Eye On Sports

By Brian Stubits

Giving cards for diving in soccer? I'm all for that. Whatever they can do to cut diving out of the game is for the good.

Giving cards to guys unconscious on a stretcher for diving? Ummm, that's a little bit different. I know soccer players will sometimes go to pretty incredible lengths to draw penalties, but can it really be considered a dive when a player is concussed and had three vertebrae displaced because of an elbow on a jump ball in the box? If so, that's some dedicated acting.

This was the scene in a Belgian amateur match.

Yes, that is the referee holding up a yellow card to Julien Lecomte while he sits on a stretcher. Considering it was Lecomte's second yellow of the game, the referee then pulls out the red card. Naturally, his team is just a little miffed. As am I.

Hat tip to Yard Barker

Sunday night is alright for fighting. (Kare11.com)

By Will Brinson

There are certain times in the life of someone who works on the Internet when you wonder "Is this the greatest headline/story of all-time?" This is one of those times: a group of players for the Rochester Knighthawks, a professional lacrosse team, got in a fight with a group of Foot Locker employees. While both groups were dining at a TGI Fridays in Minneapolis.

According to the Associated Press, via amateur lax-bro Andrew Sharp at SB Nation, it all started because of a food fight. I know -- you think it's gotten as good as it can possibly get and then somehow it gets better.

One witness told police the lacrosse players were throwing food and other items at each other. One of the Knighthawk reportedly players threw a menu and hit a nearby Foot Locker employee who was sitting with other co-workers. Police say the Foot Locker employee who was hit confronted the lacrosse player and the fight started after that.

It's just ... so glorious. And not only because of the matchup or the ridiculous lax-y names of the pro laxers (Sid Smith, Tyler Burton, Cody Jamieson, Jordan Hall and Travis Hill). But because of the way the exchange plays out in my head and I laugh harder each time.

It involves the usage of the words "bro" and "brah" no less than 500 times, with various random laxicon terms like "fish," "buddy," and "head" being tossed around more frequently than the screaming jalapeno poppers that smacked the Foot Looker employee in the face.

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Posted by Bryan Fischer

LOS ANGELES -- Anti-doping, U.S. involvement in international competitions, the economics of the Olympics and the upcoming Games in London were among the topics discussed at the start of a two-day conference discussing the Olympics hosted by the University of Southern California.

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge spoke to nearly 200 people Wednesday night on the campus of the USC, not far from L.A. Memorial Coliseum, host site of the 1984 Games. Though the event was designed to be a discussion of the current state of the Games and upcoming challenges, the president couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic as he pointed out the successful model that Los Angeles served for future host cities.

"I have very fond memories of the '84 Games," Rogge said. "The Games were truly revolutionary because [organizer] Peter Uebberoth was able to prove that the games were profitable. Also, what was very important was that the games were sustainable and left a tremendous legacy for the city."

With the London Games less than six months away, the stop was one of several conferences Rogge was visiting in order to ramp up support for the Olympics and discuss what the international body was looking to accomplish.

"The Games are there for the athletes," said Rogge. "The welfare of the athletes are of paramount importance. I'm highly optimistic because the [London 2012] organizing committee is led by the great Sebastian Coe and he has a very good team around him. I think these Games will be the athletes Games."

U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun was less bullish. Although he noted preparations for going to England were made much easier because of ties between the two countries, that may not necessarily translate in terms of the medal count for the Americans.

"It's an English-speaking country so that makes logistics so much easier for us. I think everybody feels like London is ready for this and from a logistics standpoint we're very comfortable with the way it's looking," Blackmun said. "From a competitive standpoint, it's going to be a close race. A lot of experts feel like the Chinese will pass us in the medal count. Our job is just to make sure our athletes are as well prepared as they can be.

"We would very much like to win the medal count. Overall and the gold medal count and the silver and bronze medal count. We would like to win as many as we can. But we can't control how well our athletes will do, only how well they prepare."

Rogge's final term as president will come to a close in 2013 after London but not before he presides over the selection process for the 2020 Games. News broke Tuesday that one of the finalists, Rome, would be withdrawing its final bid, in part because of the widening European debt crisis. Rogge was nonchalant regarding the impact and noted that this is not the first time a host city has had to pull back because of economics.

"Sports fills all the ills of society," he said. "We still have five very strong candidates and it will be a very good race for the final decision."

The remaining cities -- Madrid, Istanbul, Tokyo, Qatar and Baku, Azerbaijan -- will find out the winner of the process in September 2013. Though experts have said it is still too early to figure out the favorite, this is shaping up to be a telling bid process to see if the IOC will continue to award Games to new locales (Sochi in 2014 and Rio in 2016, among others) or will go with more traditional hosts with the strongest financial backing.

