wenger cesc doubtful for chelsea

Arsene Wenger today revealed
Cesc Fabregas was unlikely to be fit
in time for Arsenal's crunch clash
with Chelsea on Sunday.
Gunners captain Fabregas has been
sidelined with a hamstring injury for
almost two weeks and has been
left out of the Spain squad for the
upcoming European Championship
qualifiers against Scotland and
Lithuania.
Asked about the likelihood of
Fabregas returning for this
weekend's Barclays Premier
League trip to Stamford Bridge,
manager Wenger told Arsenal TV
Online: "I don't know. It looks a
50-50 but a 50-50 balancing on the
negative side. I will find out on
Saturday morning."
One headache the Gunners boss
could be spared is over the
goalkeeping position after
revealing Manuel Almunia was
even less likely to be fit than
Fabregas.
Almunia suffered an elbow injury
during last weekend's shock defeat
to West Brom, while understudy
Lukasz Fabianski shone in Tuesday
night's Champions League win at
Partizan Belgrade.
Wenger said of Almunia's
availability: "That one is even more
difficult. He has not been in a
regular training session. So I will
see."
Abou Diaby will be in the squad but
may not start following his ankle
problem, but Thomas Vermaelen
(Achilles) remains sidelined.
"Vermaelen - no," Wenger said.
"Abou Diaby has an 80% chance to
be involved. I am not sure if he will
be completely 100% but it is 100%
he will be in the squad."
Meanwhile, there was positive
news about two of Arsenal's long-
term injury victims. Wenger said:
"Nicklas Bendtner (groin) should be
available after the international
break. And Aaron Ramsey (broken
leg) is progressing very well.

wenger cesc doubtful for chelsea

Arsene Wenger today revealed
Cesc Fabregas was unlikely to be fit
in time for Arsenal's crunch clash
with Chelsea on Sunday.
Gunners captain Fabregas has been
sidelined with a hamstring injury for
almost two weeks and has been
left out of the Spain squad for the
upcoming European Championship
qualifiers against Scotland and
Lithuania.
Asked about the likelihood of
Fabregas returning for this
weekend's Barclays Premier
League trip to Stamford Bridge,
manager Wenger told Arsenal TV
Online: "I don't know. It looks a
50-50 but a 50-50 balancing on the
negative side. I will find out on
Saturday morning."
One headache the Gunners boss
could be spared is over the
goalkeeping position after
revealing Manuel Almunia was
even less likely to be fit than
Fabregas.
Almunia suffered an elbow injury
during last weekend's shock defeat
to West Brom, while understudy
Lukasz Fabianski shone in Tuesday
night's Champions League win at
Partizan Belgrade.
Wenger said of Almunia's
availability: "That one is even more
difficult. He has not been in a
regular training session. So I will
see."
Abou Diaby will be in the squad but
may not start following his ankle
problem, but Thomas Vermaelen
(Achilles) remains sidelined.
"Vermaelen - no," Wenger said.
"Abou Diaby has an 80% chance to
be involved. I am not sure if he will
be completely 100% but it is 100%
he will be in the squad."
Meanwhile, there was positive
news about two of Arsenal's long-
term injury victims. Wenger said:
"Nicklas Bendtner (groin) should be
available after the international
break. And Aaron Ramsey (broken
leg) is progressing very well.

Beckham i'll never say never

There are very few names or faces
on this planet as recognisable as
that of David Beckham. With a
celebrity that so often breaks
through the boundaries of the
football field, FIFA.com took the
time to talk to the former England
captain and bring the conversation
back down to pitch-level.
In an exclusive interview just
outside of Trinidad and Tobago’s
capital Port of Spain, where
Beckham was on hand for the final
of the FIFA U-17 Women ’s World
Cup, the topics of discussion ranged
from improvements in Major
League Soccer, his hopes of playing
for England again and how he ’s
feeling after six months out of the
game with serious injury.
FIFA.com: David, you were in the
Hasely Crawford Stadium this
weekend to watch Korea
Republic beat Japan and be
crowned FIFA U-17 women ’s
world champions. How did you
find the game?
David Beckham: It was good; I
was pleasantly surprised. The
standard of play was very strong.
There were a lot of people in the
stadium that really enjoyed the
game and I was one of them.
Some tough tackles were flying in,
the passing was good. There were a
few skilful players out on the pitch
and a couple of absolutely cracking
goals too.
You returned to the LA Galaxy
starting XI for the first time on
Friday after over six months out
with injury. How does it feel to
be back after so long out of the
game?
I played 20 minutes in my first
game, then 40 the next. I felt good
enough to start the game against
New York. I was a little surprised
that I stayed out there for the full
90 minutes, but it ’s great to be on
from the start again. It’s really
tough being out for six months and
not being able to play.
The Achilles tendon rupture
meant you missed playing for
England at the 2010 FIFA World
Cup ™, what would have been
your fourth finals. How much of
a blow was it?
It’s really difficult being out for so
long and not being able to play,
because it ’s something I genuinely
love to do. When you get an injury
that keeps you out for a long
stretch, you have to stay focussed
on getting yourself better and it ’s
always a relief when you get back
to doing what you love.

