Hi guys,
Last week my dad and my uncle's in italy made a surprise swift family reunion in italy, whats the stage, what else, the biggest stage in derby football, The Famous RED vs BLUE , AC MILAN against Inter Milan.

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Just for the records,  our family is divided between AC Milan and Inter Milan. My dad and his side supports AC Milan and my mom and her side supports inter milan. I am Milan, but my brother is Inter, so it really creates alot of rivalry and passion not only among the players on the pitch, but among us off the pitch. Since this is the night of the REDS, AC Milan supporters were allowed to occupy 70% of the seating while the BLUES were given 30%. The entire way to the seats, me and my 12 cousins (7 guys, 5 gals) talked about the match and there was alot of tention among us,, especially those supporting milan. As... we HAD a crisis, we stopped scoring goals and conceeded alot, thats not the italian way. As I thought we would loose like 4-3.

We took the seats as half of the family took the otherside of the stadium (away and home supporters r seperated). The match was intense, brutal and very often mesmorizing skills.

At one point we were down 3-0, and that was when I thought game over for us at the 48th min. I was really disappointed not to see my idol Paolo Maldini (37 years old and still going strong) at the starting line-up, but he came later as a subsitutude and this is where the game really took off, just so as u know, Paolo is the best defender the world has ever seen and he played all his life for AC Milan since he was 15 and also his father played for Milan since the 1930s, Paolo's son Christian Maldini now 10 will play for milan in the future and thus the maldini dynasty will continue. Maldini is a player which players every game with passion, his skills, his sharp tackles r wonderful to watch and hes the pinnacle of italian football. But this is where the Milan spirit was shown in full effect, at the end of the day we lost 4-3, but we created loads of opportunities which is a + for the future and KAKA (currently to me, the best player in the world) scored a fantastic goal. This is one of the defeats you feel actually..good good about it. Well atleast we scored :).

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Than last night 13 of us went to San Siro for another match, Champions League match against anderlect. We won 4-1, KAKA scored 3 goals which really sealed the deal for me, heis the best player in the world, much much better than Ronaldhino. His nack for scoring goals from 35+ yards is becoming really often and thus they dont really seam so much spectacular any more :).

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We returned this morning and tomorow I will buy 2 games, yep 2!! I managed to take some money from my cousins and unclesm aunts :). I decided not to get BF 2142, same thing as BF 2 to me. I will buy Neverwinter Nights for PC and Kill:zone Liberation for PSP. I already got GTA VCS for PSP and its a spectacular game. We are at the end of 06 and games are really, I mean REALLY starting to take off for the PSP.

Well thats it, thanx for reading:). Next time, I will continue my "Get to know Milan" blogs.
 

                       


In the next couple of blogs, I will tell you guys about the fantastic history of one of the biggest clubs in the face of this planet and why the red/black stripes strikes fear into the hearts of the opponents, its one of the most fashionable clubs the world has seen and also why is very different from other clubs in the world.

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First of all, lets start with the city which represents, Milano, which is where my parents came from in US. (There is another big club which represents it and its the rival).

Milan (Milano in Italian; Mediolanum in the ancient Roman Empire), is a Italian city situated in the northern part of Italy, capital of the Milano Province and Lombardy region. It is the second Italian largest city after Rome; a commercial, financial and cultural center. Milan is also a very modern city, with industrial sattelites. In 1964 a subway transport system was opened.

The main square in Milan is Piazza del Duomo (The Dome Square). At one end of the square stands the impressive Dome of Milan, better said a cathedral built in Gothic style with white marble. The Duomo was built in 1386 and finished in 1965. In the southwest of the square is the Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio. Another landmark of the square is the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie built in the 15th century. Near this church is an ex-Dominican monastery.

Cultural Institutions

Through the cultural institutions in the city of Milan, the most important are the Brera Palace built in the 17th century, who hosts the Brere Academy of Arts, a library and an art gallery; the Ambrosiana Palace is also a cultural landmark in Milan; it hosts the Ambrosiana library which was opened in 1609 and is among the first public libraries in Europe if not the first one. In Milan are also art museums, the Institute for the Study of International Politics, a music conservatory, important Italian universities, but none of them are most famous than the Scala theatre and opera house.

Industry

The city exceeds in the chemicals and textiles industries. Other important industries are the aircraft industry, the food industry, the glass, the leather and the rubber goods industry which (mainly it produces tires). Also in Milan is the main stock exchange in Italy, bigger than the one in Rome, the capital of Italy.

History

The first name of Milan was Mediolanum. The city was estabilished by the Celts. Then, it was captured by the Roman empire in 222 BC. In this period the city grown very much. The city was destroyed by the Goths in 539. At the end of the 900s the city begun to fluorish again. In the Middle Age the city of Milan had been governed by several archibishops, those governors giving the city a degree of independence. In 1277 the power of the city was in the hands of one family, the Visconti's which ruled the town for about 170 years. In 1500 the city was conquered by France. The next invaders were the Swiss and then the Austrians. Then the Milan was in the hands of the Spaniards. They ruled until 1713, when the city was left to the Austrians. But the city was ruled again by the French and Napoleon made it the capital of the Cisalpine Republic in 1796. The city came in the hands of Austria in 1815 and in 1848 they expelled them (the Austrians) from the city. In 1859 the city was free and two years later they joined the kingdom of Italy. In the World War II the city suffered very seriously from the bombings. After the war Milan entered in a straight line of prosperity and city reconstruction.

