Tim Howard's masterful night | Yahoo Sports

Watching the USA - Belgium match, I was reminded of the story that hit my mailbox July 1st courtesy of FCA featuring Tim Howard ( and shown below ).  First, this is an amazing back story regarding his struggle with Tourette Syndrome and how he was able to overcome it and rise to the level he has. Pretty remarkable. Second, the title of the story Peace in the Midst of Chaos was very prophetic given his performance yesterday on the field.


from Yahoo Sports:
Tim Howard's masterful night | Watch the video - Yahoo Sports:

The U.S. Men's National Team goalkeeper did something no player has ever done for the Americans in the World Cup.

'via Blog this'

An amazing night for American soccer, in spite of the result, they will not only have to figure out how to replace the strength provided by Tim Howard, but figure out why he was put in the place of having to make a record number of save in the first place.

With the USA and my next favorite Italy out of the competition, it will be hard to maintain my attention, but like the Olympics, the World Cup is a magnet to me for a sport that I would generally have zero interest in except every four years. It's just so hard to get excited about backing the Germans, the French or the Dutch. I actually thought that Belgium was the Dutch -- my wife had to correct me -- which shows my lack of knowledge for most things international. Hockey is about as international as I get as far as sports go.

It must be the great pride and passion that these athletes display not just for their team or their sport but for their nation and fellow countrymen that draws my attention every four years. Some are turned off by this overt nationalism, but I find it to be kind of cool. Very inspiring. It give me goose bumps at times, which is good. Maybe if I had to deal with it every day I would be soccer fan, but every four years is OK.

One final example that, if nothing else does, proves the magic that the World Cup brings:

• I agree 100% with Keith Olbermann in his analysis. I can't believe I said that out loud, except that it sounds more like he's coming around to my way of thinking than vice versa. 

Olbermann: How To Make Soccer Work In America
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=11166044

So anyway, bye-bye World Cup. See you in another four years.

Bye-bye soccer, see you in another four years.

Bye-bye Keith ( "Bed-Wetter" ), probably won't agree with you for another four years. How did he nail that?



==

Peace In The Midst of Chaos Tuesday, July 1st, 2014

http://fcaresources.com/devotional/peace-midst-chaos

Having spent the first ten years of my life with an undiagnosed case of Tourette Syndrome—a neurological disorder characterized by uncontrollable physical and verbal tics—I did not experience a lot of peace. Yet even though my life often felt chaotic, I knew I could always count on one person to provide calm and stability—my grandmother.

Nana’s sense of peace was powerful because it came from her faith in the Lord. Through her, God revealed His love for me as well. It wasn’t long before I followed in her footsteps. I wanted the same kind of faith and peace she had, and that is exactly what God gave me.

Living with Tourette’s is not easy, but God has blessed me with the gift of athleticism and has done some powerful things in my life through the combination of these two gifts. He has helped me in my long-term success as a professional soccer player in the English Premier League and U.S. National Team; and He also has shown me ways to use my position as a professional athlete to encourage others with Tourette Syndrome.

Today, I am blessed to be living my dream. Yet, if my soccer career went away tomorrow, I know I would still have peace. That probably sounds crazy to most people, but that’s the kind of peace Christ gives. It is rooted in His love and it surpasses all understanding.

The disciples once learned a lesson about peace during an eventful boat ride. In Mark 4, they were crossing a lake with Jesus when a severe storm arose. The disciples feared for their lives, yet, among the chaos, Jesus slept calmly. When they woke Him, Jesus commanded the wind and the sea to “be still!” and there was peace. That is what He can do in our lives. Among our storms and our chaos, Jesus provides peace.

You can experience this same sense of love and peace, too. All you have to do is ask for it.

Master Teaching and Coaching from The Talent Code and SoccerNationNews

I love all of Dan Coyle's stuff from The Talent Code. He really breaks down the process of developing into a great coach or player.

The article Coyle is citing is from The New Yorker magazine by Jeremy Denk http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/04/08/130408fa_fact_denk titled "Every Good Boy Does Fine - A Life in Piano Lessons" and is also a great read.

The following article from soccer coach Wayne Harrison outline many of The Talent Code concepts in a concise outline.

from The Talent Code blog:
How to Spot a Master Teacher: A Field Guide « The Talent Code:

In fact, Denk’s teachers turn out to be a beautiful set of case studies for analyzing what qualities master teachers tend to possess. I’ll list a few here:

 1) Master teachers love detail. They worship precision. They relish the small, careful, everyday move.

2) They devise spectacularly repetitive exercises to help develop that detail — and make those exercises seem not just worthwhile, but magical. As Denk writes, “Imagine that you are scrubbing the grout in your bathroom and are told that  removing every last particle of mildew will somehow enable you to deliver the Gettysburg Address.”

