14 in a Row for Trabzonspor

14 in a Row for Trabzonspor

Trabzonspor is a soccer club from Turkey and is currently on a '14 game unbeaten' streak in European competition.  

 

The club finished on top of the 'J Group' in this seasons UEFA Europa Cup League, to make it to the last 32 teams in the competition.  

The last 'loss' in European competition for Trabzonspor was on February 23, 2012, 675 days ago, when they lost to PSV Eindhoven of Holland, 4 - 1. 

 

In the 14 game streak, the club has 9 wins and 5 ties; which is a definite success for a club from Turkey.  

 

The club is trying to surpass the record held by Galatasaray of Istanbul, Turkey, who hold the record of '15 games unbeaten streak' in Europe.  

The next game is on February 20, 2014, against a very difficult team of Juventus, from Turin, Italy. 

Below, are the last 14 games for Tranzonspor:

Trabzonspor - Videoton, 0-0

Videoton - Trabzonspor, 0-0 (On penalty kicks won 4 - 2)

Trabzonspor - Derry City, 4-2

Derry City - Trabzonspor, 0-3

Dinamo Minsk - Trabzonspor, 0-1

Trabzonspor - Dinamo Minsk, 0-0

Kukesi - Trabzonspor, 0-2

Trabzonspor - Kukesi, 3-1

Apollon Limassol - Trabzonspor, 1-2

Lazio - Trabzonspor, 3-3

Trabzonspor - Legia Varsova, 2-0

Legia Varsova - Trabzonspor, 0-2

Trabzonspor - Apollon Limassol, 4-2

Lazio - Trabzonspor, 0-0

I wish Trabzonspor continued success in Europe, and do wish they succeed in eliminating Juventus from the competition to make it to the 'last 16' of the 'UEFA Europa Cup League', and break the record, mentioned above.  

Thank you for visiting, 

Ben here 

Hampton Pointe

Hampton Pointe

This is Hampton Pointe, located in the west-end of Edmonton Alberta.  The picture is from my living room.  Yes, it snowed again, on today's date of February 20, 2014.

Thank you for visiting, 

Ben

The Chess Match Begins

The Chess Match Begins

On February 26, 2014, the UEFA Champions League game between Chelsea FC vs Galatasaray AS will be played at 'Turk Telekom Ali Samiyen Stadium', in Istanbul, Turkey. 

This is the knock-out phase of the competition, and the next game between the two clubs will be on March 18, 2014, in London, England. 

          Mourinho 

The winner will be in the 'last 8', semi-finals of this tournament.  

However, before dreaming about titles, Chelsea's Coach Jose Mourinho, will need to win the 'Chess Match', with Galatasaray's Coach of Roberto Mancini.   

          Mancini

Mr Mourinho had the following to say, about this tie:

“I think this is a tie that will go to the end. It will go right to the end.”

I do agree with Mr Mourinho; this will be a tricky couple of games, and it will go right to the wire.

Thank you, 

Ben

Paycheque to Paycheque

Paycheque to Paycheque

Almost 60% of Canadians live paycheque to paycheque; yes you read that correctly.  

I was shocked at this statistic.  

                                      Money

I did a 'quick calculation' of my own finances, and I realized that I am 'almost' one of the 60% mentioned above.  

This is not good. 

Are you as well?

This is 'troubling' for high percentage of Canadians and Americans, and the remainder of the world.  

Also, I should state that this figure is the same as the year before amounts; therefore not much has improved to date for most citizens.  

What is the 'safe' amount to have saved for any unforeseen emergency?

It is recommended that we should have 'three months' salary put aside.  

Therefore, my recommendation to 'myself' and 'you' is that from this date on forward; put 10% of your wages in another bank account, or hide it in your home, to accumulate the three months figure.  

                                                     Save
 

Is this doable?

Check back with me in three months, and I will let you know if I have been able to consistently save a 'small' portion of my wages. 

Thank you for reading.  

Ben here

The Fair Draw

The Fair Draw

The first leg of the game between Chelsea FC and Galatasaray AS, ended with a well played 'draw' at Istanbul, Turkey.  

