06.02.2012 - Recién liberada del yugo inglés en 1947, India tiene al cricket como deporte nacional y al hóckey y luego al voley como juegos multitudinarios, entre religiones, idiomas y vacas sagradas. El fútbol en India estuvo y está muy lejos de aquellas popularidades soñadas por los empresarios e "inversores".

Can you still really play two sports at the elite level in Australia?
Ellyse Perry thinks so and with great support from Matildas Coach Tom Sermanni over the years she has done so.
But her recent decision to play cricket for Australia and miss the semi and final of the W-League season left me wondering where now for Ellyse?

We're quite certain this falls into the "breaking news" category, but we'll be damned if we put the effort into Googling the amount of times a 'baller has been seen with his sweetie at Cricket. For as long as we've been spouting nonsense and abalicious photos, it's never happened.

Perhaps Charlie's fiancée fancied herself a pair of limited edition Ruthie Davis hi-tops with signature spikes, something she's been recently lusting over on Twitter.

Why Mike Dean Should Not Be A Referee
Why We Should Never Forget Gary Speed
Why Cricket Is Criminalised And Corrupt
Why Being A Match Fixer Ruins A Career
Why There Is Only One Gay Footballer Out Of 60,000 European Professionals
Check Today's Breaking Realities At Our Other Football Blog:
http://footballisfucked.

Por snedecor
Cualquiera que mire los datos de este mercadillo de invierno debe rendirse a la evidencia: para nosotros, sucios PIGS cubiertos de deuda hasta las cejas, parece que se han acabado los tiempos del derroche futbolero, al menos si no tienes unos amiguitos bien situados en el Golfo Pérsico.

It has just been announced that six teams from India will be starting a new football League, primarily in the West Bengal area, and they are going to have a cricket-style auction of the some top-class veterans including the ex-Arsenal star Robert Pires. Bhaswar Goswami, the executive director of Celebrity Management Group announced that he [.

So yesterday, the 16th of December, AC Milan celebrated (I don't want to know how) 112 years of a glorious and rich history spanning back from the club's foundation as The Milan Cricket and Football Club in 1899 to the present. As a tip of the hat to this fine sporting institution, I will dedicate this post to that faction of Milanese society that is eligible to play for another fine, some may say finer, institution, the Italian national team, one half of the pure and unabridged reason for this blog's existence, the other half being to spread evil rumours about a defenceless old lady.

It was a story that started almost a year and a half ago in a blaze of publicity which involved a major newspaper, allegations of corruption in another sport, a non-league football club and suicide. Now, with the half-way point in the following season fast approaching, it seems almost certain that the final chapter to play out in the life of Croydon Athletic Football Club will end in the collapse of a club which found itself thrust into the front page of newspapers around the world and, as the authorities pick over the carcass of this club over the next few weeks and months, a question well worth asking will be that of how nobody came to recognise the signs that there was something terribly, horribly wrong at this club earlier than it was.

My word. I really have hit rock bottom. Lookalikes. Still, you get what you pay for, I suppose. Man United crashing out of Europe was a serious Lol-cano, obviously. Experts are calling it the worst team in the history of everything. Not just football, everything. Cricket, Rugby, The pre-Raphaelite movement, cutlery, space, pencils, ZZ Top, the Iron Age, everything And, for no other reason other than I can, here's Phil Jones looking like a loveable Disney swine.

08.12.2011 - Si le creemos a María Magdalena la resurrección de Cristo y a quienes dicen haber visto jugar al Trinche Carlovich tenemos que creer que John Lennon era de Racing. ¿Qué tienen en común estos tópicos? No hay registros (vídeos).
Un vídeo (que nadie tiene) que muestra a John Lennon diciendo "Soy de Racing" (en relación a la rivalidad entre ingleses y escoceces) es la perla ausente.

Nine days. That's the time it took Alex Gerrard to recoup from the birth of her third child before hitting up Cricket in Liverpool.

New world record?

