Besiktas is an example for Portuguese clubs

Besiktas which is a Turkish club, recently signed three Portuguese players.
That is two more than some Portuguese clubs, mentioning no names, Benfica! Sorry it slipped out.
That right there tells you, what is wrong with Portuguese soccer when you have teams in Turkey, Greece, Romania, Belgium, England and Italy have more Portuguese in their starting lineups than some SuperLiga Portuguesa teams. Even Real Madrid has three.

What concerns me is that the players that signed with Besiktas were all looking to return home.
Quaresma, Hugo Almeida, and Manuel Fernandes all had made public their interest in playing for Portuguese teams. Quaresma and Almeida were linked with Benfica, but the club looked to Argentina to find players instead. The same thing with Sporting who were linked to former Benfica player, Fernandes.

This all goes back to a simple solution that Platini had. Make teams have to field players who come from their academies like Barcelona, Lyon, Ajax, and sometimes Sporting do.
Perhaps a rule where teams have to start five, maybe six or more players who were trained in their youth teams.

I just find it ridiculous when Benfica plays with only one Portuguese player.
What about Inter Milano last year when they fielded a starting 11 with no Italians, Arsenal with no English, hell, Arsenal had no British even in the bench.
I know that it is hard now a days to find players who are loyal to their clubs, but investing in young local players will go a long way for accomplishing just that.

Benfica and Varzim sign a deal

Portuguese champions Benfica have signed a protocol with Varzim, this financial deal will give Benfica first rights over any player that Varzim has.

This deal will come in handy when Benfica tries to sign the cousin of Fabio Coentrao, Varzim starting left back, Rui Coentrao.
Rui Coentrao plays in a very similar way to his cousin, Rui also began playing as a left winger before being placed at left back, but they both share other similarities.
Both are from Vila do Conde, and they both began their soccer careers at Rio Ave.
Rui Coentrao left Vila do Conde for Lisboa just like his cousin, but Rui joined Sporting at a young age. He was later dismissed by Sporting, and decided to join the arch rivals of Rio Ave, Varzim.
He is already a member of the Portuguese Under 19 team, and I have no doubt that in the near future, he will be playing in the Selecao.

Rui Coentrao is one to keep an eye on.......

Christmas

I have not blogged in a while, but with the snow blizzard that we just got in Boston, I have found some time to write about a couple of things.

The first one is how impressed I am with how good the Portuguese League has been so far this season.

A lot of teams are playing well, and a number of players are puttting up some worthy performances.

It is no wonder that so many European clubs are looking to Portugal for their Christmas shopping lists. Even the lower division teams have plenty of scouts at their games. Genoa was on hand at a few Belenenses games, presumably they were looking at Pele, the defensive midfielder.

Louletano, the third division club have plenty of interest in Joao Reis, the "new Figo". Benfica, Inter Milan, Arsenal and Chelsea have all inquired about him.

The second one has to do with the Bowl Season for college football. As much as I love watching the bowl games, this reminds me that the college football season is almost over.

Finally, a word about Christmas, it was a good one this year.

Plenty of good times with the family, nice little bonus from work, what else can you ask for?

Maybe a move to sunny California, or Florida..........

New England Patriots

Are the New England Patriots the best team in the NFL? The answer is yes, they are.

Going into Chicago, facing that defense in that weather, putting up 36 points, and holding the Bears to just 7.

The Patriots are looking scary right now, are they better than they were in 2007?

Urban Meyer resigns

The search for a new head coach at Miami has just gotten harder, as the Florida Gators are now searching for a new head coach as well.
Urban Meyer has resigned, and now one of the top programs in the Nation is looking for his replacement. We can only assume who is going to get the job, but it will be probably some of the same names that are candidates for the Miami job.
Dan Mullen is the strongest candidate, but he claims that he is happy at Missisippi State. Mushamp from Texas will interview.
Charlie Strong is a good choice, as is Mike Leach.
The next few days should be promising

Shameful and disgraceful

Shameful and disgraceful would be how I would describe the performance that Benfica had in this years UEFA Champions League edition.



In a group that had Benfica, Lyon, Schalke, and Hapoel Tel Aviv, Benfica finished third in the group with two wins and four losses.

Along the way, Benfica was shut out in away matches, they could not score even one goal outside of Lisbon.

Not impressive. Benfica should have done much better, I actually feel embarrassed by the way that they played. They clearly should have won this group.

Let us wait and see what happens next year...........

If we can qualify, that is........

Miami fires Randy Shannon

I have to admit that I was somewhat surprised that the U fired Randy Shannon.
The results have been less than impressive, I will admit, that certainly includes the loss to South Florida.
However, there are other things that matter as much as winning, let us see, things such as a high graduation rate, and that the criminal acts are down.
Mr. Shannon was able to change the program for the better. He is leaving the program a lot better than it was when he came in.

