Embrace the chaos

There are times in my recent refereeing past, and times in my current assessing present, and instructional future where I sought (or seek) to understand the style of play the teams are going to employ for the day to calculate possible problem areas.

For example, and please note I am overgeneralizing here, if I had a South American styled team, I would expect more individual ball possession than a Western European team which would likely provide long ball from the back 1/3 to the front 1/3. This combination at times could be problematic at these competing styles clashed.

More homogeneous styled teams would lead to a more balanced approach in play style and consequently, refereeing style.

So what style do US players have, and how does a referee react to them when faced with a more classic style as that listed above?

This article is intended to comment on the first part of the question only as the second part will take up volumes of a book I am currently contemplating and would certainly leak parts here from.

For those who did not know Claudio Reyna has been named the Youth Technical Director for U.S. Soccer recently and has been charged with figuring out this very question. What style does the US play?

In this article from ESPN, Reyna is suggesting to publish a curriculum to begin to standardize some common elements that the US Youth can work on. On the surface this may make some sense, but it certainly has its flaws ... and critics. From the article (sic):

"A curriculum's not going to make us any better," Arena said. "If that was the case, we'd all publish curriculums. This country, I've always said, is too large, too different to have one style of play. If he [Reyna] can get that accomplished, more credit to him."

 And from Steve Nicol who is never at a loss for words ...

"It depends on what you mean by 'try to establish a style of play,'" said New England coach Steve Nicol, the Liverpool legend who has mastered the art of scouting and developing players from college campuses. "We all want to pass the ball, and we all want to play good, open attacking football. If we can develop players to have that ability, the style will evolve on its own. What we'll have is players who can play the game properly."

So it would seem that Claudio has his work cut out for him.

On the other side of the flipping coin there are (2) issues.

First, what does a US referee do in such a case where players do not have a defined style?

My brief answer is study the individual team, and coach, and frankly be ready for anything. At the end of the day all the preparation in the world can be destroyed by a random event or player that is having a real terrible day. After all, all of us are not only involved in THE game, but also in the greater game of life and stuff happens in life that can disrupt those "expected" patters of how a match should play out on paper.

Second is in the form of a question. As the citizens of the US are culturally diverse, and among them are not only players but referees, how does US Soccer remedy this issue among its referees, who like its players, may be seeing THE game through their cultural identity, in a search for consistency among its referees?

Players have Claudio fighting the fight ...

Already one foot out the door ... and being pushed?

The other day we posted about the (re)birth of the NASL.As was clear from those stories, they have only a one year lease on life to be sanctioned by US Soccer. At the end of 2011 they would, it would appear, need to re-apply and have the "provisional" removed if the league were to survive.

Interestingly enough, there was another signifigant rub as reported here by MLS Talk. From the article:

Earning their provisional sanctioning back, the NASL lost the right to participate in the 2011 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

 ... and the reason why you may ask, and I quote Sunil Gulati:

... it’s simply too late to include them. The timing doesn’t work. There is no place in the structure; they’re not going to be included.

Really?

For me that one borders on even passing the "sniff test". I understand the provisional status as there has to be concern over the business viability of such a league. Take for example the WUSA. Great league, and had all the hallmarks about staying around for the long haul. End result ... no fiscal discipline and wound up folding after just a few years. That was a fairly dramatic blow to US Soccer and promotion of the womens game here in the US. Further, while I am glad the WPS is now playing, I am equally fearful of the same result and would be concerned that to have that phoenix rise from the ashes a 3rd time in such a short span, would be too much to ask.

For my money including teams from the NASL in the Open Cup is a spectacular opportunity this year for US Soccer. It would allow US Soccer to "build some buzz" around its new 2nd division without "getting hurt" if the league does not make it. Also, the teams would benefit themselves from the same opportunity.

Imagine a final between a MLS and NASL team? What better advertisement for a viable 2nd division!

(Re) Birth of a new league ... for at least a year

San Jose Earthquakes of the original NASL

USSF Board of Directors Narrowly Approves 1-year Provisional Sanctioning of NASL

In a narrow 6-5 vote with both U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati and MLS Commissioner Don Garber abstaining, the USSF Board of Directors approved the North American Soccer League (NASL) to provisionally sanction Division 2 pro soccer in the U.S. for 2011. The approval came with a special 1-year provisional status and must be ratified in today’s Annual General Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. ...

See the full story here, from Inside MN Soccer, and the press release from NASL here.

