ESPN will be only on DSMART Paltform In Turkey

ESPN will launch North American Sports Network (NASN) and ESPN Classic on the DSmart platform in Turkey.
The fast-growing networks will launch on DSmart on May 1 and June 1 respectively, and will provide sports fans in Turkey with the best of both North American and classic sport. Representing another forward step in ESPN’s global growth, these two channels offer a comprehensive portfolio of sporting entertainment for millions of sports fans across the region.

Lynne Frank, ESPN senior vice president and managing director of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, said, “Turkey is an important and growing media market for ESPN and we are therefore delighted that NASN and ESPN Classic will now be available to sports fans on the same platform. May and June is exciting time for our company. In addition to our business in Turkey, we also launch NASN and ESPN Classic in 22 countries across the Middle East and ESPN Classic in 46 countries across Africa.”

Murat Saygı, CEO of D-Smart, said they are very glad and excited that ESPN channels will broadcast in Turkey only over the D-Smart platform. He further added that they consider the presence of the ESPN channels within the D-Smart platform very highly, in order to introduce to the Turkish viewers alternative and novel sports branches that are viewed with interest worldwide.
ESPN will be available for the first time on the DSmart platform. The May 1 launch of NASN is the latest step in the channel’s rapid growth, providing access to North American sports for fans around the world. Since September 2006, the channel has grown its reach from 1 million households across 6 countries to more than 13 million households now across 43 European countries. NASN will feature North American sports, including over 800 live and as-live sports events each year with more than 200 live games from the National Hockey League; 250 live Major League Baseball games; as well as NCAA basketball and football. ESPN Classic has also grown rapidly since French and Italian feeds were launched in 2002. ESPN launched a European feed in January 2003 and a U.K. channel in March 2006. The channel now reaches more than 23 million households across 40 countries in Europe.

D-Smart, which is part of the Doğan Group of Companies, started sales in February 2007, and is an interactive digital platform with its dedicated channels, more than 100 local and international channels, and radios. Through D-Smart, it is also possible to access the latest news, money-market updates, weather, etc. with a single click. D-Smart channels include: Well known documentary and lifestyle channels Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery World, Discovery Science, Discovery Travel; World Fashion which is the leader in the world of fashion, style, and beauty; Fashion TV; movie and sitcom channels MovieSmart, Yeşilçam, ComedySmart, PembeSmart, Loca where you can view the latest feature films and popular sitcoms; lifestyle, culture, and art channels D Plus, Z TV, Yaşam TV; children’s channels D Çocuk, Kidsco, Luli, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. All national channels and more than one hundred TV and radio channels in Turksat are offered in the D-Smart platform. Through double satellite dishes, it is possible to view more than 5000 channels with D-Smart.

Source:ESPN and Wires

IS ZICO LEAVING FENERBAHCE?.

According to Italian newspaper,Tuttosport, Lazio President Claudio Lotito is lining up Fenerbahce boss Zico to coach the team for the next season.

Lazio president Claudio Lotito is keen for legend Zico to replace Delio Rossi as coach, following a hugely disappointing season.

Zico has received many offers this season after leading Fenerbahce all the way to the Champions League quarter-finals, where they were narrowly beaten 3-2 on aggregate by Chelsea.

FORMER GALATASARAY PLAYER JARDEL ADMITS DRUG USE......

According to reports from British media,Jardel admitted to having used drugs on multiple occasions throughout his career...

The former Galatasaray striker says that, while he did use drugs, he is now trying to kick-start his career and find a new club in order to return to glorious days.
"It all started with bad friendships," he told Globoesportes. "Then came my divorce, depression and drugs.

"Today, I want to start over, I am training, but I am no example to any child.
"Don't do what I did, because it's no example, I am starting over and acknowledging my mistakes, I want to win from now on."

He also said "I only consumed one drug, cocaine, but not while I was playing: I only took it during vacations.LOOKING FOR A TEAM......

I am seeking a new club to reignite my career, because I have the quality and the potential."This happens a lot in football, but I can't talk about it. I haven't consumed for two months. My biggest dream is to return to the fields with a big team."
Jardel is currently a free agent and looking for a team to play again...

FENERBAHCE FANS ATTACK KEZMAN.....

Photo courtesy of Fenerbahce.org

After losing the derby match against Galatasaray , some Fenerbahce fans took their anger on some of the players and Kezman.

At the arrival to Samandira facilities in Kadikoy, Istanbul, Kezman and team captain Alex, were verbebly asulted by hand full of thugs....

