Ass olutely

Francois Sagat

Robert Gronkowski

Nicola Simionato

Pietro Boselli

Renzo Molinari

Pietro Boselli: 24 Hours at Fashion Week

Greece: Model Iraklis Kozas (Ηρακλης Κοζας)

Iraklis Kozas  (Ηρακλης Κοζας) is a Greek Fashion Model and Fitness expert.  He was Mr. World Greece in 2016.  

Ιraklis Kozas, was born on May 4, 1990, in Alexandroupoli.  

He  is quite an active Greek Male model, appearing at shows and in magazine spreads across the world. He studied Economics at the University of Macedonia before moving to Serres. This 5’11″-tall Adonis can speak 3 languages: Greek, English, and German.

CrossFit, football, swimming and track and field keep Iraklis in peak physical condition.  He also hopes to break into the world of acting and has Hollywood on his bucket list.  His favourite artist is Michael Jackson, and his favourite book is the Da Vinci Code.

He is proud of his home country.  He said “Besides it’s remarkable beauty and magical islands, Athens is the temple of science and history.”

Sunday Sport: Winter Sports, Premiership Rugby, NFL

Did someone say Winter Olympics?  Yes, next month in South Korea.  Today, as with many of the weekends this month, competitions are being held throughout the world in  run up to the Olympics, some each weekend choosing the athletes who will represent the participating countries.  Adelboden, Switzerland, today, hosts an event of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup.  This afternoon, the United States Figure Skating Championships are being held at San Jose, California.  The Men's Mass Start Speed Skating competition will be held this afternoon in Milwaukee, as part of the U.S. Olympic Trials

In the United Kingdom, the Premiership Rugby Season continues with a big match today between the Wasps and the Saracens. Wasps will be looking to extend their Premiership winning run to seven when they host Saracens at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry on Sunday.  The Saracens have won three of the last four games the two have played.    But they face a stern test in the reigning European Champions who have lost just two of their last 12 encounters.  The black-and-golds were dominant against Bath last Friday but will have to contend without injured pair Kyle Eastmond and Josh Bassett.  Their task is however made easier with their opponents recent poor form, with two wins from their last two Premiership matches coming on the back of a seven-match winless run.  The Wasps have started to show why they are considered one of the most exciting teams in the Premiership by scoring 112 points in their last three top-flight matches.  The Saracens possess one of the meanest defences in the game and have conceded the second least amount of points this season.

In the United States, The Wild Card weekend of the National Football League playoffs continues on Sunday, with the Buffalo Bills travelling to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Carolina Panthers travelling to the New Orleans Saints. 

After a three-season absence, the New Orleans Saints (11-5) will play in a postseason game for the first time since 2013 when the team hosts the Carolina Panthers (also 11-5) at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday.  Only  10 Saints, including quarterback Drew Brees, running back Mark Ingram, defensive end Cameron Jordan, tackle Terron Armstead and punter Thomas Morstead, among others -- remain from the Saints' 2013 team.  Linebacker and Notre Dame alum Manti Te'o, who signed a two-year deal in March 2017, last appeared in the postseason as a member of the then-San Diego Chargers.  Seeking stability amid an uncertain future, the Carolina Panthers signed coach Ron Rivera to a two-year contract extension on Saturday.  On the field, the Panthers have been fairly consistent outside of a disappointing 6-10 season a year ago.  Its defense finished third in the NFL with 50 sacks during the regular season, and it is the only team in the NFL to not allow an individual 100-yard rusher in any game this season. The Panthers set a franchise record by going 20 consecutive games without allowing a 100-yard individual rusher, the longest active streak in the league.  Carolina's offense has finished in the top 10 in the NFL in yards rushing per game in six of the past seven seasons, including a fourth-place mark this season at 131.4 yards per game.

It’s been a generation since the Jacksonville Jaguars last hosted a home playoff game and Sunday’s contest with the Buffalo Bills at EverBank Field will mean much more than just a game for the city, the franchise and the fans.  The Bills’ 17-year playoff drought is a thing of history, albeit, ugly history. Thanks to last week’s Jacksonville lodd, coupled with Cincinnati’s stunning triumph over Baltimore, the Bills are back in the postseason for the first time since the 1999 season.  This is the 16th game counting playoffs, every played between these teams, with the Bills holding an 8-7 lead. ... Last year, the Bills defeated the Jaguars in Buffalo, 28-21, and the year before, Buffalo lost to Jacksonville 34-31 in a game played at Wembley Stadium in London.  Jacksonville leads the Bills in all statistical categories, both offense and defense.   In the only playoff game between the teams, the Jaguars defeated the Bills 30-27 in 1996. That game happened to be the first meeting ever in Jacksonville’s second season in the NFL. In today's game, the sentimental choice has got to be the Bills.  The best to all teams. 

Sport Saturday: Three Kings Edition

Three Kings Day begins with lots of gifts for the kiddos, lots of beer in Germany, and a visit from a witch in Italy.  

