Season of high hopes ends for USC, Notre Dame, Michigan

MAMUDU, Your November 15, 2009 issue of Sporting News Today is now available, please click here. Here are some articles in Today's Issue Hayes: Buyout won't stand in Notre Dame's way to fire Weis Why the Colts will beat the Patriots today Cubs covet Tigers CF Granderson DeCourcy: Dayton's Wright delivers vs. Creighton Deveney: 55 points by Bucks' Jennings is no fluke If you experience any problems with your issue, please click here to contact our customer service department. Know a friend who might like Sporting News Today? Email him/her this link: www.sportingnewstoday.com.     Trouble Viewing? If any of the above links do not work for you,   copy and paste this URL into your browser:   http://today.sportingnews.com/t=c/?1&116008&154408&17473&0000&1236487574&EIInjEOx9cS45     Please do not reply to this message. Questions may be submitted to Digital Support.   To stop receiving email notifications for digital issues of Sporting News Today,   click here.   Sporting News Today 120 West Morehead Street Suite 200 Charlotte, NC 28202

Latest World Cup Blog Updates

---

WorldCupBlog FastForward*: World Cup Qualifier Weekend Posted: 13 Nov 2009 05:30 PM PST (*it’s the opposite of Offside Rewind) FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Rather than looking back at the week that was, let’s look forward to this weekend’s World Cup qualifying games by linking up all the WorldCupBlog previews… Previewing the six World Cup playoffs… … and the World Cup qualifying finale in Africa Egypt gets ready for Algeria While Algeria gets ready for Egypt Richard Dunne picks on Raymond Domenech Tunisia just need a win in Maputo Talking Bosnia-Herzegovina tactics before the Portugal playoff… … vs Portugal’s CR-free but still talented squad The permutations that constitute success for Cameroon Ukraine going for goals against Greece New Zealand braving the 3-4-3 for second leg vs Bahrain Any previews I missed? Please share them in the comments. That’s me done for the week on the front page, though Matilda and myself will be doing a LiveBlog of England vs Brazil on Saturday. Dave and Laurie will be along to inform and entertain us this weekend.

World Cup 2010 African Qualifying Finale: Who Will Take the Three Final Spots? Posted: 13 Nov 2009 02:23 PM PST It’s the World Cup 2010 qualification finale in Africa this weekend, with three spots at the big show still up for grabs. South Africa are qualified as hosts. Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire join them having already won Groups D and E respectively. That leaves three groups undecided with just one round of games to go, and those games are this weekend. The winners of Groups A, B and C will all qualify for the African continent’s first World Cup. You don’t need me to tell you how important that makes these games. Three of the following six teams could still qualify: Group A: Cameroon or Gabon Group B: Nigeria or Tunisia Group C: Algeria or Egypt (click the links to read our excellent team blogs) A little explanation after the jump, plus – as with the playoff games – we’re challenging you to pick which three will qualify. But if you’re looking for drama, you might want to scroll right on down to the Egypt vs Algeria preview. Plenty to talk about there. Since the World Cup 2010 qualifiers double as the Africa Cup of Nations (Angola 2010) qualifiers, all teams still have something to play for. Winners of the groups go to the World Cup, but second and third place qualify for the AFCoN. We’ll post the list of 16 Cup of Nations qualifiers either this weekend or Monday morning. But in the meantime, let’s focus on the teams aiming for World Cup 2010. GROUP A: Who can qualify?Cameroon or Gabon. Matches: Nov 14th: Togo vs Gabon Nov 14th: Morocco vs Cameroon Paul Le Guen’s Cameroon just need a result equal to or better than Gabon’s to qualify, and Samuel Eto’o is on fire with eight goals in qualifying. But visiting Morocco is no easy task. Gabon basically need to beat Togo and hope Cameroon slip up. Daryl’s pick: Cameroon. GROUP B: Who can qualify: Tunisia or Nigeria. Matches: Nov 14th: Mozambique vs Tunisia Nov 14th: Kenya vs Nigeria Nigeria simply have to beat Kenya to stand any chance of qualifying. If the Super Eagles succeed in doing so, then it’s all about what Tunisia do in Mozambique. If Nigeria wins and Tunisia loses, then then the Super Eagles go to South Africa. If Nigeria wins and Tunisia draws, then Nigeria will have the better goal difference. That’s what we call drama. Daryl’s pick: This is tough. Really tough. I’m struggling to imagine a 2010 World Cup without Nigeria. But Tunisia’s fate is in their own hands, so I’m picking them for that reason alone. Group C: Who can qualify? Algeria or Egypt. Matches: Nov 14th: Egypt vs Algeria Nov 14th: Rwanda vs Zambia North African rivals Egypt and Algeria have a long history of not being very nice to each other, including the last time these two met in similar circumstances back in 1989. Egypt qualified for Italia ‘90 on the occasion. This year there has already been trouble, with the Algerian team bus coming under attack from Egyptian fans, who apparently shattered the bus windows and left at least one player with facial injuries. Not cool. But here’s hoping we can move beyond that and enjoy some football. Speaking of which… The situation is as follows: Egypt need to beat Algeria by three goals to qualify. If Egypt lose, draw, or win by only one goal, then Algeria goes to the World Cup. If Egypt win by two goals then we’ll have a one game playoff at a neutral location on Wednesday Novemeber 18th. Daryl’s pick: I really don’t want to get in the middle of this one, but will pick Algeria, just because they go in with the advantage. So my three picks are: Cameroon Tunisia Algeria Yours?

