Sunday, 21 October 2012

Prem: City leave it late, Chelsea beat Spurs

Chelsea and Manchester City produced stirring comebacks on Saturday as the top three all secured victories in the Premier League. Elsewhere, Liverpool ended their Merseyside drought on a day when West Ham, Fulham and Swansea all won.

Edin Dzeko celebrates his dramatic late winner at West Brom

PA PhotosEdin Dzeko celebrates his dramatic late winner at West Brom

• Brewin: Chelsea deny AVB

Manchester City are yet to lose this season and they struck deep into injury-time - with ten men - to beat West Brom 2-1 at the Hawthorns. Roberto Mancini had to make do without the injured David Silva, and City's task was made even more difficult when James Milner was sent off midway through the first half.

However, after Shane Long had given the Baggies a second-half lead, Edin Dzeko stepped off the bench to net a match-winning brace for the champions.

Juan Mata struck twice in three second-half minutes as Chelsea came from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 at White Hart Lane.

Gary Cahill gave the Blues the lead in the first period, seizing on William Gallas' poor defensive header to fire a first-time volley into the roof of the net, but Gallas made amends shortly after half-time, steering in from close range at the far post having collected Jan Vertonghen's hooked centre.

Jermain Defoe then turned the game on its head, diverting Aaron Lennon's mishit shot beyond Petr Cech and into the back of the net. That was the cue for Mata to swing the momentum back towards his side, first with a 20-yard drive following another poorly-directed clearance from Gallas and then with a fine finish after a brilliant defence-splitting pass from Eden Hazard.

Mata also made Chelsea's fourth, robbing Kyle Walker before squaring for substitute Daniel Sturridge.

Manchester United remain four points off the pace after they overcame a stubborn Stoke side 4-2 at Old Trafford. Stoke had only been beaten by Chelsea prior to their trip to the Theatre of Dreams, but were undone by two goals from Wayne Rooney as well as efforts from Robin van Persie and Danny Welbeck after a Rooney own goal had given the visitors the lead.

Rooney was yet to score in the league this season at the start of play, and he actually notched one against his own team as Stoke took an 11th-minute lead. The England forward quickly made amends, though, as he found the United equaliser 15 minutes later, heading home Van Persie's cross. Van Persie then ensured United took a lead into half-time, smashing home in unerring fashion from Antonio Valencia's assist.

United flew out of the blocks after the interval, netting immediately through Welbeck's diving header, but Stoke continued to fight, reducing the deficit when Kightly advanced unchallenged to make it 3-2. Rooney quickly restored the two-goal cushion as United remained second in the table.

Liverpool ended their wait for a first home league win under Brendan Rodgers, beating Reading 1-0 at Anfield. The Reds last triumphed on home soil in league competition on May 8 against Chelsea, but Raheem Sterling's strike finally gave their fans something to sing about.

Rodgers went into the game without fresh injury absentees Fabio Borini and Pepe Reina, but his side coped well with those setbacks as they moved up to 11th in the table. The opener saw Sterling become the club's second youngest scorer behind Michael Owen as he ran onto Luis Suarez's flick, taking a touch before drilling into the far corner.

Southampton stay dangerously poised above the drop zone after they lost 4-1 to West Ham at Upton Park. The result leaves Saints on four points in 17th place in the table after a Mark Noble brace in addition to goals from Kevin Nolan and Modibo Maiga.

After a dour first half, West Ham exploded from moment the second began, netting the opener when Noble's dangerous free-kick found its way past Artur Boruc under pressure from James Collins, and then adding a second a minute later when Nolan tapped in at the far post.

Adam Lallana gave the Saints hope with 25 minutes remaining, but Noble converted from the spot to kill the game off 18 minutes from time before Maiga added the extras.

Paul Lambert is a manager firmly under pressure after Aston Villa were beaten 1-0 by Fulham at Craven Cottage. Villa are only two points clear of the bottom three after winning one of their opening eight games, with Chris Baird doing the damage for Fulham with an 84th-minute equaliser.

In the other 3pm kick-off, Swansea claimed a 2-1 win over Wigan to move into the top half of the table. Pablo Hernandez and Michu did the job for Swansea in the second half, although Emmerson Boyce's cheeky back-heeled effort made for a tight finish.


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Rodgers defends wayward Luis Suarez

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers was full of praise for Luis Suarez despite the striker's failure to convert one of his myriad chances against Reading.

• Blog: Huff and puff not enough

Suarez, 25, provided the assist for Raheem Sterling's winning goal in the 1-0 victory at Anfield but was guilty of missing several opportunities, with nine of his ten attempts on goal not even hitting the target.

