Hehe

From rnnbrwn on Twitter: "Is the Young Boys player Henri Bienvenu related to the Honduran player Georgie Welcome?"

Germany and England

Courtesy of BBC.
- Germany have reached the last eight in every World Cup they have competed in since 1938.
- England have never won a knockout match against a former world champion on foreign soil.
- Germany have the best penalty shootout record in World Cups.
- England have the worst penalty shootout record in World Cups.
- Stats mean absolutely nothing on days like today.

BBC - England fan turfs his front room for World Cup

This is so cool! Rest of the pictures on the BBC website.

Not really superstars

Shedding the light on some not so famous players in the 2010 WC. The players are not mega stars like Messi, Ronaldo or Rooney, and a lot of people don't know them. Some of them are even likely to be subs. (Number, Position, Country)

• Pienaar (10, M, South Africa): He's definitely the most famous player in SA's squad. A talented midfielder with an excellent work ethic.
• Tshabalala (8, M, South Africa): Another midfielder from SA. I smile every time the commentator says his name. A very good player though. Everything for SA goes through him and Pienaar. Can't wait to see what commentators will make of it :)
• Pablo Barrera (7, M, Mexico): Very talented winger, likely to be a sub.
• Javier Hernandez (14, F, Mexico): He just moved to Manchester United. A smallish striker with a very good eye for goal.
• Javier Pastore (23, M, Argentina): Almost surely a sub. A very skilful midfielder. I am not sure he'll even find playing time, but if he does, expect some excitement!.
• Peter Odemwingie (11, M, Nigeria), Chinedu Obasi (19, M, Nigeria): If Nigeria is to have any impact in the World Cup, expect these 2 wingers to have some big games along with John Utaka whom i expect to be an impact sub. They have a very technically astute coach in Lars Lagerback (previously of Sweden - knocked off Argentina in 2002).
• Lee Chung-Yong (17, M, South Korea): Everyone knows about Ji Sung Park, but this man had a terrific season for Bolton Wanderers, another skilful winger.
• Aaron Lennon (7, M, England): Did I mention I like wingers? This is definitely the fastest guy in the world cup. He can beat anyone with pace. If he gets his final ball right, England can fulfil its potential. For me he could be the unspoken key for England to lift the World cup (along with the know quantities of Rooney, Gerrard and the defence/GK).
• Miloš Krasić (17, M, Serbia): A skilful midfielder. He sometimes overdoes things, but is very dangerous when he gets it right. Currently plays for CSKA Moscow, and could be playing for a bigger club.
• Mesut Özil (8, M, Germany): Plays behind the strikers, and has to have a great world cup for Germany to have a chance of causing any upsets.
• Mako Marin (21, M, Germany):  He's still very young, and I don't think he'll have much part to play because he plays in the same position as Mesut Ozil. But this guy is one to watch for. He's skilful, pacey and has an eye for a pass. Plays behind the strikers.
• Eljero Elia (17, M, Netherlands): Skilful pacey winger. Still young and has a big future. Scored a dazzling goal in the last friendly against Hungary just after he came on..
• Benoît Assou-Ekotto (2, D, Cameroon), Alexandre Song (6, M, Cameroon), Achille Emana (10, M, Cameroon), Eric Choupo Mouting (13, F, Cameroon), Eyong Enoh (18, M, Ajax): Cameroon has a lot of players i like. Emana is the standout. Enoh should be an impact sub. The have a good coach in Paul Le Guen, and hopefully will be the surprise African team.
• Duda (5, D, Portugal): He spends most of his time in the wing, rather than defending. We'll see whether he starts or they go for the more defensive minded, the inept Paulo Ferreira.
• Danny (10, M, Portugal): Everyone will be looking for Cristiano Ronaldo and to a lesser extent Simão and Deco, and deservedly so. But this man plays just behind the striker, and could be the answer to Portugal's scoring woes benefiting from the talent around him. He's not shy either dribbling and pulling the trigger.
• Jesus Navas (22, M, Spain): Surely a sub. He's only 24 but his career should have kicked off even earlier. He has refused to join the National Team for some time now because he suffered from homesickness!
• David Suazo (11, F, Honduras): Not really an unknown quantity. He used to play for Inter and now plays for Genoa. Definitely the superstar for Honduras along with Wilson Palacios of Tottenham.
• Humberto Suazo (9, F, Chile): This guy is truly a goal machine. He's very stocky, and when you see him you would think he won't be able to do 3 sprints. He's surprisingly fast though and doesn't miss much in front of goal. He has been injured, but hopefully he will be able to play. The way he looks reminds of Amado Flavio from Angola.

As you could have noticed, i didn't include many defenders. People are usually captivated with attacking football.

NBA Playoffs: 2nd Round Predictions

I think I made 2 mistakes in my 1st round predictions. There were not any surprises in the predos, and I discounted the oldies.
The main surprises to me are the Spurs, Jazz and the Celtics level of play. I had 6 correct outcomes, the 2 wrong predictions being the San Antonio beating Dallas and Utah beating Denver. I really expected more out of the Dallas Mavericks, and the absence of George Karl is the main reason behind Denver's exit.

Here are my predictions for the 2nd round after 2 games in each series:

How Mahmoud Bakr gets his expressions (Arabic speakers only)

Mahmoud Bakr adds 20% fun to local football games. I always wondered how he got his expressions. Listen to what he says in this video, it explains a lot! He just says it without thinking. He certainly knows his stuff.

Evra speaking about Alex Ferguson

Interesting interview.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=779939&sec=england&cc=3888
 "Evra reveals that Ferguson is still prepared to unleash the hair dryer treatment - something the 28-year-old discovered in only his first game for the club, against rivals Manchester City.

"He took me off after 45 minutes. I could tell he was angry. He just looked at me, deadly serious, and said, 'Mr Evra, now just watch and see what is English football. And learn'."