You are subscribed to email updates from World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010 To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Upside-down Saturday: Unlikely college football story lines play out today

MAMUDU, Your November 14, 2009 issue of Sporting News Today is now available, please click here. Here are some articles in Today's Issue Cincy's QB drama proved more interesting than Kelly-to-Irish talk Tight ends become big-time threats for NFL offenses Top recruit Barnes picks UNC over Duke Custance: No longer captain, but Sharks' Marleau still leads the way Calipari wins Kentucky debut If you experience any problems with your issue, please click here to contact our customer service department. Know a friend who might like Sporting News Today? Email him/her this link: www.sportingnewstoday.com.     Trouble Viewing? If any of the above links do not work for you,   copy and paste this URL into your browser:   http://today.sportingnews.com/t=c/?1&116007&154411&17466&0000&1236487563&EIInjEOx9cS45     Please do not reply to this message. Questions may be submitted to Digital Support.   To stop receiving email notifications for digital issues of Sporting News Today,   click here.   Sporting News Today 120 West Morehead Street Suite 200 Charlotte, NC 28202

Latest World Cup Blog Updates

---

World Cup 2010 Playoffs: Pick Your Six Winners Posted: 13 Nov 2009 04:00 AM PST With 23 nations already qualified for World Cup 2010, there are just nine places in South Africa still up for grabs. Three of those will be decided when African qualifying concludes next Wednesday. But that’s a separate post. The six other qualifiers will be decided by playoffs, starting tomorrow. There are eight European teams competing for four places. They’ll play two legs over the next five days (Saturday, November 14th and Wednesday, November 18th) and the four winners go to South Africa. Second prize is watching World Cup 2010 on television. Similarly, there’s the acronym-lovers delight that is the CONCACAF vs CONMEBOL playoff. Same deal. Two legs, one winner. Last – and some might argue least – there’s the second leg of the Oceania vs Asia playoff. Those six contests are outlined below, along with my own attempts at picking the six qualifiers. We dare – make that doubledare – you to pick your six World Cup qualifiers in the comments. Teams on the left are at home on Saturday, November 14th. Teams on the right are at home on Wednesday, November 18th. Best aggregate score over two legs gets a trip to South Africa. And the answer is yes, if scores are level after two legs then away goals count double. UEFA Playoffs: Ireland vs France This is arguably the most interesting of all the playoffs. Mostly because of the war of words that’s going on. Raymond Domenech was a little disrespectful towards the Irish team last month, and more recently Ireland’s Richard Dunne has suggested that the French players are laughing at Domenech. Juicy. France WCB preview Daryl’s pick: France have the superior players, Ireland have the superior coach in Giovanni Trapattoni (pictured). I’m going with Ireland. Because Domenech’s luck can’t last forever, and because he’s already made the Irish players very very angry. Portugal vs Bosnia-Herzegovina Can Portugal handle Bosnia’s Wolfsburg based attacking duo of Edin Džeko and Zvjezdan Misimović? Maybe, maybe not. There will officially be no Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal. But that might not be a bad thing. Relying on an injured superstar is never a great strategy. The real difference here could be Portugal’s recently Brazilian-born striker Liédson, the goal-getter whose naturalization and international debut four games ago not so co-incidentally co-incided with Portugal’s change in fortunes. Portugal WCB preview Daryl’s pick: Portugal over two legs, but will be close. Greece vs Ukraine I’ll be honest, I don’t know a great deal about the current Greece national team, other than the fact that Theofanis Gekas was top scorer in Euro qualifying with 10, but not deemed good enough to play for Portsmouth last season. So mixed messages there. I saw Ukraine get a deserved 1-0 win over England recently and would find it hard to bet against them, especially with a much happier looking Andriy Shevchenko being motivated by one more shot at World Cup glory. Ukraine WCB preview (new Ukraine blogger Bannon doing some great work there). Daryl’s pick: Ukraine. It’s not just Shevchenko. It’s also guys like his Dynamo Kyiv strike partner Milevskiy (I love the idea of club and international duos), Barcelona defender Dmytro Chyhrynskiy, and Bayern’s long-haired midfield destructor Anatoliy Tymoschuk. Russia vs Slovenia Slovenia seemed like the team everyone else wanted to draw in these playoffs, mostly because their squad isn’t full of household names. I’ve heard them described as “organized” in defence, but lacking firepower. That probably won’t be enough to get past Russia, who ran Germany very very close in Group 4. Also, playoffs are knockout football, a place where Guus Hiddink is king. Daryl’s pick: Guus + Arshavin + the fact we don’t have a Slovenia blog = Russia going though. CONCACAF/CONMEBOL Playoff: Costa Rica vs Uruguay It’s always tempting to pick the South American team over the CONCACAF team, just because. But this game is going to be all about home field advantage and how much you can make of it. Costa Rica’s Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá (aka the Monster’s Cave) has artificial turf, which has to be to Costa Rica’s advantage since they’ll be more familiar. But they’ll need to build up a lead at home, because going to a packed Centenario in Montevideo is going to be overwhelming. Uruguay looked woeful in the all-important qualifier vs Argentina last month, but the firepower of Diego Forland and Luis Suarez should be enough to see them through. Daryl’s pick: Uruguay (Want to write our vacant Costa Rica or Uruguay blog? Read this and then get in touch.) OCEANIA/ASIA Playoff: New Zealand (0) vs Bahrain (0) Those goose eggs are there in brackets because the first leg of this has already been played. And it was ugly. A goalless draw in Bahrain in which neither team looked even close to capable of scoring. So no away goals for New Zealand, but they do have homefield advantage and the motivation of playing in front of 35,000 (the biggest ever NZ soccer crowd) in Wellington. Plus they have talents like Blackburn’s Ryan Nelsen and Celtic’s Chris Killen to call on. Bahrain are no mugs though. They’ve already beaten Saudi Arabia in the Asian playoff to get here, and could easily catch the All Whites out with a counter-attack and take this on away goals. I’m nervous just writing about it. Daryl’s pick: Heart says New Zealand (because we have a NZ blog) but head says Bahrain. So, my six winners are as follows: Ireland Portugal Ukraine Russia Uruguay Bahrain Yours?