3) They spend 90 percent of their time directing students toward what is plainly obvious. They spend the other 10 percent igniting imagination as to what is possible.

 4) They walk a thin line between challenging and supporting. They destroy complacency without destroying confidence. This is tricky territory, and requires empathy and understanding on both sides — particularly when it comes to understanding the moment when it’s time to move on.

5) They do not teach lessons; they teach how to work. As Denk writes, they “ennoble the art of practice.”  (Isn’t that a fantastic phrase?)

I also like how Denk shows what the master teachers are not; namely infallible superheroes. Master teachers are master teachers because they’re good learners, constantly reaching to build the ultimate skill: constructing the talents of others.

'via Blog this'

===

from soccernationnews.com
A Scientific Concept in Soccer Player Development

By: Wayne Harrison	Print
Posted: Tuesday, November 15, 2011 12:16 pm

A Scientific Concept in Soccer Player Development on SoccerNationNews Soccer News:

In my experience, there are three key ingredients for successful skill acquisition and development.

They are: 

1. Deep Practice
2. Ignition, and
3. Master Coaching

These three elements work together within your brain to create myelin. Myelin is the neural substance that adds vast amounts of speed and accuracy to your movement, thoughts and decisions.

---

What is Myelin and why is it important to skill development?

Inside the brain information is transmitted through neurons.  Human skill is created by chains of nerve fibers carrying a tiny electrical impulse from the brain to the body through these neurons. Myelin is the insulation that wraps around the nerve fibers in our brains and increases signal strength, speed and accuracy. Myelin is produced by a person thinking about and analyzing skill situations themselves.

All human skills are created by linking the nerve fibers in your brain that send signals to your muscles. Myelin plays an important role by serving as an insulator for these nerve fibers. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, “The purpose of the myelin sheath is to allow impulses to transmit quickly and efficiently along the nerve cells” (NLM/NIH: MedlinePlus).

It has been shown that the more insulation – or more myelin – wrapped around those fibers, the stronger and faster the signal becomes as fewer of these electrical impulses leak out. Therefore, skill can now be redefined as “myelin insulation that wraps neural circuits and grows according to certain signals.” The two – skill development and myelin – are married together.

Myelin acts like an elastic band around the nerve fibers squeezing them and forcing the signal through faster. In football (soccer), with each repetition, myelin responds by wrapping layers around the nerve fibers, speeding up and improving decision making and thought processes.  With each additional layer of myelin added, the player increases the ability to process the football specific skill required.

Everyone has myelin and everyone can improve themselves through its production. The more myelin produced; the thicker the sheath, the faster the message; the quicker thinking the player becomes.

How do the “three ingredients” work to help create myelin and improve performance?

---

Deep Practice

For his book Talent Code, Daniel Coyle searched out what he calls “hotbeds of talent” around the world, including a soccer field in São Paolo, Brazil. Through his research, he developed a theory of what he calls “Deep Practice” that helps produce amazing success. This means “training on the edge of your capabilities.” Training in this dynamic capacity leads to mistakes being made, which increases the speed of skill acquisition. Players learn through making errors/mistakes and then correcting them. This method produces results 10 times faster than regular practice.

As deep practice is occurring, the player is wrapping even more myelin around each circuit and increasing skill. Simply put: mistakes lead to better skill acquisition. Deep practice is most important for players 6 to 12 years old. Their spatial awareness and ability to understand tactical concepts is still developing and at its height, and they have an unlimited capacity to acquire and develop new motor skills.

Simply put: mistakes lead to better skill acquisition.

Repetition of themes in small sided games is crucial, and especially in the “sweet spot” on the edge of the comfort zonethat produces errors but also teaches skills. This is where futsal comes in to play.

As Coyle explains in Talent Code, “Most Brazilian players learn their skills through futsal, the ssg equivalent of soccer. Futsal uses a half size and much heavier ball that doesn’t bounce; that promotes touch, technical and skill development. Sharp passing is paramount to have success. Futsal compresses essential skills into a small box, puts players into the ‘deep practice zone,’ making and correcting errors, constantly generating solutions to vivid problems. Players touching the ball 600% more often learn far faster, without realizing it, than they would in the vast expanse of the outdoor game.”

Deep practice needs to be on the edge of the players comfort zones, and maintained in game-related skill-developing situations.

Building myelin takes time, and putting ourselves in a position to fail actually helps fix our mistakes. Failing “better” and continuing this process until we accomplish the task is one of the quickest and most efficient ways to build myelin. We talk about letting players make their own decisions, allowing them to think for themselves – to problem solve; to self correct.  Myelin production does just that.

