Hoy en la mañana me mandaron algo que me parecio raro y gracioso a la vez. Dicen que el beisbolista y MVP de los New York Yankees, Hideki Matsui, tiene una coleccion de Porno que llega hasta los 55,000 videos! En estos momentos dicen que Elvis Crespo esta que busca el numero de Matsui antes de su proximo vuelo. Click to continue reading...

For ranking methodology and other information about the series, see the original post. To read the about the No. 7-rated stadium, the Camp Nou in Barcelona, click here. To see all "soccer mecca" entries click here.
No. 6 Estadio Bernabeu, Madrid
Open since: 1947
Capacity: 80,000
Tenant(s): Real Madrid
World Cup hosts: 1982
We have now had two stadiums in Argentina (Bombonera at No. Click to continue reading...

Segundo o DN, Mark Teixeira, luso-americano, jogador de basebol, é o desportista de ascendência portuguesa mais caro de sempre ao ter assinado um contrato, em Janeiro, com os New York Yankees, no valor de 120 milhões de euros. Mark é uma das figuras da equipa que venceu as "World Series" da MLB pela 27ª vez. Click to continue reading...

(clears throat)

Two-thousand seven!

(clap-clap, clap-clap-clap)

Two-thousand seven!

(clap-clap, clap-clap-clap)

That's all I got to say right now. Deal with it, Simmons and Shaughnessy. You both lied to us by not dying in peace like you said you would.

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Major League Soccer's regular season wrapped up yesterday and here are the final attendance figures:

Team G Total Avg Med Hi Lo Change Seattle 15 463,455 30,897 32,404 33,108 28,548 NA Los Angeles 15 306,240 20,416 19,718 27,000 16,649 -21.5% Toronto 15 305,167 20,344 20,384 20,902 19,843 1. Click to continue reading...

This is why I don't subscribe to 24th Minute. Every time I go over there I see something that makes me want to stab my eyes out. Most of the Canadian blogs, actually. Which is kind of sad. I mean, most of them can write. It's just what's going on up their heads that's the problem.
Anyway, BA Duane with a rumination on the follies of the New York franchise, with commentary by yours truly:

Just as Canadians hate that everything here is Toronto focused (and, say, that USL-1 championship final is overshadowed by TFC's attempt to sneak into the playoffs), Americans don't much like to have it pointed out that it's important to have a presence in the New York market.

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With all apologies to the footie-mad world, I have to say I'm a bit distracted by more provincial sporting pursuits this week. As I write my hometown Philadelphia Phillies (that's Major League Baseball if you aren't into the American sports scene) are in a best-of-seven series with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the right to go to the World Series (to presumably face the New York Yankees). Click to continue reading...

Apparently New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi also feels that chess has helped him develop his tactics and decision-making...
The below video clip from the New York Times sheds some insight into how learning chess at an early age helped the Yankees skipper develop decision-making skills and foresight. Click to continue reading...

I don't really hate anybody in my immediate world (except, of course, my old landlord, Dick Dumont yeah: he knows what he did). But it's easy enough to drop the word hate into conversation. "Oh, I hate that" and "Don't you just hate him/her?"Â We do it all the time, but do we truly hate the thing or person?

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Real Madrid spent the summer spending their money. Â REALLY spending their money. Â After forking over 136 Million Euros on Ronaldo and Kaka' the boys in Madrid didn't stop. Â They also acquired Karim Benzema in a move that could only compete with the New York Yankees.

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In these sickening economic times, finding enough fans to fill your stadium can be difficult. Which is why Bolton Wanderers have decided to expand their search for new seat fillers beyond the borders of their own city and into those of their rivals namely, and curiously, Blackburn.

From the Lancashire Telegraph:

The initiative, also being run in Manchester and Bolton, is inviting people to nominate "community champions".

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I'm back! But did I ever really leave?

I did. The shenanigans around the club bewitched, bothered and bewildered me to the point of becoming a simpering, whimpering child again.

Dalport, Vicente Soriano's heel turn, Colombian drug lords/lingerie salesmen, Juan Soler the Hutt and David Villa's impending transfer to one of either Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Liverpool, the New York Yankees or the Dallas Cowboys .

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Well, the Galácticos 2.0 era is underway.
Real Madrid were able to overshadow the treble-winning rivals off the pitch by spending unheard of amounts of money. Just to give some perspective, the money that they spent on Kaká, Ronaldo, Benzema, Albiol and the rest of their transactions was the equivalent of the payroll of the New York Yankees. Click to continue reading...

