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Monday Night Football Preview: Favre vs Packers

Monday, October 5th, 2009

Unless you have been living under a rock the last week, you know that the Green Bay Packers will be facing the quarterback that accomplished so much during his 16 year career in Wisconsin.  That quarterback will be wearing purple and yellow on Monday night instead of the familiar green and gold that football fans have been accustomed to seeing for years.

Favre Unretires to VikingsGrowing up, Michael Jordan and Favre were my idols.  I became a Packers fan in large part due to number four.  But Favre’s ‘will he or won’t he’ antics have not just began over the last two years.  Packer fans know the drama that Favre creates in the offseason as his rumored retirement began all the way back in the 2002 offseason.

Let it be known that I was one of the fans that wanted the organization to appease Favre during the training camp fiasco last year.  Even though the Packers finished 6-10 last year, Aaron Rodgers established himself as a premier quarterback in the NFL and he was the much better quarterback between him and Favre.  Green Bay’s GM, Ted Thompson, took a lot of flack for his decision to stick with Rodgers but he’s looked like a genius.  Favre had a messy divorce with the Jets at the end of last year and as we all know, he decided to come back to the Minnesota Vikings after a desperate effort by head coach Brad Childress.

The legend of Favre continued to grow after last week’s game against the San Francisco 49ers.  Favre threw a 32 yard game-winning touchdown pass to Greg Lewis with two seconds left to give the Vikings a stunning 27-24 win over the Niners.  The Vikings moved to 3-0 on the season ahead of the big tilt against the Packers.

One thing that the Vikings need to stray away from in this game is the overuse of Favre and the under utilization of Adrian Peterson.  Last week against San Francisco, Favre threw the ball 46 times while the best player in the NFL only received 19 carries.  In the first two games of the season against Cleveland and Detroit, Favre threw the ball 21 and 27 times respectively.  Peterson had 25 carries against the Browns and only 15 against the Lions.  If Childress continues to let Favre air it out against better teams, he will not be as fortunate as he was against the 49ers.

The Packers would be wise if they stacked the box with eight defenders and as weird as it sounds, they would be better off letting Brett Favre beat them compared to Adrian Peterson.  Peterson has destroyed the Packers in his short career – like many teams in the league.  In his four games against the Packers, Peterson has ran for over 100 yards three times with the lone exemption coming in 2007 when Al Harris injured Peterson’s knee on a tackle early on in the game.  Last year at the Metrodome, Peterson ran for 192 yards on 30 carries against the Packers.  There is no question that if Green Bay wants to win this game, they have to contain the best player in the game at all costs.

For the Packers, they come into this contest at a mark of 2-1 and they were able to down the St. Louis Rams with relative ease last week.  Aaron Rodgers threw for a pair of touchdowns and also ran for one as the Packers won 36-17.  The big concern for the Packers is how their offensive line stacks up against the Vikings All-Pro defensive line, which boasts Jared Allen, Kevin Williams, and Pat Williams.  It’s not a good sign for the Pack when they can boast about ‘only’ giving up two sacks last week.  Rodgers has been sacked 12 times in three weeks, which is the most in the NFL.  Starting right tackle Allen Barbre has been horrid this season as he has allowed Adewale Ogunleye, Antwan Odom, and Leonard Little to run rampant on Rodgers.  Look for Jared Allen to be in the backfield early and often for Minnesota.

This is obviously a very important game for both teams, but there is more pressure on the home team to win home division games.  If the Packers can somehow steal this game from Minnesota, they will be in the driver’s seat in the NFC North at 3-1 heading into their bye week.  And after the bye week, the Packers face the likes of Detroit, Cleveland, and Tampa Bay with the Lambeau Field rematch against Minnesota sandwiched in there.

It pains me to say it, but Minnesota is the favorite and should win this game because the Packers weaknesses play to the Vikings strengths.  If there is a given, the game should be competitive as the last six contests at the Metrodome have been decided by seven or less points.  The circus will be in Minneapolis on Monday night, but just remember that there will be a game in the middle of all the nonsense at around 7:30 that night.

