The last 15 minutes of Arsenal’s annual exercise in handicapping themselves with a couple of extra fixtures were a little nervy. That’s mostly because they were only up one goal but suddenly down a man after referee Pedro Proenca sent off Mathieu Debuchy on a second yellow so soft you could sleep on it (the […]
There’s a post today over at Grantland about the NFL’s attempts to engineer a more interesting extra point. Given that the current success rate hovers right around 99%, the kick is currently a formality.For this preseason the NFL is experimenting with moving the spot of the PAT back to the 15-yard line. So instead of […]
Earlier this month David Ortiz sounded off on the Cubs continually being terrible. He attributed it to playing too many day games. It’s not an unreasonable assertion; plus, after a century of not winning, every remotely plausible theory on why the Cubs can’t win will eventually be formulated.Said Ortiz: “Through the years I’ve talked to […]
Goldman Sachs’ World Cup predictions were pretty terrible.On the one hand, they correctly predicted three of the four semi-finalists. On the other hand, that’s about the only measure by which they weren’t completely awful. And it doesn’t take a cadre of geniuses to say, “I think the winningest team in the history of the competition, […]
I did a piece for the current issue of Howler about an attempted attack by Osama Bin Laden on the 1998 World Cup in France. I recommend picking up a copy not just because I wrote something in it, but because Howler is impeccably done. Each issue almost seems like a collectible. It’s also the […]
Germany goes into this weekend’s World Cup final against Argentina almost a full three years younger on average. That is a ridiculous spread. Yet, as a team, the Germans are somehow vastly more experienced in the international arena.How is that possible?Part of it is how you think about experience. This is sort of a follow-up […]
Not Canada. That’s the short answer. Should be obvious from the map. But that’s earth, color-coded by World Cup goals dating back to the competition’s first edition in 1930 (it’s current through the semi-finals of the 2014 edition and there’s a larger version with some interactivity here—mouseover to get the country and its total goals). […]
Or maybe it’s the world most idiotic hate-monger? Not sure. I’m loathe to even mention her name because publicity is the sole source of any power she may or may not have but I came really, really close to nailing her for out-and-out lying. So I wrote something for Fusion. Anyway it’s about the World […]
Current Chicago Cubs’ ownership seems pretty bent on getting its way regarding upgrades to Wrigley Field (the “improvements” are basically more ad boards and a video screen that can also play ads during the game, so ads). But fans worried that it will ruin the game day experience by turning the ballpark into something akin […]
1990199419982002200620102014 England never really had a chance in Brazil. And not for the reasons they normally ascribe to their failures at international tournaments—penalty kicks, not being Germany, etc. No, England were done pretty much the moment manager Roy Hodgson decided to leave Ashley Cole off the national team. That’s not to say that Cole’s absence […]