This learning process can boost the brain's efficiency by increasing the speed with which a signal travels down the nerve fibers by up to 100 times. So think about it: if self-correcting could make signal transport over 100 times faster, why would you not want to help build this into a player’s mentality? By commanding the players, by telling them what to do, you are actually restricting this process from taking place.

Therefore, your players will actually think and react and make decisions more slowly and less efficientlybecause of this command style of coaching. Unfortunately, some coaches are still stuck in this old methodology of command coaching and it has to change. It doesn’t work.

---

Ignition

Deep practice is a cool conscious act; ignition is a hot, mysterious burst – an awakening.

Ignition is the motivational fuel that generates the energy, passion and commitment of a person from withinto perform deep practice. It is intrinsic motivation where the athlete has a self-willed drive to succeed. This is the catalyst, and it represents a huge level of commitment that can be borne out of a player’s deepest, often unconscious, desires to succeed.                                             

A person’s motivation is not just intrinsic; it can also be ignited by an event in the outside world, such as being inspired to play for your country after watching the skills of the World Cup Champions. In a famous example, Roger Bannister broke the seemingly-impossible four-minute mile in 1954. This ignited everyone’s belief to go for it, and within three years, seventeen athletes had broken what was previously considered a physiologically impossible feat.

An athlete can also be ignited or inspired beyond the intrinsic by Master Coaches.

Master Coaches

Master Coaches are the final piece in the “jigsaw of success,” and can have an immense amount of positive influence on the player. These coaches create a learning environment where the players are actively engaged and are lead by guided discovery methods of coaching. Training should be player centered not coach centered, where coaches only need to step in at the appropriate moments to make corrections.

Real master coaches are like farmers; they are deliberate cultivators of myelin. They are talent whisperers, and can be the difference between success and failure for athletes.

---

In simple terms

1. The more Myelin the person produces the faster, stronger and more accurate the messages are from the brain.
2. Deep Practice ensures myelin is produced.
3. Ignition is the process that serves as the motivation for deep practice. Ignition supplies the energy, and deep practice translates that energy over time into forward progress (increasing the wraps of myelin). Ignition is caused by the inside energy of the person (desire, self belief) and the outside energy of the coach or outside events. Words are the signal most used to trigger ignition.
4. Master Coaches use the words that trigger ignition, which in turn motivates the deep practice that produces the myelin that speeds up and strengthens the decision making signals in the brain of the player. So, the types of words used can influence the player greatly.Negative words can have as much bad influence; as positive words have good influence. Coaches should take note of this important statement.
5. So, working backwards, the formula is: Master coaching creates Ignition, which encourages Deep Practice. Deep Practice – and especiallyspecific practice – enhances myelin production, which produces improvements in accuracy and speed of decision making.

In conclusion

My method of coaching is, as you see, all about inspiring the players to think and make decisions for themselves. We need to encourage them to self determine “where, when, how and why” they need to play a particular way or make a particular decision in a particular situation.

It is encouraging, to say the least, that I have discovered this wonderful work – Talent Code by Daniel Coyle – which supports my work. This book proves scientifically that the way to develop players is to empower them and to give them the reins of thought.

The key is becoming a Master Coach. The Master Coach guides players and steers their path towards greatness. He applies his knowledge and experience to use the “less is more” approach in the right contexts of development. In a way he, is showing them without showing them, guiding them to the light at the end of the tunnel – without showing it directly – until the players themselves find and see it and go through it.

So please, let the players learn for themselves. With guided deep practice and appropriate ignition by master coaches, over time players will develop far better than coaches commanding and demanding and not allowing players to think for themselves.

Related Article: Coach Wayne Harrison's Awareness Training

http://www.soccernation.com/soccer-coach-wayne-harrisons-awareness-training-player-development-cms-1848

Man U Soccer player calls for "peaceful revolution" against French banks

We will see where the power lies if they can pull this one off. If they succeed, I'll be the first one to say "Viva La France".

I agree with the basic premise he lays out. I think folks here across the pond ought to do something similar.

That is, squeeze the gonads of the large banks and move their money to the smaller, local community banks.

MOVE YOUR MONEY:
http://moveyourmoney.info/

I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking that a little "revolution" in the air is a good thing. Hopefully a peaceful one. But the knuckleheads that made the mistakes that led us here need to pay a price. Economically and in some ways criminally. Justice needs to be served here and apparently leaving it in the hands of the crop of leaders we have is not working.

Instead of "hope and change" we continue to get "more of the same" to re-visit some campaign slogans. In effect, they have made a running joke of our right to vote as a tool to effect change.

It would be nice if people woke up and showed these jackasses that the joke is on them.

