C’mon. Most of you weren’t born yesterday. You began following sports a long time ago. And you ought to recognize the signs pointing to a “surprise” defeat. This one involving a soccer rivalry everyone in Mexico, and many in the U.S., now care about. The Yanks versus El Tri in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday. […]

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The first thing to keep in mind, when considering the U.S. national soccer team losing tonight at Costa Rica is … The U.S. never wins in Costa Rica. The Yanks didn’t win there when the U.S. was a second-rate soccer country. And they do not win when they are ranked No. 20 in the world, […]

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Earlier this month, the story was that Landon Donovan might look for a move to Europe at the end of the year, when his current four-year, $10 million deal with the L.A. Galaxy ran out. It didn’t sound quite right. Landon is 31, which is about the time that Europe’s top leagues look to part […]

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If you have seen one World Cup soccer draw, you have seen them all. A vague attempt at some entertainment, a Fifa official droning on, someone from the host country talking a bit too long, then the puzzling, almost impenetrable dance of the ping pong bowls inside the giant goldfish bowls manned by celebrity presenters. […]

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With all due respect to Nick Nolte and the late James Brown, I advance my candidacy for having been the focus of The Worst Mugshot Ever. It is, perhaps, a universal vanity among humans that, inside our heads, we present a more handsome image than, in fact, we often do. And then if we exacerbate […]

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Today was the final day of the World Championships in Athletics — or track and field, as it is known in North America. It was the first of several big events to be held in Russia in the next few years. The Winter Olympics in Sochi next February, the soccer World Cup in 2018. They […]

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This is a story that probably has lots of states-side soccer fans wondering, “What the hell?” Clint Dempsey, Tottenham Hotspur forward, maybe not their first choice to lead the line (as the Brits say), but a solid player who would get a lot of time again this season … giving up the world’s greatest league […]

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Landon Donovan has five goals and seven assists in five games so far in the 2013 Gold Cup. He has been the best player in the tournament. He has played all but about 20 minutes in five victories ahead of Sunday’s final. And we still are discussing whether he should 1) be recalled for World […]

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Andy Murray won the “gentlemen’s” singles championship at Wimbledon today, the first Briton to do so since Fred Perry in 1936. Yes. Seventy-seven years ago. And there went another great losing streak. I am on record expressing support for the continuation of all prominent losing streaks. They give context and shape to teams, people and […]

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Several broad trends in the makeup of Asia’s delegation to the World Cup were confirmed today, the final match day of qualifying for Brazil 2014. It is good news for the powers that be. And have been. It is bad news for just about everyone else.

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