The Merseyside derby, then and now
One of Everton’s most prominent supporters, who is in failing health, recounts this story:
The doctor tells him “I have good news and bad news.” The Evertonian says, “tell me the bad news first.” The doctor responds, “your cancer is spreading rapidly.” “So what’s the good news?” the Evertonian asks. “You [...]
The soccer story that won’t die
Last week, France qualified for the World Cup with a goal, scored in overtime, via a clearly intentional handball by French super-star Thierry Henry. The reaction to that goal fascinates me because it is quite unlike what I think the reaction would be to a comparable instance of cheating in American sports, with the [...]
The assassin-faced baby grows up
Manchester United used to have a Norwegian striker named Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Because of his youthful looks and propensity for scoring late, decisive goals (such as the last minute winner in the 1999 European Championship match), Solskjaer was known as the “baby-faced assassin.”
As Solskjaer’s career was winding down, young Wayne Rooney came [...]
Avenging the Whiz Kids?
The World Series begins tonight, It pits the team with the best record in baseball this year — the New York Yankees — against the defending champions — the Philadelphia Phillies.
These two teams have met only once in the World Series. That happened in 1950, when the “Whiz Kids” from Philadelphia [...]
A passage to South Africa
The United States qualified for the World Cup last night by defeating Honduras 3-2 in San Pedro Sula. The Washington Post’s Steven Goff, an outstanding soccer writer, describes the match as “one of the most gripping U.S. qualifiers in recent memory.” I’ll have to take his word for it; the match was not [...]
Let the playoffs begin
The 2009 baseball playoffs are about to begin. Throughout this decade, the playoffs have been marred, in my view as an opinionated “neutral,” by the success of “wild card” teams at the expense of teams that during the regular season staked good claims to being the best in the sport. Thus, Thomas Boswell [...]
