Astra Honda Motor Kembali Gelar Laga Balap HRC

Aksi Rey Ratukore, juara 1 di kelas Honda Bebek 125cc tune up seeded (MP1). Dok. Astra Honda Motor

TEMPO Interaktif, Jakarta:PT Astra Honda Motor (AHM) berkerjasama dengan Main Dealer Honda, kembali menggelar seri balap motor Honda Racing Championship (HRC). Kejuaraan balap tahunan yang digelar dalam enam seri di enam kota itu, rencananya dilangsunga 10 - 11 April hingga 6 - 7 Nopember 2010.

"HRC merupakan salah satu bentuk komitmen Honda dalam mendukung pengembangan olah raga motor sport di Indonesia, selain mendukung beberapa tim balap di ajang Indoprix dan Motoprix," tutur Julius Aslan, Direktur Pemasaran PT AHM, dalam keterangan persnya, di Jakarta, Senin (12/4).

Selain itu, sambung Julius, ajang itu juga dimaksudkan untuk mendukung beberapa tim balap di ajang Indoprix dan Motoprix. "Perhelatan balap tahunan ini diharapkan mampu menjadi kawah candradimuka untuk melahirkan pembalap berprestasi di tingkat nasional dan internasional di masa depan," tandas dia.

Bahkan, selain diyakini mampu mengurangi kegiatan balapan liar, kejuaraan balap yang mengusung tema 'Break Your Limit with Honda Blade' itu juga diharapkan menjadi wahana untuk membuktikan ketangguhan mesin model besutan Honda tersebut.

"HRC ini juga salah satu sarana pembuktian ketangguhan dan kehandalan mesin motor Honda di arena balap motor, termasuk model motor skutik” ujar Julius.

Putaran pertama digelar di Kemayoran Jakarta pada 10-11 April, kedua di Yogyakarta pada 8-9 Mei, ketiga di Lampung pada 5-6 Juni. Sedangkan keempat di Bandung pada 17-18 Juli, kelima di Bali pada 16-17 Oktober, dan putaran keenam serta grand final akan dilangsungkan di Park Kenjeran Surabaya pada 6-7 Nopember mendatang.

Adapun kelas yang dilombakan terdiri dari tujuh kelas balap. Pertama, Honda Bebek 125 cc 4 Langkah Tune Up Seeded (MP1). Kedua, Honda Bebek 110 cc 4 Langkah Tune Up Seeded (MP2). Ketiga, Honda Bebek 125 cc 4 Langkah Tune Up Pemula (MP3). Keempat, Honda Bebek 110 cc 4 Langkah Tune Up Pemula (MP4).

Sedangkan kelas kelima adalah, Honda Matic 130 cc 4 Langkah Standard Pemula. Keenam, Honda Matic 130 cc 4 Langkah Tune Up Terbuka (Seeded+Pemula). Sementara kelas ketujuh adalah Honda Blade 110 cc 4 Standard Pemula Lokal - usia maksimal 16 tahun.

Ihwal hadiah, Julius menyebut, pada lomba balap tahun ini pihaknya menyediakan hadiah utama enam unit motor yang terdiri dari empat unit Honda Blade dan dua unit Honda BeAT. "Di samping itu juga akan ada apresiasi lain bagi pemenang dalam bentuk beragam hadiah menarik yang bernilai puluhan jutaan rupiah," tanbah dia.

