Before I became a sports blogger, I was a rock journalist. I saw over one hundred concerts from the 80s to the 90s and witnessed incredible performances from The Rolling Stones, U2, Nine Inch Nails, Midnight Oil, Adam Ant, Metallica and so many other bands. But the one gig that is most vivid for me […]

Fox Soccer Channel will be broadcasting in HD very soon. There are a few positives and a few negatives, yes negatives, to this development. Here are a few positives and negatives as I see it: Positive #1: Fox Soccer will be broadcasting in HD beginning in January. This is great news since everyone with an […]

A few weeks ago I introduced you to The Group Of Death via a video showing a special package from ESPN that was delivered to my doorstep. But now, in homage to Spinal Tap and for a little bit of fun on a Friday, we have a video of The Group Of Death rock band […]

Maybe it was the World Cup Draw bounce or a nice lift from the previous weekend's Manchester United game, but the Nielsen Ratings for last weekend's match between Portsmouth and Burnley, far from being two popular teams in America, achieved the sixth highest rating of the 2009-2010 Premier League season thus far. The broadcast generated […]

The United States committee who are working on trying to bring either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup back to the United States have released a promotional video (see above). The GoUSABid.com team worked in conjunction with ESPN to create a fake Sportscenter episode which highlights several of the reasons why the committee feels the […]

Martin Tyler, the world's number one football commentator, was on ESPN last week with Bob Ley to provide his reaction and analysis to the draw that will see England play the United States in the 2010 World Cup. In addition to Tyler's analysis of that match, he also discusses the other groups and how he […]

Hurricane Clásico passed through the shores of Spain with a FC Barcelona win, and now normalcy can somewhat return to La Liga. The two most important matches in terms of the championship race are 5th place Deportivo La Coruña vs. league leaders FC Barcelona and 8th place Athletic Bilbao vs. 4th place Valencia. The most […]

Many soccer fans in the United States have posted here and on other sites that Nielsen Ratings for Premier League games shown on ESPN2 have flatlined. Based on the latest numbers from ESPN2, that is simply not true. The reality is that the teams that were featured in the games shown by ESPN2 over the […]

This weekend's round of fixtures is highlighted by El Clásico, the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid. Not only are they the two most successful teams in the history of Spanish football, they occupy the top two spots in this season's table. Real Madrid has a one point lead over Barcelona heading into this pivotal […]

Can West Ham United’s new Italian talent have the same impact on the Hammers as club legend Paolo Di Canio did between 1999 and 2003? Gianfranco Zola signed Alessandro Diamanti for a fee of around £6 million in the summer. Big money for an untested player especially in light of West Ham’s supposed financial handicap. […]

When ESPN won the rights to show Premier League matches in the U.S., the biggest worry for most football fans in America was that the "Worldwide Leader" would somehow ruin the presentation of the game with subpar announcers and other bells and whistles that often make MLS matches annoying to watch. If today's Wigan v. […]

Once again, MLS executives prove they are not in tune with their product. The Gold Cup provided the perfect opportunity for MLS to expand their fan base. Collaboration with CONCACAF representatives could have brought doubleheaders featuring one MLS game and one Gold Cup game from the first game through to the final (This year's format does provide doubleheaders, […]

Derek Rae of ESPN was kind enough to speak to me at length about Germany and German football. If you have access to ESPN/ESPN International, you may be accustomed to Rae's commentary for the Champions League, La Liga or even Eredivisie; therefore, you might find that an interview of a football announcer who doesn't announce […]

Earlier this morning, our friend The Gaffer lamented that ESPN's loss of the UEFA Champions League TV rights would be bad for soccer in America. After all, ESPN remains the primary vehicle for sporting culture in this country, and if the "Worldwide Leader in Sports" suddenly doesn't care enough to keep this planet's biggest club […]

Within the next two months, we'll learn who will win the bid for the US TV rights to the Premier League for the 2010-2013 seasons. What if Fox Soccer Channel loses its EPL TV rights deal to ESPN and/or Setanta. What should they do to make up for the massive loss? If Fox Soccer Channel […]