Amazing Brace for Rooney On The Weekend

In a game where Manchester United never looked unsettled, Wayne Rooney had a typical striker's game with a poacher's finish and an un-saveable penalty against West Bromwich Albion:

English premier League Highlights; Week of 1/14

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/video?vid=e6c50e38-b4ba-467b-a550-8f874d29424d" target="_new" title="">PL: Weekend Round Up</a>

MLS Superdraft Brings A Superstar Name To The League

Rooney scores at this year's MLS combine in Florida

Let me clarify ... the 2011 MLS Superdraft brought the brother of a superstar. John Rooney, younger brother to Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney, was selected by the New York Red Bull in the second round of yesterday's draft (he was the 25th pick overall).  What's ironic is that John came to the US to separate himself from his brother's reputation and make a name for himself.  I wonder if he had any idea that he would be drafted into the media hotbed that is NYC, alongside other superstars like Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez?  Not exactly the escape he was potentially planning (too bad Kansas City couldn't offer a spot, he could have fallen off the face of the Earth).

“I never expected to be going to the New York Red Bulls. It’s a dream come true for me,” said Rooney, a 5-10, 176-pound midfielder. “They’re probably one of the more well-known MLS teams in England. The league’s a great league, everyone knows the league, and the Red Bulls are such a big club. I never had a clue they would pick me.”

Rooney had been playing in the lower levels of English soccer but was looking for a clean start, away from the shadow of his oft-troubled brother. He trained with Seattle and Portland last summer but decided to come to the MLS Combine last week and show what he could do.

“We know what it’s like to play in the lower divisions in England,” Red Bulls general manager and sporting director Erik Soler said. “The guy is 20 years old. He did well in the combine in a different environment. We think we can develop him.

“It tells something about him when he goes into the combine. It can’t be easy for anybody to have a big brother like that with all the expectations. The fact that he chose to go and show himself off, to sit here and wait for 25 picks, we think it tells a little about the player. We don’t know him that well, but if things run a little bit in the family it might be surprisingly good for everybody.

“We liked what we saw. It’s a $43,000 risk. It’s not a huge risk.”

Like Wayne Rooney, John Rooney came up through the Everton youth system. But while Wayne shot into the Everton lineup as a teenager, John ended up at Macclesfield Town in England’s League Two. He has been looking for a change ever since.

“That’s the whole idea of me coming out here. I just want to build on my own career,” Rooney said. “There were some teams that took a look at me in England but I came over and trained with Seattle and Portland in August. It was just a great experience. I’m looking forward to getting started.”

When Twitter Goes Wrong, By Ryan Babel

Ryan Babel is facing the possibility of disciplinary action from the Football Association after responding to Liverpool's 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford by posting a mocked-up photo on his Twitter site of the referee Howard Webb wearing a Manchester United shirt.

Webb had incensed Liverpool by awarding a first-minute penalty when Dimitar Berbatov went to ground after a slight touch from Daniel Agger and then sending off Steven Gerrard for a dangerous challenge on Michael Carrick.

Kenny Dalglish, returning as Liverpool manager, called the penalty "a joke" and Babel posted the picture of Webb with the message: "And they call him one of the best referees? That's a joke. SMH."

"SMH" is the abbreviation for "shaking my head" and Babel's attack will almost certainly lead to the FA intervening on the basis that he is alleging bias on the part of the man who refereed the World Cup final and was made an MBE in the Queen's New Year honours list. An FA spokesman has confirmed they are aware of the incident and are looking into it.

Babel later tweeted: "Sorry Howard Webb. My apology if they take my posted pic seriously. This is just an emotional reaction after losing an important game."

Dalglish's son, Paul, also vented his feelings on Twitter, posting a mocked-up picture of Sir Alex Ferguson with his arm around Webb, again in a United shirt.

Dalglish junior wrote: "Howard Webb MBE. Manc of the Busby Era. I am not normally bitter, as you know, but it is different rules against them." In a separate tweet he added: "Fergie has his puppet Howard Webb on a piece of string."

Beckham To Tottenham; I Don't Like It

David Beckham's pending loan deal to London side Tottenham Hotspur is one of the bigger stories in English Premier League transfer news this January, and I'm not entirely sure why.  I love Becks, he's had  fantastic career and is one of the everlasting professionals.  And yes, it'd be heartwarming to see him back in the Prem after his departure from Manchester United 7-8 years ago.  But Harry Redknapp has said he wants to bring Becks in to hold on to the ball and deliver dangerous set pieces in the closing minutes of games.  The latter is undisputable; give him 15 minutes and Becks will surely delivery you a handful of delightful crosses and freekicks causing defenses absolute havoc.

But hold on to the ball?  Has anyone watched Spurs this year?  They are challenging the top four of the EPL and in Europe because of their relentless press forward.  Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon bombing down the two wings, Van der Vaart and Luka Modric running the center of the park with pin point accuracy.  This is a team that runs, and runs all game long.  Spurs are not a team of slow tempo and breaking defenses down.  No offense to Becks, but he isn't going to run by people anymore, he's going to beat them with passing and guile.

I do also understand the LA Galaxy's hold-up in letting go of their Senior International for another loan spell.  He spent the whole of last season missing because of the Achilles injury he suffered at AC Milan last winter (in which he was a vital loss for the England squad in South Africa last year).  As the marquis endorsement for the US game, and one of the Galaxy's largest ticket draws, I'd be concerned too.

Arsenal vs. Manchester United; A Day of Reckoning

C'mon you Gunners!!!

