11/21/24
Recent Posts by Abiezer
July 25, 2008
How Soccer Explains China: China is about to bag a sackful of Olympic Golds but that won't be any comfort to Han sporting nationalists, because the country (its men's team anyway) are still crap at the only sport that matters, association football.
February 03, 2008
All the goals from the world's major footie leagues, as YouTube-like Flash video highlights. : The interface is in Spanish, but navigation is straightforward. Premiership, La Liga, Calcio, Bundesliga and much, much more. Eat my goal!
posted by Abiezer to soccer at 05:58 AM - 3 comments
November 17, 2007
Walter Tull: was born into a poor family and orphaned at an early age. Conditions were tough and opinions prejudiced but by the age of nineteen Walter Tull was playing first team football for Spurs – the first black outfield player in history. Then came the Great War. Tull signed up as a private but within three years he had become the first British-born black officer.
posted by Abiezer to soccer at 02:52 PM - 4 comments
November 04, 2007
Pyramid passion: One man's odyssey around the lower reaches of British non-league football. Lots of quirky reading about such luminaries of the game as Staveley Miners Welfare and Gala Fairydean. Much photography of various ramshackle grounds and the supporters who half-fill them. You can almost smell the Bovril.
posted by Abiezer to soccer at 06:29 AM - 5 comments
October 14, 2007
Tartan Army takes the high road: Beating Ukraine 3-1 at Hampden to continue their unexpected Euro qualifiers group-topping run was probably more than enough to make Scotland supporters feel good about themselves. But they've gone a bit better; their half-time rendition of Loch Lomond [Amateur video] will be made into a single with uber-folksters Runrig, proceeds to charity Children in Need.
posted by Abiezer to soccer at 11:32 AM - 6 comments
October 04, 2007
Rockets fine Yao Ming for attending Special Olympics opening ceremony: Doesn't strike me as the wisest of PR moves.
posted by Abiezer to basketball at 05:36 AM - 33 comments
September 09, 2007
Tasker Watkins dies: aged 88. In later life serving eleven years as president of the Welsh Rugby Union, Sir Tasker was the first Welshman in WWII to be awarded the Victoria Cross.
posted by Abiezer to other at 01:52 PM - 2 comments
August 09, 2007
Making of a Chinese bad boy: On Yi Jianlian's attempts to get out of being drafted to the Milwaukee Bucks. Disclaimer: I know nothing about basketball, buy Jonathan Ansfield is one of the best journos writing about China today.
posted by Abiezer to basketball at 06:41 AM - 9 comments
August 08, 2007
Stromtroopers break up the Alliance.: Alliance for "Beijing-style cursing" from the terraces at Beijing Guoan's home matches that is. Another sad day for sporting tradition.
posted by Abiezer to soccer at 08:57 AM - 4 comments
July 28, 2007
Women's football in Egypt: Decent short report from Al Jazeera on the growth of the women's game in the big African nation.
posted by Abiezer to soccer at 02:02 AM - 3 comments
May 28, 2007
No more football at high altitude: following a ban on playing matches at more than 2,500m above sea level. FIFA cite health and safety considerations. The impact of the ruling will be felt most in South America. Brazilian and Argentine sides have suffered in cup matches in Andean nations like Bolivia, and some attributed Ecuador's success in the last World Cup qualifying campaign to Quito's 2,800m altitude. Not necessarily sour grapes, as Peru have considered shifting their home matches for a similar benefit.
posted by Abiezer to soccer at 03:54 AM - 13 comments
May 24, 2007
China's finest blind soccer players: at last week's 7th National Disabled Games in Kunming. Camera work's a bit duff but the skills are silky. I'm more used to officials with visual impairments.
posted by Abiezer to soccer at 04:43 AM - 9 comments
May 21, 2007
Damn, Leroy.: Rosenior loses his manager's job at Torquay United after ten minutes. Can anyone top that for the shortest reign as coach?
posted by Abiezer to soccer at 01:44 AM - 8 comments
May 19, 2007
Quiz where you have to guess the football (soccer) team from photos of their strips: I did terribly.
posted by Abiezer to soccer at 12:38 AM - 19 comments
May 10, 2007
Best footballing nations per capita: International sides ranked by their FIFA points per head of population.
posted by Abiezer to soccer at 02:50 AM - 14 comments
April 25, 2007
One of Celtic goalie Artur Boruc's better saves: - he stops an assault on a pregnant woman by racist neds.
posted by Abiezer to football at 09:37 PM - 7 comments
April 18, 2007
Sports ground finder: Enter you UK postcode and find your nearest football, rugby (either code) or cricket ground. Not much use to most of our users I realise, but maybe on a business trip?
posted by Abiezer to general at 11:50 AM - 7 comments
April 06, 2007
Dirk Gent(leman)ly: Reading some English comments on the Marbury-LeBron sneaker war, I learned that Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt runs his own foundation to help the poor in Nepal and Ghana, as well as back home in his native Holland. I was suitably impressed.
posted by Abiezer to soccer at 06:58 AM - 6 comments