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Monday, September 28, 2009
Favre and the men who replaced him star in Week 3
Sunday, September 27, 2009
College Football extra: 30 pages of results, analysis
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Saturday, September 26, 2009
World Cup 2006 Blog
World Cup 2006 Blog |  |
| El Burrito is Back! Ariel Ortega Gets an Argentina Recall Posted: 25 Sep 2009 01:09 PM PDT
Ortega’s career hasn’t quite delivered what it should have given his talents, and most would agree that his temperament is to blame. His rapsheet involves a lot of alcoholism, headbutting Edwin van der Sar at the 1998 World Cup, and getting a lengthly FIFA ban for walking out on his contract at Fenerbahce. He’s what you’d call a character. Incredibly, Diego Maradona’s latest surprise as Argentina DT is to recall the now 35 year old Ariel Ortega to the national team, a team he hasn’t played for in six years. The recall isn’t for the make or break World Cup qualifiers (at least not yet). It’s for the friendly against Ghana next week, for which Maradona is using only Argentina based players. Still, an odd odd move. Particularly given the current knock against Maradona’s Argentina, that they have too many midget attackers and not enough big #9s. The 5′7″ El Burrito definitely falls into the former category rather than the latter. Maybe Maradona read our post about him being too Boca biased, and that’s what led to him selecting a man now in his third spell at River Plate? Or maybe he saw this YouTube highlight video and decided to give Ortega one last chance at international football.        |
I can remember a time (a time before Leo Messi) when every little Argentinean #10 who could dribble a bit got labelled “the new Maradona”. One of the very first to get that label was Ariel Ortega, who rose to prominence in the early ’90s just as El Diego’s powers were fading. | 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 |
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College football Extra: 11 pages of game day previews, predictions
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Friday, September 25, 2009
World Cup 2006 Blog
World Cup 2006 Blog | |
| Another Day, Another Slew of Failed African Age Tests Posted: 24 Sep 2009 10:40 AM PDT
But this one gets a bit dicier as it’s Gambia with the failed age tests for their U17 team. The same U17 team which won the African U17 championship earlier this year. Is that legal trouble wafting through?
I’m sure it “can be more” and that these are the words of a hopeful/voluntarily ignorant federation chief. Regardless of the number, even fielding one ineligible player is enough to revoke most titles. Unless, of course, the Africans powers that be just say “fuck it, every team probably had someone overage”. That would be met with approval and applause - call a spade a spade, at least. For the future, Sepp & Co. have put these random age testings in place, so the buildup to Nigeria 2009 may be even more exciting than the tournament itself. Perhaps they can just film the age tests instead? They could even make a reality tv show of it, where the testee stands before a tribunal and, if the tests ring true, he is waved into one door with plush couches and footballs and age-appropriate toys. If not, he is led down a dark hallway into a colosseum-like arena with snarling lions with manes like Trump’s toupee ready to declare his sentence. But for now, in this the real world, the Gambian FA may want to put some military-grade locks on that trophy cabinet at headquarters, for the only thing scarier than snarling tigers is the trophy repo man. And he’s a-comin’.   |
Last time we checked in, the Nigerian U17 team picture, or so it seemed, was | 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 |
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NFL Extra: 14 pages of Week 3 previews, predictions, fantasy tips
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Thursday, September 24, 2009
World Cup 2006 Blog
World Cup 2006 Blog | |
| 2009 U-20 World Cup Preview and Schedule (Plus: ESPN TV Schedule) Posted: 23 Sep 2009 03:10 PM PDT
It’s a little disappointing in that several big names are missing. No Bojan Krkić for example, as he pulled out of the Spain squad with a torn thigh muscle. And no Jack Wilshere for England, as he (along with a few other young English talents) is staying home to warm Premier League benches. The other disappointment is the absence of reigning champions Argentina, who won the 2007 U-20 World Cup but somehow failed to qualify for this one. Still, plenty of young talent to watch, including a Brazil team featuring Grêmio mid (and Man Utd target) Douglas Costa and Internacional attacking mid Giuliano, as well as a Ghana team featuring André “Dede” Ayew (son of the legendary Abedi Pele). Any other players you’re looking forward to watching? Let us know in the comments. We’ll try and bring you occasional highlights here on WorldCupBlog, and let you know about any players making a name for themselves in Egypt. Below is a list of the 24 qualified teams, the U-20 World Cup 2009 schedule, and the ESPN broadcast schedule in the US.