The second leg between the two teams will be played at Stamford Bridge Stadium of London, on March 16, 2014. 

          Stamford Bridge Stadium, London

I wrote a blog a few days back titled: 

'The Chess Match Begins'

The link is attached below, please find it on this site, click on this site.

Back to today's blog:

Chelsea looked like they wanted the 'win' after scoring an early goal to make it 1 - 0, and afterwards created many quality chances to make it 2 - 0 or even 3 - 0, however, this did not happen.  The defensive vulnerability of Galatasaray was evident, and at 33th minute, Roberto Mancini, Gala's coach made a substitution for a 'defensive midfield', which changed the flow of the game, in their favor.  

The substitution for Galatasaray began many improved 'spell of attacks' on Chelsea's net, which finally gave the host a well deserved goal, to make it 1 - 1.  

          Roberto Mancini, with Jose Mourinho in the background

If 'luck' was in Gala's favor, I do believe that they deserved another goal for a 'win' in Istanbul. 

Chelsea FC has the advantage since they scored a crucial away goal, and therefore a 0 - 0 result in London will have them make it to the 'Last 8' of the UEFA Champions League.   

          Burak Yilmaz & Eden Hazard

This will be another 'well fought' tactical game, and in my opinion there will be a couple of goals scored, even though Jose Mourinho will try to have a Chelsea FC play defensively.  

Prediction by my 'heart' says: 2-1 for Galatasaray. 

Prediction by my 'mind' says: 2-1 for Chelsea. 

May it be an exciting game.  

Thank you for reading,

Ben

Baskin

Baskin

Movie title:

Baskin

Filmed in 1972

Actors:

Kadir Inanir

Suzan Avci

Metin Tekin

Ulku Ozen

Erol Tas

Ali Sen

Hayati Hamzaoglu

'Baskin' is a drama/adventure Turkish movie, filmed in early 1970s.  

'Baskin' is translated to English, to mean 'Raid' or 'Attack'. 

The story is about the assassination of Istanbul Police Chief by a Mafia group to further the groups unlawful cause.  The son (Kadir Inanir) of the deceased Police Chief takes revenge of the mafia group, for killing his father. 

          The son walks out of jail, with Istanbul landscape and the Ford Galaxie in the background. 

I really enjoyed this movie as the plot was very good and the actors in the movie are 'legends' now within Turkish Cinema. 

          Galaxie is on the chase. 

I am a fan of 'old' cars and in this movie, the son of the deceased Police Chief drives a beautiful dark blue 1959 Ford Galaxie, to carry out his revenge.  I have included pictures of the vehicle.  

          The son and the Galaxie. 

Finally, a link of the movie has been attached for your viewing pleasure. 

          Galaxie flies.  

http://youtu.be/p9mJG7WGfKI

(If the link does not work, please copy/paste to the address bar)

          The police keeping a close watch on the Galaxie. 

          Galaxie says to the son "I'll wait here for you". 

Enjoy. 

Meyve Veren Agac Taslanir

Meyve Veren Agac Taslanir

'Meyve Veren Agac Taslanir' bir Atasozu'dur. 

Anlami ise cok manalidir.  

Soyle bir aciklamasini yapiyim. 

Bir insan toplumda bir seviyeye ermis, ve bilgili, becerikli, ve son olarak basarili ise, kiskanilir.  Bununla kalmiyip, bir cok elestiriye ve saldırıya maruz kalır.

Bu yuzden boyle bir saldiriya maruz kalirsaniz sabirli olmanizi tavsiye ederim.  Ve sagkin davranin, kendininizi savunurken. 

Tesekkur Ederim. 

War, What Is It Good For?

War! What is it good for? 

'War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!' --- Edwin Starr

I'd like to ask a question and answer it, with a 'slight' sarcasm, to support the above quote.  

Question. 

What is war?

Answer: 

War is a conflict situation, where nations or opposing parties carry on a 'force of arms', to resolve a bitter situation.   A situation which can be resolved through true and open discussion, without harming citizens.  

