Wayne Rooney, Wayne Rooney, he goes...where?

Another player has taken control of his future and decided that he no longer wants to play with the team that currently employs him. Wayne Rooney of Manchester United has been in a little spat with manager Alex Ferguson since the World Cup finished and this week it came out that Rooney has no intention of signing a new contract with United when his current deal ends after this season.

If you thought LeBron James was a big name free agent, you haven't seen anything yet. Rooney is a prolific goal scorer, footballer of the year and will command the highest transfer fee ever if he moves clubs. Rooney will have every team in Europe vying for his attention, but realistically there are only a handful of clubs that could really aspire to acquire him. If he decides he wants to stay in England the list gets smaller. Unlike LeBron who kept the whole league guessing, Rooney will not get a one hour special on BBC to announce where he will be signing, he will get a week's worth of coverage.

The question that remains to be seen is whether United makes the decision to transfer him, when they know he won't sign back with them. It is the same decision that a few NBA teams had to make - namely the Cleveland Cavaliers with LeBron and the Toronto Raptors with Chris Bosh. Both teams elected to keep their superstars and got nothing in return when they left. The Denver Nuggets are going through the same question this season with Carmelo Anthony, he has said he has no intentions of staying in Denver after the season, so do they try to win this year with him or get something for him?

It is a tough call for management, you have to take the feelings of fans into account, as well as that of the players and of course the financial implications. Although these are tough situations for clubs, there are worse contract situations. The ones where a player holds out similar to those in the NFL this season like Darrelle Revis of the NY Jets or Vincent Jackson of the San Diego Chargers. These are players who have signed long term contracts but don't want to play under the terms any longer because they feel (and lots of time they are correct) that they are worth more money than they are being paid and with careers so short the players feel they need to cash in.

So what does Manchester United do? They have to find a way to settle with him. He has been the face of United and it would be in their best interest to mediate the situation and put him back in a Red Devils jersey next year. If they can't...the hottest ticket will be when Rooney returns to Old Trafford wearing a Manchester City jersey, ouch.

Thierry Henry > David Beckham

Once considered a minor sport in America, soccer has begun its ascent into becoming one of the big 4 sports. While NFL, NBA and MLB will always dominate the headlines, the recent FIFA World Cup shed light on the growing popularity of soccer in America.

With record numbers of fans tuning into watch the games (and not just the ones the US team was involved in) the sport is beginning to get a foot hold with the public that started with the arrival of David Beckham in 2007.

The arrival of David Beckham from Spanish giant Real Madrid was supposed to ignite the passion for soccer in the States. There was a lot of pressure on the Englishmen to deliver brilliance every time he stepped on the field. He was not only supposed to carry his new team, LA Galaxy to a MLS championship, but he was saddled with the duties of being the face of the league in all their marketing. That marketing wasn’t just for the league it was also for his other sponsors.

As a player, Beckham could still create on the field and off the field as a spokesman he was everywhere, but fans still wanted more. There was so much pressure on him from every angle; there was no way for him to live up to the hype. When Beckham struggled initially on the field because of injuries and because he was part of a team with no real talent, he became the target of fans and the media. He turned it around sufficiently to earn a loan to AC Milan and make the England World Cup team only to suffer a torn Achilles months before the FIFA World Cup and forcing him to watch from the sidelines in South Africa. Beckham may eventually return to play for the LA Galaxy (he is still under contract), but he accomplished what he could in North America and for him, the place to end his career is back playing for a European team.

A “new” Beckham has joined MLS to take his place – former Arsenal, Barcelona and French international star Thierry Henry. At 37 years old Henry will join the NY Red Bulls and will no doubt be expected to contribute right away. He will be able to do so because even at 37, Henry still has his scoring touch, great pace and vision to make a difference in the MLS. He will also end up making more of a difference than Beckham.