It is time for "the people" to take the steering wheel. Since everybody seems to be so enamored with the car analogies lately.

The politicians (all of them) and the banksters can ride in the back seat if they like and STFU.

One more peep out of them and we pull the car over and throw their asses out and make them walk home.

How's that?


Hat tip to zerohedge.com

Man U Player Of The Century Eric Cantona Appeals For Peaceful Revolution Against Banks, Calls For Europeans To Pull Their Money

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/man-u-player-century-eric-cantona-appeals-peaceful-revolution-against-banks-calls-europeans-

"We don't pick up weapons to kill people, to start the revolution... the revolution is really easy to do nowadays. What is the system? The system revolves around the banks. It's based on the power of the banks... so it must be destroyed starting with the banks. This means that the 3 million people with their placards on the street... they go to the bank, withdraw their money from the banks and these ones collapse. 10 million people and the banks collapse and there is not real threat, a real revolution. We must go to the bank. In this case there would be a real revolution. It's not complicated. You simply go to the bank in your country and withdraw your money. If there are enough people withdrawing their money, the system collapses. No weapon, no blood, or anything like that."

THE PROBLEM:

How Did We Get in This Mess? "Reckless Departure"

http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-did-we-get-in-this-mess-reckless.html

From an editorial by Ed Pinto (now at AEI) in the WSJ on August 17, 2010:

"In 1995, HUD announced a National Homeownership Strategy built upon the liberalization of underwriting standards nationally. It entered into a partnership with most of the private mortgage industry, announcing that "Lending institutions, secondary market investors, mortgage insurers, and other members of the partnership [including Countrywide] should work collaboratively to reduce homebuyer downpayment requirements."

The upshot? In 1990, one in 200 home purchase loans (all government insured) had a down payment of less than or equal to 3%. By 2006 an estimated 30% of all home buyers put no money down.

"The financial crisis was triggered by a reckless departure from tried and true, common-sense loan underwriting practices," Sheila Bair, chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, noted this June. One needs to look no further than HUD's affordable housing policies for the source of this "reckless departure." If the mortgage finance industry hadn't been forced to abandon traditional underwriting standards on behalf of an affordable housing policy, the mortgage meltdown and taxpayer bailouts would not have occurred."

MP: A good summary of how the political obsession with affordable housing caused a lot of the problems in the real estate and mortgage industries, and led to the financial meltdown.

THE SOLUTION:

Foreclosuregate Could Force Bank Nationalization

http://www.blacklistednews.com/index.php?news_id=11471

For a model, Congress can look to the nation’s only state-owned bank, the Bank of North Dakota. The 91-year-old BND has served its community well. As of March 2010, North Dakota was the only state boasting a budget surplus; it had the lowest default rate in the country; it had the lowest unemployment rate in the country; and it had received a 2009 dividend from the BND of $58.1 million, quite a large sum for a sparsely populated state.

Don't leave it to Congress folks. They will never give power or influence from their control to your control. You're going to have to take it back.

BAN THE SOCCER FLOPPER and STEPHAN A. SMITH IS FOR THE BIRDS!!!

THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL - AND NO WHINING OR FAKING IN OUR OTHER SPORTS HERE!!!

Now that the USA has been eliminated, and my passion for the sport of soccer can go on another four year hiatus, I want to review some of my likes and dislikes of soccer.

DISLIKES: SOCCER FLOPPER

One of the enduring memories of the last match with Ghana was the sight of a Ghana defender writhing on the ground in agony after he fell unassisted to the ground late in the match. This was a blatant ploy to run out the clock as it took time for the referees to determine that he was in such agony that he required a makeshift stretcher to carry him off.

I maintain that here in the States, if that happened say in the NFL, it would be perfectly acceptable to me--and would actually written into the rules--that if ANY player were to perform that sort of planned fakery in order to win a game an opposing player would be allowed to come over and kick the player square in the nuts to give him something to actually be carried off the field for. NO HARM, NO FOUL = NO INJURY, NO STRETCHER.

If you delay the game like that and get carried off the field in a golf cart or a stretcher something better be wrong with your A$$. Sorry, but that's just how we roll here in the colonies.

I'm glad to see the USA coach agrees with me.




LIKES:

No commercial interruptions.

Enough said. A 90 minute game and at worst I only lose 90 minutes of my life that I'll never get back? How cool is that? I don't know how they'll market the game for US TV but that's not my problem. I mean, if NASCAR can cut away for commercials, so can soccer, right? It's not like the cars stop on the track when they cut away. I just worry that they'll cut away during the fake injury tom-foolery and I'll miss some real action.


Brazilian Soccer Fan

Enough said. Always a treat. Viva Brazil. Gratuitous perhaps, but true.

