Monday, June 28, 2010

A man of many talents

Ghana won their game against the United States on Saturday, assuring their place in the final 8. They are the only African nation remaining in the World Cup, and have the support of the continent behind them.

I thought I'd throw my support behind Ghana as well the best way I know how - by granting one of their players the coveted title of this week's Monday Man.

And who better to choose than their captain, Stephen Appiah. This 29 year old currently plays professional soccer in Italy, and has represented his country at the 2004 Olympics and in the 2006 World Cup.


This guy has it all: he cooks, he irons, and he runs his own foundation (called "StepApp," it promotes healthy living and health care for underprivileged Ghanaians). Also, he looks pretty nice with his shirt off.



I hope you'll join me in cheering on Stephen "Tornado" Appiah and the Black Stars (as Ghana's team is known) this Friday when they take on Uruguay.

What a cute baby!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Your World Cup update

We are out of the group phase and into the knockout stage of the World Cup. Going into the knockout phase there were 16 teams left (which is why this stage of the tournament is known as the "Round of 16").

There have already been some games played: yesterday Uruguay knocked out South Korea, and Ghana took down the United States. And this morning Germany beat England, but the game was not without controversy. England was down 2-1 when one of their shots hit the crossbar and fell down in the net before bouncing back out. In replays and pictures you can clearly see that the ball is in, but the ref didn't see it and the goal didn't count.



Germany went on to win the game 4-1.

An interesting historical note: in 1966 England was playing Germany in the World Cup final and scored a goal on a similar play (the ball hit the crossbar, dropped and bounced out). That goal, however, didn't actually go in and should not have counted. England fans have felt that their international efforts in soccer have been cursed ever since, so maybe the silver lining here for them is that the debt has been repaid and the soccer gods appeased.

The other game going on today is between Mexico and Argentina. The game is almost over and Argentina leads 3-1. Controversy here as well: the first Argentinian goal should not have counted because their player was clearly offside.


Argentina celebrates a goal.

These 2 major blunders today (along with some other fairly atrocious calls in this tournament) have a lot of people screaming out for video replay to be used to judge the games. Now you're prepped for the water cooler discussion tomorrow morning!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

A "bold and important" step

I haven't posted since Monday, but my excuse is that I've been BUYING A HOUSE! Well, a condo-townhouse, but still. Things are still very busy, but a story caught my eye this morning that I had to share.
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Brian Burke is a big name in hockey. He is the General Manager for arguably the most popular team in the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he's been around for a long time. When he talks, people listen.
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His son, Brendan, loved hockey all his life. He played a lot when he was young, and in college he worked for the school's team as the video coordinator. Brendan was also gay.
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He was terrified to come out to his father, a big, tough, kind of scary Irishman, but he did at Christmas in 2007. His father was accepting. Then, in November of last year, with the full support of his university team, Brendan took the bold step of coming out publicly. His story was front page news in Toronto and made headlines across the continent.

Now we all know that professional sports culture is pretty homophobic. Hockey may be the worst. There are no openly gay players in the NHL, and to the best of my knowledge, no ex-players have ever come out. So to have as high profile and respected a name in hockey as Brian Burke stand by his son and encourage a dialogue about homophobia and machismo in hockey was huge.

The story took a tragic turn a few short months later when Brendan was killed in a car accident. He was just 21 years old.

Brian Burke has since been advocating on his son's behalf, keeping his memory and his voice alive. In May he partnered with Egale Canada to promote their new website, MyGSA.ca, which provides support and resources to young people and teachers in an effort to make schools safer for gay youth. Burke said at the time "I hate bullies. We have to get to the point where everyone can go to school free of fear."

Now this morning I read that Brent Sopel, a player who just won the Stanley Cup with Chicago, is going to take the iconic trophy to Chicago's Gay Pride Parade tomorrow as a tribute to Brendan (as you may remember from this post, each player gets to spend a day with the Cup the summer after it is won). Sopel started his career with the Vancouver Canucks when Brian Burke was the General Manager there, and the two became close.

Burke has stated in an email "This is not a small step - it is a bold and important one." I couldn't agree more.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Age ain't nothing but a number

Yesterday defending World Cup champions Italy were held to a 1-1 draw by scrappy underdogs New Zealand. Italy has yet to win a game this World Cup; instead, they've tied both of their matches so far.

Italy's team has been said to have a "geriatric feel." In fact, captain Fabio Cannavaro is 37, a ripe old age in soccer. But I say Fabio is one case of timeless allure (at least off the field)!