Henry will have a far greater impact than Beckham on growing the game in the States because he scores goals. Beckham is a great player with excellent touch on the ball, no one can deny this, but the Americans love the glory players. Whether you hit home runs, score touchdowns or score goals that is what is valued in American sports. Therefore when Beckham didn’t put the ball in the back of the net he was vilified. Henry won’t have this problem. There isn’t the same expectation on him to be the face of the league and he scores goals. He will light up some teams and be a constant threat to defences.

With soccer now being a recognized sport in the States that has a following much greater than three years ago when Beckham joined, Thierry Henry has an advantage to be considered a much better player than Beckham in the eyes of the American soccer public.

Here is a short clip from Jimmy Fallon last night - Thierry Henry was the guest...

Is This Good For Soccer In The USA?

On Wednesday morning the goal heard around the world was Landon Donovan of the USA putting in a rebound past the fallen Algerian goalie in the 91st minute of the last round robin game to give the USA a 1-0 win and put them through to the round of 16 in this year's World Cup. It was a stunning moment, because without the goal in extra time, the USA would have been knocked out of the World Cup. With the win, they have unbelievable momentum and the attention of a whole nation.

Soccer in the United States has been gaining traction since 1994 when the World Cup was held on home soil. The US has had mediocre results in the last few tournaments but with a thrilling run in the Confederation Cup last year and now this moment, could soccer have reached the tipping point?

The casual fan will probably always be that, there are too many other sporting options for them to choose, but those who may have been following international soccer, things like the UEFA Champions League or the English Premier League might now find it interesting to follow their international players when they return home to play in the MLS. This will lead to better quality soccer and then a better chance in 2014.

So would a win today be good for soccer in the USA? I say without a doubt. As much as the international soccer world probably loathes the fact that the Americans are getting good at "their" sport, the longer the USA stay in the tournament the more attention it gets in North America. That is good for the growth of soccer not just in the United States, but internationally as well.

With expectations building up on Donovan, Tim Howard and the rest of Coach Bob Bradley's team can they exact revenge on Ghana who ousted them from the World Cup four years ago in the final group stage game? I don't believe they can. Ghana has an attacking squad who has produced a bunch of chances in their group stage games. With a shaky back line, those chances might turn into goals pretty quickly. Also, Ghana was the lone African team to qualify for the knock-out stage, which means the whole continent can unite in one loud vuvuzuela. My prediction Ghana 2 - 1 in an exciting up and down game.

Watching The World Cup

The eastern time zone spoils you. Everything the media does is geared to the eastern time zone. Prime time TV, starting of sporting events, and the nightly news come to mind. This is the odd relationship or the rationalization that we deserve these things because we live on the east coast.

This is what is so odd about the World Cup, they could care less about us in the Eastern time zone. The games start at 7:30am, 10am and 2:30pm. That does nothing for me! Don't they know that is the middle of my work day? Don't they understand that my bosses don't like me watching the live online feed from cbc.ca? Don't they care that I will need to use all my sick days for the entire year during a four week span? I guess not...

As I mentioned, the eastern time zone is spoiled and I don't know how to get over it. Guess it will be only a little better in Brazil 2014. Oh well...

The New Fosbury Flop

After a weekend full of soccer, the haters have started to rear their ugly head. We are already hearing cries of it is too low scoring, the vuvezelas are annoying and of course, the players dive.

The flop or dive was created in the 1982 World Cup by the Italians. The Italians won the tournament and Paolo Rossi was the tournament MVP. Although, he scored 6 goals he also set the record with 15 dives that drew cards.*

Ever since 1982 the flop has been part of soccer, for better or worse. In the last 7 years it has gotten worse in soccer. The players don't even need contact anymore to twist in the air, roll around on the ground and scream in agony. FIFA has tried to correct this by having the officials give out cards to those players who dive. This solution has started to work, but as we have seen in the first 10 games of the World Cup, the flop is still a part of soccer.

Although critics are harsh on soccer with regards to the flop it is not the only offending sport. Both hockey and basketball have their offenders. The hockey playoffs saw many dives and the referees tried to crack down by giving out penalties. The basketball playoffs have been ripe with diving. Even the finals haven't been immune. Derek Fisher has spent more time on the floor than guarding Rajon Rondo. It has become so bad that the announcers are even calling the players out on it and the refs have stopped calling the fouls because they can't tell what is contact and what is a flop.

