When MLS brought in aging Mexican soccer star Cuauhtemoc Blanco last season and allocated him to the Chicago Fire, they knew what they were getting - a world-class player on the downside of his career who has courted controversy wherever he has gone and has just as many ardant fans as people who hate his guts. Think of Dennis Rodman, but not as much of a one-trick pony.
There's no question that he's been worth it for the Fire - he's been revitalized since coming to the MLS, and looks as good on the field at 35 as he has in years. But he's excelled at the things that most people hate about soccer: diving, dirty fouls, whining to the refs, trying to instigate and provoke opponents. Basically, he's the symbol for a lot of US Soccer fans of why we hate Mexican soccer.
Well, he was up to usual antics earlier this month during a US Open Cup match versus DC United. In the span of a few minutes, Blanco:
Punched United midfielder Clyde Simms in the stomach and poked him in the eye Refused to leave the field after receiving a red card Head-butted a United team official who tried to guide him off the field
So for all of this, Blanco was suspended for two years, which might seem harsh but certainly there is no place in soccer for...wait, he was only suspended from the US Open Cup for two years and not all US soccer? The US Open Cup - a tournament that 90 percent of soccer fans don't even know exist?
Good thing he didn't go "Last Action Hero" one someone with a revolver at the end of the game - they might have really come down hard on him then - maybe even a fine as well!
- Carson Palmer went on a Los Angeles radio show and basically ripped into Ohio St. ahead of the Buckeye's game against the Trojans this season, saying among other things that he "cannot stand the Buckeyes" and that he "just can't wait for two years from now when SC comes to the 'Shoe and hopefully we'll have a home game that weekend and I can go up there and watch us pound on them in their own turf." Now, I'm all for school spirit and adding a little bit of healthy bravado into a rivalry. Except for the small fact that Palmer plays professional football in Ohio, and not only are Ohio St. fans pretty, um, rabid, but they are tends to be a lot of overlap between Bengals fans and Buckeyes fans.
I've made a Venn diagram to help explain things:
I hope this helps to clear up any confusion.
Assuming that Carson Palmer knows that in 2008, radio interviews in Los Angeles might make their way back to Cincinnati (and let's not totally assume this - after all, he apparently thought this ad was a good idea), this is not just a stupid interview; it's downright suicidal. It almost feels like he's so sick of playing with an underachieving bunch of felons and thugs in a place he hates, that he's decided to do whatever he can to make himself so hated that the Bengals have no choice but to trade him. And in Ohio, ripping the Buckeyes is a better way to ensure that you are hated than running a sack full of puppies through a wood chipper.
- Danica Patrick and Milka Duno got into a "catfight" at the Mid-Ohio track during a practice session before this weekend's IndyCar race. And by "cat fight" I of course mean "lots of finger wagging, yelling and then someone threw a towel at someone's face." There was no hair-pulling, clothes ripping of any kind, or even a remote hint of scissoring. Which is OK for me - Danica Patrick is kind of a two-face (sometimes looks great, sometimes looks like an angry little man), and Milka Duno looks like if you took Cesar Romero as The Joker from the old Batman TV series and put a set of huge fake cans on him.
Here's the video, if you are into that sort of thing. The set-up is during a practice session, Duno was driving with her usual complete lack of speed. Patrick was behind her and going much faster (and if Danica Patrick is that much faster than you on a road course, you are a terrible driver and should pretty much lose your racing license on the spot), and kept trying to pass her, except that Duno kept cutting her off.
Note the complete lack of interest by the all-male Citgo crew to do anything to stop the escalating tension, other than to make sure they were out of the way of the cameras. These are smart men.
- And finally...about 100 Columbus Crew fans rumbled with a dozen supporters of mid-level English Premier League team West Ham during an exhibition game on Sunday after the West Ham fans came over to the main Crew supporters' section. And who says that America can't embrace "the beautiful game" the way that they do in Europe. First we get Beckham, and now we have thuggish hooligans. Next we need rampant match fixing and corruption, and we'll be right there.
It should be noted that Carson Palmer is already furiously backpedaling from his anti-Ohio State comments. I imagine that he saw highlights of the soccer match and realized that the violent mob was likely heading for him next.
When MLS brought in aging Mexican soccer star Cuauhtemoc Blanco last season and allocated him to the Chicago Fire, they knew what they were getting - a world-class player on the downside of his career who has courted controversy wherever he has gone and has just as many ardant fans as people who hate his guts. Think of Dennis Rodman, but not as much of a one-trick pony.
