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10-Man Ghana Take Out Brazil on Penalties in the U-20 Final Posted: 17 Oct 2009 08:10 AM PDT Yesterday’s U20 final, Brazil vs. Ghana. So much potential for excitement. Ghana’s Black Satellites (the baby version of the Black Stars) came into the final having scored 16 goals in the tournament. Brazil stood at 14. Surely a goal-fest was in order. But no. The game-changing moment happens at about the 1:10 mark in the video, when Ghana’s Daniel Addo is sent off in the 37th. What do you think? Red, ref? Seriously? Dumb tackle, yes, but Addo’s not even the last defender. And it seems especially harsh in a U20 tournament, and even moreso in a final. Ghana held on and managed to keep Brazil scoreless while creating the occasional opportunity themselves. No goals through both halves, then through both periods of extra time. So then we have this: Penalties Shock. Ten-man Ghana beats Brazil. As expected, the folks from Ghana are ecstatic, the Brazilians less so. Sniffs coach Rogerio Lourenco: “Of course, if you have 11 players creating chances they get more tired than a team with nine men at the back,” he said. “I told the players to create chances and they did - we were not able to score today but they’ve done a great job throughout the tournament. When it gets to penalties, there’s nothing you can blame or regret.” As a neutral I don’t think that gives Ghana nearly enough credit. But he didn’t ask me. Must say, though, that — no offense to either team — the most interesting description of the game comes from LA Times’ acerbic soccer guy Grahame Jones: Having just spent — wasted? — more than three hours watching Ghana and Brazil go through the motions in the final of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt, I can draw only one conclusion: If club teams around the world refuse to release their best young players to take part in such tournaments and if toothless FIFA is incapable or unwilling to do anything about it, then why bother? (Daryl has expressed similar sentiments.) I think Grahame Jones is a little harsh. (Then again, I “watched” the three-hour game in less than an hour, skipping over the boring parts.) But it does seem that if FIFA has plans to make this a serious tournament, perhaps they should be considering creating rules with teeth?

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College football extra: 26 pages of scores, statistics, standings and analysis

MAMUDU, Your October 18, 2009 issue of Sporting News Today is now available, please click here. Here are some articles in Today's Issue Alabama could take top spot in first BCS poll Hayes: Even in winning, Texas will lose in eyes of BCS race Curtis: Final moments sum up state of Notre Dame-almost there Yanks win on error in 13th, but A-Rod proves to be clutch again Why the Giants, Vikings, Falcons win today 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&114235&153320&16994&0000&1236486690&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

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Bjorn Heidenstrom and the World’s Biggest Football Shirt Posted: 16 Oct 2009 08:28 AM PDT Norwegian former professional footballer Bjorn Heidenstrom is on a mission. A mission to make the world’s biggest football shirt. He’s cycling from Oslo, Norway all the way down to Cape Town, South Africa, and collecting signed shirts along the way. He’s pictured above (right) taking possession of a signed shirt from Belgian club Mechelen, and has already collected many many more. “We are creating the world’s largest football shirt - a shirt and a symbol that is sewn together by the signed club-shirts,” Heidenstrom explains. The massive shirt will be sewn together before World Cup 2010 kicks off and will be a symbol of the football family and its solidarity with young refugees. Heidenstrom has been through the UK and Scandinavia and is now working his way down through mainland Europe. If you’re reading from outside of those areas (from the USA for example) then you can still add your signed shirt to the collection by mailing it to the address below. He’s not just after big name shirts either. Any signed shirt from any club will be form part of the big shirt in South Africa. Presumably even your Sunday league team. Just get your club to sign the shirt and then send it to The Shirt 2010 HQ at: The Shirt2010 Haugenbakken 12B 3475 Sætre NORWAY Heidenstrom has also keeping a regularly updated (especially for a man who spends all day on a bike) blog at The Shirt 2010, where you can track his progress and see which shirts he has so far.

