It appears we have seen a shift in the world power, as slight as it might be, when it comes to the most popular sport outside of North America.
This week was a huge moment for the Bundesliga, the elite soccer division in Germany. On Wednesday, when Bayern Munich trounced FC Barcelona 3-0, it set up an all-German Champions League Final for the first time.
On May 25 at London’s Wembley Stadium, Bayern Munich will play Borussia Dortmund for the 2013 Champions League Title.
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Where’s Poonam?
Indian model Poonam Pandey became a household name overnight last week because of a promise she made during the Cricket World Cup – it’s a week later though, and people in India are wondering when she’ll be living up to that promise!
Pandey faced a ton of controversy last week when she said she would strip for the Indian cricket team if they managed to win the World Cup. Ever since the team’s Saturday triumph over Sri Lanka though, the people have been wondering: Where is Poonam?
(AFTER THE JUMP: Rangers playoff hopes ‘Gone in 15 Seconds,’ plus Ducks’ Perry hits 50-goal mark)… (more…)
There’s controversy brewing in India ahead of Saturday’s World Cup of Cricket championship game in Mumbai.
While most of the country is hoping that legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar can lead India past Sri Lanka to its first World Cup title since 1983, in what could very well be his last major tournament, others are a bit worried about what might follow. Are they concerned about possible riots? Nope. Looting in the streets? Guess again. Nudity? You bet!
It all stems from a promise made earlier this week by an Indian model named Poonam Pandey. (more…)
Done Deal?
After what feels like years of legal wrangling and potential owner after potential owner trying and failing to buy the team from the NHL, it looks like the Phoenix Coyotes finally have their man.
The Glendale Star reports that Glendale City Council gave a thumbs up to the lease deal for Jobing.com arena put together by Matt Hulsizer, the new answer to the question “Who owns the ‘Yotes?”
So who is Matt Hulsizer? (more…)
GSP vs. Gretzky?
In any country around the world that speaks hockey, Wayne Gretzky is probably regarded as the most famous Canadian the people there can think of – after all, he’s easily the greatest player ever to lace ‘em up.
What about the rest of the world though? If you polled the entire globe, asking who the most famous Canadian athlete is, who would it be?
If you ask UFC President Dana White, it’s welterweight champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre!
Both White and St. Pierre are in Montreal ahead of UFC 124, where the Canadian will defend his title against Josh Koscheck on Saturday night. So, with White calling St. Pierre the most famous athlete “in the history of the world” to come out of our country, reporters were left asking “What about Wayne Gretzky?” (more…)
Ok, soccer fan, I know you’re out there.
I saw you throughout the World Cup, packing bars to watch matches, driving with your country’s flag attached to the car window, and proudly wearing its jersey.
Well now that the action in South Africa is over, there’s a local side that could use your support – and they’ve got a match in the offing that deserves a little attention.
The second annual Edmonton Cup will see FC Edmonton host England’s Portsmouth FC at Commonwealth Stadium Wednesday night. For its final high-profile match of the year, FCE is bringing in big guns, an historic English side that is on a pre-season tour of North America, and it’s up to local football fans to respond in kind.
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Louis Oosthuizen (Alastair Grant, Associated Press)
Every now and then, an athlete that may not have been the most recognizable on the international sports scene, comes to the forefront.
On the weekend in St. Andrews, Scotland, that athlete became South African Louis Oosthuizen.
Oosthuizen, was ranked 54th in the World Golf Rankings a week ago, but used his driver with excellence on the weekend, and defeated Lee Westwood by seven strokes to win the British Open.
If you’re thinking Oosthuizen came out of nowhere to win the Open, you’re right. Only once before had the 27 year-old made the cut at a Major Championship. Oosthuizen finished 73rd at the 2008 PGA Championship in Oakland Hills, Michigan. He now becomes the most popular athlete in the history of sports whose last name begins with two o’s.
So, I, like many will wait and see if Oosthuizen is the next Els, Goosen or Player or the next Lawrie, Beem or Micheel. Time will tell.
John Short said it best in his recent column. The World Cup Final was a case of “dull, duller, and dullest.”
It was a complete bore in every sense of the word, and reminded me of your typical Anaheim Duck/Minnesota Wild Western Conference Final game from 2003.
Defense, defense and more defense.
In the end, John and I look like actual geniuses. We picked Spain, and at the end of the day, that’s not bad for two guys who don’t really have a great appetite for the sport 365 days of the year. (more…)
Well, the best team won.
And, fortunately, it wasn’t necessary to settle the World Cup final on those disgusting penalty kicks.
But it will be a long, cold day in Hell before anybody who disliked soccer at the start of Spain’s 1-0 victory over The Netherlands will be convinced to take another open-minded peek at what is usually considered the most popular sport in the entire world.
For almost all of the 120 minutes on Sunday, it was a case of dull, duller, dullest. (more…)
The final four teams in the World Cup of Soccer are now set– Uruguay, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. My pre-World Cup favourite was Spain, but I have been mightily impressed with the surprising offensive firepower depth of the Germans. Something else tells me you cannot count out Uruguay either. Atletico Madrid star Diego Forlan has been very strong from the striking position to date.
In football, I was listening to the Edmonton Eskimos/B.C. Lions on the radio Sunday on the way home from celebrating my Grandma’s 94th birthday at a campground west of Wetaskiwin. I felt Morley Scott did a fantastic job in his first regular season performance in replace of the legendary Bryan Hall. If there is one thing I would recommend however, he needs to discuss the situation more frequently. That is what separates other sports to hockey. As far as the Eskimos go, Ricky Ray needs to be better and I think he knows it. He had too many incompletions for a quarterback known for his accuracy. (more…)
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