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Top 10 Sports Rants of All Time

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Since we are a site dedicated to sports rants, we have compiled a list of the top 10 sports rants of all time. From head coaches to players, this list shows just how fired up some people get in the heat of the moment.

Warning: some videos may contain graphic language, to some people.

  1. Booker T

    While most rants are unpredictable and off the wall, we should start with one that is not the longest or most complex, but one that has ridiculous clothing,ridiculous video quality, ridiculously sized men, and in the context of a ridiculous “sport”. It is what it says, and it is Booker T not only calling Hulk Hogan a racial slur, but calling Hulk Hogan an untrue racial slur. Apparently a dictionary with the word “cracker” in it is not part of the then WWF school.

  2. Dan Hawkins

    If fans of Colorado Football didn’t already know what level their team was playing at before, Dan Hawkins reminded them. Fans of the team may not have known it based on some of the recent play of a team known better for its off the field sexual assaults than for its on the field “terrible” girl kickers, but the Buffaloes were actually a division one team, playing in the Big XII and not of the intramural or club level. Thankfully for all, Coach Hawkins’s voice cracked like a twelve year old boy, and everybody was safely reminded of the prestige and greatness of the Colorado football program.

  3. Joe Kine

    While not the most traditional rant, Joe Kines halftime thoughts of the 2006 Independence Bowl are an ode to something that you just don’t see that often anymore, good old fashioned man talk that can be understood only with subtitles. While it appears to most that Kines had no idea of what he was talking about, Im pretty sure thats how people of his ilk are, talking with great speed, and, as it appears, the great pain that only talking after smoking three packs a day for fifty years can bring.

  4. Dennis Green

    While in retrospect we may see that what Dennis Green was going on about made some sense (the Bears are the same team the Cardinals thought they were at the start of the game, Green thought his boys could beat the Bears, but gave it away), it is the hysteria and timing of all this that really makes this great. Monday Night. Undefeated Bears. Matt Leinarts first career start. Grossman Bad, the Defense Good. Quick Turnaround. Missed Kick. Bears Win. While football fans from Chicago to Glendale were trying to figure out what in the hell just happened. Dennis Green gave a press conference that got all it could out of the thirty seconds that it lasted He entered. He yelled. He left. That was it. Leaving the media and all of us to dissect what he just said, while also trying to wonder what the hell happened to Sex Grossman. Dennis Green left behind not only a legacy as one of the best press conferences ever, but eventually one damn good Coors Light commercial.

  5. Mike Gundy

    What makes this three minute time in the life of Oklahoma State football, maybe the greatest, if not best, three minutes in its history, is the fact that Gundy is really right on this subject. Gundy was doing a fantastic job as coach in defending his player The article was far to harsh on a college kid, who to best of our knowledge, was doing his best to help out the team. College kids earning no pay (well publicly at least) are far to often subjected to harsh critisicsms. Gundy ripped the writer for what he is, and then went out to remind that writer, who of coursed missed Gundys birthday, just how many candles he blew out on his “Happy Birthday Coach Gundy” cake.

  6. Chris Russo

    Now we couldn’t go a whole list without a mention of a rant from someone who actually gets payed to rant and rave, could we? Well maybe we could have, but were not going to. The most recent of all on this list, this is an absolute cracker laid out by Chris “Mad Dog” Ruuso. Once the king of sports talk radio in New York, Russo has been relegated to the still unknown market of satellite radio. While switching to XM may have worked for some, it certainly has not treated Mr. Dog as well, who not only has his own show on XM, he has his own damn channel. Ranked outside of the top 100 stations on satellite radio, and angry at the production from his staff, Ruuso goes on a mind boggling and confusing he-must-be-senile rant, bringing up everything from the stations lack of performance to the Nadal-Federer Rivalry to uhh Gone with the Wind? Needless to say, this is one of those rants that you must truly hear to believe.