Who to replace him?
Who ever it is that the University of Miami brings in, he will have to be a disciplinarian, I believe that it is the only way that you can bring out the best out of all the talent in South Beach.
The U is a historic program, and is surrounded by lots of great talent.
Some good names to keep in mind for the head coaching job are Dan Mullen, the current head coach at Mississippi State, or Mike Leach, the former head coach at Texas Tech.
I can imagine Mike Leach running the spread offense at Miami. That would be awesome to see!
The next few days should be interesting.

Barcelona beats Real Madrid 5-0

As I watched Real Madrid get routed by Barcelona, I could not help but be amazed.

I almost felt pity for Real Madrid. Pity mainly for the Portuguese in the Real Madrid squad. Real does have more Portuguese players than say Benfica, and they do have Jose Mourinho.

It made me wonder for a brief second if "the special one" has lost his touch.
It was for a brief moment only, as I realized that Barcelona is the best team in club soccer.

What I really like about Barcelona is the culture at the club.
Their best midfield players, Xavi and Iniesta, arguably two of the best midfielders in all of soccer are not your average superstar soccer players. They do not live a rock star lifestyle.
I remember reading a story about how a new player that was signed at Barcelona was pulled aside by Xavi when he arrived at practice driving a brand new Hummer. Xavi told him that this was not the Barcelona way! Xavi never did say who the player was, but I am guessing that it was either Ibrahimovic, or Hleb.

Barcelona is more than a club as their fans love to tell everyone, they love to produce their own players through their youth academies, players such as Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Puyol, and Pedro all came up from the club.
They feel the club when they play, I think that this is what is missing from most teams, they do not have enough players who identify themselves with the club.
This is something that you cannot just buy, Barcelona for example, is the pride of the Catalans, and all of their players understand that.

This is one the reasons why Barcelona is the best team in the World.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Day, one of the great American holidays. The turkey day!

It is the one time of the year where families get together, eat well, and then spend the rest of the day knocked out on the couch watching football with their stomachs stuffed!

You will then need those extra calories to burn off some energy the next day on "Black Friday".

Thanksgiving is a tradition that goes back to some of the first Europeans that stepped foot on the "new world".

Of course there is still controversy as to whether or not Thanksgiving is a religious holiday, I say yes it is, and we still do not know if the first Thanksgiving was in Plymouth, Ma, or in Jamestown, Virginia.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Braga beats Arsenal

Portuguese soccer got another big victory last night as Braga defeated Arsenal 2-0 in the Champions League.
I was impressed with the way Braga played, they were very confident, and showed no fear against one of the top teams in European soccer.
Having said, I must admit that Arsenal did have a very sloppy game, but a lot of that has to do with how well Braga played defensively. They were able to close up the passing lanes, and Braga was able to link up on counter attacks quickly and efficiently.
Rodriguez, the Braga central defender had a great game, I thought that he was the player of the game. He was a nuisance all game long, not allowing any breathing room for the Arsenal attackers.

Portuguese soccer is on a high right now, the Portuguese teams participating in European tournaments are doing well, and there is some good soccer being played in the domestic Portuguese league.
This is why there are so many European scouts at all Liga Sagres games, even smaller teams like Rio Ave have scouts looking at some of their players.

Let us see how far the Portuguese teams can go in the UEFA Cup, and the more prestigious UEFA Champions League.

Awesome!

What an awesome Monday Night Raw!

While it is sad to see John Cena "retire" from the WWE, one of my favorite wrestlers has become the World Champion.

The Miz is the new WWE Champion after beating Randy Orton last night.

Awesome!!

Christmas spirit

Is it just me, or are we celebrating Christmas earlier with each year that passes?

I am sorry, I mean the "Holiday season".

We are not even in Thanksgiving yet, but everywhere I go, I hear Christmas music, I see Christmas promotions.

I find it sad just how commercialized it has gotten.

Let us get back to the true meaning of Christmas, spending time with family and friends, eating way too much of Grandma's food, and drinking egg nog.

Portugal beats Spain 4-0

Portugal put on a stunning display against the best team in the world, Spain.

I know that it was a meaningless "exhibition friendly", but it was an amazing performance. It was a great game, as both teams played open attacking soccer.

The only thing that spoiled the game was the first bad call of the game.

The referee somehow did not allow the goal by Cristiano Ronaldo due to an imaginary offside. This referee also missed some other calls, but it was not enough to ruin the show that Portugal was putting on display.

This team is playing very well.

I am excited for the future of the Portuguese National Team under Paulo Bento.

The only negative of the night was the lack of support for the team.

In a game featuring two of the best National teams in the world, only 25000 fans showed up to the game.

Not what you are looking for when you are submitting a bid for the FIFA World Cup in 2018.

Dallas beats the Giants

Well, would you look at that!

Dallas gets rid of Wade Phillips, and they win the first game. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

The talent has always been there, let us see what happens for the rest of the season.

top 25

The most interesting thing that I found on the Top 25 this Monday was not who was ranked, but rather who is not.

USC, Texas, Florida and Notre Dame are not in the top 25.

Crazy times in college football.

After another Florida loss, this time to rivals South Carolina, the Urban Meyer haters are back.

I find it amazing that Urban is not allowed a rebuilding season.

