Stowe sent me this "100 Greatest Quotes from The Wire" video on Twitter the other day, and I watched it, and I was like, "Oh my God, The Wire," because I haven't seen it in a few years and this sort of brought it all back. Then, for no obvious reason, this video started tugging at my brain after the Thierry Henry handball rocked the core of everything that had a core to rock yesterday.

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Anybody else feeling edgy?

I'm getting a little tired of reading that this France side aren't "a spot" on the 1998-2000 side. Time for the lads to debunk that nasty sentiment; and a masterclass today would be a good start.

Join Laurie on this site later today (she's never missed a match before, and I wouldn't expect her to start now) for a bit of pre -, during -, and post-match banter (and ranting and raving).

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How about those Danish Van Houtens?What, you're telling me you didn't stick with 'The Simpsons' through season 19?Guess I'd have to call that a cromulent decision. If you read those last three seconds and your brain didn't turn into a puddle of chocolate pudding, you were probably able to deduce that I don't have a whole lot to offer for Wednesday's USMNT friendly against Denmark in Aarhus. Click to continue reading...

This is going to be the strangest, most illogical football rule you see all day, so prepare yourself or your brain just might melt and slide out your ear...

Second division club Portimonense won their Carlsberg Cup (Portugal's league cup) first group phase by simply substituting in a 19-year-old goalkeeper (pictured above.

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Check this out from Freddy Ljungberg's blog people:
THE BRAWL IN HOUSTON
I'm sorry that it has taken quite some time after the game to post something, but I have actually been quit pissed off and in a bad mood after the game and wanted to think things through before I said anything. Click to continue reading...

what do you want from me?

Well; in the press anyway. What he can say he will say and for the most part we're going to be looking worse for it. However, the way that Darren played in our system was all well and good; but lacked a certain 101 cutting edge that we now have with our striking collective.

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Former� Valencia and Zaragoza defender Fernando Caceres was shot in the head Sunday morning in his homeland of Buenos Aires, Argentina.� Caceres remains in grave condition with a bullet wound to the brain.� � The former Argentina national squad member� was the� victim of a car� jacking and� he apparently refused to exit his BMW at the time of the crime.

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...Jason, Jeff and I get seasonal on the new episode of the Popdose Podcast, talking about our childhood fears, which, as it turns out, aren't nearly as disturbing as some of the things we're capable of saying as adults. Admittedly, this one was entirely my fault.

I also put another installment of Infinite Play up this week, this time about Let It Loose by The Rolling Stones.

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Handsy's brain on a Friday night
International breaks and Friday nights, there is nothing that will make a fantasy Premier League manager twitch faster...
Idle hands are the devil's playground, if I am anywhere near my computer after having an adult beverage or two there is nothing more tempting than adjusting my fantasy roster. Click to continue reading...

Better late then never, right? Enjoy some TV...Let's begin an overstuffed edition with Harkesy and JPD breaking down the MLS awards races. As usual, I skip all such clips and articles for several weeks ahead of the voting. Right or wrong, I'm gonna go with my brain's output on that ballot.Sticking with ESPN, Revs coach and Liverpool man Steve Nicol offers no quarter in laying the current "crisis" Click to continue reading...

A few of the articles that have been in Butt's Brain over the past 24 hours...

• Rafa Benitez says he would never coach Manchester United. He might not be coaching Liverpool by the end of the month, much less Manchester United, so he should probably just focus on his own work [Tribal Football]

• An exclusive interview with Arsenal's in-form Captain, Cesc Fabregas [Arsenal FC Blog]

• Michael Moore-esque World Cup documentary [Unprofessional Foul]

• TalkSport contest - if you live in the UK [Dirty Tackle]

• USMNT and Rangers midfielder Maruice Edu suffers racism [Off the Post]

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During the summer Arsenal made one purchase, Thomas Vermaelen. � A relatively unknown defender from Ajax, who according to most "experts", was too short to make it in the Premier League. � Many Arsenal fans were rightly concerned that instead of a burly centre half in the mould of Hangeland, instead of a speedy defender we acquired someone who is as fast as Senderos and we let Toure leave.

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Nottingham Forest put a dent in our title ambitions as what appeared to be a very unmotivated Newcastle side struggled early on.

Forest had the best of the first half and were unfortunate to only go in to the half-time break with a one goal lead. Newcastle were guilty of:

• Giving away possession (Are you listening Marlon Harewood?

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This is tricky because there are so many fixtures you'd think would be boring to watch until you consider one or two auxiliary factors.
Let's take for example Liechtenstein v. Azerbaijan. Who's gonna watch this hopeless run around? Well, let's say someone told you this was the only game you would ever be allowed to watch again for the rest of your life. Click to continue reading...

Picture the scene: Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula is rocking with a mass of flag-waving Hondurans clad in blue and white. Bob Bradley looks pensive on the sidelines, and Tim Howard flexes his neck muscles, trying to alleviate some of the tension before the game that could clinch the United States' place in next year's World Cup.

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Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

It isn't yet...