  7. Andy Roddick

    He is the current great hope for US Tennis. He is a former Grand Slam Champ. He was one the top ranked tennis player in the world, has had endorsements, and best of all, dated Mandy Freaking Moore. Yet Andy Roddick also carries the same stigma that John McEnroe did. Like most athletes that play on heart and emeotion, Roddick has been known to let his emotions get the best of him, and the Aussie Open last year may have been the best. In the middle of a third round, five set loss to Philipp Kohlschreiber, Roddick went on this one. Watch the end, where Roddick equates success in the early years of grade school to the chances of becoming a chair umpire.

  8. Darko Milicic

    All I can say about this one is, thank god for translators and subtitles. Apparently all of the pain and anger of being one of the NBA’s biggest draft busts can take a toll on a man, oh and it also doesn’t help that your team just lost in overtime in the middle of Europe’s most prestigious basketball tournament, and you have the sneaking suspicion that the referees are all cock sucking pussies. Darko Milicic put on what is the most vulgar and crude sports rant of all time. He is the George Carlin of post game meltdowns. If only the man wre born in an English speaking country, then this might be the best sports rant ever, I mean assuming the entire country has HBO or even better for this type of language, Cinemax. It would have been very interesting to see how ESPN would have handled it, pretty much just so we could all see the record for most bleeps used in a minute long clip.

  9. Hale Mcrae

    Several times when athletes or coaches go on long drawn out rants, or argue with umpires, or attack water coolers, naysayers and cynics cry that what we see is “fake” or “overdramatic”. The person in question has some other motive than just blowing off steam. While that could be tru for some, you would not want to tell Hal Mcrae that, unless you wish to get your phone ripped from the wall, or if Mcrae has gotten with the times, your cell/Iphone whipped against the wall. When he begins to swear, you think he might be just letting off steam. When he throws a cup, you think “OK he is either just being a drama queen, or maybe he is just trying to scare us”. But when writers with ugly polos and Jeff Kent/Porn star mustaches start leaving bloody, you know that Mcrae has just unleashed the most angry rant in the long and not so distinguished history of the Kansas City Royals.

  10. Lee Elia

    Video Killed The Radio Star. Thats what the Buggles sang and thats what MTV showed on its first broadcast in August of 1983. Lee Elias rant just 4 months earlier in the caves of the Wrigley Field locker rooms may be the greatest evidence of it. What could very well be the greatest sports rant ever is now thrown to the side in favor of video that is able to show the sexy side of Jim Moras angry angry face. Everything about this rant is primed for eternal legacy. Its The Cubs. Its a BAD Cubs team. Its the middle of another dreary April, on the field, in the stands, and on the weather report. The team is one year away from one of its most famous seasons ever, and there is no reason to believe that a turnaround is near, so what happens when Elia’s cubs team is booed by a sparse Wrigley Field crowd? I believe the scientific definition is: All hell breaks loose. Elia gets off to a good start, using variations of fuck and shit. Then, turns to ask the Chicago fans to not only kiss his ass, but to also go downtown and PRINT IT!(I’m guessing he means to the newspapers, but i cant be sure). Next, Elia goes off on what could be the best of the rant, giving all that were listening a look at Chicago Demographics, saying that 85% of the population is employed, while 15% are without jobs, and all of the jobless come to Wrigley to watch baseball. The rest of the rant is filled with more f-s, b-s, a-s and so many more. We can only be thankful that a recorder was on during this rant, so we could fully enjoy all of its splendor. While it may not have the video that is needed in the same changing world that the Buggles warned us about when MTV was first born. Either way, video or not, Lee Elia’s rant on a dreary Chicago day in April 1983, was and still is, the greatest Sports rant ever.

Any I missed that you think should be included?

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Michigan Wolverines, Fraud or Legit?

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

The Michigan Wolverines are one of the most storied programs in college football history. With a great history comes expectations, sometimes unruly, to live up to what happened in the past. When the Lloyd Carr era officially ended at Michigan, on the first day of the year in 2007, Carr left behind a team that was able to knock off defending champion Florida and Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow in the Capital One Bowl.