It is very sad that our leaders still resort to such violence as war to end disputes.  

Sincerely, 

Ben

The Midfield Battle

The Midfield Battle

Today, I would like to further analyze the soccer/football game played last week between Chelsea FC & Galatasaray AS, in UEFA Champions League. 

The game was played in Istanbul and the result was a deadlock tie score of 1 - 1. 

          Jose Mourinho & Roberto Mancini

The game did not look as close as the final score, in the first 30 minutes of play Chelsea FC was all over Galatasaray AS.  The reason for this, in my opinion was that Gala's manager Roberto Mancini had the wrong formation on the field.  He choose a 4-4-2 formation. This means that there were 4 defenders, 4 midfielders, and 2 strikers.  

This kind of formation against a very good dribbling and passing team like Chelsea FC is not very smart, since it gives the Londoners plenty of room and space in the midfield area.  And in turn, plenty of passes to the strikers for goal scoring opportunities.  Luckily for Gala, Chelsea FC only scored on one of the attacks, instead of 3 or 4.  

          Jose Mourinho in the Bench

Being a good Manager, Roberto Mancini saw this (loosing) battle between the two teams midfielders, and he therefore completed a substitution in the 33 minute to bring in a defensive-midfielder named 'Yekta Kurtulus', and also changed the formation to a 4-5-1.  

This tactic payed-off as Gala started plenty of attacks on Chelsea net, while clearly winning the midfield battle.  

Surely, a goal would come, and it came in the 68 minute, to make it 1 - 1.  

This was an entertaining, well played game by both clubs. 

          Gala Bench

I'm looking forward to watching the 'return leg' of the game between these two clubs on March 18, 2014.  It will be another 'chase match' of a game between Jose Mourinho of Chelsea FC and Roberto Mancini of Galatasaray AS. 

May the better team make it to the last 8 of this competition.  

Thank you for visiting. 

Biz Dosta Selami

Biz Dosta Selami

'Biz Dost'a selami, Yar'e sevdayi iyi biliriz, Yeterki, Dost yurekli, Yar vefali olsun' - Yilmaz Guney

Ey Gonul

Ey Gonul

'Ey Gonul! Bir suru dostlarının yanında, elbet ki dusmanların da olacak.  Ama imtihan ya bu, onca dusmanın var iken, seni dostun vuracak' -- Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi

Fresh Start with Bankruptcy

Fresh Start with Bankruptcy 

What is a Bankruptcy? 

My answer to the above question, is the topic I will write in detail today.  

          Bankrupt

'Bankruptcy' offers an individual or a business a chance to start 'fresh', by having the debts forgiven.  

Also, Bankruptcy offers the creditors a chance to obtain some form or portion of repayment based on what assets were available of the debtor. 

A Bankruptcy is a 'legal proceeding' involving a person or business.  I will focus on the 'person' portion of my writing today.  

          Freedom

A person in Bankruptcy is someone who is unable to repay the outstanding debts owing to all of his/her creditors.  

The bankruptcy, begins with a legal document filed by the debtors 'Bankruptcy lawyer/accountant'.  

The debtor's assets are calculated, assessed and evaluated; whereupon the assets are used to repay all or portions of the outstanding debt. 

Upon the successful completion of bankruptcy proceedings, which is approximately 14 months in length, the debtor is relieved of the debt obligations, however there are fees associated with entering this protection plan from creditors, matter of fact - big fees. 

Thank you for reading.

Ben

Only The Brave Youth Equality Association

Only The Brave Youth Equality Association

(This blog was written on March 17th, 2014, and the logo is the first logo of the association)

The purpose of  'Only the Brave" is:

- Help disadvantaged youth with social inequality',

- Contribute to the sustainable development of less advantage areas and people around Mesopotamia (Eastern Turkey, Northern Syria/Irak) (Tigris & Euphrates River System Area),

- Provide support and help to youth in and around the city of Edmonton,

- Relief of poverty, in underprivileged families with children/youth,

Thank you for reading,

Ben

We Have

We Have

Today, March 18, 2014, the game I will be watching in the UEFA Champions League is:

Galatasaray versus Chelsea

It should be an exciting game, may the better team, make it to the semi final of this competition. 