Reading some of this shit just makes my brain explode. How on Earth is Ken Bates Leeds' Chairman? He doesn't own the club? He doesn't know anyone who owns the club? It wouldn't suprise me if Leeds were actually owned by Harry Potter, or those fucking dogs playing cards in that picture.

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Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt has hailed the performances this season of team-mate Yossi Benayoun, and feels that the work rate and commitment shown by the Israeli will prove a key factor over the course of this campaign.
Benayoun also possesses a keen footballing brain and superb skill, according to the Dutch international. Click to continue reading...

Is your brain in the game Nani? The wily Ryan Giggs came on after halftime to show how exactly it should be done. The experienced Welshman provided the assist for Dimitar Berbatov and John O'Shea to score. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed the first time he showed interest in Thomas Vermaelen was when Ajax faced Arsenal in the 2007 Amsterdam Tournament.

On that particular day and on the Belgian International, the Frenchman said:

I loved that. We watched him from that moment on.

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed the first time he showed interest in Thomas Vermaelen was when Ajax faced Arsenal in the 2007 Amsterdam Tournament.

On that particular day and on the Belgian International, the Frenchman said:

I loved that. We watched him from that moment on.

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The Guardian reckons Wayne Rooney should never become a saint.

A Kick In The Grass questions Ferguson's tactics.

Dirty Tackle gets inside Rooney's brain.

Graham Poll tells The Daily Mail about the referee experiment this weekend.

Free tickets for the derby and free £25 bet.

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Rafa Benitez asked his players to do their talking on the pitch and Yossi Benayoun responded brilliantly at Anfield on Saturday.
The Israeli was excellent against Burnley and fully deserved his hat-trick.
Ryan Babel could learn a lot from Benayoun.
Rather than moan about not being in the side every week, Benayoun knuckled down and was determined to take his chance. Click to continue reading...

Cat Whitehill's been blogging about college football lately. I'd love to comment but I'm too heartbroken about the stupid Buckeyes on the weekend (yeah, I got sucked into that, those people colonize your brain). Anyway, check it out:

So here we go.... The ACC went 5-7 the OPENING week.

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What is this, Groundhog Day? Yeah, it was real fun flying back to Seattle . . . then flying out here . . . then we'll fly back to Seattle . . . then a home game against Chivas and three straight away games against Revs, Crew and KC. Yeah, we're going to come out of that alive. Creepy Jose points out that we really can't afford to lose but one of these games, to which my response is, we're going to lose more than one. Click to continue reading...

This is slightly later than planned so sorry about that. I had this dream last night, I was playing for Derby County against Arsenal and it finished 4-4, even though I was playing for Derby (yes I know, my brain doesn't know what side its bread's buttered on), I wanted Arsenal to win of course.

Strange one.

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Sorry for the cop-out this weekend, which is the best slate of games the Premier League has to offer so far. I just wrote what felt like a 5,000 word preview for my paying gig and my brain feels like ice cream that was left out in the sun.Let me say this, this is the going to be a fun weekend if you subscribe to ESPN, Fox Soccer and Setanta. Click to continue reading...

My brother has had my brain racing since last week when he asked - What are your top 5 all-time Beatles Songs? Of course he knows my love of Top 5 lists - and The Beatles are the best music...

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I was on holiday in a rather remote region when the transfer window closed, so was kept waiting for excited news of frenetic late dealings. And waiting, and waiting, because of course, no one got excited as no remarkable late deals got done.
It leaves me with a real sense of regret, especially where Liverpool are concerned. Click to continue reading...

As I recover from a late night of fighting through some technical snafus on the podcast recording, my brain is working just well enough for a thought to occur on the crucial nature of the rest of...

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I am only going to say this. The Velez people are geniuses. This is the Greatest Jersey Presentation EVER!!! Enjoy. I can't type too much cause there is hardly any blood in my brain.
Just for this presentation, Velez is a nominee for Team Of The Year. Click to continue reading...

I am only going to say this. The Velez people are geniuses. This is the Greatest Jersey Presentation EVER!!! Enjoy. I can't type too much cause there is hardly any blood in my brain.
Just for this presentation, Velez is a nominee for Team Of The Year. Click to continue reading...

Just a little catch up, as I attempt to reboot my brain; I haven't exactly been at the top of my game in recent days. Two young American players are in the news for potential moves; one who raised...

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So you wake up in the Professional Football forsaken city of Canberra.
Do the 2 degree dash to get the paper, Canberra Times and Sydney Morning Herald.
Straight to the sport. I'm a guy. Okay the A-League season is almost 10 whole days away, and in Canberra there are 20,000 players running out to play this weekend and in Sydney over 120,000. Click to continue reading...

After last night's thrilling Mexico Costa Rica game, I racked my brain trying to come up with the last time Mexico won a knockout game via the dreaded penalty kicks.
I couldn't come up with one.
I can conjure up plenty of disappointing memories, though. Which is why last night's win was so massive. Click to continue reading...

Good morning. This will not be a preview of tonight's game vs River Plate. Years ago I decided that my blog would stick to game observations, TFC facts such as trades,signings and draft picks and whatever else grabbed my little brain. I leave the previews to other fine people out there. However this non-preview is a warning that the blog will not be commenting much on tonight's friendly. Click to continue reading...