ace A dalam lubang menunjukkan perubahan besar

(04-02) 21:33 PDT - Brett Anderson dipangkas menuruni Giants dengan mudah Jumat malam, meninggalkan A optimis tentang apa yang kidal muda mereka akan melakukan hal ini musim datang begitu ia wajah-liga hitters besar.
Just kidding, Giants fans! Just kidding, Giants fans!
The Giants don't have the most feared lineup in the major leagues, but they tore up the Cactus League, and they were home Friday, seeking to rev it up a notch in preparation for their opener in Houston on Monday. The Giants tidak memiliki lineup yang paling ditakuti di liga utama, tapi mereka merobek-robek Liga Cactus, dan mereka pulang Jumat, berusaha untuk putaran itu membuat takik dalam persiapan untuk pembuka mereka di Houston pada hari Senin.
Instead, Anderson de-revved 'em. Sebaliknya, Anderson de-revved 'em. Humbled 'em. Merendahkan mereka. That's what neighbors are for. Itulah yang tetangga adalah untuk.
It's really good news for the A's. Ini berita yang sangat baik bagi A. Anderson is not their ace, because that designation goes to newly acquired Ben Sheets. Anderson tidak ace mereka, karena sebutan yang masuk ke Lembar Ben yang baru diperoleh. And Anderson isn't No. 2; that's Justin Duchscherer, in what the team hopes is a big comeback season. Dan Anderson tidak No 2; bahwa Justin Duchscherer, di tim apa harapan adalah musim comeback besar.
Anderson is No. 3, and Friday he showed why he could be the best No. 3 in baseball. Anderson Nomor 3, dan Jumat ia menunjukkan mengapa ia bisa menjadi 3 terbaik No dalam bisbol.
He was 11-11 last season as a 21-year-old rookie, showed tons of promise. Dia 11-11 musim lalu sebagai rookie 21 tahun, menunjukkan ton janji.
This year, he's mixing in a changeup, to keep hitters from sitting on his 95-mph-plus heat and low-90s slider. Tahun ini, dia mencampur changeup, untuk menjaga hitters dari duduk di panas nya 95-mph-plus dan slider rendah-90an. The change, remember, is the pitch Tim Lincecum added to his repertoire just before winning two Cy Young Awards. Perubahan itu, ingat, adalah lapangan Tim Lincecum ditambahkan ke repertoarnya sebelum menang dua Cy Young Awards.
It has become Lincecum's most effective pitch, and Anderson's change is showing promise. Hal ini telah menjadi lapangan Lincecum paling efektif, dan perubahan Anderson menunjukkan janji.
In the fourth, against Pablo (.330 last season) Sandoval, Anderson popped him up on a first-pitch change, 85 mph. Dalam keempat, terhadap Pablo (,330 musim lalu) Sandoval, Anderson muncul dia pada perubahan pertama-pitch, 85 mph. Sandoval's 0-for-3 against Anderson was significant. Sandoval's 0-untuk-3 terhadap Anderson sangat signifikan. The two have faced each other numerous times in recent years in the minors and spring training. Mereka berdua telah banyak kali berhadapan lain dalam beberapa tahun terakhir di bawah umur dan latihan musim semi.
"Pablo's hitting about 1.000 against me going into this spring training," Anderson said. "Pablo memukul sekitar 1,000 terhadap Aku pergi ke ini latihan musim semi," kata Anderson.
In the fifth, Anderson got Bengie Molina to roll out softly off a slider, and struck out Andres Torres and Matt Cain on changeups. Dalam kelima, Anderson mendapat Bengie Molina untuk bangun lembut dari slider, dan menyerang Andres Torres dan Matt Cain pada changeups. A changeup to the opposing pitcher? Sebuah changeup ke pitcher lawan? Anderson will pay for that one. Anderson akan membayar untuk yang satu.
A's manager Bob Geren said the plan was for Anderson to throw between 70 and 100 pitches. manajer A Bob Geren mengatakan rencana itu untuk Anderson untuk membuang antara 70 dan 100 pitches. He tossed 59, 42 of them strikes. Dia melemparkan 59, 42 dari mereka pemogokan. Fifty-nine pitches to muffle the Giants for five innings. Lima puluh sembilan lapangan untuk meredam Giants selama lima babak. They got three hits off Anderson, and zero line drives. Mereka punya tiga hits dari Anderson, dan nol line drive.
It was such a cruise for Anderson that after his five innings, he went to the bullpen and threw another 20 pitches or so. Sungguh sebuah kapal pesiar untuk Anderson bahwa setelah lima inning itu, ia pergi ke bullpen dan melemparkan 20 ide lain atau lebih.