In the United States, the National Football League playoffs are in Round One, this weekend, the Wild Card Round.  Today there will be two games, the Tennessee Titans (9-7) will visit the Kansas City Chiefs (10-6), and the Atlanta Falcons (10-6) are at the Los Angeles Rams (11-5).   Entering the postseason for the first time in nine years, the Tennessee Titans travel this week to face the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card Round. Kickoff at Arrowhead Stadium (capacity 76,416) is scheduled for 3:35 p.m..

This is the third time the two teams have met in the postseason but the first since the Titans have played in Tennessee. They met on Dec. 12, 1962 in the third AFL Championship Game, a contest won by the then-Dallas Texans in double overtime. On Jan. 16, 1994, Joe Montana quarterbacked the Chiefs to a 28-20 victory over Warren Moon and the Houston Oilers.  Last week the Titans faced the Jacksonville Jaguars in Nashville, needing a win to secure their Wild Card berth in the six-team AFC playoff field. The Titans prevailed by a final score of 15-10 to earn the fifth seed, their first time in the playoffs since 2008.  

The team has its first back-to-back winning seasons since the 2007 and 2008 campaigns.  The Chiefs enter the postseason with their second consecutive AFC West title. Led by veteran quarterback Alex Smith, the offense ranked fifth overall during the regular season (375.4 yards per game). The unit was seventh in passing (256.5) and ninth in rushing (118.9).  The Chiefs are in their fifth campaign under the direction of Andy Reid, who is in his 19th NFL season as a head coach. He has a 53-27 record in Kansas City and has led the club to four playoff appearances.

One year after their high-powered offense led the way on a Super Bowl run, the Atlanta Falcons likely will have to rely on their defense at the outset of the postseason.  The Los Angeles Rams are the NFL's top-scoring team with nearly 30 points per game. Their fan numbers have been lackluster this season, though.  Avoiding a shootout and winning in the first night-game at the Coliseum since their return to the city last season could hinge on accomplishing something few others have done this season: slowing Todd Gurley.   Atlanta has at least some reason for optimism. The defense firmed up against the run in the second half of the year, allowing just 93.6 yards per game on the ground in the last eight contests. 

In Canada, well, in Buffalo, New York, actually, Team Canada pulled off a gift of a gold for Three Kings Day, as they broke a 1-1 tie late in the third and added an empty netter to get a 3-1 win over Sweden and claim the gold at the World Junior Hockey Championship.  Impressively two of their goals came in the last couple of minutes of regulation, and the initial push was to avoid a tie.  Canadian captain Dillon Dube, noting that with two minutes left, the teams were tied, spurred his players onto heroic playing.  

Unheroic might be the word used to describe Sweden team captain, and New York Rangers prospect, Lias Andersson, who apparently had no time for second place.  Seconds after being awarded a silver medal, he took it right off and skated over to the boards to toss the medal into the stands.
Andersson, Sweden’s captain and the Rangers’ No. 7 overall pick in last year’s draft, eventually got the medal back, but it came as little consolation. The 19-year old was in tears on the ice during the medal ceremony, frustrated as his country came up short again.  He currently plays for his Swedish club team, Frolunda.

In International Cricket, there are two Test Matches underway today, England and Australia are engaged in their Fifth Test Match of the Ashes series at the Sydney Cricket Grounds.  Australia is currently leading India are on their Tour of South Africa, and are engaged in their first Test match, ongoing  at the Newlands, Cape Town.  South Africa is currently leading the match.  Today there is one 20Twenty International match, Pakistan playing New Zealand at the Basin Reserve, Wellington.  

In Motion

Sport Saturday: Football and Tradition

College Football in the United States has come to a pause, a major pause, awaiting the start of the Bowl Season next week.  The sole exception as usual, is the annual contest of the teams from the United States Military Academy at West Point (Army) and from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis.  The Army Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen have played each other since 1890, and meet for the 116th time on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.  

The Black Knights (alternatively, the "Cadets") are represented by a mule, and the Midshipmen by a goat.   The game marks the end of the college football regular season and the third and final game of the season's Commander-in-Chief's Trophy series, which also includes the Air Force Falcons of the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) near Colorado Springs, Colorado.  The game is frequently attended by sitting U.S. presidents.  Instant replay made its American debut in the 1963 Army–Navy game.  The game has been held in multiple locations, most often in the New York Polo Grounds, but was last played there in the 1920s, and since has been played almost exclusively in Philadelphia.  Chicago's Soldier Field was dedicated in 1926 with the game. Only once has the game been played west of the Mississippi River, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, in 1983.   

The Army and Navy have faced off a total of 116 times. To date, Navy has 60 wins, Army has 49. There have been seven ties.  At their first game on  November 29, 1890 on "The Plain" at West Point, Navy won.  They had been playing organized football since 1879 and defeated the newly established Army team, 24-0. For many decades the game was held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving every year, but has since shifted to the second Saturday in December.  