"I don't think it's a trend. The choice of the International Olympic Committee is based on quality, it was not based on new horizons or new developments," Rogge said. "But when two cities are equal on technical aspects, then maybe the [going somewhere new]aspect will be there but only if the city is as good as the other ones.

"We do still have some places like Africa where we want to go."

The USOC will not begin the process of an American bid for any of the Games after 2020 until a new revenue-sharing agreement can be brokered with the IOC. But Blackmun noted that finances for the Colorado Springs-based organization were healthy and growing despite any perceived problems. The USOC's typical operating budget is not much more than the athletic departments of large universities like Ohio State or Texas but new fundraising targets could see numbers start to climb in the future. In addition to a cut of larger media rights deals (NBC secured the Games until 2020 with a $4.3 billion bid), major gifts to Team USA are up nearly 30 percent and the organization received a $10 million donation last year, its largest gift ever.

"We have thought about whether or not to seek government funding but the truth is it's hard to argue [this model] hasn't worked," Blackmun added. "Our athletes have performed so well. Can that persevere into the long-term? We don't know. What we do know is that Americans send the U.S. team to the Olympic Games, not the American government and it's very important for us to have the support of Americans."

Both Rogge and Blackmun will participate the fifth World Congress on Women and Sport, which is expected to draw 750 delegates from 140 countries to the J.W. Marriott at L.A. Live starting Thursday, according to the L.A. Times. The event is one of several occurring in a busy week for Los Angeles, with President Barack Obama hosting several fundraisers and a delegation of senior Chinese officials coming into town for, among other things, a Lakers game.

Posted by Jerry Hinnen

An already volatile situation with the England national team exploded Wednesday with the resignation of manager Fabio Capello barely five months before the country's opening match at Euro 2012.

According to a statement issued by the English FA, Capello met with top FA officials "for over an hour" Wednesday to discuss Capello's comments to an Italian TV station regarding the FA's decision to strip defender John Terry of his England captaincy. Terry is accused of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers player Anton Ferdinand in a 2011 Premier League match, with the case set to be heard by the English court system following Terry's appearance at Euro 2012. 

Capello (pictured departing FA headquarters Wednesday) told Italian TV he was "absolutely not in agreement" with the FA's decision and confirmed he had told FA chairman David Bernstein as much.

"It is going to be civil justice, not sports justice, to decide if John Terry committed that crime," Capello said.

The rift created between Capello and Bernstein could apparently not be smoothed over in the Wednesday meeting, and the two sides agreed to part ways.

“I would like to stress that during today’s meeting and throughout his time as England Manager, Fabio has conducted himself in an extremely professional manner," Bernstein said in the statement. "We have accepted Fabio’s resignation, agreeing this is the right decision. We would like to thank Fabio for his work with the England team and wish him every success in the future.”

Capello leaves England with a 28-6-8 record and comfortable qualifications for the two major finals during his tenure with the "Three Lions," World Cup 2010 and now Euro 2012, a not-insignificant achievement following the team's disastrous failure to qualify for Euro 2008. But Capello's tenure was also marked by a prickly relationship with the British press, the 2010 controversial stripping of Terry's captaincy (this time, on Capello's orders) for a tabloid scandal, and a  deeply disappointing showing at the World Cup featuring draws vs. the U.S. and Algeria before a 4-1 elimination defeat to Germany.

Many England fans will likely welcome a change if it means the hire of current Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, the consensus favorite for the post after being cleared of tax evasion charges earlier Wednesday. Redknapp's Spurs sit a surprising third in the Premier League standings and are known for their attractive, attacking style of play--a substantial shift from Capello's frequent tactical caution.

But even if Redknapp accepts an FA offer (which is not a given on either side), the bottom line for England is that with mere weeks to go before they board their flight for the Ukraine, the team has no manager, no captain, and no direction. If England are going to finally shed their long-held label of major tournament underachievers at the Euros, they're clearly going to have to do it the hard way.

by Jameson Fleming



In honor of Groundhog Day, we asked our Eye on Sports bloggers a simple question: What sporting event do you wish you could relive?

Their answers:

Tom Fornelli: The White Sox winning the World Series: "I wish Groundhog Day was on October 26, 2005. I'd gladly relive that day over and over again."

Matt Snyder: Indiana over Duke in 2002: "If I was caught like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, sports-wise I think I'd choose March 21, 2002."

Brian Stubits: Game 7 of the 1994 NHL Finals: "If I could have a hockey Groundhog Day I think I have to go with Game 7 of the '94 Finals. Not a fan of either and still loved it."

