Letters to the Editor
bobotonto
Published Letters: 6
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Feigned Death is an Art!
[Read the article: (Feigned) death on the soccer pitch]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Diving is as much a part of the game as tackling and shooting, or like betting on games for NBA players. There are players who do it badly, like Didi Drogba of Chelsea, the pouty-mouthed Cristiano Ronaldo of European Champions Cup winning Manchester United and the biggest crybaby of all, José Antonio Reyes of Atletico Madrid. These guys are an embarrassment to the game for the fans and their coaches. The thing of it is, the referees know who they are, and, in the case of Reyes and Ronaldo, who are both highly-skilled wingers, when they REALLY are fouled, the referees often do not give them the benefit of the doubt and it becomes a boy-who-cried-wolf scenario. There are, however, some real artistes of the dive. My personal favorite is the Mexican veteran, Guahatomoc Blanco, a rough tough customer who has taken cheating to a breathtaking level. He may be old now and way past his best, plying his trade in the MLS for the Chicago Fire, but he's still awesome at ankle-tapping (where you walk up behind an opponent when the referee and linesmen are far away and boot them in the ankle or behind the shin at point-blank range). He's also brilliant at the 'Argentine kiss,' where you nuzzle up behind an opponent, force your chin into his shoulder and quickly yank at a chunk of hair and underarm flesh through his shirt. Blanco's piéce-de-resistance, however, is his penalty area dive. Blanco somehow uses a bit of jostling with a far taller centre back or full back as a means to fake being the recipient of an elbow to the nose or a hip check. He really is brilliant at this. Yes, Blanco,is as good at his craft as Finlay the WWE wrestler or Al Pacino. Some of you may have seen the Brazilian Rivaldo in his pomp. A fine thespian, loved by millions of us dive lovers, Rivaldo suffers in comparison to Blanco because he also had a tendency to be a diva. falling over as if shot when no physical contact was made at all. If you like yours subtle, check out Stevie Gerrard of Liverpool or Mancini of S.S. Roma. So, King, you may think you love the beautiful game, but I'm afraid your perspective is somewhat myopic.
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Turkey Are No Surprise!
[Read the article: Turkey tops the Celtics' comeback]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Turkey's performance against the Czech Republic surprised nobody. The Celtics and the Lakers going to seven games is an imperative for network executives and der Stern. The only issue that may give pundits pause is that journos have been calling Cech 'the best goalkeeper in the world' for a while now. He is, however, not even close to being as good as Buffone or Casillas. Of course, it's nice when your club has two center backs like John Terry to protect you and the two steel plates in your head. As with the legendary Manute Bol, sometimes being big is not big enough. All that aside, the Turks have a bloody good team of under achievers and the Czech team have a history of being well fancied by the bookies and being well loved by Russian mobsters, which has led them to trip over their collective Richard once again. Nihat Kahveci, a fine fine footballer, is exactly what Liverpool need to become great again. Too bad he doesn't speak the same kind of Spanish as Rafa Benitez. Look for at least one more surprise from the Turks yet!
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ESPN: Nickel and Diming It!
[Read the article: ESPN's dishonest tap-dance]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]ESPN's contempt for its audience, whether in English or Spanish, is about the only thing that it manages to signal with clarity. Paying someone to actually be there, or, say, making advanced arrangements to run an emergency English or CBC feed from Austria/Switzerland in such circumstances couldn't hurt profits that much, could it? One thing I have to say, however, is that the bozos who drove the bus in Bristol, CT seem to have finally figured out what a complete donkey they are stuck with in Tommy Smyth. Jessica Simpson knows more about soccer than Tommy Smyth. In fact, Osama Bin-Laden, sitting in his cave, wearing his Tony Adams Arsenal replica shirt, watching the Turks give the kraut Crusaders a real run for their money, knows more about soccer than Tommy Smyth. Andy Grey was a great performer in his pomp and, as an announcer, can still come up with some fine, pithy Scots wit. ESPN should retire Smyth and hire Grey to take his place. By the way, it's Philip Lahm, not Lamm!
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Ballack Agonistes!
[Read the article: España 2008]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You tell' em, Monkey Pants. If you ever watch Liverpool play their brand of ultra-cautious football, you'll get two divas (I mean divers) for the price of one in Torres and Stevie Gerrard. I hear the kid does a stunning dressing room impersonation of Stevie G and Jamie Carragher's Scouser accent, too. Spain may have been smaller yesterday, but Aragonés, had them putting some stick on the obviously sore Ballack from the get-go. Ballack predictably rose to the bait and yet none of his colleagues, especially Torsten Frings, who can be quite the enforcer at Werder, jumped in to defend him. Ballack is an essential part of the squad, but there's no way Jogi Löew can mesmerize the rest of the squad into liking him. Beside Schweinsteiger, Ballack and perhaps Podolski, Germany's cupboard is surprisingly bare these days.