Spain recorded their 42nd victory out of 45 games with a stroll in the Stade de France, as they overcame France 2-0. It was Spain’s first victory in France since 1968 and they could not have had it much easier.

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Though much of the first half was like a game of chess, the Spanish – orchestrated by the sublimely gifted Andres Iniesta – were creating the better chances, and were always the more liklely to open the scoring.

With barely twenty minutes on the clock they did. A deft pass from Iniesta found David Villa free from the French defence who shot past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, to put Spain in the lead.

You had to ask where Patrice Evra was for the goal. Although apart from this one mistake, the Manchester United left back was one of the better players for a tired looking Les Bleus side.

Up front Thierry Henry and Franck Ribery cut frustrated figures. Hard to find their rhythm in the game, and even when they did Carles Puyol and the ever impressing Gerard Pique were there to sort any dangers out.

The Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos was the standout though.

The young Spaniard had a superb game. His reading of the match and his aggressiveness even though this was just a friendly was there for all to see.

He would complete the first half and cap his performance with Spain’s second goal and Lloris could not be blamed for Ramos’ strike which took a wicked deflection off Julien Escude.

At half time the booing from the French supporters was deafening. French coach Raymond Domenech had a face that begged for the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

Domenech usually so animated had lirttle in the reserve banks to change this game. And it appeared it would get worse for the French.

Warming the Spanish bench on a cold night in Paris were Fernando Torres, Xavi, Jesus Navas and Daniel Guiza. All of these players would get there chance tonight. But with a 2-0 half time lead, Spain were ready to rest on their laurels.

France enjoyed much of the second half, but were making little or no impact on the Spanish back line.

The European champions were happy to keep ball although they did create some good chances and, happily for Liverpool supporters, Fernando Torres looked sharp.

Ultimately though Spain were poor in the final third. It need not have mattered, they had done all the hard work in the first half.

Nicolas Anelka was substituted late on but to be fair you would have been hard pressed to know he was playing.

The Chelsea forward had received scant service all night. The one and only endearing image of Anelka was that he looked a throwback to the 1970’s heydays of French football- with the team’s new ‘tight’ shirts.

Thierry Henry who was making his first appearance for France since his controversial handball assist against the Republic of Ireland in their World Cup playoff last November, received the loudest booing the whole night. Even worse than at full time, Henry had contributed little.

What did surprise me tonight was not the slickness and precision of Spain’s passing, not the way they took their goals, or the quality that they possess.

But the physical side of the Spanish team. Every other nation at the World Cup should be rightfully concerned about Spain.

These boys are no pushovers, and on top of the wave of attacks raining down from Iniesta, Xavi, Torres, Fabregas and David Villa is a side who refuse to be pushed over and a side who above all look hungry for more success.

Having seen the wheels come off the bid in alarming fashion, in the wake of Lord Triesman’s alleged comments about rival countries, the FA are in damage limitation mode at present.

They are, understandably, keen to draw a line under the Triesman episode, which resulted in him vacating his posts as chairman of the FA and the 2018 bid and Fifa launching an investigation into the statements made.

There are fears that England’s efforts to win hosting rights for the 2018 World Cup could have been irreconcilably damaged by accusations of bribery leveled at the Spanish and Russian football federations.
Important

Horne, though, is convinced that the bid can be brought back on track if the problems of the past are laid to rest and supporters rally behind the plans to bring football’s showpiece event back to English soil.

“We are now at a crucial time and the support of the fans and the nation as a whole has never been more important, especially for the World Cup,” he said in a statement released on Monday.

“But it’s equally important that we can demonstrate to FIFA and the rest of the world at this time that we are serious about our bid for the World Cup 2018.

“The gossip and the nonsense doesn’t matter, we are now approaching the business end of the World Cup, where we actually have to perform on the field and that’s all that matters.”

hiniwatra Shiniwatra, the many persons that have owned Portsmouth football club and any other prospective billionaire willing to deposit their ‘hard-earned’ wealth into the Premier League should take note.

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It has been a headache for Richard Scudamore’s fit and proper persons policy.

But the chief executive of the Premier League should be thankful that Mr Jacob Zuma has not submitted an interest in owning a Premier League football club. He would make the aforementioned look like saints.

Zuma is currently the president of South Africa- who of course are hosting a rather important tournament this summer.

Despite the fact of Zuma’s colourful past and the economy of the African country not to mention it’s horrendous crime rate and issues with the Aids virus, the FIFA World Cup is coming to town.

Whilst the decision is fresh for the competition (this being the first World Cup held in the African continent), you do wonder if FIFA and Sepp Blatter – he of 50 idea’s a day and 51 bad ones according to esteemed journalist Brian Glanville – should have their own fit and proper persons application forms.