Interesting timing indeed

Jeff Kassouf the other day penned U.S. Soccer focuses on player development in the women's game, a good quick read.

In it he describes how US Soccer has a renewed focus on the womens game likely caused from some of the recent stumbles from the U-17 and U-20 teams.

Best line in the article for me was:

When USSF president Sunil Gulati officially appointed the two women to the newly created positions on Jan. 6 he said that the appointments are not reactionary, but have been in the works for some time. If that is the case -- as overly coincidental as the timing may be -- the changes could not come at a more necessary time.

I don't know how these could not be anything but reactionary given the recent progress of the women's game. Yet I concede the possibility exists.

Flip to the comments from Neil Beuthe, communications director for US Soccer on women referees. Is this reactionary, due to some pressure being heaped on US Soccer for not having women referees in men's professional games, or a Title 9 issue rearing its head?

While it would not seem to be the case, my hope is this is a tandem effort from US Soccer and there is concert between the players side and the referee side. One can not exist without the other, despite what both may think.

In my experience this is rarely the case and the two are on separate tracks regarding development, and at times necessarily so. There are a few shining stars however as at the higher levels there is a clear recognition that it is more than a peaceful coexistence that the two need, it is shared cooperation and vision of how THE game is played and managed.

We are all one big, happy, and at times, dysfunctional family. The more we can learn from each other, the better off we are.

Neil Buethe Speaks on women referees at the professional level

For those who don't know, Neil Buthe is my opposite number for US Soccer. Where I serve as communications  director for the MSRC, Mr. Buther serves as communications coordinator for US Soccer.

From the other day, I opined and posted a link to the article written by L.E. Eisenmenger of my interview on the topic of women refereeing at the professional level.

Well, the other day LE caught up with Mr. Buthe, who shared the position of US Soccer on the topic.

As good communication officials do (unlike me in my personal capacity during my interview), he was very clear this was not a discrimination issue, but one of performance.

I agree with him 100% as I believe in a meritocracy, and I believe the Federation does too.

Part of his answer was interesting however as, and I'm paraphrasing, there is a path now for (women) officials.

This on its face is great as there is a way to get experience ... but ... and this is generic to all referees not just women ... how does a referee get experience to compete at this level? It would seem to be a chicken in the egg scenario. You need experience to get to that level, but to get that experience you need to work at that level.

I know the Federation is crafting answers to these issues, for example the new grades being created to create professional AR's. An issue remains however of how a referee can get to some higher levels, without being or having experience at those levels.

For me it was fairly easy ... there was no one else in some cases, and State Referees were used early on in MLS as 4th officials. Today it is a much harder problem to solve, and it is clear the folks at the Federation are working on it, as is clear from their actions, and the comments from Mr. Buthe.

Any bets on when a woman will be refereeing in MLS?

The US tends to break ground in many areas of THE game for the good (think diversity of players) and the bad (think "rampage" in MLS), why not make this an opportunity to show the world, we have the best women referees ... that can work in the top men's professional leagues?

I have some answers ... what are yours?

No news yet on who's managing US Referees, but ...

... the contact page at US Soccer has changed a bit.

Take a look here.

Any guesses anyone?

Brian Hall to Join CONCACAF

Hall Appointed CONCACAF Director Of Referee Administration

Former World Cup veteran Brian Hall has been appointed to the newly created position of CONCACAF director of referee administration, and will assume his new post at the confederation’s New York headquarters on Monday.

The 49-year-old Hall officiated matches at the amateur and professional level for more than 30 years and was a four-time recipient of U.S. Major League Soccer’s Referee of the Year award. He will work in conjunction with the CONCACAF Referee Committee and the FIFA Referee Assistance Program on the appointment, scheduling and assessment of referees.

See the fill story here, courtesy of PaddockTalk.

Kicking Back comments:

Well ... for those of us affected or who follow US Soccer there are (2) burning questions in my head now.

1. Who is going to lead the US Soccer referee program? As I have stated before there seems to be a real lack of administration at the US Soccer level for referees. I can think of one name (and will reserve it for now ... but he would be perfect) but short of that it would seem the USS US Soccer referee program is going adrift. I hope that come January 1, 2011 there are some announcements to shore up this lack of direction.

