The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Rodgers: Liverpool starting to see the best of Downing Posted: 23 Dec 2012 05:39 AM PST  Rodgers (left) is seen during their English Premier League soccer match at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea, South Wales. – Reuters pic LONDON, Dec 23 – Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes the club are finally beginning to see the best of winger Stewart Downing and get a return on their big-money investment. The England international scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool in a 4-0 drubbing of Fulham at Anfield yesterday, some 17 months after joining for a reported £20 million (RM99 million) in July last year. Downing, who also created the second goal with a fine through ball for Steven Gerrard, has failed to live up to expectations with some inconsistent displays but Rodgers hopes the 28-year-old has turned a corner. "I spoke to Stewart about six or seven weeks ago and we had an honest conversation about where he was at. He's in his late 20s, he was an England international a few years ago and he wasn't playing (regularly for Liverpool)," Rodgers told the Liverpool website. "So we spoke about how he could get into the team. And I think his reaction from that moment, like it has been for Jose Enrique and one or two of the others, has been outstanding." There has been British media speculation that Downing, utilised at left back in some games this season, could be allowed to leave in the January transfer window but Rodgers said he was firmly part of his plans to build a side capable of getting back amongst the elite of English soccer. "Stewart has played a lot of games. He's a very important member of our group at the minute and if he keeps performing like that, hopefully he'll establish himself in (the side) and show the talent he clearly has," he said. "If he keeps playing like that, he'll be going nowhere - he'll be staying in the team and that's what it's about." Liverpool's win over Fulham propelled them up to eighth place and to within five points of third-placed Arsenal. Rodgers, in his first season at Anfield, said Liverpool were "improving steadily". "You can see the confidence in the team," he added. "If you lose like we did last week and then you come back to Anfield and play like we did today, it shows the courage of the players. "If we keep making the progress that we have, then it should be a really exciting second half to the season for us." The five-times European champions take on Zenit St Petersburg in the Europa League last 32 in February. – Reuters |
| No peaks? No problem for Latvian downhill ski fans Posted: 23 Dec 2012 05:11 AM PST  Janis Bendiks snowboards down from the top of Zagarkalns' main slope in Cesis, Latvia on December 5, 2012. – AFP pic CESIS, Dec 23 – In the flat Baltic nation of Latvia, where hills are few and far between, wily alpine skiing fans have found ways to indulge their passion without flying south to hit the slopes. "Every year we grow the hill a little. It's now about 25 metres higher than it was," says Vadims Kamenevs, marketing director of the Zagarkalns ski resort in Cesis, 90km northeast of the capital Riga. Kamenevs' team have spent recent off seasons piling an earth-mix onto a natural hill, and it now stands 112m above sea level. It says a lot for Latvians' love of downhill skiing that people in the Baltic nation of two million are prepared to grow their own mountains. "If you want bigger slopes, there are only two ways you can go — either up or down, and we didn't want to start digging," Kamenevs laughs. The tallest hill in the country, Gaizinkalns, rises just 312m above sea level and, predictably, it has three pistes on its flanks. The Zagarkalns resort is not alone in using cosmetic surgery to enhance nature's modest mounds. In the western port of Ventspils, a ski hill was built from scratch in 2005. It too is growing each year, currently towering 52m over the nearby Baltic Sea beach and oil terminal. Named "Lemberga Hute", or "Lembergs' Trilby", its bizarre shape imitates the preferred headwear of colourful local mayor and political kingpin Aivars Lembergs. Whereas cross-country skiing is a national obsession in neighbouring Estonia, Latvians prefer the thrill of downhill skiing and snowboarding. "Although Latvia is not a land of mountains, its steep slopes and snow-rich winters are just perfect for short runs with skis or on snowboard," according to a recent report on 400 European ski resorts from the European Consumers Centre Network. "And while it may seem quite unusual, alpine skiing is one of the Latvians' favourite winter-time activities. Ski runs are located in almost every municipality," it adds. Europe's cheapest skiing The report also gives a clue as to why Latvians have kept skiing even during an economic crisis that saw their country battered by the world's deepest recession in 2008-09. The country offers the continent's cheapest skiing, with one-day adult passes costing the equivalent of about €4 (RM16) – albeit on a slope just 250 metres long at the Ramkalni ski centre just outside Riga. In contrast, the continent's most expensive adult pass is found on the somewhat larger Matterhorn in Switzerland, at €62. Latvia also has its own slope for well-heeled skiers, however, with the Zviedru Cepure resort charging €50 for a day's skiing on a kilometre-long slope. One of the benefits of small hills is that skiers can be confident they will not be stuck halfway up a mountain awaiting rescue before spending weeks on crutches. According to the Latvian Ski Track Association, just 61 people were hurt during the 2011-12 season. According to Kamenevs, the competition generated by dozens of small slopes is driving rapid improvements in facilities. "Latvia is the capital of downhill as far as the Baltics are concerned. We get lots of visitors from Estonia, and Lithuanians tell us it's cheaper for them to come here for a weekend than to visit their local facilities," he says. "The Russian market is also becoming very important. Russians can easily combine a weekend break in Riga with a couple of days' skiing on different slopes." Since Latvia joined the European Union in 2004, its slopes have found an extra role — teaching a new generation of skiers skills that they can then take to the Alps, Pyrenees or further afield, which was impossible during 50 years of Soviet occupation. "A fair share of our winter passengers are skiers," says Janis Vanags of national airline airBaltic, himself a fan of the slopes. "Latvians are quite keen to explore less-known ski areas in Finland and Norway, plus new resorts in Georgia are generating a lot of interest. We are quite stubborn. We won't let the fact that we just have a few small mounds stop us from skiing," he adds. With the arrival of the Baltic winter, Latvia's 31 ski centres have just opened for business, and with luck they will stay open well into March. At the top of Zagarkalns' main run, 23-year-old Janis Bendiks says skiing is a way of life even in a small town such as Cesis. "It's simple. You finish work at five o'clock, then everyone heads to the slopes. This evening the run will be packed. "It's right on my doorstep, so why not make the most of it?" he asks before swerving expertly away in a cloud of powder. – AFP-Relaxnews |
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