China’s top players leave state-run system

BEIJING, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Wimbledon semi-finalist Zheng Jie is relishing her new freedom after being allowed to leave China’s rigid state-run sporting system and keep more of her earnings, local media said on Wednesday.

“Finally I can have my own schedule. I can control my time now,” the world number 25 told the China Daily.

The paper said Zheng can keep as much as 92 percent of her prize money, after formerly having to part with up to 65 percent, and could for the first time miss winter training camp to enjoy a holiday with parents.

Zheng, who in July became China’s first player to make the last four at Wimbledon, left the Chinese Tennis Association (CTA) this month to become a free agent on the international tour along with compatriots Li Na, Peng Shuai and doubles partner Yan Zi.

With most athletes in China still required to join government-sponsored city and provincial teams to be eligible to join the national team and compete in international tournaments, the CTA’s release of its top players marks a watershed for professional Chinese sport.

The move followed several years of conflict between authorities keen to nurture their best talent and players frustrated at strict training regimes and smaller pay packets.

Zheng and her free agent compatriots can still be called up for national duty, according to CTA deputy director Gao Shenyang, and are welcome back in the state fold at any time.

“The players can ask for help any time they want,” the paper quoted Gao as saying. “If they don’t like the new format after trying it for a while, they are free to revert to the old system.”

The players will be giving up a group of 17 coaches, eight doctors, and a team of sports nutritionists, physicians, psychologists and trainers ready to give free consultations at any time, the paper said.

Zheng said she would not be far from the embrace of the state, however: “It is not appropriate to say ‘flying away’, because I never actually left the national team,” she said. (Reporting by Liu Zhen, editing by Alan Baldwin)

Source:
http://sports.yahoo.com

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Simpson agrees new Arsenal deal

Arsenal striker Jay Simpson has signed a new long-term deal with the club.

The 20-year-old is yet to feature for the Gunners in the Premier League but scored twice in his three games for them in this season's Carling Cup.

Both goals came in his only first-team start - a 3-0 victory over Wigan - and he has also been an ever-present for the reserves in the current campaign.

Simpson, who spent last season on loan at Millwall, will join West Brom on loan in the January transfer window.

The London-born frontman scored eight goals in 46 games for the Lions last term.

Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk

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F1 teams to reduce engine costs

Formula One teams have agreed to cut the cost of customer engines by more than £12m from 2011, according to Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo.

The move comes after motorsport boss Max Mosley asked the teams to come up with ways to cut costs in F1.

Montezemolo said that engines sold by manufacturers to teams would be slashed in cost in the future.

"We unanimously decided that by 2011 an engine will cost £4m, compared to the £16m plus they used to cost," he said.

The move will be a huge help to the smaller teams as they try to survive in F1.

Mosley has been concerned that F1 costs are now so high that privateer teams such as Williams, Red Bull and Force India – who do not make their own engines – are effectively unable to compete.

He has demanded all the teams agree ways of keeping costs down – and said he will come up with his own solutions if they fail to do so.

F1 constructors have recently created an organisation called the Formula One Teams Association (Fota) to represent their interests in conversations with governing body the FIA, of which Mosley is the president, and commercial body Formula One Management, run by Bernie Ecclestone.

Di Montezemolo has been nominated the chairman of Fota.

Montezemolo also revealed that he smashed a television set after watching McLaren's Lewis Hamilton snatch the world title from Felipe Massa at the final Grand Prix of the season at Interlagos.

"I broke the television, I must tell the truth," he said.

"When a television breaks it makes a terrible bang. My daughter in the other room was given an awful fright.

"Luckily we had another television so I was able to watch the podium ceremony, which I enjoyed."

Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk

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Alonso would love to join Ferrari one day

Double Formula One champion Fernando Alonso would love to join the Ferrari F1 team one day according to his manager Lius García Abad. But According to Alonso's manager there are currently no negotiations with the Maranello based team.

Italian media claimed on Monday that Alonso would have signed a contract at Ferrari to join the team as of 2011. Alonso's manager though doesn't want to jump into any conclusions. "We don't have to make a secret out of it that Fernando would love to join a team such as Ferrari one day. But we're not even close to the year 2011 so it's still a bit early to talk about such a possibility," Garcia said. "Formula 1 is in a difficult position at the moment due to the economic situation so it is extremely difficult to look at any long term plans in F1."

Source:
http://f1.gpupdate.net
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Toyota give Caldarelli maiden test

By Steven English

Toyota gave a first Formula One test to 18-year-old Italian Andrea Caldarelli in Bahrain this week.

Caldarelli has been a member of the Toyota Young Driver Programme since 2007 and finished third in this season's Formula Renault Eurocup.

He completed 128 laps during Monday and Tuesday in the TF108, finishing with a best time of 1:33.170 - two seconds off Jarno Trulli's qualifying time at the same track earlier this year.

"This has been a great experience for me and I have thoroughly enjoyed it," said Caldarelli. "To get the chance to test a Formula One car when I am still only 18 is such a good opportunity and I was determined to make the most of it.

"Obviously, the TF108 is a big step up compared to my usual car. The power is amazing but so are the brakes, and the grip you have going round corners takes a few laps to adjust to. I think I did a good job considering the circuit is new to me and this is my first full F1 test.

"I would like to thank Panasonic Toyota Racing for giving me the chance. This experience gives me extra motivation to fight as hard as possible to one day race a Formula 1 car."

Timo Glock was also testing this week, analysing the new Bridgestone slick tyres with a low-downforce configuration and working on Toyota's KERS development. The team expect to test their KERS for the first time on track in January.

Glock completed 258 laps during the week with a best time of 1:32.090. The team's test driver Kamui Kobayshi completed the team's annual test mileage by running for 33 laps today.

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LG G5300

Specifications
LG G5300
Network2G
3G		GSM 900 / 1800
SizeDimensions
Weight
Display		106 x 42 x 22 mm (4.17 x 1.65 x 0.87 in)
85 gram
STN, 65K colors
128 x 128 pixels, 8 lines, 1:1 ratio
MemoryPhonebook
Call records
Internal
Card slot		200 x 5 fields, 7 contact groups
20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls

DataGPRS
EDGE
3G
WLAN
Bluetooth
Infrared port
USB		Class 10


Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
v2.1 with A2DP, EDR

microUSB v2.0
FeaturesOS
CPU
Messaging
Ringtones
Browser
Radio
GPS
Games
Camera
Video
Colors
Java

SMS, EMS
Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic ringtones
WAP 1.2.1


Mobile hawk, Crazy Race, Othello


Silver, blue, red

- Mini-SIM
- Blue backlight
- Downloadable wallpapers
- 110 short messages
- 10 voice dial numbers
- Predictive text input
- Organizer
- World clock
- Voice dial
- Nokia Smart Messaging
- Clock
- Calendar
- Alarm
Battery
Stand-by
Talk time		Standard battery, Li-Ion 850 mAh
Up to 200 h
Up to 3 h

Image: http://www.welectronics.com
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