Posted on 03/16/2009 10:46:14 AM PDT by theruleshavechanged
Police say an Iraqi soccer player has been shot dead just as he was about to kick what could have been the tying goal in a weekend game south of Baghdad.
(Excerpt) Read more at dcexaminer.com ...
A fly swatter would be too obvious? (Best I could do on short notice.)
700 clubs entered the FA Cup this year!.
Last season, lower division Barnsley dispatched both Liverpool and Chelsea from the competition and the Final was contested by a lower division side (Cardiff) and was won by Portsmouth - not one of "The Big Four".
Even though "The Big Four" boss the Premiership there are other clubs making inroads and there are frequent upsets too. Arsenal lost to newly promoted Hull City at home this season. Middlesbrough beat Man Utd, Stoke City were leading 1-0 at Chelsea with two minutes to go before losing 1-2 so it doesn't always follow the form book.
As for being world champions, you are confusing being (arguably) the best in the world with being "World Champions".
The best team doesn't always win the title, for example, the Patriots last year..
To be "World Champions" you have to win a World Championship, and that needs to be a competition that is open to World Wide Competition. Of course, if there is no foreign competition to compete against anyway then your sport is not a world sport and your World Championship just died on the vine before it ever got started.
There are components to competing in a foreign country than can affect you performance, none of that is part of The NFL competition.
You can call them "World Champions" (of the NATIONAL Football League..LOL) if you like, but it's a hollow claim.
I have competed in World Championships on several continents, it not the same as competing at home.
They were apparently playing by Islamic Rules, which permit beheading your opponent, but only if he is across midfield, in possession of the ball. Beheading is preferred, but the Islamic game had to adapt to today’s realities, so shooting became accepted sometime in the ‘50’s. Of course, when playing infidel teams, killing is permitted at any time and by any means.
ROP sarcasm alert.
‘That makes the game a lot more interesting. We should try it with the NBA.’
Don’t try it when the players are out clubbing as then they are better armed than we are likely to be. Just check the number news stories of athletes who get into gun scrapes.
What's your point?
The essence of the game is to move the ball around without using your hands, that would be too easy. It's like arguing for bigger golf clubs or baseball bats to make it easier to hit the ball.
If you are inferring Soccer is unnecessarily dangerous due to the use of the head the statistics don't support you claim.
Heading a soccer ball won't damage your brain, being hit in the head with a soccer ball (which is not the same thing) might do damage if it was travelling fast enough, but there is no instance of a continued occurence of head injures. It's just not an issue.
There are THOUSANDS of soccer matches EVERY day WORLD WIDE and little or no reporting of head injuries caused by the ball.
I don’t know. Soccer seems to be played pretty much the same everywhere I’ve seen it.
A hostile crowd is hostile pretty much whether they speak the same language or not.
Also, the MLB club that wins the world championship most likely has four different nationalities on it’s roster.
The Patriots may or may not have been the best team. They have been a very good team the last few years, but they have also had a lot of luck regarding injuries, and that particular bug caught up to them last year. They’re bench isn’t the deepest in the league.
Thanks for your description of how the league and FA work. I’m a long way from a soccer fan. Even if I played it, I wouldn’t be able to watch it.
Yes the big four were put out last year, but they are back in force this year. I listen to BBC radio a lot out here, the rest of the stations are awful.
Obvious, someone had a score to settle.
A yellow. But if they shoot him again, it's a red for sure.
“It’s like arguing for bigger golf clubs or baseball bats to make it easier to hit the ball.”
Take a listen to add # 62 for real men of genius....it’s a hoot.
http://thefuntimesguide.com/2004/10/bud_light_real.php
My basic point is that it’s somewhat strange to intentionally put your head in danger as an accepted part of a sport. The notion to me is — pardon the choice of words — foreign. There’s no doubt that soccer players are highly-conditioned athletes and skillful in what they do.
I’m sure you’re right that the risk of injury from heading is low, when properly executed. From what I’ve seen (and I HAVE watched the game), there may very well be more serious injuries from players knocking their heads together in attempts for the ball.
Re: the use of the hands, the double-overhand throw-in also seems strange... I suppose allowing an arbitrary throw may emphasize those with stronger throwing arms/upper body strength at the expense of the other skills(?)
You are correct, head injuries do occur with clashes of heads, but even so, they are not normally that serious, and certainly less dangerous than Boxing.
Players get cuts and bruises, elbows in the face and eyes, and the occasional broken cheekbone. Abotu 3 years ago, Petr Cech the Chelsea Goalkeeker got kneed in the head and received a partially collapsed skull. He has subsequently recovered and such injuries are rare.
It’s a man’s game, the only protection that is mandated are shin guards. ..it’s not like those American football sissies with their shoulder pads and body armor....LOL!
“Whatdaya think Obama, should we withdraw our troops?”
Hundreds of billions spent in trying to restore security in a country where a soccer player can be shot before marking....
Maybe it’s time to wonder if this money was not wasted after all.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.