Sincerely, 

Ben

Let Us Solve This Riddle

Let Us Solve This Riddle

It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,

Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt.

It lies behind stars and under hills,

And empty holes it fills.

It comes out first and follows after,

Ends life, kills laughter.

          Fenerbahce park, night time

Do you have an answer for this 'Riddle'?

Thank you,

Ben

🤓

Galatasaray'dan Guzel Bir Aciklama

Galatasaray'dan Guzel Bir Aciklama

Galatasaray Sampiyonlar Lig'inden  elenilmesinin ardından, resmi sitesinden bir acıklama yayınladı.

          GS Otebusu

Yapılan acıklama asagida, aynen yazdim:

'''Bu yıl ki Sampiyonlar Ligi maceramıza Stamford Bridge’teki son doksan dakikayla veda ettik.  Hedefi her zaman kazanmak ve daha ileriye gitmek olan Galatasaray icin, (zor bir gruptan cıkma basarısını gostermis olsa da) gelinen sonucun kabul edilemez oldugunu biliyoruz.  Tum Galatasaray'lıları; bu sonuctan cok, takımın ortaya koydugu direncsiz ve mucadelesiz futbolun hayal kırıklıgına ugrattiginin hepimiz farkındayız.  

Basta Londra’da, doksan dakika boyunca takımlarını destekleyenler olmak uzere, ekranları basında macı izleyen tum taraftarlarımız, elestirilerinde sonuna kadar haklıdır.  Bu elestirilerden herkes gereken dersi çıkaracaktır elbette…

Ancak hayat devam ediyor.  

Galatasaray, kurucusu Ali Sami Yen’in koydugu hedef dogrultusunda,"Yabancı olan takımları yenip adını dunyaya duyurmak" icin, gelecek yıl da devler ligi macerasına kaldıgı yerden devam etmek zorundadır.

Bugun cesitli kademelerde Galatasaray’a hizmet edenlerden hicbirimiz, yarın yerlerimizde olmayabiliriz.  Ama, Galatasaray arması gelecek yıl da mutlaka orada olmalıdır.  Orası Galatasaray’ın arenasıdır.

Bunun icin yalnızca dokuz haftamız var.  Bu dokuz haftada, 

- hocanın oyundan aldıgı oyuncular kızmayacak, kırılmayacak.

- Bu nedenle elestiriye ugrayan hoca kızmayacak, kırılmayacak.

- Yonetim kendisine gelen elestirilere kızmayacak, kırılmayacak.

- Taraftar da takımına kusup, kırılmayacak.

Kısır tartısmaların arasında unutulmamalı ki, Galatasaray'ın her yıl Avrupa'da yarısma hakkına sahip olması bile, Turk futbolu ve taraftarlarımız icin baslı basına gurur kaynagıdır.

Ozetle;

Butun zorluklara ve engellemelere ragmen pes etmedik, etmeyeceğiz!  Bundan boyle, Galatasaray armasına yakısir bicimde savasmaları icin oyuncularımızın yanında olacagız.  Ligin sonuna kadar sahamızı kapattırmamak icin hep birlikte gereken ozeni gosterecegiz.  Her sonuca acık olan futbolda, dorduncu yıldız Kaf Dagı’nın ardında degildir.  Tek tek isimleri sayıldıgında rakiplerinin hayal bile edemeyecegi bir kadroya sahip olan Galatasaray, taraftarıyla kenetlendiginde Turkiye’nin en buyuk gucu oldugunu bir kez daha ispatlayacaktır.

Yine unutulmamalı ki; "Savası kaybetmek bir seyi, cesareti kaybetmekse her seyi kaybetmektir."'''

Ben sahsen bu aciklamayi cok begendim,  siz ne dusunuyorsunuz?

Saygilarla, 

Ben

🤓