We began the day in northern Europe. We ended it on the Mediterranean. And we never crossed a border. That’s what happens when you climb on the TGV (fast train) at Gare de Lyon in Paris and climb off at Beziers, a few hundred yards from what the Romans once called Mare Nostrum. Hard to […]

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This must seem a bit over the top by now. Well, it does for me, too, and I have the benefit of knowing how it happened. Three visits to Paris in 13 months and change. To recap:

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I no longer recall what made me mull this topic. Maybe I was thinking of the new facilities in the Big Three sports in the U.S., and how many of them I have not seen. Which in a roundabout way led me to consider how many stadiums and arena I have been in that 1) […]

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Interesting, multi-layered topic. And I’ve been getting paid to think about it. Soccer, football, in the United Arab Emirates. I am convinced it is by far the most popular sport among UAE citizens — the local Arabs (and a few others who have been naturalized). I am convinced nearly every adult male in the country […]

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I have made this argument before. Perhaps on this blog. I hope it’s new to some of you … those of you who are not baseball fans, and don’t already know this. The greatest suffering a sports fan can endure? The collapse of a baseball team. This is not the sudden shock of a shootout […]

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We have a lizard that lives in our patio. I don’t know where he hides out during the day, but he is out at night. Every night. Just a question of which wall he will be scampering across once we open the door from the street. I don’t know for certain that he is a […]

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Really. Don’t go away right off. It’s not about my team and how I lost by one yard to somebody. I don’t have a fantasy football team. Played one time, 10 years ago, didn’t really care for it, never been back. I’ve been watching it as a phenomena, however, and I have to give this […]

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Time for a list. Haven’t done many of late. And this is one of those days when little revelations seem to pop into my head. Not enough for a whole blog item on each of them … well, maybe … but enough for a list. I hope I’m not repeating too many of these. I’m […]

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I have been deeply involved in our coverage of the country’s professional soccer league here, known as (of course) the Pro League. It is fairly remarkable that such a small country has 12 “first division” teams and another 16 in the second division. But there you are. Emiratis in particular love the game (the Indians […]

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What makes Lebanese meals so great and so dangerous? You always get more food than you can possibly eat … and about 90 percent of it is starch. Even when it looks like paste. Take, for example, the Lebanese Flower, what must be the most popular Lebanese restaurant in Abu Dhabi.

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