The longest interruption in the series, which lasted from 1894 to 1898, came about after an argument between an Army general and a Navy admiral almost resulted in a duel following the 1893 game.  The tradition of mules as mascots for Army dates back to 1899, when a quartermaster officer decided the team needed a mascot to counter the Navy goat and chose a white mule used to pull an ice wagon. Instant replay made its American debut in the 1963 Army-Navy game, helmets in 1893.   Only six Army-Navy games have been held on the campus of either academy.  Stadiums on the two campuses are just too small. 

The Army vs. Navy game is said to be one of mutual respect and camaraderie.  Following each game, players sing both teams' alma maters. The winning team joins the losing team and sings facing the losing team's students. Then the losing team joins the victors on their side of the field and sings the winner's alma mater to its students.  We wish the best to the Army in today's game. 

Meanwhile, Bowl assignments have been decided and awarded in  all of the upcoming Football Bowls:

AFR Celebration Bowl Grambling St. vs North Carolina A&T Sat. – Dec. 16 Noon

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Troy vs North Texas Sat. – Dec. 16 1:00 P.M.

AutoNation Cure Bowl Georgia St. vs WKU Sat. – Dec. 16 2:30 P.M.

Las Vegas Bowl Boise St. vs Oregon Sat. – Dec. 16 3:30 P.M.

Gildan New Mexico Bowl Colorado St. vs Marshall Sat. – Dec. 16 4:30 P.M.

Raycom Media Camellia Bowl Middle Tennessee vs Arkansas St. Sat. – Dec. 16 8:00 P.M.

Boca Raton Bowl Florida Atlantic vs Akron Tue. – Dec. 19 7:00 P.M.

Frisco Bowl Louisiana Tech vs SMU Wed. – Dec. 20 8:00 P.M.

Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl FIU vs Temple Thu. – Dec. 21 8:00 P.M.

Popeyes Bahamas Bowl UAB vs Ohio Fri. – Dec. 22 12:30 P.M.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl CMU vs Wyoming Fri. – Dec. 22 4:00 P.M.

Birmingham Bowl Texas Tech vs USF Sat. – Dec. 23 Noon

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl San Diego St. vs Army Sat. – Dec. 23 3:30 P.M.

Dollar General Bowl Appalachian St. vs Toledo Sat. – Dec. 23 7:00 P.M.

Hawaii Bowl Houston vs Fresno St. Sun. – Dec. 24 8:30 P.M.

Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl West Virginia vs Utah Tue. – Dec. 26 1:30 P.M.

Quick Lane Bowl Duke vs Northern Illinois Tue. – Dec. 26 5:15 P.M.

Cactus Bowl Kansas St. vs UCLA Tue. – Dec. 26 9:00 P.M.

Independence Bowl Southern Miss vs Florida St. Wed. – Dec. 27 1:30 P.M.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl Iowa vs Boston College Wed. – Dec. 27 5:15 P.M.

Foster Farms Purdue vs Arizona Wed. – Dec. 27 8:30 P.M.

Acadamy Sports & Outdoors Bowl Texas vs Missouri Wed. – Dec. 27 9:00 P.M.

Military Bowl Virginia vs Navy Thu. – Dec. 28 1:30 P.M.

Camping World Bowl Oklahoma St. vs Virginia Tech Thu. – Dec. 28 5:15 P.M.

SDCCU Holiday Bowl Michigan St. vs Washington St. Thu. – Dec. 28 9:00 P.M.

Valero Alamo Bowl Stanford vs TCU Thu. – Dec. 28 9:00 P.M.

Belk Bowl Texas A&M vs Wake Forest Fri. – Dec. 29 1:00 P.M.

Hyundai Sun Bowl Arizona St. vs NC State Fri. – Dec. 29 3:00 P.M.

Music City Bowl Kentucky vs Northwestern Fri. – Dec. 29 4:30 P.M.

Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl Utah St. vs New Mexico St. Fri. – Dec. 29 5:30 P.M.

Goodyear Cotton Bowl USC vs Ohio St. Fri. – Dec. 29 8:30 P.M.

Taxslayer Bowl Mississippi St. vs Louisville Sat. – Dec. 30 Noon

Autozone Liberty Bowl Iowa St. vs Memphis Sat. – Dec. 30 12:30 P.M.

Playstation Fiesta Bowl Penn St. vs Washington Sat. – Dec. 30 4:00 P.M.

Capital One Orange Bowl Miami(FL) vs Wisconsin Sat. – Dec. 30 8:00 P.M.

Outback Bowl Michigan vs South Carolina Mon. – Jan. 1 Noon

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Auburn vs UCF Mon. – Jan. 1 12:30 P.M.

Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl LSU vs Notre Dame Mon. – Jan. 1 1:00 P.M.

Rose Bowl – Semifinal Playoff #2 Oklahoma vs # 3 Georgia Mon. – Jan. 1 5:00 P.M.

Allstate Sugar Bowl - Semifinal Playoff #1 Clemson vs #4 Alabama Mon. – Jan. 1 8:45 P.M.

College Football Playoff Championship at the Rose Bowl Winner vs Sugar Bowl Winner Mon. – Jan. 8 8:00 P.M.