However, Rodgers refused to criticise his forward, insisting that there is nothing wrong with Suarez's strike rate.

"He's not perfect but he has got a great return if you look at his stats, when he was at Ajax and since he has come into here," Rodgers said.

"But there is no doubt he will want to be more clinical. But going forward we will want to get more players who take the load off him."

Rodgers praised Suarez for his determination to play, four days after appearing at altitude in Bolivia for Uruguay, and despite sustaining a dead leg in a challenge by Reading's Kaspars Gorkss on the stroke of half-time.

"He didn't want to come off," Rodgers said. "He is an incredible character. He created opportunities for himself. A terrific performance from him. He kept going, kept getting into good positions and will be disappointed he didn't score."

The Northern Irish boss also praised Sterling, who opened his account for the club at the age of 17 years, 317 days. Only Michael Owen, in 1997, has scored for Liverpool at a younger age.

"It was a wonderful finish and he is a terrific talent," Rodgers added. "He has a good head on young shoulders."


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Friday, 19 October 2012

Exercise reduces greed (Yahoo!7)


Getty



by Crystelle Coulon


If you’re obsessed with making more money, buying more shoes or just having more of everything, then a new study from the University of Berlin is for you.


Researchers have found that the "natural high" associated with aerobic exercise (think: doing a spin class or pounding the pavement), dampened participants' need for rewards – such as money.


The team of researchers performed an experiment on two groups of volunteers: the first group were sedentary, while the others were trained endurance athletes. They asked the volunteers to perform 30 minutes of demanding exercise on a treadmill, or the same amount of time doing "placebo exercise" such as stretching.


RELATED: Being selfish makes you happy


An hour later, they played a monetary incentive game where the volunteers had to press buttons quickly to try and gain or avoid losing a Euro. The researchers found that the brain didn't respond any differently when it came to losing a Euro – but it dulled all the participants' desire to win money.


The research, which was published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, follows a recent study (published in the same journal) that found exercise dramatically alters our attitudes towards food.


The study asked 35 women to look at pictures of food – both after a morning of exercise and after a morning without exercise. They found that after a brisk workout, the women’s attention response to the images decreased.


Lead author Professor James LeCheminant, from Brigham Young University, said: "This study provides evidence that exercise not only affects energy output, but it also may affect how people respond to food cues."


So next time you're tempted by a hit on the pokies or trip to the buffet, maybe head to the gym instead.

RELATED: Why photos of animals make you a better employee


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Being selfish makes you happier (Yahoo!7)



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Next time you want to pocket your spare change instead of leaving a tip behind, don’t feel guilty.

While we’re brought up to believe that “sharing is caring” and that altruism is the shortcut to happiness, prioritizing yourself over others can make you feel so damn good.

According to new research published in the journal Psychological Science, when our own self-interest is imposed on us it helps us to avoid feelings of guilt while we relish the benefits all to ourselves. That is, we really can have our cake and eat it too, but only if we're told to do so.

In the first of two studies, psychological scientists Jonathan Berman and Deborah Small tested the theory that that removing an individuals' sense of agency would remove their feeling of responsibility for an outcome, leaving them free to enjoy self-interest without feeling selfish.

In it, they gave $3 each to 216 undergraduates. One group of participants were told to donate their money to a non-profit charity (imposed-charity condition), some were told to keep the money (imposed self-interest condition), and the remaining participants were told they could do whatever they wanted with it (choice-condition).

RELATED: Why it's important to say no

As the researchers hypothesized, those who were given the option to keep the money for themselves reported being happier than those who were told to donate their money or those who were given the freedom to choose what to do with it.

"Often people really want to act in a selfish manner," Berman says. "But they don't do so, because they know they would feel selfish if they did."

The researchers speculated, however, that it was possible that the self-interest choice group could have been happier because there was no choice at all, so they conducted a second experiment to see if choice really matters.

In the next study, all participants had to choose between two options. Once again, the participants were happiest when they could choose between two options that would benefit themselves and not others.

The study revealed that while freedom of choice was important to participants, it ultimately didn't make them happier; having no choice freed them from any guilt standing in the way of happiness.
Source: Science Daily

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Your brain on an orgasm


Volunteers masturbated inside a functional MRI machine so that researchers could deepen their understanding of the female orgasm. They found that from build-up to orgasm, your brain lights up like Sydney Harbour on December 31.
AT FIRST TOUCH

The brain’s genital sensory cortex fires up. “The clitoris, vagina and cervix each stimulate different parts of the cortex,” says behavioural neuroscientist Dr Barry Komisaruk, who led the MRI study by Rutgers University, US.