After this incident, Fenerbahce club , made an announcement and said the fans will be brought to justice after carefully watching the news footage.

GALATASARAY WINS THE DERBY MATCH IN TURKEY....

Galatasaray players celebrate their 1-0 win over archrivals Fenerbahce with their fans after their Turkish Super League derby soccer match at Ali Sami Yen Stadium in Istanbul April 27, 2008.(REUTERS)

Galatasary beat Fenerbahce 1-0 in a derby game in Istanbul on Sunday night to grab a serious advantage to win the Turkcell Super League title two weeks before the end of the season.

Galatasaray's lone goal came from Nonda in the first half.

A HUGE MISTAKE BY FENERBAHCE'S GOALKEEPER
VOLKAN DEMIREL. COST THE GOAL AND THE TOP SPOT ....
GALATASARAY ON TOP OF THE TURKCELL SUPER LEAGUE WITH 73 POINTS...FENERBHACE AND SIVASSPOR FOLLOWS WITH 70 POINTS.

"SUPER SATURDAY" BELONGS TO SIVASSPOR!....

SIVASSPOR SHARES THE TOP SPOT BEFORE THE DERBY MATCH ON SUNDAY.

RIZESPOR AND MANISASPOR BITES THE DUST !....

Those of you who follow this web site regularly know, I have said Sivaspor was no fluke..... I have called them the" sleeper team" in the league.
Well, they just beat another team, in away match, to share the top spot with 70 points, before the biggest derby match of the year, and maybe the decade...
First of the ball, I have never witness this!....three teams,dead lock at 70 points. The derby match becomes much important on Sunday now!...

A draw won't help both teams at all...that will give, a huge advantage to Sivasspor. There is two more rounds in the league after this weekend..

Next weekend's Sivasspor v Galatasaray match will be very important one , in any case!..... Sivasspor has a really good chance to play in the Champions League next season if they beat Galatasaray at home......

On the other hand , at the bottom, After Kasimpasa, Manisspor and Caykur Rizespor will relegate this year from the league.... Manispor and Caykur Rizespor both has 29 points. . Even if they win their last two matches , there won't be any hope fro them.....Because, the next close teams to them are with 35 points.....I am sure Konyaspor and Gencclerbirligi could earn one point in two matches....

So, Super Saturday belong to Sivaspor .......now we have to hold our breath for another day and wait for the derby match...........

Turkcell Super League Saturday results....

Kasimpasa 2- 2 Ankaragucu
Kayserispor 3 - 0 Caykur Rizespor
Denizlispor 1- 2 Sivasspor
Vestel Manisaspor 2- 0 Konyaspor
Gaziantepspor 1- 1 Trabzonspor
Besiktas 3-0 Bursaspor
Genclerbirligi 2-1 Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediyespor
Ankaraspor 1- 0 Genclerbirligi OFTAS Spor

FIFA.COM:Title at stake in Istanbul derby

To say that Turkey is football-crazy is almost a cliché. Ever since the country finished third at the FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan 2002, the Turks' passion for the game has been universally acknowledged. And yet even the fervour for the national team is nothing compared with the excitement generated by the Istanbul derby between
the country's two most successful clubs, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.

As is often the way with derbies, beating your arch-rivals can be more important than winning the title as far as the fans are concerned, but for this 360th clash between the two teams, there is more than mere pride at stake. The winner will go top of the Super Lig, with Fener currently leading by the tightest of margins, one ahead on goal difference.

The atmosphere is sure to be electric at the Ali Sami Yen stadium on Sunday. "When you go to Galatasaray, they tell you 'welcome to hell'," recalls former Gala coach Eric Gerets. "During a derby, you have goosebumps from start to finish. You get involved in sport just to experience moments like that. I've coached and played in quite a few countries, but that definitely was another world.

we go to the Ali Sami Yen and play our usual game we'll have nothing to fear. We're physically and mentally ready to beat Galatasaray
Fenerbahce goalkeeper Volkan Demirel

It is a world which Fenerbahce goalkeeper Volkan Demirel knows well as he confidently anticipates his ninth derby. "It's never easy to prepare for a derby, but our team is playing so well and we've got so many players capable of scoring that we will end up on the score sheet," says the Sari Kanaryalar (yellow canaries) custodian. "I f we go to the Ali Sami Yen and play our usual game we'll have nothing to fear. We're physically and mentally ready to beat Galatasaray."

