Lionel Messi created 47 goals for Barcelona

The game against Almeria this weekend confirmed Barcelona’s eight point lead over rival Real Madrid before the El Clasico. What was notable in that game was that Lionel Messi scored his 46th and 47th goals for this season.

47 goals in one season in all competitions is a record that was achieved by the Brazilian Ronaldo back in 1996/1997 – which was equaled by the little Messiah already last season.

This season Messi has a minimum of nine games to become the outright leader in top goal scorers.

Leo Messi has scored 29 goals in La Liga, seven in Copa del Rey, eight in UEFA Champions League and three in the Spanish Super Cup. He also scored four hat-tricks against Sevilla (Spanish Super Cup), Almeria (league), Betis (cup) and Atletico Madrid (league).

Last season, Messi also managed to equal Ronaldo record from the same year of scoring 34 league goals for the club. This season, Argentina’s little man is only five goals short of repeating that feat.

Messi has become the top scorer for Barca in European competitions with 33 goals.

Pep Guardiola has rightly asserted that Messi is the best player he had ever seen after Barca won the 2009 UEFA Super Cup.

Messi is on a contract with Barcelona with a buy-out clause of €250 million and he make around €9.5 million a year. His current contract runs until 2016.

10/11 La Liga Top Scorer’s Battle 

The El Clasico will be a chance for Barca to make it six consecutive wins in a row against the capital club. It will also be a face-to-face for the league’s two scorers to get their noses in front to become the top scorer. Messi’s 29 goals this season is matched by the Portuguese ace Cristiano Ronaldo.

Barcelona and Manchester United reach Champions semis

Barcelona and Manchester United moved a step closer to a rematch of the 2009 Champions League final yesterday, as both clubs earned victories to extend their first-leg advantage and reach the semis.

Lionel Messi scored his club-record 48th goal of the season in the 43rd minute to give Barcelona a 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk and secure a comfortable 6-1 aggregate victory that had never looked in doubt.

There was more drama at Old Trafford, where Park Ji-sung secured a 2-1 win for United over 10-man Chelsea, scoring the winner less than a minute after second-half substitute Didier Drogba had equalised for the London club in the 77th.

Javier Hernandez scored the opener in the 43rd, as United advanced 3-1 on aggregate.

"I think we played very, very well against a very, very good team," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "Chelsea played a big part in that game today. I thought we were the better team on the night. In a team game we had some fantastic performances, Park, Chicharito (Hernandez), all over, no one let us down."

Barcelona are now looking at a likely semi-final against arch-rival Real Madrid, which hold a 4-0 edge over Tottenham going into the second leg of their quarter-final today.

United will face the winner of Schalke and defending champion Inter Milan, with the German club having won the first leg 5-2 in Italy.

No rest for the stars

Barcelona, who beat United 2-0 in the final two years ago, only needed to avoid an unlikely collapse in Ukraine following their 5-1 rout in the first leg. But coach Pep Guardiola still opted against giving stars like Messi, Xavi and David Villa a rest despite upcoming games against Madrid in both the league and Copa del Rey final.

While Shakthar came out attacking from the start, Barcelona soaked up the pressure and repeatedly threatened on counter-attacks. Messi provided the breakthrough in the 43rd when he received a pass from Dani Alves before holding off a defender in the box and slotting the ball past Pyatov for his ninth goal in 10 matches in the competition this season.

Michael Schumacher up for challenges in 2011 season

Mercedes GP’s, Michael Schumacher, has announced recently that he is up for the challenge that lies ahead for his team this season and that he is fully motivated despite the disappointing start to the season.

“I am, of course, looking forward to racing in Shanghai as challenges fire me up as much as everybody else in our team”, said Schumacher.

Michael scored his first 2 points at the Malaysian Grand Prix, even though he qualified in a disappointing 11th place and as a result, did not even qualify for the final session of the qualifying round Q3.

Mercedes was looking pretty good until the pre-season testing period. But after a sudden deterioration during the Australian Grand Prix’s free practice sessions, it seems that the team is now nowhere near the pace of the top running teams Red Bull Racing Team and McLaren, even though they vowed to compete for titles this year.

However, Michael believes that he is eagerly anticipating the challenge his team will have to face in order to improve its new car in order to possibly give him his first podium position since his return to the sport back in 2010.

“We know that we have little time to build after the race in Malaysia but we are learning with every lap that we race, so we are heading there with an open mind and full of ambition to do better than in the opening races”, said the 7-time Formula 1 world champion.

His team’s boss, Ross Brawn, also admitted that as the team has been unable to deliver a promising performance for two consecutive races now, Mercedes will have to apply some major updates for the W02.

However, he added that the team is going to evaluate the problem at its full before getting rid of it.

“With the back-to-back races taking place in Malaysia and China on consecutive weekends, there is little time to make significant changes to the car ahead of our visit to Shanghai”, Brawn said.

The team is looking to make a comeback some way and it is believed that they are going to take some risks in improving their car before heading to Shanghai for the upcoming Chinese Grand Prix.

Michael Jordan is the legend of Basketball

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a former American professional basketball player, active businessman, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.". Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

After a standout career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Tar Heels' National Championship team in 1982, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball. In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat".

Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the 1993–94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998) as well as an NBA-record 72 regular-season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards.

Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include five MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, three All-Star Game MVP awards, ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA records for highest career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press's list of athletes of the century. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame on April 6, 2009 and was inducted on September 11, 2009.

Michael Jordan wowed us year after year with breath taking abilities while still managing to attain every accolade possible. MVP, Finals MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, All-NBA, All-Star, Slam-Dunk Champion and Olympic Champion are awards that highlight Jordan's memorable career.

Many people, including MJ himself, wonder how all that greatness would translate to today's game. In the era of the "Black Mamba" and "King James," one has to wonder how Jordan would fare. Well, wonder no more! The following list tells you exactly how a prime Michael Jordan would fare on each team in the NBA today, including their playoff result.