In the past six years Jacob Zuma has been charged with corruption and rape, both times being acquitted by a court.

His right hand man Schabir Shaik was found guilty though and sentenced to 15 years in prison. But surprisingly when Zuma was elected president last June, Shaik was given special release, a clause reserved only for the terminally ill. Shaik served just over two years.

In 2005 Zuma was accused of alleged rape with a prominent ANC family member and a woman that looked upto Zuma as if he were her father.

After a lengthy case Zuma was found not guilty. The alleged victim was HIV positive, and the media coverage on Zuma’s case quickly turned to cursing and parody of Zuma’s actions when he said that to combat the disease he simply had a shower.

He has been outspoken on the gay community and was widely condemmed when he controversially said: ”When I was growing up a homosexual would not stand in front of me. I would knock him out”.

ou get the feeling that this notion has not changed in adulthood.

Zuma has still not declared his financial interests since taking office nine months ago a task which he was obliged to undertake by August last year. But he had the perfect excuse- He has a large family.

And Zuma for once is not lying. In the spirit of FIFA messages about the good of the game, or how Blatter has done everything to turn the World Cup into a family friendly bloated affair – while simultaneously erasing the atmosphere – Zuma is the father of 20 children.

The sixty two year old is just two short of organizing his own football match.

He has had five wives and numerous alleged affairs. His third wife committed suicide ten years ago and, ironically, he has no children with his first wife.

There is further irony in that his first wife lives with him presently. Apparently she shares the house with his fifth wife, who he married recently. If it were not so sad and messy there is a Hollywood movie in there somewhere.

f course above all we the supporters will be watching the games, revelling in the excitement and marvelling about how a player who was worth a few million before the tournament is now worth a kings ransom four weeks later.

But when the televison camera’s pan across the VIP’s, to an ever smiling Sepp Blatter and his colleagues on June 11th, at least we will know who our enemies are.

As the Spanish season draws to a close, the silly season is about to begin that not even a World Cup can get in the way off.

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Madrid sports daily Marca is sure to have its front page devoted to possible players that are being hunted down by Real Madrid, only ceding vital column inches when Spain are playing. Real Madrid under president Florentino Perez are simply expected to buy a world class name.

It is by now their nature. A big name signing at the Bernabeu has become part of the football season.

And it does not stop in Spain. The tabloids and broadsheets in England will be on full alert giving Madrid’s taste for Englishmen in the past which has included Steve McManaman, David Beckham, Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate. This year it seems that Steven Gerrard who has had a difficult season with Liverpool is their prime target.

But hold on. Do my eyes deceive me that Real Madrid have acquired 95 points this season in La Lig?. Have only lost once this campaign at home and already have quite a tasty midfield? Even if Barcelona, as expected, do pip them to the league they will have to garner 99 points.?

The FIFA ethics committee will investigate the statements made by Lord Triesman about England’s rival bidders for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup.

The 66-year-old, who also vacated the same role with the Football Association, announced his decision following a hastily-arranged meeting with the FA board at Wembley on Sunday afternoon and was replaced by Geoff Thompson, the British FIFA vice-president.

However, despite his swift departure, the fallout appears set to continue after FIFA’s announcement on Monday evening.

A FIFA statement read: “FIFA can confirm that FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has requested the FIFA ethics committee to examine the alleged statements made by Lord Triesman in relation to the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups.”

Triesman allegedly told a former aide that Spain were planning to bribe referees at this summer’s World Cup and offer their support to Russia’s bid for the 2022 World Cup if they were to help.
Damage limitation

The England 2018 World Cup bid team faxed letters of apology to both associations as they attempted to minimise the damage caused, while FA board members David Sheepshanks and Roger Burden have been drafted in as acting joint chairmen of the national governing body.

The apology read: “You may be aware that English newspapers have reported comments attributed to Lord Triesman in which he is reported to cast aspersions on the integrity of FIFA, the Russian Football Federation, the Russia 2018/2022 Bidding Committee and the Bidding Process.

“England 2018 unreservedly apologises for these comments, for any suggestions of any improper behaviour on the part of any members of the Russian Football family, our fellow Bidders and for any express or implied criticism of the Russian Football Federation or of FIFA.

“The comments reported to have been made by Lord Triesman in no way represent the views of England 2018, any employee, Director, Ambassador, Consultant or adviser to the Bid.

“England 2018 bitterly regrets any damage to the integrity of the Russian Football Family, FIFA or any of its Member Associations caused by these comments. We are available to discuss this matter at your convenience.”

However, FIFA are not yet satisfied by the prompt action of the FA and have requested a report into the affair.