musik from the heart

South African Virtuoso
Makes ‘Music from the
Heart’
South African musician Ringo
Madlingozi confronts issues
affecting his homeland in his
new music.
Darren Taylor | Johannesburg, South Africa
“In South Africa, every conceivable
situation – be it birth, death,
whatever – demands music,” says
Ringo Madlingozi, his face fixed
upon the multicolored screen of a
computer that holds his latest
songs. As he speaks, a new
recording plays in the background.
He nods his head appreciatively, in
sync with the beat.
Inside his dark studio in a house in
a Johannesburg suburb, Madlingozi
– an outstanding vocalist, multi-
instrumentalist and session
musician – is hard at work on his
new album. “It’s called Umbiyozo,
which means ‘celebration.’ This is
my album celebrating the highs
and the lows of modern-day South
Africa,” he says.
Madlingozi has performed with
international superstars like Eric
Clapton, UB40, Simply Red and
Teddy Pendergrass. He’s made
music for the worldwide smash hit
Hollywood movie, The Lion King.
He produced several albums for
the deceased South African singer
the legendary Miriam Makeba.
However, Madlingozi remains one
of the unsung heroes of South
Africa’s music scene.
Africa’s best
In contrast with many of his
contemporaries, he’s not brash and
boastful. Even at awards
functions, the well-built man often
fades into the background,
wearing understated clothes and
talking quietly in corners with
friends. He never seems to
appear in South Africa’s
newspapers and gossip magazines.
Madlingozi laughs, “I wouldn’t say
I am an angel, but I don’t think I
do much in the way of bling and
bad behavior to deserve
appearing on a back page!”
Yet the accolades that this
musician’s accumulated are
numerous. Since winning the Shell
Road to Fame talent competition
with his first band, Peto, in 1986,
Madlingozi’s won several South
African Music Awards and Kora All
African Music Awards, for, among
other things, Best Male Vocalist in
Africa.
His albums have gone double
platinum in South Africa, selling
over 200,000 copies. He’s
performed all over the world,
thrilling audiences at leading global
music events such as the New
Orleans Jazz Festival.
Madlingozi describes his sound as a
“mixture of many genres and
rhythms,” including rock ‘n roll,
jazz, reggae, mbaqanga and
maskandi music.
“Mbaqanga and maskandi are the
traditional, indigenous South
African sounds. With mbaqanga,
it’s all about layers of riffs,” he
explains. But essentially,
Madlingozi adds, he makes African
music, the “main elements” of
which are “drum, bass and voice.”
Ringo from The Beatles….
On his albums, Madlingozi sings
and plays most instruments
himself. He’s proficient in guitar,
piano, flute and many other
instruments. He’s constantly
expanding his repertoire. At the
moment, he’s teaching himself to
play saxophone.
But it’s to the drums that he owes
his establishment in South Africa’s
music industry, as well as his stage
name. Madlingozi explains, “I used
to drum when I was young. In
fact, I used to bash out rhythms
on anything I could get my hands
on; that’s what my mother tells
me. And when I was a kid, The
Beatles were real big. So people
started calling me ‘Ringo’ after
Beatles’ drummer, Ringo Starr.”
But to this day, Madlingozi hasn’t
had “even one second” of formal
musical training. “I make music
using my ears and heart, through
passion and perseverance.
Through experience I have
learned that if I do something
over and over again, it becomes
part of me,” he says. “I am
entirely self-taught.”
He’s convinced the roots of this
desire that drives him presently
are to be found in his past.