Brazilian Soccer Fan

See more funny pictures and videos at Fugly.

Brazilian Soccer Shirts

These are COOL!! I have one. I'm just glad my name doesn't translate into KAKA or something. Do you think he knows that, in English. his name sounds like what the l'il babies doo? I guess he does by now.

http://www.minimalsworld.net/BrazilName/brazilian.shtml


This article goes into how the Brazilian tradition may have started.

http://www.slate.com/id/2143404

Pele is easier on the tongue than Edison Arantes do Nascimento.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pel%C3%A9

PELE WAS TRULY A MAGICIAN WITH BALL - THE BABE RUTH OF SOCCER?

Maybe on the world stage, yes. While he gave soccer in the USA a real shot in the arm, he certainly didn't have the long-lasting effect on the sport in a foreign land that the Bambino had, let's say in Japan.




PELE DEBUTS WITH THE COSMOS.

Some of these highlights look cheesy by today's standards. Almost like watching Superstars or American Gladiators. God, do I feel old!!



MORE COSMOS HIGHLIGHTS



AND THE DRAMA OF PELE'S LAST GAME WITH THE COSMOS

Jim McKay closes with a near-weepy "Pele's number 10 will never be worn by another Cosmos player". True that, Jimbo. Unfortunately, not for the reasons envisioned. This was when soccer was going to be the sport of the 70's in America. He did do MUCH, MUCH more for the sport here in the States than David Beckham ever has.

Pele was THE MAN.

LOVE, LOVE LOVE, Indeed.

Classy man. This sport--really every sport--desperately needs more PELE's



----
STEPHAN A. SMITH IS FOR THE BIRDS!!!

From the guy who was once quoted thusly.....

...“And when you look at the internet business, what’s dangerous about it is that people who are clearly unqualified get to disseminate their piece to the masses. I respect the journalism industry, and the fact of the matter is ...someone with no training should not be allowed to have any kind of format whatsoever to disseminate to the masses to the level which they can. They are not trained. Not experts. More important are the level of ethics and integrity that comes along with the quote-unqoute profession hasn’t been firmly established and entrenched in the minds of those who’ve been given that license…”

....comes the following pearls of metaphorical buffoonery:


Stephan A., in defending his reporting of the LeBron-Bosh-Wade dream team development, told local Chi-town radio jocks that if his sources were in error that he would, and I quote,

"Have crow on my face"

Now Stephan......I am certainly no expert in the journalism industry....which requires apparently massive amounts of formal training....but not even I--a somewhat pathetic blogger-- would ever mix the metaphors "eat crow" or "have egg on my face" in such an unprofessionally comedic way. Maybe it's your formal training...or your expertise in linguistics......that allows you to pull it off and produce such profound, bastardized metaphors. Maybe it's the ethics.....or the integrity.......

OR MAYBE IT'S THE CHEEZE DOODLES....

Now that was an exciting 1-0 soccer game

GOOD FOR LANDON DONOVAN, GOOD FOR U.S.A. SOCCER, GOOD FOR U.S.A.

"This team embodies what the American spirit is about," Donovan said. "We had a goal disallowed the other night, We had another good goal disallowed tonight. But we just keep going. And I think that's what people admire so much about Americans. And I'm damn proud."

I'm glad that FIFA and their cabal of evil referees who seem to feel it is their job to keep the Yanks from advancing, did not get their wish.

The Revenge of the Vuvuzela!!!!

A South African fan, blows her vuvuzela as she watches the World Cup soccer game between South Africa and France on Group A, at a fan zone, in Durban, South Africa, on Tuesday June 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)


MON DIEU & SACREBLEU can it be true? The French are out?

FROM THE NEW YORK POST:

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/soccer/host_south_africa_beats_france_but_ruLH2wyU7homxO9WUclLLK

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa -- Bongani Khumalo and Katlego Mphela scored first-half goals to lead South Africa to a 2-1 win over a France team in turmoil at the World Cup on Tuesday. Despite the win, Bafana Bafana became the first host nation to be eliminated in the group stage.

I know this will get me in trouble with my editors but, this just proves that while the vuvuzela may blow, the French suck.

VIVA SOUTH AFRICA!!!

French Soccer in disarray...Vuvuzelas are officially exonerated

So now we know that there is more wrong with the French team than the distraction of the vuvuzelas.

They can still advance, but seem to want to play the role of the diva, the prima donna and the l'enfante terrible, all rolled up into one team personality. Rather than pull together as a team and win these guys would rather lose by wallowing in their own drama. Yeah, these guys are softer than the Maginot Line and they fold up faster than a cheap lawn chair.

