"We're not Racist" - Twists of the Scouse-Manc debate
Anyone tiring of the Suarez racism saga? Me too, but I'm breaking radio silence to offer a few thoughts, just as Suarez serves the final week of his ban and in light of yesterday's fiercely fought battle between Liverpool and Manchester United - the second epic Soucse-Manc cup battle at Anfield this week.

Harry Redknapp, who spent most of last week aiming poisonous verbal darts in the direction of Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini, last night went on live television to try to get the FA to take retrospective action against Mario Balotelli for an alleged stamp on Scott Parker during City's dramatic win against Spurs.

No ifs or butts Barton's red card shows cheats DO prosper in the Premier League

Let us be happy for Bradley Johnson. He is enjoying his moment in the sun. A few hours after the Norwich midfielder got Joey Barton sent off at Loftus Road on Monday, he was hamming it up for the cameras at the darts final.

By Chris Wright

Just a few hours after getting done over by Chelsea at the Bridge, Man City celebrated their Christmas party just down the road at the Anaya nightclub in Mayfair.

Sadly, there were no Azerbaijani cults, Bengal tigers or Dwarf darts on the night just a good ol' fashioned fancy dress theme and, as with most fancy dress parties, some of the guests went all out (Joe Hart, Owen Hargreaves, etc) and some skirted by on bits and bobs nabbed from their kids' bedrooms at the last minute (Edin Dzeko).

By Cesar Diaz - NEW YORK, NY (Dec 9, 2011) US Soccer Players -- Since 1996, sports data company Opta has been in the business of statistics. With offices based in London and throughout Europe and the United States, Opta collects and distributes data for over 60,000 contests annually from over 30 sports in over 60 countries.

Just a quick one before we get all Monday Night Football up in yo' grills. London nightclub frequenter and occasional footballer for Tottenham Hotspur, Giovani Dos Santos, has got himself on the shortlist for the Puskas Award. Or in plain-speak: FIFA's Most Bestest Most Super Cool Goals of the Year award.

File this under "This can't be good" for D.C. United fans: MLS has survey to gauge interest in Baltimore Craig Stouffer Cheers & Jeers Washington Examiner
I would guess the only thing worse than losing the most championed team in MLS history would be to have them move about an hour away to a rival sports city.

So, there isn't any official designation or blessing from the club, but there's now a Fulham pub in the United States. The recently opened Liam Flynn's Ale House in Baltimore, Maryland will be showing Fulham matches every weekend, and Thursday (provided those are televised).

Which, in my book, is grounds to be designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

By Chris Wright

In which, after Italy's 2-1 friendly win over Spain last night, Mario Balotelli sneaks into shot during Thiago Alcantara's post-match interview and, with everyone fearing the worst, merely tells the wee Barca sprog that he's mas grande which, our beginner's Spanish guide tells us, means 'the greatest' or something thereabouts.

With just hours left before things start getting serious (i.e. before the 2011 Development Academy Finals Week games kick off), teams got their competitive juices flowing at this year's Welcome Event that took place at the local bowling alley – because let's be honest: who doesn't love bowling?
While they will challenge their opponents on the pitch starting tomorrow afternoon, several of the teams had internal competitions on the lanes.

BY ADAM SERRANO

David Beckham is heading back to Manchester.

The LA Galaxy have decided to allow David Beckham to return to Manchester on Tuesday to play in Gary Neville's testimonal against Juventus and skip the Galaxy match against Houston on Wednesday.

The Halftime show has t-shirts and everything!We love us a bit of the old NutCan. While the Canadian Championship may be a far cry from England's FA Cup (we kind of lack the 755 other clubs), it is our national equivalent and has usually been good fun. 2011 saw a change to a knockout format which has led to an exciting two-leg final between the two "best" clubs - Toronto and Vancouver.

It's all over for another year and in case you're wondering we're 107 days away from the next bank holiday and long weekend. Kill me now!! What a festive period we've had though, with three wins out of three, two clean sheets, 5 goals scored and two red cards. I haven't updated much because quite frankly I haven't had the time or inclination to do anything between watching Spurs, other football, darts, pulling all nighters to watch the Ashes and eating more food than a really hungry fat man.

Adrian Lewis won the 2011 Ladbrokes.com World Dart Championship in style yesterday, crowning off a terrific performance with a 9 dart finish making him the first player ever to have a 9-dart finish in the final.