Group A: Egypt, Trinidad & Tobago, Paraguay, Italy Top 2 from each group goes through to the Round of 16, along with the the four best thir placed teams. From there it’s a good old fashioned knockout tournament. In the United States, ESPN is broadcasting every game, but mostly online via ESPN360. If you have access to ESPN360 then this is obviously fantastic. If not, it’s not very useful at all. Full schedule below: FIFA Under-20 World Cup Schedule, and ESPN broadcasts. All times US Eastern. Thursday, Sep. 23 #1 12:55 p.m. Egypt vs. Trinidad & Tobago (Group A, Alexandria) ESPN360.com Friday, Sep. 24 #2 9:55 a.m. Paraguay vs. Italy (Group A, Cairo) ESPN360.com #3 12:40 p.m. Nigeria vs. Venezuela (Group B, Cairo) ESPN360.com #4 3:25 p.m. Spain vs. Tahiti (Group B, Cairo) ESPN360.com Saturday, Sep. 25 #5 9:55 a.m. USA vs. Germany (Group C, Suez) ESPN360.com/ ESPN Classic #6 12:40 p.m. Cameroon vs. Korea Republic (Group C, Suez) ESPN360.com #7 12:40 p.m. Ghana vs. Uzbekistan (Group D, Ismailia) ESPN360.com #8 3:25 p.m. England vs. Uruguay (Group D, Ismailia) ESPN360.com Sunday, Sep 26 #9 9:55 a.m. Brazil vs. Costa Rica (Group E, Port Said) ESPN360.com #10 12:40 p.m. Czech Republic vs. Australia (Group E, Port Said) ESPN360.com #11 12:40 p.m. United Arab Emirates vs. South Africa (Group F, Alexandria) ESPN360.com #12 3:25 p.m. Honduras vs. Hungary (Group F, Alexandria) ESPN360.com Mon., Sept 28 #13 9:55 a.m. Nigeria vs. Spain (Group B, Cairo) ESPN360.com #14 12:40 p.m. Italy vs. Trinidad & Tobago (Group A, Cairo) ESPN360.com #15 12:40 p.m. Tahiti vs. Venezuela (Group B, Cairo) ESPN360.com #16 3:25 p.m. Egypt vs. Paraguay (Group A, Cairo) ESPN360.com Tues., Sept.29 #17 9:55 a.m. Korea Republic vs. Germany (Group C, Suez) ESPN360.com #18 12:40 p.m. USA vs. Cameroon (Group C, Suez) ESPN360.com/ ESPN2 #19 12:40 p.m. Uruguay vs. Uzbekistan (Group D, Ismailia) ESPN360.com #20 3:25 p.m. Ghana vs. England (Group D, Ismailia) ESPN360.com Wed., Sept. 30 #21 9:55 a.m. Australia vs. Costa Rica (Group E, Port Said) ESPN360.com #22 12:40 p.m. Brazil vs. Czech Republic (Group E, Port Said) ESPN360.com #23 12:40 p.m. Hungary vs. South Africa (Group F, 23 Alexandria) ESPN360.com #24 3:35p.m. United Arab Emirates vs. Hungary (Group F, Alexandria) ESPN360.com Thurs., Oct. 1 #25 12:40 p.m. Tahiti vs. Nigeria (Group B, Cairo) ESPN360.com #26 12:40 p.m. Venezuela vs. Spain (Group B, Cairo) ESPN360.com #27 3:25 p.m. Trinidad & Tobago vs. Paraguay (Group A, Cairo) ESPN360.com #28 3:25 p.m. Italy vs. Egypt (Group A, Cairo) ESPN360.com Fri., Oct. 2 #29 12:40 p.m. Korea Republic vs. USA (Group C, Suez) ESPN360.com/ ESPN2 #30 12:40 Germany vs. Cameroon (Group C, Ismailia) ESPN360.com #31 3:25 p.m. Uruguay vs. Ghana (Group D, Ismailia) ESPN360.com #32 3:25 p.m. Uzbekistan vs. England (Group D, Suez) ESPN360.com Sat., Oct. 3 #33 12:40 p.m. Hungary vs. United Arab Emirates F – 33 Alexandria) ESPN360.com #34 12:40 p.m. South Africa vs. Honduras (Group F, Port Said) ESPN360.com #35 3:25 p.m. Costa Rica vs. Czech Republic (Group E, Alexandria) ESPN360.com #36 3:25 p.m. Australia vs. Brazil (Group E, Port Said) ESPN360.com SECOND ROUND (knockout with 16 teams) Mon., Oct. 5 #37 10:25 a.m. 1st B vs. 3rd A/C/D (Cairo) ESPN360.com #38 1:55 p.m. 2nd A vs. 2nd C (Cairo) ESPN360.com Tues, Oct. 6 #39 10:25 a.m. 1st D vs. 3rd B/E/F (Ismailia) ESPN360.com #40 1:55 p.m. 1st A vs. 3rd C/D/E (Cairo) ESPN360.com #41 1:55 p.m. 1st F vs. 2nd E (Alexandria) ESPN360.com Wed., Oct. 7 #42 10:25 a.m. 1st E vs. 2nd D (Port Said) ESPN360.com #43 10:25 a.m. 2nd B vs. 2nd F (Suez) ESPN360.com #44 1:55 p.m. 1st C vs. 3rd A/B/F (Suez) ESPN360.com/ESPN2 QUARTERFINALS Fri., Oct. 9 #45 10:25 a.m. Winner 38 vs. Winner 39 (Suez) ESPN360.com #46 1:50 p.m. Winner 37 vs. Winner 41 (Suez) ESPN360.com/ESPN2 Sat., Oct. 10 #47 10:25 Winner 42 vs. Winner 44 (Cairo) ESPN360.com #48 1:55 p.m. Winner 43 vs. Winner 40 (Cairo) ESPN360.com SEMIFINALS Tues., Oct.13 #49 10:20 a.m. Winner 45 vs. Winner 46 (Cairo) ESPN360.com/ESPN2 #50 1:50 p.m. Winner 47 vs. Winner 48 (Cairo) ESPN360.com/ESPN2 THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF #51 10:55 a.m. Loser 49 vs Loser 50 (Cairo) ESPN360.com FINAL #52 1:50 p.m. Winner 49 vs Winner 50 (Cairo) ESPN360.com/ESPN Source: ESPN press release, but schedule first spotted on WVHooligan.   |