HOPEFULLY, THE HOST SOUTH AFRICA TEAM PUNCHES THEIR TICKET OUT OF THE TOURNAMENT ON MONDAY WITH A WIN. NOW THAT WOULD BE POETIC JUSTICE.

FROM ESPN.COM

France director resigns amid disarray

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/5307299/ce/us/france-team-refuses-practice-nicolas-anelka-expulsion?cc=5901&ver=us

France's World Cup team refused to train Sunday in protest of striker Nicolas Anelka's expulsion from the squad, prompted by a profanity-laced tirade against coach Raymond Domenech the day before.

The latest round of turbulence also led to the resignation of France team director Jean-Louis Valentin, who said he was fed up with the team.

"It's a scandal for the French, for the young people here. It's a scandal for the federation and the French team," Valentin said. "They don't want to train. It's unacceptable."

France coach Raymond Domenech explained to the media why his team wasn't training on Sunday.
Before getting in a car and driving off, he added: "As for me, it's over. I'm leaving the federation. I'm sickened and disgusted."

Tensions boiled over after the team arrived at training and got off the bus to greet about 200 fans who had gathered there. Domenech, whose tactics and management skills have been questioned, stayed on the bus to talk to France captain Patrice Evra.

Meanwhile, fitness coach Robert Duverne was on the field putting down training cones. After Domenech and Evra got off the bus, Evra and Duverne started to argue. Domenech tried to intervene, but Duverne then stormed off, throwing his accreditation down the field.

Afterward, Domenech read a statement he said was written by the players to explain their protest:

"The French Football Federation did not at any time try to protect the group. They took a decision uniquely based on facts reported by the press. As a consequence and to show our opposition to the decision taken by officials of the federation, all the players decided not to take part in today's training session."

Evra and the players, en masse, boarded the team bus and drew the curtains.

Domenech said he gave Anelka the chance to apologize for his profanity-laced outburst, and that his refusal to do so justified his expulsion from the French World Cup team.

Anelka was sent home Saturday, hours after revelations of his angry tirade was revealed by sports daily L'Equipe.

Domenech said on the French television show Telefoot on Sunday that "I gave him the chance to come and talk and to say sorry" but that "he didn't want to and that's why I went along" with the French soccer federation's decision to throw Anelka out.

Domenech added it was not "a personal problem between the coach and the player," but "a problem concerning the federation and the image of the French team."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Blame it on the vuvuzela, or the goalie's HGF.....

OK, IT'S THE VUVZELA THAT'S THE PROBLEM HERE RIGHT?

Yankees ban vuvuzelas from stadium:

http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/06/17/vuvuzelas-banned-from-yankee-stadium/

Actually, a poll of virtually every other major league teams fans would reveal that most fans would prefer the "soothing" drone of the vuvuzela to the obnoxious emanations of the typical Yankee fan.

Scientists indicate that early research shows that the overwhelming majority of Bronx denizens are actually immunized from the harmful effects of mind-numbingly inane and obnoxious noise that would cripple the ears of those from other regions of the country due to the many years of having to listen to local bellowing of natives such as Mike Lupica, Howard Stern and Yankee broadcster John Sterling. To say nothing of the cacophony of civil sounds one hears on a leisurely jaunt down the streets of Manhattan most mornings.

EXHIBIT A:

JOHN STERLING YANKEES WIN CALL:



Sorry folks I still don't get it. We're going to ban vuvzelas from Yankee Stadium and that is going to lower the level of obnoxious behavior at Yankee Stadium? By Yankee fans? This where you choose to draw the line? Oh yeah, and iPad's.

OK, whatever. The vuvuzela or John Sterling? Which is more obnoxious? Seems like an easy call.

To me it sounds a bit like the French blaming their first loss on the vuvuzela. What, the French lost again to Mexico? They're 0-2 now? Well that goes to my theory that the French just suck. At more than just soccer, BTW.

At least go down like the Spaniards and the British, Pepe LePew. Blame the goalie's hot girlfriend. This girl is tailor made for TV. She asks her BF after the game, "How did you muck this up?". Well played, sister. Well played, indeed.

DISTRACTION?? OH, OUI, OUI MONSIEUR!!! VIVA LA DISTRACTION!!!



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/17/sara-carbonero-iker-casil_n_615832.html

Sara Carbonero, a beautiful sideline reporter and girlfriend of Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas, is being blamed by some fans for Spain's shocking World Cup loss to Switzerland on Wednesday.

The Guardian reports that the gorgeous sportscaster is accused of distracting her boyfriend by being so close to the field before and during the crucial match. Casillas allowed the game's only goal, and Spanish fans are worried that Carbonero could be to blame.

The Spanish beauty later shot back at critics, dismissing claims that she "destabilized the team" as "nonsense."