Actions

The FIFA statement continued: “In addition, FIFA has sent a letter to The Football Association asking The FA to provide a report on this matter, including Lord Triesman’s position.

“FIFA will not make any further comment on this matter until it has been dealt with by the FIFA ethics committee.”

The England 2018 bid team have responded to FIFA’s statement saying: “We welcome FIFA’s inquiry. It was expected and is part of the bidding rules. We will co-operate fully. We believe we, and the FA, acted swiftly and decisively in dealing with the matter.”

Sky Sports News understands that the bid team emailed senior Russian bid members in the early hours of Sunday morning. One of those emails was returned (undeliverable) and re-sent to a different address earlier today.

This afternoon a further email was sent to Russia’s Director of Communications who acknowledged receipt.

Maybe it’s time for Lindsay Lohan to say au revoir to Cannes.

The scene-making starlet had actually better allez, because a Los Angeles judge said today that Lohan’s presence is required in court on Thursday for her next probation hearing.

If she’s not there, a bench warrant could be issued for her arrest, L.A. District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Jane Robison tells E! News.

What a shame, considering she just landed (on her butt) in France.

Lohan flew out from New York on Friday morning and arrived in Nice on Sunday, though we like to think that she knew as well as the media did that she had a DUI progress report coming up this week.

Following a pair of DUI arrests in 2007, the 23-year-old was ordered to complete an 18-month alcohol education program. A judge deemed her “in compliance” with the court in February and her lawyer has confirmed that Lohan needs about two and a half more weeks to complete the terms of her three years of probation.

We doubt she learned anything useful while yachting on the French Riviera, however.

Read more: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b181507_lindsay_lohan_from_riviera_up_river.html#ixzz0oFwgn8qN

Microsoft on Monday launched an expanded push into technical computing that it says is needed to solve ever more complex scientific challenges.

“Recent world events clearly demonstrated our inability to process vast amounts of information and variables that would have helped to more accurately predict the behavior of global financial markets or the occurrence and impact of a volcano eruption in Iceland,” Bob Muglia, president of Microsoft’s Server and Tools unit, said in a statement.

The software maker said a new team will focus on a number of key technical computing challenges such as shifting high-end computing to the cloud, making it easier to write parallel code, and developing the new tools and software needed for data-intensive modeling tasks.
Beyond solving the world’s problems, the new unit is also trying to create a new market for Windows Azure–Microsoft’s operating system in the clouds.

“We really believe technical computing is going to be the killer app for the cloud,” Microsoft general manager Bill Hilf said in a telephone interview. Of the requisite high-end computers, Hilf said, “they gobble up compute power. They need huge amounts of data.”

The effort, which has been quietly coming together over the past 18 months, includes a team of about 500 dedicated staff along with several hundred more from other product teams at the company. The unit will be jointly run by two Microsoft general managers–Hilf and Kyril Faenov–and will be responsible for the high-performance computing version of Windows as well as the new efforts.

For several years now, Microsoft has had a cluster-computing version of Windows Server known these days as Windows HPC Server.

The deeper push into high-end computing was announced in a post on Microsoft’s Web site. One of the key efforts will be to develop new kinds of software for scientists, engineers and data analysts. “Our development efforts will yield new, easy-to-use tools and applications that automate data acquisition, modeling, simulation, visualization, workflow and collaboration,” Muglia said. “This will allow them to spend more time on their work and less time wrestling with complicated technology.”

Another key challenge across the computer industry, but particularly at the high end, has been shifting the way software is written so that tasks can be carried out in parallel by multiple PCs, servers, and processor cores simultaneously.

“Today, computers are shipping with more processing power than ever, including multiple cores, but most modern software only uses a small amount of the available processing power,” Muglia said. “Parallel programs are extremely difficult to write, test and trouble shoot.”

The new effort also aims to see how much high-end work can be shifted to cloud-based set-ups such as Windows Azure. “Existing high-performance computing users will benefit from the ability to augment their on-premises systems with cloud resources that enable ‘just-in-time’ processing,” Muglia said.

Over the last 18 months, the new technical computing unit has worked on both HPC server and adding parallel computing capabilities to Visual Studio. Going forward, the group is looking more broadly. In the coming fiscal year, Hilf said, the company will have demos and beta versions of products that allow developers to write models that can be run in various setups–on a desktop, on a cluster, or in the cloud.

Hilf said that Microsoft is looking at providing both developer tools as well as the broad, horizontal tools that scientists across industries will need.