But rumors were that Carr was forced to retire because trips to the Capital One Bowl were not good enough for the Wolverine faithful. Keep in mind Michigan had one of the most embarrassing losses in college football history that same season as Appalachian State knocked off the Wolverines at the Big House. One of the weirdest coaching searches ensued and finally, Michigan was able to pry away Rich Rodriguez from West Virginia, beginning a separate dispute between Rodriguez and WVU in the process.

Tate Forcier and Rich RodriguezRodriguez is most known for his utilization of the spread offense, something never seen before in Michigan and the majority of Big Ten schools. People fairly criticized Rodriguez for ridding himself of Carr’s pro-style players, including then freshman quarterback Ryan Mallet. ‘Rich Rod’ began recruiting guys to fit his style and it was clear that there was going to be a mass turnover rate with his offense and defense.

In last year’s season opener against Utah, Michigan put up a great fight before succumbing to the Utes at home for the second season opener in a row. It wasn’t until a blowout loss at the Big House to Illinois when fans of the program really began to feel sour towards their team. In that game, Juice Williams set a Michigan Stadium record with 431 yards of total yardage. The following week was even worse when, once again, Michigan lost to an inferior program at home. This might have been the lowest point over the last few years for the Wolverines as they lost to a poor Toledo team that makes its living in the MAC. As the year came and went, blowout losses became the norm as Michigan lost to Penn St, Michigan St, and Ohio State in routes. They also lost to a horrid Purdue team at West Lafayette and lost to Northwestern at home for the first time since the Wildcats made the Rose Bowl in 1995. In sum, Michigan finished the season with the most losses in school history (9), they did not make a bowl game for the first time in 33 years, and it wrapped up their first losing season since 1967.

2009 would mark a big year under Rich Rodriguez. While many Wolverine fans were upset at the 2008 season, a good chunk of them also gave Rodriguez a grace period because he had to put his players in from his system. But another sub .500 season could see Rodriguez in the same spot where Ron Zook and Charlie Weis should be after this season; the unemployment line.

Besides the usual game against Notre Dame, Rodriguez scheduled one of the softest non-conference schedules in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Anything less than an appearance in a bowl game would be a massive failure for Michigan. The Wolverines went into the season unsure of who their starting quarterback would be for the duration of the season. They planned to use all three of their options in the season opener against Western Michigan.

Freshman Tate Forcier got the start but freshman Denard Robinson and the extremely unpopular senior Nick Sheridan would get some playing time. Robinson had the spectacular play of the game as he turned a botched snap into a 43 yard touchdown scamper. But Forcier stole the show as he lit up WMU’s defense by throwing three touchdowns and throwing for 179 yards. Forcier landed the job the next week against Notre Dame and led one of the most impressive drives in the college football season so far in the final two minutes against the Irish. Forcier dazzled the crowd with some great throws and some amazing plays on his legs. 240 yards through the air and over 100 more on the ground for the true freshman was undoubtedly impressive. Forcier found himself as the man on campus and gone were the days of worrying about Sheridan and Steven Threet at the helm.

Michigan blew out Eastern Michigan before they struggled mightily against the Hoosiers this past Saturday. Indiana had to settle for four red zone field goals and they ended up losing the game 36-33. If they just converted one of those opportunities into a touchdown, it’s a different outcome. The warning signs were there for Michigan in the first conference game of the season. Tate Forcier might be a good quarterback, but could his early season successes be due in large part to facing some uninspiring defenses? The signature win for the Wolverines is that win against Notre Dame. But the general feeling is that Notre Dame is a good offensive team, but they can not stop anyone when they line up on defense. A narrow victory against the Boilermakers (who already lost to NIU this season) for Notre Dame on Saturday didn’t ease those concerns either.