After the game, Carbonero interviewed her boyfriend and asked him about the team's unexpectedly lousy performance. On live TV, she asked her lover, "How did you muck this up?" (Video of the interview -- in Spanish -- is below.)

Spain's former coach also criticized the team after the surprising loss, telling reporters that the team didn't have "enough conviction" against the Swiss.

Casillas is not the only World Cup goalkeeper whose performance is said to have been affected by romantic complications. English goalie Robert Green may have been torn up by his split with a young lingerie model when he allowed an infamous goal to the United States.

So, English goalie Robert Green may have been torn up by his split with a young lingerie model when he allowed an infamous goal to the United States, you say? You think?

I guess I will never fully be able to understand the full range of factors that conspire to effect the performance of today's elite athlete.

Yes, I suppose a split with a young lingerie model could affect one's focus at just the most critical moment in a huge international match. Sort of makes the case for limiting oneself to dating the older, skankier lingerie models now doesn't it? At least until one's playing career is over. Note to self and play on, I guess. Right fellas?

In other sports news, the Lakers beat the Celtics to win the NBA championship. BFD. My apologies to Joe Biden.

Also, now that the Giants seem to have a semblance of an offense, they have crawled back into contention in the NL West.

The bad news is the Giants best player this side of Tim Lincecum, Pablo Sandoval, is now close to hitting his weight. The real problem with having said that is, Sandoval is currently hitting about .280 recently. Apparently, the Camp Panda effort at weight management is not working well for the Panda. The dilemma becomes, do Giants fans and management want to see Pablo return to his career average of .300 plus or lose weight and get in better shape? Stay tuned.

I'll bet this World Cup will have higher ratings......and why I hate soccer

A minute and a half and you get to see all the scoring.



Final score: U.S.A. Nil + 1, England Nil + 1.

And they left in the VUVUZELAS, which I love!!!!

SERIOUSLY, WHO DOESN'T LOVE THIS???

Oh, like we're any better over here in the States with our goofy thundersticks?

Or our annoying Cowbells? Right St Pete.?

Or how about those idiots that go to Little League games with jugs filled with coins and shake them all game long? If ever there is a case for justifiable homicide at a LL game, this is it. There's actually a site that shows you how to make these and other noisemakers.

I mean, how much of a retard do you have to be to need instructions to fill a 2-liter jug with coins and shake repeatedly?

THE HARD PART FOR MOST OF THE ROCKET SCIENTISTS MUST BE SQUEEZING ENOUGH COIN OUT OF THEIR PAYCHECKS TO FILL THE JUGS ENOUGH TO BUG THE CRAP OUT OF DECENT FOLKS WHO JUST WANT TO WATCH THEIR KIDS PLAY BASEBALL (OR SOFTBALL FOR THE YOUNG LADIES) IN PEACE!!!

Oh, you gotta love them.

So let's leave South Africa alone and let them enjoy their moment in the international spotlight for just a few minutes, PLEASE!!

Anyway, getting back to why I hate soccer.

I just can't get over the memory of the Monty Python skit where the sportscaster is reading the evening's soccer...er, football scores.

Yorskhire Nil, Worchtershire Nil.

Blackpool Nil, Liverpool Nil.

Man City Nil, Man United Nil.

Arsenal Nil, Chelsea Nil.

Sorry, but here across the pond, we play on to victory. To Sudden Death if necessary. We like our opponents beaten, not tied. And we like scoring, we like it a lot actually.

Pity, I couldn't find that skit. IT WAS A CLASSIC.

Speaking of which, without a doubt the most exciting football match (soccer, really) ever witnessed. Also courtesy of the Monty Python crew. Funny chaps.

It's only 3 1/2 minutes long, what have you got to lose, really? And don't act like you were sitting there splitting atoms, or researching a cure for cancer. You're on my blog.

GERMANY VS. GREECE - PHILOSOPHY FOOTBALL ( SOCCER, REALLY ) FROM MONTY PYTHON



CLASSIC!!!!

I TELL YA' I HATE SOCCER, EXCEPT FOR THESE TWO EXAMPLES

'It's just missing teeth' or Why soccer will never be popular in America...

The Blackhawks' Duncan Keith slumps in pain after getting hit in the face with a puck Sunday during the second period. Keith lost seven teeth.

Photo and story from the Daily Herald:

You have to read this story from the Blackhawks finale versus the San Jose Sharks and maybe you will understand on a visceral level why soccer will never rise in popularity in this country above hockey, much less basketball, baseball, football or even auto racing.