“We won’t be, of course, doing vertical-specific software,” Hilf said, noting that Microsoft might do a version of Excel that works with Azure, or build an add-on or even an all new program, but it won’t be doing something as specific as, say, a program for the oil and gas industry. “The Schlumbergers of the world will continue to be great partners. Our role with them will be to provide a platform for them.”

he launch of Apple’s iPad brought concerns that the device might cannibalize sales of the Mac computer–but a look at the first month of the June quarter shows that it’s the iPod, not the Mac, that may be taking the iPad hit.

In the U.S., Mac sales for the month of April were up 39 percent, ahead of the 19 percent projection that Wall Street has estimated for the full quarter, according to newly released data from the NPD Group. At the same time, iPods were down 17 percent for the month, compared to April of last year. Wall Street is forecasting a 9 percent decline for the full quarter.

Like all parents, Microsoft likes to tout the accomplishments of its offspring. Any conversation about Hotmail is likely to start with the fact that, at least globally, the free Web mail service has more active accounts than any of its rivals.

Pressed, though, company officials also see Hotmail’s shortcomings. In recent years, rivals Google and Yahoo have been ahead of the game when it comes to adding things like conversation views, mobile synchronization and other features. And Yahoo has more U.S. accounts, while Google has been growing faster than Hotmail. Beyond any one feature, though, Hotmail has come to be perceived as a technology laggard, rather than a leader.
“We’re not where we want to be,” Microsoft Corporate Vice President Chris Jones said on Monday at a briefing in San Francisco.

In attempting to turn things around, Microsoft is falling back on an important parenting lesson–teaching its child to be better at sharing.

A key feature in the coming update to Windows Live Hotmail is an improved ability to share photos and Office documents using a combination of Web-based editing tools and cloud file storage. The new version, which will begin being offered to most users in July or August, aims to offer a better alternative to the standard attachment. Instead, Hotmail will offer the option of uploading a file or photo to Microsoft’s SkyDrive service and e-mailing a link, as opposed to the file itself. The approach has several advantages, including avoiding issues related to file size limits that often make it hard to share videos, presentations, or large collections of photos. Recipients can then either download the files, or, in the case of photos, view an online slideshow.

The new version also allows users to view photos or videos from third-party services, such as Flickr, SmugMug, Hulu, and YouTube, all without having to leave Hotmail. The revamped Hotmail also adds a new “sweep” option that lets users easily divert mail from a particular sender into either a new folder or into the trash.

“This update I think is the most significant one we’ve ever done,” Jones said. At a minimum, it’s at least the biggest move for Microsoft since it completely revamped Hotmail four years ago.

On the mobile side, Microsoft will start using Exchange ActiveSync to allow Windows Live e-mail, calendar, and contacts to be pushed onto cell phones. To use both Hotmail and a corporate Exchange account, users will need a phone that supports dual ActiveSync connections. Today, the Palm Pre is one of the few devices that does so, but Jones said that Windows Phone 7 supports the feature, as does iPhone OS 4.

Microsoft general manager Brian Hall had suggested that many of these features are coming in a recent CNET interview.

In addition to letting users create their own e-mail filters, the new Hotmail also creates some views of its own, such as creating a separate view for shipping notifications and another for social-network updates, which now make up a significant number of all e-mail messages.

The software maker will also add the option for users to send their e-mail using an encrypted HTTPS connection. In January, Google made a secure Net connection the default following a cyberattack on its mail service.

Two features that won’t be part of the summer upgrade, but are also on the horizon, are the ability to have multiple e-mail aliases in a single account as well as an option to update a mail account with a new name. That latter feature is particularly useful if a user is hoping to move from, say “DaveDrinks21″ to “Davethefuturegovernor,” without having to start over with a new account, e-mail history, and contact list.

In a letter to users, MySpace’s co-president Mike Jones on Monday outlined the company’s stance on privacy and its place within social networking, as well as detailing what he calls a “simplified” version of the social network’s privacy settings that will roll out to users in the next few weeks.

The announcement comes just three weeks after Facebook’s F8 conference, where Facebook introduced, and immediately implemented new privacy settings that have drawn user and media ire for making profile information too public. Facebook’s new system has also drawn criticism for being overly complex.

Jones said the new system will continue to give users the same three tiers of privacy for each aspect of their profiles that they have right now (public, friends only, and public to users over the age of 18). The key difference from Facebook’s approach, however, is that the toggle to change all the settings will be contained in one switch. Jones also said that users who are currently using the “friends only” option will keep their settings without having to opt in or out of anything.

“While MySpace at its core is about discovery, self expression and sharing, we understand people might want the option of limiting the sharing of their information to a select group of friends,” Jones said. “We respect our users’ desires to balance sharing and privacy, and never push our users to an uncomfortable privacy position.”