You are subscribed to email updates from World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010 To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

NFL Week 10 Extra: Brady vs. P. Manning headlines Sunday's great QB matchups

MAMUDU, Your November 13, 2009 issue of Sporting News Today is now available, please click here. Here are some articles in Today's Issue Game-breaking receivers who will make a difference in Week 10 Polamalu talks Steelers' D, and playing with passion Hayes' High Five: Alabama, Florida face dangerous road games DeCourcy: 10 things college hoops fans can look forward to this weekend Deveney's Court Lessons: Nash playing like an MVP and four other truths If you experience any problems with your issue, please click here to contact our customer service department. Know a friend who might like Sporting News Today? Email him/her this link: www.sportingnewstoday.com.     Trouble Viewing? If any of the above links do not work for you,   copy and paste this URL into your browser:   http://today.sportingnews.com/t=c/?1&115974&154425&17451&0000&1236487545&EIInjEOx9cS45     Please do not reply to this message. Questions may be submitted to Digital Support.   To stop receiving email notifications for digital issues of Sporting News Today,   click here.   Sporting News Today 120 West Morehead Street Suite 200 Charlotte, NC 28202

Latest World Cup Blog Updates

---

ESPN Can Predict The Future. Posted: 11 Nov 2009 12:40 PM PST ESPN has taken more than their fair share of stick for their football/soccer coverage, and for good reason. They’re American (despite dubbing themselves The Global Leader) and, by and large, they do American sports well. Others: not so much. But they’ve gone off-script with their latest venture, the Soccer Power Index, designed to render World Cup 2010 moot. Much like every other acronym in the sporting world, they’ve compiled a list of rankings designed to tell us the fairest in the land. Unlike the other rankings systems, they don’t want the answer to the here and now. No, they want the future. And don’t we all. Why rate the teams at all? Well, from my perspective, we do it not because we’re interested in the past, but because we’re interested in the future. The SPI ratings are intended to be forward-looking. They’re intended to be predictive; every variable in the SPI has been tuned to give you the best possible objective and statistical forecast of how a team will perform in South Africa. It’s a novel idea, yet one ultimately doomed to failure as that is simply the nature of football rankings system. The methodologies require a four year major in SoccerPowerIndexology and it wouldn’t be imprudent to sail into the doctorate program as well. But then no one said predicting the future would be easy. So from this we can decipher… Brazil will win number 6, which most should be predicting anyway. Fabio Capello’s semifinal or bust ultimatum wasn’t so imprudent, what with Peter Crouch scoring a perfect hat trick in the Third Placed Game. Diego Maradona will be canned, resign or die from bloating in the next 8 months, as there’s no way in hell they’re making it to the quarters with him on the sidelines. Italy & France will get bounced in the Round of 16 and both will deny that South Africa 2010 ever happened, much like 2002. Bonus prediction: Raymond Domenech will keep his job. Croatia will nearly make it out of the group stages, despite not traveling to South Africa. Presumably based entirely on Slaven Bilic’s coolness. The only African team to make it to the knockouts will be, rather disappointingly, Cameroon, where they will not win a game. Home advantage is a myth. South Africa: 65th. And all this makes the rankings both curious and brilliant, as they house a built-in mechanism which renders them near inarguable. Can you predict the future better than them? Are you the reincarnation of Nostradamus? Didn’t think so. Well, there is one argument easily made: Guus Hiddink won’t win one in the knockouts with Russia? Bullshit.

You are subscribed to email updates from World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010 To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610