Sometimes I'm not surprised that online piracy is so rampant when it comes to soccer. Trying to find out who has the rights to a game or tournament is very difficult, and even when you find a stream, you're not sure whether it's an official one or not.

Take, for example, the African Nations Cup which kicks off in a few hours from Angola.

Most of you probably watched Landon Donovan's debut appearance for Everton this morning in the game against Arsenal. On sister site EPL Talk, I have an article analyzing Donovan's performance in addition to Kartik Krishnaiyer's review on this site. But what did the English press think of his performance?

Fans of English soccer in the United States have everything they could possibly wish for: All Premier League games shown live through television and the Internet. A daily UK sports news program from Sky Sports. Matches shown in HD, when and where available. Ways to get around the BBC blocking radio commentaries.

Clint Dempsey's Europa League goal that beat Juventus in last season's Europa League won him BBC London's 2010 Sporting Moment of the Year award. Dempsey's goal is considered one of the greatest in the club's history.

According to this article on the BBC, Stuart Holden has signed a contract with Bolton Wanderers and thus becomes the 2nd U.S. international player, along with Ricardo Clark, to leave the Houston Dynamo this offseason.

FIFA has released its post-World Cup rankings, with every team that played in South Africa numbered #1 to #32. According to the BBC, the "rankings take into account group stage results, progress in the competition and the quality of opposition."

No surprise that Spain and Netherlands are #1 and #2 respectively, with semifinalists making the top four and quarterfinalists making the top eight.

I'll talk about this kit in a minute...

We've heard it before Landon Donovan wants to go to Everton.

It's not truly newsworthy.

When a player goes to the media and says something witness Wayne Rooney this week it's a signal that ranges somewhere between they are either not happy or they want something to happen OR witness Robert Mancini's Man City Landon comments in the summer just a issuing courtesy, a nicety, to the audience (the radio show was in Merseyside) that will hear the report.

Oh and yes he is also very short.

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Hollywood film star Tom Cruise reckons David Beckham will play in the 2014 World Cup for England, in spite of the fact he will be almost 40.
Beckham, 35, has been ruled out of this year's tournament with an Achilles tendon injury but Cruise is backing the midfielder to pull off a Mission Impossible to play in Brazil in four years.

Yesterday I participated in two discussions about French football. The first, on the English-language TV station France 24, had a perfect line-up: one person defending the classic "football is alienation" thesis, a sports journalist seeing politics as mainly being projected onto sport, and me, the cultural historian imagining everything as politics.

One is a Real Madrid star, the other is a relatively unknown guitarist and vocalist of indie-rock band, Grizzly Bear...and they just so happen to look a like...

This week we compare Real Madrid's, Mesut Ozil to Ed from the band Grizzly Bear. If you have not heard the band I suggest you do.

By Chris Wright

FIFA's resident tactless Luddite Sepp Blatter has sparked a worldwide controversy by cracking an absolute corker of a quip about 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar and the fact that homosexuality is still deemed illegal in their featureless desert atoll.

The U.S. U-20 MNT has a chance to advance to the Milk Cup championship game in Northern Ireland when they take on Denmark today at 8 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET). After the win against China on Monday, another win against the Europeans would give the U.S. six points in the six-team group.
More good news for fans?

By Ollie Irish

Links!!!

TOP LINK A stunningly good film about the 1982 World Cup semi-final between West Germany and France, aka the Battiston-Schumacher match From A Left Wing

Alberto Aquilani's WAG is out of his league Goaly Moly

Personal shopping for materialistic Premier League stars Kickette

Craig Bellamy in quit threat BBC

AEK Athens coach attacked by his club's fans Dirty Tackle

Top 6 Stjarnan goal celebrations The Spoiler

David Beckham with surfboard at the 2010 Teen Choice Awards Goaly Moly

Mascherano to Barcelona?

United States coach Bob Bradley was interviewed this weekend on BBC's Sportsweek radio program where he reconfirmed that he is still interested in the vacant Aston Villa manager position. No new news there except for the respect he has for the way that Aston Villa is managing the recruitment process in light of Kevin MacDonald temporarily taking charge of the team.

Former Arsenal legend Bob Wilson revealed the Gunners made a big-money offer during the summer to sign a new goalkeeper. Speaking to BBC Five Live, the 69-year old is quoted as saying how a big offer ...

Chicago Fire's All-Star defender Wilman Conde is leaving MLS for Atlas of the Mexican League. How much did MLS sell this talented and clearly sought-after player for? Nothing, of course. They just waited for his contract to run out and hoped he would re-up. Does anyone in MLS pay attention to the rest of the world of soccer?

Hard on the heels of the story about Scotsmen and women supporting England at the World Cup comes another twist in the debate – only this one will have everyone rolling their eyes in dismay.
An Aberdeen shop owner has caught the eye of the local police, according to the Daily Record. His crime?

U.S. international midfielder Stuart Holden is nearing a return for Bolton Wanderers after missing more than a month with a broken leg, BBC Sport reports. The former Houston Dynamo star suffered a fractured fibula while playing for his country in a 2-1 exhibition loss to the Netherlands back on March 3rd, but expects to resume full training in about two weeks.

By Ollie Irish

Shorts!

Our new pals over at Goaly Moly (the football version of pioneering celeb site Holy Moly), who have some very good sources in some very high places, seem 99% certain that Steven Gerrard is off to Real Madrid this summer.

