Arthur Abraham vs. Carl Froch will be the best fight of the Super Six

                    Sergio Martinez might not have many options at middleweight, but super middleweight remains perhaps the most loaded division in boxing.Two of those top 168-pound boxers will attempt to rebound from losses when Carl Froch fights Arthur Abraham on Saturday night in Group Stage 3 of Showtime's "Super Six World Boxing Classic."

                The Armenian-born Abraham (31-1, 25 KOs) was disqualified during the 11th round of his March 27 fight against Andre Dirrell (19-1, 13 KOs), whom Abraham hit with a bout-ending punch when Dirrell was on one knee.

                 England's Froch (26-1, 20 KOs) was very competitive against Mikkel Kessler (43-2, 32 KOs) on April 24, but Kessler won a unanimous decision in his native Denmark.

              I'm not trying to disrespect Arthur at all when I say this," Froch said, "but if I was to have gotten beaten as badly as he got beaten for 11 rounds [against Dirrell], then I'd be worried.

                  "I'd be mentally dejected. Not only did he get beaten and out-classed, but he got beaten and outclassed by a guy that I previously beat. So that's got to have him worried and cause him concern."
The delayed broadcast of the Abraham-Froch fight from Helsinki, Finland, will begin Showtime's doubleheader at 9 p.m.

                  TRIPLE THREAT: Showtime's strong doubleheader will partially compete with an HBO "World Championship Boxing" tripleheader Saturday night from MGM Grand in Las Vegas.Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez (51-5-1, 37 KOs) and Australia's Michael Katsidis (27-2, 22 KOs) will square off in the 12-round main event for Marquez's WBA and WBO lightweight titles. The co-featured fight will match Andre Berto (26-0, 21 KOs), of Winter Haven, Fla., against Mexico's Freddy Hernandez (29-1, 20 KOs), the mandatory challenger for Berto's WBC welterweight title.

                    The tripleheader will begin at 9:45 p.m., with a 10-round featherweight fight that'll pit Panama's Celestino Caballero (34-2, 23 KOs) against Jason Litzau (27-2, 21 KOs), of St. Paul, Minn. MAYWEATHER'S MESS: While we all want to see Manny Pacquiao fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. as soon as possible, maybe Mayweather should take some time to rectify whatever's wrong with his personal life before figuring out if he really wants to test himself against Pacquiao.

                   It seems as though Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs), arguably the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, can't go a week without getting into some sort of trouble. His pattern of self-destructive behavior has become disturbing, especially from a man trying to raise four children.That said, HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg shouldn't concede to Mayweather's inevitable inquiry about fighting someone other than Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) early in 2011. Because when Mayweather's money starts running low — and it will once he's finished paying attorneys' fees — he will need to fight again, regardless of whether he wants to do so.

Markets bet on a Portuguese bailout

           Thursday was another punishing day on Europe's bond markets - with relief about a possible bailout of Ireland now firmly replaced by fear that the debt crisis may be spreading.

             On Friday the focus is on Lisbon where the government has to get its latest austerity budget safely through its final vote in Parliament. Portugal's deficit and debts may be smaller on a European scale than those of Spain, Greece or Ireland.

            However, according to press reports, the European Central Bank and other EU nations are pushing Portugal to seek a bailout to take some pressure off Spain. The yield on Portugal's ten year bond has surged to a new record above 7%.Nigel Cassidy reports.

Bengals vs. Jets: Brad Smith Runs Wild

                It was the Brad Smith show at The Meadowlands on Thanksgiving night. The New York Jets’ all-purpose weapon did it all, rushing for a touchdown, returning a kickoff for a touchdown and picking up 200 total yards as the Jets dropped the Cincinnati Bengals, 26-10. Smith’s individual effort proved to be the difference in the game, with the New York defense adding a safety to seal the win and cap a furious second half scoring barrage.

               Down 7-3 at the half, it took the Jets all of two plays to regain the lead. Smith took the reverse, making a quick cut upfield and waltzing into the end zone for 55 yards and the score. With the lead in hand, the Jets took off and never looked back, scoring 23 second half points to put the game away.