The military junta controls Myanmar with an iron hand which includes media and internet censorship which is why David Beckham remains that country's top sporting preoccupation. He may deliver freedom to them at their doorstep.

Simon Kuper writes about Googles powerful public opinion tool, Insights for Search and uncovers some fascinating gems.

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MANCHESTER - They were singing 'Glory, glory Man United,' after this affair.
Yes, the New York Yankees of Soccer were at it again, on a goal from likeable right back John O'Shea.
Carrying the advantage back to the Emirates, the Red Devils look to return to the finals. Could a rematch of last years final be in the works? Click to continue reading...

Some of my fellow Lillywhites at Tottenham have some very rude comments about Arsene Wenger. There is one song that ends in "Wenger is a [explicative] pedophile".

I hate it. It lacks class or common decency. But football supporters aren't always the classiest people when it comes to rivalry, as we all know.

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Who can compete with this?

"Don Garber discussing Yankee attendance must be a joke. We draw more people in a year than his entire league does in a year. If he ever gets Major League Soccer into the same time zone as the Yankees, we might take him seriously. Hey Don, worry about Beckham, not the Yankees.

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You catch the little spat between MLS commish Don Garber and New York Yankees prez Randy Levine?
Garber started it off by poking fun at the empty seats at the new Yankee Stadium. Levine did him one better:

"Don Garber discussing Yankee attendance must be a joke," Levine said yesterday.

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Dear Mr. Levine,

Speaking on behalf of U.S. soccer fans everywhere, we would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your considerable efforts in raising the profile of professional soccer in this country.

We are referring, of course, to your comments lambasting Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber, who had the gall to compare his pathetic little league to your employer, the mighty New York Yankees baseball club.

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.
Well, well, well.
It seems that the New York Yankees, as represented by their chubby, pasty-faced President, Randy Levine, have a pretty thin skin and don't allow outsiders to make germane observations about their operations, even when said observations are patently obvious to anyone with functional eyes. Click to continue reading...

Ooops, the Commish sticks his foot in his mouth:

NEW YORK (AP) -- Mention those empty seats at Yankee Stadium at your own risk.

Don Garber did.

A day after the Major League Soccer commissioner raised the subject, New York Yankees president Randy Levine blasted back.

"Don Garber discussing Yankee attendance must be a joke," Levine said Friday.

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It is not often that MLS Commissioner Don Garber seldom pisses off people in other sports. But yesterday he did.
Courtesy of ESPN:

NEW YORK -- Mention those empty seats at Yankee Stadium at your own risk.
Don Garber did.
A day after the Major League Soccer commissioner raised the subject, New York Yankees president Randy Levine blasted back.

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Wow ... talk about blowing a statement out of proportion.
Yesterday, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber told the Associated Press Sports Editors that he'd noticed many unfilled seats at New York's two new baseball stadiums. The New York Yankees' premium seats were more than half-empty for the five games following their home opener. Click to continue reading...

The Red Devils ownership isn't being nice to its fans.
Hiking up prices for season tickets amid a global recession surely won't make people happy -- especially since the club is making massive profits.
Though you can't blame the business decision. It does make sense.

"We are still turning away over 5,000 people per game on average and we believe it represents good value for money.

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I'm finally back from the Midwest and boy, are my arms tired!

Ok, bad joke. But I did have a lovely time in the Windy City. It's quite different from my native New York. The people are friendlier, the streets are cleaner and the beer's smoother. I'll have to make sure to go back.

But you're not here to read my travel diatribes.

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Bob Sheppard calls it a day.

I was hoping he'd be well enough to do the first game at the new ballpark, but maybe it's best to have a new Voice to open it.

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Forbes released its list of the world's 10 most valuable sports "franchises" (in quotes because I've never liked that word) last week. It's mostly American teams - six from NFL, plus the Yankees - but there are three European soccer teams in there too: Man Utd, Real Madrid and.. Arsenal? Yep. Despite the fact that they [. Click to continue reading...

Courtesy of this article Bloomberg.com we get a bit of an update on the Fred Wilpon, New York Mets, MLS negotiations. Here is an excerpt:

Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The New York Mets are looking into purchasing a Major League Soccer club after completing construction of Citi Field, the new $600 million home the baseball team will move into for the 2009 season, said David Howard, the club's executive vice president for business.

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The Offside Forums are brand new and already seeing some high quality action, so we've decided to bring some of these topics to the forefront ever day. Or, if we've got a question we're curious about, we'll ask one ourselves and send you in that direction for your thoughts and ruminations. To kick things off, [. Click to continue reading...