Arsenal vs. Manchester United; A Day of Reckoning

C'mon you Gunners!!!

Why It's Hard To Be An Arsenal Fan

For all those football fans out there, this rant is for you...

I've been supporting Arsenal of London since I was 12. For more than a decade of support, I've watched them go from the immortals in the '03-'04 season where they went undefeated in the Premier League, to where they are now; the least dangerous of the Big Four. You look at the players of the team, and you ask how it is that they are continually battling for 3rd and 4th position in the hardest league in the world? Well it's because they continually sell off a major star who regularly provides impact. Thierry Henry to Barcelona, Alexander Hleb to Barcelona, and now the impending sale of Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City. With every step we take forward with some 19 year old phenom, we drop a proven professional on the way.

In a similar respect to the US national team, there is a point when the youth experiment ends, and you develop a cohesive mix of young stars, crafty veterans, and a handful of next level super stars. The latter group is imperative for a team like Arsenal, who have continually floundered in recent years behind the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, and Chelsea. The coming year will be unbelievably tough for manager Arsene Wenger should they lose Adebayor to the Blues at Man City. I pray the Robin van Persie and the teenagers at the Emirates can fill in his large boots.

A Day Late: The Ronaldo Presentation

A picture gallery for the introduction of Real Madrid's new number 9....


And an interesting video interview in as many languages as we can keep track of...

The Movie Sweeping Cannes: "Looking For Eric"

Eric Cantona headlines a heartfelt film that is sweeping through the Cannes Film Festival this week.



Ken Loach could not have painted a more perfect, bittersweet picture for Cannes. Looking for Eric stars the French football legend Eric Cantona in a rare Loach comedy. Needless to say, it is a film of two halves. In the first, a postman called Eric Bishop is having a nervous breakdown. He drives the wrong way around roundabouts; the cupboards in his thoroughly grubby Manchester terrace are stuffed with unmailed letters; his black and white teenage sons from two broken marriages treat him like a doormat; and he’s still racked by guilt for leaving his first wife Lily, the love of his life.

Cue Cantona. How would the King handle Bishop’s crises? In a surreal and comic scene, the former Manchester United player steps out of a poster on the wall of Bishop’s rancid bedroom and dispenses gnomic gobbets of advice. It’s an extraordinary piece of magic realism for a director who usually specialises in art-house grit.

Cantona is basically a ghost, visible only to the delusional Bishop. His vague advice about how to handle Lily and the boys is delivered like poetry. Indeed, Cantona’s quote about sardines and seagulls — after he kicked a Crystal Palace supporter in the chest, earning a nine-month suspension — is central to this barmy comedy.

Read more here...

Wayne Rooney's Top 20 Premier League Goals

20 minutes long yes, but an amazing compilation from one the world's top strikers....

Rooneys.Top.20

Manchester United - Arsenal Champions League Video Preview

In honor of today's second leg clash of the giants at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal fighting back from 1-0 down, I offer this video trailer to get everyone's juices flowing....

Usain Bolt Making Cristiano Ronaldo Faster?

If what The Sun is reporting is in fact true, tthen there isn't a defender in the world who has a chance to defend Ronaldo, as if they had one to begin with.

CRISTIANO RONALDO has signed up the fastest man on Earth to help boost his deadly pace.
Olympic 100m champ Usain Bolt asked the Manchester United star for a signed shirt and Ron sent a message back saying he wanted a favour in return.

So footy-fan Bolt - who set a world record 9.69 seconds winning his Beijing gold last year - is planning a trip to Manchester for a training session with Ronaldo.

The Jamaican’s agent Ricky Simms said: “It’s definitely going to happen.

“We’ll sort something out when Usain comes to Europe to compete this summer.”

Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid? I Think I'm Having Deja Vu

I hope I'm not the only futbol fan who wanted to shoot himself today when the Real Madrid Ronaldo drama picked up again today.  Needless to say they are talking about the summer transfer window and today is December 17, and that drives me insane.  Both teams in the title race in their respective leagues and we are talking about a summer transfer.  I hate sports media with nothing but time to fill.

I love the internet.  It is the home to my career in advertising, and it provides us unbelievable communication tools. But the amount of media outlets has created nothing but space to fill, which leads to excessive dramatization in sports, entertainment, business, and so on.  It's stories like this today that really get me going.

From Soccernet...

Madrid leak claims Ronaldo deal already done
Cristiano Ronaldo will sign for Real Madrid in the summer according to a director of the Spanish giants.

All eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo, currently in Tokyo - yet again.
Newspaper El Mundo is quoting director Pedro Trapote as saying Real already have a deal in place but cannot announce it officially.

President Ramon Calderon had stated after last summer's protracted transfer saga that Real would end their long quest to pinch the player from Manchester United so as not to make an enemy of the European champions.

Sir Alex Ferguson did little to hide his disgust at Real's conduct and is bound to be more than agitated by a resurfacing of the Ronaldo rumour-mongering.

El Mundo report that after Madrid's loss at Barcelona Trapote mentioned the news in a recorded conversation, though it is not known whether it was meant to become public knowledge.

"If you are asking me what we are going to do now then I would tell you that we have already signed the best player for the summer," Trapote is quoted as saying.

"Are you talking about Cristiano?" was the reply.

"The best of the best. It is Cristiano, there is no other. It is better that we do not say anything at the moment though.

"Why can you not say anything. It is the best time because things are going badly and people need something to excite them in the middle of all this.

Trapote replied: "No, it is best to not say anything because there are some clauses that prevent us from announcing it now."