Something is amiss. I mean, I'm turning into a Landon Donovan fan (there, I said it).
Not only has be been stellar in recent World Cup qualifying. Not only was he one of, if not the
best, players at the Confederations Cup. But he recently bitch-slapped David Beckham for being
selfish, opportunistic creep that he is.
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As Cristiano Ronaldo turned-and-coughed and smirked-and-dribbled for Real Madrid and 80,000 of its
closest friends
yesterday, UEFA president Michel Platini was tsk-tsk-ing the whole damned thing.
Platini is watching his European football empire crumble about him as the game's biggest stars
are garnering ridiculous transfer fees and are paid outlandish salaries.
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How about that Gold Cup everyone? Mexico suffers a fairly serious injury; Nicaragua plays its first
major tournament and Guadeloupe wins and is headed for a showdown with Mexico. The U.S.? It pounds
on Grenada, much in the same way our military did back in the '80s: Not necessarily with our elite
troops, but it was an appropriate and efficient response to an annoying problem.
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Back in the day, I had FIFA '99 for the PC (in fact, I think it's still loaded on my old Windows 98
SE machine somewhere). And in that game was a cool European Dream League option that allowed you to
pick a team and play against 19 other of Europe's elite teams for continental supremacy.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, if he gets his way, is going to owe EA Sports some
royalty fees.
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So I wake up this morning expecting nothing actually. Fireworks tonight. Some beer and burgers in
between.
And Michael Owen signing with Manchester United?
Um?
Isn't this one about 10 years too late?
Seriously, Michael Owen can't take two steps onto the pitch without tripping on the touch line,
pulling a hamstring and sitting on the sidelines for four months.
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I do like one thing about the Confederations Cup: it's a bitchin' trophy; a lot better than the
wimpy World Cup. Now, personally, I'm into trophies. There's nothing better than the Stanley Cup.
That thing is big, shiny and perfectly symbolizes a championship. It's something tangible to play
for.
The World Cup, yeah yeah it's OK and I'm sure it's worth a fortune.
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OK, so we've had 24 hours to reflect and rejoice on the United States' 2-0 win over Spain in the
Confederations Cup semifinals yesterday. And while the win is getting somewhat its just due from
the mainstream media (ESPN actually led SportsCenter last night with it), some in the U.S. soccer
community are trying to put the victory in some sort of historical context.
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Random thoughts while watching today's U.S.-Spain Confederations Cup semifinal:
- Charlie Davies' bicycle kick, had it gone in, would have been legendary
- Landon Donovan has been fantastic so far, very patient and very deliberate with his passes
- John Harkes raises an interesting possibility, that if this game goes into the penalty kicks,
Tim Howard is a great equalizer there for the U.
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OK, I give. White flag is up. I was wrrrrrr-ong (if you're old enough to remember Happy Days, you
know where I'm coming from with that one).
The U.S. men's national team did a great thing Sunday beating Egypt, 3-0. Coupled with Brazil's
3-0 mirror win over Italy, the U.S. is in the Confederations Cup semis, and Italy, which beat the
U.
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I'm not Italian and I don't necessarily root for Italy in the World Cup, Euro or the Confederations
Cup. Pretty lukewarm.
I am American. I root for the U.S. I want to see them win and evolve.
That said, Italy got jobbed at the Confederations Cup. Just so I get it straight:
- Italy beat the U.
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And today's top story: Vicki Beckham had her knockers knocked down a peg. Seems the former Posh
Spice and current Mrs. David Beckham has downsized from a 34D to help her fashion career get in
gear. Really?
As far as WAGs go, Beckham's not even in the top 10 (20?) any more. I love dipping into the WAGs
(I'm talking figuratively here, for the moment) because they give the best head(lines).
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Who doesn't love Franck Ribery? The guy's awesome.
But €150M worth of love? No way.
That's what Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness says the France international is worth. In
the meantime, chairman Karl-Heinze Rummenigge says Ribery, who is under contract until 2011, is not
for sale.
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Cristiano Ronaldo not only stands to make a world record salary from Real Madrid by the end of the
month, but more importantly, he stands become the world-record 11,000th notch on Paris Hilton's
bedpost by the end of the week!! Awesome. It's good to be CR7; I wonder whether he'll insist on
full color for his sex tape, or whether he'll stand for night-vision goggle green?
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The Guardian is reporting ESPN will not make an offer to buy Setanta.
Bad news for the Irish broadcaster. No doubt they're desperate for someone to take the debt
they've incurred off their hands. Here's a bit from the Guardian piece:
However, a spokesman for ESPN, which is keen to expand its portfolio of UK sports rights, said:
"We currently have no plans to buy Setanta.
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