OmarVizquel

Mourinho squeezed some Barca assistant coach's ear (?!) and then got a slap in the back of his head.

Yeah, just unreal.....that stuff just boggles my mind. But don't expect any sanctimonious Barca fan to ever admit their club has shitty supporters (like any club does). Yeah right. Stuff like that infuriates me.

Ireland supporters: do you think this move will affect his relationship with Trapattoni or his minutes with the Ireland squad at all?

They beat all the weak teams either 3-0 or with a jammy goal near the end, they (often) lose to the tough teams, and then they win the league. Is everyone going to hand it to them again this season? Infuriating.

Yeah, that was a great great goal for us...wish there'd been more. Wish him the best....can't be so bad, playing in LA for a good team in a rising league.

Loved the picture of Pepe licking/fondling Raul's bald head.

Yeah, I absolutely loved this video and it still gives me goosebumps after I first saw it last year. There was a great doc on the space shuttle program on BBC the other day. It's just incredible what NASA has accomplished....I really fear for its future, but hopefully this "Tea Party" right-wing wack-job business will eat itself within a year or so. It boggles my mind that some people don't realize that tax dollars actually pay for things that a nation (and a planet) find mutually useful.

'94 was great. Alexi Lalas was my guy.

And......zero investigation into the Qatar bid win? I know that Bin Hamman wasn't on the Qatar bid committee, but surely the stink of his being the head of the Qatar FA, coupled with the wacky vote patterns for the WC, would make an inquiry at least reasonable?

Yeah, crazy game. Brazil made for cringe-worthy watching. Justice served....happy that play-acting didn't pay off for Brazil, for once. Another plus: we get to see more of Hope Solo.

Amazed that my Indians are still in this race. Asdrubal Cabrera has been dynamite at short....if I could figure out how to embed videos I'd post a few plays....

Hubba hubba. I've been enjoying this tournament so far -- some nice play in there. Every World Cup should be played in Germany. Think the US will squeak by Brazil today.

Hmm. Michael Jordan was on public view probably more than any athlete since Ali, but -- you're right -- it was mostly in the guise of reverential Nike and Gatorade commercials, kids cartoons/movies, etc. LeBron has been given the Nike treatment but in a much more annoying way, especially considering he still hasn't won a title. (I will say, however, that LeBron is the most gifted basketball player since Jordan or Magic Johnson...it's just that he hasn't won shit -- I still think the Heat will win it though.) The problem with LeBron is that he has such an inflated view of himself....he's bought into his own hype 200% and thinks his shit smells like roses, which is why he basically held Cleveland captive during his whole free agency charade and TV "special," even though he knew he was going to Miami at least a year earlier. (We all dislike Torres for leaving, but imagine him going on Sky and holding an hour-long TV show at the end of which he announced he was going to Chelsea, grinning from ear to ear like an idiot, like he just won the Nobel or Oscar. This is the type of guy LeBron is, and unapologetically so. Jordan was much, much more shrewd with his public image.) I don't doubt LeBron will win at least 1 NBA title and thus bring some publicity to LFC in a transitive way. But I can't help but wonder if it's a great thing for a company to attach itself to such a self-serving egomaniac.

Sepp Blatter has suggested 3 names for his proposed Fifa solutions committee: Henry Kissinger, Johan Cruyff and Plácido Domingo. I know what you're thinking....Johan Cruyff??? What's he got to do with football?

An update: Lisle Austin of that mighty footballing nation Barbados is the acting head of CONCACAF now that "Slappy" Jack Warner is suspended. So far he has declared that the American attorney who helped Chuck Blazer prepare affidavits alleging bribery claims can have no more dealings with CONCACAF, and apparently Austin has now claimed that he has "fired" Blazer for alleging bribery. What a joke.

I think Bin Hamman withdrawing from the presidential race was part of a deal from Blatter -- withdraw from the race (meaning Blatter runs unopposed again) and FIFA won't investigate the Qatar bid. Everyone gets what they want or gets to keep what they already have.

It's like being the tallest guy at a midget convention, but fair enough. I watched the first half -- that was horrible goalkeeping for Keane's goal. I do like the ROI's shirts though. Umbro has some of the best kits going these days.

Let's be honest: there is far too much politics involved and far too many disparate countries for FIFA to ever make everyone happy. It was painfully obvious that the 2022 vote for Qatar was based 0% on the actual bids or the technical reports, and 100% on political vote currying (because Asia is emerging -- at least in everyone's panicky minds -- as the future power in the world and in FIFA). Europe's on the way out, and Asia is on the way in, which is why you saw that snake Platini vote for Qatar -- thus aligning himself with the votes that he thinks he needs from the Asian confederations in order to become president when Blatter leaves/croaks. So you have the location of the biggest sporting spectacle in the world decided because Michel f-ing Platini wants to have more power -- not because it was a logical, realistic, or prudent decision. The point is that FIFA will never make sense to the fans who fund it, because the voting structures are inherently political, and political in highly undemocratic ways. Would countries be able to split off and form their own organization? I dunno. England, the USA, Mexico, Australia probably would -- but when it comes down to it a vote from the US counts as much as a vote from Trinidad and Tobago. There are far too many countries that would cling to FIFA, and it would crush any attempt to split off.

Blazer already has a place on the Executive Committee. He's been in a difficult position for years with Warner...coming out and publicly accusing the person who effectively has a grip on your nuts is a fool's move. Everyone knows Warner is a snake, but when there is little you can do without concrete evidence, you can't really criticize the guy willy nilly. I'm of the opinion Blazer would have come out against Warner years ago if he had had the evidence that he came forward with now (ie, sworn affidavits and emails). CONCACAF is a strange entity. Outside of the US, Canada, and Mexico, the confederation is made up of what are effectively banana republics that tend to vote as a bloc, and thus hold all the power. For some reason it seems that Blazer saw an opening to bring forward hard evidence against Warner and come out smelling like roses (which, if you've ever seen Blazer, would be quite a feat). For me, the ludicrous Qatar 2022 vote might have been the final straw for Blazer. Perhaps he thinks that by bringing evidence against Warner he can (1) come out looking like the innocent one in CONCACAF and thus somehow gain enough votes to head the confederation for once, and (2) shine a spotlight on corruption in FIFA that forces the organization to re-think the Asian confederation, Bin Hamman, and perhaps even force a re-vote to give the US another shot at the WC (and let's be honest, the US and Australia were the only viable options for 2022). Number 2 is highly unlikely, but I could see this as being the thinking involved in Blazer coming forward against Warner and Bin Hamman.

Looks like LeBron has been watching a little too much football lately: YouTube - ‪LeBron James Flop. Miami heat Vs Chicago Bulls Game 5‬‏

The crowds there in Portland have been amazing. The guy cutting the log with a chainsaw is one of the best/oddest official goal celebrations I've ever seen. The only way to watch MLS in the UK is on ESPN, and they only show the rare NYRB or LA game. Hopefully they show some more during the playoffs.

Eurosport will show the CONCACAF Gold Cup, starting in June in the US, for what it's worth. The winner -- as does every regional champion plus Spain as WC winner -- will go to the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil. (If Spain defends their Euro title I assume the 2012 Euro runner-up will go.) The 2009 Confederations Cup was a wacky/exciting little tournament (and the coming-out party of everyone's favorite noisemaker, the vuvuzela), so it'll be interesting to see who'll advance.

We had joy, we had fun, we had seaso in the sun.

The poor man's Kelsey Grammer.

12 vs. 11. Chelsea will have their hands full here. Webb even tosses the coin like an attention-seeking knobhead.