USA Women's Hockey Team steals the show.... according to many casual followers

'2018 Winter Olympics: Team USA women's hockey scores historic wins on and off ice'

The gold medal victory was an absolutely perfect ending to a landmark year for the program

Pete Blackburn - CBSSports.com - February 22, 2018

The last 12 months have been a roller coaster ride for the United States women's national hockey team, but on Thursday in Pyeongchang, that ride reached its ultimate peak -- an Olympic gold medal.

Team USA defeated Canada, 3-2, in a thrilling shootout win in South Korea to earn their first gold medal in 20 years. It was the third consecutive Olympics in which the American and Canadian women faced off in the final, and this one came 38 years to the day of the "Miracle On Ice."

For the American women, there was no miracle necessary. Thursday's gold medal game was earned on the strength of skill, execution, perseverance, heart and fearlessness. It was a perfectly fitting way to wrap up what has been an incredible last year for the Team USA women, who have earned major victories both on and off the ice.

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Dani Cameranesi

One of the numerous important role players for the USA team--I almost want to say "fighters" due to the manner of last evenings game--was 22 year old Dani Cameranesi from Minnesota. She was one of six ex-Minnesota Golden Gophers on the team. "Cameranesi" is of Marchese origin, like a famous Minnesota native Robert Mondavi. There was a sizable migration Lombards and Marchese to eastern Minnesota way back when, from Duluth to Minneapolis-St. Paul.

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An aerial view of Marche

An aerial view of Marche

RAI

http://www.expo.rai.it - The Mole Vanvitelliana and the cathedral of San Ciriaco in Ancona, the ancient port of the East. Towards southwards, the Adriatic coast with the promontory of Monte Conero dropping shear into the sea. The medieval town of Sirolo and the city of Ascoli; the Sferisterio of Macerata, in whose province the Fiastra Abbey is located. Leopardi’s Recanati, the castle of Gradara and the Furlo pass. The beaches of Senigallia and those of Civitanova Marche. Fermo and the sanctuary of Loreto; Offida with its art of lace-making and Urbino, a world heritage city.

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Mount Sibillini National Park

Nationalpark Monti Sibillini - Italien 

TheWorldOfTravel DE


Sibillini Mountains

The Sibillini Mountains, or Sibylline Mountains (Italian: Monti Sibillini) are a mountain group in Italy, part of the central Apennines. Situated between eastern Umbria and the Marche, they are mostly composed of limestone rocks, formed in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic (100 to 50 million years ago) on the bottom of an extinct sea. The land emerged 20 million years ago. Most of the peaks are over 2,000 m (6,600 ft); the highest altitude is reached by Monte Vettore at 2,476 m (8,123 ft).

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Lionel Messi: One of the all-time soccer greats, an Argentine of Cisalpine ancestry

Lionel Messi (Wikipedia)

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He serves as the captain of his country's national football team.

By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010, and then again in 2011 and 2012. He also won the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. At the age of 24, Messi became Barcelona's all-time top scorer in all official club competitions. At age 25, Messi became the youngest player to score 200 goals in La Liga.

Commonly ranked as the best player in the world and rated by some in the sport as the greatest of all time, Messi is the first football player in history to win four FIFA/Ballons d'Or, all of which he won consecutively, as well as the first to win three European Golden Shoe awards. With Barcelona, Messi has won six La Ligas, two Copas del Rey, six Supercopas de España, three UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and two Club World Cups.

Messi is the first and only player to top-score in four consecutive Champions League campaigns, and also holds the record for the most hat-tricks scored in the competition. In March 2012, Messi made Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match. He also matched José Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single Champions League season. Messi set the European record for most goals scored in a season during the 2011–12 season, with 73 goals. In the same season, he set the current goalscoring record in a single La Liga season, scoring 50 goals. Also in that season, Messi became the first player ever to score and assist in six different official competitions in one season.

Messi with girlfriend Antonella Roccuzzo and son.

 
On 16 February 2013, Messi scored his 300th Barcelona goal. On 30 March 2013, Messi scored in his 19th consecutive La Liga game, becoming the first footballer in history to net in consecutive matches against every team in a professional football league. He extended his record scoring streak to 21 consecutive league matches, and the run came to a halt only when he sustained a hamstring injury. In March 2014, with a hat-trick against Real Madrid, Messi became the player with the most goals and most hat-tricks in the history of El Clásico.

