When you live in the U.S., you might not think of this often, when you are pondering international soccer. But we do around here: West Asia vs. East Asia. To Europeans or Americans, all of Asia is “east,” right? But not when you live here. We have West Asia, East Asia, South Asia and Southeast […]

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Here are some photos of the new apartment. It’s still a work in progress, but just a little update for the curious. Notice how spacious it is! And actually, we decided it’s more of a house than an apartment. Nobody on either side of us, and nobody above. And that makes it a little cooler. […]

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One of my favorite aspects of international sports events is the languages. At the Fifa Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi this year, we have teams made up of guys whose mother tongues are … Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Korean, Arabic, English and pidgin English. (Plus a smattering of Balkan languages.) When I’m not trying […]

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Maybe I’m missing something, over here in Abu Dhabi. The Dodgers actually had a good season? They did things right? They were an organization to admire, to emulate? I thought the team finished fourth in a five-team division, with a losing record, and was hamstrung by the bitter divorce of the team’s co-owners and didn’t […]

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What I don’t know about American jurisprudence is extensive. I took one pre-law class in college, something like “Introduction to Business Law” and was lucky to get a C. Oh, and I talk journalism law, later on. Hated that, too, but I’ve never been sued for libel … But if I’m understanding the story on […]

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This is a pretty big deal for the country, for the city and for … me. I was designated to coordinate coverage, so it’s been just about all I’ve thought about for a couple of weeks now. For the Tuesday paper, we have six slugs and three briefs. Good stuff. Here are the links:

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If you are not interested in the travails of housing in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, then skip right past this item. After a few days less a year in the Teeny Apartment, we completed a move today to a bigger place, for less money … around the corner from where we were before. […]

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We at The National have done a seven-part series on the clubs that will play in the Fifa Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi from December 8-18. The idea is to make the seven clubs more familiar to anyone who might go see the matches. An interesting group. From Inter Milan, one of the most […]

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December 2 is like July 4. National Day is to the UAE what the Fourth of July is to the United States: A day to celebrate a country’s beginnings. What does that mean in tangible terms? Decorated cars, fireworks and crowds at the Corniche.

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Thought it could happen, but I didn’t think it would. (See: yesterday’s item.) Fifa went all weird today, voting for two countries to stage the 2018 World Cup and 2022  World Cup … that certainly were not the most fit candidates to do so. They would be Russia and Qatar, respectively. When the winners ought […]

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