“Because there weren’t many
opportunities for black musicians
during apartheid, I was forced to
teach myself and to work much
harder to progress – which in the
end has proved to be a good
thing!”
Mistakes become sonic success.
Madlingozi prides himself on his
powers of improvisation, insisting
that he often turns his musical
mistakes into sonic successes.
“Some of the mistakes are
beautiful stuff!” he exclaims.
He bemoans the fact that some
record producers “want everything
polished and perfect. They tell me,
‘No, Ringo, that note – it’s false.’
Then I tell them, ‘No, it’s meant to
be there. It sounds good! Leave it
in!’”
Madlingozi attributes his success to
“enjoyment. Every single aspect
of music that I learn, I enjoy –
even the difficult and tedious
parts.”
Over the years, he’s honed his live
performances to the point where
South African music critics have
described them as one of the best
ever seen in his home country.
“I always want to do better. But
the main thing is – I love being on
stage,” he says. “I am my own
competition. I always put myself
in the audience and ask myself,
‘Would I want to see this guy do
this and do that?’”
Madlingozi adds, “Sometimes when
I’m performing I pick up that I’ve
lost some people. Then
immediately I strive to connect
back with those guys. In so doing,
I become more and more dynamic
and then the people usually go
crazy, man!”
Fighting modern-day evils
Ever since his public debut more
than 20 years ago, Madlingozi’s
garnered a reputation as a
“serious” musician. He says it has
a lot to do with his background.
Born in 1964, he grew up in Cape
Town’s Gugulethu township, which
in the past was a key
battleground between apartheid
security forces and militant black
youths. As a young man,
Madlingozi witnessed intense
violence. Desperate for an escape
route, he retreated into music.
“Music was my sanctuary…. My
savior, my guide…. I became
myself when I was within my
music. I became protected, within
my music,” he says. “I could say
what I liked, how I liked, through
my music. I felt I had a voice,
through the songs that I made
then,” he says.
In present-day South Africa,
Madlingozi’s voice remains
relevant. “I write about the
different people of South Africa
accepting one another. I write
about the injustices one person
forces on others,” he says.
Madlingozi maintains that “just
because South Africa is now
controlled by a black party (the
African National Congress), it
doesn’t mean everything’s cool”
here at the moment.
He explains, “Today in South
Africa, oppression takes many
forms; it’s not just racial oppression
happening. There are people of all
races now in South Africa who just
want to put money into their
pockets and the poor be damned!”
Madlingozi says he’ll “make music
against these evil forces” until
they’re vanquished.
“It can take 10 years; it can take
15, 20, but who cares? We will get
all those who are not doing the
right things, and sing about them,
and make noise! Beautiful things,
bad things, everything that is
happening – people should know
what’s happening.”
On his latest album, Jayiva Sbali
(Dance, Brothers), a song called
Siyabhiyoza (We Are Marching),
urges South Africans to protest
against modern-day injustices in
their country. Madlingozi raises his
voice against corrupt politicians,
crime syndicates and men who
abuse women.
“I can’t be ignorant of these
things,” he says. “It’s my duty as
an artist to reflect life as it is now
in South Africa. And unfortunately,
that life isn’t always so nice….”
Then, twiddling some knobs on a
mixing board, he smiles and says,
“But I hope my music is.”

