By Sharon Hom The Kansas Magic received a huge boost in their quest for a playoff spot when the Ohio Vortex defeated the Cincinnati Kings 9-5 and the Detroit Waza beat the Illinois Piasa 6-5...
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Right then, after a week which has been dominated by two craggy faced managers (so much so that Fabio Capello was in my post-apocalyptic dream last night wearing a gigantic gold hooped earring), it's time to turn our attention to the stuff that really matters.

Arsenal play Sunderland tomorrow and under Martin O'Neill they've been about 61 times better than they were under Mrs Doubtfire.

By Sharon Hom In the 2nd game of a 3-game home stand, the Kansas Magic led at halftime but the Ohio Vortex erupted for 8 goals, 4 each in the 3rd and 4th quarters, to defeat the Magic 9-6...
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So I'm sitting at my desk at work around 4pm this past Friday trying to figure out what my plans for the evening are. Then out of nowhere Illinois Piasa General Manager Matt Williams makes my plans for me with one short e-mail:

"FYI - Mike Banner, Chicago Fire, will wear #16 for Piasa tonight vs.

By Sharon Hom
Ohio Vortex @ Kansas Magic Saturday, January 28 - 7:35 PM CST
Epic Indoor Sports – Overland Park, KS
KANSAS MAGIC
Record: 5-3 (3rd place, Western Division). 3-1 @ Home, 2-2 AwayGoals For-Goals Against: 53-57
OHIO VORTEX
Record: 1-9 (6th place, Eastern Division).

Let's start with the obvious... soccer bloggers, including (maybe especially) those that track the New England Revolution, love a controversy.

Better yet, a conspiracy.

I do what I can not to jump on most of the conspiracy theory bandwagons. Really, I try.

I'll admit it though, some are hard to avoid.

With the advent of such video services as 101 Great Goals taking credit for this clip as well and the time-sucking vortex that is the 'Related Videos' section on YouTube, it's very rare to spy a football video and be able to say, "I've never seen that before."

I've never seen this before.

Vortexing..

Jurgen Klinsmann has now officially cast off as skipper of the US national team. A three game tenure is merely prologue to what will be a fact-finding, a player-finding mission leading up to qualifying and World Cup in 2014.

Yet, as much as the camps of late 2010 will probably not be remembered much when 2014 dawns, at present they are starkly in contrast to the complexion in results, personnel and more to the Bob Bradley era.

Outside of doing lines off a hooker's tender parts presumably is Adrian Mutu really a bad boy, or just an idiot? Both are probably on the scale, but the weight seems to shift towards the latter. His latest "drug ban" was for weight-loss supplements, after all.

It's not like he rock-star smashed up his hotel or anything, but rather consumed some adult beverages a couple of nights before a game.

The French philosopher argued that as our public discourse tightens its grip on sex, mining it for more and more information about the body, the mind and the soul, it turns "sex" turns into a rhetorical black hole – a vortex sucking energy in, radiating pure affect. Making less and less sense.
Journalists (?

Liedson does kung-fu.

• Champions League's best goals. (The Spoiler)
• The Polish vortex. (Back Page Football)
• The season's end email. (Avoiding The Drop)
• Welcome to the machine. (Futfanatico)
• Prolific South Americans in Europe. (The Best Eleven)
• Appreciating architecture.

Federico Macheda's agent, Giovanni Bia, has conceded that the player's loan spell has been an unsuccessful one due to the pressure he was under.

When he joined the club on loan at the beginning of the year they were 8th, however, they have felt the departure of Antonio Cassano, who left for AC Milan a month before Kiko's arrival.