2. Can Brian make a dent in FIFA's thinking to get a referee to the World Cup? While there have been others from the US in positions at CONCACAF and FIFA, I would opine their efforts in the past have been marginal getting the exposure to only some of the referees who are able to compete on the world stage. Recently (as in WC 2010) these efforts have been poor and while I exclude performance of individual referees in this analysis (which is a factor) word on the street is while the US had some folks who were considered for the tournament, there was little or no backing from our countrymen in FIFA that killed any chance entirely.   

Overall this is a great appointment not only for Brian, but also for US Soccer referees. While the US has been a part of FIFA and CONCACAF for some time, it is my hope Brian's mesh of refereeing talent and empathy, as well as his management savvy and business acumen serve US referees well in the future.

By the way ... not a peep yet from the US Soccer web site. I would have thought something this good for US referees, they would want to get out straight away.

The morning after

Well folks here we are together again. Here are some thoughts about yesterdays World Cup voting.

Please note, these are personal opinions and should not reflect on any organization I represent in any way.

Just to recap here were my predictions:

2018:
1. Russia
2. England
3. Iberia (Spain/Portugal)
4. Belgium/Netherlands

2022:
1. USA
2. Australia
3. Qatar
4. Japan
5. Korea Republic

As we have learned here were the actual results from FIFA:

2018:
1. Russia
2. Iberia (Spain/Portugal)
3. Belgium/Netherlands
4. England

2022:
1. Qatar
2. USA
3. Korea Republic
4. Japan
5. Australia

Two things are clear from comparing the two to me, in hindsight.

First, I tremendously underestimated the vitriolic rubbish FIFA can spew and just how insular they all are. Let's think about it for just a second. England is the modern creator of football, and had one of, if not the, best bid for 2018, yet only garnered 2 votes and were knocked out after the first round of voting. The England bid committee is bent, and I don't blame them. Not because they lost, and not because of what the BBC press did in uncovering systemic corruption in FIFA (in fact I applaud it, and they too are holding their heads high), but rather in the bold face lies that the FIFA EXCOMM told them throughout the process. With this I agree with the England bid team, the FIFA EXCOMM needs to have the fortitude to tell the truth, but am not surprised some took the cowards way out.

Second, I underestimated the political component of the bidding. I can not explain the Qatar vote too many other ways. Yes there can be bold faced corruption. One article stated, tongue in cheek, that the reason the presentation started about 30 minutes late was the tire burst on the wheel barrel Mr. Blatter was using to transport cash to his bank account courtesy of Qatar. A softer view may be that as Mr. Blatter departs as president of FIFA he has brought football to places in the world that may have never dreamed of it in their lifetime. Japan, Korea, Africa, and now Russia and the first ever World Cup in the Middle East.

There is a less soft side to this as well and it is that the US may again be shunned by the world as we continue to lose stature on the world's stage, not just with FIFA. In particular is there a possibility for some of the US's current popular views on Islam to be a cause for this? I agree this may be a bridge too far, but I don't discount it. Is this "the world" telling the US "we accept Islam, you should too?" Maybe it is really just the money as Qatar may be a foothold into a very wealthy region of the world.

After all, some had said that the US had the best bid, and the least risky certainly as compared to Qatar who has the most risky bid. Or was it the fact that Qatar is said to be dedicating all the used stadias to poor countries? Did FIFA ignore that the US is one of the most generous countries is the world for giving to such organizations? We could go head to head all day and get more mystified by the choice.

Was it just time for something different?
Something creative from FIFA?

We may never know for sure, but as I sit here, it may just be a little of everything that did not go our way.

I will say there are some folks who have ideas about it though ... from Twitter:

... and yes, that one is the real LD. Ouch.

... and no, that is not the real Blatter ... but it is funny.

So what now? Should US Soccer take some action on the bid committee that spent millions on a landslide vote that did not go our way?

That one may just happen on its own.

Let's take the US Soccer referee program as an example (this result does not help us to get a referee to a future World Cup by the way ... never mind the screw-ups within US Soccer that may have caused that in 2010), here is a list of folks who are out or on their way out ... yes folks you heard some of it here first.

Esse Baharmast

Brian Hall

Julia ILaqua
Dave McKee

Paul Tamberino (and getting sued on the way too)
Dick Triche

If this is any indication, we may soon see an exodus from US Soccer corporate as well. This has to be a particular poor result for the US Soccer business in general, and a head or two may roll as a result.

For our part, we will continue to learn from THE game and grow from it, in our backyards, and yes, even in Russia and Qatar.

Integrity Strikes Again

Fabulous article on some history of the refereeing in the US and how FIFA may be finally coming around to suggestions made, a long time ago.