Population

1991 estimated: 1,370,000 (aproximatively).

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Now lets get to know about our home, Milanello. Its the most advanced training ground in the world:-

Milanello is being known worldwide as being one of the best training centers that a soccer team could possibly have.

It all started in 1961. Milanello was built in aproximately two years therefore it was opened in 1963. The masterminds behind Milanello are the architect Viani and the engineer Crescentini.

When Berlusconi took off the helm over the club in 1986, he restructured the training center with the help of a company named Edilnord.

Milanello is surrounded by 114.000 square kilometres of countryside and it is located at 40 kilometres outside Milan. Milanello is linked with Milan by a highway named Autostrada dei Laghi. It has six football grounds, from which 3 indoors, an astroturf ground and a covered ground.

In the surrounding forests a 1,2 kilometres long track has been built and it is used to dacilitate the rapid recovery of injured players.

The main part of Milanello contains a two floors high building, a bar and restaurant as well as dining rooms, relaxation rooms, rooms for players and staff, a first aid room and a sauna. In the underground there's the laundry room, a car park and some storage rooms.

There are a total of 46 rooms for players and staff containing 56 beds. Berlusconi, the club president also has his own room in Milanello, but it has yet to be used. Due to the increasing number of staff the room was assigned to two of the current Milan players.

Andrea Rizolli, one of the men who helped building Milanello has stipulated a clause in the contract which gives Milanello to Milan AC in which it says that the training center can only be sold to the Italian FA.

In fact, the Italian FA, located in Coverciano [locality well known for its coach school], used Milanello for the Italian national team before the European Championship final tournaments in 1998 and 1996 and before the 1994 and 1998 World Cup final tournaments.

The Red and Black training facility was a starting point for the other clubs in building their own training centers. This way, following the structure of Milanello, Parma has built a training center at Collecchio while Lazio at Formello.

Milanello has a total of 14 staff members which permanently work in the Red and Black training center.

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Now.. Lets get to know about the fortress, the stronghold of the Rossoneri (also called AC Milan):- SAN SIRO!

The San Siro Stadium has been inaugurated on the 19th of September 1926. It is one of the most well known stadiums in the world. On this stadium AC Milan and Inter are playing their home matches. The stadium is a gift for AC Milan from Piero Pirelli and it took about a year to finish. It first had four stands with a total capacity of 10.000 seats. In 1939 the San Siro Stadium was rebuilt and the capacity raised to 55.000.

Later in its history, the ramps were rebuilt and the stadium could seat a total of 150.000 spectators. But, for security reasons, Milano's council decided to forbid an attendance higher than 100.000.
Due to the World Cup in 1990 who took place in Italy, the San Siro Stadium was again restructured in 1989. This restructuring consisted in a fibreglass roof and eleven stairs towers. The capacity changed to 85.000 as we know it today.
The stadium is specially designed for football. The pitch size is 105x68 metres.

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Well, thats it for now, next blog, we will get to know about the important faculty members as well as the board of directors of the infamous Rossoneri.

SAY with me now.... FORZA MILANO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On behalf of me the entire montella family, I would like to wish Eid Mubarak to all muslims. Have a great holiday guys.

I have finished the singleplayer if the Splinter Cell Double Agent and it is simply the best in the series, (there r a lot of SC fans out there who doesn't give a damn to reviews). Anyways I just rented the Tom Clancy Ghost Recon AWF for PC (I bought the 360 version earlier this year) and I quickly came to realisation I made a HUGE mistake. The PC version is leaps and bounds better than 360 version in number of ways, from level complexity, graphics, AI to gameplay. Simply put, PC version's tactical play makes the 360 look like standard FPS.

Anyways, the game is very very difficult even at normal difficulty, despite me being enthusiast in this sector. The city is so huge with so many nooks and cranny that its even difficult to spot enemies via the satellite, so 1 wrong move and u and ur team will we wiped out permanently. 1 of the things I didn't like is the checkpoint save system, while it suits tactical nature of the game but the checkpoints are placed far apart from each other.

Anyways, to be honest those enemies were not much of a threat, the threat was me. For 3 times in a row, guys, I have blown myself while trying to throw grenade through a particular opening in a bunkar, and the worst of all.... I was this close on  reachking the next check point.

Even still I really like this game, I just have to make sure I put away my hands from my grenades.

P/S: I will buy the Battlefield 2142 on Thursday.

And as expected, Sony dished the last remaining deteil (thier online service) for PS3. So far, everything they displayed had Live! features which is a good thing, with a cool blue interface though. The interface is somewhere between Apple iTunes music store and Sonystyle.com , which is superbly designed. The launch first party games r looking good, especially motorstorm, man can u imagine how much a wreak it would be if 16 players play it and battle it out to glory?