Bet it will be easier for a young English born Indian/Pakistani footballer to get into the India or Pakistani national team than it has been for a similar kid to make progress in cricket in the UK.
Interesting times in Asia for football.
Asian Football Business Review reports:

South Asian giants plan football promotion series for their expatriates in England
An innovative joint marketing effort by the All India Football Federation and the Pakistan Football Federation, will promote football to over 2 million of their countries' compatriates and their decendents living in England through three international friendlies.

Charles Sale: Lord's pair given food for thought

Lord's, who heavily promote the high standard of food and drink at cricket's headquarters, have suspended two senior catering officials

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-11-08 00:05:15 from: The Mail

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

The news that John Terry has been included in England's preliminary 23-man squad for the forthcoming friendlies against Sweden and Spain leaves manager Fabio Capello with a huge decision ahead of the naming of the final squad on Sunday.

Capello is to consult with senior FA figures over Terry's fate yet while the allegations of racism in last month's match against QPR hang over Terry there can surely only be one conclusion to these meetings.

Liverpool boast a massive global fanbase. Their pre-season tours to the likes of Thailand and Malaysia highlights the huge passion for the club that exists in the Far East.
However, less well known is the support they enjoy in Pakistan.
News that Manchester United has signed a sponsorship deal with a mobile network in Pakistan prompted Reds from the country to get in touch this week.

Manchester United could take advantage of cricket's slump in popularity to exploit more commercial opportunities on the Asian sub-continent.

Time for a quick mention of my new friends at Tweetsport.
Regular readers will know I'm something of a Twitter addict. And with Twitter now just about the best place to get sports news, Tweetsport is the ideal site for all your sports news in one place. And you don't even need to be on Twitter to follow the action.

Pregnant 'Hollyoaks' soap actress, Sheree Murphy, showed off her thin, pregnant pins outside Alex Gerrard's baby shower at the plush Vincent Hotel in Southport. Harry Kewell's wife (pregnant with the couple's 4th) was accompanied by Cricket Boutique shop owner, Justine Mills, and a smorgasbord of gender neutral wrapped presents.

01.09.2011 - Después de otro traspié que suma años a la sequía ganadora de Argentina, Alejandro Sabella hace el debut oficial como DT de la selección. Entrenador de flaca currícula, de quién no se conoce proyecto alguno, Pachorra toma el reto practicando lo que mejor sabe hacer, la cultivación del perfil bajo.

25.08.2011 - Curioso que en un país donde el fútbol está lejos de convocar y mover lo que el cricket (deporte nacional), el hockey y el volley (en ese orden), se emplace el segundo mayor estadio del mundo.
El Salt Lake Stadium, oficialmente Estadio de la Juventud India (en bengalí Yuva Bharati Krirangan), es el más grande de la India y el segundo estadio más grande del mundo, con capacidad para 120.

It is a tedious cliché that Finnish football is small-time and insignificant, but it is unfortunately also kinda true. Precarious finances and a disinterested public make the professional game here seem lower profile than, say, crown green bowls in the UK, or cricket in the United States.

That is a little stark.

17.08.2011 - Leyenda viva del Manchester United y caballero del imperio británico, (Sir) Bobby Charlton baila al ritmo de Beyoncé junto a Michael Vaughan (jugador de cricket) en el marco de un acto benéfico en la ciudad de Manchester.
Visto en Bardeportes.caligula

Dasharath RangashalaKathmandu
Poor RefereeingThe U16 national captain Heman Gurung took the responsibility on the losing as his effort was comfortably saved by the Indian Keeper. Nepalese team were continuously under pressure as they were rewarded in the dying moment of the match. The dreams of playing in the final were then shattered in the penalties.

The biggest hits we have had for a story in the recent past was a table of average attendances for the past season in the top 30 European clubs. Barcelona came top, followed by Borussia Dortmund and then Manchester United.

The story raises a broader issue. Why are we so interested in attendances?

Why Capello should take a leaf out of Flowers' book

Two England teams are in action on ­Wednesday. One is ruthless, purposeful, and ­adheres to a long term strategy. The other is tentative, fearful, and under short term management. Spot the difference between cricket and football?

Disabled football fans who have benefitted from Liverpool's Respect 4 All coaching gathered at Anfield for their annual party.
The club's Respect 4 All Disability Centre started in September 2008 and has coaching sessions four nights a week.
It helps people who are visually impaired, physically disabled, wheelchair users or have severe learning difficulties - allowing them to play sports often for the first time.

