Outside the Lines « Nutmeg Radio

Outside the Lines

Media

Soccer and the Huffington Post: Not Good Enough

by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.

Mainstream media outlets in the United States struggle with their portrayal of soccer. Many of these outlets suffer from what I call Palinitis, a chronic sickness characterized by a lack of curiosity, an unwillingness to read, and an eagerness to succumb to humanity’s baser instincts to sell something. This should worry soccer fans.

Luckily, fans of the major American sports are beneficiaries of robust online coverage. Countless full-time journalists, commentators, academics, and bloggers dissect the day’s NFL, NBA, and MLB news. Although new voices covering these leagues are always welcome, the online market for major U.S. sports is arguably already saturated. (more…)

Media | Outside the Lines
Zero Comments So Far

Finance

Nightmare at Fratton Park: Searching for “Owner #5″”

by The Chairman

Fratton Park, Portsmouth, England

The unending saga of Portsmouth Football Club’s ownership merry-go-round has taken on a life of its own. The club has had a staggering four owners since the start of the 2009-10 Premiership season. Some clubs haven’t had that many owners in the past decade, let alone a year. Talk about poor financial management. The club’s finances are in such a poor state that it recently requested permission from the Premier League to sell players outside the January transfer window. (more…)

Finance | Outside the Lines
1 Comment So Far

Health

FIFA’s Great Conundrum: Traditional African Medicines?

by The Chairman

Traditional African Medicines

FIFA medical committee chairman, Michael D’Hooghe, told the press this past Sunday that one of his big concerns going into the 2010 World Cup is the possible use of traditional African medicine by players. Apparently this is of great concern because some of these medicines, which are extracted from local plants, may contain untraceable levels of stimulants and may result in an unfair advantage.

I am a bit amused by this stance on the part of the Mr. D’Hooghe. After all, I don’t recall the FIFA medical committee making such a fuss over the local health methods used in past host countries. (more…)

Health | Outside the Lines
3 Comments So Far

Finance

A Sustainable Way Forward

by The Chairman

Arsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger

It is no secret that Arsenal Football Club (AFC) is run under a self-sustainable business model. The club takes great pride in touting this fact, sometimes to the detriment of some of its own fans who want greater on field success in the form of silverware (AFC has gone five long, arduous years without a major trophy – cue the violin). According to Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, it is imperative that football teams live within their means, by which he means that clubs should only spend what they make. That is why a few years ago, after the club decided to build Emirates Stadium, Arsene embarked on an odyssey of sorts to revolutionize how the squad was constructed. (more…)

Finance | Outside the Lines
3 Comments So Far

History

The South Africa Series: Part III

by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.

In Part II, I explained a bit about the social and spatial legislation that laid the foundation for the development of apartheid sport. But to begin to understand the current state of South African sport and what this World Cup means in historical context, you need to understand South Africa’s unique sporting landscape.

South Africans are sports mad. The madness is more than a passion, it is religion. However, observing South African sport from the viewpoint of major South African newspapers during apartheid skews one’s perspective on South African sport. Before South Africa was awarded the 2010 World Cup, South African soccer, which was a predominately a black sport, was largely invisible to most outside of South Africa. To most of the outside world, rugby, and to a lesser extent cricket, were the quintessential South African sports. Internally, stories and scores from these sports frequently rivaled political news for headlines. This reality allowed rugby and cricket to thrive inside South Africa, while support for black leagues, players, and competitions suffered behind closed doors. (more…)

History | Outside the Lines
1 Comment So Far

Governance

Surely the Confederation of African Football Can’t be Serious?

by The Chairman

So let me get this straight. Citing Article 78 of the African Cup of Nations 2010 tournament rules, the Confederation of African Football Executive Committee has decided to fine the Togo National Team $50,000 and suspend them from participating in the next two editions of the African Cup of Nations (ACN) because they withdrew from the 2010 ACN after enduring a terrorist attack that killed three people (an assistant coach, a spokesperson and a bus driver). (more…)

Governance | Outside the Lines
2 Comments So Far

Corruption

Chinese Officials Drunk on Corruption: A Human Resources Issue

by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.

Someone drank some corruption juice. Nan Yong, the head of China’s football federation, and two other senior officials, a vice-president of the federation and the head of the referees’ committee, were recently taken in for questioning by police as part of a crackdown on corruption and match-fixing. Now that this embarrassing and continuing saga is spiraling out of control, China seems intent on taking the necessary steps to fix the problem. But flushing out this cancer in Chinese football might be harder than imagined given the following comments:

(more…)

Corruption | Outside the Lines
Zero Comments So Far

Media

Maybe You Shouldn’t Comment About Angola’s Ability to Host A Tournament Unless You Understand Geography

by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.

And there it was. Breaking News: Togo Team Bus Attacked By Angolan Rebels.

Response: Angola is a dangerous country and therefore should not be hosting the African Cup of Nations (CAN).

Of all the cogent arguments detailing why Angola should not host the ACN, this might be the worst. It reeks of a double standard and a level of ignorance that the media is complicit in maintaining.

(more…)

Media | Outside the Lines
2 Comments So Far

Outside the Lines

Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?

by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.

Iran vs Israel

Every year, the Iranian Football Federation (FFI) sends out a New Year’s greeting to every national federation that is a member of FIFA … except for “the football federation from the Zionist regime” of course. This year, however, the FFI made a boo boo. Mohammad-Manour Azimzadeh, head of the FFI foreign relations office, apparently forgot to take Israel off of his master New Year’s greeting list. Don’t worry Mohammad, you’re not the first to make this mistake … but from now on make sure you double check your recipient list. Unfortunately, in the future, it looks like he’ll have to do this check from a different email address because Mr. Azimzadeh has “resigned” in light of this incident.

(more…)

Outside the Lines | Politics
1 Comment So Far

Discrimination

What Can We Learn About Race in Italy From Mario Balotelli?

by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.

Mario Balotelli

Italy is well known for its World Cup and Champions League winning sides. But there is a dark side to Italian football that reflects developments elsewhere in Italian society.

Many football fans are familiar with Mario Balotelli’s story. Balotelli was born in Palermo, Sicily to Ghanaian parents. Abandoned by his birth parents, he was luckily adopted by Italian parents in Brecia at the age of two. That would explain why Balotelli speaks Italian like a local.

If one listens to 19 year old Balotelli speak, looks at his passport (but not his picture), or studies his upbringing, it is impossible to think that he is anything other than Italian. But his dark skin tone and distinctly African features unfortunately complicate matters. (more…)

Discrimination | Outside the Lines
2 Comments So Far

Page 1 of 312 3 »

Miriti Murungi: Vivabolivar – It’s sad how so many young players truly love the game, yet don’t...
Miriti Murungi: SGC — Certainly things are better, and I think we have to acknowledge that. But improving...
vivabolivar: Miriti, Intersting how this youth development plays out. I was born in Bolivia where futbol is life. I...
Sgc: I know a few things that are better. * One is that it’s now possible to play with an elite club and get...
MW Chicago: So it seems the Union was not posturing and they really do want free agency, and they are ready to strike...

Football Culture & Gear

NR Commentary