Lastly, I am dieing.... If i dont play any football game I will collapse, seriously! Football (soccer) is Life people..LIFE!!! I really cant wait to play either PRO EVO or FIFA 07 for 360, I will see the review and than determine which one is more realistic than the other and get it, tradionaly, Pro evo is, and I think it would remain the same.

As for Sam Fisher's perilous journey, he is now hanging from a building upside down in shanghai (Mission Impossible 3, man u r owned big time:) ). I am luving this game so so much. Oh yeah greg u r right, the level is recycled from chaos theory.

Whats with u guys? Next post, I will reveal my Hollyween costume, probably will be my last as I am turning 18 this nov 16 (1 day before PS3 launch in US). Probably not....:wink:

When Chaos Theory was shipped on PC and Xbox, it was undoubtedly the best stealth game to date. It had editors award on all major review sites like IGN, Gamyspy. But for some reason, it had a very poor rating in gamespot. Samething goes with Double Agent. I mean, u instantly tell that the reviewer has never played Splinter Cell's previous installments, let alone Double Agent. Here check this quoation from Greg's review "The shooting in Double Agent feels exactly the same as before, so it's not particularly satisfying and is mostly a means to an end. You must aim while standing perfectly still in order to shoot with any accuracy, and Fisher moves slowly when his gun is equipped anyway, which prevents you from playing this or any Splinter Cell game in a run-and-gun fashion". WTF!!! Its a stealth game u idiot! Do u even know what r u talking about? Also he says some environments, sound effects r recycled. Well let me say this, I never came across an environment taken from Chaos Theory, infact there is no game that puts u in such exotic places in the world like Double Agent. Secondly I agree some sound effects r recycled, cause they were realistic from the first place.

I must say that gamespot should get a new reviewer for Splinter cell. Although I will also say that reviews r just a guidline, if ur heart desires on a game which got negative remarks and doesn't have much technical problems, than get it. Also never ever take a word from just 1 place, e.g: Gamespot in this case. Check the web for atleast 3 other wellknown review sites like IGN, Gamespy, 1UP.

Ronaldinho has refused to comment on the latest rumours suggesting he may move to Milan. “I don’t want to talk about it,” said the Barcelona man.

The Brazilian ace was strongly linked during the summer and reports in Italy are gathering pace that Milan are planning a new bid, despite the club claiming there were no talks underway to sign him.

“Milan? I’m not going to say anything because it isn’t up to me to do so,” said the 2005 Golden Ball winner.

“I prefer not to listen to all the transfer market speculation. I know that my brother [and agent] has spoken with the Barcelona officials about it.

“I don't want to talk about something that I absolutely know nothing about,” added the South American.

Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani, who had recently rubbished the possibility of the star leaving the Camp Nou, is now seemingly not as pessimistic.

“Ronaldinho to Milan? Goodness knows,” said the official after the Rossoneri’s Champions League win at Anderlecht on Tuesday.

“However, if he does arrive here then there will be no problem as we will adapt the playing system of the team to include the Brazilian player.”

While its my longing wish to attend a gaming event, especially launching of consoles for a long time. My tight schedule which currently involves playing splinter cell da is preventing me from going to SF for Sony's LAST conference before the launch. Even though u need invitation, I would be just happy like standing outside the building which it would take place, hey, atleast i am witnessing something imp behind the walls of the building.......even though I couldn't see what:?. Also this is the time when Sony unviels its much hyped online service. The reason they dont call it a Playstation Live! or any marketting name can be found here.

I bet our friends at Gamespot HQ which is situated at San Francisco must be really happy as they had to travell tirelessly around the globe, from Liepzeg-Germany, to Tokyo Japan and to Barcelona Spain. Now that the Gamers day is taking place in San Francisco, it would be like walk in the park for the eiditors.

I played splinter Cell DA, but i wont spoil any of my experiences in this blog. You start with a lenghty cinamatic and how u find urself in jail. I am currently playing in the jail level, as man! each level seams like 3.5 times as big as Chaos Theory. Also the environment created by dynamic lightning in the cell, the background screaming and riots really make u feel u r in the max security prison. Simply out, this is THA best splinter cell in the series and one of the best games I played in my life! Man oh man, I have to play slowly so I can get more life out of this baby. Also the graphics and sound r topnotch! I LUV U UBI!!

Tomorrow form work i will get splinter cell double agent Limited edition for xbox 360. I cant wait! I played the demo and I luved it and its alone worth to buy this game. One of the reasons I am so hyped about it than the Chaos Theory itself is that the game is much more varied than simply lurking in the shadows, the DA aspect introduces decisions, which in very imp in the life of a DA and also plays a HUGE part in SC this time. The broad daylight missions will add much more vairty to the game (which was 1 of my 2 complaints in Splinter Cell series). Also the fact it, SAM is now a HUMAN than a generic bot he was in previous splinter cells. As now, he can make his own decisions, the decisions affects his character, he doesn't need to do what his previous puppet master (Lambert) would tell him, he is also emotional with the loss of his daughter.

ALL in all! I cant wait!

MY NAME IS SAM FISHER, I AM A DOUBLE AGENT!!