This was the final day in the London 2012 Games for the UAE football team, and my 25th consecutive day writing about them, for The National, from Austria, Manchester, London and Coventry. They didn’t quite cover themselves with glory, but they managed a 1-1 draw against Senegal, and they leave the Summer Games with one […]

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Three-plus decades in this business, and I still can be surprised by what can happen when you call someone. I was working on a piece about the future of Mahdi Ali, the capable and popular UAE Olympic soccer coach who led his team to the London Olympics, and I decided to check in with the […]

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This is a bizarre story, now that I review it again. Because I could not get credentialed for the Summer Olympics in the way I have for 14 Olympiads before this one — with an actual “E” (press) credential — I became worried about getting into events at London 2012. Specifically, into UAE soccer events […]

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From 1982 until 1992, I visited London quite often. At least four extended stays in the city and the surrounding countryside. Twice, to cover Wimbledon, from start to finish, in 1985 and 1986. However, before today, the last time I was in London was 1993, and that was soccer-related, too. I was on my way […]

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One of those random Olympic TV moments. You’re sitting there, and the round-the-clock coverage by the BBC suddenly coughs up the team final of the men’s London 2012 archery team competition. The United States versus Italy. And the hero of the match? A fat, bald guy. And you know what this means?

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A few hours ago, I watched the entirety of the Opening Ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympics. I was more than a bit surprised to last the 3 hours and 50 minutes, running till 12:46 a.m., here in England, considering I was alternately bored and puzzled. It must have been the caffeine in the diet […]

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  I was impressed by: –Ismail Matar. The grand old man of UAE national football, all of 29, scored a goal of surpassing guile. He beat the offside trap, took a fine through-pass from the back, went in on the keeper alone, juked him to the ground, side-stepped him (above; a frame grab from The […]

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The city of Manchester bid for the 2000 Olympics, which was a bit crazy, given that Sydney and Beijing also were in the running. Sydney won the bid, and put on a great 2000 Games — still the best Summer Olympics I have seen. And I’ve seen them all since 1984. Beijing finished second in […]

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It took four days, but we apparently found the restaurant district of Manchester — a little to the west of Market Street, in an area of short streets and small hotels. And we ate at a pub that might even be semi-famous — Sam’s Chop House, established 1872. You’ve heard about the preferences of the […]

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A weird situation, in Manchester, population 500,000: It’s just plain difficult to buy a decent meal here. No. Really. When we were downtown, at Piccadilly Gardens yesterday … nothing more alluring than the Burger King was open around the landmark park or up Market Street, the city’s main drag. Yes. A downtown. With nothing but […]

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