Cimbom, as Galatasaray fans call their club, had been clear in first place but lost both top spot and their coach in one fell swoop three weeks ago. German tactician Karl Heinz Feldkamp resigned the day after Gala's disappointing 0-0 draw against Gaziantepspor, which allowed Fener to move past them into first - Cevat Guler subsequently taking over the coaching reins. A win for Galatasaray would give them a vital three-point lead over their fierce rivals with just two games remaining and prove a decisive step towards matching Fenerbahce's record haul of 17 league titles.

Two continents, one passion
Istanbul - the only city in the world to straddle two continents - is the ideal place for a good old-fashioned footballing rivalry. The two clubs were founded in the early 20th century a mere two years apart. In 1905 on the European side, pupils from the French high school in Galatasaray famous for educating the political classes decided to form a football team to take on Greek and English clubs. Ali Sami Yen was behind the project and went to become a legend at the club, with the stadium now bearing his name.

In a city of 13 million, however, it would be impossible to rally every football fan behind just one team. Thus it was that in 1907, on the opposite bank of the Bosporus, Fenerbahce were founded in the Kadikoy area of the city. The club was formed in secret and remained so for the first few years, given Sultan Habdullamid II's unfavourable stance on gatherings involving young people.

The geographical distinction was soon joined by a social one, with Fener known as the 'people's club' and Gala seen to belong to the aristocraticy. A century later, these differences have faded and there are plenty of supporters of both teams on either bank of the river, while the respective stadiums are filled with fans from all walks of life and social classes.

On the pitch, Fenerbahce took the lead in league titles last year with their 17th and are the only team to have a positive head-to-head record against the Lions (135 wins, 115 defeats and 109 draws in 359 matches). Galatasaray, for their part, have had more success in Europe. Their glory days came in the year 2000, when they won the UEFA Cup followed by the Super Cup, much to the chagrin of their city rivals, who have traditionally enjoyed relatively modest success on the international stage.

To keep pace with their near neighbours, Fenerbahce spent big in bringing the likes of Nicolas Anelka, Stephen Appiah, Pierre van Hooijdonk, Roberto Carlos and Zico to Kadikoy. The 2007-2008 season has almost seen Zico's men redress the balance between the two arch enemies with an excellent run in the UEFA Champions League. They were unbeaten at home in the Sukru Saracoglu stadium, recording wins over Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Sevilla and finally Chelsea, who nevertheless edged out the Istanbul team over two legs at the quarter-final stage.

Legendary matches across the decades
The rivalry between the two teams reached another level in February 1934. What was meant to be a friendly turned into a pitched battle with players and supporters involved. Relations between the clubs have never been the same since then, making the derbies win-at-all-costs affairs.

In a country where football is a religion, newspapers - which are already very sport-orientated - increase their circulation by 50 per cent in the days before and after a derby, with the tension mounting as kick-off approaches. And as is often the case when two arch-rivals meet, fouls and bookings tend to be the order of the days rather than dribbles and fancy footwork.

"Even if you beat Barcelona on the European Cup, it's not the same as beating Galatasaray! This match is special
Former Fenerbahce star Ridvan Dilmen"

After all, the result is the only thing that matters. Exciting, flowing football can wait - that is what the other 32 league matches are for. "The players know the importance of this match," says former Canaries star Rıdvan Dilmen. "If you win you go into another dimension. Even if you beat Barcelona on the European Cup, it's not the same as beating Galatasaray! This match is special. We know it and the supporters do too."

Dilmen, known as 'the Demon', and his team-mates were part of a memorable comeback away to their hated enemies in a Turkish Cup match in 1989. After being 3-0 down at half-time, the club from the Asian side of the river did the unthinkable and came back to win 4-3, silencing the legendary wall of noise inside the stadium. Galatasaray got some deal of revenge seven years later when Scot Graeme Souness was in charge. The former Liverpool and Rangers manager thought he knew it all about heated derbies, but that was before the 1996 Turkish Cup final.

The Lions won the home leg 1-0 before losing the away tie by the same score. Towards the end of extra time with penalties looming, Welsh striker Dean Saunders scored the goal that gave the visitors the title. After the match, Souness got carried away by the moment and took a giant red and yellow flag which he planted in the central circle of the Fener stadium. It would take several hours and an escort involving hundreds of policemen to finally enable him to leave the stadium, and to this day the fiery Scotsman is a hero to one half of the city and a villain to the other.

There is a fine line between love and hate, and despite all the animosity between the two teams, Istanbul is all about the love affair between the clubs and their loyal supporters. Fans of both teams will be desperate for Sunday's match to cover their side in glory and move them one step closer to the title. And whoever wins can hold their heads up high on the streets of the city, until the next derby that is...

http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=752951.html#title+stake+istanbul+derby