John Terry's dismissal as England captain has brought a lot of attention to the role of the captain at the international level.
Phil McNulty of BBC Sports writes about the English obsession with captaincy.
The fact that Capello communicated this bleak news to Terry so swiftly and ruthlessly only adds to the belief that England's World Cup campaign is safe in the hands of the former AC Milan and Real Madrid coach. Click to continue reading...

First an awesome, epic picture.
Then the link:

• Kid stabs dad over video-game dispute. [TOW]
  
• Rio banned four games for punch. [BBC]
  
• United also faces an FA probe for the coin toss. [ESPN]
  
• Another drug test failure for Mutu. [FourFourTwo]
  
• The L.

Click to continue reading...

SHORT SCRIBE
For the record, the match concluded with a 3-2 victory for the Eagles over the Rams - the two glamour teams way back in the founding year of the league (remember 28,000 paying fans witnessed a top-of-table clash between perennial powerhouse Geylang United and "New Kids On the Block" Woodlands Wellington at the National Stadium in 1996's Tiger Beer Series? Click to continue reading...

The 'home-field advantage' is no myth. Youth and professional teams play better at home. Less travel, field familiarity, and friendly spectators help. In addition, scheduling and knowing the 'elements' can increase this advantage even more. Finally, incorporating several tricks can help a team both at home and away. Click to continue reading...

Hassan Sunny was the first player to come out for his warming up
The Lions kept their composure well in the first half (save for that slip when they allowed the Indonesians to level shortly after they took the lead in the 10th minute) to restrict their guests from prowling deep into their half to maintain their 2-1 lead. Click to continue reading...

I came across an interesting newspaper article entitled, "Heads or Tails? It Depends on How You Flip It," in the October 18, 2009 Sunday edition of the Contra Costa Times. The authors Jon Wilner and Mark Emmons reference a study conducted by Stanford and UC Santa Cruz researchers that claim that a coin toss may not be a 50-50 proposition if you know which side is facing up when the coin is tossed.

Click to continue reading...

The 8th Law of Soccer deals with many things, but what it is really about is how play is started and (when necessary) restarted. It sets forth how the pre-game coin toss is regulated, and it determines when play begins and begins anew. For example, kick offs pursuant to Law #8, occur at the start of halfs, after goals, and at the start of extra time periods.

Click to continue reading...

Tomorrow June 27, 2009 will mark the first meeting between the Columbus Crew and NY Red Bulls since the MLS Cup Final. This will be the night of champions as the Columbus Crew are given their Championship Rings and the former World Heavyweight Champion and Columbus native James "Buster" Douglas will be on hand to perform the ceremonial coin toss before the game.

Click to continue reading...

Something to read while you watch the Nani/Almedia vs Postiga/Veloso FootVolley final... A very generous goalkeeper (SoccerBloopers) Hernan Rengifo is the new Macaulay Culkin (SportsRubbish) Games decided by a coin toss (SPaotP) When Özil and Marin combine (Bundesliga Offside) US stadiums that definitely won't be hosting World Cup games (WVHooligan) One day all football club names will begin "Red Bull" (Pitch [. Click to continue reading...

Best of three?
15 Matches Whose Outcome Was Decided By The Toss Of A Coin
1. FC Zurich 4 Galatasaray 4 (on agg.)
Won by FC Zurich, European Cup First Round, 1963/64
2. Racing Strasbourg 2 Barcelona 2 (on agg.)
Won by Racing Strasbourg, Fairs Cup Second Round, 1964/65
3. Click to continue reading...

Another fairly lazy day today so gonna plump you all up with another fill of Man Utd Ramblings. It could be worse, I don't know how but I'm sure it could be.

The news came out recently that Man Utd will wear a full white kit for the Champions League Final against Barcelona.

Click to continue reading...

These players are central to their clubs fortunes but they always manage to live in the twilight zone with their questionable commitment and/ or their behavioral issues. In between they throw up tantalizing glimpses of their undoubted potential.

Emmanuel Adebayor:

On one of the biggest nights in club history, the Togolese striker was AWOL, enhancing long held suspicions that his commitment to his club is skin deep.

Click to continue reading...

These players are central to their clubs fortunes but they always manage to live in the twilight zone with their questionable commitment and/ or their behavioral issues. In between they throw up tantalizing glimpses of their undoubted potential.

Emmanuel Adebayor:

On one of the biggest nights in club history, the Togolese striker was AWOL against Man Utd in both legs of the CL semi-final, enhancing long held suspicions that his commitment to his club is skin deep.

Click to continue reading...

Away goals carry an immense weight in the Champions League.

They delivered Milan to the final in 2005. They saw Liverpool oust Barcelona in 2007, despite the latter winning the leg at Anfield. And they pulled Barca's fate from the abyss in the 93rd minute in this past Wednesday's controversial leg at Stamford Bridge.

Click to continue reading...