You heard it here first (from Ed)

For several years we have been stressing certain concepts and techniques relating to soccer referee officiating and its instruction, training and evaluation. Some of these have been reasonably well accepted within the refeeeing community, but others, such as our recommendations for movement and positioning, not so. Some others have met with outright rejection in certain quarters, notably in the refeeeing hierachy of the MLS. So it was satisfying to read an article written recently by Héctor Vergara. (The article can be seen here) ...

Full article continues here, courtesy of For the Integrity of Soccer.

US Soccer + Glenn Beck == ??

So as I have said before, I am a bit of a political junkie. To prove this I was cruising the information superhighway the other day and ran across this story about the Glenn Beck rally on Saturday the 28th.

I found the above picture from the article interesting. Look close at the logo on the T-Shirt.

Yep ... its the US Soccer logo.

Please note this is not an invitation for a political debate of any type and I'm not espousing some conspirator theory that US Soccer is funding Glenn Beck or anything of the sort.

I just saw the logo and took note. After all, sometimes a T-shirt, is just a T-shirt.

Four More Years For Bob??

Check out Grant Wahl's thoughts here on the topic, FIFA's here, and US Soccer's spin here.

Lets see what happens next ... I don't think we're quite done yet.

Funny what you find when you are not looking

For those faithful readers who want to know how the loop was closed on the Germany v. Serbia interview, here it is ...

As you can see from this AM post the article regarding the interview with Angelo Bratsis is up, and a link as well to examiner.com. In discussing the details of re-posting this article I got the opportunity to communicate with the author,  LE Eisenmenger, fairly extensively over the course of the day and learned a couple of things.

First, that the sites that LE writes for are excellent, as is the authored content by LE. I strongly encourage readers (if they are not aware of these sites) to go to both Soccerlens.com (specific articles by LE are here) and The Boston Pro Soccer Examiner.

Second, not all that long ago I was waxing about how media is part of the equation regarding popularity in the US, well the game clearly has a friend, as these posts range the spectrum from reporting on individual matches itself, to the more revealing look at the sport, and what goes into it.

Take a look, it is worth the time.

With any luck Kicking Back will find an excuse to collaborate with LE and we can really put our heads together on something.

Have a though about that? Please post it below!

Let the post World Cup analysis begin: But first ...

So as the World Cup comes to a close, there will be weeks and months of analysis ahead, and we here will partake in such. But to start us off, I wanted to share a somewhat humorous analysis of The Game from what would appear to be "an American perspective".

It would see clear, as ambassadors of the game here in the US, we have a lot of work ahead of us.

Day 2 of matches is down ... yet we are all still standing

I have to say that the area we are in for the Region I Championship is really beautiful. Above is a shot from both of the mornings here. Let me tell you that it gets *cold* here in the morning as the fog would indicate.

Despite this fact, by 11AM the heat is up ... and we are ALL baking.

Over the first two days it has been a stark reminder just how much fitness is required at a multi-day tournament like this. Each referee is generally asked to serve as a referee, and then generally as an AR for (2) more matches. These can include shorter halves for younger ages (e.g. U12) or "regular" halves for the older ages.

Now while refereeing multiple youth matches is nothing really new for a referee who has been through "the program" (a euphemism I sometimes employ to describe a referee who has transitioned from the youth to other levels of the game), to do so at this very high level of play can be daunting, and require amazing focus. It can be read in their faces and gait as they walk to a field.

That noted, the spirits are buoyed and it is so clear they love what they do.

Now sometimes silliness sets in as it did tonight at dinner and while we were waiting for the presentations to begin, some members of some delegations were counting how long it took for a plate from the buffet table to be picked up when it was done being eaten from.

No folks you just can't make this stuff up either.

It was timed to take from 8 seconds, to 22 minutes 36 seconds. We guessed an average was under 4 minutes though. It was pretty amazing, the staff at Marshall University is terrific. For the record too, we were not teasing these folks we were legitimately eating dinner and came up with  this silly game to pass the time. It worked, and was indeed very silly.

Something tells me as the week continues to wear on, we will get more tired and we will have more silly games to report on.

Stay tuned ... more to come as day 3 is on the horizon.

Feeling hot, Hot, HOT!!!

Things have definitely heated up from this morning!

For any following on Twitter, we were seriously socked in this morning. You could not see one SIDE of the field from the other. It was crazy. But, just as the first kick was getting underway, the heavens parted and the sun shined in. It was a glorious day ... for about 3 hours, then frankly it got pretty freaking hot.