Music review jazz

MUSIC REVIEW
At Philharmonic, Jazz
Blended Unevenly
Hiroyuki Ito for The New York
Times
Alan Gilbert conducting the New
York Philharmonic.
By ANTHONY TOMMASINI
Published: September 23, 2010
What better way to open an
orchestra ’s new season than with a
new piece? That was Alan Gilbert’s
reasoning last September, when he
inaugurated his tenure as music
director of the New York
Philharmonic with the premiere of
“EXPO,” an exciting work by
Magnus Lindberg, the
Philharmonic ’s composer in
residence.
On Wednesday night at Avery
Fisher Hall, Mr. Gilbert began his
second season at the helm of the
Philharmonic. Again the program,
broadcast on PBS’s “Live From
Lincoln Center,” began with a
premiere, this time of a sprawling
new score by Wynton Marsalis,
“Swing Symphony” (Symphony No.
3), written for and performed by
the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
and the Philharmonic.
This was actually the American
premiere. The piece was jointly
commissioned by the New York
Philharmonic, the Berlin
Philharmonic, the Los Angeles
Philharmonic and the Barbican in
London. The first performance took
place recently in Berlin. Still, an
American premiere counts as new.
And sharing is a good thing,
especially in recessionary times.
Mr. Marsalis has described “Swing
Symphony” as a symphonic
meditation on the evolution of
swing. The concept had great
potential and possible pitfalls, and
Mr. Marsalis ’s piece both fulfilled
some of the potential and
succumbed to some of the pitfalls.
The five movements of this 45-
minute work evoke, pay homage
to and juxtapose styles of jazz and
pop: ragtime, mambo, bebop, black
American church music. And
bringing the 15 virtuosos of the
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra,
including Mr. Marsalis, together with
the players of the Philharmonic
was, in theory, an inspiring idea.
Still, during long stretches the music,
as orchestrated here, hovered
uneasily in some middle ground,
sounding at times like a jazz
ensemble beefed up with an
orchestra and at other times like an
orchestra jolted by jazz. Though it
made acoustic and dramatic sense
to place the jazz musicians in the
center of the stage, surrounded by
the Philharmonic players, this
enhanced the impression that the
jazz artists were more of a solo
ensemble than true collaborators. I
liked the piece best whenever Mr.
Marsalis worked hard to blend the
two instrumental contingents and
when the music seemed not just a
homage to old jazz styles but a
transformed synthesis, something
fresh, subtle and startling.
Actually, there are six movements
to this symphony. But at the Berlin
premiere the piece lasted nearly an
hour. The Philharmonic had
commissioned a score of about 40
minutes or so, since the gala was
being televised and had to clock in
under two hours. So one
movement was dropped for this
occasion, the only performance of
the work this season. (Next season
the entire piece will be performed
in a subscription series program.)
The first movement, “St. Louis to
New Orleans,” builds quickly into a
growling, organic blast from the
joint forces. Then the music segues
smoothly into a perky, syncopated
march. But Mr. Marsalis lays things
on thick. The textures were
sometimes so dense that the
chords were indistinct and lost their
punch. I was relieved when the
second movement, “All-American
Pep,” a homage to early-20th-
century pop music, began, because
the textures thinned out and you
could hear many more of the
music ’s nuances and intricacies. Riffs
and bits of tunes are tossed from
section to section of the orchestra;
the music is scored with clarity and,
at times, welcome delicacy. In a
captivating episode for solo
baritone saxophone -- played here
by Joe Temperley, a master -- a
sensual, unabashedly romantic
melody is cushioned by pungent
string chords.
“Midwestern Moods,” the third
movement, had engrossing
moments, especially a mellow
episode for subdued yet restless
strings backing up solo turns by the
jazz musicians. “Manhattan to L.A.”
pulses with rippling bebop. “The
Low Down Up On High,” the finale,
flows with muted brasses and
woodwinds, like bittersweet gospel.
A hymnlike section featuring the
five saxophones ushers in the
surprise ending, where the music
just slips away.
Mr. Marsalis is a staggeringly
talented musician and a Pulitzer
Prize-winning composer.
Still, just evoking older styles of
music, however astutely and
sensitively, seemed not enough.
You could have believed that this
work was from, say, 1959 and had
been introduced by Leonard
Bernstein.
Mr. Gilbert seemed totally in his
element, conducting with a mix of
cool command and jazzy swing.
The Philharmonic players should be
proud. They played with verve and
color, never sounding like classical
music stiffs. Quite a few players
looked as if they were enjoying
themselves immensely, as did
members of the audience, which
gave Mr. Marsalis and the musicians
a standing ovation. I have never
seen so many people at a
Philharmonic concert tapping their
feet and hands. And this time it was
entirely appropriate, not at all a
distraction.
After intermission, the program
became like an entirely different
concert. Mr. Gilbert led a blazing,
rhapsodic and impressively lucid
account of Strauss ’s voluptuous
tone poem “Don Juan.”
He ended with a work that the
Philharmonic introduced in 1944,
Hindemith ’s “Symphonic
Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl
Maria von Weber. ” Once a staple,
this piece does not turn up that
often these days. The title may
sound a little convoluted, but it
describes what goes on. Hindemith
borrowed obscure tunes from
Weber and, in a true
metamorphosis, generated a
delightful, dazzling and ingenious
four-movement symphonic suite.
The score proves that sometimes a
tune is just a little thing a composer
can use to get a piece going.
Mr. Gilbert and the Philharmonic
played it to the hilt. The Hindemith
and Strauss works will be repeated
as part of the Philharmonic ’s first
subscription program through
Tuesday at Avery Fisher Hall. There
will also be a work by Dutilleux and
Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with
Itzhak Perlman, no less, as soloist.

