A few weeks ago, I posted a lengthy bit of material from a person who commented on a Landon Donovan post. I thought it was so nicely done that I devoted most of a subsequent blog entry to the comment. The  material came from a blogger who goes by the screen name of 51NC3PONG. This […]

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I grew up in greater Los Angeles. A place that, as anyone who pays attention to weather and geography, is mostly a desert brought to life by massive amounts of water imported great distances. The Colorado River. The Owens Valley. But never, in my decades in SoCal, did I ever rush outside just to see […]

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Landon Donovan has been linked with transfers, loans, whatever, to more clubs in the past two months than maybe anyone in Major League Soccer history. (Or it could just be that I wasn’t paying attention, when previous MLS guys were looking to spend some time outside the league.) Paris Saint-Germain of France, Livorno of Italy, […]

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The “first” is in the headline for a reason. Driving here is extraordinarily dangerous. And deadly. The rate of fatalities per 100,000 people is 27.4, annually, in Abu Dhabi, which is one of the highest rates in the world. In the European Union, the fatality rate is 11.0. So. Compare and contrast. I expect to […]

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I’m weary of this. And I’m living it. I can hardly imagine how any of you might feel. You don’t have to read it. But I can hardly think of anything else. Where did we leave this? I thought we had an apartment? Was that it? Well, we still may have an apartment. The same […]

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I ride cabs here a couple of times a day. Going to work. Returning from work.  Whenever I go to or come back from anywhere I can’t walk … I’m in a cab. That gives me two opportunities per day to interact with people for whom English is not a mother tongue. I wouldn’t call […]

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The Heisman Trophy: I love that award. It has fascinated me since I was a child. I remember being very pleased when UCLA’s Gary Beban won it in 1967. And when USC’s Mike Garrett won it in 1965. Almost every time I was in Heritage Hall, at USC, I found myself standing on front of […]

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Mostly, I just wanted to see how many “categories” I could have at the top of this item. Now let’s see if I actually mention something about all of them. Some interesting topics playing out in U.S. sports right now and, really, I’m aware of them. Not everyone back home seems to remember we do, […]

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Over on the South Africa 2010 blog … and here is the link. Remember, I’ll be writing something daily on the World Cup blog right up till it starts. Or until it kills me. Whichever comes first. I know not all of you are all that interested. But if you are … and want to […]

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FIFA pulled off the World Cup draw tonight, and as television goes, it may be as lame, painfully awkward and relentlessly unfunny as any programming you can imagine. Charlize Theron babbling, a guy with a heavy French accent doing most of the talking, and a half-dozen celebrities and quasi-celebrities (David Beckham, a South African rugby […]

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