In the second, Anderson struck out Molina looking at a changeup and fanned Juan Uribe on a back-door curve. Dalam kedua, Anderson menyerang Molina melihat changeup dan mengipasi Juan Uribe pada kurva back-pintu. So much for trying to get it done with straight gas and the slider. Begitu banyak untuk mencoba menyelesaikannya dengan gas lurus dan slider.
"I think he's going to be a superstar," Molina said. "Saya pikir dia akan menjadi superstar," kata Molina.
At this time last season, Anderson was an unknown, the seventh-youngest player on an A's Opening Day roster. Pada saat ini musim terakhir, Anderson adalah seorang yang tidak diketahui, ketujuh pemain termuda pada daftar Membuka Hari A.
The difference between then and now? Perbedaan antara dulu dan sekarang?
"Big difference," Geren said before Friday's game. "Perbedaan besar," kata Geren sebelum pertandingan hari Jumat. "His game is improved. Where he used to have strength to one side of the plate, now it's equaled out, and his changeup's better. So big difference." "Permainan Nya ditingkatkan mana ia digunakan untuk memiliki kekuatan untuk satu sisi piring, sekarang sudah setara, dan changeup nya lebih baik.. Jadi perbedaan besar."
The change has been Anderson's major offseason project. Perubahan ini telah offseason utama proyek Anderson.
"It's just another pitch to throw to right-handers early in the count," Anderson said. "Hanya saja lain pitch untuk membuang ke kanan-handers awal dalam hitungan," kata Anderson.
One goal of the changeup is a reduction of his pitch count. Salah satu tujuan dari changeup adalah pengurangan jumlah pitch nya. Kind of like Friday night. Jenis seperti Jumat malam.
It was Anderson's dress rehearsal, the first game this spring where the coaching staff let him open his full bag of tricks. Itu gaun Anderson latihan, pertandingan pertama ini musim semi dimana staf pelatih biarkan dia membuka tas penuh trik.
Anderson said this spring has been more relaxing than last spring, when he was trying to win a spot on the big-league roster. Anderson mengatakan musim semi ini telah lebih santai daripada musim semi lalu, ketika ia berusaha untuk memenangkan tempat dalam daftar nama-liga besar.
"I don't let the game speed up on me (now)," Anderson said. "Saya tidak membiarkan permainan kecepatan di atas saya (sekarang)," kata Anderson. "If someone gets on base, I take a deep breath." "Jika seseorang mendapat di pangkalan, Aku menarik napas dalam-dalam."
In the first inning, Anderson said he sneaked a couple of peeks at the radar-gun reading on the auxiliary scoreboard, and liked what he saw: 96 mph, in cold, damp weather. Pada inning pertama, Anderson berkata ia menyelinap mengintip beberapa di membaca radar-gun di papan skor tambahan, dan menyukai apa yang dilihatnya: 96 mph, dalam dingin, cuaca lembab.
It looks like he's ready to go. Sepertinya ia sudah siap untuk pergi.
"He's progressed a lot in one year," Geren said. "Dia banyak berkembang dalam satu tahun," kata Geren. "He's fun to watch, because he throws hard and he has a late-breaking breaking ball, and when he gets his pitches in the right spot, he can make some real good hitters look bad, and not too many guys can do that." "Dia menyenangkan untuk menonton, karena dia melempar keras dan ia memiliki bola memecah berita terbaru, dan ketika ia mendapat lapangan di tempat yang tepat, dia bisa membuat beberapa hitters baik nyata terlihat buruk, dan bukan orang terlalu banyak bisa melakukannya. "
Catcher Kurt Suzuki likes what he sees, too, but to him it's the same-old, same-old from the young kid. Penangkap Kurt Suzuki menyukai apa yang dilihatnya juga, tetapi baginya itu adalah, sama-sama tua-tua dari anak muda.
"(Last year) he pitched like he's been in the league 10, 12 years," Suzuki said, "so that was impressive. ... He's got some of the best stuff I've seen. ... Brett's got everything it takes. He's awesome, he works hard, he's focused out there. His poise for how old he is unbelievable. He's got everything it takes to be a No. 1 guy." "(Tahun lalu) dia bernada seperti dia sudah dalam, liga 10 12 tahun," kata Suzuki, "sehingga mengesankan. ... Dia punya beberapa hal terbaik yang pernah kulihat. ... Brett segala mendapatkannya membutuhkan. Dia awesome, ia bekerja keras, dia fokus di luar sana ketenangan-Nya untuk berapa lama ia dipercaya.. Dia punya segalanya yang diperlukan untuk menjadi orang No 1. "
Right now, he's No. 3, but he's an ace in the hole. Sekarang, dia No 3, tapi dia kartu As di dalam lubang.