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College football extra: 12 pages of picks, previews and player diaries

MAMUDU, Your October 17, 2009 issue of Sporting News Today is now available, please click here. Here are some articles in Today's Issue Storied rivalries highlight today's college football slate Hayes: Irish will upset USC Sabathia showing he's worth every penny as Yanks take 1-0 ALCS lead Pedro's gem undone by Utley's throw as Dodgers tie NLCS Five slow-starting NFL teams that could surge 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&114234&153318&16987&0000&1236486680&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

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Don Fabio & Diego: One In The Same. Posted: 15 Oct 2009 08:54 AM PDT As coaching goes, Fabio Capello and Diego Maradona could not be more different. In short one is brilliant, the other is not. However, they do have quite a few similarities: - Both are hated by many. - Both were accomplished footballers. - Both love spas. - Both draw the consistent ire of the Italian tax authorities. And both have Bartlett’s scrambling for the nearest exit. After the victory last night Diego was predictably in a bullish mood. Part of what made him so great as a player was this overwhelming sense that no one believed in him, and the ensuing rage which made him want to prove them wrong. That and cocaine. (There’s a word for this in Spanish which begins with b but is escaping at the moment - the rage, not the coke. Help appreciated.) And he’s attempting to use this same advantage during his coaching stint, claiming the press are out to get him. Which they are. Mostly because he’s lacking that one thing which is an absolute necessity for this position, a working noodle. After his boys qualified last night, Diego had a few choice words for the press in the crowd, underlining his position: “You lot take it up the arse…if the ladies will pardon the expression.” “But certain people who have not supported me, and you know who you are, can keep sucking.” A modern day Oscar Wilde, is he not? This may or may not go down well. What we do know for sure is that it will not matter, and it may only spur Diego on to prove to all that he can win success in South Africa next summer. Meanwhile across the pond Fabio Capello was busy grabbing his grapefruits and taking potshots at larger foes: David Beckham and Barrack Obama. Obama, you may have heard, won the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this week for achieving precisely nothing, which has turned many a global head. David Beckham, you may not have heard, won man of the match against Belarus on Wednesday for playing precisely thirty minutes, which turned Capello’s head. Thus a quote was born. Capello was just as taken aback by Bruce’s choice, though he welcomed the prospect of Beckham playing in Serie A. “Yes I was a bit surprised,” said the England head coach. “I just thought it was like Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize after eight months as President of the United States. He gets the man of the match after 30 minutes here … Nobel Peace Prize/MotM in Minsk…same difference. Now we shall dream of a scenario where Argentina meets up with England in South Africa next summer. The game may not be splendid, but the pressers will be spectacular.

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NFL Week 6 extra: 14 pages of previews, predictions, fantasy tips

MAMUDU, Your October 16, 2009 issue of Sporting News Today is now available, please click here. Here are some articles in Today's Issue Left out: Phillies take advantage of Dodgers' southpaws Yankees vs. Angels: Why we're picking New York Hayes: Irish better than USC at skill positions College basketball: We celebrate Midnight Madness by launching our Top 25 countdown No. 8 Bearcats win, but lose Pike to wrist injury 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&114147&153300&16966&0000&1236486636&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

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• FIFA Looking After the Big Boys (and Themselves) by Seeding European World Cup Playoffs
• To Dive Or Not To Dive: Rod Lands On His Fanni.
• Disaster Averted: Argentina Automatically Qualify.
• At Least 75% of the Marbles: Uruguay v Argentina Open Thread
• Best Wishes to Charlie Davies