If Florida has another bad season next year, then fine, but after one bad season? Come on.

The same for Mack Brown and the Texas Longhorns.

Texas is having an awful year, they might even miss a bowl game.

She has my vote!

A pop singer in Poland is running for a political office, and she has an unusual way to get noticed, she hopes that sexy photos of her in a bikini will help.

I believe that will get the male votes.

Conference expansion

With all the conference realignments going on, here are my ideas:

Big 12- I think that the Big 12 should add TCU and Houston to replace Nebraska and Colorado.

Some people like Jerry Jones want Arkansas and Notre Dame to join the conference, but this will not happen.

Notre Dame will not give up its Independent status along with their television rights, and I cant imagine that Arkansas will want to leave the SEC.

It would be nice to see Texas and Arkansas renew their rivalry on a yearly basis.

Big East- It is almost certain that Villanova will be joining the Big East in football. Villanova is already a member of this conference in every other sport.

Another interesting choice should be UCF which would give USF an instate rival.

The final two spots should go Temple, and to Memphis.

Some people don't like Memphis here, so how about one of those top teams from the CAA like a Richmond, James Madison, UMASS or Delaware?

The Big East would have 12 teams and would be able to have a championship game.

The conference that I am concerned about is the WAC.

Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada are leaving the conference to join the Mountain West.

The replacements that have been mentioned are not very impressive.

The WAC has announced that UT-SA and Texas State will be joining the conference, and that they have sent invites to Montana, Montana State and North Iowa. Rumour has it. they are interested in Eastern Washington, must be the Red Turf.

Are you kidding me? Six FCS schools?

Of the remaining WAC schools, there are lots of rumours flying around.

Hawaii wants to go independent, Utah State wants to join the MWC, and Louisiana Tech wants to leave for either Conference USA or the Sun Belt for financial reasons.

The future looks grim for this conference.

I honestly believe that the remaining schools will have to join the MWC and other conferences.

TCU to the Big East?

There has been a lot of reports coming out about the possibility of TCU joining the Big East. No, seriously, ESPN and other networks are all over this.

Football wise, this would be a great addition to the Big East, as I believe that TCU is better than any other team in the conference.

Geographically however, it is another story.

TCU is in Fort Worth, which is located roughly 1700 miles away from the league headquarters in Providence, Rhode Island; TCU is also located at least 1000 miles away from five of the Big East members.

The closest school is Louisville which is 900 miles away.

Some of the people who defend the idea of TCU joining the Big East argue that Nebraska is 1200 miles away from Penn State.

There are also the ones who remind me that TCU currently travels a lot in its current conference, for example, New Mexico is 600 miles away, a trip to Utah is 1240 miles away.

The only thing that I dont understand is why the Big 12 has not shown any interest in TCU.

Perhaps the Big 12 wants to keep its 10 team format.

TCU will be a great addition to whatever conference they decide to join.

Cam Newton

It seems that every day there is a news report about Cam Newton.

Now it seems that his father tried to arrange a pay for play deal with Miss State.

Yesterday there was a report that Cam was facing expulsion from the University of Florida for cheating on a test, before he decided to transfer out.

There was also the issue of him "throwing a laptop out the window".

There are certainly a lot of character questions here, but will it be enough to take the Heisman away from him?

5-0 Porto-Benfica

After the humiliating loss at the hands of Porto, Benfica is clearly out of the running for the Portuguese Championship.

Yes, I am aware of the fact that there is still the entire second half of the season to be played, but let me remind you that Porto is now 10 points ahead of Benfica.

The "system" in Portugal will not allow Porto to lose that many points in the rest of the season.

There is one thing that must be made clear however, the fact is that in the two times that Porto and Benfica have faced each other, Porto has outscored Benfica 8-0. That certainly means something, does it?

Something else that I find interesting, Jorge Jesus has lost his charm around the Estadio da Luz. Benfica supporters and the Portuguese media can be brutal, especially when Benfica is not playing well, imagine how they can be after such a bad loss, and after a disastrous start to the season.

I do not believe that Jorge Jesus will be fired, at least not during the season.

Can he still save his job? I believe so, but much improvement will be needed.

Perhaps a "cleaning" of the locker room would do some good as well.

As I had told some people earlier, there are some Benfica players that clearly should have left in the off season. This means you, Cardozo.............

Benfica vs Lyon

Benfica had an almost perfect game against Lyon in the Champions League.

Benfica was up 4-0 at one point of the game, but ended up allowing 3 goals in the last 15 minutes.

This was a great victory ahead of the Porto clash.

Fabio Coentrao continues his fine form and scored 2 goals.

I think that this is where Fabio plays better, in the left wing, this season he was moved up in the field so he could be used as a replacement for Angel Di Maria.

He is doing a fine job.

As for Carlos Martins, he is also in fine form as he provided all four assists in the game.

He played in central midfield because Pablo Aimar was unavailable due to illness.

Carlos normally plays in the right midfield in what was Ramires spot last season.

It is going to be a great game this Sunday when Benfica plays that team called Porto.

One catch for 8 yards

One catch for 8 yards, this is all that Randy Moss had to offer on his return to New England.