So, although soccer has the slow motion replays that show a trip wasn't necessarily a trip, other sports are immune to the 'flop'.




*editors note: this is a made up story

The Growth of MLS

Major League Soccer made the announcement on Friday that the Montreal Impact were chosen as the next expansion team (in 2012) for the ever growing MLS. The Impact will be the 19th team, and third Canadian squad joining Toronto FC and the expansion (2011) Vancouver Whitecaps.

This is exciting for the league, but we may be reaching the tipping point. Like many other professional leagues in North America, they are expanding quickly, and the talent is having trouble keeping up. When watching games recently I would count the number of passes that teams could string together - the number didn't get above 3 for about 25 minutes and this is the league that is adding 3 new teams in the next two years. Where are they going to get players?

The MLS has big decisions to make, like how big do they want to get and do they want to follow the European model of promotion and relegation.

The how many teams question is an easy one...they can probably expand once more, to make for a total of 20 teams. This would match the English Premiership and is a nice round number and there aren't many other cities clamoring for a team.

The bigger question is the idea of promotion and relegation working in North America. It is a idea that most fans on this side of the Atlantic are not familiar with. It provides motivation for teams and a reason for fans to cheer, it is also a great way of making sure small and big market teams play against the proper competition.

There are leagues and teams out there to make this happen. The USL currently has 12 teams (three of those are Vancouver, Portland and Montreal who are getting "promoted" to the MLS) and a second division with six teams that would provide the perfect feeder system to the MLS. It all makes too much sense for it to actually happen. The other benefit of having all these teams as part of one bigger league, you could run a tournament similar to the FA Cup, where all the teams of the MLS, USL and the Premier Development League (which has about 50 teams). It would be entertaining and with the love the Champions League is getting it would be a great scenario to have a tournament on home soil.

The one thing I wouldn't bring up is the MLS getting rid of their championship game and crowning a champion like the Premiership (the best team at the end of the season wins the championship). That is too much for North Americans to handle.

The MLS has done a lot correct in the last few seasons. Bringing in promotion and relegation by joining with the USL and Premier Development League would be the next great step in growing the game.

Top 5 Sports Stories of 2009

Honorable Mention:
-Canada's World Junior Hockey team wins a 5th straight championship.
-Alex Rodriguez overcoming PED scandal and going on to play well and win the World Series. A 27th in the history of the Yankees franchise.
-Roger Federer wins the French Open, the only asterisk is he didn't beat Nadal.
-Detroit Lions go winless (0-17) in an NFL season.
-UCONN women's basketball goes undefeated, 39-0, and win their 6th national title.
-Lance Armstrong returns to cycling, but can't win the Tour de France.
-Jimmie Johnson wins his 4th straight NASCAR title.


5. Steelers win 6th Super Bowl.
The Pittsburgh Steelers went to Tampa to face the upstart Arizona Cardinals. The Cards had turned around decades of frustration to finally make it to a Super Bowl. The Steelers would not roll over and hand them the victory. In an amazing game that featured the longest play in Super Bowl history (a 99 yard interception return by James Harrison), Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals then had an unbelievable 64 yd touchdown reception that split the Steelers defence, gave the Cards their first lead and gave them a great chance to win if the defence could hold. Big Ben wasn't having any of it though. He drove the length of the field, finally threading the needle to Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds who tippy-toed in the back of the endzone to seal the victory for the black and gold. For his 135 yd performance, Holmes was given the MVP and Big Ben got his second Super Bowl ring.