south afrika set a new benchmark

Valcke: South Africa
set a new benchmark
(FIFA.com) Thursday 23 September
2010
The resounding success of the 2010
FIFA World Cup™ has set a new
benchmark against which
future global showpieces will be
judged. That was the verdict
of FIFA Secretary General Jerome
Valcke, who was addressing
members of the media following
the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising
Committee board meeting in
Johannesburg on Thursday
afternoon.
Valcke also announced that in
the wake of the tournament, the
first FIFA World Cup to be played
on African soil, a trust fund will be
formed to oversee the money FIFA
will give South Africa. It will be
managed by both FIFA and the
South African Football Association
(SAFA). Valcke also revealed
that FIFA President, Joseph S.
Blatter will travel to South Africa in
the near future to meet South
Africa's president, Jacob Zuma. The
FIFA President will use this meeting
to outline in detail the benefits of
the FIFA World Cup for South Africa
and the legacy projects that will
ensure that these benefits continue.
“South Africa’s success has created
a new benchmark,"
said Valcke. "When I think about
the road that has been travelled,
there is a lot to be proud of. I
believe that last year’s Final Draw
(in Cape Town) was one of the best
I have seen and that is because
everything was planned
thoroughly. The success was a
result of a close working
relationship between FIFA and the
host country, in this case the Local
Organising Committee. We were
prepared for any event. In many
ways, South Africa was a unique
experience for most of us.”
Turning his the trust fund, Valcke
said that it would ensure the
money given to South Africa after
the FIFA World Cup will be directed
towards developing football in the
country. “This morning we had a
long discussion about a number of
issues. Of course we are still busy
finalising a number of those, so we
are not in a position to present all
the figures. However, I can confirm
that today it was agreed that we
should create a trust fund. The
money that FIFA will leave in South
Africa will go towards that trust
fund, which will be formed very
soon. This was a unanimous
decision taken at the board. This
will be a perfect opportunity for
SAFA to bring other investors on
board for the future who will also
contribute to this trust.”
Danny Jordaan, CEO of the
Organising Committee, said that
South Africa will continue to benefit
from hosting the FIFA World Cup for
a long time to come. “The people
who came to South Africa had a
great experience and I’m told that
up to 93 per cent of them said they
will definitely come back to the
country to visit.” Jordaan
also made a point of publicly
declaring his support for the trust
fund.
Stadium and infrastructure
legacy
Jordaan said the infrastructure left
after the World Cup will provide a
lasting legacy for the country. He
said plans are afoot to ensure that
the stadiums constructed for the
world’s greatest showpiece are
utilised extensively in the coming
years and decades. “The country is
in a stronger position than before.
We are in a position where we can
make bids for other major
international events and we will do
so.
"Durban is already talking about
bidding for the Olympics and they
have the infrastructure already. All
they need to do is to make a few
adjustments to meet such
requirements. After the World Cup,
Soccer City hosted one of the
biggest rugby matches in this
country and the same applies to
other stadiums. These will continue
to be national assets

Boston Red Sox

RED SOX 10, YANKEES 8
Yanks Come Back, Just
Not All the Way
Suzy Allman for The New York
Times
The Red Sox battered Andy Pettitte
for 10 hits — the most he has
allowed in a start this season —
and 7 runs in three and a third
innings.
By BEN SHPIGEL
Published: September 24, 2010
The optimists out there will view
Andy Pettitte’s outing Friday night
and say that he will absolutely,
positively be sharp for the
postseason. The pessimists will say
that Pettitte ’s miserable start,
coming the night after the 20-
game winner C. C. Sabathia came
unhinged, leaves the Yankees
vulnerable for a first-round exit —
that is, if they make the playoffs at
all. Somewhere in the middle,
reality exists. And on a day
teeming with potential, the reality
is that nothing was accomplished
Friday when the Yankees hit six
home runs but lost, 10-8, to the
Boston Red Sox