Top sport stories of 2011

To mark the end of 2011, Sportsmail has compiled a list of our top 10 most popular sport stories of the year according to the number of hits they received...

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-12-29 23:19:34 from: The Mail

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

The Dynamo's new home has a name, officially...and a cool new logo. Here is the official press release from the club along withe stadium logo and an updated rendering. Fancy!

Houston Dynamo, BBVA Compass Reach Multi-Year, Naming Rights Agreement for Houston Dynamo's New Stadium
HOUSTON (Wednesday, Dec.

He may not have any role. He may not be asked to participate.
There is, though, a possibility that Bob Costas will have something to say for MLS broadcasts on NBC in 2012.
He'd probably look forward to the challenge.

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell's recent comments that some sort of pan-national European Super League is being discussed ahead of the 2014 expiry of the ECA's agreement with UEFA comes as the latest and boldest overture about an idea that has gone from far-off theory to potential reality.

Rosell proposed a reduction of top-flight space in the major European leagues to 16 teams, stating "We want a bigger Champions League and hope one day we could play perhaps Barcelona versus Manchester United on Saturdays.

American McCarver is a moderately terrible sports blog run by tech journalists and bloggers. And yet this post just seems to have so much zeitgeist in it:

The point — you were totally expecting a plural there, weren't you? — came an hour and a quarter into the game, when someone apparently kicked the ball into a net or something.

Why anyone still clinging onto the 39th game proposal should heed lesson of NFL's London leg

Whenm in 2007, America's National Football League first announced that it was coming to the United Kingdom, the league's website was swamped with more than a million requests for tickets.

If soccer in the US is to reach its fullest potential, helping the sport grow in disadvantaged urban areas is essential. While US Soccer has begun to recognize this need, volunteers have long been laying the foundation for such efforts. As PSP readers know, the Philadelphia-area has a admirable tradition of volunteer-led urban soccer programs.

Rafa Benitez receives honour in Madrid

Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez received the Silver Medal of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit at a ceremony in Madrid this morning. The presentation was made by Her Royal Highness Infanta Doña Cristina. Rafa was given the news last month in a letter from Spain's Minister for Sport and President of the Sports Council, Albert Soler Sicilia, in which he was told it was "in recognition of the achievements, circumstances and contribution by you in popular sport".

- Jason Davis
As one of those interminable people constantly worried about the popularity of soccer in the United States, I should be thrilled that Fox is giving the sport a run on their flagship over-the-air behemoth of a network starting this Sunday. Manchester United and Chelsea will be shown, on tape delay, right smack in the middle of the usual National Football League window.

Libya: Football in a time of rebellion is a post from: Just Football

By Mehdi Rahnama

The last thing a country will think about during a revolution, one might think, is its football. In Libya though, the support of the national team towards the rebels has caused a major setback to the Gaddafi camp.

Six key questions on why top clubs could stage a European revolt

• Europe's biggest clubs could start breakaway league in 2014 • Owners motivated by possibility of generating more money Who are the teams involved? It is the biggest brands in football that are driving this agenda.

With UEFA's Euro 2012 European Cup less than 12 months away, marketers and brands have a fantastic opportunity to cash-in on a lucrative sporting extravaganza around the world's most popular sport

SOURCE: REPUBLICAKATHMANDU, July 11: Nepal Police Club (NPC), the two-time champion and leading team in the ongoing Martyrs Memorial Football League, signed a sponsorship contract with Nepal Telecom (NTC) on Monday.
Nepal Police IGP Rabindra Pratap Shah and NTC Managing Director Vishwa Nath Goel signed the MoU of the sponsorship amidst a program in the capital.

Following the news that evidence of former Inter President Giacinto Facchetti involved in match-fixing back in 2006 was released, newspapers all in Italy have been all over the story. Many of them claiming that Inter should give their 2006 Scudetto back. One of these newspapers was La Gazzetta dello Sport, not only one of the most popular sport dailys, but one of the most popular newspapers in general.

It is already the most popular sport in every country other than the US, therefore, it will eventually have to catch on here in the US. Soccer is the most played, the most watched, and the most highly paid and popular sport in every country outside the US. With players coming into American leagues from outside countries and continents, such as: Europe, Brasil, Argentina, Germany, and the bigger soccer playing nations, the game is becoming more exciting here in the US.