This was also his last game as a Viking, as today it has been reported that he was released by the team.

Oh, Big D for dead.

The Boys lost yet again to go 1-6 this season.

I just don't understand what is wrong with this team besides Wade Phillips.

A lot of people think that this team was overrated to begin with, and it is hard to argue this, but this team is loaded with talent, especially in a defense that is led by the best pass rusher in the NFL in D Ware.

Maybe the Cowboys can get the first pick in next years Draft, and pick Ryan Mallet.

BC loses to Florida State

For some reason I do not feel as bad about this loss as I should.

The FSU Seminoles turned the ball over four times, but still managed to beat Boston College.

FSU is now 4-0 in the ACC for the first time since winning their first six conference games in 2003 and have won five games in a row for the first time since 2005.

Florida State's defense had four sacks and did not allow a single touchdown.

I was happy to see Everett's own Jim Noel play well. Noel had two of BC's three interceptions.

Chase Rettig seems to be the answer for the future. The freshman qb had some moments where he showed his great arm and vision.

Our defense is awesome, and they were the only reason that BC stayed in the game.

I still have hope that BC will play in a bowl game this year. All that BC has to do is win four of their last six games, which to be honest, is reasonable if you look at the remaining schedule.

another crazy week in college football

Another crazy week in college football.

It was the second week in a row that the number 1 team in the nation loses, as Ohio State lost to Wisconsin and last week we had Alabama lose to South Carolina.

Wisconsin won this game in the trenches, in a traditional Big 10 game.

The Badgers bullied the Buckeyes all over the field.

Michigan loses again, this time to Iowa. The worst news is that Robinson was taken out of the game due to injury and replaced by Forcier.

He should be back in time to play against Penn State in two weeks.

It was a Saturday filled with upsets and all sorts of craziness in the SEC.

How about that game between Arkansas and Auburn?

Both of these teams combined for 108 points. It was the highest scoring regulation game in SEC history. It was a game to remember. Cam Newton is now all the talk in sports radio.

South Carolina with a big letdown as they lost to Kentucky. Keep in mind that the Gamecocks were up 28-10 in the first half. South Carolina forgot to show up for the second half as Randall Cobb ran all over them.

Steve Spurrier had warned his team all week that this could happen.

Florida has lost three games in a row!! They lost to Mississippi State 10-7!

I can not believe that! Florida only scored 7 points.

You have to feel for Urban Meyer, one of the truly nice guys in football. I have no doubt that the Gators will be back soon as the powerhouse in the SEC. This season is not yet over for Florida as they still have a chance to play for the SEC championship.

The problem is that there are rumours that some of last years stellar recruit class want out if they do not get more playing time.

It makes you wonder how Cam Newton will have looked running this offense.

It seems that no one in the SEC East wants to win the division.

Georgia is back, as they routed Vanderbilt 43-0.

Alabama is back in business. They defeated their rivals Ole Miss to get back to their winning ways. As I said earlier, I do not think that Bama will lose again this year.

LSU, well, they did what they were supposed to, and they beat another team from Louisiana, the McNeese State Cowboys 32-10.

In the Big 12, I had called the upset by Texas over Nebraska and.......... It happened.

The Longhorns were all over Martinez and the Cornhuskers.

I love it that Texas won this game.

What is sad however is that this is probably the last time time that these two teams will play each other for a long time, unless they play each other in a bowl game in the future as Nebraska is leaving the Big 12 for the Big 10.

Big Ben returns!

Big Ben is returning to the NFL.
He will play in his first game since his four game suspension due to his off the field behavior in the off season.
His first game will be against hated rivals, the Cleveland Browns.

Eric Mangini has said that he was leaning towards starting rookie QB Colt McCoy.
Are you kidding me?
Colt McCoy is the future of this franchise, and you are thinking about throwing him out there in his first game in the NFL against the best defense in the league??
Mangini, what are you thinking?

Portugal beats Iceland 3-1

Paulo Bento seems to be the real deal. He has delivered good soccer, and the players seem very comfortable. I know that it is still early, but it seems that the Portuguese soccer federation made a good choice with Paulo Bento as the National Team coach.
Bento has brought the classic 4-3-3 back to the NT, and the team is now attacking a lot better than when they had Carlos Queiroz at the helm.
How about the Portuguese midfield with Raul Meireles, Joao Moutinho and Carlos Martins. Lots of flair and creativity in the midfield.
I think that Portugal is back to their fine form that they had in the last 10 years or so.

A note has to be made for Cristiano Ronaldo.
Not only is he scoring goals for Portugal, but he was even playing defense yesterday. There were many times when CR7 went after attackers with some slide tackles, he was chasing down second balls, I mean, this is the best player in the world that is doing this.
Great effort by Ronaldo.

The Jets

With all the talk about the Cowboys, and T.O., I almost forgot about last night. The Jets defeated the Vikings 29-20. The Jets are now 4-1, and they have the best record in the NFL. Man, I hate the Jets... but they have such classy fans...