FIFA Looking After the Big Boys (and Themselves) by Seeding European World Cup Playoffs Posted: 15 Oct 2009 05:10 AM PDT Bit of controversy in European World Cup qualifying, with the powers that be pulling what looks like a commercially motivated bait and switch with the playoffs. Here’s what’s happened: The nine European group winners all qualify automatically. So that’s Denmark, Switzerland, Slovakia, Germany, Spain, England, Serbia, Italy, Netherlands all going to South Africa. The eight best second placed teams who qualified for the playoffs (aka Round Two) are: Russia, Greece, Ukraine, France, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Portugal, Ireland. The original FIFA regulations indicate only that: The 8 best Round One group runners-up will contest Round Two. The teams will be paired into 4 home-and-away series. The winners qualify for the FIFA World CupTM Nowhere does it mention anything about the draw being seeded. But late last month FIFA decided that the draw would in fact be seeded. Because they can. From the mouth of Sepp Blatter himself: “We have decided on seeding the teams into two groups of four, taking the FIFA world rankings into account, with the top four in one pot and the others in another pot,” Which basically ensures the likes of France (massive media market) and Portugal (massive money-pot of a player in Cristiano Roanldo) will not be facing each other in the playoffs and suddenly have a much better theoretical chance of appearing in South Africa. The draw will take place Monday, October 19th in Zurich, and will be based on the next FIFA World Rankings, which will be released on October 16th. If those rankings are anything like the current ones, then the seeded teams will be: Russia (6th), France (10th), Greece (12th) and Portugal (17th). Those four would be drawn randomly against Ukraine (25th), Ireland (38th), Bosnia-Herzegovina (46th), Slovenia (54th). FIFA could argue that every other stage of the process (qualification groups, actual World Cup groups) is also done according to ranking, and that they’re just making sure that the best possible teams make it to the World Cup finals. But… Ireland keeper Shay Given made an excellent point last week, noting that these decisions should be made - and made clear - before the qualifying process begins, rather than on an ad hoc basis: I think it’s pretty disgusting, to be honest. Before a ball is kicked, these things should be made clear. Now they change it because some of the big nations are struggling. It’s beyond belief, if you ask me. It’s pretty disgusting because we are a smaller nation and for them to move the goalposts a few weeks before the end of the campaign is pretty poor. The smaller nations should maybe put up more of a fight because it is not fair.’ The upside here is that FIFA’s rankings are not exactly foolproof, and it’s not at all difficult to imagine a team like Ireland or Ukraine beating a team like Portugal or France over two legs come November 14th and 18th.

To Dive Or Not To Dive: Rod Lands On His Fanni. Posted: 14 Oct 2009 10:00 PM PDT [101 Great Goals] The last time we enjoyed a round of civilized European World Cup qualifiers, there was a bit of question as to the legitimacy of the ‘foul’ on Nikola Zigic which won Serbia a penalty and Hugo Lloris a red card. As though by some cosmic force (hello, Raymond) we find ourselves in the exact same position this round, sans red card, with France wearing the other boot. In the 25th minute Rod Fanni won a penalty and it looks bad. Oh, does it look bad. The movement in question in high def. Scope out the 3.20 mark for the ‘contact’ followed by a nap and then a triple toe loop. (Titi slotted the peno and France won 3-1 in a meaningless game for those concerned with such things.) There was clearly contact, but it was just as clearly well before Rod hurtled himself to the ground. And as we’ve determined time and time again: contact and dive need not be mutually exclusive. Some surmised it was a slip, but there’s clearly no slip there. Just a complete and inexplicable loss of balance and body torque befitting a Cirque performer (one of the cheap reproductions, not Cirque du Soleil). What say ye? Dive? Strange yet natural loss of balance? Act of God? A dive?(polls)

Disaster Averted: Argentina Automatically Qualify. Posted: 14 Oct 2009 07:10 PM PDT Uruguay 0 - Argentina 1 They were always on their way throughout the game thanks to Chile’s Humberto Suazo, proving the third best team in qualifying weren’t going to roll over in order to see big boys Argentina knocked out. But the albiceleste then got a second gift from Martin Caceres in the form of an absolutely absurd second yellow card for pulling Jonas Gonzalez down by his ankles and capitalized in the form of a goal on the ensuing set piece. A goal via midfield substitute Mario Bolatti. That’s right, Diego Maradona is still working miracles as a coach. (Not really.) So now, with CONMEBOL qualifying over, the final table looks a little something like this: (Uruguay will face either Honduras or Costa Rica in a home and away playoff for the last remaining Americas spot.) Not quite ideal, but at least they have eight plus months to fix all that ails. Such as firing Diego Maradona. Yet the postgame scene would lead won to believe Diego is once again the hero. And despite the dogged crawl through qualifying, the late heroics required from a Chilean and a Uruguayan, chances are we see Diego Maradona donning a flappy cape next summer too. What? Why? How could they? Simple. How do you fire the only unfireable man in the country?

