MLS announces expansion team New York City FC: Manchester City and the Yankees partner to pip Cosmos to the NYC MLS franchise, which will play in a purpose-built stadium in Flushing Meadows Park, Queens, starting in the 2015 season.

posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 12:31 PM - 8 comments

6 Things Your Business Can Learn from My Rookie Year in the NFL : Given Fleener is a Stanford grad, not too surprising that he looks at sport as a business. "One of the many “knocks” on the Colts team last year was our youth. We had a very young team by NFL standards. The media mistook young age for low maturity levels, and while it’s hard to argue that correlation doesn’t equal causation in that regard, it is too much simplification to say that youth = immaturity."

posted by billsaysthis to football at 11:44 AM - 0 comments

Our Xmas OneWorldFutbol Campaign: We raised $608 to sent 32 futbols to kids in a small village in Mexico through a Rotary Club which goes down every year to build houses. Good on us!

posted by billsaysthis to culture at 07:00 PM - 7 comments

Reebok signs 15-year-old hockey phenom to huge endorsement deal: The "next Sidney Crosby", only the third 15 year old allowed to play in the OHL, signs a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal with the Reeb. Hopefully there will be an NHL for him to play in before the contract term finishes.

posted by billsaysthis to hockey at 06:36 PM - 1 comment

Champions League may have 64 clubs & Europa League scrapped: Seven English and five Scottish clubs would make the expanded field if M. Platini's latest, er, brainstorm becomes fact. At least it would end all those Thursday nights away requiring dark o'clock flights home from the Continent.

posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 11:48 AM - 6 comments

SpoFi Holiday Giving Project: One World Futbal: Inspired by images of Darfur child refugees playing soccer using trash instead of a ball surrounded by barbed wire, amid hovels made of plastic, cardboard and sticks Tim Jahnigen developed a ball made of a closed-cell foam that makes it durable, doesn't need a pump to inflate and has a "cap" that allows the ball to re-inflate, even if punctured. Since so many of us are soccer fans I thought we might band together to buy a few balls for the project as a group holiday project. The cost is $25 per ball and I'd like to try to raise $500.

posted by billsaysthis to culture at 02:13 PM - 22 comments

NFL eyeing bigger plans for London?: A year ago West Ham had the inside track to move into the Olympic Stadium after the Games but it's looking less and less likely, with the latest contender being American Football. London mayor Boris Johnson has launched talks with the NFL that could result in 10 games a season being held at the 80,000 seat stadium, which will already host two next season.

posted by billsaysthis to football at 11:53 AM - 22 comments

UCI claims 'moral authority' to lead cycling: Agreeing that wrong-doing uncovered by other investigators after years of denial (and possibly coverup) enables one to retain "moral authority." Mmmkay!

posted by billsaysthis to culture at 12:07 PM - 3 comments

Ryder Cup 2012: Medinah miracle comes to pass for Europe: Unbelievable collapse by the Americans with, once again, Mr. T. Woods leading the way. From the scoreline: "T Woods: Played 4 Won 0 Lost 3 Halved 1"

posted by billsaysthis to golf at 12:01 PM - 8 comments

In Stadium Building Spree, U.S. Taxpayers Lose $4 Billion: Quantifying what has long been a sore point on SpoFi. Includes a nice contrast between Jerry Jones' public palazzo and the even more expensive but privately financed new stadium in the Meadowlands.

posted by billsaysthis to culture at 12:26 PM - 6 comments

Transfer Deadline Day, not much nonesense yet: Dimitar Berbatov providing the most amusement so far, flying to Italy but returning to England without meeting anyone from Fiorentina after the move was hijacked by Juventus and the player instead signing instead for Fullham. And of course from that same club Clint Dempsey still sits and waits, spurning offers from Aston Villa and Sunderland in hopes that Liverpool or Arsenal will yet come in for him. Mancini has been busy on the blue side of Manchester, selling notorious chest-stomper Nigel de Jong to a vastly changed AC Milan and buying Scott Sinclair and a some would say past his sell by date Maicon. Liverpool have done some business, selling Charlie Adam to Stoke (who also brought in American Maurice Edu) and loaning Jay Spearing to Bolton, after loaning(?!?!?!) lost boy Andy Carroll to West Ham last night.

posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 12:07 PM - 5 comments

Premier League season starts Saturday: The transfer window has been quiet so far, enough so that Mancini went public at the lack of funds, though judging by their beat down of Chelsea in the Community Shield they may not need anyone new. My Reds have made two buys, ManUtd brought in a Japanese playmaker (and IPOed), Chelsea bought three quality attackers (but let Drogba go to China), and Arsenal paid big money (overpaid?) for Podolski. Robin van Persie, Luca Modric and Clint Dempsey sit by their phones waiting for news that their moves to, respectively, Juventus/Manchester/Spain (??), Real Madrid and Liverpool have come through.

