What's the lookout for the lockout? By Madeleine, Antoine, Pierre & Maxence

The NBA championship is in a lockout. The reason is the high salaries of the players. The NBA owners think that too many clubs lose money due to their players’ high salaries. The average salary of an NBA player is around $5 million per year.

The NBA players earn more money than any other sports players in the USA. So what are they complaining about? In our view, all this money is the mark that the NBA is now just a form of business with the TV rights, the brands and the commercial earnings generated by this sport. It’s a big deception for American fans.

But this lockout has also had some benefits for France. Indeed, the French NBA players like Tony Parker, Boris Diaw and Nicolas Batum have come back to France and play in the Pro A which is the French basketball league. The level of the Pro A has improved due to this lockout. It's a promise of some great matches and spectacle !

This lockout will not be worked out, as this year’s season is nearly over...

We think the players could at least all agree on a “small” decrease, like about $500000... If all the players agreed, it would mean a lot of money gained for NBA owners and the end of this long and controversial crisis. All the more so as the NBA gives better wages than in sports like baseball, soccer, ice hockey, or even American football. It's a paradoxical situation when we consider that baseball and football are more popular sports!

Sprint king! By Pierre, Maxence & Nathan

Cavendishes it out!

The 2011 UCI (International Cycling Union) Road World Championships took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, from the 19th to the 25th of September.

There were two sorts of championships, in different age categories, the Road Race and the Time Trial in:

• Men’s
• Women’s
• Men’s Under 23
• Men’s Juniors
• Women’s Junior

There were over 1,200 contestants for only 30 medals. The most important events were the Men’s Time trial and Road Race of course, with all the famous cycling pros.

The Time Trial was won by Tony Martin, a 26 year-old German. The last two years, he had failed to get to the top step of the podium. Already German Champion, he finally won the five-striped-shirt.

The second important event was the Road Race, won by Mark Cavendish, the world's best sprinter. The British cyclist, the same age as Tony Martin, has completed an irresistible ascent to finally hold the world sprinter title. He started as a pro in 2005. His on-going fights with Philippe Gilbert for the final sprints during this year’s Tour de France have interested more than one spectator.

Mark Cavendish and Tony Martin have ridden side by side from 2008 to last summer in the Columbia-HTC Highroad team. In fact, Cavendish joined the British Sky team, right after his victory as best sprinter in the 2011 edition of the Tour de France.

We lost the game, but victory was ours!

On 23th October the final of the Rugby World Cup was played out, the XV de France versus the All Blacks.

The French team provoked their opponent during the "Haka" with a "V" formation (for "Victoire") which cost them a fine!

The All Blacks did a try and scored a penalty. France scored a try and transformed it. The All Blacks won 8 points to 7.

Maybe France didn’t deserve to be in the final but they did us proud! The French team gave their all during the match. For sure, next time, we will win!

There was criticism of the referee's leniency towards the All Blacks..

This is not the time to crack under the pressure! By LAUBRY, HOUDELOT & ROUCHES

On the 7th of October 2011, the French football team will play an important game against Albania for the Euro 2012 qualifications. France is first of its group, but only one point ahead of Belarus. It is vital it wins in order to remain first in its pool. The Final will be on October 11th. Many important players such as Abidal, Benzema, Sagna, and Ribéry, are all hurt, which is really bad luck knowing how much the Albanians are determined to be qualified.

L'Equipe article

In this article, the reporter tries to show a positive view of the situation, though it isn’t really the case! This article is misleading, as a team is able to win even without its best players. However, some new players have been called up, and who knows what they will be able to do together ?

Dance, a very physical art... By Julie, Fanny and Agathe

Grace, discipline, effort... Classical dance needs work and total commitment.

It came from Italy, but it is only in the 15th century that ballet became a real art.
Some people are supple naturally. Others have to work hard to be able to raise their legs high or do the splits!

When you look at dancers, you can see one thing : they always stand very well: their shoulders are low and held back, their necks and backs and heads are straight. People who practice sports could learn a lot from them...
Here's a great picture of Stephanie Walz in Swan Lake, a famous ballet. What grace!

France vs All Blacks : The controversy... By Quentin, Florian and Jeremy

On Saturday 24th September, at Auckland's Eden Park stadium, France will at last face the All Blacks!

The French team beat the New-Zealand last time they met, during the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup in 2007...

The two teams have actually the same numbers of point (10 points). The controversy is that France is accused of having chosen a "B team"...

The New-Zealand staff has said that France has in fact selected its better team so the game should be well-balanced, knowing that New Zealand will be using its best players. And, moreover, Dan Carter, a player of major importance, is back after his injury.

The best team in the world! By Anastasie and Roch

The French men's handball team is the best team in the world. It won the Olympic Games in 2008, the World Championship in 2009, the  European Championship in 2010, and it won a second World Championship in 2011!

The next European Championship will be in Serbia in 2012; the French men's team is determined to win.

Our national team deserve TV coverage. In that way, handball would become as popular as football in our country!

"Le XV de la cocotte." By Lauriane and Zelie

 

What a match we saw last Saturday on TV! 80 minutes of high drama in New-Zealand thanks to the French rugby team...

"Le XV de la cocotte" played well during the first half of the match with 3 tries and they were 14 points ahead. Everybody thought that victory was a foregone conclusion, but we underestimated the Japanese.

In the second half of the match, the Japanese rugbymen came back strong, but nobody believed that the French could lose this match. Luckily, every team has its hero and ours is Morgan Parra, not because he is an Auvergnat, but because when he came into the match the French selection scored 3 more tries. Finally, the French won 47 to 21, a large margin, but rather disappointing nonetheless. We will need to do much better if we want to beat the All Blacks!