Dallas

Poor Wade Phillips........... Surely, there is no way that Jerry Jones is going to keep him around, is there?

Such a talented team at 1-3, it is time to make a move and it needs to be done right now before it is too late. The problem is that who do you bring in?

Bill Cowher? Bill Billick? Whoever you do bring in, it has been a long time in the making.

Captain America

I cant wait for this movie to come out!! It is going to be awesome!

TO

I wonder if Terrel Owens ever stops to think before he opens his mouth.

He actually said that "this season feels like I am playing for free".

The Bengals are actually paying him 2 million dollars this season.

Big Saturday

It was a huge day in college football on Saturday.



The upset of Alabama by South Carolina was just one of the many stories of the day.







Huge win by the South Carolina Gamecocks over Alabama in what was a great game. Garcia had his best game of his young career. A well deserved win, however I would not want to face Alabama the rest of the year.

These guys will be out for blood, and even if they lost this game, I still think that they are the best team in the nation. The LSU-Alabama game will be a big one.

Speaking of LSU how good was that win against Florida? Keep in mind that the Tigers have no quarterback. Les Miles is doing a great job with the defense down there. I do not understand why LSU fans boo the guy, They are undefeated and every year they bring in a top five recruiting class.

How about the Oregon Ducks? These guys just can not stop scoring. I love watching these guys play. I am curious to know if Boise State or TCU will be ranked higher than the Ducks.

Florida State fans must be very happy after the big win at the Miami Hurricanes. What a turnaround job by Jumbo Fisher.

The one loss that surprised me was the Michigan loss to Michigan State. Robinson is still my choice for the Heisman trophy.

Notre Dame managed to beat Pitt after nearly blowing a huge lead. The Irish were awesome in the first half, but had an awful second half. The Irish play Eastern Michigan next.

North Carolina State is right now the best team in the ACC.Sadly my team, the Boston College Eagles are heading in the wrong direction as they suffered their third straight loss. By the way, BC plays Florida State next week. It is going to be a long season for BC fans.

Big news in Vikings camp!

You would think that the return of Randy Moss would be the big news in Minnesota, but sadly it is not.

The news about Brett Favre and Jenn Sterger an intern from the New York Jets have resurfaced this week, and now the NFL is investigating.

Wow, poor Brett. The guy just can not seem to catch a break.

What is funny is that Deadspin had broke these news months ago, but everyone else just picked up on it now.

Portugal 3 Denmark 1

So the Paulo Bento regime got off to a good start, as Portugal beat Denmark 3-1.

I know that it was only the first game, but I liked what I saw from Portugal.

It has been a long time since the Portuguese played attractive, loose, attacking soccer.

They dominated the entire game with good ball possession, short quick passes and they looked comfortable in defense.

The players looked happy and motivated, they look like a completely different team than the past six months.

I am just hoping that the National Team can concentrate on playing soccer and not have to worry about cases such as the Nani incident, and the Deco incident.

Iceland is next..............

In Bani con los Tigres

Back to reality. I have just returned from the Dominican Republic where I just spend 6 incredible days. I fell in love with the DR.
I certainly plan in returning.

It was six days filled with Presidentes and cafe molido while surrounded by beautiful women.

The Dominican people might be the friendliest people that I have come across, I have traveled to many countries, but Dominicans are the nicest that I have come across and they go out of their way to accommodate you.

I must admit that I was a bit skeptical about going in the first place, as I had heard nothing but negative things about the DR. I was pleased to find that most of these things were wrong.
That is not to say that the country is perfect, far from it, there are lots of unemployment, poverty and crime is high to a certain point; you must certainly be aware of your surroundings especially in Santo Domingo.
But again, any big city is going to have its shady parts.
Santo Domingo is a nice city, it certainly has its charm, especially in the Zona Colonial, the oldest part of the capital. Personally, I just do not like big cities, as I found them too chaotic, noisy and with way too many people.
Add to the fact that Santo Domingo is very hot, and well, you know how that gets.

The only real negative about the trip was that it rained for nearly the entire time that I was there, that was my fault as I decided to go during the rainy season, but now I know better, I was only able to go to the beach once, but what a beach it was, Playa de Salinas is a really nice beach, but there are so many other fine beaches in the DR.

Well, I am back in Boston, for now, but I am looking forward to returning to the Dominican Republic.

Benfica beats Sporting 2-0

It was not a great game, but a win is a win.

To be honest, at this point Benfica will take any win they can get.
I liked watching this game, Benfica looked confident and played in a way that was somewhat close to last year.

Oscar Cardozo seems to be at peace with the Benfica fans, the same fans that were criticising him for his poor form in the beginning of the season. In the previous game, a Champions League match versus APOEL, Cardozo celebrated a goal by placing his finger in front of his mouth and directing it at the fans.

Fabio Coentrao is in fine form, he is easily our best player right now. Most of the running play comes from him.

Javi Garcia has also regained his rightful spot as the starter in the defensive midfield. He is one of the best holding midfielders in Europe. No, I did not mean Portugal, I meant Europe.