Images via Marca.com

While many 'ballers choose to work on their tans all summer, Fernando Llorente took time out to travel to India with Save the Children and do charity work. All together now: awwww. After a cricket lesson with Michael Robinson, host of Spanish show 'Informe Robinson,' Llorente headed over to the slums to check out the great services which are offered via mobile clinics and said this trip gave him a new outlook on life and that he truly enjoyed the warm hospitality of the Indian people.

Cracks in the Sabina Park pitch, Jamaica, 1998

Sometimes life is almost too good to be true. This means that we spend too much time trying to recreate feelings that are not usual.

Today I was listening to the Grateful Dead, as I do every day. I have an iPod that is now full of their music everything else has now been purged, save for a few odds and ends for occasional variety.

What it means to be a Gooner in the lands of the cricket... by Nitesh Padhi Football is a universal sport. It binds together many regions, many countries, many religions. North and South Koreans come together to support a club, Indians and Pakistanis come together to show their love for their country.

17.06.2011 - You Tube se mete de lleno en el fútbol y anuncia la transmisión (en vivo) de los 26 partidos de la Copa América 2011 en lo que será la primera experiencia de difusión de un evento deportivo masivo (luego de haber transmitido la Premiere League de cricket en India) de la plataforma online de Google.

Unlike the rest of the world, my calendar doesn't run from January to December: it starts in August and ends in May.

The last game of the season is like Christmas day: the party you've all been building up to.
The Champions League final and the Play Offs are that little bit of extra excitement: like New Years Eve.

The Manchester United 1878-2010: The Full Story and Complete Record gives a timely, in depth look at how a humble club which started as Newton Heath Cricket and Football club has become one of...
Continue to the full story

With West Ham United squarely looking at the trap door to the Championship, could their move to the Olympic Stadium be on hold? It's a question that needs to be asked.
On 11 February 2011 the Olympic Park Legacy Committee selected West Ham United and Newham Council as the preferred bidder to take over the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games.

ABC Offsiders discussed interesting views of the $1b AFL deal.
Foxtel's objective is to invest in AFL to increase its household coverage from 34% to over 50% and to head towards 60%. There is a view that sports fans will not baulk at the $720 to $1,200 per year for all AFL games each week. However, the current patchwork economy is likely to have had some impact on paytv growth.

"Annual Salary" represents only base salary from the most recently completed season or calendar year from each sport, and excludes any other source of compensation, unless otherwise noted. In countries where official salary figures were unavailable, we estimated the number based on information from multiple sources, including leagues, agents, consulates, embassies, sports federations, cultural centers and the U.

To find out which athletic organizations shell out the most dough, we surveyed 272 teams in 14 major pro leagues, covering seven sports, spanning 10 countries, comprising 7,802 athletes making a combined $15.2 billion in salary. Our final numbers, below, were compiled by Nick Harris, editor of sportingintelligence.

The guy walking across the parking lot is famous. That's easy to tell from the reactions. Crowds part for him. Security guards mirror his every step. Other cricketers who made this same trip to the locker room tiptoed around the puddles. He strides over them, head up, confident. I am following an Indian cricket superstar, but I don't know who he is.

The guy walking across the parking lot is famous. That's easy to tell from the reactions. Crowds part for him. Security guards mirror his every step. Other cricketers who made this same trip to the locker room tiptoed around the puddles. He strides over them, head up, confident. I am following an Indian cricket superstar, but I don't know who he is.

Poonam Pandey es una joven y bella modelo india que ha prometido que se desnudará si la selecciónde la India gana la Copa del Mundo de cricket, al más puro estilo de Larissa Riquelme en el último Mundial de fútbol (recuerda sus reportajes más descocados). Nunca me ha interesado mucho este deporte, pero en este torneo animaré a la India.

Football in England is all about tribalism. It's about supporting your village against the other, and it dates back to, well, forever. So I am informed by two gentlemen from London on this blog who have, apart from livening up proceedings around these parts, given us a peek into a few chants that we simply can't hear over the airwaves, HD or no HD.