Lionel Messi scores a hat-trick as Barcelona win Ajax 4-0

Lionel Messi marked his 80th Champions League match with a hat trick on Wednesday as Barcelona began their campaign in Group H with a 4-0 rout of Ajax. The Argentina forward opened the scoring at Camp Nou Stadium with a free kick in the 22nd minute, doubled the hosts' advantage in the 55th on the break and, after Gerard Pique's 69th-minute goal, added another 15 minutes from fulltime. The goals took his cumulative tally in the competition to 62 - nine short of Raul Gonzalez's all-time record of 71 goals in 144 appearances. Messi now stands alone as the only player to have scored a hat trick four times in the tournament.

Despite some lethargic moments late in the first half, Barcelona eased to the win thanks to Messi's goals and the team's near complete control of possession. When Ajax did manage to create a scoring opportunity, Valdes was there to keep a clean sheet.

Ajax's defeat was its ninth consecutive loss to a Spanish opponent. Ajax's last victory in Spain dates back even farther to the 1996-97 season when De Boer helped the Dutch team win at Atletico Madrid. The two four-time champions had never met before in Europe's top-tier competition. Even so, fewer teams from different countries have stronger ties. Dutch great Johan Cruyff led Ajax to three straight European titles from 1971-73 as a player before moving to Barcelona, where he would later return as a coach to guide it to its first European title in 1992.

Miss New York Nina Davuluri named Miss America 2014

Miss New York Nina Davuluri was named Miss America 2014 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, late Sunday night becoming the first woman of Indian heritage to win the legendary contest.

Miss Florida Myrrhanda Jones, a University of Florida journalism senior and Gatorette impressed on pageant night performing her baton twirling while wearing a knee brace decked out in jewels and the tattooed Miss Kansas Theresa Vail made the final 12, but it was Davuluri who took home the crown.

Fourth runner up was Miss Minnesota Rebecca Yeh, who won one of three nights of preliminary talent competition for her violin playing, third runner up was Florida's Jones, second runner up was Miss Oklahoma Kelsey Griswold and first runner up was Miss California 2013 Crystal Lee.

The 87th Miss America pageant was held in Atlantic City for the first time since 2005. Formed in 1921, the pageant moved to Las Vegas in 2006 for a seven-year run before this year's return.

Davuluri, 24, is an Indian-American, born in Syracuse, N.Y. She was named Miss Syracuse before winning Miss New York in July and now has won the $50,000 scholarship as Miss America 2014.

Her talent was a classic Bollywood fusion dance. She plans on becoming a physician.

Kimi Raikkonen to return to Ferrari in 2014 Season

Kimi Raikonnen is poised for a shock return to Ferrari for the 2014 season, despite their tumultuous past relationship.

Raikkonen, 33, who has tired of long-running talks with Lotus, has finally decided to join the Maranello team with whom he won his only F1 world championship in 2007.

Reports suggests, Ferrari is all set to sign Kimi Raikkonen after its president's Luca Di Montezemolo approved the deal which means that Felipe Massa's eight-year spell at the Italian outfit will finally conclude at the end of the 2013 season.

Ferrari are planning to partner the Flying Finn with double champion Fernando Alonso to create the most powerful line-up in Formula 1.

Interestingly, it was Kimi Raikkonen who had to make way for Fernando Alonso in 2009 after spending three years with Ferrari. Lotus will reportedly replace the Finnish driver with Nico Hulkenburg.

Fast & Furious 7 signs Deepika Padukone

We all knew that Deepika Padukone, Kangana Ranaut and Chitrangda Singh were screen tested for the seventh installment of Vin Diesel's franchise Fast & Furious.

Well, it is now looks like Bollywood's this year reigning diva, Deepika Padukone, has bagged the role. She will play a significant character in the racy-pacy thriller that also stars Hollywood tough guys Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson. The film is expected to hit the marquee next year.

Deepika's paperwork is on and in keeping with Hollywood's professional stance, it is likely to take six months for the contract to be completed. She is currently shooting in Dubai for Shah Rukh Khan's Happy New Year dircted by Farah Khan. Neither she nor her domestic spokespersons are allowed to reveal a single word to the media about the project.

Interestingly, when scouting for talent in Bollywood, casting agents were reportedly asked for someone slender and statuesque or 'someone like Deepika Padukone'. Following this brief, she was also the first actress to be auditioned.

Aamir Khan's Dhoom 3 Teaser Released

Yash Raj Films unveiled the teaser trailer of this year's most awaited film - Dhoom 3 featuring Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Katrina Kaif and Uday Chopra.

The action packed teaser shows a conniving Aamir Khan making an impressive statement highlighting the theme of the film.

Bande hai hum uske, hum pe kiska zor...apne haatho kismat likne aaj chale hai hum.

The film promises a 'fauladi' Aamir Khan doing some edge-cutting action sequences.

The second surprise package of the film surely is Katrina Kaif. But unlike the other Dhoom girls – Esha Deol and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan – Katrina doesn't seem to have gone down to size zero.

According to reports Katrina Kaif has done a majority of her stunts in the movie.
Meanwhile, Abhishek Bachchan who is reprising his role as ACP Jai Dixit, is flying high, literally, aiming at the anti-hero played by Aamir Khan.

Uday Chopra, who plays Abhishek Bachchan's sidekick Ali, is also zooming on his bike.

The teaser trailer of the film will also be released with YRF's Shuddh Desi Romance releasing September 6.

The film is set to release on December 20, 2013. And the teaser trailer supports, Yash Raj Film's promise that 'This year will surely end with a Dhoom.

Real Madrid buys Gareth Bale in world record transfer

It's now official: Gareth Bale joins Real Madrid. Real Madrid announced last Sunday that Gareth Bale had joined them on a six-year contract, and a person familiar with the deal said the fee was a whooping 100 million euros ($132 million), a world record of course. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because financial details are yet to be disclosed.

Bale will have his parade at Madrid's stadium on Monday after his medical examination. Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas said earlier in the week that Bale's move was set to be "the biggest transfer in history of world football," and the fee eclipses the 93 million euro Madrid paid by Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009. 

Madrid, whose annual revenue reaches 500 million euro, previously broke the transfer record in 2009 when Kaka joined from AC Milan for 65 million euros ($92 million). All three blockbuster deals were made under Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid president who built the "Galacticos" team which included David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Figo. 

The move for Bale, who had around three years remaining on his Tottenham contract, caps a rapid rise from White Hart Lane misfit to one of European football's most exciting players. The 24-year-old Welsh winger has dazzled audiences around the world with swerving free kicks, defense-splitting surges and mesmerizing footwork. 

But Bale was frustrated that Tottenham only qualified once for the Champions League, the stage where the world took notice of his talents for the first time in the 2010-11 season. Now he's joining a club that has won the European Cup nine times.