amleenology

While the soccer world waits to see which two nations will advance to Sunday's Euro 2008 final in Vienna, the man who many thought would be there has jetted off on vacation. Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo has repeatedly said he would like to move from Manchester United to Real Madrid.

United has been equally insistent that the 23-year-old, who scored 42 goals in all competitions last season, is not for sale.

Even if he were, Real Madrid might not meet the asking price. "We would never pay $125 million for any player," Ramon Calderon, the club's president, said. Real Madrid Coach Bernd Schuster, however, has asked Calderon to "pay whatever it takes" to sign Ronaldo.

If a figure is ever agreed upon, it would almost certainly make Ronaldo the world's most expensive player, surpassing Zinedine Zidane. The retired French star said he would be happy to drop the tag.

"They are ready to pay more than for me, and this will lift the weight from my shoulders," Zidane said.

Source: Los Angeles Times

What I’ve Done
- by Linkin Park

Leave Out All The Rest
- by Linkin Park

25-year-old Wes was the most disaffected, cube-dwelling drone the planet had ever known. His boss chewed him out hourly, his girlfriend ignored him routinely and his life plodded on interminably. Everyone was certain this disengaged slacker would amount to nothing. There was little else for Wes to do but wile away the days and die in his slow, clock-punching rut. Until he met a woman named Fox. After his estranged father is murdered, the deadly sexy Fox recruits Wes into the Fraternity, a secret society that trains Wes to avenge his dad's death by unlocking his dormant powers. As she teaches him how to develop lightning-quick reflexes and phenomenal agility, Wes discovers this team lives by an ancient, unbreakable code: carry out the death orders given by fate itself. With wickedly brilliant tutors--including the Fraternity's enigmatic leader, Sloan--Wes grows to enjoy all the strength he ever wanted. But, slowly, he begins to realize there is more to his dangerous associates than meets the eye. And as he wavers between newfound heroism and vengeance, Wes will come to learn what no one could ever teach him: he alone controls his destiny.

Maxwell Smart is on a mission to thwart the latest plot for world domination by the evil crime syndicate known as KAOS. When the headquarters of U.S. spy agency Control is attacked and the identities of its agents compromised, the Chief has no choice but to promote his ever-eager analyst Maxwell Smart, who has always dreamt of working in the field alongside stalwart superstar Agent 23. Smart is partnered instead with the only other agent whose identity has not been compromised: the lovely-but-lethal veteran Agent 99. As Smart and 99 get closer to unraveling KAOS' master plan--and each other--they discover that key KAOS operative Siegfried and his sidekick Shtarker are scheming to cash in with their network of terror. Given little field experience and even less time, Smart--armed with nothing but a few spy-tech gadgets and his unbridled enthusiasm--must defeat KAOS if he is to save the day.