Even Roberto seems to be doing better. He seems to have gained some confidence, and looks very secure between the goal posts.

What a great feeling it is to beat Sporting............

Maritimo, you are next............

The Roma people.

A European summit descended into a row yesterday when Nicolas Sarcozy shouted at Jose Manuel Barroso who is the head of the EC during a clash over France's expulsion of gypsies.

Barroso has been very critical of the way France has been deporting the Roma people.

Viviane Reding, the politician from Luxembourg called it a disgrace, and compared it to how Jews were treated in World War 2.

I find these comments an absurd, how could anyone compare the dismantling of illegal camps and deportation to what the Jewish people went through in WW2?

The French people should be allowed to deal with their own internal problems without having to have "permission" from other heads of state.

If these holier than thou politicians feel so strongly about this, why don't they offer to take the Roma people to their own countries?

I should also mention that only the ones who are found to be living illegally in France are sent home.

Did people forget about the riots that started after dozens of French gypsies armed with hatchets and iron bars attacked a police station and burned cars after French police shot a man who had ran over a police officer at a checkpoint.

Did I mention that the man who was shot was involved in a burglary earlier in the day?

How about the fact that these illegal camps are sources of trafficking, shockingly living standards, exploitation of children, prostitution and crime. These camps are found all over France, Spain, and Portugal.

In fact, France has been sending Roma people home for years now, last year alone over 1000 were deported to Bulgaria and Romania.

I think that people are forgetting that France is merely punishing those who have committed crimes, and yes, I do consider illegal immigration a crime.

Ines Sainz

Ines Sainz has reignited the debate about female reporters in male locker rooms.

A lot of people came out and said their opinions on it, but Clinton Portis had the best one.

In my opinion, women have no reason to be in male athletes locker rooms, would male reporters be allowed in female locker rooms? The answer is no, they would not.

One reporter claims that reporters are allowed in the locker rooms for an hour, and that during that time the athletes are expected to "share" the space with the reporters.

I just don't understand what possible reason a reporter could have to need access to a locker room before or after a game.

The locker room should be for the athletes only, it is a place to reflect after a win or a loss, a place where they should be allowed privacy.

Tough weekend for the ACC

There were so many great games this Saturday in college football, but none were played by ACC schools. Virginia Tech was the worst one, they lost to James Madison!! That was so bad, it may even cost Boise State a chance to play in the Championship game.
Florida State lost in a blowout to Oklahoma, the Sooners were able to get their subs in early.
Georgia Tech lost to a Big 12 team, problem is that the team was Kansas who last week lost to South Dakota State.
Clemson and Maryland were able to take care of their opposition in blowout fashion, so that was good.
Miami had a tough loss to a very good Ohio State team, at least the Hurricanes kept it respectable.
The same for Virginia who lost a very close game to USC.
North Carolina State beat UCF in a close one.
Duke and Wake Forest played in a high scoring shootout which was won by the Demon Deacons.
As for my favorite ACC team, Boston College beat Kent State, but it was not easy.
The Eagles struggled on offense in the first half, before coming alive in the second.
I am hoping that Boston College is saving their best for next week when the Hokies come into Chestnut Hill. This is a game that Virginia Tech needs to win or they will start 0-3.

MP left devastated after discovering wife was a prostitute

MP left devastated after discovering wife was a prostitute

Are you kidding me? The poor bastard, could you imagine finding out that your wife was a prostitute before you met her, and that she resumed her "work" after you brought her from Brazil to your country?

Benfica loses...........again

Benfica loses for the third time in four games. Not the start that Benfica was hoping for.

I must admit that the referee at the game on Friday was awful, and that the guy from Porto, Fernando Gomes is in charge of the Portuguese Liga, but lets be honest, there are many other reasons for the poor form that Benfica is in.

Benfica took a big gamble by not selling some of the players that had interest from other teams.

The idea was to wait a year and have them play in the Champions League so their value could go up, this will not work if the poor results continue.

There is nothing worse for team morale than to have a player on a team who does not want to be here. Benfica turned down offers for David Luis that were as high as 30 million from Chelsea and Manchester City, and also turned down offers for Oscar Cardoso that were around 15 million from Sevilla and Everton.

Benfica should have learned from Sporting. Our eternal rivals had an awful season last year which saw the value for Veloso and Moutinho go down to half the price they were asking for.

This is what is going to happen if Benfica continues with these results.

At least Roberto seems to have gained some confidence ahead of our game against APOEL on Wednesday for the Champions League.

The Saints go marching in!

As I posted earlier, anyone expecting a high flying, high scoring game in the first NFL game of the new season was clearly disappointed. The Saints beat the Vikings 14-9.

The Saints did not dominate the Vikings, and they certainly were not perfect, but they were good enough, and they are 1-0, and that is all that matters.

One thing is clear however, and that is that it will not be easy for the Saints to repeat.

Week 2 of College Football

What a start to the second week, and the biggest games are yet to be played.

Auburn beat Mississippi State in a thriller to go 2-0 in the season, this was a much better game than the other football game.

Looking at the schedule, Auburn could possibly be undefeated when they face Alabama in the Iron Bowl.

