Archive for June, 2014

  • June 16, 2014

    Why Thomas Mueller Should Be Banned From The World Cup

    'Hullo. Nice to see you.'

    ‘Hullo. Nice to see you.’

    In many arguments, there are two protagonists.

    There’s one who cheats and the other who gets angry.

    As experience in politics, business and even love will teach you, cheats tend to prosper more than the angry.

    Cheats are underhand, the angry are overt. Cheats maintain control, the angry lose theirs.

    So in countless sporting events, it’s just as it was when you were seven years old, thumping the living daylights out of your older brother who’d just stolen your favorite toy.

    This is a preview of Why Thomas Mueller Should Be Banned From The World Cup. Read the full post (632 words, 1 image, estimated 2:32 mins reading time)
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  • June 16, 2014

    The Strangest Thing About The World Cup So Far

    Robin Van Persie can't quite believe it either.

    Robin Van Persie can’t quite believe it either.

    It’s as if your mother got divorced, took tango lessons and took up with a Swedish artist.

    It’s as if your local vicar stood in the pulpit and railed against “that damned God person who’s raining disaster and misery on us all.”

    It’s as if Hillary Clinton actually said what she really meant.

    The first few days of the World Cup have thrown up something so strange, so painfully bizarre that they might drive the average soccer fan to (additional) drink.

    All these teams are actually trying to win.

    This is a preview of The Strangest Thing About The World Cup So Far. Read the full post (572 words, 1 image, estimated 2:17 mins reading time)
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  • June 13, 2014

    Nishimura: When A Referee Becomes A Spectacle

    Neymar scored. But not for the right reasons.

    Neymar scored. But not for the right reasons.

    Referees are like goalkeepers.

    Make one mistake and the whole world comes down upon you.

    In the goalkeeper’s case, you can retrieve your error with a later save, or even a headed goal in the last minute.

    In the referee’s case, the only real way is to make another error favoring the team whom you’ve unjustly punished.

    You’d think, therefore, that a referee’s chances of redeeming themselves would be greater.

    I gave an unjust penalty? Oh, that’s OK, I’ll give another one for the other team a bit later and we’ll all be fine.

    This is a preview of Nishimura: When A Referee Becomes A Spectacle. Read the full post (675 words, 1 image, estimated 2:42 mins reading time)
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