Soccer star gets kicked in the shins, WHILE WEARING SHIN GUARDS, and writhes around on the ground in pain as if he was shot from the cheap seats, until the referee pulls out his red card, or green card or American Express card, or whatever, and then bounces up and continues play.

Well, here's my message to all the soccer-nazis who will no doubt begin their every fourth year assault on Americans who "just don't get soccer" like the rest of the more intelligent communistas in the world:

Americans appreciate toughness. We appreciate those who get up and go to work every day (like Cal Ripken) and play hurt and don't make excuses and fulfill their obligations to others (teammates).

We are not now, and will never be like Greece, so help me God!!

In no other sport in this country is faking injuries like a pansy rewarded or appreciated as part of the culture. Here we walk it off, we don't rub the spot when the pitcher drills us with a fastball. WE GOT ICE, BABY!!!! We applaud taking one for the team.

We don't even demonstrate such behavior in women's sports in this country, including your beloved soccer.

So you can keep your undying soccer love and your World Cup. We'll keep guys like Duncan Keith.

Photo and story from the Daily Herald:

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=382957&src=149

John Madden estimated Duncan Keith's mouthguard flew 22 feet.

Taking a puck to the kisser from close range will do that to a guy.

"I knew right away. I took one breath and I felt like my whole mouth was missing," he said. "I saw a couple of them fall out and I had one I could feel in the back of my throat and I just coughed it out. A bunch of them disintegrated."

After missing about six minutes of play in the period, Keith was back on the ice to finish off the frame and the rest of the game.

He wouldn't have had it any other way, regardless of what the doctors had warned.

"No, I was (ticked) off," Keith said. "It's just missing teeth. It's a long way from the heart."

BTW, how tough must hockey dads be to produce kids like this? We make fun of Little League dad over here in the lower 50 sometimes for pushing kids too hard, but can you imagine what goes on at the local rinks across Canada?

"What are you crying for you big pansy? It's only a busted nose. The blood dries up. Get the heck out there and finish your shift. It's not like your missing a hand or anything.

Oh, you are? Son, you've got to stop making excuses for yourself. Get out there and shoot the puck left-handed or you are walking home."

What was that line about hockey-mom, a pit-bull with lipstick? Hockey dad must be a like pit-bull on meth. Gotta love 'em.

GO HAWKS!!!

The Idiot-Zidane?

I wrote this after reading an article by an author I enjoy very much and whose work I admire, Dave Zirin of the Edge of Sports. The Article is titled "Why I Wear My Zidane Jersey".

http://www.edgeofsports.com/2006-07-11-193/index.html

As you know, I normally enjoy your articles very much,
but this one I felt you were so far of base I had to
attempt to pick you off.

Why on earth would you express admiration for Zidane
or even come close to giving him defense for his
actions?

You bring up Jordan and Jeter as what-if examples, but
think about where the sports world would be if say
Jackie Robinson would have acted as Zidane did.

Think about how where this country might be if
Reverend Martin Luther King had acted as Zidane did.

Surely Zidane has been in similar positions before.
Your sister is a whore? What happened to your momma?
It seems as if the Italian defender was bringing his
B-trash talk game.

And you know Zidane had priors for blowing his cork
before which surely chums the waters for any future
trash talker trying to get his goat. You must know
this type of activity goes on at your favorite NBA
game and NFL game on any given Sunday. Heck, Rodman's
career was aided by getting under opponents skin in
this fashion.

And yet on the biggest stage, knowing this would be
coming, the idiot-Zidane reacted in the worst way he
possibly could. No, he doesn't get a mulligan on this
one, I'm sorry.

I'll choose to wear the uniforms of the two
goaltenders who, before the biggest moment of their
careers, where they would be competing head to head
against each other for their team and their country,
chose to exhibit the ultimate act of sportsmanship by
embracing and wishing each other luck.

Highlight them and wear thier jerseys instead. They
were the heroes of this match in my opinion and they
committed what should have been the most memorable act
of this match.

Instead we'll remember idiot-Zidane. You'll feel
better and anyone who asks you why you're wearing the
jerseys of these stars, whose acts and accomplishments
seemingly went unnoticed because of idiot-Zidane, will
feel better because of it.

It was still a great article. And if the Italian
defender is this way he should be rebuked and exposed
personally. But to expect the team to turn over the
Cup to the French, who may not have won even with
Idiot-Zidane on the pitch the whole match is also a
bit of a stretch.

Maybe FIFA can institute a politcally-correct litmus
test, similar to a drug test, that all athletes must
pass before competing. That would be hilarious.

Exposing this type of person and their activiites to
the light of day should be enough to kill them off.
Slowly and maybe not entirely but it will happen.
That kind doesn't seem to live well when exposed to
light, what with living under rocks as they must.

Keep up the good work in that regard.