Official's views on Muslim immigration divide Germany

Official's views on Muslim immigration divide Germany

I found an interesting article on the Washington Post about a German man who has some interesting views on the Muslim community in Germany.
I see a lot of common issues that some other Europeans in France, Switzerland, Portugal, Belgium, and Netherlands have as well.
It is something to think about.

NIKE PRO COMBAT

I am digging the new NIKE PRO COMBAT uniforms. Check them out here !

NFL kickoff

Another NFL season is kicking off tonight with the New Orleans Saints vs Minnesota Vikings.

Let us enjoy it because we still do not know if there will be a lock out next season.

With the NFL kicking off tonight, and the big games on Saturday with College Football, it will be a lazy weekend, but that is a good thing.

College Football week one

Now that week one is over, I have a few thoughts.
The first one is that Alabama will play Boise State for the National Championship, and Alabama will repeat as National Champions.
Alabama is impressive, and they are just loaded on both sides of the ball.
I saw a lot of games this weekend and no other team looks like they should even be in the same field as Alabama.
Apart from Alabama, Boise State will be the only other team to go undefeated this team.
I was really impressed with this team, the victory over Virginia Tech was a statement to every one else, and the only other challenge that they will have this season is against Oregon State.

The Big 10 is back, Ohio State was awesome in their victory over Marshall, but I do not believe that they will go undefeated this season.
How about Michigan with the huge win over UConn? The Huskies were unmatched from the start, and how about the performance of the Michigan qb? I have no doubt that Forcier will be forced to transfer. Plenty of teams will be happy to have him.
I can not wait for the Notre Dame vs Michigan game. It is going to be a great one.

Speaking of Notre Dame, not bad at all, Kelly with a victory on his first game in charge of the Irish over a tough Purdue.

I was surprised to see Florida make so many mistakes in their first game.
Urban Meyer has a lot of work to do before Florida begins SEC play.
LSU looked really good, the score should not have been that close. Russel Sheppard is the next Percy Harvin. This kid is just awesome.

FSU looks like they may be the best team in the ACC right now, and I think that they will beat Oklahoma next week. Jimbo Fisher has done an amazing job with Florida State.
Miami looked good as well, they will compete in the ACC.
Virginia Tech looked sloppy in the first quarter against Boise State, but they kept their compusure and played a good game. They will have a good season.
North Carolina, well, you have to feel for the Tarheels, they were expected to win the ACC title and maybe even challenge for a National Championship but with all the suspensions, it will not happen. The defense has been decimated by suspensions, but the backups did their jobs. UNC looks promissing for next year.

As for my team Boston College, well, it will be a long season, they just did not look good against Weber State, lots of mistakes on both sides of the ball.
Weber State should not have been on the same field as BC, but they played their game, and kept it interesting.
Boston College will have to improve for their next game, vs Kent State.
It was great to see Mark Herzlich back.

My final thought is on Jacksonville State and their upset win over Ole Miss.

This is a perfect example as to why I love my football on Saturdays.

Double Overtime for the upset.

Portugal loses to Norway

There is no way to deny that Portugal has been gradually going backwards since Portugal ended in 3rd place at the FIFA World Cup in 2006. The results have been less than impressive in the past four years. Who is to blame? The coaches, players, the Federation, the fans? There is plenty to blame all around.

The coaches, both Felipe Scolari and Carlos Queiroz, and even Agostinho Oliveira have plenty of blame with their choices of players and tactical decisions.
Numerous times they called out of shape and out of form players for important games, and then in these games they would make random substitutions, who can forget the Danny for Hugo Almeida sub in the World Cup game vs Spain.

The players are also to blame, as some of them just don't put effort into the National Team.
How is it that a player that can score 40 to 50 goals a season in the English Premier League and in the Spanish La Liga go almost two years without scoring a goal for Portugal?

How about the fans? I can only imagine why someone would go to a stadium just so they can boo and whistle every time a Portuguese player touches the ball. It is no wonder Portugal plays better away from home.
Portugal has to face a hostile environment in home games, it could be that some Portuguese fans do not understand what home field advantage is suppose to be.

What ever the reasons are, the truth is that Portugal has already lost five points in two games.
Portuguese football is in a big mess right now, it reminds me of the dark days of the early 90's.
A team with this much talent, loaded with players who play in the best leagues of Europe with the best clubs in the World should be playing much better.
The truth is that now we see how important Luis Figo was to Portugal. He was a real leader who led by example, something that no one is doing right now, though at least Raul Meireles is trying.

It may be already too late for Euro 2012, but let us get ready for the future. The qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil will start in just over two years from now.

The "vagina" case

The mystery surrounding Carlos Queiroz has been revealed: He called one of the members of the Portuguese National Institute of Anti-Doping a "vagina".

According to some sources, an official from the institute tried to get two players from the Portuguese National Team to take a doping test, but Queiroz wanted none of it. When the official insisted, Queiroz became angry and told the official to test his vagina.

