FIFA World Cup 2014: Countdown Starts 95 Days To Go!

 

 

The 2014 World Cup begins on June 12, when Brazil plays Croatia in the opening match. Reporters and editors for The Times will count down to the start of the tournament each day with a short capsule of news and interesting tidbits.

The star-crossed stadium in the rain forest was given its first official run-through on Sunday in Manaus, Brazil, with a quarterfinal match in a regional championship.

The Arena da Amazônia was the site of an accident last month in which a worker was killed when a crane collapsed. It is one of 12 venues that will be used for the World Cup, which begins in June. The accident in February once again shined an uncomfortable light on Brazil’s stuttering preparations for the tournament. The stadium was one of six that were not completed by the end of 2013, as had been required by FIFA.

According to The Associated Press, the stadium cost nearly $290 million, about $70 million more than originally expected. Three workers died during construction, including the Portuguese man who was killed while a crane that had been used to construct the stadium roof was being disassembled.

But on Sunday, more than 20,000 fans in the 44,000-seat stadium were in attendance when Nacional of Manaus and Remo of Belém faced each other in a quarterfinal match of the Copa Verde, a regional tournament for teams in and around the Amazon. Officials were expecting the president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, to attend.

The Arena da Amazônia will host four first-round World Cup matches, including the England-Italy and Portugal-United States games.

“We have to put everything to work so we can immediately correct anything that goes wrong,” Omar Aziz, the governor of the Amazonas state, told The A.P.

Officials are planning two more events before the stadium hosts its first World Cup match, the England-Italy game, on June 14.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Photo Credit: www.nytimes.com

The Madrid Derby Takes Center Stage In Round 26

While there is a full schedule of games this week in Spain, you'll forgive the masses if they're focused on Sunday's massive Derbi madrileño at the Vicente Calderón Stadium.

After their loss against Osasuna last week, Atlético Madrid must find a way to beat their city rivals -- a draw would be an acceptable alternative as well -- or face dropping right out of the title race after such a promising campaign. On the flip side, Real Madrid sit on top of La Liga and a win over their rivals would create a six-point gap.

Barcelona are in action on Sunday as well returning home to the Camp Nou to face Almeria. After their loss against Real Sociedad knocked them out of first yet again, the Blaugrana will be looking to rebound. Barca head coach Gerardo Martino will be serving his one-match ban after getting sent off at halftime last week's match.

There's a really, really interesting match in the relegation fight as well this week with 17th placed Málaga hosting 18th placed Real Valladolid. Los Boquerones are just three points clear of Valladolid but could expand that lead to six points with a win. The match is also important in terms of a potential head-to-head tiebreaker at the end of the season since the two teams tied in their first meeting of the season.

 

Villarreal and Real Sociedad continued their pursuit of Athletic Bilbao in fourth place with both teams sitting three points back of Los Leones. La Real have the toughest match of the three as they must travel to face Sevilla, while Villarreal faces last placed Real Betis and Athletic plays Granada.

Epix Hits PlayStation To Give You Big Movies For Free

This is big happy news for PlayStation Plus subscribers as they are enjoying free games through Sony’s Instant Game Collection; soon they’ll be able to watch free flix as well.

A new premium movie service is making its way to the PlayStation Network later today.  the service provides users with a robust catalogue of movies from Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM. Epix also has some original content – such as live concert soundtracks – exclusively for PSN for those that aren’t too interested in movies.

What The Heck…. is EPIX ?

EPIX is the big new movie channel that’s more than just a big new movie channel turning their biggest movies, original programming, and expansive library into a bold new experience. The movies you love will never change; it’s a cable TV channel. It’s a VOD service on your set-top box. It’s a web site with movies.

Epix’s content catalog includes over 3,000 movies in high definition, according to Sony, along with comedy specials, boxing matches, and concerts.

EPIX is offering some exclusive content, such as songs from EPIX Original Concert Events, for PlayStation Network users in addition to some great deals to get you acquainted with their service. Every PSN user can sign up for a free  trial to check out everything the service has to offer. 

Additionally,

"EPIX will be offering a new movie every week that PlayStation Plus members can stream for free, even if they aren’t a subscriber”

The app itself is free, but requires a premium subscription to really do its job. In fact, if you’re already a paid-up member of PlayStation Plus, you’ll get a free movie or special every week. A more handheld version of the service is set to hit the Vita in “the coming weeks,” according to the company.

If you’re interested, you’ll be happy to know that PSN members will be able to sign up for a 14-day free trial when the EPIX goes live later today.

PlayStation Plus members will be treated to a free movie every week from EPIX so keep an eye out for that in our posts.

For more information, on PS+ Plus Service Visit Here (Official Website Link)

For more information, on EPIX Free Trial : Visit Here (Official Website Link)

Australian Open 2014 - Li Na Wins Her Second Slam Title

Li Na's best and worst traits were on display during (and after) her 7-6, 6-0 win over Dominika Cibulkova in the Australian Open women's final in Melbourne on Saturday.

Worst: When she's out of sorts, she goes all the way with it. She committed 25 unforced errors in the first set alone, 15 off of her forehand. She double-faulted twice, she won only 50 percent of her first-serve points, and though she created six break-point opportunities, she won only two of them. Cibulkova was faulty enough on her own (20 unforced errors, 26 percent win percentage on second-serve points) that the first set went to a tie-breaker. Na won it with relative ease, 7-3, which opened the floodgates.

Best: With any sort of rhythm, she is physically dominant. In the second set, she settled in and simply pummeled the physically overmatched Cibulkova. She hit 12 winners with just five unforced errors, she landed 78 percent of her first serves and her return was devastating. She won 12 of 18 points on her serve and 12 of 18 on Cibulkova's and cruised, 6-0.

Best Best: No one is more entertaining on the mic.

Li Na has mastered the art of being funny by simply being honest. There is no difference between her on- and off-court persona, and it has made her one of the world's most popular players. (The two slam titles probably don't hurt in that regard.)

While we justifiably marvel at the way Serena Williams is able to dominate at times at age 32, we should probably make more of the fact that Na is just a month from 32 herself and she will be No. 3 in the world when the new WTA rankings come out. She experienced a late-career surge a few years ago, capped by a 2011 French Open title. But this is no longer a surge. This is a consistently strong display by one of the best players of the last decade. She finally scored an Aussie Open title in her third finals appearance, and after facing a match point in the third round against Lucie Safarova, she played some of the best tennis of her life to take the championship.

 

Battlefield 4 Naval Strike Expansion Is Due For Release In Late March

Premium subscribers to receive DLC access two weeks before general release.

Battlefield 4's Naval Strike expansion is due for release in "late March", according to the game's official website.

Battlefield Premium members will receive access to the DLC two weeks before it goes on general sale.

The water combat focused expansion will feature four new maps set in the South China Sea. The official blurb reads:

Naval Strike also introduces five new weapons, the amphibious hovercraft vehicle, ten assignments and the all-new Carrier Assault mode, which is homage to the fan-favorite, Titan mode from Battlefield 2142.

Naval Strike is one of five Battlefield 4 expansions due for release by the summer of 2014. They can be pre-purchased as part of the £39.99 / $50 Battlefield Premium subscription offering. The other four expansions are Second Assault, China Rising, Dragon's Teeth and Final Stand