Two things I hate to see: Irishmen getting upset and the French getting something they didn’t earn. Yesterday in World Cup qualifying, both events occured. With France playing Ireland for the right to advance to the world cup, the whole thing went to pot in the 105th minute.
In extra time, the French scored a crucial goal that sent them on to next summer’s World Cup in South Africa and eliminated the Irish squad. Based on replays, the goal was triply illegal: two of the French attackers were offside, while one of them – captain Thierry Henry – clearly touched the ball with his outstretched hand.[..]
“I will be honest, it was a handball,” Henry said. “But I’m not the ref. I played it, the ref allowed it. That’s a question you should ask him.” –Toronto Star, as also seen on Sports Rubbish.
Despite Henry’s stark admission of what’s already being called “Le Hand” and numerous protests from the Irish, FIFA has no plans to replay the game. But what’s even more startling is that the French would let a black guy play on their team. Seriously, France is like the most racist country ever. They make rural Mississippi look like Amnesty International.
Most of us remember that women’s soccer video where that aggressive New Mexico player punched and hair-pulled her way into America’s hearts. Now that player, Elizabeth Lambert, is doing her best to quell the uprising indignation emanating from the media, and not just from the sports world.
“I still deeply regret it and will always regret it and will carry it through the rest of my life not to retaliate,” said Lambert, a 20-year-old junior on scholarship.
“I look at it and I’m like, ‘That is not me,’ ” said Lambert, a defender and an all-conference academic player. “I have so much regret. I can’t believe I did that.” –NY Times.
Lambert also insinuated that what people saw was just a retaliation to the dirty play of Brigham young, and since almost no one chastising Lambert has seen the entire game tape, I’m inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. How many of us have actually seen an entire game of women’s Division I soccer, and would therefore have a baseline to determine what would qualify as “dirty” play? There’s no context to this video; would Lambert’s play have come off as so outrageous if there was?
Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to see a woman get famous for doing something besides releasing a sex tape or a sh!tty pop album. But there’s no reason to bury someone for pushing the envelope of rough play. Women’s athletics in general could benefit if more players took a similar approach toward pushing those boundaries. Read the rest of this entry »
Playing defense in soccer is about as thankless as it gets. You have to worry about passing lanes wearing those ridiculous socks, not to mention all that running! I get tired just watching it. Anyway, here’s a guy getting kicked in the balls. Seems like a nice lighthearted way to end a Monday. Come back tomorrow where we’ll show a video of a guy playing tetherball choking himself to death. It’s always funny when it happens someplace else in the world. That’s the beauty of living in an insulated first-world nation like America. It’s like a theme park, except you spend less time at the end of the day looking for your car. Well, slightly less.
Believe it or not, we will eventually run out of oil on this planet, and then what will Sammy Sosa use to make his hair look more Caucasian? But until then, these Saudis can pop open a barrel of light sweet crude in celebration of this two-second goal. Not a bad way to start a game. The last time I scored that fast, she made me put my clothes back on and leave. At least I made it home in time for Conan. –Sportress of Blogitude.
UPDATE: ESPN is reporting that Lambert has been suspended indefinitely by the school. Totally worth it.
Here comes your women’s soccer post for 2009, courtesy of New Mexico defender Elizabeth Lambert. Lambert played in the Lobos’ WAC Mountain West semifinal against BYU, and took some time out to go Mormon hunting, as seen in this ESPN clip. It looks to me that she’s spending more time fighting for women’s rights than simply gooning it up. Sure, she’s fighting other women, but that’s where the groundswell starts, in my opinion. And I’d by lying if I said I wasn’t a little turned on…BYU won this game, 1-0. No, I didn’t really care either. Read the rest of this entry »
I don’t know where this international soccer match was held, or at what league level the game was played, but all I know is that this one broad goes all Dhalsim and just slaps and kicks everyone within a ten-foot radius of her. And then she gets chased through the village. It’s awesome that women’s sports is finding its way in these underdeveloped countries, especially as they’re chasing down one particularly militant woman through the streets to beat her senseless. via.