Italy plays its last game in this phase Thursday against Slovakia.

HAPPY MONDAY!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

How do you say "drama" in French?


Major crisis for the French at the World Cup.

Background:
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Last Thursday France suffered a 2-0 loss to Mexico. One of the French players, Nicolas Anelka, allegedly lost it on his coach, telling him to "go screw yourself, dirty son of a whore." After refusing to apologize, Anelka was kicked off the team.

The latest:

Today, the rest of the players refused to practice to show their support of the banished Anelka. Patrice Evra, France's captain, got in a heated argument with one of the coaches, and led the team off the field and onto their bus.

The fallout:

The French Football Federation (FFF), the organization that is in charge of the team and who made the decision to send Anelka home, has called this "unacceptable behaviour" and said that "French football is in a catastrophic situation." French President Nicolas Sarkozy has apparently been appraised of the situation, and there will surely be some consequences for the players.

Meanwhile, they have a game to play Tuesday against South Africa. They have to win (and the other remaining game in their group - Mexico vs. Uruguay - cannot end in a draw), or the French will not advance to the next round. Don't forget that in the last World Cup France came in second overall, so this early of an exit would be devastating.



Nicolas Anelka: the French player who was sent home for insulting his coach




Raymond Domenech: France's coach




Patrice Evra: French player (and the team's captain)


Irish fans are probably seeing some justice in this, as their team narrowly missed qualifying for the World Cup after a controversial game with France. In that game, a French player hit the ball with his hand twice (which, just in case you weren't sure, is a big no-no) right before his teammate scored a goal. The ref didn't see it, and the goal stood. Irish fans thus feel that France cheated their way into the tournament.

Things will probably get worse for the French before they get better, so stay tuned for more name-calling, shoving, and sulking! Allons-y!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Two Princes

For any monarchy followers out there, the princes are at the England - Algeria game that's currently underway and are getting some screen time (you can watch the game live here). The score is 0-0 with about half the game left to play.
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England's Gareth Barry goes flying.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Red cards and WAGs



The party in South Africa came to a halt yesterday, as the South African team lost 3-0 to Uruguay.

It was a tough loss: with Uruguay leading by only 1 goal, South African goalie Itumeleng Khune got a red card. If you get a red card, you not only get kicked out of the game, but you have to sit out the next game as well.



South Africa argues the red card.


To make matters worse, Uruguay was given a penalty kick on the play. So South Africa's back up goalie had to come off the bench into the game and face a penalty kick right of the bat. The goal went in, and the vuvuzelas fell silent (sort of).



Diego Forlan scored for Uruguay.


South Africa is now in real danger of becoming the first ever host country not to advance to the second round. They have to beat France, who came in second in the last World Cup, in their game on Monday to move on.

Another big story: Switzerland, ranked 24th, defeated Spain, ranked 2nd, in their game yesterday by a score of 1-0. Some people in Spain are blaming their goalie's girlfriend, who was filming him while he was warming up before the game and is accused of being a distraction.
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This may sound a bit crazy, but WAGs (wives and girlfriends) are often blamed when their men don't perform on the pitch. In the last World Cup in 2006, England's early exit from the tournament was pinned on the hard partying ways and general debauchery of their ladies.

WAGs are a big deal in England, and are constant fodder for the tabloid press. And there's lots to talk about. These women know drama (think Mean Girls with millions of dollars). Check out this story on MSN today, aptly titled "A field guide to WAGs," for a brief WAG education.

WAGs on the prowl.


That's Posh on the left.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Vuvuzelas blow

Has the biggest controversy so far at the World Cup been about a goal? A red card? A blown call? No, the question people are debating has nothing to do with the play on the field. Instead, everyone is talking about whether vuvuzelas should be banned.

In case you have yet to hear about these, vuvuzelas are plastic horns that fans are blowing basically without pause during the games in South Africa. They're incredibly loud and sound kind of like angry bees.
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There are some who argue that these horns are part of South African culture (quite a stretch). They say that this is how the fans are choosing to express their enthusiasm for the game.

There are others (myself included) who can't stand these things. I've even taken to watching some of the games with the sound muted. The BBC is trying to find a way to turn down the vuvuzelas without affecting the commentary and other crowd noise, but no luck so far.

Some players are complaining as well, saying they can't hear their teammates or the referees blowing the whistle. France's captain Patrice Evra even blamed them for his team's poor showing in it's first game against Uruguay (they tied 0-0).