Professor Queiroz has since been suspended for six months. This means that he will miss four games. The Portuguese Federation has said that while Queiroz did insult the official, he did not disrupt the actual test.

The "professor" maintains that he was only defending the group of players, as he believes that the tests were unsettling his players.

Queiroz will miss the games against Cyprus, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.

Portugal 4 Cyprus 4

An ugly day all around for Portuguese Soccer as the National Team somehow managed to draw at four goals a piece with the European powerhouse Cyprus.
Are you kidding me? Cyprus? Really?
I was as shocked as everyone by this result. This may be the worst result by the Portuguese ever. Once again Portugal begins an European Qualification in the worst way.
This means that now we have no choice but to go to Norway and beat them there.

There were a couple of things wrong from the start.
Can anyone tell me why Miguel is still playing for Portugal?
He does not even play with Valencia, why not give Silvio the start?
Silvio is in much better form playing for Braga. I can not imagine that he does not get the start on Tuesday vs Norway.

The Portuguese seemed like they wanted to be somewhere else.
Clearly this Queiroz situation is affecting the team, which we all know was going to happen.

Other bad news for Portugal: Our under 21's were eliminated by the English earlier today. So Portugal will not be in the Under 21 European Championship next year.
It was painful to watch. The Portuguese are so talented, but they seemed slow, perhaps the "vagina case" is affecting them as well.

Well, lets see how the Portuguese do on Tuesday against Norway.

RIP Jose Torres

Portuguese football is mourning the death of the 'Bom Gigante' ( Good giant).
Jose Torres has passed away at the age of 71.
Jose Torres was one of the most important Benfica and Portugal players in history.
He was and still is one of the most important figures in Benfica's glorious history.
He won nine Portuguese Liga titles and six Portuguese Cups. He also played in 3 European Cup finals with Benfica.

Portugal and football are poorer without Jose Torres.
Rest in Peace. You will be missed.

College football kickoff.........

It is finally here, the kickoff is tonight with South Carolina vs Southern Mississippi, and Miami vs Florida A&M; followed by Hawaii vs USC.
I think USC will shut more than a few people up. Lane Kiffin is a very good coach, if you watched Tennessee all last year, then you noticed that all their losses were close. If it wasn't for the last second block, the Volunteers would have beaten Alabama.
It is unfair what happened to USC, but I believe that these kids will still play hard, and win as many games as they can, possibly even win the Pac 10.

European Cup Qualifiers

Portugal announced its squad for the games against Cyprus and Norway. You can check the squad here.

I like the squad, but was surprised by a few things.

Silvio getting his first call up to the squad. The Braga right back is in fine form this season, and the fact that he can play in the left as well is a plus.

I was surprised however that Evaldo was not called up, he could be a good alternative to Fabio Coentrao.

With Simao announcing his retirement from International soccer, I figured that Ricardo Quaresma would walk right into the team, considering his fine form with his new club. However he was called up as an alternative choice if someone gets injured. With Ronaldo and Varela getting injured, Quaresma and former teammate Yanick were called up.

Some were left wondering why Vieirinha did not get called up, as he is playing really well and deserves a call up. Some people in Greece consider him to be the best player in the Greek League.

Paulo Machado gets his first call as well, the Toulouse player is in fine form in the French League, and he can play several positions in midfield, he is a terrific player who deserves a move to a bigger club, I think he would have been perfect to replace Ramires at Benfica, but that is an entirely different matter.

Good luck to my countrymen, play well and win..............

Monday Night Raw

Its amazing to believe that Monday Night Raw just aired its 900th show last night.

Congratulations are in order for the WWE.

Idiots?

So, it seems that Johnny Damon does not want to return to Boston.

Sadly, you can not blame him, look how he was treated when he left the Red Sox.

While I may agree that you don't directly leave the Sox to sign with the evil empire, the Yankees were the only team that seemed to really want Damon.

Damon wanted to stay here, but Sox management had different ideas.

Personally, I would have liked Damon to return to Boston, he would have helped this team a lot.

He decided to stay in Detroit, we have to respect his decision.

Damon's former teammate Manny Ramirez just signed with the White Sox, who claimed him off waivers from the Dodgers. It will be interesting to say the least, to see how Manny and Ozzie will get along. I can only imagine the headlines in Chicago.

a week away!

The College Football season is only a week away. I have been waiting for months, and its finally here. I am looking forward to Boston College football, SEC and Big 10 defenses, Big 12 offense, and I want to see how USC does in its first year under Lane Kiffin.
Will USC lose four games? Will Oregon win the Pac 10? Is Pryor ready to lead Ohio State? Will this be Paterno's last season with Penn State?
Alabama is the team to beat, and I believe that they will repeat as National champions. How will Florida look without Tebow? How good will LSU be this year?
A lot of questions this year. This will be another exciting College football season.

Braga

Congratulations to Braga as they defeated Sevilla to get in the UEFA Champions League.

I am amazed by how well Braga is playing, quick short passes, lethal counter attacks, great defense. They are a well coached team. Domingos will be coaching somewhere else soon.

Good luck to Benfica, and to Braga in the Champions League.