Robin Van Persie scored a hat-trick and gave three other assists in the 7-1 win over Blackburn this weekend, but the teamwork amongst him, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was a joy to watch as they terrorized the Rovers defence. The Ox was starting his fourth game in a row for Arsenal and Van Persie [.

AVB has responded today to claims made earlier in the week from Carlo Ancelotti that in order for Fernando Torres to step out of the shadows, Didier Drogba must be sold.
Let's just remind you of one thing, Villas-Boas very rarely likes to speak of individuals in relation to performances, he always focuses on the team.

The first games of the MLS Combine are being held today, the four-day showcase of potential MLS talent ahead of the MLS Superdraft. Notable participants in the first match included defender Matt Hedges, whom many Portland Timbers fans hope will be available for the eighth pick, as well as striker Darren Mattocks, who is widely considered one of the top three players in the Superdraft.

When Arsenal brought Chelsea down 5-3 at Stamford Bridge, it was with a rather maniacal chuckle that Alan Hansen talked about van Persie. The same man who spoke of Walcott's lack of a "footballing brain" was finally going to get on Arsenal's back. "Arsenal almost looking like a one-man team!" he commented rather casually.

So last week, despite making it difficult for ourselves, we managed to get all three points at home. Great. But here comes the true test can we back it up with another strong performance? Will we see the same passion, desire and teamwork that was evident against Gold Coast? I think so. I hope

(Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz)

Editor's note: At the end of the 2010 season, we posted a series of "Raves" about our favorite Philadelphia players. They need not be the team's best players, but they're guys and gals we like. Over the next two weeks, we continue the series again with some of the PSP writers' and contributors' favorite players of 2011.

With the NBA season set to begin on Christmas Day, let's take a further look at the basketball landscape. We already looked at the NBA power rankings to see the best teams in basketball. Now, let's look at the worst. Here are the top 10 worst teams in the NBA headed into the 2011-12 season.

1.

We are delighted to announce a new partnership with Footballnutra.

Footballnutra brings quality, cutting edge nutrition products to football players of all levels.

Footballnutra offers better nutrition which can help players improve performance, recover quicker and play more football.

Arsenal visit Dortmund, the self-professed football capital of the world, to open a Champions League group phase that promises to be the toughest one in recent years. BVB are by far the best team from the fourth pot and could quite possible provide a sterner challenge than the other two teams in the group.

We are delighted to announce a new partnership with Footballnutra.

Footballnutra brings quality, cutting edge nutrition products to football players of all levels.

Footballnutra offers better nutrition which can help players improve performance, recover quicker and play more football.

We are delighted to announce a new partnership with Footballnutra.

Footballnutra brings quality, cutting edge nutrition products to football players of all levels.

Footballnutra offers better nutrition which can help players improve performance, recover quicker and play more football.

The United States Women's National Team captured the hearts of their country and likely several more. In the course of their run to the World Cup final, they overcame many challenges including a double overtime PK shootout to Brazil. The team improved with each game, but in the end they fell just short to a resilient Japanese team.

There is not any positive news to report for the US U17 team. They knew they had a tall task facing a superior German side, and Germany showed that there is a wide gap between the talent level of the two teams. The Germans were dangerous from the outset, pressing the issue with great teamwork, passing, and pressure on goal.

As the Women's World Cup is about to begin, the international governing organization for soccer launched a new initiative aimed at inspiring women and girls all over the world to participate in the game.

Featuring some of the stars of this summer's FIFA Women's World Cup™ in Germany, "Live Your Goals" will target the next generation of women's soccer players around the globe.

My friend Kimleigh is looking to buy a car, and has decided that she must have something "zippy".
I asked for exactly what that meant, and she said, "It has to feel energetic, agile, like it's going to go places with no problem."
That definition for zippy puts a finger on what is missing from the USA squad right now.

When a team is performing well, people stop looking for things to criticize. Where Montero had previously been chastised for a lack of hustle he was instead praised for his patience in the build up. Instead of being criticized for wasting chances with long range efforts that went just wide or high, he was lauded for his self-assurance when they began to find the target.

Toronto displayed some teamwork and effort tonight in fighting for a tie on the road.
None of the regular midfielders, JDG, Tchani and Peterson were available tonight, JDG on yellow card accumulation and the others with injuries. It should not be a total surprise to long time Toronto observers that there seemed to be little drop-off by playing Sturgis, Yourasskowsky and Martina instead.

Patrice Evra has suggested Manchester United are a more complete team without Cristiano Ronaldo, despite the Real Madrid man's blistering recent form for his new club.

Ronaldo is vying with Lionel Messi to be classed as the greatest player on the planet - having scored a record equalling 38 goals in La Liga so far this season - and his loss was felt by Manchester United when he departed for Real Madrid in the summer of 2009 as Chelsea claimed the Premier League title the following season.

"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships." ~ Michael Jordan "Whoever said, ''It's not whether you win or lose that counts,'' probably lost." ~ Martina Navratilova "I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the

In the modern game, it's often difficult to get the whole team working together for a common purpose, as players are so often too consumed with individual gains, be they professional, monetary or revenge motivated.

This is not an issue for Rio Segundo in Argentina. They found a common cause and went about achieving their goals in a team oriented way.

Tonight the Columbus Crew opened the season on the road against D.C. United. The result?! In the words of wise people PATHETIC. Yes the Crew fell to DCU 3-1 but what did they learn from it? Simple answer: Teamwork. The Crew have 14 returning players from last season. So let's do the math....oh that means half of last season's team is gone.

After a long wait we'll at last see the Smuda top boys in action once again. The challenge may be harder that it seems as Norway is currently ranked 11th in the Fifa World rankings. It must be because of great teamwork because, just as us, they don't have world superstars on their team. Still, players like John Carew, John Arne Riise or Morten Gamst Pedersen should be well known to all people seriously interested in football.

Reader rob asked to see the Football Manager stats for Rodrigo Brasesco that I was looking at for the initial "Deploy the Digital Scouts!" post, so...here they are (in the 11.2.0 update database viewed with the FM2011 data editor). Note that a "0" rating usually doesn't indicate a 0 out of 20 (most ratings are out of 20).