest Paid NBA Players of 2015

August 19, 2014 by Khabir Uddin Mughal

Highest Paid NBA Players

How much my favorite team earned? Is the star of my team to be content worth at all? Which player in the league is over and which underpaid? These and similar questions is in the mind of every fan of professional team sports. This post gives an overview and lists the top earners of the current season.

Highest Paid NBA Players of 2015

Number 1: Kobe Bean Bryant

Kobe Bean Bryant is an American basketball player born on August 23, 1978. The height of the player is 198 cm tall and he plays for the Los Angeles Lakers on the position of the Shooting Guards since 1996. Since 1998 Bryant has continuously selecting in the best NBA player (All-NBA team) and won the 2008 election to the MVP (Most Valuable Player), the award for most valuable player of the NBA regular season. He won the previous five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing Kobe Bryant has the USA team and teammates such as LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul in the final against Spain and won the gold medal. Kobe Bean Bryant is the highest paid NBA player of 2015. He earns $30,453,805.

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Number 2: Dirk Werner Nowitzki

Dirk Werner Nowitzki Is a German professional basketball player. Since 1998 he is in the North American professional league NBA for the team Dallas Mavericks. In the NBA season 2006/07, Nowitzki Became the first European to Awarded the NBA Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) for the Most Valuable Player of the regular season. In the NBA Finals in 2011, He won the “Mavs” the first German to NBA Championship and so what the NBA Finals MVP Award for the Most Valuable Player of the finals series. Nowitzki is considered one of the best international (non- American) Players in the history of basketball. Magic Johnson and Charles Barkleyreferred consider him as “one of the greatest basketball player of all time” or as the outstanding player of the past 30 years. It counts with over 26,000 Achieved points to the 10 best cage fighters NBA history. In 2012, he awarded the first non-American to the Naismith Legacy Award. Dirk Werner Nowitzki saves second place in the list of highest paid NBA player of 2015. His salary is around $22,721,381.

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Number 3: Amar’e Stoudemire Carsares

Amar’e Stoudemire Carsares born on November 16 1982 in Lake Wales, Florida is an American basketball player. He plays in the NBA for the crew of the New York Knicks. The 2.08 m wide power forward is regarded as one of the most athletic players in the NBA. In the 04/05 season he was the player with the most dunks in the league. After he had visited a total of six high schools in five years, Amar’e Stoudemire joined the NBA directly in 2002. In 2002 the NBA chose him in the ninth place. In his first season, Stoudemire was able to convince, and won the award for newcomer of the year, the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He also led the First Team to national team of the NBA All-Rookie. In 02/03, his first season, he already played outstanding for a rookie and scored an average of 13.5 points per game in the regular season. He is the third highest earner in NBA with $21,679,893 earning.

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Number 4: Joe Marcus Johnson

Joe Marcus Johnson born on June 29 1981 in Little Rock, Arkansas is a basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets in the American professional basketball league NBA. He was one of five NBA players who scored in the 2005/06 season on 20 points and 6 assists on average. Also in the 2006/07 season Johnson was able to improve his stats: 25.0 points, 4.4 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game. The earning of Joe Marcus Johnson is $21,466,718 this year that’s how he saves fourth position in the highest paid NBA players.

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Number 5: Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony Kyam born on May 29, 1984 in New York City is an American basketball player since February 22, 2011 for the New York Knicks in the NBA plays. In 2002, he took a scholarship from the Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. Anthony’s first year at the Syracuse Orangemen is considered one of the best in NCAA history, and even received an award for it. With the U.S. national basketball team, Anthony won at the 2004 Olympic Games bronze medal. In the World Cup tournament, he reached his record with 35 points against Italy. In this tournament Anthony was the only Americans in the All Tournament Team appointed. In addition to the sports Carmelo Anthony takes small parts in television productions over again and again. The calculated earning of Carmelo Anthony is around $21,388,953 in 2014. He is on number 5 in the list of highest paid NBA players.

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Number 6: Dwight David Howard

Dwight David Howard born on December 8, 1985 in Atlanta, Georgia is an American professional basketball player, in the U.S. professional NBA league since 2004. Currently he is at the Houston Rockets under contract. He moved directly from high school (Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy) in the NBA and was developed by the Magic in the first place and selected in the 2004 in NBA. Howard is 2.11 meters tall and plays at the position of the center. His physique and his style of play encouraged comparisons to Darryl Dawkins and Shaquille O’Neal. Dwight Howard has risen in recent years to become one of the most popular basketball players in the NBA. He dominated the All-Star Game voting in 2009 with 3,150,181 votes and becoming the first player in the NBA history who broke the 3 million mark. Among other things, Dwight Howard did commercials for 50 cents Vitamin Water and for T-Mobile. Howard stands at Adidas under contract and is thus represented in the Adidas Brotherhood team, a selection of the “best” NBA players who determined from Adidas. Among others, the Adidas Brotherhood team is still represented by Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. The annual pay of Dwight Howard is $20,513,178 this year.

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Number 7: Pau Gasol Sáez

Pau Gasol Sáez born on July 6 1980 in Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain is a Spanish professional basketball player. He is currently plays with the Los Angeles Lakers in the U.S. professional league NBA under contrac. Gasol is considered the best Spanish and one of the best European basketball players of all time. He is an excellent power forward and is considered extremely offensive strong. Gasol earns $19,285,850 that makes him 7^th highest paid NBA player.

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Number 8: Chris Bosh

Christopher Wesson Bosh born on March 24 1984 in Dallas, Texas, better known as Chris Bosh, is an American basketball player. Since 2003 he plays in the U.S. professional league NBA, where he initially played for the Canadian team Toronto Raptors until 2010, then joined Miami Heat. In 2012 and 2013 he was with his team NBA champion. Bosh is 2,11 m tall and plays on the positions of the Power Forwards and Centers . He is on number 8 in the list and earns $19,067,500.

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Number 9: LeBron James

LeBron Raymone James born December 30 1984 in Akron, Ohio is an American basketball player. James played in the North American professional league NBA in 2003, since 2010 he is with the Miami Heat. James is 2,03m tall and runs as a small forward on. But since then, the tasks of a point guard takes over; it is also called Point Forward referred. In allusion to earlier English kings he is called “King James”. Another nickname is “The Chosen One”. The salary he gets in 2014 is around $19,067,500.

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Number 10: Dwyane Wade

Dwyane Tyrone Wade born January 17, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois is an American basketball player who at the Miami Heat in the NBA under contract. With Miami he has been able to win three NBA championships. He is on no.10 in the list and earns $18,673,000.