Since the arrival of Dr. Peter Brukner and his small army of Sport Scientists last summer, it has been hard to gauge really how successful the big changes in the medical department have been. There was a lot of talk of improving the injury situation at Anfield, with the Reds being hampered by a number of players sidelined with so called "soft tissue injuries.

Why isn't el Tri better? Mexico is the most populous nation in the Spanish-speaking world, and soccer is by far the most popular sport. Youth leagues and impromptu street games dot the landscape from one peninsular extreme (Yucatan) to another (Baja California). The nation boasts a rabid fan base as well as a successful pro league that lures talent from around the globe.

"Soccer is the elusive, almost illusive woman you have taught yourself not to chase."

Me, right now, before I change my mind.

I've identified three problems with the American soccer missionaries.

1. Rarely so rarely have they been converted from Our Sports.

Joey Saputo, president of the Montreal Impact announced on Tuesday the Canadian banking financial group, Bank of Montreal (BMO), as the primary partner and shirt sponsor for their inaugural season in Major League Soccer for 2012. He made the announcement as he sat in front of a BMO banner overlooking Saputo Stadium decorated with BMO dasher boards as he The sponsorship is a 5-year deal but other terms of the contract were not announced.

SEATTLE – Since the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers inaugurated Major League Soccer's Cascadia Cup rivalry on Saturday night, fans and journalists alike have been proclaiming that the game was revolutionary for soccer in the United States. However, it may have just illuminated yet again why soccer is not the biggest sport here.

Knocking cricket off its perch: The development of football in India is a post from: Just Football

by Simon Godfrey

In a country which is growing at a rapid rate economically and with a population exceeding 1.2 billion (and growing) two questions arise: 1) what chance there is of football replacing cricket as the most popular sport in India?

Hi everyone, I'm Harrison Keegan.

I am a junior at Missouri State studying journalism and French. I'm a huge sports fan, but I played soccer in grade school and have always had a passion for the world's most popular sport.

I'm from Kansas City and have followed Sporting KC through a few name changes.

Hi everyone, I'm Harrison Keegan.

I am a junior at Missouri State studying journalism and French. I'm a huge sports fan, but I played soccer in grade school and have always had a passion for the world's most popular sport.

I'm from Kansas City and have followed Sporting KC through a few name changes.

Longtime Sports Illustrated soccer writer Grant Wahl has announced: "I'm running for the presidency of FIFA in the election to be held on June 1. And no, I'm not kidding. Have you seen who else is running? That's right: Sepp Blatter, the 74-year-old Swiss strongman atop the world's most popular sport, is campaigning for his fourth term.

An interesting piece was sent to me about corruption in FIFA. Yeah, that is nothing new but I thought it was a good read. In the picture you can see FIFA President Blatter (left) sharing a drink with alleged Russian criminal Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov (right) and Russian World Cup bid member Viacheslav Koloskov at a Moscow nightclub in 2005.

If it hadn't have been for Warner Brothers President Steve Ross, the New York Cosmos and its legacy may have been nothing more than a distant dream. Twenty-six years on after its disbandment which left a brief yet storied legacy to football in the United States, one marquee name started the jugular for the world's global game to kick off in the land of the opportunity.

DOHA, Qatar — Billed as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup, the 2011 Asian Cup was nothing of the sort. Qatar's win in the December vote for the 2022 World Cup hosting rights led to a storm of criticism, and put the spotlight on the Asian Cup like never before. The Gulf nation looked [...]

There are 11 reasons that football is better than football. Or, football is better than American football. Or, even still, Soccer is better than American football. Why 11? Well, that's an odd, obscure, uneven number. And there are 11 men on a soccer pitch.

1. The Name Makes Sense

In football, they actually use their foot to kick a ball.

While the Aussies played a 0-0 draw with UAE last night as they start their Asian Cup 2011 bid on the weekend it was announced by AFC President and Qatari Bin Hamman that Australia has won the rights to host the 2015 Asia Cup.
Aussie media are reporting we were the only bidder!
I'm telling you who cares.