Remarkable Miami Heat fall short, but streak will be remembered
The Miami Heat’s loss in Chicago on Wednesday was their first defeat in nearly two months and snapped a 27-game win streak.
Miami had needed just seven more wins to beat the all-time NBA mark of 33 consecutive wins held by the 1971-72 L.A. Lakers.
Despite falling short in their history bid, Miami should be praised and respected by basketball fans around the world.
The NBA has long been criticized for teams not taking the regular season seriously enough, and only kicking into gear come the post-season. Even casual basketball fans often admit to bypassing most of the mid-season games and tuning in once the play-offs begin. FULL POST
CNN Football Club: David Ginola answers your questions!
He is the former France winger who made himself a hero in Newcastle and north London. Now David Ginola will be answering your questions as he makes his debut for the CNN Football Club.
A flamboyant attacker who dazzled Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur fans with his gallic flair, Ginola was named the best player in England in 1999. FULL POST
Putting key to Tiger's revival
And so Tiger’s reached yet another level of “back.”
It’s been, in the phrase he almost copyrighted, a process. Back playing (remember when that was a serious question?), then back contending, back sticking three or four good rounds together, back winning and now back at world No. 1.
But underpinning everything at the Arnold Palmer Invitational tournament at Bay Hill, Tiger was back putting like the best player on the planet.
Not how, but how many, runs the truism. Yet both sides of that oft-coined phrase hold the answer to Tiger’s return to the top. FULL POST
Pedro's Point of View: The Old Lady a Champions League dark horse?
Watch the CNN Football Club every Thursday at 1700 GMT and join the the show's social debate on Facebook and Twitter.
Everywhere I look, everyone I talk to, has Bayern Munich as the favorites in an upcoming high-profile European Champions League quarterfinal clash with Juventus.
I honestly can’t believe it. In my book, the Italian giants will not only knock the Bavarians out of the tournament, but they could go on to lift the trophy at Wembley in May.
I have said it for a while and I will say it again: Juventus may be the most underrated team in Europe. FULL POST
The secret behind 'Brand Beckham' ...
Watch the CNN Football Club every Thursday at 1700 GMT and join the the show's social debate on Facebook and Twitter.
David Beckham may be coming to the end of his career but he is still a man who can top a league. France Football magazine recently published its list ranking the world’s richest footballers and according to the publication the midfielder earned over $46 million last year, more than the two maestros considered by most fans to be the best players on the planet: Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Few soccer superstars can boast the business clout of "Brand Beckham", but how has the former England captain been able to hold on to his appeal? How is he still making more money in endorsements as a 37-year-old player past his prime, than the finest footballers of the current generation? FULL POST
Are English clubs in Champions League decline?
Almost since its inception, the English Premier League has been lauded by many as the world’s greatest football division. Its mix of history, big-club glamor, international superstars, explosive on-pitch action and passionate fan support have combined to create a product that has fans in Singapore and Sao Paulo salivating as much as those in Salford, Manchester.
However, proving which nation has the strongest top league on Planet Earth is a tricky task; there are so many factors on which to grade them. Whether it’s average attendance at games, money spent on players, the rate of big teams losing to small, goals per game, the ratio of Brazilians per club or whether the Beckham family can be found on the terrace, the options and methods with which to rank such leagues are as endless as the time it takes to decide a new Pope.
Shining like a beacon of truth in this sea of confusion and befuddlement is the European Champions League, a competition whose allure and pedigree stands above all others in world soccer. It’s the elite club competition that has billionaire team owners, the smartest of tactician-managers and the world’s finest footballers straining every sinew to win. FULL POST
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CNN Football Club: Boris Becker answers your questions!
He is the youngest men’s Wimbledon singles champion of all time and a German tennis icon. But this week, Boris Becker is switching his attention from the court to the football pitch.
The Bayern Munich fanatic was Thursday’s guest on the CNN Football Club. The former world No. 1 was in the studio to discuss the week’s Champions League action, including his beloved Bayern’s last-16 second-leg match against Arsenal. FULL POST
Pedro's Point of View: Should Ronaldo return to Man United?
Ever since Cristiano Ronaldo admitted to being unhappy at Real in September last year, speculation has surrounded the future of the Portuguese star. His form may have been nothing short of miraculous but his Madrid-based ambitions remain plagued with vacillations.
The European Champions League glamor tie with his former club Manchester United has seen this area of unease brought into focus following a spurious report in El Pais that Real would sell Ronaldo if he didn’t commit to a new contract and after former teammate Nemanja Vidic told reporters he wouldn’t be "surprised" by a CR7 return to Old Trafford.
Whether driven by unhappiness in Spain, his love for the English Premier League, or due to stalling contract negotiations at the Santiago Bernabeu, according to some, it seems it is only a matter of time before the 28-year-old goes back to Old Trafford. FULL POST
CNN Football Club: Dietmar Hamann answers your questions!
His introduction at halftime in the 2005 Champions League final against AC Milan sparked one of the greatest comebacks sport has ever seen. Now former Liverpool and Germany stalwart Dietmar Hamann has answered your questions after appearing on CNN Football Club.
A holding midfielder who played for Bayern Munich and Newcastle United before spending seven trophy-laden years at Anfield, Hamann knows what it takes to win European club football’s biggest prize.
Hamann, who collected 59 caps for Germany between 1997 and 2005, was live in the studio to assess the week’s Champions League last-16 ties, including the second leg of the colossal clash between Real Madrid and Manchester United. FULL POST
