Dave’s Football Blog

Simon informs me that the Rugby League World Cup began this week in Australia. This seems like it should be slightly more significant than a couple of International Rules test matches, but honestly, I just can’t bring myself to care. Go figure.

So I’m just going to point y’all here and here. Plus, there are more fun photos here.

This is the kind of thing that makes me wonder if I should just pick one football code and write about that for a while…

At first glance, Michael Turner’s new nickname might have far more to do with certain forms of public transportation than Brazilian women’s football. Perhaps John Abraham is on to something here, though. After all, both Marta and MARTA are top talents who, on their best days, can become pure forces of nature. One cutback, and Turner is off. One sidestep, and Marta is pushing forward. Both leave defenders in their wake as they add another score to their stats and lead their teams to victory.

Some days, though, these forces of nature run into people with the rare ability and determination to control the weather…

Yes, it actually was proven in Beijing that you can prevent a downpour. It was proven in Charlotte, too. Ha.

This is why you want the rugby team on your side if you ever find yourself in a bar fight. Rugby footballers will kick some ass. Of course, if I found myself wearing that pink and blue monstrosity that the Stade Francais players are wearing, I’d want to beat the crap out of someone, too. Seriously, the Cincinnati Bengals uniforms are less ugly than that.

(Spotted on With Leather.)

Olympics: USA 1-2 Nigeria I’m still debating whether Michael Orozco or Peter Nowak was the bigger moron today. Orozco got a straight red for elbowing a player in the chest right in front of a German ref who wasn’t taking any crap. Brilliant. So down 1-0 and down to 10 men at the start of the second half, with Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley on yellow card suspensions, the USA needs a goal — and Nowak pulls Jozy Altidore out in favor of Benny Feilhaber? Are you freaking kidding me!?

Between those two things and Stuart Holden’s dumb foul at the end of the Netherlands game, the USA earned its trip home here. I hope Nowak earned a pinkslip.

US Open Cup: No quadruple for the New England Revolution. D.C. United topped New England, 3-1, in a game seen by less than 7,000 people. (Thanks for nothing, MLS.) Meanwhile, on a rainy night in Charleston, SC, the Seattle Sounders took the Charleston Battery to penalty kicks, and the Battery came out on top. The Open Cup Final between D.C.U. and the Battery takes place on Wednesday, September 3, at RFK Stadium. It will probably be D.C.U.’s only chance to win a trophy and make the 2009 CONCACAF Champions League.

Premier League: Dimitar Berbatov is headed to Manchester United. (Was that deal ever not going to happen?) Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur has not yet secured Andrei Arshavin from Zenit St. Petersburg. Expect even more “SPURS GET BENT” headlines from British Tabloids.

AFL: The Sydney Swans just signed 24-year-old Canadian rugby fullback Mike Pyke to their rookie list. Their next target: Chris Chambers…

Dude can mark. Ha ha.

Programming Note: Blogging will be light for the rest of the week, as I’m off to Las Vegas for a few days. I’ll have something resembling a Premier League preview up on Friday, but that will probably be about it until next week. On a side note, I made a grand total of $3.06 yesterday from my banner ad network, thanks to this Stuart Scott karaoke post. I’d promise not to spend it all in one place, but really, I’ve got a lot of postcards to buy…