At Least 75% of the Marbles: Uruguay v Argentina Open Thread Posted: 14 Oct 2009 02:10 PM PDT On one side, the heroic magician the world longs to adore next summer; on that same side, the heroic magician of yore much of the world would love to see enjoying a summer’s day spa. Lionel and Diego, both in danger of missing out on South Africa 2010, and you can’t wish success upon one while wishing ill upon the other. This is arguably the biggest game of World Cup 2010 qualifying. In fact, it is the biggest game. When Diego took over the albiceleste, no one expected a great deal; but perhaps only a Brazilian could’ve thought things would become this dire. One game left, qualification not guaranteed. And while we focus on Argentina’s self-reliance, one thing is important to remember: Uruguay is 4-3-1 +11 at home. That “1″? Dunga’s Brazilian juggernaut, of course. Even a rampant Argentina would find Montevideo a tough fixture, making this game all the more appetizing. The Scenarios With a win, Argentina goes through. But if they fail to take maximum points, they rely upon the result of the Chile - Ecuador fixture: Draw and Ecuador win: Argentina take the 5th spot and head to a playoff with CONCACAF’s 4th placed side. Draw and Ecuador draw/loss: Argentina are through and Uruguay take 5th. Uruguay win and Ecuador win: Argentina go home, Uruguay qualify automatically and Ecuador take 5th. Uruguay win and Ecuador draw/loss: Uruguay take 4th, Argentina 5th, Ecuador take to the high hills. Streams MyP2P; atdhe.net. Feel free to celebrate, mourn and all that lies in between in the comments.

Best Wishes to Charlie Davies Posted: 14 Oct 2009 09:06 AM PDT As you may have read by now, USA forward Charlie Davies was involved in a one car accident early Tuesday morning in Virginia. Ashley Roberta was also in the car, and lost her life in the accident. Davies’ injuries are not considered life threatening, but he had emergency surgery to repair a shattered right leg, ruptured bladder, broken left elbow and multiple facial fractures. US Soccer physician Dan Kalbac said his injuries would “usually require a recovery period of six to 12 months and extensive rehabilitation”. “Due to Charlie’s fitness level, his prognosis recovery and his ability to resume high-level competition is substantially improved,” Kalbac added. So we don’t know whether Davies will be able to play at World Cup 2010. But given the fact he’s lucky to be alive, World Cup participation suddenly seems unimportant. If you’re not familiar with Davies, he currently plays for Sochaux in Ligue 1, and made a big name for himself at the Confederations Cup, where Bob Bradley handed Davies a surprise start against Egypt in a must win game, and Davies took full advantage by scoring the opening goal. He’s been a national team regular ever since. Conor Nevins has a nice write up of Davies career so far, on his ESPN blog here. Here’s a video of Davies in action for Hammarby (in Sweden), Sochaux and the USA: According to Steven Goff at Soccer Insider, Sochaux president Alexandre Lacombe has said: “We are all in shock. The American federation was exemplary and informed us of all the events. Regrettably, his dream of South Africa has gone away and his career might be in danger. All our thoughts at FC Sochaux are with Charlie.” US fans are apparently planning a tribute to Davies in the ninth minute of this evening’s World Cup qualifier vs Costa Rica, since Davies wears #9. Bob Bradley has said: “As a team we were saddened to learn this news. We are are relying on each other in a moment that has for sure hit us all hard. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to Charlie and Charlie’s family as well as the people in the car and the families of the others involved.” I have nothing to add, other than to offer condolences to Ashley Roberta’s family and to wish Charlie Davies a speedy recovery.

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