January Transfer Window Invites Wild Speculation

Not Going Anywhere

For those that are new to the ‘Beautiful Game’, January is a special time.  Not only does it bring about a highly congested fixture list (at least in England), but also a month-long period in which clubs across Europe may buy, sell and loan players. Potential purchases can save a club from relegation to the lower divisions, or bring a club glory for years to come.  But by the next the next transfer window, supporters call for many of these same players to be shipped off to far-away lands, never to be heard of again. This should be a time of great excitement for football fans.

Uconn Exceeds Early Expectations

Surprise Winners in Mauii

College basketball fans at Trinity have good reason to be excited.  This season, students will be able to watch a young, exciting and potentially top-tier team up close and personal at their home away from home, the XL Center in downtown Hartford.  And no, I am not talking about the Uconn women, although they too are well worth the price of admission.

Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid in Deliberate Red-Card Controversy

Conspiring?

Last night’s Champions League Group Game between Real Madrid and Ajax ended in farce, as two Madrid players were sent off in the game’s dying embers for time-wasting, despite leading 4-0.  Xabi Alonso took seemingly forever to take a free kick, pointlessly stepping up and then back from the ball.  Minutes later, the Ajax crowd found out that Sergio Ramos is apparently unable to play without his socks being very specifically adjusted.  Both players received their marching orders and as a result, will miss Real Madrid’s next Group Game against French side Auxerre.  However, this match is essentially meaningless, as Real Madrid have already qualified for the tournament’s Knockout Stages.

Goal-line Technology Should be FIFA Task Force Priority

Blatter has another 'masterplan'

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has called for the creation of a task force charged with making the next World Cup “more attractive” than the last.  FIFA’s primary concern is that of ‘quality’.  When the most exciting moment of a tournament is when a particularly gifted octopus predicts the outcome of the final, you know it’s a pretty poor World Cup.  And let there be no mistake about that.

Pay The Captain: Yankees Need to End Jeter Dispute

Derek Jeter was not pleased with the first contract offer from the Yankees

It has now reached the point of utter absurdity. For the first time in 10 years, Derek Jeter is a free agent. Jeter, whose historic career has produced 5 championships, the most hits in Yankees history, and a .314 batting average, has become an iconic player and the face of the most successful franchise in sports.

However, after the worst offensive season of his career and whispers that his age is affecting his range in the field, contract negotiations between Jeter and the Yankees have become complicated and have turned into a war of words through the media. The Yankees, who have reportedly offered Jeter a 3-year deal worth $45 million, believe they are being more than fair for a 36-year-old on the decline, coming off his worst statistical season in which he batted .270 and had an on-base-percentage of .340.

Moss to Titans: A Failed Experiment

The Tennessee Titans claimed the troubled wide receiver Randy Moss off waivers this week in a move the Titans hope will help them secure a playoff berth in a competitive AFC South division. This will be Moss’s 3^rd team this season, and there’s a good reason the Titans were the only team in the NFL who wanted him following his 4 game stint with his old team, the Minnesota Vikings.

While many people believe this will be a low-risk high-reward move that will greatly benefit a 5-3 Titans team, this is a potentially disastrous move that could derail a promising season for this team. Yes, Moss is one of the most talented wide receivers in the game, and poses a huge deep threat for all opposing defenses, but at the same time he is a chemistry-killing self absorbed poison, who unless placed in the perfect environment will inevitably cause problems and draw attention to himself in a negative way. They say a leopard never changes its spots and there are numerous reasons to believe that won’t happen here.

Join City and You’re Dead!

 

 

Kissing the Badge: 100 Quid

This was the message Wayne Rooney received from balaclava-wearing ‘fans’ (if you can call them that) gathered outside his Cheshire mansion last week after it became clear that the England striker was unwilling to sign a new contract with Manchester United.  Rooney cited the club’s lack of ambition as his primary reason for wanting to leave, presumably a reference to the obscene amount of debt the Glazers (the club’s American owners) have loaded onto the club.  This opened up the door to negotiations with Manchester United’s mega-rich neighbors and hated rivals, Manchester City.  However, in a sensational U-turn, Rooney recently agreed to a 5-year extension, which could earn him up to £200,000 a week if his play meets certain standards.  Too bad for all the City fans who got tattoos of Rooney’s face and replica no. 10 shirts.

Should the NFL suspend players for “illegal” hits?

James Harrison's hit on Browns receiver Mohamed Masaquoi was one of 3 illegal hits on Sunday that led the NFL to decide to begin imposing suspensions on players

This week the NFL imposed huge fines for 3 vicious hits that took place in Week 6 games on Sunday, and voiced its intent to begin suspending players for these types of hits in the future. In what has become an extremely controversial issue for players, coaches, and fans, the league decided to take a firm stance in an effort to defend the safety of its players.

While anyone who knows the nature of the game of football understands that it is an extremely dangerous game and that often times injuries cannot be prevented, I fully applaud the NFL for its actions. The types of injuries that result from these kind of illegal hits are ones that can be prevented, and should be even if it means suspending players for extended periods of time.

Should NFL teams be forced to play starters after clinching playoff positioning?

 

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell must consider a rule change for teams resting their starters

 

As the 2009 NFL regular season has come to a close, and Wild Card playoff weekend approaches, the normal buzz of playoff anticipation and the firing of coaches is in the air. The end of the regular season has also brought with it talk of an important problem that needs to be fixed in the NFL. This season, talks of how the NFL should handle the problems caused by teams resting their starters in the last few weeks have come to the forefront.

Bronx Bombers sweep Twinkies and move on to face Angels in ALCS

Mark Teixeira hit a Game 2 Walkoff Home Run and helped lead the Yankees to a ALDS sweep of the Twins

With Mariano River’s last pitch, which produced a weak groundball to Derek Jeter, it appeared as though no time had passed since the Yankees teams of the late 90s and early 2000s dominated postseason play and earned the opportunities to play deep into October. This groundball, which Derek Jeter threw over to Mark Teixeira at first, concluded a 4-1 Yankees win over the Twins on Sunday night, giving the Yankees a 3-0 ALDS series sweep over the feisty Twins.