Matej Lešnik Blog

MVP's: Ramunas Siskauskas, Matjaz Smo dis of CSKA Defending champion CSKA Moscow became the first team to make it to the 2009 Final Four and did so in style on Tuesday, sweeping its best-of-five Quarterfinal Playoff series against Partizan with a 56-67 road win before 21,352 fans in Belgrade. A pair of CSKA's signature superstars, Ramunas Siskauskas and Matjaz Smodis, rose to the occasion and shared co-MVP honors for Game 3 of the playoffs with performance index ratings of 30 each. Siskauskas, last season's MVP, blasted a way for 20 points on Tuesday by making 5 out of 6 two-point shot attempts and going 10-for-10 from the free throw line. Siskauksas added 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 7 fouls drawn for a total index rating of 30. Meanwhile, in the CSKA frontcourt, Smodis piled up 18 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist and 7 fouls drawn to match Siskauskas with a 30 rating, too. They were followed by Felipe Reyes of Real Madrid, who led his team to a 71-63 do-or-die home win...

M ichael Schumacher in Australia questioned the stewards' decision to penalise his countryman Sebastian Vettel. Vettel, driving for Red Bull, apologised to his team and BMW's Robert Kubica for the crash near the end of the 2009 season opener.  The 21-year-old was also quoted by media as calling himself  "an idiot" , and it is believed he was equally as frank during the stewards' inquiry.  However, not everyone agreed that Vettel was entirely to blame, as he tried to defend his second place to the charging Kubica. "He  (Vettel)  was on the inside - he couldn't make his car dissolve into thin air,"  Ferrari advisor and seven time world champion Schumacher said at Albert Park, according to Germany's  Bild  newspaper.  1982 world champion Keke Rosberg remarked that Vettel may have been penalised because he is an overly  "honest chap". Stewards ruled that he caused the crash and ordered Vettel to start ten places lower than his qualifying po...

Honda hails Brawn's Australian win Honda Motor, which sold its Formula One team after last season due to the global economic slowdown, congratulated new owner Ross Brawn on Monday for a sensational debut win at the Australian Grand Prix. The Brawn team finished one-two in Melbourne with drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, becoming the first team to take the top two slots in a Grand Prix debut since 1954. "We are incredibly delighted that our teammates, with whom we worked until last season, have started from extremely difficult circumstances to earn this victory," Honda said in a statement. "Congratulations to the Brawn GP Formula One team." The Japanese automaker pulled out of Formula One in December, and Brawn closed a buy-out deal for the team earlier this month. Brawn took a maximum 18 constructors' points in Sunday's race and raised hopes of an unexpected title challenge this season.