Seventy-four are dead in Egypt, according to the government, after violence between soccer fans of the Cairo club Al Ahly and the Al Masry club of Port Said.
This is by no means the first instance of dozens of deaths at soccer matches in the past three decades. In a three-piece package in The National for […]

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As was the case two years ago at this time, the Liverpool side Everton suddenly are rolling. As was the case two years ago, Landon Donovan is playing for Everton, on loan from the LA Galaxy, and is being given a significant portion of the credit.
Two years ago, Landon went home at the end of […]

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Mark down Luca Toni as the latest old guy to realize he can make a few bucks in the UAE. Like, say, Fabio Cannavaro, David Trezeguet and yours truly. And, as another old guy who has come to the UAE to extend his career, I say: “Well done, Luca!”
So, where in the UAE does Luca […]

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Landon Donovan continues to make news on the Old World side of the Atlantic. And David Beckham’s decision to stay with the Galaxy led to some financial fallout in Paris.
It’s rather fun to read about this stuff in English and French papers, respectively, and we have some links for you.
The news peg here: Landon’s Everton […]

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Zinedine Zidane is remembered almost as much for headbutting Marco Materazzi of Italy in the World Cup final in 2006 as he is for his years as a great player.
But how notorious would he be … if he had headbutted the referee, instead?
A midfielder for the Al Ahli team in Dubai did just that, apparently, […]

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This is hardly noticed in the particularly British (or Indian) parts of the world, but basketball probably is the second-most popular game on the planet.
I know that several sports have made that claim (from volleyball to team handball to ping-pong, etc), but hoops probably is the real No. 2. Plus, a survey conducted last March […]

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This probably was a global trend, but it was certainly got a boost from the Barcelona club and the Spain national team.
To wit: Soccer is increasingly the province of tiny men with high technical skills who can run forever. Big is out. Muscles? Not really necessary, aside from those needed to move your almost frighteningly […]

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Everton got a result against Aston Villa on Saturday, a 1-1- tie, their first point in the Premier League since Landon Donovan rejoined the Liverpool-based team on loan from the Galaxy, and when it was over David Moyes, the Everton coach, was calmly direct about identifying his most influential player.
It was Donovan, the Galaxy captain, […]

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I’ve written fairly often about Diego Maradona. I know that. Almost unavoidable. El Diego coaches the Al Wasl team up in Dubai, and I cover a lot of domestic soccer/football here in the UAE. So Diego comes up a lot.
We are trying to find the latest answer to the great sports question: How rare is […]

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This was a first: A Briton asking me to write a story about Landon Donovan.
The news peg is that Landon is back in England, for two months, on loan with the Premier League side Everton, and he seems likely to play his first match (in his second Everton go-round) Wednesday night.
Here is that piece, which […]

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