Right now, Michigan’s ranked 22nd in the nation. They are 4-0 and they play in the Big Ten. Not to mention the name recognition also helps, so it’s not all that surprising that they are ranked. When it’s all said and done this year the Wolverines will probably be a fringe top 25 team, but definitely not top 15 worthy. Let’s take a look at the remaining schedule for the maze and blue:

  • @ Michigan State
  • @ Iowa
  • VS Delaware State
  • VS Penn St.
  • @ Illinois
  • VS Purdue
  • @ Wisconsin
  • VS Ohio State

Out of that list, there’s only two ‘gimme’ victories (Delaware State and Purdue). There’s also three games in there that you can mark up as a loss (Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State). This week marks the first time Michigan is leaving the comforts of Michigan Stadium as they travel to East Lansing to take on the Spartans. Michigan St. has had some issues this year but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they pull off the upset. Penn State is a far superior team to Michigan but after their loss to Iowa, it’ll be interesting to see how they respond. And then there’s Illinois, who will be hosting Michigan in Champaign on Halloween night. Illinois has been horrible this year against their two legitimate teams that they have faced but even Ron Zook can find his way to at least one surprise win a season.

Michigan will probably end up with 7 or 8 wins and they’ll probably end up in the Alamo Bowl. I don’t think this year will be Michigan’s year to come back into the main spotlight but the future is much brighter for Rich Rodriguez and the Wolverines at this point this year than it was just one short season ago. In reality, this is about as good of a best case scenario that the Wolverines could have hoped for.

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Bradley Suspension as lame as Cubs season

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Well the Cubs are finally cracking down huh? “We don’t take no stuff” should be the new team motto, although I’m pretty sure the Jimmy Hendry Experience don’t really say the word “stuff”, they say “guff” cause they are rebels like that.

Milton BradleyWith the suspension of Milton Bradley, the organization has proved that the soft nature that this team has been known by is just a myth. Lou Piniella has lost his mean streak? That was just a myth. Lou and the Boys are cracking down by suspending the oft troubled outfielder after he made comments regarding the championship drought that has kinda become a hallmark of the franchise. So in theory by suspending Bradley, the Cubs are showing that if players act out, they will be dealt with.

Oh yeah and they forgot to mention that they will only crack down on you when your double digit games out of first place by the time U2 is tearing up the grass at Solider Field. What we have here is a hollow attempt by an organization that has been all to weak to crack down on bad play both on and off the field.

The Bradley suspension is just a two sentence footnote in a season that has reached War and Peace in terms of length. This is Hendry and more Piniella trying their best to show they are not tissue soft as they have been perceived all year. While Hendry pulled the tirgger, this has Lou’s hands all over this deal.

Piniella all year long has seemed much more subdued toward both his players and the umpires. Several times when a call has gone against the Chicago Nine, the crowd at Wrigley have looked to the top step at Wrigley, hoping to see bases and hats fly, only to see the same blank stare out of Sweet Lou. For some strange reason, Piniella toned down the same act that won him two straight divisions in the same number of years in Chicago, but as we all know, since the Cubs were swept last year, everything the team did last year was horrible, including but not limited to, having Mark Derosa on the roster, Lou showing passion, and of course, the teams ability to hit right handed pitching.

Lou PiniellaQuestions have also been asked all year long about how accountable Piniella holds his players. Whether it was and early season slump by Lee, an all season slump by Soriano, or the actions by Zambrano that even made yours truly, a staunch Zambrano defender, shake my head in disgust like I was watching the Cubs take on an NL West team in the playoffs.

(BTW, sidenote, just kinda realized now, but the Cubs are 0-9 in playoff games on the west coast, I guess it wasn’t a secret, but I’m surprised in this time of statapalooza everywhere, ESPN and FOX haven’t dissected this number countless times when the Cubs appear on those networks.