The saddest thing about them in my opinion is that we're missing out on hearing the chants, songs and drumbeats that usually emanate from the crowd during the World Cup. Soccer fans are usually very creative and add a lot of atmosphere to the games. Unfortunately, the toneless, deafening buzz of these horns may end up being the most memorable contribution from the fans of this World Cup.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Aussie rules? Aussies rule!

Today I would like to introduce you to Lucas Neill, captain of Australia's soccer team (also known as the Socceroos).



Mr. Neill, 32, currently plays for a professional team in Turkey. He has 2 year old twins, a boy and a girl.



I thought you should meet this cutie sooner rather than later, because it's looking like Australia won't make it into the next phase of the World Cup.

The Socceroos lost badly to Germany yesterday (4-0). They also lost one of their best players, Tim Cahill, who got sent off by the referee and will miss the next game or two. So enjoy this Aussie while you can!



Lucas is on the right.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

What's up in the World Cup?

The big story from South Africa right now is the horrendous goal that England keeper Robert Green let in during his team's game with the U.S.A.

England was leading 1-0 when American Tim Howard took a weak shot that somehow slipped through Green's fingers. You can watch the goal here (it happens around 45 seconds in).


Robert Green fumbles the ball.


Green realizes his gaffe.


Green is being savaged by the press in England right now, and it's unclear whether or not he'll play in the next match. He's vowing to recover and not let this affect him mentally, but in his own words "there are 50-odd million people disappointed with me," so that's got to be tough. I feel badly enough when my cat gives me the cold shoulder, so I can't imagine what he's going through.

The game ended in a 1-1 draw. England plays Algeria next on Friday.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Jager-bombs in the Windy City

Last night the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime to win the Stanley Cup.



The Hawks pose for a team picture after their win.


The winning goal was scored by none other than our mulleted friend, Patrick Kane.
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Captain Serious (aka Jonathan Toews) won the Conn Smythe trophy as the most valuable player, despite not having scored all series. I'm sure he scored last night (ahem) as the boys were out bar hopping in Chicago 'til the sun came up. Apparently jager-bombs were the drink of choice, but Toews still managed to look remarkably fresh over breakfast. Must be the Red Bull.


Toews with the Conn Smythe trophy and the Stanley Cup.
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Toews at breakfast, still in his suit.
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So another season of hockey is over. Enjoy it while you can Chicago fans. Pre-season hockey starts in just a few short months.


Celebration dance?

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Just how does the World Cup work anyway?

Since we'll be talking about the World Cup a lot in the weeks to come (and so will every sports fan you know), it makes sense to have a little tutorial on how the whole things work.

There are 2 phases in the World Cup:

The Group Phase:
  • All 32 teams in the World Cup are divided into 8 groups of 4 teams each.
  • Each group is given a letter, A through H.
  • Teams play each other team in their group once, and get 3 points for a win and 1 for a tie.
  • At the end of this phase, the top 2 teams in each group move on.
The Knockout Phase:
  • The remaining 16 teams play are ranked or "seeded" according to how well they did in the Group Phase.
  • The best team plays the worst team and so on, just like in the hockey playoffs.
  • There are no ties in this round. They play 2 overtime periods and then move on to penalty kicks (very exciting!).
  • The winner of each game lives to play another day, while the loser is knocked out of the tournament.
  • Eventually, the last 2 remaining teams play each other for the championship.
What they're all competing for.

I highly recommend you pick a team to cheer for, since that will make the World Cup much more exciting. This is truly a global event: the last championship game in 2006 was watched by over 715 million people worldwide, a ninth of our planet's entire population.



For a list of the nations participating and to see who's is each group, click here.

Monday, June 7, 2010

The beautiful game

The World Cup of soccer starts this weekend, and fans around the world are gearing up. I've noticed that the World Cup is something that even non-sports fans can get excited about. Maybe it's because it only comes around once every 4 years. Maybe it's because if you play your cards right you can get your boss to get a feed in the conference room and waste some solid work hours watching the games. Or maybe it's because of this:




So to get us ready for soccermania, today's Monday Man is Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal.

Ronaldo is not my favourite guy in the world (he does, after all, have the dubious double distinction of being named after Ronald Reagan AND of making out with Paris Hilton). However, this 25 year-old is the highest paid soccer player in the world and will be getting a lot of attention in the weeks to come, so you should probably know who he is if you don't already.

So I will simply let Ronaldo's photos speak for themselves...enjoy!






And for anyone who still cares, the Chicago Blackhawks spanked the Philadelphia Flyers last night 7-4. If Chicago wins on Friday, they win the Stanley Cup and this season of hockey will mercifully come to an close.