Messi helped Argentina win the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup, finishing as both the best player and the top scorer (with 6 goals). In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play and score in the FIFA World Cup, and won a runners-up medal at the Copa América in 2007, in which he was named young player of the tournament. In 2008, he won an Olympic Gold Medal with the Argentina Olympic football team. In 2013, SportsPro rated him the second-most marketable athlete in the world.[8] His playing style and stature have drawn comparisons to compatriot Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor". In 2014, Messi led Argentina to the World Cup Final, winning four consecutive Man of the Match awards in the process. He won the Golden Ball award after being adjudged the best player of the tournament.

Don’t Cry for Messi, Argentina. This Germany Team Is One of the Best in Years.

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Hidden Havens: Valle Acquasanta

 

[This article is borrowed from the Uncommon travel in authentic Italy: Exploring Le Marche, Italy's unsung gem blog]

Hidden Havens: Valle Acquasanta (see link for more images)

Duncan Campbell - August 2, 2010

With sharp ridges, steep hills, and repetitive undulations being a feature of this area, finding a flat trail is unusual. But that's essentially what the path to the Acquasanta waterfalls and gorge is, with just a few rises and falls at either end of it. Better still, in these hot days of summer, the majority of it is through the cool of the forest, with tall beeches providing shade and respite from the beating sun.

Wildflowers appear in colourful clusters, the trees range heavenward in their impressive strength and grandeur, and - in the latter half of the walk - waterfalls roll down rock walls and scree banks, offering refreshment and cooling stations, not to mention the beauty spell that cascades seem to cast on our human sensibilities.

The main destination for most walkers are the waterfalls towards the end of the trail, and they're well worth the effort - streams fall down the steep hills in veils in one spot, and gush down in a singular channel in another. But beyond them lies the gorge itself, which - due to its narrowness and height - has been used in the past as a natural cantina, the sun barely (if ever) reaching in to warm its stones. You can reach the gorge through a tunnel cut into the rock, and then - if you're drawn on - clamber up the river's rocky bed into the narrowing gorge, which twists and turns to its sheer-sloped beginnings. You'll need shoes for wading, and a strong constitution - the water is very, very cold.

With all this wonderful water around, it's no wonder that an aqueduct has been built here, and for much of the way you'll follow its course, the raised concrete blocks and flagstones making for easy walking. Every now and then you can see into its channel, the cool, clear water running invitingly below, happily wending its way down to the town of Bolognola. Its quite an engineering feat, cutting through sheer rock walls in places, and disappearing under steep forested slopes in others. But it's had its impact on the landscape, particularly at its source and down in the valley below, and one wonders how it would be if left to its own (natural) devices. That said, it's a wonderful hike, and is good for the whole family, although at around 3-4 hours round trip, might be a bit long for the young ones.

Directions: Just behind the church in the main (middle) section of Bolognola, there's a brown signpost for the Cascata di Acquasanta - follow this road, keeping left and go through the small borgo to the end of the road, where there's a small parking lot. The trail is obvious just beyond the parking lot, heading down into the forest.

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Benelli firearms from Marche

Benelli (firearms) [Wikipedia]

Type...............Firearms manufacturer
Industry..........Firearms
Founded..........1967
Founder(s).......Giovanni Benelli
Headquarters...Urbino, Italy
Key people......Bruno Civolani (inventor of the intertia-driven system)

Products..........Shotguns, rifles
Divisions.........Benelli USA
Website..........benelli.it (international), benelliusa.com (USA)

Benelli Armi SpA is an Italian firearm manufacturer founded in 1967, located in Urbino, Italy, best known for high quality shotguns used by military, law enforcement and civilians all over the world. Particularly famous is the Benelli M3 12 gauge, used extensively by American SWAT teams. Benelli recently introduced the Benelli M4 Super 90, an unusual gas operated semi-automatic shotgun intended for military use in urban warfare. Benelli and Benelli USA have been owned by Pietro Beretta since 2000.

Benelli Armi was founded in 1967 as an offshoot of the Benelli motorcycle factory who sold motorcycles through Montgomery Wards.

Many Benelli shotguns utilize a unique inertia operating system developed by Bruno Civolani.

The Benelli Super Black Eagle, a favorite of waterfowlers, was one of the first semi-automatic shotguns capable of firing the 2.75, 3, and 3.5 inch shotgun shells. The Benelli Nova (pump action), M1 Super 90, and a customized M2 Field are used by Tom Knapp during his shooting exhibitions wherein he will frequently shoot down several hand-thrown clay targets while they're all still in mid-air, setting a world record in October 2004 when he destroyed 10 such targets with 10 shots in 2.0 seconds, with all the targets still airborne.

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