Time sure does fly.
I feel like I started this blog a few months ago. But it's been 3 years now and here we are, a mere 10 days away from the 2010 World Cup.
Time flies!!!
Today's Tidbits
1 - Brazil will win the World Cup! According to an executive producer of the BBC, at least.

Getty images

Jurgen Klinsmann has some choice words for the English FA (Football Association) on how to rebuild the National team after their poor performance in South Africa. He spoke to the BBC's Chris Bevan about how England must find its own "identity and vision" and build a style of play based its culture and specific environment.

Not only does the account opening goalscorer speak to BBC post-game, but good ol' Matty has hooked up a full match presentation for those who may have missed it.- Greg Seltzer

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Given that everything's so media-driven and technology so evolved, this World Cup has the potential to be the best of the lot in terms of ads and it's always brilliant for ads anyway. It's like the Super Bowl, but for a month. ESPN's already gotten into the act and Visa would like you to buy run all the way to South Africa to use their credit card, and now BBC's gotten into the act.

Tim Vickery is an English football journalist who has lived in Brazil since 1994. He currently serves as the South American football correspondent for the BBC, writing a weekly column for the English broadcasting giant. No one who speaks English as a first language knows more about South American football.

A reporter from BBC News visited New York recently to chronicle the rise of soccer in the United States. And it appears that he found the findings quite surprising.

In the above video, the reporter visits Red Bull Arena and then goes into New York City to visit a couple of soccer-specific pubs to find soccer fans watching their favorite sport on weekend mornings.

With less than a week to go before the World Cup ends, the cast of characters on Special1 TV are out of the World Cup. Fabio Capello and Wayne Rooney went home with their heads down. Sven had an early exit courtesy of Ivory Coast. But they're all back on Special 1 TV in what I feel is their best episode yet on BBC 3.

By Ollie Irish

The word on Rumour Street is that former Doctor Who David Tennant has signed on to star in 'United', a film about the Munich Air Disaster of 1958. No idea who he might play though.

The movie is set to be directed by James Strong (who has directed episodes of 'Doctor Who'), and co-produced by BBC Films.

And yes, the BBC is on the list, possibly ranked one through three.

Ghosting around the internet today is like stumbling through a scorched earth, and anything with a superfluous u runs the gamut from rage to sorrow to bewilderment to magnanimousness, having been forcibly removed of their inalienable right to win the bid.

By Ollie Irish

After Robbie Savage's memorable rant at a BBC Derby hack last week, he might have guessed that the Angry Gods of Journalism would come back to bite him on the arse, or whack him in the face...

Nice that Savage's co-commentator was so concerned about his colleague.

A Southend firm is celebrating after securing a multi-million pound contract to supply cockpit seats for the new Boeing 787 planes.
Ipeco, based in Aviation Way (next to the airport), will make the seats over a 25 year period.
Steve Johnson, chief executive of Ipeco, told the BBC:
"We're delighted to get this work.

Another triumphant victory. After the dizzy heights of Thursday this was always going to be troublesome, but my word what an ordeal it turned out to be.

Things felt languid from the off, and after two minutes Chris Baird thumped a header past Mark Schwarzer to give Birmingham the lead.

Just to end the week on a depressing note, we hear about a BBC Newsnight report that says FIFA was warned Nigeria might be "vulnerable to match-fixing."

BBC Newsnight understands a member of Uefa's Disciplinary Services Unit which is responsible for investigating match-fixing first became suspicious during qualifying rounds of the World Cup.

I don't get it? Surely its customary to insult Mr. Domenech. Am I missing something?

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France striker Nicolas Anelka has been sent home from the World Cup after reports of a bust-up with coach Raymond Domenech during the Mexico game.

Breaking news according to the BBC Tottenham new signing Rafael van der Vaart has just returned from a long holiday at the beach with a new haircut. Further confirmation when available. The BBC article about Van der Vaart had ... Continue reading →

The BBC is reporting that NESV's proposed takeover for Liverpool is now in doubt after a new bidder has emerged. Peter Lim, a billionaire from Singapore, is now understood to be approaching the Liverpool board in an effort to place an improved bid. The Asian billionaire made a previous offer for the Reds, but confusion surrounds why the board chose NESV's offer over Lim's.

Nani vs Spurs Goal or No Goal? is a post from: Just Football

Nani's goal for Manchester United against Tottenham at Old Trafford has caused a lot of debate. ESPN called it 'a farce', BBC called it 'controversial', Tottenham's official website went for 'bizarre' but should it have stood?

Coming in the wake of the Sunday Times' recent cavalcade of dogged exposés, that grand old bastion of British broadcasting, the BBC, have signalled their intent to completely undermine the England 2018 World Cup bid team's efforts by pressing ahead with the screening of a Panorama investigation into the various foul play and corruption that goes on within FIFA's corridors of power.

Fergie recalls his young troops Sir Alex Ferguson has been gradually been creating a bit of a Godfather persona for himself over the last few years. He has made protecting his family dynasty a key priority, even in his professional life. Take for example the BBC Panorama documentary in 2004, which accused his football agent [.

Dempsey reacts after scoring for the US against Ghana in 2006 World Cup/AP Photo As I am sure all fans of football in America are now aware, Clint Dempsey, the most recognizable and successful United States outfield player in Europe has suffered a potentially devestating injury in today's Fulham loss to Blackburn.

It felt like a horrific re-imagining of the European match last season, but this game was very different despite what sly sports commentators made out. If you look at the game on paper we had 18 attempts to their 11 (source: BBC website), we were just not clinical enough when it came to finishing and Arshavin had one of his worst games since joining.