Lots of sunscreen passed around. I actually drained a 3oz tube on myself, yet to no avail as I am lobster red. I have a bunch of moisturizer and other balms and salves to see if I can salvage the situation. Rumour has it there is a pix floating around of it, so when I have it I will send it along.

It was pretty amazing though how plugged in the community was. When Brazil we3nt down to Netherlands today, the field were immediately buzzing about it. Similar with Ghana playing Uruguay. You could walk the fields and people were listening live on their smart phones and shouting things like "GOAL", or "RED CARD". It was pretty amazing.

More later, but we are off to dinner and the evenings meetings, debrief, and de-debrief. Which is I hope, brief =).

"You two are going to Top Gun ..."

"On March 3, 1969 the United States Navy established an elite school for the top one percent of its pilots. Its purpose was to teach the lost art of aerial combat and to insure that the handful of men who graduated were the best fighter pilots in the world. They succeeded. Today, the Navy calls it Fighter Weapons School. The flyers call it: TOP GUN."


Does anyone remember this, or am I really showing my age? Wait a second, please don't answer that ...


So here we are on the cusp of the 2010 Regional I tournament beginning. I found that in my experience as a referee, the tournament took on a heightened flavor when the World Cup was being played. This is based in my experience of 1994 when I was at regionals and watched the USA v. BRA match (match report) with a group of referees that had just worked really hard all week long ... anyone remember the bicycle kick that just missed the post from Balboa? Here we are again, a World Cup, a Regional Tournament, and I am going ... this time as an assessor.


It got me thinking about being selected for such a tournament and the emotions that went into it for me. It is very stirring, exciting and scary all at the same time. Maybe like Maverick and Goose going to Top Gun. Well, maybe like Goose going to Top Gun ...

Now you may have been thinking I was speaking purely about this from a refereeing perspective. I was not. I feel that way today as an assessor. Like referees, assessors are chosen for a variety of reasons, but among them, I would opine, is ability as an assessor to help guide referees.

This is a pretty awesome responsibility when I sit down and think about it. There are a great many lessons learned from the pitch as a referee. Many that I personally carry forward to this day off of my life. To offer such guidance to these developing referees takes some careful thought.

Over the next (6) days we will have a bit of a mini-series in things I learned from tournament play as well as some reporting on the goings on of the tournament itself. These posts are not "do as I do", but to provoke thought about what may make sense in a multi-day tournament context. Each reader is on their own to figure out how to use the information, and I offer it in that vein.

So sit back, relax, and come with me on a 6 day voyage to one of the premier youth soccer tournaments in the United States today, and all it has to offer.

Just a summer romance?

The US takes the World Cup to its heart, but will this dalliance last?

The US has loved soccer before, but Landon Donovan and company hope to form a longer-lasting bond.

Full story here courtesy of guardian.co.uk.

Simon Says ...

... get something back.


So what do I mean by that?


I mean if you give a caution to a player, you better get something back for it.


Simon did ... lets see how.


Take a look at the official match report, you can get it here. There are a couple of things that stand out. First, there were what I would call an "average" number of fouls for the matches played so far. We will see in the month ahead if that stays true to form. Second, we saw with (6) cautions what is an "above average" number of cautions thus far ... in fact this now places FRA, ENG, and USA in a tie for 1st for cautions. Were so many needed? Lets review what they were. 


In the 26', MILNER was booked for Persistent Infringement. Did anyone catch the referee holding up two fingers when he was booked? He was letting everyone know this was his second foul, and as it turned out, his last of the match.


By the way, did anyone catch who he fouled? It was CHERUNDOLO. Hang on a sec, that's important.


In the 39', CHERUNDOLO was cautioned. Sound familiar? He committed that one foul and that was it.


So, Simon says stop with a caution to (2) players, and neither commits another foul in the match. I would say he got something for those.


In the 47', DEMERIT knocked down a ball with his hand and got exactly what he deserved, a caution. That as cautions go, was an easy one. But note, if Simon does not give that one, his World Cup experience I predict would have ended early.


In the 60', CARRAGHER landed a nasty over the ball tackle on FINDLEY. While the caution was warranted, I was wondering if Simon was thinking red given the challenge. Remember who was fouled here too.


In the 61', GERRARD goes over the ball onto the knee of DEMPSEY (the goal scorer).


By the way, after these cautions, neither player committed another foul the entire match (keep in mind they still had 30' to go plus stoppage time). Not bad ... certainly got something there.