               Mark Sanchez was steady, though not spectacular, under center, throwing for 166 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Shonn Greene’s led the Jets’ running backs with 70 yards on 18 carries. LaDainian Tomlinson had a slow day in the backfield, rushing for 49 yards on 13 carries. Dustin Keller led the New York receivers with four catches for 49 yards, followed closely by Santonio Holmes’ 44 yards and a touchdown in the receiving game.

                   For the Bengals, costly mistakes practically handed the Jets the game. Two first half Carson Palmer interceptions killed promising drives, a muffed punt in the second half gave the Jets the ball with excellent field position and poor coverage on Smith’s kickoff return gave the Jets all they needed to wrap this game up. Palmer finished the day with just 135 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions on 17 of 39 passing. Chad Ochocinco led the Bengals’ receivers with four catches for 41 yards. Jordan Shipley added 38 yards and a touchdown, the only Cincinnati touchdown of the day.

                   The Jets improved to 9-2, grabbing a much-needed win before heading to New England to take-on the Patriots on Monday, Dec. 6. Cincinnati fell to 2-9 with the loss. The Bengals host the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints next Sunday.

Orange Movie Review: Telugu Orange Hitting the Screens Today

Review:

             Director Bhaskar thought he could make a cerebral film with a romantic touch and give it a colour. He also was lucky enough to get a hero who gave a massive hit in the recent past and so gave him the role of a graffiti artist; instead of giving the artist some clarity about his role, he grabs the colour tin from his hand and splashes colours all over the screen, so much that you cannot distinguish orange from red and red from yellow, the end result is that audience go clueless and colour blind.

             The director is clearly reeling with a Bommarillu hangover, in this movie Orange instead of a father-son conflict it is a pair of lovers thrashing out their views and ideologies on love. The point is simple, the hero considers himself the world's greatest lover, is obsessed with his likes and dislikes and keeps falling in love with many girls without promising a commitment.

If 'commitment' is the crux of the story, the director fails in eliciting any kind of expression from Ram Charan that remotely shows his beliefs and even his body language doesn't suggest that he has fallen in love even temporarily. The youth for whom the film is targeted are the first ones who fail to feel or connect with the emotion. Strange and also surprising that he is the same director who made Allu Arjun come out with intense emotions in Parugu despite a static location.

       To make the character of the film realize his limitations, he wastes a single line script, converts it into a nonsensical drama compelling the audience to take multiple popcorn breaks, so much that even the comedian in the film Brahmanandam scratches his head and declares that he hates love stories. Not many people can understand beyond three colours and it's significance, how else will the vast Andhra Pradesh populace if at all they watch this film, made to understand that Orange is the first flush of love and it has some connection with the story.

                    Thankfully, he throws up a surprise, you do keep saying okay..there is Gayatri Rao, there is Avasarala Srinivas, there is Naga Babu, Prakash Raj, Prabhu and Manjula and her husband and a miserable marketing strategy..who serve no purpose at all. To show the predicaments, quandary of the protagonist, the filmmaker needs to engage the viewer first in the first fifteen minutes, here you have the hero yelling and the heroine screeching, yelping and the Telugu goes beyond comprehension.

                  Genelia does look young, but her expressions aren't, they are worn out. There is no novelty in her work, except her hair style. She plays the daughter of a couple who appear once in a while and smile on the framed pictures on the walls, the mother has no problem revealing that she isn't in love any more..but for godsake why that forlorn expression?

                 It is a universal truth that an ordinary couple do not on a day to day basis keep cootchie cooing and repeating I love you's on a minute to minute basis, even in the best of love marriages, romance takes a back seat once the child comes of marriageable age. The daughter takes the expression from her mother as a revelation which is indeed a serious aberration. Ram Charan looks disinterested in the role and appears to be just another artist in the drama etched out by Bommarillu Bhaskar. Rest of the characters while away their time as well as the audiences.

               One number is worth listening and so is Ram Charan's dance. Dialogues are a yawn, visuals are pleasant and Sydney..must ask Bhaskar how it was, and how it looked like because he had been there twice. Had he been faithful to the original [Bachna Ae Haseeno], some sort of sanity would have been achieved. Finally, stay at home, and peel Nagpur Oranges for the tangy and sweet taste..say no to Oranges that have labels.

Rating: 3.5/5