Whole New Ball Game

[Wednesday, August 15 2007; Los Angeles, Home Depot Center: 7.58pm]
Can he bend it?
You’re damn right he can.

Whether your favourite team is fighting for the Premier League or promotion into the Football League this is the place to be.

Just click on the game of your choice.

Tottenham vs Everton [Premier League]

Rangers vs Crvena Zvezda [Champions League; 3rd qualifying round]

Carling Cup 1st round

It was a day of firsts, nearlys and oh-so-close.

In short, it was the opening day of the new Premier League season and it didn’t disappoint.

For a full round-up pop over to our good friends at The Telegraph.

The Premier League is back. And we love it.
I mean really love it.

If the beautiful and busty girlfriend of WNGB said she’d be waiting ‘upstairs’ for us in ten minutes but there was 20 minutes left of Aston Villa vs Portsmouth on television - she’d be one disappointed lady.

Anyone onto the stuff that matters.

In the first game of the new season Sunderland left it late, and we mean really late, to beat Tottenham thanks to Michael Chopra’s injury time goal.

All the rest of the day’s action will follow.

[In the big game outside of the top flight Colchester United drew 2-2 with Sheffield United.]

Yes, yes. We know.
We haven’t been around for a while which has been frustrating to say the least.
I’d love to tell you why but the reasons are boring and you don’t deserve that.
So instead we’ll give you the good news.
Whole New Ball Game will be back, up and running to coincide with the new Premier League season. Pretty cool, eh?
That’s a date for your diary then? August 11.

See you then.

The Whole New Ball Game team.

[copa america; final: Brazil 3 - 0 Argentina]

Brazil retained the Copa America after beating favourites Argentina 3-0 in a one-sided final in Venezuela.

Brazil opened the scoring in the fourth minute as former Arsenal striker Julio Baptista hammered a fine strike past Argentina keeper Roberto Abbondanzieri.

Five minutes before the interval, Roberto Ayala inadvertently deflected Daniel Alves’ cross into his own net.

And Alves secured victory with 21 minutes remaining as he finished well following a smart counter-attack.

It was Brazil’s eighth Copa America title and denied their arch-rivals a record 15th crown.

Argentina were outplayed in every department as the sparkling form they showed in the run-up to the final deserted them.

The result was justification for a side who entered the tournament without Ronaldinho and Kaka, and who had been criticised for being workmanlike.

Baptista’s goal settled any early nerves as he picked up a long ball from Elano - who replaced suspended skipper Gilberto Silva - controlled it neatly, turned to the right of Ayala and fired a fierce right-foot drive into the top corner.

Five minutes later, Argentina were unfortunate not to be back on level terms when a header from Juan Sebastian Veron found Juan Roman Riquelme in space but his shot came off the post.

But Argentina struggled to make any impact and Brazil took control with Ayala’s unfortunate 40th-minute own goal.

Argentina stars Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi were unable to impose themselves on the match and were marked out of the game by well-organised opponents.

Brazil earned a memorable third goal after 69 minutes, Vagner Love breaking free down the left and slotted an inch-perfect pass between two defenders to Alves.

Argentina’s miserable night was summed up when Tevez had an 80th-minute effort ruled out for offside, reported bbc sport.

Meanwhile, in the third-place play-off in Caracas, Uruguay captain Diego Lugano was sent off in the 38th minute and Mexico took full advantage, winning 3-1.

Not an interesting story in the slightest.

Glasgow Celtic of the Scottish Premier League want to sign Rod Fanni from Nice.

That’s it. No more, no less.

But when we see the opportunity for a cracking headline it has to be done.

Well done WNBG. You are truly ahead of the game.

Arsenal captain and talisman Thierry Henry is set to be presented by Barcelona FC as its latest signing.

The Frenchman will put pen to paper on a four-year deal which will see Arsenal paid £16m as Henry pockets around £120,000 a week.

Henry wrote in a letter to The Sun newspaper: “Arsene[Wenger] has been part of my life for as long as I can remember

“Unfortunately and understandably, he has said that at this moment he will not commit to the club past the expiration of his current deal, which finishes at the end of the coming season.

“I respect his decision and his honesty but I will be 31 at the end of next season and I cannot take the chance to be there without Arsene Wenger and David Dein.”

Since joining Arsenal from Juventus for £10.5m in 1999 Henry has, wait for it….

Helped the Gunners to two league titles and three FA Cups and led them to the finals of the 2000 Uefa Cup and 2006 Champions League.

In February 2006, he became the first Arsenal player to score over 200 goals for the club and has bagged a club record 226 goals in 364 appearances.

He finished as the Premier League’s top scorer on four occasions.

He has won the Professional Footballers’ Association player of the year title on two occasions and the football writers’ player of the year three times. He has also twice finished runner-up in the Fifa world player of the year.

Not bad for someone who can’t head a ball eh?

[European U21 Championships; Semi-final: Holland 1 - 1 England (aet) Holland win 13-12 on pens]

What. A. Game.

We only went out for a pint and became involved in one of the classic matches of the past ten years.
Don’t get us wrong, we’re as gutted as you are. But looking at it from a fans’ point of view we were never going to beat the Dutch in 90 minutes and in a penalty shoot-out? Forget.
After Leroy Lita slapped us into a 1-0 lead after five minutes England’s backs were up againist it and it came as no surprise to us when Holland equalised, albeit, in the last minute.
What did surprise us was we managed to score 12 penalties and still lost due to Anton Ferdinand hitting the wrong kind of bar again.
There’s something not quite right about that.
Anyway, we’re very proud of our boys. You should be too.

Worcester have pulled off a major coup by signing New Zealand wing Rico Gear on a three-year deal, report The Telegraph.

Gear has played in the Super 14 for the Highlanders, Auckland and Canterbury, and has scored 10 tries in 18 New Zealand appearances. At 29, he is of an age whereby Worcester could still benefit from some of his most productive seasons.

“Rico is one of the best finishers in the game,” said Mike Ruddock, director of rugby of a club rebuilding after narrowly avoiding relegation last season.

“We wanted to make a statement about our ambition as a club.” Gear follows fellow All Blacks Sam Tuitupou and Greg Rawlinson, Fiji international Netani Talei and Samoa full-back Loki Crichton as new arrivals at Sixways since the end of last season.

“Mike Ruddock phoned me directly to speak to me personally at length on a number of occasions and that was a big point for me in my decision-making,” Gear said.

“I wanted to hear what his plans were and I was immediately attracted to Warriors by his passionate vision for the club alongside chairman Cecil Duckworth.”