Even Harkesy when calling the match on ABC was saying after the GERRARD foul, that it changes the mindset of the defender after a caution ... the part he did not say was if the caution was the right decision, and was delivered with effect.


Finally, in the 74', FINDLEY (the recipient in the 60') finds GERRARD with a tough tackle, and yes, that too was his last foul called of the match, but I am sure wanted it to count on a guy that just really tackled one of his own.

So in looking over the cautions that Simon gave, he got something back for each and every one of them. He either got (a) that player to stop, (b) set an example for OTHER players to stop, (c) did not allow retaliation to go unpunished so there would not be more, and (d) protected the integrity of the game from silly stuff.

So, the next time you are ready to raise a caution in the air for all to see, stop and think ...

What are you going to get out of it that will help your game that day?

If the answer is nothing, don't even take it out of your pocket, it would be meaningless.

Got your game on?

With the 2010 FIFA World Cup upon us (schedule can be found here) there are some neat media items floating around that some geeks and fans of the game alike might find interesting in keeping up to date.

This is particularly important to me as (a) I was just informed that I have to take the kids exactly during the same time that the USA's 1st match is on, and (b) I will be traveling a bit and need to be up to date about what is going on, to in part, report it here.

Some examples of good sources, to follow the World Cup on Twitter are at http://twitter.com/FIFAWorldCupTM or check out #WC2010, or #MNT for all the action!

Each of these others (and more) can be found on iTunes.

First, is the official soundtrack for the FIFA 2010 World Cup, Listen Up! Some seem to love it, some seem to hate it. Please don't shoot the messenger.

Second, is a free iPhone app from ESPN that has news and match tracking for ongoing (and possibly) played matches. There may be one for the iPad too for those who have one.

Finally, there is a free podcast from ESPN reporting on news and match events from the World Cup. Content so far is good and if you have a drive to work (like me) may be worth a listen or two, especially on match days.







How about some links? We got 'em. Check these out:
SOURCE: When Saturday Comes

World Cup College Clever lads, these. Not only do they preview the games thoughtfully, they approach football from impossible but entertaining angles too, for example looking at why Zeno's paradox means that John Terry's lack of speed won't be an issue. Sample quote: "Because we are cognitively predisposed to relate our personal circumstances to external events and occurrences, we have little difficulty developing an affinity with a group of people (that we've never met) representing us, via shared nationality, in a sporting tournament." That's why you blindly love England.

FIFA official site It may sound obvious, but FIFA's official site is, as official ones go, the full ten yards better than any of its sister sites. There are few better places for historical stats, or up-to-date news on less-covered countries like Honduras and Paraguay. Even its features bravely attempt a slightly more original angle than the mainstream media, although the prose is in that clunky territory you might generously say is aimed at a global audience. And don't expect any probing investigations of corporate backhanders. Sample quote: "This year the prize for the most original motivational approach surely goes to Japan, who rounded off their build-up in Switzerland with a visit from members of Japanese boy band Exile. During the event, Takeshi Okada's men were presented with a banner and some origami cranes in the team's colours." It will be the origami cranes wot win it.

AllAfrica.com There are, apparently, environmentally friendly vuvuzelas made out of South African seaweed – that's the kind of priceless fact you can pick up at this site devoted to the tournament's six African participants. The ugly design is ten years out of date, but again this is a good location for non-mainstream news and features in what sometimes reads like quasi-poetic, dictionary English. Sample quote: "Already the exclusion [from Nigeria's squad] of Victor Anichebe and Ikechukwu Uche is causing ripples, while that of the former has taken an international dimension with his club, Everton Football Club of England, knocking Nigeria for misinforming the world about the player's physical condition." Although the world may have just missed that story in the light of the BP oil catastrophe, the perpetually jittery financial markets and Israel's attack on the Turkish aid ship heading for Gaza.

Got more? Send them along and we'll post them here.

History Repeating Itself?

So on my way to work this morning bombing down I-95 in Providence, I saw this sign. The little one on the left (sorry about the rainy shot).

Now I am a fan of sport (in general) and can understand the inclusion of 1950 and obviously 2010 on the banner ... but 1776?

Is Saturday a prelude to war?

One person that may be thinking so is Carlos Simon, the referee. One way he might handle it is through the use of misconducts. Look at the following AP article for some thought on what we may see ...

Card shark: Ref for England-US loves yellow
Source: AP