Wither way, when Soriano didn’t hustle, played bad defense, and just plain stuck it up, Lou sat back and did nothing, even with a hot Jake Fox reserved mainly to the bench when Ramirez came back. When Derek Lee was off to a slow start and Houffpauir was tearing it up, he sat back and did nothing. Those who scream that D-Lee could possibly be the second half NL MVP if they ever invented that award, that does not excuse Lou from not giving Houffpair anything earl on. In April and May, Lee clearly couldn’t get it, and Piniella should have been man enough to give the kid some time.

Zambrano is a whole nother situation. His passion and anger could be argued (by me at least) as part of his package and essential to the success he has had, but when the man misses flights and risks injury because of taking hard cuts during batting practice, someone outside of Mike North or Rick Telander has to tell him to stop. When Zambrano says that he doesn’t like to drink water even when he gets cramps, we may chuckle a bit, but when it happens multiple times, somebody, like say, his manager who has a reputation for getting on players, has to show El Toro what is what.

So when players act up, don’t try, or just plain cant stick it, but the Cubs are only a few games out, then its OK, even if it hurts the team in the long run. But when the team is done and Chicago turns its attention to Jay Cutler’s arm, Brian Urlacher’s arm and Lovie Smith’s job, then its time for the team to act hard and tough.

Lets suspend a guy who we all knew was crazy when we signed him, even if he has been one of the brighter spots during a bad year, that is if you are into guys who put up decent stats, play solid defense, and are only on the books for one more year if you want to cut them.

Nothing more than a weak attempt to try and show a city and a fan base that is now subjected to rooting for the red men from six hours south that this Cubbie organization is turning hard. By the time spring rolls around in a few months, Lou and Hendry will still be soft, whether or not the likes of Bradley and Zambrano and Lee and Ramirez are on the squad.

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Spanish? Si! English? No.

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

Settle down, yeah the title sounds like I’m about to go on a racial rant, but that’s just not true, that will be in next weeks article.

No this space will be reserved for what has become a pick and choose policy of a sport that always tries to stress fairness and equality in the worlds game.

It is not to big of a secret that UEFA president Michel Platini has developed a disdain for big English clubs, in particular Chelsea. The amounts of spending done by the London Club has drawn the eye of Platini, who feel that spending like that damages the game. Manchester United and Manchester City especially could also ve clubs put in a similar context. After a large amount of spending over the past two summers, City has become one of the richest clubs in the world, and drew more stink eyes from Platini.

With all the tough looks EPL clubs get from Platini, you would think that big spending clubs from other countries would get similar bad vibes. Right? Well, not exactly. Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have always been huge spenders, and rarely see any sort of disdain from UEFA or Platini. Madrid have paid big bucks in the past to bring in players like David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Zinedine Zidane
in the past, yet nothing came from UEFA. This summer, the club spent loads of money this summer Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso, and finally received backlash from Platini. Oh wow, here it comes. Madrid are finaly going to be put in their place. What will Platini have to say about Madrid? Well he says the “annoy” him. Annoying. That’s it? When Chelsea and Man City do it, its running the game. When Chelsea and Man City do it, special rules on where players are from needs to be put in. When Chelsea and Man City do it, there needs to be a wage cap, but when Madrid do it, its just “annoying”.

We have seen the latest’s chapter of UEFA cracking down on English clubs, and now Platini has gotten his boy, FIFA President Sepp Blatter, to help him in the cracking down on these English clubs, who of course are running the game by giving the world the best and most entertaining form of it. The newest part of their agenda? Placing a year long transfer ban on Chelsea FC. News broke early Thursday that the current FA Cup holders would not be allowed to bring in new players for the next two transfer windows, and would have to wait until January 1, 2011 to spend any more money.

The reason? Chelsea’s signing of Gaël Kakuta back in 2007 from French club RC Lens. The explanation is that Chelsea illegally tried to have then sixteen year old Kakuta break his contract at Lens to move to England. At the time, Kakuta was a member of Lens youth team, and had yet to make a first team appearance. As more information comes out, it looks as though Chelsea may have the ban completely taken off on appeal, if not reduced to one window. There has been a lot looking into UEFA rules against French rules regarding youth players. The problem with the ruling, especially if it has the little amount of support to stand on as it now seems, is Chelsea is far from the only team that does this.

