Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Teen Titans

Writer Geoff Johns’ Teen Titans series began in 2003, again featuring a mix of previous and new members, most of whom had been part of Young Justice.
The series’ original lineup mirrors and also inverts the lineup of Marv Wolfman's New Teen Titans series: veteran members Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy return, joined by younger heroes Robin, Superboy, Wonder Girl and Kid Flash. Raven re-joins the team in issue #12, and the new Speedy joins the team in Green Arrow #46, first appearing in the Titans book in issue #21. Starfire left the Teen Titans for the Outsiders. During the “Insiders” crossover with The Outsiders (issues #24–25), Superboy comes under Lex Luthor's control and attacks the team, afterwards taking a leave of absence that ends during Infinite Crisis.
The new series sees the team’s relocation from the east to the west coast, its headquarters located in San Francisco instead of the traditional New York City location. The new Titans Tower also has a memorial hall with statues of the fallen Titans.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Predator Shoe

Predator technology is Adidas' trade-name for a set of features of their football boots. The common feature of the Predator range is the presence of rubber patches or strips on the top of the shoe that, according to Adidas, increase power, swerve, and accuracy when kicking or shooting a ball. The first Predator boot was launched in 1994 after Craig Johnston, an Australian retired professional soccer player who played for Liverpool came up with the idea of attaching rubber patches with teeth-like dimples to the outside of the kicking area of the boot in order to allow the wearer to create extra spin or swerve when passing and shooting. The second Predator boot, the Predator Rapier, very similar to the first, was launched in 1995. Ever since Adidas has, every second year, launched a new model to coincide alternately with FIFA's Football World Cup and UEFA's European Football Championship. The predator range of boots has placed a particular emphasis on technological innovations while an increased attention to design has allowed increasingly sophisticated marketing strategies.

BEN 10

Ben 10 is an American animated television series created by "Man of Action" (a group consisting of Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, and Steven T. Seagle), and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The pilot episode aired on 2005-12-27, as part of a sneak peek of Cartoon Network's new Saturday morning lineup. The second episode was shown as a special on Cartoon Network's Fridays on 2006-01-13, on which the first and second episodes were shown back-to-back. The theme song for the show was written by Andy Sturmer and sung by Moxy.[1]The show revolves around Ben Tennyson, his cousin Gwen, and his grandfather Max. During the start of their summer camping trip, Ben is nearly hit by an alien pod that fell from space and crashed next to him. When he examines it, he finds a mysterious, watch-like device, called the Omnitrix, stored inside. The device attaches to his wrist and gives him the ability to transform into a variety of alien lifeforms, each with their own unique powers, quite similar to DC's "Dial H for Hero" comic.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Man U

Manchester United Football Club is an English football club, based at the Old Trafford stadium in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and is arguably the most popular football club in the world, with over 50 million supporters worldwide;[1][2] average attendances at the club have been higher than any other team in English football for all but six seasons since 1964-65.[3] The club is also one of the most successful in English football; for over twenty years, since the 1986-87 season, they have won 18 major honours, which is more than any other Premier League club.[4] They are the Premier League's reigning champions, and have won the Premier League/Football League 16 times. In 1968, they became the first English club to win the European Cup, beating S.L. Benfica 4–1, and they won a second European Cup in 1999. They also hold the record for the most FA Cup titles with 11.[5]

Friday, August 17, 2007

Arjen Robben

Arjen Robben (born January 23, 1984 in Bedum) is a Dutch footballer who currently plays as a winger for Chelsea. He is also a part of the Netherlands national football team, appearing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro 2004 .
Robben was named F.C. Groningen's team player of the year during the Eredivisie 2000-01 season and the Netherlands' Young Player of the Year during his time at PSV Eindhoven.[1] He was also the FA Premier League Player of the Month during the month of November 2005 at Chelsea F.C.[2][3]Born in the town of Bedum in the province of Groningen, the Netherlands, Robben took to football from an early age. He began playing with local clubs C.V.V.B and V.V. Bedum. Robben became an adherent of the Coerver Method, created and popularised by Dutch football coach Wiel Coerver.[4] Robben's skill in ball control and technical footwork made him a valuable player, and he was quickly signed by local club F.C. Groningen.[5]F.C. Groningen placed Robben in their C-class youth team for the 1999/2000 season. He scored 50 goals in their competitions. Manager Jan Van Dijk added the winger to the first team before Groningen's November 2000 away game against F.C. Twente, but he did not play until December 3, 2000 against RKC Waalwijk, as a substitute for the injured Leonardo dos Santos in the 79th minute.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Ronaldinho

Ronaldo de Assís Moreira (born 21 March 1980 in Porto Alegre) is a Brazilian footballer, also known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho (due to him being from the Rio Grande do Sul state of Brazil), or simply and most commonly Ronaldinho. He became a naturalized Spanish citizen in January 2007.[2]
Ronaldinho (IPA - [χonawˈdʒĩɲu]), meaning "little Ronaldo", is better known in Brazil by the nickname Ronaldinho Gaúcho, in order to distinguish him from Ronaldo (already called Ronaldinho in Brazil). However, upon Ronaldo's move to Europe, he began to be known simply as 'Ronaldo', thereby allowing Ronaldinho to drop Gaúcho and remain simply as 'Ronaldinho'.
Among his many achievements and accolades, Ronaldinho has been awarded the FIFA World Player of the Year award twice (2004, 2005), as well as the European Footballer of the Year award and the FIFPro World Player of the Year award twice (2005, 2006).[3] He has downplayed suggestions that he is the best footballer in the world, telling FourFourTwo magazine, "I don't even feel I'm the best at Barça." [4]
Currently, he plays for FC Barcelona with a contract ending in 2010[5].Ronaldinho was born in Porto Alegre, a city in the Rio Grande do Sul region of Brazil. Ronaldinho's mother Miguelina is a former salesperson who later studied to become a nurse. His father João was a shipyard worker and footballer for Cruzeiro. The family moved to a more affluent home in Porto Alegre when Ronaldinho's older brother Roberto signed to play professional football for Grêmio. João died when Ronaldinho was eight, after suffering a heart attack while swimming in the family's pool.

Thierry Henry

Thierry Daniel Henry, born 17 August 1977 in Paris, France, is a French football player. Renowned for his pace,[1][2] he plays as a striker for the France national team and FC Barcelona.
Henry was born and brought up in the tough neighbourhood of Les Ulis, Essonne, where as a youngster he played for an array of local sides and showed great promise as a goalscorer. AS Monaco spotted him in 1990 and signed him up instantly.[2] Handed his professional club debut in 1994, he stayed at Monaco until 1998, where good form earned him an international call-up. Henry then moved to Italian giants Juventus, but after a disappointing season playing on the wing,[3] he joined Arsenal for a fee of £10.5 million in 1999.[2]
It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a top footballer. Initially, he struggled in the Premiership, but he soon emerged as Arsenal's top goalscorer in almost his every season there. Long-time mentor and coach Arsene Wenger's conversion of Henry into a prolific striker made him Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with over 200 goals. With the Gunners, Henry won two league titles and three FA Cups. He was also twice nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year[4] and twice received the Barclays Premiership player of the season award.