PS: Remember to pick your fantasy team before then.

posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 01:18 PM - 17 comments

Euro 2012 Fantasy League final standings: Nik Olsen won by a good margin while I edged out Holden, BS Johnson(?) and tselson by a hair for second.

posted by billsaysthis to fantasy at 12:06 PM - 3 comments

USA 5-1 Scotland: Led by Landon Donovan's hat trick and a brilliant blast from Michael Bradley, the US dominated a listless Scotland side. Klinnsman's strategy showed its coming together nicely around what may be the deepest roster the Americans have yet produced; Dempsey, Altidore, Ream, Kljestan and Holden were just five of the players not even on the team sheet while Fabian Johnson showed he may finally solve the left back position, Terrance Boyd was value in his first start and Joe Corona got his first cap.

posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 12:14 PM - 5 comments

SpoFi 2012 Fantasy Premier League Final Table: Props to Holden for winning by a strong margin and to all 18 who went the distance. Table inside.

posted by billsaysthis to fantasy at 12:02 PM - 8 comments

Jose Mourinho rewarded for patient approach at Real Madrid: The Special One (man I miss that puppet parody show!) won a seventh league title across four different major leagues in his last eight seasons of managing. As little as I care for his style and tactics, he finds a way to get the job done in recent years about as well as anyone this side of Ferguson or Guardiola.

posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 12:04 PM - 2 comments

Pep Guardiola to end reign as Barcelona coach in summer: Guardiola is the most successful coach in Barca history, with three league titles, two Champions Leagues and a Copa del Rey among his haul--plus the chance to win a fourth in a few weeks--and will be succeeded by current assistant Tito Vilanova. "The reason is simple: four years is enough," said Guardiola.

posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 11:52 AM - 4 comments

N.J. state troopers face probe for 'Death Race 2012' down Parkway to AC: Brandon Jacobs, recently of the Super Bowl champion NJNY Giants, was one of the alleged racers. "In the complaints, obtained by The Star-Ledger, witnesses said that in the early afternoon of March 30, they saw two State Police patrol cars with their emergency lights flashing driving in front of and behind the southbound caravan, which included dozens of Porsches, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and other vehicles, all with their license plates covered with tape."

posted by billsaysthis to culture at 05:54 PM - 6 comments

Pepe defends his stomp on Messi: Sort of. It's @dirtytackle's "version of Pepe's defense of his actions." Even the Madrid papers are going hard on Real's center back and, after all, it isn't his first time doing something so stupid. Hopefully he gets a longer vacation this time.

posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 03:48 PM - 2 comments

Paterno speaks for 1st time since firing: Speaking to a WaPo reporter in his hospital room, "former Penn State coach Joe Paterno says he 'didn't know which way to go' after an assistant coach came to him in 2002 saying he had seen retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abusing a boy."

posted by billsaysthis to culture at 07:13 PM - 2 comments

Omar Gonzalez tears knee ligament: In his first training session of a two month loan stint with FC Nurnberg, club and USMNT teammate Timmy Chandler dove in for a reckless challenge and tore Gonzalez's ACL. Omar, who anchored the LA Galaxy defense this season as they won the MLS Cup and left the January national team camp to go on loan in Germany, faces 6-9 months out.

posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 12:54 PM - 3 comments

RG3 wins first Heisman Trophy for Baylor: Stanford QB Andrew Luck becomes the fourth player to be runner up in consecutive seasons. Who is the higher draft pick?

posted by billsaysthis to football at 09:28 PM - 6 comments

Krzyzewski, Summitt named SI Sportsman, Sportswoman of year: The two Hall of Famers are the winningest coaches in women's and men's college basketball. Tennessee's Summitt announced in August that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's but pledged to continue coaching and earned her 1,075th career victory Sunday. Duke's Krzyzewski passed mentor Bob Knight on Nov. 15 when he won his 903rd game. They joined UCLA's John Wooden in 1972 and North Carolina's Dean Smith in 1997 as the only college basketball coaches to receive the honor.

posted by billsaysthis to basketball at 11:49 AM - 0 comments

Spanish players ready to strike: and their Italian colleagues are ready to join them in a work stoppage. Spanish players just want the money owed from clubs in administration while the issue in Italy is, wait for it, who pays the extra austerity tax.

posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 11:49 AM - 2 comments

Football's Back!: The Premier League kicks off tomorrow with pundits picking ManU to repeat, followed by Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool. Journalists may not be there to see the games, though, as media groups and news agencies have not agreed to the League's terms for accreditation. And Everton isn't travelling to Tottenham as the match was cancelled due to riots.

posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 11:45 AM - 11 comments