4. Roughriders lose Grey Cup.
Your typical Canadian football game. Back and forth scoring, some timely defense and special teams that actually mean something. This game, unlike the Super Bowl won't be remembered for who won (Montreal Alouettes) as it will for who lost (Saskatchewan Roughriders). In a very pro-Roughriders environment in Calgary, the Als had a field goal attempt on the final play of the game for the win. The field goal attempt sails wide and it looked for the moment that the Green Riders would take home the Grey Cup. Unfortunately, the 13th man, which throughout most of the game was the fans, in this case was an actual player and the penalty on Saskatchewan allowed the Als to retry their field goal from 5 yards closer and this time kicker David Duval was true and split the uprights for the Montreal win.

3. Usain Bolt is fastest man alive.
Have to say this one quickly. Jamaica's Usain Bolt who came to prominence during the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 had another world stage to showcase his personality and quick twitch muscles. This time the venue was Berlin and the World Track and Field Championships. Bolt quickly (and I mean quickly) brought the world to its feet by running a blistering 9.58 in the 100m and then ran a 19.19 in the 200m to cement himself as the fastest human being ever.

2. Barcelona FC wins 6 championships.
This amazing event flies under the radar because it happened over the whole year and not in one game or under 20 seconds. FC Barcelona became the first football team ever to win six out of six competitions in a single year thus completing the sextuple, comprising the 2008–09 La Liga, 2008–09 Copa del Rey, 2009 Supercopa de España, 2008–09 UEFA Champions League, 2009 UEFA Super Cup and 2009 FIFA Club World Cup. Similar to American sports where trades or transfers are now becoming more common and dynasties are less likely this will probably never happen again.

1. Tiger Woods.
Where to start with this one. Is it Tiger winning Golfer of the Year, Athlete of the Decade or 6 tournaments this year on the PGA tour. Perhaps it is the other side of the coin, maybe the biggest story is Tiger LOSING to YE Yang in the PGA Championship, after leading on a Sunday Woods did something he hadn't done before, gave up the lead. The real story of the year in this one though is Tiger Woods's fall from grace. That link pretty much says it all.


What was your top sports story of the year?

The Return of the Mack

After a sabbatical, the Sandwich Shoppe is open for business again...

A quick round up of the weekend events and what you have to look forward to in the week ahead.

1. Lucas Glover wins the US Open golf tournament. After four rain soak days at Bethpage Black the unknown Glover outlasted the field and took the silver trophy. The golfers that finished second were the bigger story. Phil Mickelson who overcame a couple of bad rounds, the mental stress of dealing with his wife's cancer and was so close to winning another major championship. The other story was David Duval. Coming into the weekend he was ranked 832nd (didn't know there was that many pro golfers) and he put on quite the show. Still wearing the trademark Oakley's Duval looked like the player he once was. It will be a great story for the remainder of the season if Duval can keep up his play and challenge for titles.

2. The US soccer team pulled off the improbable. After getting smacked around in their first two Confederation Cup games by Brazil and Italy, they needed a three goal win against Egypt and have Brazil beat Italy by three goals. Well, both things happened and the US goes on to face the number one team in the world - Spain. Nobody, not even former US player Alexei Lalas believes they have a chance, and with good reason. Look for them to get destroyed, but not for the reasons you think (skill), but because the US is starting to lose players to other countries. Two of the better players that could be playing with the US are playing for Italy and another wants to play for Germany. This feels too much like Canada tennis or boxing.

3. In other soccer news Manchester United has found their new jersey sponsor - AON Consulting will adorn the front of the red devils jersey next season. Open up the pocket books fans!

4. Wimbeldon started today and the hands on favorite to win on the men's side is Roger Federer. Unfortunately, he won't have his Joker to his Batman when he goes to win his record 15th major tournament as Rafeal Nadal had to withdraw due to tendinitis in his knees. It will still be fun to watch him win, and will be emotional for Federer if he can pull it off, but after the epic match last year, it would have been nice to see again.

5. Not even sure why I want to mention this, but it has been reported that Brett Favre has signed to play with the Minnesota Vikings in the upcoming season. The news hasn't been "officially" released but the deal is supposedly done and will be announced soon to hysterical Green Bay fans everywhere. Those two bitter division game between the Vikings and the Packers will become even more tense this year.