Sports Random, Random

[JazzNU]

His nickname is the Ginger Assassin

[Deuce]

For those interested in contemplating whether Tiger Woods received special 'celebrity treatment' regarding his vehicle crash, here's an interesting article I've just read...

From the article:
"In those 22 pages was a detail the sheriff’s department hadn’t mentioned: An empty, unlabeled pill bottle had been found in Woods’s backpack at the accident scene. The report also for the first time described Woods appearing disoriented and combative after the crash."

Article here:
‘The Tiger effect?’ New crash details fuel questions about special treatment for Woods

.

[ponchi101]

Interesting article. They do admit that they treat famous people differently because they are a "town of celebrities".
About Woods being disoriented: you were just involved in a front to end roll-over accident. Sure you are going to be disoriented. The possibility of a concussion is obvious.
They should have investigated more. But it should be totally private. I know tabloids live of this but Woods deserves his privacy too.

[JazzNU]

There is a messy war going on in European futbol/soccer if you're not paying attention. The dynamics are rather fascinating.

[ptmcmahon]

Whats the Coles Notes version? Making a "super league"?

[Liamvalid]

There is a messy war going on in European futbol/soccer if you're not paying attention. The dynamics are rather fascinating.

It’s been the main news story on Uk TV the last few days. 90% of people are absolutely ape over it, 10 % either agree or do t know enough, 0000.1 % (me) does not give a toss

[the Moz]

A Super League for European football is a bad idea. UEFA should sanction players & clubs where they can and push back at the idea as hard as they can.

[ti-amie]

[JazzNU]

Whats the Coles Notes version? Making a "super league"?

I think you just hit me with a Canadianism

Abbreviated version here is rough, I'm sure I'm missing some key details here. But the gist is that the biggest teams in Europe will form a super league. Unlike either all or almost all futbol leagues in Europe, this would have no relegation for the biggest teams. It would be, for lack of a better way to put it, like an American sports league in that respect, so you could suck for a long period of time (i.e. NY Jets/Cleveland Browns and Cavaliers/Buffalo Sabres/KC Royals) and you'd still share in the massive profits the same with no penalty.

FIFA and UEFA are pissed beyond belief. And somehow, they have a lot of fan support as they try to pretend that the super league is a greedy play, and fans seem to mostly want the status quo. But the associations that have been making nothing but greedy and exploitative decisions, that gave the World Cups to Russia and Qatar, that ignore the massive human rights violations in the latter in particular, so them boasting about greed is rich. Super League is evil and Sepp Blatter and FIFA are the noble ones here? Not even, they are all greedy af. But with fans wanting the status quo, they are essentially in agreement with enabling FIFA and UEFA to keep doing the corruption they've been doing for decades.

It's all rather fascinating. Right now, it looks like advantage billion owners of the biggest European clubs and they are set to topple the FIFA/UEFA monopolies. The biggest play FIFA and UEFA have to make is to block super league players from playing in the World and Euro Cups. But at the moment, that doesn't appear to be something that is going to turn the tide in forming the super league.

Hopefully @liam will be willing to correct anything I've gotten wrong. I'm hearing about it almost exclusively from American fans that follow European soccer on a sports radio show I listen to here, not directly from anyone covering it in Europe.

[ponchi101]

The only reason why FIFA/UEFA can be pissed off is because they are not getting a cut. They are the two most corrupt organizations in sports in the world, for reasons you mentioned and plenty of others.

[the Moz]

FIFA & UEFA obviously corrupt. Whatever entity governs this Super League will be corrupt as well. But at least the spirit of football and fairer play resonates more loudly for me with the two former than the sad latter on offer.

[Liamvalid]

Whats the Coles Notes version? Making a "super league"?

I think you just hit me with a Canadianism

Abbreviated version here is rough, I'm sure I'm missing some key details here. But the gist is that the biggest teams in Europe will form a super league. Unlike either all or almost all futbol leagues in Europe, this would have no relegation for the biggest teams. It would be, for lack of a better way to put it, like an American sports league in that respect, so you could suck for a long period of time (i.e. NY Jets/Cleveland Browns and Cavaliers/Buffalo Sabres/KC Royals) and you'd still share in the massive profits the same with no penalty.

FIFA and UEFA are pissed beyond belief. And somehow, they have a lot of fan support as they try to pretend that the super league is a greedy play, and fans seem to mostly want the status quo. But the associations that have been making nothing but greedy and exploitative decisions, that gave the World Cups to Russia and Qatar, that ignore the massive human rights violations in the latter in particular, so them boasting about greed is rich. Super League is evil and Sepp Blatter and FIFA are the noble ones here? Not even, they are all greedy af. But with fans wanting the status quo, they are essentially in agreement with enabling FIFA and UEFA to keep doing the corruption they've been doing for decades.

It's all rather fascinating. Right now, it looks like advantage billion owners of the biggest European clubs and they are set to topple the FIFA/UEFA monopolies. The biggest play FIFA and UEFA have to make is to block super league players from playing in the World and Euro Cups. But at the moment, that doesn't appear to be something that is going to turn the tide in forming the super league.

Hopefully @liam will be willing to correct anything I've gotten wrong. I'm hearing about it almost exclusively from American fans that follow European soccer on a sports radio show I listen to here, not directly from anyone covering it in Europe.

I’ll be honest I’m not much of a football fan! All I know is that Boris Johnson has pledged to the nation that he will do everything in his power to stop it happening, the fans of the “big 6” are threatening to boycott the matches, and ex professionals and even current players are urging the English Prrmier League to kick the breakaway teams out of the league if they insist on joining the super league and there’s talk of FIFA banning competing players from playing for the national teams. There’s already demonstrations taking place outside stadiums. In the current climate I personally think they’ve all gone insane to take this so seriously

[mmmm8]

I don't really understand how this would possibly be more appealing to fans than UEFA Champions' League (which this aims to replace as the matches would play at the same time).

I thought it was pretty interesting German clubs have zero interest in this. Arguably, Bundesliga gets less international interest the EPL or La Liga, so there could be more exposure for them.

[mmmm8]

I’ll be honest I’m not much of a football fan! All I know is that Boris Johnson has pledged to the nation that he will do everything in his power to stop it happening, the fans of the “big 6” are threatening to boycott the matches, and ex professionals and even current players are urging the English Prrmier League to kick the breakaway teams out of the league if they insist on joining the super league and there’s talk of FIFA banning competing players from playing for the national teams. There’s already demonstrations taking place outside stadiums. In the current climate I personally think they’ve all gone insane to take this so seriously

No doubt he will





(Yes, I know this one's rugby)

[ptmcmahon]

Whats the Coles Notes version? Making a "super league"?

I think you just hit me with a Canadianism

Oops.. yes I assume the American version is the Cliffs Notes version? Thanks for the summary though.

If FIFA thinks their best bet is to bar any players in Super League from playing World Cup...well they're pretty silly then if they think that is anything more than a hollow threat.