Fellow English clubs such as Manchester United and Liverpool have had strikingly similar situations, and other top clubs across the world are always the subject of rumor and innuendo dealing with shady transfers. Yet the biggest problem in all of this sits in the capital of Spain. It now dons a fresh white jersey with a number nine of the back. It gels its hair up and can score from any spot within 30 yards of the goal. OK maybe 40. Its name is Cristiano Ronaldo. Ever since CR-7 (now CR-9) and his red mates won the Champions League on a rainy night and eventually early morning in Moscow, Ronaldo was the subject of the biggest transfer saga of two summers. His move to Real Madrid had it all, big talks and big money. It had shouts of “he is 100% staying” a long with “he is 100% leaving” coming out of different mouths on the same day. It had a lot of trash talking and accusations of dirty tactics.

Well C-Ron is now Madrid, and even though Ronaldo was reportedly approached by Madrid before his the window was open last summer, nothing comes from FIFA and UEFA. No grand investigation, no transfer bans, no fines. Madrid can go on, using shady tactics and spending big an can get away pretty much clean and easy.

The reason FIFA came down on Chelsea is quite easy. Chelsea are one, an English team who have already caught wrath from a governing football body, and two, a team that has been known for spending big and trying its hardest to bring players in. No other clubs has irked people as much with its spending as Chelsea, even if clubs such as Man United and Real Madrid have signed away similar amounts of money. After last years Champions League Semi-Final, Chelsea have also arguably become the most hated club in the world, so FIFA knew if they wanted to go after one club for shady tactics, they might as well go against the one that will receive the least amount of sympathy.

The same thinking must have gone through similar minds when UEFA made its ruling last week on Arsenals Eduardo de Silva. Eduardo has been banned for the next two Champions League games for this dive in Arsenals playoff against Celtic:

While on second and third review, it does appear to be a dive, the question hast to arise: well why him?, why now? Why suspend Eduardo for what the likes of Drogba and Ronaldo get away with week in and week out. Why in this case is one of Arsenals top players banned for one third of their group stage matches. The seemingly double standard shown here by UEFA is puzzling, until you start to think.

Just as Chelsea are an English team known for big spending, Arsenal are an English team that have had a reputation of divers. Arsenal was playing what probably was the most high profile of all the playoff ties against Celtic, so what better way to for UEFA try and show people that they are against diving than to ban Eduardo. Just as FIFA knew that sympathy would be low for Chelsea, UEFA knew that not to many would shed a tear at after punishment to Arsenal for diving.

While the likes of Gilardino, Ronaldinho and the rest of the Italian National tea, can get away with it, in this case, Eduardo can not. Hell, even Steven Gerrard, pride of Liverpool and England won a EUROPEAN CUP with a dive, and nothing was said or done by UEFA.
The only way this decision makes sense is if UEFA gets serious about banning players. It has to be now at least two games for each dive, and even worse the more theatrical the divers get, My guess is that UEFA will look big now, but back down when the prospect comes of midweek games that do not feature some of the games biggest names. A Madrid-Liverpool matchup is not as tasty with no Ronaldo, no Torres and no Gerrard, and how would have the 2008 final had been if Rooney was not there for Man U, or Drogba wasn’t there for Chels- oh wait, never mind….

The point is, neither of these two rulings will be made again with any soprt of regularity in the future. UEFA and FIFA will pick and choose when to look strong, mostly against English clubs. Players and clubs, both English and abroad will get away with murder, until UEFA decides they want to punish somebody a long ways down the line. People like me will complain, others will applaud, and we will be back in the same boat. If UEFA and FIFA are committed to cleaning the game up, then I will take back most of what I have said here, if not, then these two punishments are really a testament to the strength of the EPL, and the ways that those who govern the game at a global stage will go to try and suppress a league that for some reason, they see as getting to big.

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