Jerry Hinnen: Auburn's National Championship: "My Groundhog Day wish: to relive Jan 11, 2011. Byrum's kick going through the uprights and Auburn flooding the field, over and over and over."

C. Trent Rosecrans: The last day of the 2011 MLB regular season: "If only Sept. 28, 2011 were Groundhog Day. Repeating the last day of last year's MLB season would be awesome. Unless a Braves or Red Sox fan."

Matt Norlander: Game 6 of the 1993 NBA Finals: "Since G-Mac isn't ONE day though, I wish Groundhog Day was 6.20.93. I was 12. Apex of my innocence + fandom."

Jeff Borzello: 2008 Super Bowl: "If only February 3, 2008 were Groundhog Day. Giants upsetting the Patriots. I was there. I could watch that fourth quarter over and over."

Josh Katowitz: Game 6 of the 1995 World Series: "The event I'd want to relive is the Braves win vs. the Indians in Game 6 of the '95 Word Series. Saw that bad boy live."

Will Brinson: Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS: "Sid Bream scoring on Barry Bonds."

Bryan Fischer: Game 6 of the 2011 NBA Finals: "I grew up going to Mavs games when they were absolutely terrible and after what happened in 2006, that was a moment I could re-live everyday. "

Jameson Fleming: Syracuse-UConn in 2009 Big East Tournament: "If I could make Groundhog Day any day, it would be March 12, 2009. Six OTs in the Garden."

Posted by Jerry Hinnen

We've been told it's possible to have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day even in Australia. Judging by this reaction to losing the second set to Stanislaw Wawrinka in the second round of the Australian Open Wednesday, we're guessing Cyprus's Marcos Baghdatis isn't going to argue: 



Unfortunately for Baghdatis, his day would get even more terrible-horrible-no good-very bad from there, as he went on to lose to Wawrinka in four sets. Though we don't know officially how many rackets Baghdatis would go on to smash after actually losing the match, Eye on Sports is setting the over-under at 11.5.

By Brian Stubits

Round 3: Fight?

It's been a few years now that boxing has been waiting, hoping, praying for the match of the century. And unlike college football's rematch of the century, this one would be sure to give the sport's ratings a massive jolt.

But everybody knows this match has been nothing more than a tease for years when it comes to discussing the dream bout of Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao. It's the best bout boxing could put together in a long time, it just won't materialize.

It seemed like we were really close to seeing it happen a little more than a year ago. The fight was reportedly agreed upon, all they had to do was work out the fine-print details. That's when Mayweather began demanding Olympic-style drug testing to make sure his opponent was clean. Pacquiao was willing to oblige, to a point. With Mayweather unwilling to bend on the strictness of the testing, the fight was again called off.

It was another round of feeling out that ended with no punches being thrown. Everybody lost.

Well here we go again. Mayweather has challenged Pacquiao to a fight over Twitter (and presumably through more traditional channels too, one would hope).

As Mayweather so eloquently mentions, his jail sentence for a domestic abuse charge was pushed back because his attorney informed the court that Mayweather is scheduled to return to the ring for a fight on May 5, what has become essentially America's version of Boxing Day.

But naturally he needs an opponent. So now we'll get this same song and dance again.

Will Mayweather's recent issues lead him to showing a little more willingness to bend to make this fight happen? Probably not. He did just win $400,000 betting on Alabama on Monday night.

I think I'm like the rest of the world and won't believe for a second this fight will happen until the bell sounds at MGM Grand and they are both in their trunks. Until then, Mayweather will likely continue to try and show publicly he's not the one who doesn't want to fight.

Now we just await word from the Filipino congressman himself, Pacquiao.

Posted by Jerry Hinnen

How rarely do goalkeepers score in the Premier League? Entering this afternoon, of the more than 20,000 goals scored in the league since its 1992 formation, only three had been tallied by EPL keepers.

So if Everton (and U.S. national team) goalkeeper Tim Howard had wanted to celebrate with a little more enthusiasm after making that number four vs. Bolton Wednesday, we doubt anyone would have blamed him:



We'll chalk Howard's apparent indifference up to his acknowledgment of the gusting Merseyside wind's role in his goal -- it's not as if he was trying to score there -- or maybe he knew karma would repay his team for that stroke of good fortune; the Toffees conceded twice in the game's final 25 minutes to lose at home 2-1 to last-place Bolton.

Whatever the final result, though, Howard's unlikely appearance on the scoresheet will remain a point of pride for his American fans--between his tally and Brad Friedel's last-minute strike several years ago for Blackburn, half of those four keepers' goals belong to Americans. U-S-A! U-S-A!