Irish recruit, 17, dies after fall in Florida

otre Dame recruit Matt James died Friday in Panama City, Fla., after falling from a hotel balcony, a high school spokesman has confirmed.
James, 17, was vacationing in Florida for spring break.
A 6-foot-6, 291-pound offensive tackle, James was named USA Today first-team All-American after leading Cincinnati's St. Xavier to a No. 4 ranking in the final state poll.

John Albright/Icon SMIMatt James, an offensive tackle from Cincinnati St. Xavier, was named a first-team All-American by USA Today as a senior.

James' former teammates from the football and basketball teams gathered for a private prayer service in the school's chapel on Saturday, led by chaplain Paul Rieselman.
"His message was that we have to take care of one another," spokesman Mark Motz said.
James apparently died instantly after he fell from the Days Inn Motel at about 6:30 p.m. ET, police told WJHG-TV in Panama City.
Students at St. Xavier High School had gathered on its football field Friday night to remember James.
James was the second St. Xavier athlete to die during the school year. Junior wrestler Kevin Le was struck by a car and killed in September. The football team -- including James -- wore his initials on their helmet for the next home football game.
Grief counselors will be available when classes resume April 12 after spring break.
Police had not confirmed James' identity as of Saturday morning, but Motz said the school was "devastated" by the news. Motz said the impromptu vigil was organized as word of James' death spread through social-networking sites such as Facebook.
"When one of their own is in trouble, they band together," Motz said.
The mother of St. Xavier quarterback and fellow Notre Dame recruit Luke Massa said she heard James was pretending he was going to fall and lost his balance.
"It was an accidental fall. Nobody pushed him, there wasn't anything like that," Mary Massa said.
Massa's father told the Cincinnati Enquirer the teammates were among several dozen students on vacation together.
"Luke is devastated," Gary Massa told the newspaper. "He lost one of his best friends."
Gary Massa fondly remembered James.
"One of the visions I have in my mind is after football games at St. X he was like the Pied Piper, all the little kids, everybody's little brothers and sisters would follow him around. He was just a gentle giant, that's the best way to describe him," Massa said, according to The Associated Press.
James, a senior, chose Notre Dame over Ohio State, committing on Feb. 3 on national signing day.
"It was a really tough decision," James said then, according to the Enquirer report. "... I like the situation of being in the first class with Coach [Brian] Kelly there."
James' family learned of his death during a family gathering for the 50th birthday party for one of James' uncles, according to the Chicago Tribune.

“ Matt was an extremely talented person who was very bright and possessed a great dry sense of humor. He could not wait to join the Notre Dame family.
” -- Irish coach Brian Kelly

"His mom and dad were here when they got the call," said Dan Rudolph, father of Irish tight end Kyle Rudolph, according to the Tribune. "The whole James family was here. I can't believe that happened."
Whit Majors, a forensic investigator with the Florida State Medical Examiner's District 14 office, said the person who died was on spring break but did not release his name. The cause of the fall was being investigated, and officials planned to do toxicology tests, Majors said.
James was an all-city and all-state football player for St. Xavier. He also was a member of the high school's varsity basketball team.
"The Notre Dame football program is in a state of disbelief and incredible sadness with the news of this tragic event," Kelly said in a statement.
Kelly and his staff recruited James to go to Cincinnati, where Kelly coached the past three years. James decided to follow him to Notre Dame when Kelly was hired in December.
"Matt was an extremely talented person who was very bright and possessed a great dry sense of humor," Kelly said. "He could not wait to join the Notre Dame family."
James isn't the first spring breaker to die from a balcony fall this year. Brandon Kohler, a 19-year-old from Winder, Ga., died March 24 when he fell from a fifth-floor balcony at the Holiday Terrace Motel in Panama City Beach.
Funeral arrangements were pending. Motz said the school would take its cues from James' family.

