In Loving Memory

@Photo Courtesy of Dada Grace M. Mguni

Nigeria 6 Tahiti 1: Super Eagles run riot in Confederation Cup

Nnamdi Oduamadi scoring one of his 3 goals

Nigeria kicked off their Confederations Cup campaign with a predictably facile 6-1 victory over a game but painfully limited Tahiti side.

Nnamdi Oduamadi helped himself to a hat-trick, Uwa Echiejile struck twice with two deflected efforts, while Jonathan Tehau also put through his own net.

The latter also struck at the right end, with a towering header, but despite their best efforts, the OFC Nations Cup champions could have lost by a lot more, with their opponents having spurned numerous one-on-ones by rather disrespectfully trying to walk the ball into the net.

Jonathan Tehau rose to nod home a goal for Tahiti

With Tahiti having arrived in Brazil boasting just one full-time professional player, it was always expected that they would be on the receiving end of some heavy beatings.

Unsurprising then, that the neutrals in attendance were very much behind the side from the South Pacific, cheering every early touch and greeting the first shot of the game, from Vincent Simon, like a goal.

Their sympathy for the side from the South Pacific only intensified after watching the desperately unfortunate way in which they fell behind. Not only did a speculative strike from Echiejile take two deflections on its way past a helpless Xavier Samin, the ball had only arrived at the feet of the Nigeria full-back because Joel Aguilar had got in the way of an attempted Tahitian clearance.

Tanzania 2-4 Cote D’Ivoire: The Elephants coast to final round of the 2014 World Cup qualifying

The Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire became the first African team to qualify for the third and final round of the 2014 World Cup qualifying after beating the Taifa Stars 4-2

Mbwana Ali Samatta

Cote D’Ivoire defeated Tanzania 4-2 at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium in Dar es Salaam  on Sunday to clinch Group C’s spot for the next round of the 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifying.

Goals from Lacina Traore, Yaya Toure and Bony Wilfried sealed Cote D’Ivoire’s 4-2 away triumph against the Taifa Stars to strengthen their group lead to 13 points.

A long corner throw dropped inside the Ivorian box, which was fired towards the goalmouth by a bicycle kick but defender Bamba Souleymane failed to clear, gifting a cheap ball to Amri Kiemba, who poked it into the left post to open the scoring for the host team early in the second minute.

Houston wamfanyia Marehemu Jerome Mpefo Harambee ya kishindo

Jioni ya leo katika ukumbi wa Lutheran Memorial, Houston Jumuiya ya Watanzania imefanya harambee ya kukusanya fedha kwa ajili ya kuusafirisha mwili wa marehemu Jerome Mpefo. Harambee hiyo iliyohudhuriwa na Wanajumuiya wengi iliendeshwa vyema kwa ushirikiano wa kaka Domino na James Shemdoe wakisindikizwa na Dj Jimmy. Pesa taslimu zilichangwa pamoja na vitu mbalimbali vilivyotolewa na wanajumuiya kunadiwa ilikuwa ya kufana na ilipitisha lengo lililowekwa la kukusanya $17,000 .Hadi mwisho wa Harambee jumla ya $33,055 zilipatikana na hivyo kuvuka lengo kwa 194%. Mungu awabariki wote waliotoa kwa moyo. Pata baadhi ya picha za matukio katika shughuli hiyo.

Marehemu Jerome

Harambee ya Kusafirisha mwili wa marehemu Jerome Mpefo

Ndugu WANAJUMUIA,

Marehemu Jerome Mpefo

Kutakuwa na Harambee ya kuchangia gharama za kusafirisha mwili wa marehemu nyumbani Tanzania.Harambee itafanyika Jumamosi,tarehe 15,2013 saa kumi jioni katika anuani ifuatayo:

Memorial Lutheran Church , ‎

5800 Westheimer Road , Houston, TX 77057. 

Tunaombwa kina Baba kuleta Vinywaji na Kina Mama kuandaa Vyakula.

Pia imefunguliwa Account maalumu kwa ajili ya msiba huu.

BANK OF AMERICA,

Account number - 5860 3352 2448

Routing number - 11300023

Jina: Stella Liming.

Asanteni,

Wenu katika Jumuia,

Juma Maswanya.

Heat beat Spurs in NBA Finals Game 4

For all the talk that the Miami Heat's championship reign rested squarely on the shoulders of LeBron James, that these NBA Finals would turn on how well or poorly the King played, Dwyane Wade knew the truth. If the Heat were going to beat the San Antonio Spurs, he would need to play better, too.

James had worn his shooting shirt like a cape to the Heat's practice on Wednesday, making a show of his declaration to lead his teammates into Game 4. Wade preferred to wait until tipoff to put on the real one.

Looking like the Wade of old instead of Old Wade, he totaled 32 points, six rebounds, four assists and six steals to lead the Heat to a 109-93 Game 4 victory over the Spurs Thursday night at the AT&T Center. The victory squares the series at 2-2 and assures the Finals will return to Miami for a sixth game, if not also a seventh. If the Spurs are going to dethrone the Heat, they will have to win at least once more on the Heat's court.

For that, the Heat can thank Wade. He'd had his early moments through the first three games of the Finals, but had struggled to close them. That wasn't the case Thursday. Eighteen of Wade's points came in the second half.

Slowed by an apparent knee injury, Wade hadn't scored more than 22 points since March 17. His 32 matched his high since March 4. He also became the first player to have at least 30 points and six steals in Finals game since Detroit Pistons Hall of Fame guard Isiah Thomas did it in 1988.

James wasn't too bad, either, totaling 33 points and 10 rebounds. For the first time in these Finals, the Heat's Big Three looked that the powerful trio that carried Miami to last year's championship.

Nigeria due in Brazil on Saturday after pay row

WINDHOEK, June 13  - Nigeria are due to arrive in Brazil on Saturday to take part in the Confederations Cup, 24 hours later than scheduled, after a row over bonus payments saw the squad holed up in a Namibia hotel on Thursday.

 A telephone call between FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke and an unnamed Nigerian official broke the impasse after the 23-man squad refused to travel to the tournament in a strike action designed to force the hand of their federation.
 "I've spoken with the team manager and they will be in the plane on Saturday and they will arrive for the Confederations Cup. The problem is solved," Valcke told a news conference in Rio de Janeiro, when asked about the problem.
 Nigeria's squad were supposed to leave Windhoek, one day after drawing 1-1 with hosts Namibia in a World Cup qualifier, for Johannesburg to connect with a flight to Brazil, where they are representing Africa at the eight-team, two-week tournament.
 But the players refused to leave the hotel in a row over promised payments for points garnered in two World Cup qualifiers against Kenya and Namibia over the last week.
 Bonuses had been cut in half from $10,000 to $5,000 by the Nigerian Football Federation, local soccer sources said, in what was presented as a cost-cutting measure but the players refused to accept new terms and decided to strike.
 "They are declining to leave," Namibia FA general secretary Barry Rukoro told Reuters earlier on Thursday.
"They were supposed to go at 11 a.m. this morning but they say they are owed money by their association and want it sorted before they will leave the hotel.
"Their officials all departed on an earlier flight this morning but the players and the technical staff are still here."
Nigeria are due to play their first game in the tournament against Tahiti in Belo Horizonte on Monday but will have little time to acclimatise to the conditions.
It is the second major controversy to rock Nigeria since they won the African Nations Cup in South Africa in February.