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Three NFL division champs badly need a Week 3 win
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Wednesday, September 23, 2009
World Cup 2006 Blog
World Cup 2006 Blog | |
| Is Diego Maradona’s Boca Bias Hurting Argentina? Posted: 22 Sep 2009 12:10 PM PDT
It has to do with his deep love of Boca Juniors and his accompanying distaste for all things River Plate related. Basically I think El Diego’s Boca bias might be influencing his national team decisions. Which is never a good thing. For those even less familiar than myself, Diego Maradona is a Boca fan and former Boca player. Though El Diego started out at Argentinos Juniors, his first big move was to Boca in 1981 (he rejected River even though they had more money to offer). And he returned to the club in 1995 before finally retiring in 1997. The image above (half-naked and hanging out of the executive box at Boca’s La Bombonera) pretty much sums it up. And part of being pro-Boca involves being anti-River. Unfortunately for the Argentina national team, Maradona might taken this a bit too far. Here’s the evidence: When Argentina were scheduled to play a World Cup Qualifier va Colombia at River’s El Monumental stadium this past June, Maradona had a well publicized rant about what River had done to their pitch with a recent rock concert:
Nasty rant, but no harm done as Argentina won the game 1-0. However, Argentina’s big match vs Brazil last September was relocated as a result of Maradona’s outburst, moved from El Monumental to Estadio Gigante de Arroyito in Rosario. That didn’t go so well. More important than stadium selection, Maradona’s Boca bias appears to be affecting his squad selection. Consider his two most questionable call-ups for the recent (disastrous) World Cup qualifiers vs Brazil and Paraguay. 35 year old striker Martin Palermo and 36 year old defender Rolando Schiavi. Palermo has never done much at international level, unless missing three penalties in one 1999 Copa America game counts… As for Schiavi… He had never played international football before, ever, but did have a very successful four years with Boca at the peak of his career. The players Maradona is leaving out are even more visible. Argentina still lacks a big #9, but Maradona has been ignoring both the experienced Hernan Crespo and the in-form (for Real Madrid no less!) Gonzalo HiguaÃn. What do these two men have in common? Apart from being visibly better footballers than Martin Palermo? They both used to play for River Plate. There are other issues with HiguaÃn, like his refusing a call up for the U-20 World Cup, but I still suspect his River history plays a part in his lack of international recognition, if only in El Diego’s subconscious. Now I know what you’re thinking. Nice try Daryl, but what about Juan Roman Riquelme? The brilliant playmaker who quit international football after a row with Maradona. Doesn’t he play for Boca Juniors? Well, yes, he does. And I nearly abandoned writing this post because of that. But then I remembered why the two men fell out with each other. It was because Maradona was unhappy with how Riquelme was performing for his beloved Boca, and couldn’t keep his mouth shut about it. If Riquelme had been playing his club football somewhere other than Boca, he might still be playing for the national team today.   |
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