From the makers of Bad Idea Jeans: Pranking Kenyon Martin

Even though I'm sure he's nice, Kenyon Martin(notes) is kind of a scary guy. First off, he's huge, no duh. That alone would be enough to deter me from messing with him. But then, he also seems pretty angry, or at least short tempered. And, of course, he's always ready to drop the hammer whenever he deems it necessary which is pretty often. Basically, there are a lot of reasons I wouldn't pull a prank on Kenyon Martin.
Apparently, a former Nuggets ball boy felt differently, filling Martin's Range Rover with buttered popcorn. You can imagine how well that went over.

"That ain't no [expletive] joke," Martin said. "I'm going to find out who did it ... put my [expletive] hands on one of y'all. I'm going to put my hands on whoever did it. You better believe that. It's [expletive] personal. You better believe it."

After threatening violence, Kenyon then threatened to skip the playoffs if no one confessed. Yikes.
On one hand, April Fool's Day pranks are basically the worst unless you're between 6 and 12 years old. Grown-ups shouldn't really be trying to fool each other, should they? I don't think so either, so I at least "get" why Kenyon Martin is upset.
On the other hand — relax, Kenyon Martin. If someone pulls a prank on you, you don't necessarily threaten to "put hands" on them. That seems like a bit of an over-reaction. Especially, when you consider Kenyon is going to make more than $32 million between this season and next. He can probably afford to pick a new Range Rover or eight. Just be cool like Spencer Hawes(notes) was when he filled Jason Thompson's "'Scalade" with popcorn. It'll be okay.
In the end, everything turned out just fine.

"It was just an April Fools joke that went horribly wrong," said a member of the Nuggets organization who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "The kid thought it would be funny and it wasn't. Kenyon was back at practice today and everything was fine between him and his teammates."

To be fair to the ball boy, it would be kind of funny to see Kenyon Martin get really upset about popcorn in his truck. But do you really want to make Kenyon Martin that angry? Me neither.

 

Matt James, top Irish signee, dead after spring break balcony fall

As his future teammates sweated out the first days of spring practice in South Bend, prized Notre Dame signee Matt James was sweating out one of his final weeks of high school the usual way for an outgoing senior, on spring break in Florida. That week ended abruptly and tragically Friday evening, days before James' 18th birthday, when the 6'6", 290-pound Cincinnati blue-chip fell to his death from a hotel balcony:

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - St. Xavier offensive lineman Matt James, one of the nation’s most sought-after football recruits, died Friday in a fall from a hotel balcony on a Gulf of Mexico beach while on spring break.
James, 17, died almost instantly after falling from a third-floor balcony at about 6:25 p.m. at the Days Inn on Front Beach Road, according to police reports cited by WJHG-TV in Panama City.
[...]
In Florida, Panama City Beach police are continuing to investigate details of the incident.
"The best that we know is Matt fell," Gary Massa [father of St. Xavier quarterback and fellow Irish signee Luke Massa, who was with James in Florida] said.

Without confirmation on the cause of the fall, it would be unfair to present the obvious assumption that alcohol was involved as a fact. There are a number of balcony falls on spring break and other alcohol-fueled occasions every year, one of the reasons officials have tried to distance the annual Florida-Georgia game from its unofficial brand as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party; WJHG-TV reported another spring breaker from Georgia fell to his death last week about a mile from the hotel where James fell on Friday. James' death is tragic, but pending further details, it is not necessarily freakish.
Students at St. Xavier High in Cincinnati -- already hit with one senseless death earlier this school year when another classmate was hit by a car and killed last September -- set up an impromptu vigil for one of the community's rising stars late Friday night, as well as a Facebook group with nearly 2,900 members as of 6 a.m. ET. Last month, St. Xavier coach Steve Specht told an Irish Web site James was "the biggest freshman who ever walked through the doors" at the school, but was "just so clumsy" that coaches weren't sure he'd ever be able to play. Friday night, Specht described James as a "perfect" player to the site, but didn't get much further because, he said, "I just can't do this right now."